Raybūn

The ancient oasis of Raybūn was one of the largest agricultural sites of the Inner Ḥaḍramawt in the 1st mill. BCE. It is located in the lower reaches of the Wādī Dawʿan and consists of several settlements and farmsteads with a collective irrigation system, temples and sanctuaries, and cave necropolises on the edge of the valley. The core of the oasis is the settlement Raybūn I.

Location and topography

The archaeological sites constituting the agricultural oasis of Raybūn in antiquity are situated in the lower reaches of the Wādī Dawʿan, the western tributary of the Wādī Ḥaḍramawt, between the modern villages Mīḥ and Mashhad ʿAlī, ca. 5 km north of the present-day town of al-Hajarayn.

The ruins of ancient monuments are concentrated in the central part of the valley amidst remains of former fields and canals, while the wadi slopes conceal cave necropolises. Large temple complexes are also located at the site.

Place names in ancient inscriptions

One of the inscriptions (Rb XIV/90 no. 253) from the temple of Sayin dhu-Mayfaʿān, located on the slope of the wadi, mentions ʿAlahumaw qayn of Rayban (ʿlhmw/qyn/Rybn/bn […) (Sedov 2005a: 216; Frantsouzoff 2014: 113). The same toponym Rayban (Rybn) was also identified in other inscriptions found during excavations (Rb XIV/87, no. 65; Rb I/88, nos.132a-b). However, it is not clear whether this name refers to the entire oasis or rather to a settlement in the oasis. The inscriptions also bear the names of other settlements in the ancient oasis: Yandaḍ (yndḍ), Maṭarhan (mṭrhn) and Kudhathan (kdthn), but their exact location is unknown (Rb XIV/89, no. 221) (Frantsouzoff 2009, 137–139).

Discovery and exploration

The first European to visit the ancient ruins in the lower reaches of the Wādī Dawʿan was possibly Leo Hirsch, in 1893. After that, visits by T. Bent, G. Caton-Thompson, G. Lankaster Harding, H. von Wissmann, D. Van der Meulen, A.F.L. Beeston and other scholars followed. In the late 1970s – early 1980s, the French archaeological mission (dir. J. Pirenne & J.-F. Breton) organized field reconnaissance of the monuments in the oasis. The Russian (Soviet)-Yemeni Complex (Interdisciplinary) Expedition (SOYCE) excavated the main settlement Raybūn I, cave necropolises and the free-standing temple complexes of Sayin dhu-Mayfaʿān, Dhat-Ḥimyam dhat-Kafas, Sayin dhu-Wasaṭhān (Sedov 2005a, 9–18; Sedov 2021; Frantosouzoff 2009, 10–26) between 1983 and 2007.

Archaeological remains

The settlements, farmsteads, temples and sanctuaries were once joined in a single irrigation system using wadi flows during the rainy season. This former system has been reconstructed as a result of ground reconnaissance and aerial photography of the ruins. Two main irrigation canals have been identified. The ‘southern’ canal linked four of the largest settlements while the ‘northern’ one watered the land in the northern part of the valley. The total area of irrigated lands was over 1500 ha: the ‘southern’ canal irrigated approx. 800 ha, and the ‘northern’ one supplied water to approx. 750 ha. Settlements in the small tributaries, such as Wādī Naʿam and Wādī Mīḥ, had their own autonomous irrigation systems.

The largest settlement in the oasis is known as Raybūn I. It is located in the central part of the Wādī Dawʿan, at the tail-end of the main ‘southern’ canal. The settlement extends from the north to the south for 460 m and from the east to the west for a little more than 400 m, covering an area of over 18 ha. The site is not fortified, and is triangular in shape with a north-facing apex. In the south, the settlement is adjoined to a bunded or walled area; the possible site of palm trees and vegetable gardens in Antiquity.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered around the territory of the settlement rather chaotically, but some streets and squares have been identified. The walls of houses were built in mudbrick with a wooden frame, and were usually erected on stone bases or platforms up to 1.5 m high. The presence of stairs in the houses indicates that the buildings were at least two storeys high. A complex of four buildings in a dominant position in the southern part of the settlement was identified as the temple of Dhat-Himyam dhat-Rahbān (Sedov 2005b, 93–100). Another temple, called Ḥaḍrān, built in honour of the local goddess ʿAśtarum, was excavated on the northern limit of the settlement (Frantsouzoff 2001). In addition to dwellings and religious buildings, remains of pottery and bronze workshops have also been found.

Three smaller settlements, respectively covering ca. 3.5 ha, 1 ha and 4 ha, as well as ruins of small farmsteads and sanctuaries, are located south and north of Raybūn I. Two additional religious complexes were excavated outside the limits of the primary settlement Raybūn I: Raybūn V to the southwest, the temple of Dhat-Ḥimyam dhat-Kafas/Naʿman (Frantsouzoff 2007), and Raybun VI to the northwest, and the temple of Sayin dhu-Wasaṭhān (Sedov 2021). The largest excavated temple complex, Mayfaʿān (Raybūn XIV), was devoted to the tutelary Ḥaḍrami deity Sayin. It was explored on the eastern slope of the Wādī Dawʿan, amidst cave tombs and camel burials from an ancient necropolis called Raybūn XV (Sedov 1994). Five more necropolises were discovered on the opposite slope of the Wādī Dawʿan, to the north and south of the modern village of Mashhad ʿAlī. Another temple dedicated to Sayin (Raybūn VIII) was recorded on the slope of the wadi in the southernmost part of the ancient oasis, and an additional one (Raybūn XIX), also on the slope, in the close vicinity of Mashhad ʿAlī.

History and chronology

Stratigraphical soundings at the Raybūn I settlement determined three main periods of occupation – “Early”, “Middle” and “Late” Raybūn. The remains of the first mudbrick houses built on virgin soil along with the sequence of associated strata revealed characteristic pottery assemblages, dividing the earliest settlement period into three phases (ER-I, ER-II and ER-III). “Early Raybūn” wares are characterized by a burnished red, dark-red or red-brown slip surface, distinct types of applied, incised and painted decoration combined with specific types of vessels. Flint and obsidian microliths are also present in these strata. It seems that the main ‘southern’ irrigation canal was constructed during the ER-I phase.

In addition to the Raybūn I settlement, “Early Raybūn” material was discovered at three other small sites in the oasis, in the ruins of the Kafas/Naʿmān and Mayfaʿān temples, and in at least one necropolis (Raybūn XV). The chronology of “Early Raybūn” phases, determined by radiocarbon dating, is between 1200 and 700 BCE (ER-I: 12th–11th cent. BCE, ER-II: 10th–9th cent. BCE, and ER-III: 8th cent. BCE).

The “Middle Raybūn” settlement period is divided into two phases; MR-I and MR-II. The most characteristic feature of this period is the advent of houses on high stone platforms or bases. The ground floor plan of such houses consisted of a central corridor with a staircase leading to the next floor and small rectangular or elongated storage rooms on both sides of the corridor. The walls of the houses are made of mudbrick reinforced with a timber frame and very often faced with polished limestone slabs.

Significant changes are observed in the “Middle Raybūn” pottery assemblage: an increased percentage of wheel-made vessels, the disappearance of slip, burnishing, applied and incised decoration. Two new types of vessels appear in the pottery assemblage, probably denoting a Sabaean influence: pedestal carinated bowls and the so-called ‘amphora-like’ vessels.

The chronology of the “Middle Raybūn” period is between 700 and 400 BCE (MR-I: 7th–6th cent. BCE and MR-II: ca. 5th cent. BCE). Practically all the settlements, temples and necropolises of the oasis were operational at that time.

The strata of the “Late Raybūn” period of occupation (400 BCE – 100 CE) are divided into two phases; LR-I (4th–3rd cent. BCE) and LR-II (2nd cent. BCE – early 1st cent. CE). The “Early Raybūn” pottery finishing tradition was widely revived in the LR-I phase: the surface of tableware vessels was again covered with slip and burnished. The strata of the LR-I phase revealed new type of bowls with a wavy rim, the so-called ‘Bayḥān bowls’ (probably a Qatabanian innovation). Another new vessel shape appeared in the LR-II phase: storage jars with thick walls and an out-turned rim manufactured from yellowish, greenish or greyish porous fabric with a large amount of straw temper. At a later stage, in the first half of the 1st mill. CE, this type of vessel (the so-called ‘South Arabian Organic Storage jars’) became characteristic of pottery assemblages in Ḥaḍramawt.

The heyday of the Raybūn oasis was the “Late Raybūn” period of occupation. Namely, at the beginning of this period, during the LR-I phase, the oasis reached its peak when an additional irrigation system was built in conjunction with the main ‘northern’ canal. The last significant modifications were made to the principal buildings in settlements, temples and temple complexes, such as Mayfaʿān, Kafas/Naʿmān, Raḥbān, Wasaṭhān and others, and all the cave necropolises were functional. The high concentration of religious buildings in the oasis indicates that it was an important centre of worship in ancient Ḥaḍramawt.

The Raybūn oasis was abandoned around the very late 1^st cent. BCE – very early 1st cent. CE. Ash layers and traces of fire all over the top strata of the site constitute ample evidence of a violent end, probably as a result of military campaign(s). In this respect, the escalation in clashes between the kingdom of Qatabān and the Ḥaḍramawt region in the last centuries of the first millennium BCE is particularly noteworthy (e.g., RES 4932, Pi-Huwaydar A, Raybūn 6 and Arbach-Sayūn 1+ATM 877 A+B).

It seems likely that part of the Raybūn population migrated to the upper part of the Wādī Dawʿan, where, for instance, the modern town of al-Hajarayn is now situated. But the oasis was not totally deserted. It was concentrated in small settlements at the mouth of small tributaries, such as Wādī Naʿam and Wādī Mīḥ, or at the foot of the slopes of the main Wādī Dawʿan, where complexes including a small settlement, a temple on a slope and a cave necropolis were discovered.

Alexander V. Sedov

References and suggested readings

• Frantsouzoff, S.A. 2001. Raybūn. Haḍrān, temple de la déesse ʿAthtarum / ʿAśtarum (Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques, 5). Paris, Rome: De Boccard, AIBL, IsIAO.
• Frantsouzoff, S.A. 2007. Kafas-Naʿmān, temple de la déesse Dhāt Ḥimyam. 2 vols (Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques, 6). Paris, Rome: De Boccard, Herder.
• Frantsouzoff, S.A. 2009. Райбун: надписи и люди [Raybūn: Inscriptions and People]. St Petersburg: Publishing House of the St Petersburg University.
• Frantsouzoff, S.A. 2014. История Хадрамаута в эпоху древности [History of Hadramawt in Antiquity]. St Petersburg: Linguistic Society of St Petersburg.
• Piotrovsky, M. & A.V. Sedov 1994. Field-studies in Southern Arabia. Raydān 6: 61–68.
• Sedov, A.V. 1994. The temple of SYN D-MYFʿN (Wadi Dauʿan, Inner Hadramawt). Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia. An International Journal of Comparative Studies in History and Archaeology I(2): 87–96.
• Sedov, A.V. 1996. On the Origin of the agricultural settlements in Hadramawt, in C.J. Robin & I. Gajda (eds) Arabia Antiqua: early origins of South Arabian states. Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Conservation and Exploitation of the Archaeological Heritage of the Arabian Peninsula (Serie Orientale Roma, LXX): 67–86. Rome: IsMEO.
• Sedov, A.V. 1997. Die archäologischen Denkmäler von Raybūn im unteren Wādī Dauʿan (Ḥaḍramaut), in Mare Erythraeum I: 31–106. Munich: Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde.
• Sedow, A.V. 1998. Der Sakralkomplex von Raybūn. Kamelbestattungen, in W. Seipel (ed.) Jemen. Kunst und Archäologie im Land der Königin von Sabaʾ: 229–232, 257–258. Vienna: Skira.
• Sedov, A.V. 2003. Notes on stratigraphy and pottery sequence at Raybūn I settlement (Western wadi Ḥaḍramawt). Arabia 1: 173–196.
• Sedov, A.V. 2005a. Древний Хадрамаут. Очерки археологии и нумизматики [Ancient Ḥaḍramawt. Essays on Archaeology and Numismatics]. Moscow: Vostochnaya literatura.
• Sedov, A.V. 2005b. Temples of ancient Ḥaḍramawt. Pisa: Edizioni Plus.
• Sedov, A.V. 2021. The Temple of S¹YN D-WS¹ṬHN in Raybūn Oasis, in C. Bührig, M. van Ess, I. Gerlach, A. Hausleiter & B. Müller-Neuhof (eds) Klänge der Archäologie. Festschrift für Ricardo Eichmann. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag: 407–415.

_{Alternate spellings: Gaybûn, Ghaybun, Ghaibûn, Gheibûn, Garbûn, Raidoun, ‘Adiyat as-Sultan}