Insights Into Ancient South Arabia the Collection of the Museo Nazionale D’Arte Orientale “G
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INSIGHTS INTO ANCIENT SOUTH ARABIA THE COLLECTION OF THE MUSEO Nazionale d’ARTE ORIENTale “G. TuCCi” in ROME EUROPEAN UNION AND ENPI CBC MEDITERRANEAN SEA BASIN PROGRAMME INIGHTS INTO ANCIENT SOUTH ARABIA THE COLLECTION OF THE MUSEO Nazionale d’ARTE ORIENTale “G. TuCCi” in ROME EDITION ENPI CBCMED. Cross-border Cooperation in the Mediterranean. MEDINA PROJECT Project Coordinator Alessandra Avanzini Technical Coordinator Annamaria De Santis Copyright ©2015 EXHIBITION Insights into Ancient South Arabia. The Collection of the Museo Nazionale All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever d’Arte Orientale “G. Tucci” in Rome without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. First printing, December 2015. CATALOGUE Concept © Medina Partners Rocío Ferreras Méndez © Mago Production Articles Authors Alessandra Avanzini Paola D’Amore Design: Mago Production Alexia Pavan Editor: Dedizioni. Irene Rossi Dedizioni is a publishing mark of Dedalo, via Card. Maffi 36, Pisa, Italy, [email protected] Cards Authors Alexia Pavan ISBN: 978-88-95613-24-6 Irene Rossi Translations Claudia Alborghetti Edition and Production MagoProduction Photography Paolo Ferroni (Archivio Fotografico MNAO) Graphic Design Rocío Ferreras This publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union under the ENPI CBC Irene Farré Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. The contents of this document can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or of the Programme’s management structures. It is a non Printing and Binding venal edition. Dedalo - Pisa The 2007-2013 ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme is a multilateral Cross-Border Cooperation initi- ative funded by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). The Programme objective is to promote the sustainable and harmonious cooperation process at the Mediterranean Basin level by dealing with the common challenges and enhancing its endogenous potential. It finances cooperation projects as a contribution to the economic, social, environmental and cultural development of the Mediterranean region. The following 14 countries participate in the Programme: Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Palestinian Authority, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia. The Joint Managing Authority (JMA) is the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy). Official Programme languages are Arabic, English and French. The European Union is made up of 27 Member States who have decided to gradually link together their know how,resources and destinies. Together, during a period of enlargement of 50 years, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders. Partners MEDINA Project: Map of the Arabian Peninsula 10 Map of Ancient South Arabia 12 Ancient South Arabian chronology 14 Foreword: The Medina Project 17 Alessandra Avanzini The South Arabian collection from the Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale ‘Giuseppe Tucci’ in Rome 23 Paola D’Amore History of Ancient South Arabia 27 Alessandra Avanzini The art of Ancient South Arabia 33 Alexia Pavan The inscriptions of Ancient South Arabia 39 Irene Rossi Catalogue 45 Alexia Pavan and Irene Rossi Index of the objects 99 with selected bibliography Bibliographical references 103 10 11 MAP OF THE ARABIAN PENINSULA 500 2000 12 13 MAP OF ANCIENT SOUTH ARABIA 50 100 150 200 km 14 15 SOUTH ARABIAN CHRONOLOGY 16 17 FOREWORD: THE MEDINA PROJECT ALESSANDRA AVANZINI MEDINA - “Mediterranean network for the valorization and fruition of in- scriptions preserved in museums” [http://medina.cfs.unipi.it/] is a two-year project funded by the European Union with the ENPI - CBC Med programme in 2012. The project aims to enhance awareness, both in the local and in the international community, of the cultural heritage of some of the most im- portant Ancient Near Eastern civilizations, as a necessary step for its future preservation. The project is partly focused on the literate societies of the Phoenicians and Nabataeans, for which writing was essential to several aspects of their organization: bureaucracy, commerce and religion. Far less known than the Phoenicians and the Nabataeans – but for the story of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon, or the myth of Arabia Felix in the classical world – the South Arabian civilization appeared at the end of the second millennium BC on the southern borders of the Near Eastern world, where the Arabian Peninsula looks out onto the Indian Ocean. Thanks to the ingenious ex- ploitation of water resources, the production of frankincense (the aromatic resin of the Boswellia Sacra tree) and its export to the rest of Arabia, Meso- potamia and the Mediterranean, the kingdoms of South Arabia flourished until the sixth century AD in the area of current Yemen. The surviving epigraphic texts in the Phoenician, Nabataean and South Ara- bian languages – all written in alphabetic scripts – are a rare treasure chest 18 FOREWORD: THE MEDINA PROJECT 19 of interesting historical elements of these three civilizations: thousands of personnel have been organized in order to spread a common understand- names for deities, kings, men, women, cities, temples, palaces are men- ing of the best practices in the field of digitization, communication of cul- tioned in the official documents created to send messages through the ex- tural heritage and promotion of museums. Finally, MEDINA has contributed posure to the general public, conveying their concept of power or religion. to involve Lebanese and Jordanian museums into a network of institutions Their importance is rightly assessed if considering that the history of the conducting their research in the domain of the Ancient Near East cultural ancient Phoenician cities and of the Nabataean kingdom of Petra, as well heritage. as the culture of the South Arabian kingdoms, are known almost exclusively through epigraphs, artworks and archaeology. A digital catalogue of the most important and meaningful artefacts that the museums involved into the project preserve has been created. Both in- In the two years of its life MEDINA has been working both to increase knowl- scriptions and archaeological objects were photographed, catalogued and, edge exchanges among institutions of the Mediterranean sea basin, and to limited to epigraphs, transcribed and encoded according to the standards encourage the use of innovative digital technologies to communicate to accepted by the international community. The catalogue gives access to the the public the Phoenician and the Nabataean cultural heritage, especially inscriptions and artworks digitized, organized into three digital collections, preserved in Lebanese and Jordanian museums (the National Museum of thematic paths and online exhibitions. Thus MEDINA intends to provide Beirut and the Museum of Jordanian Heritage of the Yarmouk Universi- their description, carried out according to strict scientific criteria, but also ty). Moreover, the Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale (MNAO) in Rome has to encourage the exploration of the content and guide non expert users to been involved into the activities of the project to endorse its collection of understand their multiple meanings. one hundred of South Arabian epigraphs and artefacts. At the same time, several social platforms have been developed to engage On one hand, a strategy to promote epigraphic and archaeological assets the project target groups identified among the general public. The Face- has been developed: digital collections, online museums and virtual exhibi- book page of MEDINA seeks to gain the attention of the young gener- tions are the most suitable means, developed with advanced digital tech- ations, whereas the Twitter account and the Linkedin group are dissemi- nologies, to engage a large public, most of all young people, and educate nating knowledge and skills among researchers and professionals in the them providing a proper and immediate interpretation. On the other hand, cultural heritage and IT domains. training courses addressed to non-EU students, researchers and museum 20 FOREWORD: THE MEDINA PROJECT 21 However, the traditional means of communication have not been aban- doned. Three printed catalogues have been prepared in order to illustrate, through the inscriptions and the not-inscribed objects of MEDINA, some as- pects of the Phoenician, the Nabataean and the South Arabian civilizations respectively. Furthermore a handbook explains to the general public the Nabataean civilization demonstrating the unique contribution to knowl- edge provided by inscriptions. The present volume aims to introduce the non-specialist public to the culture of South Arabia, by means of a journey through the most relevant of the near forty epigraphic and sixty an-ep- igraphic pieces preserved in the Museum. Detailed descriptions of the arte- facts, with transcriptions and translations of the texts, can also be consulted in the digital catalogue of MEDINA [medina.humnet.unipi.it]. As the project has almost come to the end, I would like to thank the consorti- um, a multidisciplinary working group consisting of research and education institutions, archaeological museums and private companies in the commu- nication and creative domains, from