Tuesday, January 13, 2009

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA'S REPUTED CAPITAL is profiled in the Yemen Times:
Where a woman once ruled

Salma Ismail

German archaeologists have been conducting excavation and restoration works in Yemen for 30 years now and have helped to preserve some of Yemen’s most valuable ancient sites. YT Photo by Salma Ismail.
Once the capital of the kingdom of Queen Sheba, also known by her Arabic name Balqis, Mareb is now largely in a state of disrepair. Blocks of stone with Sabean writing bear testament to the rich history of the city. Writing in spray-paint also stands witness to the negligence of authorities to adequately protect this historical site which has been buried in the desert for over a millennium.

Officials are calling for adequate security personnel to protect the sites while no excavation is being carried out. Most security personnel are Bedouins and do not understand the importance or the historical value of the sites.

Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur’an, but only recently excavated, new information grows daily about Sheba and this temple city of the Sabaean kingdom, home of the legendary Queen, who was very influential, wealthy and famous during her rein, some 3000 years ago. The Bar’an temple Mahram Bilqis, or Temple of the Moon God, was a sacred site for pilgrims through Arabia from 1200 BC to 550 AD.

[...]

Mareb, which was named in 1000 B.C, is located 172 km east of Sana’a, is considered to be one of Yemen’s richest archeological sites.

Landmarks of the city include the prime temple located in the southern part of the city; the temple exemplifies the Maeenian architecture, having 16 vertical and horizontal columns, formulating a grid-shape. Researchers believe that this temple was built for the worship of Athtar, the sun god. There is also another temple in the heart of the city of which four columns can still be seen.

The German Archaelogical Institute (DAI) together with the Yemeni General Organization of Antiquities and Museums (GOAM) have been conducting an excavation and restoration of the ancient Sabaean town of Sirwah in the Yemeni province of Ma’rib since 2001. In March 2008 their work led to the discovery of an ancient, well-preserved Sabaean temple dating back to 7th century BC. according to Dr. Iris Gerlach, Director of the DAI in Sana’a. The discovery was made during excavation works in the ancient Sabaean town of Sirwah, at the central province of Marib.

The large town was surrounded by a fortification wall, and included many monumental buildings, of which the most prominent is the al-Maqah Temple, a sanctuary that dates back to the 7th century BC, and is currently undergoing restoration.

During the restoration work at the al-Maqah Temple, the DAI team discovered ‘another unique and well preserved Sabaean temple as part of the ancient town.’

The sacred building has a monumental entrance decorated with pillars and different rooms inside.

[...]
There are lots of sites supposedly connected with the Queen of Sheba and I am not qualified to comment on the merits of any of them, although I have the impression that people who work in the area think Yemen is the most plausible location. For more on Mareb/Marib/Mar'ib, go here. For possible connections with Sana/Sana'a (some distance from Mareb, as noted above), go here and here. For Ethiopian legend about the Queen, go here, especially the links at the end of the post. For a supposed, and apparently highly debatable, archaeological connection with Ethiopia, go here, here, and here, (Nelson link). And here is a suggested connection with Nigeria - again, highly debatable. I have noted a Queen of Sheba museum exhibition here, here, and here. Finally, here is a note about beauty products associated with her (in legend).