No abstract

Four Nabataean samples collected in some of the monumental tombs of Madâ'in Sâlih, ancient Hegra , in Saudi Arabia, have been studied by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. These samples are textile fragments that are either covered with a black layer or bound together with some black amorphous substance. Fatty acids and triterpenoic compounds were detected. Eight triterpenic compounds were identified: ursa-9(11),12-dien-3-ol, ursa-9(11),12-dien-3-one, olean-9(11),12-dien-3 β -ol, β -amyrone, β -amyrin, α -amyrone, αamyrin and lupeol. The resinous chemical composition and these pentacyclic alcohols, in considerable proportion, indicate a resin of the Burseraceae family, possibly of the genus Canarium .

This article examines the divine figures attested in the Nabataean, Nabataeo-Arabic and pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions from the Arabian peninsula from the first to the 6th century AD. The list of the divine figures attested in these texts, either mentioned as such or contained in theophoric names, is based on the examination of all the corpuses, published or unpublished, which are available to the author (from Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ, Taymāʾ and its region, Dūmat al-Jandal, etc.). The identification of about 400 divine names in the inscriptions allows to draw a picture of the deities who appear in different places at different times. Among the main conclusions are the identification of regional variations within the Nabataean kingdom and a decrease of the number of divine figures in the Nabataeo-Arabic and pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions, in favour of figures such as mry ʿlmʾ and ʾlʾlh (masculine) and ʾlt, ʾlʿzʾ and mnwtw (feminine).This contribution comes from a paper I originally gave at the University of Chicago in 2017, during the conference organized by Fred Donner entitled "Scripts and Scripture: Language and Religion in Arabia, circa 500-700". 1The initial aim of my paper was to examine whether the gods mentioned in the Nabataean inscriptions from the Arabian peninsula were the same as those mentioned in the Nabataeo-Arabic and pre-Islamic Arabic texts from the same region. The objective was thus to determine what sort of evolution in the religious landscape can be traced between the first and the sixth century AD on the basis of a particular corpus of inscriptions. However, while I was collecting the material in the various corpora which needed to be taken into account, I realized that the gods who appear in the Nabataean inscriptions from the Arabian peninsula (as opposed to those from other regions of the Nabataean kingdom: Petra, the Ḥawrān, the Negev, Sinai, etc.) showed specificities which were also worth pointing out, e.g. the mention of local gods who do not appear elsewhere, or the popularity of certain gods over others. Of course, the Arabian peninsula was never all part of the Nabataean kingdom. Therefore, when one deals with the Nabataean inscriptions recorded in this vast geographical area, one refers to regions which were either part of the Nabataean kingdom (at least down to Hegra, modern Madāʾin Ṣāliḥ/al-Ḥijr), were in the Nabataean area of influence (probably down to Yathrib, modern Medina), or were regions where a Nabataean presence is attested (down to South Arabia and the Farasān islands). The three categories of script mentioned in the title of this contribution can be defined schematically as follows: the Nabataean inscriptions are written in a 'calligraphic' or 'classical' form of the Nabataean script, where most of the letters would be at home in Petra in the first century AD. They may show regional particularities but the letters are all recognizably 1 I am very grateful to Fred Donner for inviting me to this very enriching conference and for giving me the opportunity to visit our colleague...

Mission archéologique de Mad a)in S@ alih@ (Arabie Saoudite) : Recherches menées de 2001 à 2003 dans l'ancienne H@ ijr a des Nabatéens (1) Hégra, H@ ijr a, al-H@ ijr, Mad a)in S@ alih@ , quatre noms différents pour désigner l'un des sites archéologiques majeurs d'Arabie Saoudite et le site nabatéen le plus important après la capitale du royaume, Pétra, en Jordanie. Cela est dû non seulement à la quantité de vestiges qui y ont été découverts mais également aux informations qu'il est à même de livrer, notamment -mais pas seulement, nous le verrons -du fait de la présence d'un ensemble épigraphique nabatéen sans équivalent ailleurs. C'est enfin le site nabatéen le plus méridional de la Nabatène.Le site appartient au domaine géographique de l'Arabie du Nord-Ouest (Fig. 1). Il se trouve à environ 400 km au nord-ouest de Médine et à This contribution presents the preliminary results of the Mad a)in S@ alih@ archaeological project, which started in 2001 and which, in December 2004, completed its fourth field season. The aims of this five-year project are a systematic recording of the archaeological remains at the site as well as an analysis of its agricultural potential. The former include not only the tombs, sanctuaries, wells, quarries, walls, buildings, etc., but also the inscriptions written in various scripts and languages. Parallel to this exploration of what is visible on the surface, an extensive geophysical survey was undertaken in the so-called residential area, in the central part of the site, in order to obtain an image of the sub-surface remains. This contribution begins with a presentation of the sources, followed by a brief history of the exploration of Mad a)in S@ alih@ . The focus is on the conditions which allowed this project to be established as well as the problematics which guided it. J.-B. Rigot then presents his analysis of the agricultural potential of the site, demonstrating the existence, in antiquity, of a large oasis. Finally, a preliminary description of the main components of the sites: the necropoleis, the sanctuaries and the residential area, is given.

N • j \ • • 'J U LJI JI D ioil jl»Ij-UI dUi JU 'Jx; U ,^LJIj ^iLJI ùy u> L» {Jj- jÇi *\j3 uyitej jU* ii- IS U^U& Uij LUI l^ .ùCiUI ûy.*>UJI ^t I4JU Jl, I ol>ûJI Jl