Masnaat Mariya

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Simple plan of Maṣnaˈat Māriya
Simple plan of Maṣnaˈat Māriya
Vulture relief from Maṣnaˈat Māriya
Vulture relief from Maṣnaˈat Māriya

Maṣnaˈat Māriya (14°30’N; 44°15’E), Dhamar Governorate, Yemen.

This pre-Islamic Himyarite archaeological site is one of the largest in the Yemen. In the local language the name means the fortress of Maria. A name such as this has obvious affinities to early Christianity. It is important as a large escarpment site partly of late pre-Islamic date. Inside one of the four city gates a text written Sabaic describes the roads in the area.

References

Krista Lewis, Space and the Spice of Life: Food, Landscape, and Politics in Ancient Yemen, unpub. Dissertation, Univ. Chicago 2005.

Paul Yule, Late Ḥimyarite Vulture Reliefs, Gedenkschrift für Alexander Sima, in press

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