New discoveries in a Nabataean tomb. Burial practices and ‘plant jewellery’ in ancient Hegra (Madâ’in Sâlih, Saudi Arabia)

The excavation of tomb IGN 117 in Madâ’in Sâlih, ancient Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, produced a large amount of bones, objects and materials (leather, fabric, fruit, wood, amorphous organic substances) of the Nabataean-Roman period (first to early fourth century AD). Two pieces of fabric and leather are of particular interest because they contained pierced dates (Phoenix dactylifera) strung together using date-palm leaflets. These exceptional discoveries are poorly attested in Near Eastern funerary contexts. Together with other data from Madâ’in Sâlih, the southern Near East and Egypt, this interdisciplinary analysis leads to the reconstruction of part of the funerary practices related to the preservation and preparation of the body that occurred in tomb IGN 117. Finally, the analysis allows the questioning of the symbolic role of plant jewellery and the date palm in a funerary context.

[1]  N. Miller Plant forms in jewellery from the Royal Cemetery at Ur 1 , 2000, Iraq.

[2]  D. Agut‑Labordère,et al.  L’agriculture oasienne à l’époque perse dans le sud de l’oasis de Kharga (Égypte, ve-ive s. AEC) , 2013 .

[3]  M. Tengberg,et al.  Food for eternity? The analysis of a date offering from a 3rd millennium BC grave at Hili N, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) , 2009 .

[4]  M. Tengberg,et al.  Cotton cultivation and textile production in the Arabian Peninsula during antiquity; the evidence from Madâ’in Sâlih (Saudi Arabia) and Qal’at al-Bahrain (Bahrain) , 2011 .

[5]  L. Bouby,et al.  Fruits and seeds from Roman cremations in Limagne (Massif Central) and the spatial variability of plant offerings in France , 2004 .

[6]  Ahmed G. Fahmy,et al.  A deposit of floral and vegetative bouquets at Dra Abu el-Naga (TT 11) , 2010 .

[7]  A. Tchapla,et al.  Separation of 9,10-anthraquinone derivatives: evaluation of C18 stationary phases. , 2011, Journal of chromatography. A.

[8]  F. L. Mort,et al.  Fouilles de Khirbet Edh-Dharih (Jordanie), I : le cimetière au Sud du Wadi Sharheh , 2001 .

[9]  Charlène Bouchaud Exploitation végétale des oasis d’Arabie. Production, commerce et utilisation des plantes. L’exemple de Madâ’in Sâlih (Arabie Saoudite) entre le ive siècle av. J.-C. et le viie siècle apr. J.-C. , 2013 .

[10]  A. Aufderheide,et al.  MUMMIFICATION PRACTICES AT KELLIS SITE IN EGYPT'S DAKHLEH OASIS , 2004 .

[11]  I. Surowiec,et al.  THE ANALYSIS OF DYESTUFFS FROM FIRST‐ TO SECOND‐CENTURY TEXTILE ARTEFACTS FOUND IN THE MARTRES‐DE‐VEYRE (FRANCE) EXCAVATIONS* , 2005 .

[12]  C. Vieillescazes,et al.  THE STUDY OF NABATAEAN ORGANIC RESIDUES FROM MADÂ’IN SÂLIH, ANCIENT HEGRA, BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY – MASS SPECTROMETRY , 2009 .

[13]  J. Dentzer,et al.  Mission archéologique de Madâ'in Sâlih (Arabie Saoudite) : Recherches menées de 2001 à 2003 dans l'ancienne Hijrâ des Nabatéens , 2006 .

[14]  Véronique Matterne,et al.  A Franco-Italian investigation of funerary rituals in the Roman world, “les rites et la mort à Pompéi”, the plant part: a preliminary report , 2007 .

[15]  D. Brothwell,et al.  Some food offerings from Ur, excavated by sir leonard woolley, and previously unpublished , 1978 .