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Lot Essay
Timna was the capital of Qataban, which, together with Ma’in, Saba, Himyar, and Hadhramaut, was one of the five kingdoms of southern Arabia. Pliny the Elder recorded that Timna was a busy metropolis housing no less than 65 temple complexes. Its wealth was based on its monopoly of the ancient cinnamon and incense trade routes.
The area was first excavated in the 1950s by the American archaeologist Wendell Phillips, cf. W. Phillips, Qataban and Sheba: Exploring the ancient kingdoms on the Biblical spice routes of Arabia, London, 1955. For a similar example, nicknamed 'Miriam' by the workman at the time of discovery cf. St. J. Simpson (ed.), Queen of Sheba, Treasures of Ancient Yemen, London, 2002, pp. 194-195, no. 270.
The area was first excavated in the 1950s by the American archaeologist Wendell Phillips, cf. W. Phillips, Qataban and Sheba: Exploring the ancient kingdoms on the Biblical spice routes of Arabia, London, 1955. For a similar example, nicknamed 'Miriam' by the workman at the time of discovery cf. St. J. Simpson (ed.), Queen of Sheba, Treasures of Ancient Yemen, London, 2002, pp. 194-195, no. 270.