Water installations and transhumance in four new Safaitic inscriptions from Birak al-Wisād

Abstract

The four new inscriptions tackled here were written by four persons, three from the same social group ʾl ʾty, a hitherto sparsely attested group. They came to Birak al-Wisād most probably seeking water and pasture for their animals and might have settled there from early summer until late summer. They designated the source of water they came to as nhy. After considering the epigraphic, linguistic and archaeological information, the paper confirms that this word should be understood as “pool”. In addition, the four inscriptions delivered two so far unattested personal names, Wrṯn and Ḫmrt. For the first time in Safaitic inscriptions, one of the inscriptions introduced the expression w wrd h-ʾwl ʾns¹ “And he went down to the water as the first of (all) people”.