Facebook has these superb photos from the ancient Sabean capital city of Marib in Yemen in 1987. These were likely taken by archaeologists working on excavating the temple of South Arabian god Ilmuqah (known locally as Mahram Balqis, Balqis being the Islamic name for the Queen of Sheba). No credit were given.
I was actually looking up the Ma’rib dam today, in connection with some texts for a reading group, so this is very pleasant synchrony.
Re Ilmuqah, is the “il” the same root as Akkadian “ilum”?
Yes, and the Phoenician/Ugaritic/Canannite El, and the Arab Ilah/Ilat which lead to al-Lah/al-Lat (Allah/Allat in English).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_(deity)
Thank you! Am currently doing very badly at figuring out what the root is of مقه, and have just remembered that not only is metathesis a thing, but that “mu” can also be an agentive affix, so am debating the order of the consonants, and whether Ù… is even part of the root.
I am intrigued by the pillars of stone ; what was the purpose of these?
temple columns