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

• Published in: Arabian archaeology and epigraphy Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 28 - 42
• Main Authors: Bouchaud, C., Sachet, I., Dal Prà, P., Delhopital, N., Douaud, R., Leguilloux, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-05-2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Arabian Peninsula; Archaeology and Prehistory; date palm; funerary practices; Humanities and Social Sciences; Nabataean-Roman period; plant jewellery; Date Palm; abataean-Roman period; Arabian Peninsula; Funerary practices; plant jewellery
• ISSN: 0905-7196; 1600-0471
• DOI: 10.1111/aae.12047

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.