Page 80 - Arabiab Studies (IV)

70 Arabian Studies IV
Hunaydah are not now generally known, but one informant did
associate these two sites on the Jabal with the ancient sites of the
$ifah.

Shahran
378751
Whenever the writer has made enquiries on the Jabal about
pre-Islamic remains, mention has been made of Shahran, a
settlement to the north of al-$ararah on the western side of the
plateau. Time has not permitted the writer to visit the village.
Glaser visited the Shahran ruins, known as Qaflat al-Qu<Jub in
1883.

Da “an
381749
‘Another palace is Da“an, located in the highland of the territory
of Hamdan (fi ’l-zahir min Hamdan). It is a famous palace and of
sound foundation. It is named after Da“an, a king descended from
Tubba‘ b. Zayd b. ‘Amr b. Hamdan.’10
There is now nothing to be seen of any palace which might have
existed in Da“an, and enquiries indicated that there were no
inscribed or decorated stones in any of the buildings of this village.
However, al-Hamdanl and al-Raz! also mention a dam (sadd) fi
zahir Da“an which refers perhaps to a series of half ruined dams
above the principal reservoir of the village which might have been
designed to direct water into the main tank or to extend its
capacity.
Between Da“an and the next village to the north, al-Luml, are
two ruin sites which are deserted.

Kharab al-Thuml
380751 (approx.)
This site, the more westerly of the two between Da“an and
al-Luml, seems to have been a small settlement or temple site.
There are some foundations or lower courses of walls as well as
slabs smoothed as paving stones might be. A rapid search on the
surface revealed little, except for a roughly finished stone block like
a lintel with three large Himyaritic letters scratched on it, a well
polished column capital and a comer fragment of a thin, polished
slab of pale stone.