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Prehistoric small scale monument types in Hadramawt (southern Arabia): convergences in ethnography, linguistics and archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Abdalaziz Ja'afar Bin 'Aqil  and
Joy McCorriston
Abdalaziz Ja'afar Bin 'Aqil*
Affiliation:
General Organization of Antiquities and Museums, P.O. Box 8686, Al-Mukalla, Hadramawt Governate, Republic of Yemen
Joy McCorriston*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, 4034 Smith Laboratory, 174 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, USA
*
(Email: khuzmah@yahoo.com) (Corresponding author for Arabic)
(Email: mccorriston.1@osu.edu) (Corresponding author for English)

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Information

Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Antiquity Project Gallery , Volume 83 , Issue 321 , September 2009 , pp. 1 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), [2009]. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

This paper is published in full in Antiquity 83 no. 321 September 2009. Here we publish an accompanying photo essay.

Figure 1.

Map of Hadramawt showing the Jol (Plateau) bisected by the Wadi Hadramawt-Wadi Masila.

Figure 2.

Qubr Rukamy. Stone pile forming a tumulus, presumed in most cases to contain a burial within a constructed chamber. The term "Qubr Rukamy" refers to the present-day appearance as a heap of stones. Remnants of a central chamber may be evident.

Figure 3.

Qubr Rudhumy. Readily identified as a High Circular Tomb by archaeologists, these monuments are fashioned around a central chamber and use tabular or blocky stone (not regularly dressed or shaped) in construction. This technique may account for the differences between rukam and rudhum appearance. Both types may be rujm. Matthew Senn as scale.

Figure 4.

Multiple Islamic graves on low terrace near the wadi bed. This cluster is in current use and contains more than 30 distinct burials, each slightly over a meter in diameter.

Figure 5.

Detail of Islamic (Al-Aly Bedouin) grave showing shahed, or upright stone. Grave mound is just over one meter diameter.

Figure 6.

Qubr 'Arumiy located on high plateau overlooking and visible from wadi bed.

Figure 7.

Detail of a tail element from Qubr 'Arumiy.

Figure 8.

Raybun camel burial, remnant of baliya practice, excavated by the Yemeni-Soviet expedition in front of 3rd century BC tombs.

Figure 9.

Tomb number 56 camel burial at Raybun. [Records of the Yemeni-Soviet Expedition].

Figure 10.

Camel burial placed into and re-using qubr rukamy in the Wadi Harou.

Figure 11.

Trilith in Wadi Sana later modified for runoff water diversion. The ring of stones around the hearth in foreground has been robbed to create a low wall incorporating in-situ standing stones of the trilith elements.

Figure 12.

Trilith element and hearths behind in partial view of a well-preserved trilith monument. Note on the right the pair of solitary standing stones flanked by trilith uprights. Four boulders lie beyond, and two of the parallel line of hearths may also be seen in the background (center, far right). Khalid BaDhofary as scale.

Figure 13.

Madhba, or hearth for roasting meat. The elements of the hearth are terms used also for groups of people as components of a larger group of people. We argue that there is a strong link between the location of hearths for roasting meat and territorial rights. Trilith monuments with their symbolic alignments of stones and hearths signaled territorial rights just as hearths do for the groups that still use them today.

Figure 14.

Meat roasting pit in Wadi Sana silts, dated 6000-5000 years ago.

Figure 15.

Tribesmen roasting meat at tribal gathering site where community feasts take place each year. Photograph from the 1960s by Hadrami photographer Ahmad Sa'id BaJunayd.

Figure 16.

Group around a madhba. Photograph from the 1960s by Hadrami photographer Ahmad Sa'id BaJunayd.

Figure 17.

Al-Aly bedouin around a madhba in Wadi Sana.

Figure 18.

Al-Aly bedouin guard set up a hearth to which family and visitors came each evening at the RASA Project camp in Wadi Sana. The camp cook's hearth and kitchen tent are in the background.

Figure 19.

Tomb of a Wali (Saint) in Wadi Sakhdan. Note the Islamic appropriation of an older qubr rukamy.

Figure 0

Figure 1. Map of Hadramawt showing the Jol (Plateau) bisected by the Wadi Hadramawt-Wadi Masila.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Qubr Rukamy. Stone pile forming a tumulus, presumed in most cases to contain a burial within a constructed chamber. The term "Qubr Rukamy" refers to the present-day appearance as a heap of stones. Remnants of a central chamber may be evident.

Figure 2

Figure 3. Qubr Rudhumy. Readily identified as a High Circular Tomb by archaeologists, these monuments are fashioned around a central chamber and use tabular or blocky stone (not regularly dressed or shaped) in construction. This technique may account for the differences between rukam and rudhum appearance. Both types may be rujm. Matthew Senn as scale.

Figure 3

Figure 4. Multiple Islamic graves on low terrace near the wadi bed. This cluster is in current use and contains more than 30 distinct burials, each slightly over a meter in diameter.

Figure 4

Figure 5. Detail of Islamic (Al-Aly Bedouin) grave showing shahed, or upright stone. Grave mound is just over one meter diameter.

Figure 5

Figure 6. Qubr 'Arumiy located on high plateau overlooking and visible from wadi bed.

Figure 6

Figure 7. Detail of a tail element from Qubr 'Arumiy.

Figure 7

Figure 8. Raybun camel burial, remnant of baliya practice, excavated by the Yemeni-Soviet expedition in front of 3rd century BC tombs.

Figure 8

Figure 9. Tomb number 56 camel burial at Raybun. [Records of the Yemeni-Soviet Expedition].

Figure 9

Figure 10. Camel burial placed into and re-using qubr rukamy in the Wadi Harou.

Figure 10

Figure 11. Trilith in Wadi Sana later modified for runoff water diversion. The ring of stones around the hearth in foreground has been robbed to create a low wall incorporating in-situ standing stones of the trilith elements.

Figure 11

Figure 12. Trilith element and hearths behind in partial view of a well-preserved trilith monument. Note on the right the pair of solitary standing stones flanked by trilith uprights. Four boulders lie beyond, and two of the parallel line of hearths may also be seen in the background (center, far right). Khalid BaDhofary as scale.

Figure 12

Figure 13. Madhba, or hearth for roasting meat. The elements of the hearth are terms used also for groups of people as components of a larger group of people. We argue that there is a strong link between the location of hearths for roasting meat and territorial rights. Trilith monuments with their symbolic alignments of stones and hearths signaled territorial rights just as hearths do for the groups that still use them today.

Figure 13

Figure 14. Meat roasting pit in Wadi Sana silts, dated 6000-5000 years ago.

Figure 14

Figure 15. Tribesmen roasting meat at tribal gathering site where community feasts take place each year. Photograph from the 1960s by Hadrami photographer Ahmad Sa'id BaJunayd.

Figure 15

Figure 16. Group around a madhba. Photograph from the 1960s by Hadrami photographer Ahmad Sa'id BaJunayd.

Figure 16

Figure 17. Al-Aly bedouin around a madhba in Wadi Sana.

Figure 17

Figure 18. Al-Aly bedouin guard set up a hearth to which family and visitors came each evening at the RASA Project camp in Wadi Sana. The camp cook's hearth and kitchen tent are in the background.

Figure 18

Figure 19. Tomb of a Wali (Saint) in Wadi Sakhdan. Note the Islamic appropriation of an older qubr rukamy.