Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

722 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
including Halevy's. The time from the middle of March
to the end of April, 1888, was spent in Marib, the ancient
Sabean capital, he being the third European to visit that
region. While there he copied nearly four hundred inscriptions,
among them the " dam inscription " containing about
100 lines, and dating from the time shortly before Mohammed
— published in Berlin in 1899. But the jewel of his
collection is the large inscription from Sirwah, west of Marib,
consisting of about 1000 words, and dating from the rise of
the Sabean kingdom, about 550 b. c. An edition l of this
famous text bv Glaser is in course of preparation. The
inscribed stones obtained by Glaser on his third expedition
are in the Berlin Museum. 2 The only report as yet
published by Glaser on his memorable expedition to
Marib, which lies clearly outside of the Turkish sphere
of influence, is contained in two articles 3 published by
Hommel ; but a larger work, Saba, is in course of preparation.
It was only a pleasure trip that the English tourist Walter
B. Harris made in January, 1892, from Aden to San'a ;
vet his publication 4 is valuable on account of the numerous
photographs of landscapes, which for the first time give a
clear idea of the grandeur of the Alpine region in South
Arabia.
Of Eduard Glaser's fourth expedition (from the beginning
of 1892 to the spring of 1894) little more than brief
notices have been as yet given to the public.
Its results were
confined to the field of epigraphy. Glaser, who remained
most of the time in San'a, taught Bedouins to make squeezes,
1
In Mittheilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, Berlin.
-
Published by Mordtmann, Berlin, 1893.
3 Beilage der Allgemeinen Zeitung, 1888, nos. 293 and 294 {Eduard
Glaser's Reise nach Marib).
4 " A journey through Yemen," in the " Illustrated London News," nos.
from Aug. to Nov., 1892 ;
afterward issued in book form, London, 1894.