The hypogeum of Šalamallat (Shalmallat)  is one of the most significant discoveries since excavations started in Palmyra’s so called Valley of the tombs. Forty funerary half statues were recovered from the tomb in semi-complete condition. The discovery and excavations work was conducted by the Syrian archaeological mission headed by Adnan Bunni and Naseeb Slaibi in 1957.

Dr. Adnan Al-Bunni narrates the circumstances of the discovery:

“From among the three areas richest in tombs in Palmyra, we chose the western area known as the Valley of the Tombs. After studying the nature of the land on the hill located to the left of the valley between the famous tomb of Ilabel, and the site of the tomb of Yarhai, we conducted four probes in the form of rectangular trenches, each five meters long and about a meter and a half wide. By time the first day was concluded we were already certain of the existence of two tombs that had collapsed from the inside and were filled with sand and rubble. The two are about thirty meters apart. The first, which was located directly behind the site of the tomb of Yarhai, its external features indicated that it was larger and more complex, so we preferred to focus our efforts on it and leave the second, after we had placed a small team of workers in it.”

Bunni adds: “We were happy that it had collapsed from the inside and was filled with rubble and sand, for experience had shown that collapsed tombs are the ones from which archaeological wealth is hoped for. They were completely or partially resilient to illicit diggers, both in ancient and modern times.

The work of uncovering the tomb was concluded in about one month, during which we completed clearing the site from the collapsed debris, and we were able to rescue its forty statues and the rest of its architectural elements, which were broken into thousands of pieces.

The tomb plan consists of a short central gallery with burials and of two lateral chambers, mostly unused. All in all, there were 17 niches prepared. The tomb is now inaccessible.

Tomb plan

Exterior sections: The tomb is dug into sandstone on an east-west axis with a length of 26 m from the top of the stairs to the end of the western wing and a width of 16 m from the top of the northern wing to the top of the southern wing. The door which is the main entrance to the tomb is reached following a series of steps to the downside. The staircase is 2.53 m wide and consisting of thirty steps. This staircase is considered the longest of all the known Palmyrene tombs (note at the time of writing this report dates from 1957). The height of each step is 18 cm. The right and left side of the staircase is lined with stones carved from soft limestone with a wall built of rough stone on the left side and a thickness of 50 cm. The staircase leads to an unpaved external courtyard measuring 4.45 m in length and 2.95 m in average width and with a depth of its floor from the surface of the hill of 6.50 m. It has three pillars on each side, each of which ended with a protruding cornice that circled the courtyard. Its function perhaps to prevent the collapse of dirt to the bottom since this surface was exposed to the sky as is the case with all known Palmyrene underground tombs. In the front of the outer courtyard is a stone door, 2.12 m high, 1.45 m wide and 23 cm thick. The door is carved from a single piece of stone. It is facing east and opening inward by two cylindrical broses fixed in two recesses at the top and bottom. The upper one was originally equipped with a bronze axis. The door stands between two stones, each made of a single piece of rock, above which is a stone niche, a rectangular piece of stone, on which is engraved an inscription by the Syrian excavators noting the tomb as ‘number 1′ in the tomb’s inscriptions’ register. This is the text that speaks of a process of concession carried out by the heirs of the tomb, the son of the founder and the widow, of half of the tomb in favor of one of the cousins ​​named Zabadata. We will deal with this text in the section on inscriptions.

Cross section. Shalamallat burial, Western Valley of the Tombs: 

Internal sections of the tomb:

One enters from the tomb door into the internal courtyard, descending a staircase consisting of three steps, the length of which is 102 cm. This internal courtyard is not paved and its depth from the surface of the hill is approximately 7.25 m. Its dimensions are 2.75 – 1.95 m. It branches out in the shape of an inverted T, the main side of which extends along the east-west axis. All three wings were filled with sand and the rubble of the main tomb. One of the wings extends towards the west with dimensions 5.30 m 3.57 m x 4.30 m. The northern wing’s dimensions are 5.30 x 3.67 x 3.80 m. The southern wing’s dimensions are 5.20 x 3.25 x 3.80 m. The ceilings of the three wings are carved into the soft, easily eroded rock in the shape of an inverted bed and have been kept in their natural form. They were not originally built with stones but were covered with a layer of gypsum mortar. Large pieces of these ceilings were peeled off by water and the alternation of heat and cold. Upon inspection, it becomes clear that the tomb was dug in its entirety all at once and that burials initially took place in its main wing until all its niches were filled and decorated. Then the northern wing was used, so only three niches were dug in its sides and used for burials, and then burials stopped in the entire tomb. The last wing was not decorated, and the opposite southern wing was never used.

General plan. Shalamallat A.Bunni, N.Sleebi

The principle wing

This wing, as we mentioned, extends towards the west on the axis of the stairs and the door. It is the most important of the three wings in all respects, and all of its 13 burial chambers were used for burial. They are all carved in the rock, five in the right wall opposite five in the left wall. There are three in the front of the wing, and all of them are carved in a longitudinal rectangle with sides like saw teeth to place dividers between the graves. In each burial chamber there are six on top of each other, one of them below the floor level of the wing. The three burial chambers in the front are distinguished by being built from the inside with stone. The average height of each burial chamber in this wing is 15 and 3 m and its width is 48 cm. The panels that carry the busts of the dead found in this wing indicate that it was not allocated to the first family that built the tomb, but rather it was occupied by the participating family that did not have a wing, as is customary in most Palmyrene cemeteries. However, it is likely, in any case, from the position of the busts lying on the ground, that the first family was concerned with the right wall of this wing and most likely the chest. The entrance to this wing consists of a vestibule (2.74 cm long) between which and the wing there is a small threshold. Its ceiling was arched with a radius of 2.78 m. Parts of this ceiling were found collapsed to the ground, especially the sections of the front stone arch in the middle of which is a flower. On the left side of this vestibule, between two stone pillars, there is a grave in front of which is a funeral bed, or rather the facade of a funeral bed made of hard limestone. Taking into account the distribution of burial chambers among the families between the right and left walls of the main wing, it is unlikely that this bed belonged to the first founder, Shalm al-Lat, and it may have been dedicated to the partner or one of the dignitaries of the founding family, who, from the shape of the hat he was wearing, is shown to be a priest. It is common for the names of the dead to be mentioned on the bed and above the scene itself, but no such trace was found here. However, an inscription in Greek and Palmyrene was gound engraved and colored in red on a pure white stone lying near this bed, and it is likely that it is related to it and was perhaps fixed in one of the two counterpoints that border it. This inscription mentions two people: Zabadatah and Muqimu.

Funerary bed found to the left side of the main wing. Dated to between 140 and 190 AD.

Prior attempts to break into the tomb

By examining the main façade of the tomb, it becomes clear that both the window above the gate and the original foundation plaque were deliberately broken, apparently in a not-so-old attempt to infiltrate the tomb with only minor success. It is clear that the operation was aimed at stealing the busts of the tomb, as evidenced by the discovery of a bust of one of the family’s young men, named “Danis bin Zabadatah bin Hanbal,” broken into several pieces and found on the stairs along with another statue of a bearded boy and a woman’s head cut off from a bust. As for examining the internal sections of the tomb, it appears that it was also subject to a very old looting operation that may have occurred during the period of chaos and decadence that followed the entry of the armies of Emperor Aurelian into Palmyra in 273 AD, which clearly targeted its decorations and funerary furniture placed inside the wall burial chambers. Fortunately the overwhelming majority of its busts were left lying on top of each other and hidden in the rubble and sand on the floor of the tomb.

The inscriptions

By analyzing the inscriptions from the tomb, several key observations can be made that help understand few aspects of the family’s life. First, it is evident that “Malko,” the father of the tomb’s founder, died at the age of thirty-three, at which time his son, “Shalom Al-Lat,” was apparently still a teenager. Building a tomb of this magnitude required substantial financial resources, indicating that the family was of modest means during Malko’s lifetime. The exact path that Shalom Al-Lat took in his life is not entirely clear. He may have become one of the prominent merchants of Palmyra or pursued another significant role. Nevertheless, the inscriptions confirm that the construction of the tomb was funded entirely by Shalom Al-Lat himself, as he states twice in the text that describes the tomb’s foundation.

The foundation stone was not found in its original position but rather in pieces scattered among the rubble, likely destroyed by recent attempts to loot the tomb. Its original location was above the main entrance, embedded inside of an arch, adjacent to a hollowed window that was carved with geometric shapes to provide light to the tomb’s interior. This window was found broken into small pieces and scattered on the ground. Only eight fragments of the foundation plaque were recovered with the rest lost forever. When intact, the foundation stone formed a rectangle measuring 51.5 cm in length and 48.5 cm in width.

Foundation stone, Hypogeum of Šalamallat. Palmyra Museum (2014) Reg. n A 1254/6610.

The foundation stone comprises a square slab bearing the foundation text, a version of which is also inscribed on the door-lintel of the tomb. Reassembled from several fragments.

Reading of the Greek text

Τὸν ταφ[εῶ]να ᾠκοδόμη-

σεν Σαλ[μα] λάθος Μαλίχου

τοῦ Διονυσίου ἐ]ξ ιδίων ἐπὶ τοῦ

πατρὸς αὐτοῦ τ]ελευ[τήσα-]

[ν]το(ς) ἔτη λγ’ ἑαυτῷ [κ]αὶ υἱἱοῖς]

[kali ‘vwvo(î)s

Reading from Aramaic text;

bt ‘lm’ [dnh ‘bd] šlml[t br mlkw]

br d[ynys m]n kysh ‘[l ‘bwhy]

btr dy myt mlkw [br dynys br]

šnyn 33 w’bd gw[mhyn … hyk]

dy mn l’l ktyb lbt ‘[lm’ …]

mn kysh lh wlbnwhy wl[bny bnwhy]

I’lm’ byrh ‘yr šnt 4[…]

Translation

This tomb ( house of eternity) was built by Šalamallat son of Malku son of Dionysius, with his own means, for his father after he died at the age of 33. And he made loculi as written above for the house [of eternity] with his own means, for himself, and for his children, and the children of his children, forever. In the month of Iyyar, year CCC[…].”

The inscription can be dated about A.D. 100, supplying one more hundred bar at the beginning of the uncomplete date. In 147, after the death of the founder, one half of the tomb was transferred by his son and widow to a cousin, according to the inscription on the lintel, still in place in the Valley of Tombs.

The second foundation text (the text of the renunciation) was found in its original place, untouched, at the entrance to the tomb. It consists of two lines in Greek with four lines of Palmyrene carved underneath. The length of the inscription is on average one meter, except for the last line, which is 114 cm long. The width of the inscription is on average 21 cm. The Greek and Palmyrene letters are clear, with traces of red coloring. “Shalom al-Lat” died in the year 147 according to our current calendar. It appears that after his death, his son “Hanbal” and his widow “Prishtina” (in other readings, Frishtina) had to renounce half of the tomb to a cousin named “Zabad Atta” according to a Greek inscription found on the threshold of the tomb (text 24 RSP) which is still in place in the Valley of the Tombs. The text says: (Adnan al-Buni and the review of Prince Jaafar al-Husayni)

This house of eternity was made by Shalam al-Lat bin Malko bin Denis for him and his sons and his sons’ sons. After the death of Shalam al-Lat bin Malko, Hanbal bin Shalam al-Lat bin Malko shared with his son and Prishtina bint Taym Arsu bin Atzid, his wife Zabadatah bin Hanbal bin Denis, half of this tomb for him and his sons and his sons’ sons in their honor forever in the month of Nisan in the year 458 (147 AD). It must be noted that there must have been other concessions in the years that followed, because we find in the tomb people who do not belong to the family of the founder (the third branch).

Second foundation stone – tomb of Shalmallat

The findings

The funerary finds inside the burial chambers were very modest in terms of material value, but despite their modesty and small size, they were significant. Some of the skeletons of adults were found with a thick water flask ​​made of pottery inserted into their hands (the fifth and sixth graves of the burial chamber C – the northern wing). It is noteworthy that the flasks were deliberately broken from the side and the hands were forced inside. Most of the finds were discovered in the main wing, as the entire skeletons of the dead were found in the 13 burial chambers. It is noticeable that the remains of some of the skeletons were mixed together. In one of the graves, for example, three adult skulls were found scattered inside the same grave, and it is likely that this was due to Roman soldiers entering the burial chamber and tampering with the graves to steal what was valuable. In the lower burial chambers, the bones of children were also found. In addition, 21 rusty bronze coins were found, most of which date back to the reign of the Roman Emperor Gallian (260-268), as well as a small female bone doll, a number of oil lamps, incense burners, and a bronze mirror. As for the funerary busts that were found, most of them were in excellent condition. They bore the names of their owners in Palmyra or in Palmyra and Greece together, which made it possible to establish a family tree between them. These statues are considered among the dazzling artistic achievements of the golden age of Palmyra. They represent real people, beautiful women laden with jewelry and luxuriously decorated clothes, young men in the prime of life, and old men, depicted in distinct bodies and psychological states and positions that are not devoid of humour and innovation. Some of them were also colored in different colors that add to their magnificence.

The Dynys family. Hypogeum of Šalamallat after Palmira Piersimoni, THE PALMYRENE PROSOPOGRAPHY) 

Hypogeum of Šalamallat; the collection after ISIL

Between May 13 and 26, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIL) launched its first major offensive against Palmyra, marking one of the largest ISIL offensives in Syria to date. On May 16, ISIL fighters advanced to the ancient city’s ruins, capturing the historic citadel of Fakhr al-Din al-Ma’ani as well as the site’s museum (Mathaf Tadmur).

In response, on May 21, 2015, Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim, then head of Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), informed *The New York Times* that the DGAM had successfully rescued hundreds of artifacts from the Palmyra Museum and secured them in safe locations.

Between May 21, 2015, and March 2016, Palmyra remained under ISIL control. When Syrian government forces recaptured Palmyra in March 2016, initial footage from the Palmyra Museum revealed devastating losses. Despite efforts to secure parts of the museum collection, critical pieces, including 26 half-statues displayed in Room VI and the heads from the significant funerary banquet scene from the hypogeum of Shalmallat, had been left in place. As a result, these items suffered severe damage or were completely destroyed.

Since the recapture of Palmyra, neither the DGAM nor other Syrian official sources have issued statements regarding the current status of the Palmyra Museum’s collection.

Palmyra museum (March 2016). Room number VI; The collection from the hypogeum of Shalmallat