The underground tomb (hypogea) of Zabda

Polish archaeological mission Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski – University of Warsaw (1959)

The Polish mission from the Research Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, directed by Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski, first came to Palmyra in May 1959. Since then, excavations in different parts of town and on the necropolis have resulted in spectacular discoveries, which were important for the study of the history and material culture of its inhabitants. Among these discoveries were the underground tomb (hypogea) of Zabda.

The hypogeum of Zabda is located in the Valley of the Tombs, northeast of the tomb of Bolperk (founded in 550 (139 AD), to the north of the tomb of Nurbel and his brother (founded in 456 (144-145 AD), to the southwest of the tomb of Shalam Alat (from 458 (147 AD), and to the southwest of the tomb of Yirhai (108 AD).
The tomb is east-west oriented and tilts northward. The roof of the main wing of the tomb is collapsed, some of it is unfinished and partially looted.
The tomb is reached by descending down a slope carved into the rock that ends with ten steps which lead to the door located in a rectangular, unpaved outer courtyard. On the southern wall, a rectangular shape was defined in preparation for digging a niche or room for placing funerary equipment, as is the case in the tomb of Yirhai. It is likely that the founder of the tomb intended to create a side tomb similar to the tombs found in the southeastern cemetery.

The facade in which the door was dug was covered with mortar, some of which still remain. In front of the door, two gray limestone stones were found which may have formed two steps to reach the door. The door of the burial chamber was closed with a single shutter made of hard white stone that rotated in a basin dug in the upper edge of the door. There are traces that indicate the lower basin and the latch. After the door, one descends five steps into the burial chamber which is 9.00 m long and consists of a main wing facing the interior, in addition to two side wings. The main wing is arched in the form of an apse and consists of the inner courtyard and the burial section which includes four niches for graves. The floor of the burial chamber is made of hard natural soil and the ceiling is dug in the rock; its height is 2.92 m in the inner courtyard and 3.50 m inside the main wing. The two side rooms form two large, asymmetrical wings, slanted in shape. The right one is empty, as it was not used for burial. As for the left room, in its eastern wall is a collapsed mansion containing six graves on top of each other, separated by pottery slabs. The lower grave is covered with limestone slabs fixed with plaster. It’s only in this grave that it was clear that the skeleton of the deceased and his skull were placed to the east. The width of the main wing is 3.14 m and its length is 4.45 m. In its chest, that is, in the western wall, six mansions were prepared, each containing 6 graves on top of each other, separated by brick or mortar slabs. Most of the graves are demolished. What has been ascertained is limited to the skulls being found near the western side of the grave. The lower grave in the first mansion from the left was intact, containing the skeleton of a girl, and near her feet was a necklace of beads with a pendant in the shape of a frog. There are also earrings, shells, a small copper bell, and two glass vessels. Two small graves were discovered in front of this grave, dug into the ground, probably for twin children, which contain some bones. The facades of the graves were covered with very fine soft white limestone slabs between the third and fourth estates at a height of 1.46 m above the ground. Another larger crown of the same type and fineness among the ruins of the ceiling was found close to the door on the chest of the main wing. There is an arched niche above the graves, at the ends of which are two horizontal graves. At the bottom of the southern wall, traces of five graves appear in a partially prepared but not completed estate. In the ground near the southern and northern walls are graves of children. The southern side contains six graves, two of which are mentioned before. The skulls in all these graves were placed on the eastern side. Near the northern wall, one grave of this type was prepared, in which the skull was found placed to the west.

In front of the funeral hall, on the ground of the pavilion, eight saddles were found of the first and second categories. There are six bowls and some other pottery vessels. As for the funerary panels, the Polish mission found the panel representing Belti Han, the headless painted statue representing a woman, and the panel representing the founder of the tomb, Zubaida bin Muqimu, the grandson of Dabodi, Belti’s husband from the daughter of Atifani. Found also more architectural elements made of soft white limestone. There is no doubt that the tomb was looted, as evidenced by the lack of some parts of the statues, as well as the funeral bed of the owner of the tomb, in addition to some architectural elements. The Polish mission concluded from what they found that the saddles were placed in front of the graves, as well as some pottery vessels. Glass vessels were rarely placed, as they were usually placed inside the graves at the feet of the deceased. It is possible that banquets were held inside the tomb or near it. The well discovered 40 meters from the tomb indicates the presence of water in this tomb, and the pieces of coal inside the tomb prompt us to think about its purpose. It seems that the owner of the tomb was initially thinking of building a very luxurious tomb, so a wide slope was dug that was not suitable for the smallness of the current tomb. The project of digging a room on the left in front of the entrance was also neglected. It is also noted that the right wing is empty of graves and the left contains only one mansion, and one of the mansions of the main wing was left unfinished. The same observations can be made regarding the decorative architectural elements inside, as they are more precise than their counterparts in most of the tombs of Palmyra. It should also be noted that the funerary tablets found inside the tomb date back to a short period of time and can be considered, according to Ingault, to be from the first half of the second century AD. Then there are observations that also indicate that the tomb was not executed in the manner for which it was prepared, as there are architectural elements that were prepared to be used to decorate the interior of the tomb and then used in a practical way, such as part of an arch that was used as a barrier between the tomb of the woman and her two children.

The large number of children’s graves in this cemetery leads us to speculate that the failure to complete the cemetery is not only due to the financial disaster that befell its owner, but also to the death of a large number of the family’s children. On the other hand, the cemetery in question is devoid of the inscriptions usually found on the facade of Palmyrene cemeteries in the Valley of the Tombs, which mention the family that owned the cemetery and the date of its foundation. However, the foundation of the cemetery is mentioned in the long inscription engraved on the large tablet representing the owner of the cemetery, although this text mentions only Balti and his wife. Are we then facing the tragedy of a wealthy Palmyrene family that was afflicted in a short period of time by the death of its children and the advent of financial disaster?