Inscription of Hudaybat al-Mudhalaani in Tayma'

The Inscription of Hudaybat al-Mudhalaani in Tayma' is a Thamudic inscription discovered in 2009 at the site of Hudaybat al-Mudhalaani, located thirty-five km northeast of the city of Tayma' in Tabuk Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its significance lies in being one of the longer Thamudic inscriptions known, and it is notable for containing several terms that appear for the first time in Thamudic inscriptions.

The date of the Thamudic inscription found in Hudaybat al-Mudhalaani dates back to the period between the first century BCE and the fourth century CE. It is a memorial inscription written from left to right in spiral form, and its text is in the classical language. It transcribes: 'Biwasitat Masik Bin Khalsah min qabilat Jars wa rakaba matiyatah ila rajm (qabr) ghari, fataraka alibl aldakhma tarma' fi almakan, fataradat al-lat man katal (asabh makrouh) ibnah 'ala saqayateh wahidan.'

The travelers Huber and Witting began their journey in Tabuk, and collected seven inscriptions. They were followed by the traveler Moritz, who published an inscription in 1908. After that, the Frenchmen Goossen and Savignac studied 105 inscriptions, followed by the Belgian Van den Branden, who published 690 inscriptions in 1956.

In 1970, Winnett and his colleague Warid published a number of Tayma' inscriptions, including Thamudic inscriptions. Following them, Hardinge published a number of inscriptions in 1972. In 1984, the Saudi General Administration of Antiquities and Museums collected 578 inscriptions. Additionally, Winnett published a collection of inscriptions, including three Thamudic inscriptions, in 1985.

Sulaiman al-Dheeb published fifty new texts from various sites in Tabuk Province in 1999, and the researcher Saeed al-Saeed published a separate study on Thamudic inscriptions. The first was entitled: ‘Thamudic inscriptions from Tabuk’ in 2003, and the second was entitled: ‘Thamudic inscriptions from Tayma' in 2004.