Stele with head of a bull
Several steles from the Haid bin Aqil cemetery near Timna are decorated with the head of a bull, a symbol of the moon god Almaqah (Ilumquh). In ancient Arabia, bulls were thought to have protective powers and carried apotropaic associations. Many of the steles also have a concave upper edge that resembles the shape of a crescent moon, a symbol repeatedly seen on ancient Arabian objects.
Stele with head of a bull
Inscribed: Thaub’il dhu-Yan’im
Timna, early 1st century CE
Alabaster
LTS2008.1.4
