Studia Palmyreńskie XII

gaged on the publication of a big house located near the Bel tempie; market

this house has been dated between the end of the 2nd century and the Severan period

middle of the 3rd century AD. Many stucco fragments were found

during the excavations. As for the second program, an archaeological

atlas is in preparation. The most important archaeological activity,

however, is centered on the excavation and study of a big monument

situated in the northern part of the city, identified as a peripheral mar-

ketplace and dated to the Severan period, a peak period in the city's

history when it achieved the greatest extension of its limits.

Lucinda Dirven

Palmyrenes in Hatra: evidence for cultural relations in the Fertile Crescent

The article discusses the archaeological evidence for contacts between Hatra

Palmyra and Hatra. In the past, it has been assumed frequently that Palmyra

these contacts were strong and of a commercial naturę. The available Dura-Europos

evidence does not substantiate this assumption. Only one Palmyrene trade

relief was found in a smali shrine in the residential area of Hatra. From

this one cannot conclude that there was a strong Palmyrene presence

in the city, let alone that these Palmyrenes were merchants. This be-

comes especially elear when one compares the situation in Hatra with

cities, such as Dura-Europos, where Palmyrenes figurę promfnently

in the archaeological record.

Cynthia Finlayson

New perspectwes on the ritual and cultic hnportance ofwomen at Palmyra and Dura Europos:
processions and temples

Major studies of Palmyra in Syria have long neglected the potential Palmyra

roles of women in Palmyrene society during the Hellenistic and womeiTs costumes

Roman eras. This chapter examines archaeological evidence from both iconography

Palmyra and Dura Europos that may shed new light on the ritual and religious life

cultic roles of women within this important region of the Eastern

Roman Empire. Much of this evidence has been neglected or misin-

terpreted by preyious scholars unfamiliar with the costumes and

headdresses worn by Palmyrene women during this critical period of

Roman dominance in the East. Additionally, extant visual evidence

highlighting women has also often been overlooked by małe archae-

ologists and/or have deteriorated in the field before being studied in

detail. The findings from both Palmyra and Dura Europos point to the

important roles that women played in the religious life of these trade

emporiums by the late 3rd century AD, thus explaining accounts by

early małe Christian writers of women's efforts in Greater Syria and

Arabia to assume roles of influence in Christian ritual practices.

Michał Gawlikowski

In the footsteps ofPrince Abemelek in Palmyra

The exact location of the famous Tariff slab, removed from Palmyra
to St Petersburg in 1901, was never recorded. Old photographs were
now used to identify the spot on the ground and to confirm it by ex~

Palmyra

Tariff

Agora

390

Studia Palmyreńskie XII