ĠAYMĀN

Arabic name

غيمان‎

Ancient name

Ġymn

Region

Ṣanʿāʾ Governorate

Coordinates

15.272694, 44.354917

In 2010, the General Organization of Antiquities and Museums (GOAM) has granted the Italian archaeological mission in Yemen the permission to proceed with archaeological research in the Sabaean-Himyarite Ġaymān (Fig. 1), 15 km SE from the capital Ṣanʿāʾ. Ġaymān was renowned as an economic and politically influential centre between the 1st and the 6th century AD (Fig. 2). The famous bronze head now at the British Museum in London, and the bronze horse at the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washingon DC were found in the cemetery of Ġaymān.

In 2002-2004, the Yemeni-Italian Centre for Archaeological Research (YICAR) at the National Museum of Ṣanʿāʾ was created with joint funding provided by GOAM, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IsIAO, in recognition of our long and successful collaboration and our commitment to future archaeological research in the Republic of Yemen.

Fig. 1 – View of Ġaymān (from the north).
Fig. 2 – Ġaymān, wall of pre-Islamic period.
Fig. 3 – Ġaymān, the prayer hall of Masǧid al-Ǧuʿaydān.