This paper analyzes three Musnad inscriptions that were found in the Temple of God Ḥawkam known as Shabʿān (bytn šbʿn) in the town of Maryamah (Hajar al-ʿAdī) in Wadi Ḥarīb. This temple was looted and destroyed in previous years, which led to the loss of much of its archaeological and cultural heritage.

According to the writing style of these inscriptions, they date back to around the third century BC. The importance of these inscriptions lies in the fact that they identify a variety of religious and administrative functions and positions held by a variety of priests and officials responsible for the care of the Qatabanian temples in the Bayḥān Valley and Ḥarīb, where a number of important ancient Yemeni towns arose in the first millennium BC.

The inscriptions under investigation also corrected the significance of a number of previously recognized functions and included some names of deities, flags, families, locations and terms of importance in ancient Yemeni inscriptions.