النوافذ الوهمية في اليمن القديم

This article aims to examine the phenomenon of false windows in ancient Yemen by analyzing their distribution, architectural design, and symbolic significance within religious and architectural contexts, while exploring their relationship to similar concepts such as false doors in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The study addresses the central question of whether these elements served merely decorative purposes or carried deeper ritual meanings. Adopting a comparative analytical approach, the research draws on archaeological evidence from temples, altars, incense burners, votive tablets, and royal palaces. Through stylistic analysis and contextual examination, the study identifies two principal design types characterized by rectangular frames with different arrangements of recessed and projecting elements. The findings demonstrate that false windows were widely used from the early first millennium BCE and were closely associated with religious spaces and ritual practices. Rather than functioning solely as decorative features, they appear to have acted as symbolic interfaces facilitating communication between humans and deities, particularly in relation to offerings such as incense and sacrifices. Their appearance on incense burners and altars reinforces this interpretation, suggesting a conceptual connection with the transmission of offerings to the divine realm. The study also argues that the use of false windows in royal palaces reflects either the extension of sacred symbolism into the political sphere or the imitation of temple architecture. Furthermore, the research identifies a functional similarity between false windows and false doors in other ancient Near Eastern civilizations, where both symbolized thresholds between different realms. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of religious symbolism in ancient South Arabia and highlights the integration of architectural form with ritual meaning.