The Sacred Bilquis Temple

The Awam Temple, or the Sun Temple, is 1.5k to the south-east of Bilquis Throne. It is the largest of the Sabean temples and the most important of all. It was devoted to the adoration of the Moon (Father), the Sun (Mother), and Blossom (Son). The Temple differs from others in that it is elliptical in shape and protrudes a little from the eastern side, resembling the shape of a kidney. The longitudinal axis of the Temple is 94m and the horizontal axis is 82.3m. The wall is 9m high and 3.9m wide. There is a hall with columns and 10m away eight columns stand high in one alignment. In the eastern side there is a small stone structure on four columns believed to have been built over tombs. The perimeter wall of the temple was built of stones with an ornamental top, considered to be an example of Sabean exterior ornamental styles. The construction of theof the temple dates back to a period earlier than the 8th century BC. According to inscriptions the temple performed its function for nearly 1000 years and was only neglected, together with goddess of Sheba’ in the late 4th century AD, when one of the Himyarite kings adopted christianity in 378AD. Anexpedition by the American Anthropoligical Institute carried out a partial excavation of the Temple in 1952, but a lot more work needs to be done to unearth the entire structure.