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Abstract
This article deals with a Safaitic inscription from Wādī al-Hašād in Jordan. This inscription has been dated to the third year of Rabbel II (AD 72/73) and is considered as the first Safaitic inscription to follow the Nabataean dating system, characterised by providing a specific year date for the inscription. Comparing this inscription with the published Oxtoby inscription from Wādī Maqāt, both are attributed to the same writer, sharing the same proper personal and family names, and both are dated by the reign of Rabbel II. Since the present inscription is written in the so-called square Safaitic script and dated to the third year of Rabbel II (AD 72/73), it could be concluded that the square script is not necessarily older than the regular script. This conclusion contradicts Winnett's suggestion that the square script is datable to the first century BC and represents an archaic form of the regular Safaitic script.