http://www.time.com/time/europe/ta/daily/0,13716,265865,00.html

A leading lady in the Bible and the Koran, just who was the captivating queen at the center of legend? A new exhibition at London's British Museum seeks to find out.

BY MARYANN BIRD/London

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She was the original Spice Girl, first seen in the Old Testament arriving in Jerusalem in a great camel caravan laden with incense, gold, precious stones and an array of questions to test King Solomon's legendary wisdom. A figure to rival Cleopatra as the personification of brains, seductiveness and power in the ancient world, the Queen of Sheba is the only female character to feature in the sacred writings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike. But did she actually exist back in the 10th century B.C.? And, if so, what was her name, and where was her home?

Using the myth and mystery of the queen as a starting point, the British Museum is presenting — until Oct. 13 — a rare look at the isolated desert land from which the queen is believed to have originated, as well as insights into a southern Arabian civilization generally unfamiliar to Western audiences. Through paintings, statues, jewelry, incense burners, funerary stela, foundation stones and more, "Queen of Sheba: Treasures From Ancient Yemen" delves into the monarch's legend and the history of the kingdom believed to have been hers.

Many of the roughly 300 items in the exhibition are being shown in Britain for the first time. As Yemen, a divided nation until 1990, rebuilds its National Museum in the capital, Sana'a, it finds itself short of display space and has sent some of its treasures on the road as a cultural link between peoples. The queen herself appears to have been just such a link. She has been labelled both Arabian and Ethiopian, and is known by a variety of names — including Balkis, Bilqis, Magda, Makeda, Nikaulis and simply Sheba. According to tales that stretch from Biblical times to the present day, she was not only a wise and wealthy ruler, but an alluring one as well. Artists' impressions from Persia, Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and across Europe — as well as the Hollywood version, featuring Gina Lollobrigida in the 1959 film Solomon and Sheba — depict an exotic and erotic oriental beauty.

If the real mystery of Sheba is ever resolved, it will happen through archaeology. While there are doubts about the queen's existence, there are none about the existence of the complex ancient civilizations that thrived at the southern end of the Arabian peninsula and controlled the lucrative spice trade. The oldest and most important of these kingdoms — rediscovered in the mid-19th century — was Saba, from which the name "Sheba" derives. Thousands of stone inscriptions testify to Saba's existence from at least the 8th century B.C. to A.D. 275.

"There are many different interpretations of the Sheba story," says curator St. John Simpson, "but in the end the only substantial evidence found is for the place, not for the person." Off and on since the early 1950s, archaeologists have excavated portions of the Awwam temple complex near Saba's capital, Marib, 130 km east of Sana'a. Among the hundreds of items found there, and a highlight of the exhibition, is a bronze statue (possibly from the 6th century B.C.) of a man known as Madilkarib. Clad in a short kilt and cap, he wears a lion skin draped over his back, the paws crossed at the front. The statue, says Simpson, marks "the beginning of three-dimensional sculpture, not only in bronze but in alabaster as well" in southern Arabia.

An imposing and beautifully preserved calcite-alabaster statue, dating from the 1st century B.C. and found at Wadi Markha, is inscribed "Maadil Salhan, son of Yasuduqil, King of Awsan." Wearing a wraparound skirt with a fringe, a plain upper garment and sandals, he sports a stubbly beard and moustache, a circular cap or crown and, on his left arm, a bracelet and armlet.

Wafting through the exhibition is the sweet smell of frankincense, eminating from a display of incense burners in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. Reflecting considerable artisanship, the burners — in bronze, limestone, calcite-alabaster and ceramic — highlight the importance of incense to both culture and economy. "It was very highly valued and very highly priced," notes Simpson.

Also on display are rare examples of gold jewelry from the region. "The techniques are in combinations that aren't seen in Arabia and the rest of the classical world," he says. "Local styles built up. It is among the best craftsmanship anywhere." Gold, too, probably was a significant element of the ancient economy.

The history of the ancient desert kingdoms of southern Arabia is further reflected in bronze and stone — altars, funerary and other commemorative monuments and, particularly, in limestone inscriptions referring to the construction of multistory structures. "Skyscraper architecture has a very long history," according to Simpson. "What's being excavated are foundations of tall buildings." Such construction, he adds, "displays great confidence in building and says a lot about extended families," while also explaining the relatively small size of ancient cities with big populations.

In his poem The Queen of Sheba, the poet Michael Hornyansky wrote that she is "Brighter than spiced wine, sweeter than midnight/More secret than the rose." While the lengendary lady's identity remains tantalisingly out of reach, her kingdom is increasingly yielding its secrets.