In part of a hibernate hbm.xml file I have the following defined:

...
<class name="com.mycompany.Employee" table="EMPLOYEE">
<id name="id" type="int" column="EMPLOYEE_ID">
<meta attribute="scope-set">protected</meta>

<generator class="native" />
</id>

<timestamp name="DOB" />
...

I'm using the hbm2dll SchemaExport task against an oracle database(9i).
I'm expecting a timestamp column to be created for DOB in the database. Instead I get a Date column. What's wrong?

The only way I can get a timestamp column type to be created is if I do something like the following:
<property name="Birthdate" type="timestamp">
<column name="DOB" sql-type="timestamp" />
</property>

...which is not desirable

property/column elements were designed for fields like "DOB" . timestamp element was designed for version checking .

Why is property/column undesireable ?

Perhaps the example is getting in the way of the question.. In my real application I use a timestamp column for versioning. Shouldn't it work anyway?

Cant say. So ... Why is property/column undesireable ? ;)

Have you tried <version>?

My hibernate object doesn't have this field. It inherits it from an abstract class.