Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions

The Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, also known as Northwest Semitic inscriptions,^[1] are the primary extra-Biblical source for understanding of the societies and histories of the ancient Phoenicians, Hebrews and Arameans. Semitic inscriptions may occur on stone slabs, pottery ostraca, ornaments, and range from simple names to full texts.^[2][3][4][5] The older inscriptions form a Canaanite–Aramaic dialect continuum, exemplified by writings which scholars have struggled to fit into either category, such as the Stele of Zakkur and the Deir Alla Inscription.^[6][7][8][9]

The Northwest Semitic languages are a language group that contains the Aramaic language, as well as the Canaanite languages including Phoenician and Hebrew.

Languages

Phoenician alphabet

Aramaic alphabet

This article lists the notable inscriptions written in ancient Northwest Semitic scripts. The labels used for these scripts have changed over time: Canaanite scripts were previously known as "Phoenician", whilst today are split into Phoenician-proper, Punic and paleo-Hebrew etc.; Aramaic scripts are also often split into subdivisions such as Old Aramaic, Imperial Aramaic, Palmyrene, Hatran etc. These scripts are all closely related, as shown in these 1903 comparison tables.

The Old Aramaic period (850–612 BC) saw increased production and dispersal of inscriptions — not because the Arameans formed a dominant empire, but because their language was increasingly adopted as a regional lingua franca. Their language was adopted as an international language of diplomacy, particularly in the late Neo-Assyrian Empire when it spread throughout the Near East—including Egypt (in administration) and Mesopotamia (where it became natively spoken).^[10] The first known Aramaic inscription was the Carpentras Stela, found in southern France in 1704; it was considered to be Phoenician text at the time.^[11][12]

Only 10,000 inscriptions in Phoenician-Punic, a Canaanite language, are known,^[5][13] such that "Phoenician probably remains the worst transmitted and least known of all Semitic languages."^[14] The only other substantial source for Phoenician-Punic are the excerpts in Poenulus, a play written by the Roman writer Plautus (see Punic language § Example for an analysis).^[5] Within the corpus of inscriptions only 668 words have been attested, including 321 hapax legomena (words only attested a single time), per Wolfgang Röllig's analysis in 1983.^[15] This compares to the Bible's 7,000–8,000 words and 1,500 hapax legomena, in Biblical Hebrew.^[15][16] The first published Phoenician-Punic inscription was from the Cippi of Melqart, found in 1694 in Malta;^[17] the first published such inscription from the Phoenician "homeland" was the Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II published in 1855.^[18][19]

Fewer than 2,000 inscriptions in Ancient Hebrew, another Canaanite language, are known, of which the vast majority comprise just a single letter or word.^[20][21] The first detailed Ancient Hebrew inscription published was the Royal Steward inscription, found in 1870.^[22][23]

List of notable inscriptions

The Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II was the first of this type of inscription found anywhere in the Levant (modern Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria).^[18][19]

The inscriptions written in ancient Northwest Semitic script (Canaanite and Aramaic) have been catalogued into multiple corpora (i.e., lists) over the last two centuries. The primary corpora to have been produced are as follows:

• Hamaker, Hendrik Arent (1828). Miscellanea Phoenicia, sive Commentarii de rebus Phoenicum, quibus inscriptiones multae lapidum ac nummorum, nominaque propria hominum et locorum explicantur, item Punicae gentis lingua et religiones passim illustrantur. S. et J. Luchtmans.: Hamaker's review assessed 13 inscriptions^[24]
• Wilhelm Gesenius, Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae. In the 1830s, only approximately 80 inscriptions and 60 coins were known in the entire Phoenicio-Punic corpus^[24][25]
• Schröder, Paul [in German] (1869). Die phönizische sprache. Entwurf Einer Grammatik, Nebst Sprach- und Schriftproben. Halle, Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.: The first study of Phoenician grammar, listed 332 texts known at the time^[24][26]
• CIS: Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum; the first section is focused on Phoenician-Punic inscriptions (176 "Phoenician" inscriptions and 5982 "Punic" inscriptions)^[2]
• KAI: Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften, considered the "gold standard" for the last fifty years^[27]
• NSI: George Albert Cooke, 1903: Text-book of North-Semitic Inscriptions: Moabite, Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Jewish^[28]
• NE: Mark Lidzbarski, 1898: Handbuch der Nordsemitischen Epigraphik, nebst ausgewählten Inschriften: I Text and II Plates^[28]
• KI: Lidzbarski, Mark (1907). Kanaanäische Inschriften (moabitisch, althebräisch, phönizisch, punisch). A. Töpelmann.
• TSSI: Gibson, J. C. L. (1971). Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions: I. Hebrew and Moabite Inscriptions. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-813159-5. Volume III. Phoenician Inscriptions, Including Inscriptions in the Mixed Dialect of Arslan Tash (Oxford: OUP, 1982; ISBN 978-0-19-813199-1)
• TAD: Bezalel Porten and Ada Yardeni (1986–2000), Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt
• Renz, J.; Röllig, W. (1995). Handbuch der althebräischen Epigraphik (in German). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. ISBN 978-3-534-12297-4.
• Jongeling, K. (2008). Handbook of Neo-Punic Inscriptions. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-149303-4.
• Sass, Benjamin; Finkelstein, Israel (2013). "The West Semitic Alphabetic Inscriptions, Late Bronze II to Iron IIA: Archeological Context, Distribution and Chronology". Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel. 2 (2): 149. doi:10.1628/219222713X13757034787838.

The inscriptions listed below include those which are mentioned in multiple editions of the corpora above (the numbers in the concordance column cross-refer to the works above), as well as newer inscriptions which have been published since the corpora above were published (references provided individually). They are ordered chronologically by date of their modern discovery, illustrating the development of the study of ancient Semitic epigraphy.

Name	Image	Discovered	No. units	Est. Date	Location found	Current Location	Concordance
							KAI	CIS / RÉS	NE	KI	NSI	TSSI	Oth. ref.
Punic-Libyan bilinguals		1631	2		Dougga	British Museum	100–101		433,c	93	52
Cippi of Melqart		1694	2	100s BC	Malta	Louvre and National Museum of Archaeology, Malta	47	I 122	425f	53	36		[29]
Carpentras Stela		1704	1		Carpentras	Bibliothèque Inguimbertine	269	II 141	448b1		75	II 24
Pococke Kition inscriptions		1738	31	300s BC	Cyprus	Ashmolean Museum	33, 35	I 11, 46, 57–85	420,4	19, 23, 27, 28	13, 16, 18, 19	III 35
Benhisa inscription		1761	1		Malta	Cabinet des Médailles		I 124	426,3	55			[29]
Phoenician Harpocrates statues		1770, 1963	2		unknown	National Archaeological Museum (Madrid) and British Museum	52	R 1507	424	44		III 37, 38
Nora Stone		1773	1		Sardinia	Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari	46	I 144	427c	60	41	III 11	[29]
Athenian Greek-Phoenician inscriptions		1795 etc.	18		Athens, Piraeus	British Museum, Louvre, National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Archaeological Museum of Piraeus	53–60	I 115–120, R 388, 1215	424,1–3, 425,1–5	45–52	32–35	III 40–41
Tripolitania Punic inscriptions		1806			Leptis Magna, Breviglieri, other		118–132	R 662	434, B-a
Elephantine papyri and ostraca		1815–1945		300s BC	Elephantine	various	270–271	II 137–139, 154–155			73–74	II 26, 28
Mdina steles		1816	2		Malta	National Museum of Archaeology, Malta	61	I 123A–B	426,2	54	37	III 21,22	[29]
Carthaginian tombstones		1817 onwards			Carthage	Carthage National Museum, others	85	various		74
Humbert Carthage inscriptions		1817-23	7		Carthage	Rijksmuseum van Oudheden		I 173, I 186-187, I 240, I 439-440	431, 9; 432, 16
Turin Aramaic Papyrus		1823–24	1			Museo Egizio		II 144
Blacas papyrus		1825	1		Saqqara	British Library		II 145			76
Falbe Punic inscriptions		1831	3		Carthage	Copenhagen University museum, British Museum		I 199	431, 10	75
Reade Punic inscriptions		1836-37	4		Carthage, Maghrawa		179, 441, 442
Limyra bilingual		1840	1		Limyra		262	II 109	446b
Abu Simbel Phoenician graffiti		1842			Abu Simbel	in situ		I 111-113	423b	43
Ain Nechma inscriptions		1843	40		Guelma	Louvre	166–169		437		58
Kellia inscription		1844	1		Cyprus		36	I 47	420,5	24	17
Marseille Tariff		1845	1	300s BC	Marseille	Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne	69	I 165	428	63	42		[29]
Nimrud ivory inscriptions		1845, 1961			Nimrud	British Museum						I 6
Assyrian lion weights		1845–1860		800–500 BC	Nimrud, Abydos (Hellespont)	British Museum, Louvre	263	II 1–14, 108	446c		66-67
Phoenician metal bowls		1849 onwards	c. 5-10	700s BC	Nimrud, Cyprus, Italy and others	various		I 164, II 46–49				III 19
Anat Athena bilingual		1850	1	312 BCE	Cyprus	in situ	42	I 95, R 1515	422,1	35	28
Bourgade inscriptions		1852	c. 40		Maghrawa		133–135		436,3–12		54
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II		1855	1	c. 525 BC	Sidon	Louvre	14	I 3, R 1506	417,2	7	5	III 28
Gozo stele		1855	1		Malta	Gozo Museum of Archaeology	62	I 132	426,4	56	38		[29]
Serapeum Offering Table		1855	1	400 BC	Saqqara	Louvre	268	II 123	448a2		72
Cirta steles		1857–61, 1875, 1950	c. 1,000	300-100BCE	Constantine	Musée national Cirta	102–116, 162–164	R 327, 334, 339, 1544	433,1–9 and 434,10–12	94–99	51
Carthage Tariff		1856-58	1	300 BC	Carthage	British Museum	74	I 167	429b	66	43
Son of Baalshillek marble base		1856-58	1		Carthage	British Museum	84	I 178	430,7	73
Carthage tower model		1856-58	1		Carthage	British Museum		I 181	432, 14		48
Bodashtart inscriptions		1858, 1900-2	22-24	300s BC	Sidon	Louvre and Museum of the Ancient Orient	15–16	I 4, R 766, 767		8–10	6, Appendix I
Kition Resheph pillars		1860	2	341 BC	Cyprus	Louvre	32	I 10, 88	420,1	18, 30	12, 23
Ankh-Hapy stele		1860	1	525–404 BCE	unknown	Vatican Museums	272	II 142	448b2			II 7
Pauli Gerrei trilingual inscription		1861	1		Sardinia	Turin Archaeology Museum	66	I 143	427b	59	40		[29]
Baalshamin inscription		1861	1	132 BC	Umm al-Amad	Louvre	18	I 7	418,d	12	9		[30]
Phoenician sun dial		1860–1945	1		Umm al-Amad	National Museum of Beirut		I 9
Umm al-Amad votive inscription		1861	1		Umm al-Amad, Lebanon	Louvre		I 8	419,2	13
Cesnola Phoenician inscriptions		1865-71	28		Kition	Metropolitan Museum of Art		I 14-39, RES 1521-34
Khaznadar inscriptions		1866-69	c.120		Carthage	Bardo National Museum (Tunis), Louvre	88	various	431,11-13, 431,15	82-84
Hadrumetum Punic inscriptions		1867, 1946	12		Sousse	Hermitage Museum, Sousse Archaeological Museum, the Louvre and the Maison méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'homme	97–99		432,1–3	91–92
Mesha Stele		1868	1		Dhiban	Louvre	181		415	1	1	I 16
Abydos graffiti		1868			Abydos	in situ	49	I 99–110, R 1302ff.	423a	38-42	31
Idalion bilingual and Idalion Temple inscriptions		1869	6	391–254 BC	Idalion, Cyprus	British Museum	38–40	I 89–94	421,1–3	31–33	24–27	III 34
Yehawmilk Stele		1869	1	c.450/425 BCE	Byblos	Louvre	10	I 1	416	5	3	III 25
Tharros Punic inscriptions		1870	14		Sardinia	Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari, Museo nazionale archeologico ed etnografico G. A. Sanna	67	I 153-161		61-62			[29]
Royal Steward inscription		1870	1		Jerusalem	British Museum	191					I 8
Carthaginian slaughterhouse inscription		1871	1		Carthage	British Museum	80	I 175	430,4	68	46
Carthaginian mother goddess inscription		1871	1		Carthage		83	I 177	430,6	72	47
Carthage Festival Offering inscription		1872	1	300 BC	Carthage	Turin Archaeology Museum	76	I 166	430,3	67	44		[31]
Wilmanns Neopunic inscriptions		1873-74	5		Tunisia	Louvre and Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	139, 142, 159		435,2, 437a		53, 55
Pricot de Sainte-Marie steles		1874–75	>2,000		Carthage	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Louvre	86–87	I c.200–c.2000		76-80	49
Cherchell Neopunic inscriptions		1875, 1882	2		Cherchell	Louvre	161		439,2		56–57
Bashamem inscription		1877	1	200 BC	Sardinia	Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari	64	I 139	427a	58	39		[29]
Baal Lebanon inscription		1877	1	700s BC	Cyprus	Cabinet des Médailles	31	I 5	419	17	11	III 17
Saqqara Aramaic Stele		1877	1	482 BC	Saqqara	destroyed	267	II 122	448a1		71	II 23
Tayma stones		1878–1884	21	300s–400s BC	Tayma	Louvre	228–230	II 113–115	447,1–3		69–70	II 30
Kition Tariffs		1879	2	300s BC	Cyprus	British Museum	37	I 86A–B, 87		29	20	III 33
Adadnadinakhe bricks		1880s	20+	300-100 BC	Girsu	Louvre, Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin		II 72	446c
Siloam inscription		1880	1		Jerusalem	Museum of the Ancient Orient	189			3	2	I 7
Sant'Antioco bilingual		1881	1		Sardinia	Museo archeologico comunale Ferruccio Barreca	172	I 149	434,1	100	60		[29]
Palmyra Tariff		1881	1	100s CE	Palmyra	Hermitage Museum
Osorkon Bust		1881	1	c.920 BC	Byblos	Louvre	6					III 8
Pierides Kition inscriptions		1881	7		Cyprus	Louvre		12, 13, 14, 50–53		20, 25–26	14
Eshmun obelisk		1881	1		Cyprus	British Museum		I 44	420,2	21	15
Persephone Punic stele		1881	1		Carthage	Turin Archaeology Museum	82	I 176		71			[31]
Lilybaeum stele		1882	1		Sicily	Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas	63	I 138		57			[29]
Henchir Guergour Neopunic inscriptions		1882			Tunisia		143–144
Guelaât Bou Sbaâ Neopunic inscriptions		1884			Algeria		165
Hegra Nabataean inscriptions		1884-85			Hegra			II 197-334			78-93	IV 7-8	[32]
Tyre Cistern inscription		1885	1		Tyre	Louvre			418,c		8
Tamassos bilinguals		1885	2	363 BC	Tamassos, Cyprus	British Museum	41	R 1212–1213	421c	34	30
Masub inscription		1885	1	222 BC	Masub	Louvre	19	R 1205	419e	16	10	III 31
Tabnit sarcophagus		1887	1	500 BC	Sidon	Museum of the Ancient Orient	13	R 1202	417,1	6	4	III 27
Panamuwa II inscription		1888	1	730s BC	Sam'al	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	215		442		62	II 14
Madaba Nabataean Inscriptions		1889	1	37 CE	Madaba	Louvre and Vatican Museums		II 196			96	IV 9
Hadad Statue		1890	1	700s BC	Sam'al	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	214		440-2		61	II 13
Abdmiskar cippus		1890	1	300 BCE	Sidon	Louvre	282	R 930	418,3	11	7
Abdbaal the centurion inscription		1890s	1		near Tyre	Louvre							[33]
Maktar and Mididi inscriptions		1890s	>150		Maktar and Mididi		145–158	R 161–181, 2221	436,11		59a-c
Bar-Rakib inscriptions		1891	8	730s BC	Sam'al	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin and Museum of the Ancient Orient	216–221		443, 444		63	II 15–17
Neirab steles		1891	2	600s BC	Al-Nayrab	Louvre	225–226		445		64–65	II 18–19
Sarıaydın inscription		1892	1	400 BC	Sarıaydın	in situ	261		446a		68	II 35
Larnakas tis Lapithou pedestal inscription		1893	1	275 BCE	Cyprus	Louvre	43	R 1211	422,2	36	29	III 36
Kilamuwa Stela		1893	1	c. 850/825 BCE	Sam'al	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	24					III 13
Hasanbeyli inscription		1894	1		Hasanbeyli	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	23
Kition Necropolis Phoenician inscriptions		1894	4	300s BC	Cyprus	British Museum, Cyprus Museum, Ashmolean Museum	34	R 1206	420,3	22	21-22
Douïmès medallion		1894	1	700 BCE	Carthage	Carthage National Museum	73	I 6057, R 5	429,1	70
El Amrouni mausoleum		1894	1		Remada		117		435b	101
Abiba’l inscription		1895	1	c.940/930 BCE	Byblos	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	5	R 505				III 7
Arebsun inscriptions		1895	1		Afşin	Museum of the Ancient Orient	264	R 1785					[34]
Tortosa bomos inscription		1896	1		Tortosa, Syria	Louvre		R 56					[35][36]
El-Osiris inscription		1896	1		Umm al-Amad	Louvre		R 504					[37] [38]
Avignon Punic inscription		1897	1		Avignon	Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne	70	R 360		64		III 18	[29]
Astarte and Tabit sanctuary dedication		1898	1	200 BC	Carthage	Carthage National Museum	81	I 3914		69	45		[39]
Punic Tabella Defixionis		1899	1	200 BC	Carthage	Carthage National Museum	89	I 6068, R 18, 1590		85	50
		1899			Carthage	Carthage National Museum	91	I 5991, R 1227		88			[40]
Quintus Markius trilingual inscription		1899	1	middle of 1st century BC	Henchir-Alouin (near Uthina)	Louvre		R 79					[41]
Farasa bilingual inscription		1900	1			In situ	265
Phoenician Adoration steles		1900	1		Umm al-Amad, Lebanon	Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Louvre		R 250, R 307		14–15
Banobal stele		1900	1		Memphis	Egyptian Museum	48	R 1, 235		37
		1900			Bou Arada		140	R 679
		1901			Carthage		96	I 5988, R 183, 1600
Eshmun inscription		1901	1		Sidon	Museum of the Ancient Orient		R 297
Sibbolet funeral inscription		1902	1		Carthage	Carthage National Museum	92	I 5948, R 768		89
Stele of Zakkur		1903	1		Tell Afis	Louvre	202					II 5
Villaricos Phoenician stele		1903-04	1		Villaricos	National Archaeological Museum (Madrid)				65
Assur ostracon and tablets		1903–1913	10		Assur	Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin	233-6					II 20
Baal Hannon tomb inscription		1904			Carthage	Carthage National Museum	90	I 5953, R 537		87
		1905			Carthage	Carthage National Museum	93	I 5950, R 553		90
		1906			Carthage		77	I 3921
Lake Sivan inscriptions		1906			Armenia		274–275
		1906			Carthage		95	R 786, 1854
Throne of Astarte		1907	1		Tyre	Louvre and National Museum of Beirut	17	R 800				III 30
		1907	1		Carthage		94	I 2992					[42]
Gözne Boundary Stone		1907	1		Gözne		259					II 34
Thinissut sanctuary inscription		1908	1		Bir Bouregba	Nabeul Museum	137	R 942, 1858
Gezer calendar		1908	1		Gezer	Museum of the Ancient Orient	182	R 1201				I 1
Samaria Ostraca		1910	102		Sebastia	Museum of the Ancient Orient	183–188					I 2–3
Olbia pedestal		1911	1		Sardinia		68	R 1216					[29]
Giardino Birocchi inscription		1912	1		Sardinia	Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari	65						[29]
Sardis bilingual inscription		1912	1	394 BC	Sardis	İzmir Archaeological Museum	260
Rhodes Phoenician-Greek bilingual inscriptions		1914–68	3	300–200 BCE	Rhodes	Archaeological Museum of Rhodes	44–45					III 39
Bur Tlelsa Neopunic inscription		1914	1		Tunisia		138
Kesecek Köyü inscription		1915	1		Kesecek Köyü	Peabody Museum of Natural History	258					II 33
Aramaic Inscription of Taxila		1915	1		Taxila	Taxila Museum	273
Arwad bilingual		1916	1		Arwad	Louvre
Zattara Neopunic inscriptions		1916			Algeria		171
Mitsri genealogy inscription		1922	1	300s BCE	Carthage		78	I 3778
		1920			Carthage		75	I 3916
KNMY's child sacrifice(?) inscription		1922	1		Carthage		79	I 3785
Ibiza Phoenician inscriptions		1923				Archaeological Museum of Alicante	72						[43]
Ahiram Sarcophagus		1923	1	c.1000 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	1					III 4
Byblos Necropolis graffito		1923	1	c.1000 BCE	Byblos	in situ	2					III 5
Byblos altar inscription		1923	1	200–100 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	12
Ophel ostracon		1924	1		Jerusalem	Rockefeller Museum	190					I 9
Phoenician arrowheads		1926 onwards	c. 70	11th century BCE	various	various	20–22					III p. 6
Ur Box inscription		1927	1		Ur	British Museum	29					III 20
Byblos bronze spatulas		1926–1932	1		Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	3					III 1
Abda sherd		1926–1932	1	c.900 BCE	Byblos		8					III 10
Son of Safatba'al inscription		1926–1932	1	c.500/475 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	9
Batnoam sarcophagus		1926–1932	1	c.450–425 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	11					III 26
Sirte inscription		1928	1		Sirte		180
Yehimilk inscription		1930	1	c.960/950 BCE	Byblos	Byblos Castle	4					III 6
Sefire steles		1930–1956	3		As-Safira	National Museum of Damascus and National Museum of Beirut	222–224, 227					II 8–9, 22
Arslan Tash ivory inscription		1931	1		Arslan Tash	Louvre	232					II 2
Hama graffiti		1931–38			Hama		203–213					II 6 I–V
Pul-i-Darunteh Aramaic inscription		1932	1	c.260 BCE	Afghanistan	in situ
Arslan Tash amulets		1933	2		Arslan Tash	National Museum of Aleppo	27					III 23–24
Tell Halaf inscription		1933	1		Tell Halaf	destroyed	231					II 10
Bithia inscription		1933	1		Sardinia		173
Agrigentum inscription		1934	1	406 BCE	Carthage		302	I 5510					[44]
Lachish letters		1935	1		Tel Lachish	British Museum and Israel Museum	192–199					I 12
Safatba'al inscription		1936	1	c.900 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	7					III 9
Hermopolis Aramaic papyri		1936	8	400s BC	Hermopolis	Cairo University Archaeological Museum						II 27
Phoenician papyrus letters		1937–1940	2		Cairo and Saqqara	Egyptian Museum	50–51
Melqart stele		1939	1		Bureij	National Museum of Aleppo	201					II 1
Honeyman inscription		1939	1	900 BCE	Cyprus	Cyprus Museum	30					III 12
Stele of Serapeitis		1940	1		Armazi	Georgian National Museum	276
Jebel Massoudj Neopunic inscription		1940	1		Tunisia		141						[45][46]
Adon Papyrus		1942	1		Saqqara	Egyptian Museum	266					II 21
Kilamuwa scepter		1943	1		Sam'al		25					III 14
Tel Qasile ostraca		1945–1946	2		Tel Qasile	Israel Museum						I 4
Karatepe bilingual		1946	1	c. 750 BCE	Karatepe	Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum	26					III 15
Tel el Maskhuta silver bowls		1950s			Tel el Maskhuta							II 25
Pumayyaton and Pnytarion's inscriptions		1950s	1	c. 327 BC	near Dromolaxia, Cyprus	Larnaca District Archaeological Museum (n. 1425)							[47]
Byblos clay cone inscriptions		1950	2	1100–1000 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut						III 2,3
Carchemish Phoenician inscription		1950	1		Carchemish	British Museum	28
Hatran Aramaic inscriptions		1951			Hatra		237–257						[48][49]
Djinet Neopunic inscriptions		1952			Algeria		170
Wadi Murabba'at papyrus		1952		600s BC	Wadi Murabba'at							I 11
KAI 136 (Neopunic)		1955			Tunisia		136
Hazor inscriptions		1956		800s BC	Tel Hazor							I 5
Al Jib jar handles		1956–1959	>60	700s BC	Al Jib	Jordan Archaeological Museum and the Penn Museum						I 14
Byblos marble inscription		1957	1	500 BCE	Byblos	National Museum of Beirut	280
Hashub Inscription		1957	1	400s BCE	Tel Zeton	Old Jaffa Museum of Antiquities							[50]
Kubaba Aramaic inscription		1957	1		Bahadırlı		278					II 36	[51]
El-Kerak Inscription		1958	1		Al-Karak	Jordan Archaeological Museum	306					I 17
Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription		1958	1		Chil Zena	National Museum of Afghanistan	279
Yavne-Yam ostracon		1960	1		Mesad Hashavyahu	Israel Museum	200					I 10
Arad ostraca		1960s	>200	c.600 BC	Tel Arad	Bible Lands Museum						I 13, II 31
Temple of Antas Punic inscriptions		1960s			Sardinia		299–301						[29][52]
Nebi Yunis ostraca		1960s			Nebi Yunis (Ashdod)							II 32
Tel Dan bowl		1960s	1		Tel Dan							II 4
Seville statue of Astarte		1960–1962	1	700 BCE	Seville	Archeological Museum of Seville	294					III 16
Khirbet Beit Lei graffiti		1961	7	400s BC	Khirbet Beit Lei	Israel Museum						I 15
Amman Citadel Inscription		1961	1		Amman	Jordan Archaeological Museum	307
Ein Gev jar		1961			Ein Gev							II 3
Cadiz Phoenician gold ring inscription		1961				Instituto Valencia of Don Juan	71						[53]
Phoenician Sphinx inscription		1962	1		Umm al-Amad	National Museum of Beirut						III 32
Baalshillem Temple Boy		1963–1964	1		Sidon	National Museum of Beirut	281					III 29
Abydos Aramaic papyrus		1964	1	400s BC	unknown	National Archaeological Museum of Madrid						II 29
Pyrgi Tablets		1964	3		Pyrgi	National Etruscan Museum	277					III 42
Carthage Administration Inscription		1964	1		Carthage	Carthage National Museum	303
Luristan Aramaic inscriptions		1964			Luristan							II 11–12
Daskyleion steles		1965			Dascylium	Museum of the Ancient Orient	318					II 37
Mozia Punic inscriptions		1967			Sicily		296–298						[54][29][55]
Deir Alla Inscription		1967	1		Deir Alla	Jordan Archaeological Museum	312
Grotta Regina Punic inscriptions		1969			Sicily		295						[56][29]
Kition KAI 288–290		1970s-80s			Kition		288–290						[57][58][59]
Tekke Bowl Inscription (Knossos)		1970s		1,000s BCE	Crete	Heraklion Archaeological Museum (Χ4346)	291						[60][61][62]
Aramaic Sustenance tablet		1970s					316						[63][64][65][66]
Aramaic inscription of Laghman		1970	1	c.260 BCE	Afghanistan	in situ
Aramaic Fugitive Decree		1971			Unknown		317						[67][68]
Tel Siran inscription		1972	1		Amman	Jordan Archaeological Museum	308
Letoon trilingual		1973	1		Xanthos	Fethiye Museum	319
Aramaic inscription from al-Mal		1973		7/6 BC	al-Mal
Tell Sheikh Hamad inscriptions		1978–1980s			Tell Sheikh Hamad		313–314						[69]
Hadad-yith'i bilingual inscription		1979	1		Tell Fekheriye	National Museum of Damascus	309
Ketef Hinnom scrolls		1979	2	650–587 BCE	Jerusalem	Israel Museum
Sarepta Tanit Inscription		1980s			Sarafand		285						[70]
Çebel Ires Daǧı inscription		1980	1		Çebel Ires Daǧı	Alanya Archaeological Museum	287
Abdalonymos bilingual		1982	1	325 BCE	Kos		292						[71][72]
Monumental Hebrew inscription from Jerusalem [he]		1982	1	800–500 BCE	Byzantine Spolia near the Southern Wall	Israel Museum							[73]
Hazael horse frontlet		1984	1	800 BCE	Samos	Archaeological Museum of Vathi	311
Bukan inscription		1985			Bukan		320						[74][75]
İvriz inscription		1986			75 meter upstream from the İvriz relief[76]		unpublished						[77]
Bactria Aramaic documents		1993–2002		353–324 BCE	Bactria	Khalili Collections
Tel Dan Stele		1993	1		Tel Dan	Israel Museum	310
Tell Shiukh Fawqani inscription		1996					315						[78]
Ekron Royal Dedicatory Inscription		1996	1		Tel Miqne	Israel Museum	286
Çineköy inscription		1997	1		Çine, Yüreğir	Adana Archaeology Museum							[79][80]
Tablet De Geest		2000	1	200s CE	Socotra	in situ
Zayit Stone		2005	1	c. 900 BCE	Tel Zayit
Kuttamuwa stele		2008	1		Sam'al	Gaziantep Archaeology Museum							[81]
Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon		2009	1	c. 1000 BCE	Khirbet Qeiyafa	Israel Museum							[82]
Ataruz altar inscriptions		2010		c. 800 BCE	Khirbat Ataruz								[83]
Ishbaal Inscription		2012		1020–980 BCE	Khirbet Qeiyafa								[84]
KAI 283					Sidon		283						[85]
KAI 284					Tyre		284						[86]
Demetrias inscription					Demetrias		293

Bibliography

• Röllig, Wolfgang [in German] (1983). "The Phoenician Language: Remarks on the Present State of Research". Atti del I Congresso Internazionale di Studi Fenici e Punici. Vol. 2. Rome. pp. 375–385. doi:10.11588/propylaeumdok.00001074.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

See also

• List of inscriptions in biblical archaeology
• Carthaginian tombstones
• Epigraphy
• Ancient Hebrew writings