Punic Tabella Defixionis

The Punic Tabella Defixionis is a 7th or 6th century Punic language curse tablet, inscribed on a lead scroll, found in Carthage by Paul Gauckler in 1899. It is currently held at the Carthage National Museum. It is known as KAI 89.^[1][2]

The Punic Tabella Defixionis

It is unique as the only fully legible Tabella Defixionis (Latin for curse tablet) known in the Punic-Phoenician language.^[3]

The inscription reads:^[1][2]

(1)

R[B?]T

ḤWT

ʾLT

M[LK?]T

Š[Y?]SK

H[ʾ]

R[B?]T ḤWT ʾLT M[LK?]T Š[Y?]SK H[ʾ]

Gr[ea]t(?) Ḥawwat, goddess, q[ue]en(?), ne[cc]esary(?) is thi[s],

(2)

ʾTK

ʾNKY

MṢLḤ

ʾYT

ʾMʿ[Š]TRT

ʾTK ʾNKY MṢLḤ ʾYT ʾMʿ[Š]TRT

that ּwith you are I, Matzliah, Amoa[sh]tart,

(3)

WʾYT

ʿMRT

WʾYT

KL

ʾŠ

Lʾ

Kʾ

WʾYT ʿMRT WʾYT KL ʾŠ Lʾ Kʾ

and (not with you is) ʿMRT, and everything that belongs to her, for

(4)

ʿLŠʾ

ʿLTY

B[K]SP

^ʾŠ

ʾBRḤT

[ʾ?]/[Š?]L[M]

ʿLŠʾ ʿLTY B[K]SP ^ʾŠ ʾBRḤT [ʾ?]/[Š?]L[M]

she rejoiced against me in the [m]oney I'd lost [fo]re[ver](?)/[wh]ol[ly](?),

(5)

ʾM

ʾYT

KL

ʾDM

ʾŠ

[Š?]L[K?]/[ʾ?]L[Ṣ?]

ʿLTY

ʾM ʾYT KL ʾDM ʾŠ [Š?]L[K?]/[ʾ?]L[Ṣ?] ʿLTY

that any and every man who is [t]o y[ou](?)/[com]pe[lled](?) to me

(6)

[B]BRḤT

HKSP

Z

KM

TYSK

ʾʿPRT

[B]BRḤT HKSP Z KM TYSK ʾʿPRT

[in] stealing the money, will consume lead!