Carthaginian tombstones

Carthaginian tombstones are Punic language-inscribed tombstones excavated from the city of Carthage over the last 200 years.

The first such discoveries were published by Jean Emile Humbert in 1817, Hendrik Arent Hamaker in 1828, Christian Tuxen Falbe in 1833 and Thomas Reade in 1837. Between 1817 and 1856, 17 inscriptions were published in total; in 1861 Nathan Davis discovered 73 tablets, marking the first large scale discovery.

The steles were first published together in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum; the first focused collection was published by in 1976. Ferron identified four types of funerary steles:

• Type I: Statues (type I Α, Β or C depending on whether it is a "quasi ronde-bosse", a "half-relief" or a "Herma-type" )
• Type II: Bas-reliefs (Type II 1, where the figure stands out in an arc of a circle, and II 2, where it protrudes in a flattened relief)
• Type III: niche monuments or naiskos (type III 1, with a rectangular or trapezoidal niche, and III 2, niche with triangular top)
• Type IV: Engraved steles (extremely rare).

The oldest funerary stelae belong to Type III and date back to the 5th century BCE, becoming widespread at the end of the 4th century BCE. Bas-reliefs and statues appeared later.

Gallery

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Jean Emile Humbert, Notice sur quatre cippes sépulcraux et deux fragments, découverts en 1817, sur le sol de l'ancienne Carthage.
• Hendrik Arent Hamaker (1828), Miscellanea Phoenicia
• Christian Tuxen Falbe, Recherches sur l'emplacement de Carthage
• Augustus Wollaston Franks (1860). On Recent Excavations at Carthage, and the Antiquities discovered there by the Rev. Nathan Davis. Archaeologia, 38(1), 202–236. doi:10.1017/S0261340900001387
• Charles Ernest Beulé (1861), Fouilles à Carthage aux frais et sous la direction de M. Beulé
• Alfred Louis Delattre (1902). Une épitaphe punique de Carthage. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 46^e année, N. 5, 1902. pp. 522–523. DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/crai.1902.17295
• Alfred Louis Delattre, Philippe Berger (1904) Épitaphes puniques et sarcophage de marbre. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 48^e année, N. 5, pp. 505–512. DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/crai.1904.19929

Secondary sources

• Mendleson, Carole, Images & symbols: On Punic stelae from the tophet at Carthage, Archaeology & history in Lebanon. 2001, Num 13, pp 45–50
• Bénichou-Safar Hélène (1982), Chapitre III. LES INSCRIPTIONS FUNÉRAIRES, Les tombes puniques de Carthage. Topographie, structures, inscriptions et rites funéraires. Paris : Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 452 p. (Études d'antiquités africaines)
• Stéphane Gsell, 1920–30, Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord, Tome 4, Chapitre IV, Les Pratiques Funéraires
• Lopez and Amadasi, The Epigraphy of the Tophet, 2013, In book: The Tophet in the Phoenician Mediterranean (= Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici sul Vicino Oriente antico 29–30, 2012–13) (pp.pp. 159–192)Chapter: The Epigraphy of the TophetPublisher: Essedue Edizioni, VeronaEditors: Paolo Xella

References