The Western Mediterranean: Iberia and Beyond
Since the minimal inclusions in KAI and even since the more extensive corpora collected by Amadasi Guzzo (1967: 137–55) and Fuentes Estañol (1986), the number of Phoenician and Punic inscriptions from the Iberian Peninsula has climbed dramatically (recent surveys include Zamora, in press, 2013; Belmonte Marín 2010). Most of the new additions are short ownership inscriptions or graffiti, but they nevertheless attest to a vibrant epigraphic practice among Phoenician writers on the peninsula.
The vast majority of Phoenician and Punic inscriptions from Iberia have been discovered in coastal areas, especially in the orbits of Huelva and Cádiz on the Atlantic coast, of Málaga, Almuñécar, and Villaricos on the southern Mediterranean coast, and throughout coastal sites in Murcia and Alicante. Especially in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of certainly Phoenician inscriptions on the western, Atlantic coast—that is, modern-day Portugal and Galicia. The westernmost Phoenician inscriptions are now two items from Lisbon; these are a seventh-century funerary stele fragment (Neto et al. 2016; see figure 39.2 in chapter 39, this volume) and a contemporary incised ceramic fragment reading klpš, possibly a toponym (Zamora 2014a). Farther east and south, in the areas of Huelva and Cádiz, the site of Tavira has recently produced what is possibly an economic ostracon from the sixth century bce (Amadasi Guzzo and Zamora 2008). Inscriptions are now known from both the city of Cádiz proper and from nearby sites such as the Castillo de Doña Blanca and El Puerto de Santa María (Zamora 2013: 368–69). Among recent finds from the former are early (eighth through sixth centuries bce) ostraca from the Teatro Cómico (Zamora et al. 2010) and the Playa del Castillo (Zamora and Sáez 2014). One of the earliest and longest Iberian Phoenician inscriptions is the eighth-century dedication to Athtart on a bronze statuette from inland Seville (Solà-Solé 1966; KAI5 294).
Most recent discoveries on the Mediterranean coast of Iberia are short—often no more than two or three graphemes—and are therefore enigmatic but often interpreted as personal names and therefore ownership inscriptions. Examples include the ca. sixth-century bce three-letter graffito from Gorham’s cave on Gibraltar (Zamora et al. 2013: 117–21), later Punic (third or second century?) graffiti from Málaga (Sznycer 1985), and eighth- through sixth-century graffiti from La Fonteta (Elayi 2011). A rare genre of inscribed funerary amulets, recently surveyed by López-Ruiz (2015: 63–70), is represented by an illustrated gold piece from Moraleda de Zafayona (Ruiz Cabrero 2003). According to the plausible independent rereadings of Amadasi Guzzo (2007) and Lemaire (2007), this begs everlasting protection from the god Eshmun for an individual, Eshmunyaton.
East of the Iberian Peninsula, the Balaeric island of Ibiza has been the site of a number of epigraphic finds, particularly in recent years. The major inscription known from earlier explorations is the twice-inscribed (fifth century and second century bce) bronze plaque describing dedicatory and building activities in the cave of Es Cuyram (KAI 72), illustrated in figure 16.2:
lˀdn lˀršp mlqrt m˹qd˺[š]
z ˀš ndr ˀšˀdr bn [y]ˁ[š … (?)]
bn brgd/r bn ˀšmnḥl[ṣ]
pˁl wndr wḥdš ˀyt hgzt
st ˁbdašmn bn ˁzrbˁl
hkhn lrbˁtn ltnt ˀdrt
whgd wbˁl ḥrš hˀ btm
This is the sanctuary that ˀŠˀDR son of [Y]ˁ[Š…], son of BRGD/R, son of Eshmun-ḥille[ṣ] dedicated to Rašap-melqart.
Abd-eshmun son of Azar-baal the priest made, vowed, and renewed this hewn structure for our lady, for glorious Tinnit and for the Gad(?). He was completely in charge of the work.
Figure 16.2 Double building inscription from Es Cuyram Cave (KAI 72), Ibiza, ca. fifth–second centuries bce. Museo Arqueológico de Alicante.
Source: Drawing by M. Richey.
More recent additions to the Ibizan corpus are two dedications from the seventh and third centuries bce. These have as their objects the gods Eshmun-Melqart and Melqart of Tyre, respectively (Ramon et al. 2010; Amadasi Guzzo and Xella 2005). Other recent publications of Ibiza epigraphic material include an ink inscription on an amphora (Zamora 2014b) and an incised text on a fish plate (Ramon Torres and Hermanns 2012: 386–88); these are each just two letters long and of uncertain interpretation.
The northernmost Phoenician or Punic inscription is not from Iberia but, rather, from a Roman pottery at Holt in Wales (Jongeling 2008: 289; Guillaume 1940). The inscription in question is a ca. first-century ce neo-Punic graffito on a pottery sherd reading mˁqrynˀ, a Latin personal name “Macrinus.” The appearance of such a surprising find so far north and beyond what is generally thought of as the Phoenician world is usually connected with the stationing of the Roman Twentieth Legion at nearby Chester. It is hypothesized that the named individual was a Roman soldier from North Africa or some other Punic-writing area (e.g., recently Quinn 2018: 177). Outside of Iberia—and to a more restricted extent on the Italian and Greek peninsulas (see earlier)—Phoenician and Punic were never current on the European mainland.
Carthage and North Africa
Finally, one turns to North Africa, where the tradition of Phoenician and Punic writing began relatively late (no sooner than the seventh century bce), but soon erupted to become a highly visible and vibrant epigraphic tradition. The vast majority of Punic inscriptions are funerary stelae from the third and second centuries bce. These generally include only the name of the deceased, perhaps some genealogical information, sometimes a short blessing or dedication, and/or mention of a molk sacrifice, in those coming from the tophet context (for the tophet, see chapter 21, this volume). A formulaic inscription of the most basic type, CIS I.2108, is illustrated in figure 16.3:
lrbt ltnt pn bˁl w
lˀdn lbˁl ḥmn ˀš nd
r ḥmlkt bn bdmlqr
t bn ˁzrbˁl kšmˀ q
[l]ˀ
To Lady Tinnit, face of Baal, and to Lord Baal Ḥamon, which Ḥamilkat son of Bodmelqart son of Azarbaal vowed, because they heard his voice.
Figure 16.3 Carthaginian votive inscription (CIS I.2108), Carthage, ca. fourth–third centuries bce. British Museum 125252.
Source: Drawing by M. Richey.
Much of the debate about the practice or not of infant sacrifice relies on the evidence from epigraphy, where the formulae used are those of votive dedications (Amadasi Guzzo and Zamora 2012–13). Nearly all of the approximately 5,500 Punic inscriptions published in CIS I volumes 2 and 3 (CIS I.438–6068) are Carthage funerary inscriptions of this type, now distributed among many modern museums. Those in the British Museum have been published (or republished) recently by Carole Mendleson (2003).
One notable nonfunerary inscription connected with North Africa is the fourth-century bce list or temple tariff found in the Marseilles harbor, but usually suggested to come from Carthage itself (KAI 69). This lists portions of sacrifices due to the priests of a Baal Ṣaphon temple and has some terminological and formulaic overlap with sacrifice descriptions in Ugaritic and biblical Hebrew. This “Marseilles tariff” or “Carthage tariff” is comparable to the above-mentioned Kition tariffs. It is also only the largest of multiple North African Punic temple tariffs (CIS I.165, 167–70, 3915–17), not to mention what is perhaps a list of festival offerings (CIS I.166).
Beyond Carthage, the larger corpora of Punic inscriptions include texts from Libyan Tripolitania (Levi Della Vida and Amadasi Guzzo 1987) and stelae from Constantine in Algeria (Bertrandy and Sznycer 1987). Inscriptions from the El-Hofra sanctuary at the latter site are also plentiful (Berthier and Charlier 1955; KAI 106–16). The long-awaited volumes of inscriptions from Ḫirbet Maktar (Tunisia) have also begun to appear (Fantar and Sznycer 2015). Inscriptions dating from after the fall of Carthage in 146 bce are generally called “neo-Punic” and have a highly cursive and simplified script. Jongeling (2008) has recently published a comprehensive corpus of these inscriptions. Punic inscriptions in Latin and Greek script are also particularly common in North Africa and are attested t
hrough the fourth century ce (Kerr 2010) or possibly even the fifth century, given the ostraca recently excavated at Gheriat el-Garbia in Tripolitania (Ziegler and Mackensen 2014).
The formulaic nature and relatively short length of most Phoenician and Punic inscriptions is perhaps the most striking feature of this huge corpus. The present survey has also stressed not only the wide geographic and chronological extent of the inscriptions but also that there exist many unique texts from diverse genres. Many include intriguing hints at administrative, cultic, and even magical praxis that might have otherwise been lost to time. Furthermore, the Phoenician and Punic epigraphic corpus expands with nearly every passing year, sometimes with the appearance of just a seal or two, but sometimes with the revelation of a whole palace archive. One never knows what the next year of discoveries might bring.
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