Lilybaeum stele
The Lilybaeum stele is a notable Phoenician gravestone stele found in Sicily and first published in 1882.[1]
Its significance was described by Georges Perrot and Charles Chipiez in 1885:
...the chief interest of the monument lies in the bas-relief on its upper part. In the middle of the field stands one of those candelabra of which we have already given examples taken from Carthaginian steles; to the left is the sacred cone, here represented with head and arms as on the coins of certain Asiatic towns; near the cone stands a caduceus, on the right there is a man adoring. He is dressed in a robe falling to the feet and gathered in a band about the waist; a pointed cap is on his head. The whole thing is without value as a work of art, but it gives a good idea of the Phoenician costume, a costume which resembles that still worn in the Levant by those Greek, Syrian, and Armenian merchants who have not yet adopted the costume of Europe.[2]
It was published in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, having been supplied to Renan by Count Francesco Hernandez di Carrera.[3]
The stele measures 0.37 x 0.22 m and is made from white calcareous stone.
It was found in Marsala (Roman Lilybaeum), in an area known as il Timpone di S. Antonio
The inscription is a standard Punic inscription, similar to those found on Carthaginian tombstones. It is a dedication to Baal Hammon by Hanno, son of Adonbaal.
It is currently in the Antonino Salinas Regional Archeological Museum in Palermo.
It is also known as KAI 63 and CIS I 138.
Notes[]
- ^ Whitaker, Joseph, 1921, Motya, a Phoenician colony in Sicily, p.274
- ^ Perrot, Georges; Chipiez, Charles (1885), History Of Art In Phoenicia And Its Dependencies Vol. 1, p.320
- ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, I, 138
- 1882 archaeological discoveries
- Phoenician inscriptions
- Archaeological artifacts
- KAI inscriptions
- Phoenician steles