Carthaginian (Punic) Child Gravestone Text Translations (170 BCE)

Punic texts exhibit either Phoenician or Aegean metaphysical biases. The Aegean bias is to blame problems on the inappropriate mixing of spiritual powers into each others domain. Phoenician texts support the magical motion powers and blame life powers in contrast to their southern neighbors, the Israelites who  blamed the magical powers and supported the life powers.

Gravestone from the child cemetery of Carthage.
Gravestone from the child cemetery of Carthage. Now at the Tunisian National Bardo Museum. The child's cemetery is mistakenly called the "Tophet" from its use in the Hebrew scripture as a place for child sacrifice. The word is actually Akkadian meaning "Magical Boundary Opener" from Tu.Pe.Etu (Magic.Opener.Boundary).
Photo by Pascal Radigue via Wikimedia commons online at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St%C3%A8le_signe_tanit.jpg

Child Gravestone Text from Carthage Blames Eagle-Vultures for Drought (170 BCE)

(August 29, 2022) This gravestone was found in the children’s cemetery in Carthage. It dates sometime after 400 BCE when texts first started to appear on gravestones there (Sheldon 2020) and before the destruction of Carthage in 146 BCE. The text reveals that the child seems to have died from starvation due to a drought which dates it to about 170 BCE.

Translation in Akkadian (Med Text 12)

(read right to left. Capital letters on stone. Inner vowels inferred)
  1. IRu BaQu Ya Qu, Gi Qâ Lu. Nu Ba'u Ya
  2. UYa ARu NuNu. Ba'u YaḪu MaNu. AMu Nu
  3. Mu A'u Bu Pu AMu Ma. Nu EŠu Lu. RaBa Nu
  4. 'Bu Pu Mu. Iwu EŠu Gi. Ru AZu Qu. 
  5. A Ru MiQu MuRa Zu

In English

  1. Astrological-powers are not swarming the life-growth-threads, (because) energy lacks threads. The Revealer (Yahu) is not being nested.
  2. Misery makes anarchy. The nesting Controllers (Ayu and eagle-vultures) are paralyzing the Revealer. The Reed-Boat (Ayu) is revealed.
  3. The fertility-fluid's motion-powers are nourishing the Reed-Boat's fertility-fluids.  The Revealer lacks confusion. The Authorities (astrological powers) are revealed.
  4. Life-priests are opening the fertility-fluids. The Redirectors (Ayu and eagle-vultures) are confusing the energy. Eagle-vultures are getting involved with the life-growth-threads. 
  5. Those undermined eagle-vultures emanate the rainstorms.    

 References

Sheldon, N. (2020) The Tophet of Carthage: Archaeology and the Question of Sacrifice. From History and Archaeology Online at: https://historyandarchaeologyonline.com/the-tophet-of-carthage-archaeology-and-the-question-of-sacrifice/
Carthage and Rome just prior to the first Punic war of 264 BCE. Wikimedia Commons

History of Carthage at This Time

(August 29, 2022) The First Punic War started in Sicily 264 BCE and lasted until 241 BCE with Carthage coming out on the losing side. In the peace treaty Carthage paid large reparations to Rome and Sicily was annexed by Rome. The end of the war sparked a major but unsuccessful revolt within the Carthaginian Empire by mercenary troops and many Carthaginian colonies. This is called the Mercenary War and it lasted until 238 BCE.

(Continue Reading)

Near the end of this chaos and contrary to the peace treaty, the Romans took over the Carthaginian islands of Sardinia and Corsica just off their coast. These continuing tensions led to another war in 218 BCE which led to the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossing the Alps into Italy. But the Carthaginians did not have siege technology needed to take Rome so all they could do was raid the countryside while Rome supplied itself via trade since it now had command of the sea.

Because Rome could not defeat Hannibal’s experienced army, Rome invaded the weakly defended Carthaginian homeland in 204 BC. This led to Hannibal's recall and  his new local army was defeated at the battle of Zama in 202 BC. Carthage then sued for peace and signed a peace treaty in 201 BC which stripped Carthage of most of its colonies and imposed a large indemnity to be paid over 50 years. It also severely restricted the size of its armed forces and prohibited Carthage from attacking anyone else without permission. Carthage ceased to be a military threat. When this indemnity was paid off Rome declared war on Carthage for a third time in 149 BCE and razed Carthage itself in 146 BCE.

Major Mediterranean Droughts Based on Water Level of Dead Sea

(August 29, 2022) This figure shows a drought around 170 BCE and the start of  the Great Drought which ended the Bronze Age starting around 1200 BCE.

Reference


Michael McCormick, Ulf Büntgen, Mark A. Cane, Edward R. Cook, Kyle Harper, Peter Huybers, Thomas Litt, Sturt W. Manning, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Alexander F. M. More, Kurt Nicolussi and Willy Tegel (Autumn 2012) The Journal of Interdisciplinary History Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 169-220 (52 pages). Online at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41678664?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Abae7746fcbe71d8aee4ed23754af16f9&seq=16#page_scan_tab_contents
Main Iron Age Letter Styles

Translation Resources Used

All texts translated to the scholar's standard.

Lexicon Used

Olmsted, D.D (January 1, 2022) Mediterranean Akkadian Lexicon 3rd Edition – 2022. DOI Permanent URL:   http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/nbb6-wg16. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/66851810/Mediterranean_Akkadian_Lexicon_3rd_Edition_2022

Letter Charts Used

Central Mediterranean Iron Age Letters
Gravestone from the child cemetery of Carthage. Now at the Tunisian National Bardo Museum.
Gravestone from the child cemetery of Carthage. Now at the Tunisian National Bardo Museum. Letter assignments by Olmsted.

Carthage Child Gravestone Text Lines 1 and 2 (Med Text 12)

Translation in Akkadian

(read right to left on stone. Capital letters on stone. Inner vowels inferred)
  1. IRu BaQu Ya Qu, Gi Qâ Lu. Nu Ba'u Ya (Med 12.1)
  2. UYa ARu NuNu. Ba'u YaḪu MaNu. AMu Nu (Med 12.2)

In English


  1. Astrological-powers are not swarming the life-growth-threads, (because) energy lacks threads. The Revealer (Yahu) is not being nested.
  2. Misery makes anarchic the Controllers. Nesting supports Yahu. The Reed-Boat (Ayu) is revealed.
Gravestone from the child cemetery of Carthage. Now at the Tunisian National Bardo Museum.
Gravestone from the child cemetery of Carthage. Now at the Tunisian National Bardo Museum. Letter assignments by Olmsted.

Carthage Child Gravestone Text Lines 3, 4, 5 (Med Text 12 cont.)

Translation in Akkadian

(read right to left on stone. Capital letters on stone. Inner vowels inferred)
  1. (3) Mu A'u Bu Pu AMu Ma. Nu EŠu Lu. RaBa Nu (Med 12.3)
  2. (4) 'Bu Pu Mu. Iwu EŠu Gi. Ru AZu Qu. (Med 12.4)
  3. (5) A Ru MiQu MuRa Zu (Med 12.5)

In English

  1. (3)The fertility-fluid's motion-powers are nourishing the Reed-Boat's fertility-fluids.  The Revealer lacks confusion. The Authorities (astrological powers) are revealed.
  2. (4) Life-priests are opening the fertility-fluids. The Redirectors are confusing the energy. Eagle-vultures are getting involved with the life-growth-threads. 
  3. (5) Those undermined eagle-vultures emanate the rainstorms.  
Child gravestone (Tophet) as displayed in the Carthage National Museum. Image shows the full moon god Su under the skydome over a boat in a storm.
Child gravestone as displayed in the Carthage National Museum. Image shows the full moon god Su under the skydome over a boat in a storm.
Photo by Pascal Radigue via Wikimedia commons online at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St%C3%A8le_navire_MN_carthage.jpg

Gravestone Text From Carthage Implies Child's Death was Due to Fate (Med Text 27)

(August 29, 2022) Image on this stone shows the full moon god Su under the skydome over a boat in a storm.

Translation in Akkadian

(read right to left on stone. Capital letters on stone. Inner vowels inferred)
  1. IRu Bu Gi. IGu Nu Gi. Nu Bu ... (Med 27.1)
  2. Umu lu NaRu. Qeru lu ... (Med 27.2)

In English

  1. Astrological-powers are nourishing the energy. The Eye-of-Fate (full moon god Su) is revealing the energy. The Revealer (Yahu) is nourishing ...
  2. Storm-powers are lacking the ability to cull. The fate-callers (diviners) are lacking goodness. ....
This child's Punic gravestone with text found at Cirta (ancient Constantine, Algeria).
This child's Punic gravestone with text was found at Cirta (ancient Constantine, Algeria). It is now in the Louvre Museum in France. This image links motion source full moon god Su at the top with human motion source soul goddess Selu (Selene) at bottom center.
Photo from Carol Raddato via Wikimedia Commons at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Punic_stele_with_a_crescent_moon_and_the_sign_of_the_Phoenician_goddess_of_fertility_Tanit,_found_in_Cirta_(ancient_Constantine,_Algeria),_around_300-200_BC,_Louvre_Lens,_France_(26329653164).jpg

Punic Child Gravestone Text Blames Drought on Human Anger Overcoming Divine Powers (170 BCE)

(September 5, 2022) The top image of this gravestone is that of the full moon god Su traveling across the sky-dome at night. The bottom image is of his feminine partner Selene representing the spirits of the underworld.  

Translation in Akkadian (Med Text 28)

(read right to left on stone. Capital letters on stone. Inner vowels inferred)
  1. IA DâNu Ya. Be'u IH R[2]
  2. AGu NaDu Re'u. BaDu A Gi NuNu
  3. Bu Ne'u Gi. Du Re'u IA. Ru NuNu
  4. Su Ma'u A. IA Bu R[ ]

In English

  1. Yahu (IA or YA) is not being judged. The nest [missing verb] Yahu 
  2. Anger is throwing down the shepherds (magic crafters).  The evening makes anarchic their emotional-energy
  3. Nourishments (fertility fluids) are affected by emotional-energy. Life-Manifestations are being shepherded by Yahu (IA or YA). The eagle-vultures are anarchic.
  4. Su is being pushed away by that. Yahu's (IA or YA) nourishments are [missing words]

The goddess Selu (Selene = "powers of Selu") shown at the bottom of this gravestone is the goddess of the underworld where resides the spirits of the dead and unborn. Both Selu and Su are source deities of the magical motion powers. Su mainly represents the motions generated by the astrological heavens while Selu represents the motions generated by emotions. She is the main goddess of emotion magic but is often mixed up with Hekate who creates the spirits but does not animate them.

Letter assignments for a Punic gravestone text found at Cirta (ancient Constantine, Algeria).

(September 2, 2022) 

Translation in Akkadian (Med Text 28)

(read right to left on stone. Capital letters on stone. Inner vowels inferred)
  1. YAu DâNu Ya. Be'u YaHu R[2] (Med 28.1)
  2. AGu NaDu Re'u. BaDu A Gi NuNu (Med 28.2)
  3. Bu Ne'u Gi. Du Re'u YAu. Ru NuNu (Med 28.3)
  4. Su Ma'u A. YAu Bu R[ ] (Med 28.4)

In English


  1. Yahu (IA or YA) is not being judged. The nest [missing verb] Yahu 
  2. Anger is throwing down the shepherds (magic crafters).  The evening makes anarchic their emotional-energy
  3. Nourishments (fertility fluids) are affected by emotional-energy. Life-Manifestations are being shepherded by Yahu (IA or YA). The eagle-vultures are anarchic.
  4. Su is being pushed away by that. Yahu's (IA or YA) nourishments are [missing words]