Byblos Necropolis graffito
The Byblos Necropolis graffito is a Phoenician inscription situated in the Royal necropolis of Byblos.
The graffito of Ahiram's tomb was found on the south wall of the shaft leading to the hypogeum, about three meters from the opening.
The three-line graffito reads, as translated by archaeologist William F. Albright:[2][3]
đ€đ€đ€đ€
ldât
Attention!
đ€đ€
hn
đ€đ€đ€
ypd
đ€đ€
lk
Behold, thou shalt come to grieve
đ€đ€đ€
táž„t
đ€đ€
zn
below here!
René Dussaud, who found the text, translated it as "Avis, voici ta perte (est) ci-dessous".
The fourth sign of the second line (now considered to be a pÄ), is not very clear, a bÄt seems to have been engraved on top of a qĆp, or vice versa.
Pierre Montet, the archaeologist who excavated the royal necropolis 1922, made the following comment:
Since the graffiti is a little higher than the niches on the east and west walls, it is easy to understand why this notice was engraved here. The beams that rested in the niches supported a floor spanning the width of the shaft. The builders of the tomb did not consider that the king's corpse was sufficiently protected by the paving of the opening and by the wall built at the entrance to the chamber halfway up the well, so they laid a floor of wood which acted as a third obstacle. The looters, who would have removed the paving and started to empty the well, could not have avoided seeing the notice once they reached this floor.[4]
Bibliography
- Vincent, L. H. (1925). "Les fouilles de Byblos" [The excavations of Byblos]. Revue Biblique (1892-1940) (in French). 34 (2): 161â193. ISSN 1240-3032.
References
- Vincent 1925, PLANCHE VIII.
- Albright, W.F. (1947). "The Phoenician inscriptions of the tenth century B.C. from Byblus". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 67 (3): 153-160: p. 156. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- Donner, Herbert; Rölig, Wolfgang (2002). KanaanÀische und aramÀische Inschriften (5 ed.). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. p. I, 1.
- Montet, Byblos et l'Ăgypte, p. 217: "Si lâon remarque que le graffite est un peu plus haut que les niches des parois est et ouest, on nâa pas de peine Ă comprendre pourquoi cet avis a Ă©tĂ© gravĂ© Ă une telle place. Les poutres qui sâappuyaient dans les niches soutenaient un plancher tenant toutes la largeur du puits. Les constructeurs du tombeau nâont pas estimĂ© que le cadavre du roi fĂ»t suffisamment protĂ©gĂ© par le dallage de lâorifice et par le mur bĂąti Ă lâentrĂ©e de la chambre Ă mi-hauteur du puits, ils ont donc posĂ© un plancher de bois qui constituait un troisiĂšme obstacle. Les pillards qui auraient enlevĂ© le dallage et commencĂ© Ă vider le puits, nâauraient pu Ă©viter dâapercevoir lâavis une fois parvenus Ă ce plancher."