Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum CIS I 86 (from Cyprus)

The Kition Tariffs are two important

Phoenician inscriptions The Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, also known as Northwest Semitic inscriptions, are the primary extra-Biblical source for understanding of the society and history of the ancient Phoenicians, Ancient Hebrews, Hebrews and Arameans. Semitic ins ...

found near

Larnaka Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in 1879. The longer of the two has been described as "Among the longest and most important Phoenician inscriptions from Cyprus". They were excavated in 1879 from a mound known as the ''Bamboula'', by a team led by Lieutenant Hugh Montgomery Sinclair (1855 – 1927) of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. They were presented to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in 1880, where they remain on display.Fourrier Sabine, Kiely Thomas
Excavations at Kition-Bamboula 1879. Finds in the British Museum
In: Cahiers du Centre d'Etudes Chypriotes. Volume 42, 2012. pp. 273-304. DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/cchyp.2012.1027 Sinclair was assisted in his works by Demetrios Pieridis; Sinclair's 5 July 1879 report described: "2 Phoenician inscriptions have been found written in some sort of paint on stone & being (according to Mr. Pierides) accounts of wages." The finds were brought to the attention of the British Museum in 1880 in a report from

Charles Thomas Newton Sir Charles Thomas Newton (16 September 1816 – 28 November 1894) was a British archaeologist. He was made KCB in 1887. Life He was born in 1816, the second son of Newton Dickinson Hand Newton, vicar of Clungunford, Shropshire, and afterw ...

, forwarding a letter from

Charles Abbott, 3rd Baron Tenterden Charles Stuart Aubrey Abbott, 3rd Baron Tenterden KCB (26 December 1834 – 22 September 1882), was a British diplomat. Biography Abbott was born in London, the son of Charles Abbott (1803–1838), younger son of Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenter ...

on behalf of

Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, (11 May 181531 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secretary ...

. Newton's report stated:

Near Larnaka is a mound of rubbish close to a stagnant pool of salt water which is believed to be the site of the ancient harbour of Kition. This stagnant pool, which contributed to the unhealthiness of Larnaka during the summer months, has been filled up by levelling the mound of rubbish under the direction of Lieut. Sinclair R.E. whose report of these operations is enclosed herewith. Irregular foundation walls of various epochs were discovered in the mound which are shown in the tracing annexed to Lieut. Sinclair's Report... Among the antiquities found here the most interesting are two pieces of calcareous stone on one of which are 17 lines of Phoenician inscription on one side and 12 lines in the same character written in black.

Line 14 of side A of the longer inscription notably describes the head of the tablet scribes.

Text of CIS I 86

The long inscription (

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

I 86 or KAI 37) reads: ::

Text of CIS I 87

The short inscription (CIS I 87 or Kition 84) reads:Renan (1881), ''CIS'' I, p. 100. ::

References

{{reflist Phoenician inscriptions Middle Eastern objects in the British Museum Archaeological discoveries in Cyprus 1879 archaeological discoveries Larnaca Archaeological artifacts Economy of Phoenicia