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The Reade Punic Inscriptions refer to four Phoenician-language funerary inscriptions discovered in 1836-1837 by Sir Thomas Reade, who had recently been appointed as the British
Un aspect de l’anticomanie dans la régence de Tunis: La collection du consul anglais Sir Thomas Reade
Hespéris-Tamuda 57.2 (2022): 309-327. a German associate of Reade. Three inscriptions were found embedded in reused masonry within the ruins of
The Reade Punic Inscriptions refer to four Phoenician-language funerary inscriptions discovered in 1836-1837 by Sir Thomas Reade, who had recently been appointed as the British consul general
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
A consu ...
in Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
.
The inscriptions — three from Carthage and one from Numidia — were documented and published in the appendix (''Appendix Altera'') of the second volume of Wilhelm Gesenius
Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic.
Biography
Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he bec ...
’s ''Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae
''Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae'' (in English: "The writing and language of Phoenicia"), also known as ''Phoeniciae Monumenta'' (in English: "Phoenician remains") was an important study of the Phoenician language by German scholar Wilhelm Gese ...
''; Gesenius had received the inscriptions via Friedrich August Rosen shortly before he was due to publish the volume.
Discovery
The inscriptions were discovered in or before 1835 during a wave of European interest in Punic antiquities. According to Gesenius, the inscriptions were copied and drawn by Filippo Basiola Honegger,Drissi, Hatem.Un aspect de l’anticomanie dans la régence de Tunis: La collection du consul anglais Sir Thomas Reade
Hespéris-Tamuda 57.2 (2022): 309-327. a German associate of Reade. Three inscriptions were found embedded in reused masonry within the ruins of
Carthage
Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...
. The fourth was discovered in “Numidia
Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...
”, carved directly into a rock. The original stones were transported to England, while drawings remained with Reade.
Inscriptions
The numbers below followWilhelm Gesenius
Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic.
Biography
Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he bec ...
’s ''Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae
''Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae'' (in English: "The writing and language of Phoenicia"), also known as ''Phoeniciae Monumenta'' (in English: "Phoenician remains") was an important study of the Phoenician language by German scholar Wilhelm Gese ...
'' – they were the last four inscriptions listed out of the 83 inscriptions analyzed in the publication.
LXXXI – Carthaginian XI (CIS I 179)
A funerary monument of eight lines, largely legible and engraved on a dressed stone slab. The inscription names the deceased, their father, and grandfather, followed by a eulogy. The script is consistent with late Punic funerary customs.LXXXII – Carthaginian XII (CIS I 441)
Similar in type to LXXXI, this inscription is engraved on fine limestone but partially broken at the top-right corner. Despite this, much of the text remains readable, and some divine invocations are preserved.LXXXIII – Carthaginian XIII (CIS I 442)
A fragmentary inscription, now limited to partial phrases and letter clusters. While the full meaning is lost, it remains of paleographic interest.LXXXIV – Numidian VIII
The fourth inscription, discovered in “Numidia” in the area ofMaghrawa
The Maghrawa or Meghrawa () were a large Berber tribal confederation in North Africa. They are the largest branch of the Zenata confederation. Their traditional territories around the time of Muslim expansion into the Maghreb in the 7th century ...
(), just north of Maktar. It was carved into living rock and significantly eroded. It likely served a votive or commemorative function and stands out for being in situ rather than reused.
See also
*Punic-Libyan bilinguals
The Punic-Libyan bilingual inscriptions are two important ancient bilingual inscriptions dated to the 2nd century BC.
The first, the Cenotaph Inscription, was transcribed in 1631 by Thomas D'Arcos and later played a significant role in decipheri ...
References
Bibliography
* * {{cite journal , last=M'Charek , first=Ahmed , title=Maghrāwa, lieu de provenance des stèles punico-numides dites de la Ghorfa , journal=Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Antiquité , volume=100 , issue=2 , date=1988 , issn=0223-5102 , doi=10.3406/mefr.1988.1606 , pages=731–760 , url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/mefr_0223-5102_1988_num_100_2_1606 , language=fr , access-date=2025-05-26 Punic inscriptions 1837 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Tunisia