Pococke Kition inscriptions
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The inscriptions
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| Writing | Phoenician |
|---|---|
| Discovered | 1738 |
| Present location | mostly destroyed |
The Pococke Kition inscriptions were a group of 31 Phoenician and 2 non-Phoenician inscriptions found in Cyprus and published by Richard Pococke in 1745. In describing Kition (modern Larnaca), Pococke wrote: "the walls seem to have been very strong, and in the foundations there have been found many stones, with inscriptions on them, in an unintelligible character, which I suppose, is the antient [sic] Phoenician..."[1]
The Phoenician inscriptions are known as KAI 33 (CIS I 11), KAI 35 (CIS I 46) and CIS I 57-85. They represent some of the most important finds in Phoenician and Semitic language studies, as they were used by Jean-Jacques Barthélemy in his decipherment of the Phoenician language.
Only one of the inscriptions still survives, in the Ashmolean Museum - all the rest were destroyed in construction work in 1749.[2][3]
Surviving inscription – KAI 35
The sole surviving inscription is a marble funeral stone, numbered "2" in Pococke's sketch, measuring 12 x 3 x 3 inches; the inscription is in memory of a deceased wife. The inscription was brought to England by a Dr. Porter of Thaxted, and presented to Oxford University by Charles Gray MP in 1751.[4][5] It was published many times, first by Pococke, and then by John Swinton, Richard Chandler, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, Wilhelm Gesenius,[5] and Johan David Åkerblad.[2]
Today it resides at the Ashmolean Museum, with accession number AN1974.325.[6]
Concordance
| Pococke | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIS | 11 | 46 | 57 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 74 | 60 | NP | 81 | 79 | 68 | 80 | 78 | 67 | 76 | 70 | 66 | NP | 59 | 71 | 62 | 58 | 65 | 77 | 69 | 83 | 85 | 61 | 72 | 75 | 84 | 63 |
| CIS | 11 | 46 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | NP | NP |
| Pococke | 1 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 20 | 8 | 29 | 22 | 33 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 26 | 17 | 21 | 30 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 16 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 27 | 32 | 28 | 9 | 19 |
Gallery
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Barthélémy Inscriptions phéniciennes.jpg
A page from Barthélemy's publication of his decipherment of Phoenician: "Inscriptions Phéniciennes, trouvées en Chypre par M Richard Pococke". No. 1 is Pococke's No. 2 (KAI 35), and No. 3 is Pococke's No. 4. The other two are Hebrew transliterations of the same inscriptions.
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Pococke Kition inscriptions in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, with concordance.jpg
Concordance with the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum (see table at bottom)
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The only serving Pococke Kition inscription, as shown in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum (CIS I 46).jpg
The only surviving inscription, today at the Ashmolean Museum
Notes
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<references />, or <references group="..." />- ↑ Pococke, v. II pg. 213
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ CIS I, p.39, "Lapides interea ad aquaeductus molem struendam adhibuit vir turca insulae Cypro praefectus Beschir, circa annum 1749; ut monumenta ipsa reperiendi spes omnis linquenda sit, nisi aquaeductus ipse destruatur."
- ↑ https://collections.ashmolean.org/collection/browse-9148/per_page/25/offset/39025/sort_by/size/object/70553
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Marble block with Phoenician funerary inscription
