Reade Punic inscriptions

Last updated June 12, 2025

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 in Tunis.

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’s Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae ; Gesenius had received the inscriptions via Friedrich August Rosen shortly before he was due to publish the volume.^[1]

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,^[2] a German associate of Reade.

Three inscriptions were found embedded in reused masonry within the ruins of Carthage. The fourth was discovered in “Numidia”, carved directly into a rock. The original stones were transported to England, while drawings remained with Reade.

Inscriptions

The numbers below follow Wilhelm Gesenius’s Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae – 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 of Maghrawa ( 35°54′50″N9°08′46″E / 35.914°N 9.146°E / 35.914; 9.146 ), just north of Maktar.^[3] 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.

References

↑ Lehmann, Reinhard G. (2013). "Wilhelm Gesenius and the Rise of Phoenician Philology" (PDF). Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 427. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH: 237, 256. ISBN 978-3-11-026612-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-02-21. It was, for instance, by the medium of the London Sanskrit scholar Friedrich August Rosen that Gesenius received last minute copies of four Carthaginian and Numidian inscriptions which had been sent to London early in 1837 by the British consul general in Tunis, Sir Thomas Reade: GESENIUS, Scripturæ linguæque phoeniciæ monumenta, 449 (Appendix altera, which contains discussion of the Carthaginensis undecima to tertia decima, 449–452, and Numidia octava, 452–455). For Gesenius' numerous personal relations that benefitted him in his pursuit of exact copies see EIßFELDT, Von den Anfängen der Phönizische Epigraphik, esp. 8–14, and infra note 99… "Inscriptiones Readianæ nuperrime advectæ" – inscriptions received by the medium of Friedrich August Rosen from London and which were shortly before sent to London by the British consul general in Tunis, Sir Thomas Reade, see note 76.
↑ 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.
↑ M'Charek 1988.

Bibliography

Gesenius, F. H. W. (1837). Scripturae linguaeque Phoeniciae monumenta quotquot supersunt edita et inedita ad autographorum optimorumque exemplorum fidem edidit additisque de scriptura et lingua Phoenicum commentariis illustravit Guil. Gesenius: Duos priores de litteris et inscriptionibus phoeniciis libros continens (in Latin). Vol. 2. sumptibus typisque Fr. Chr. Guil. Vogelii.
M'Charek, Ahmed (1988). "Maghrāwa, lieu de provenance des stèles punico-numides dites de la Ghorfa". Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Antiquité (in French). 100 (2): 731–760. doi:10.3406/mefr.1988.1606. ISSN 0223-5102 . Retrieved 2025-05-26.

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[1] Lehmann, Reinhard G. (2013). "Wilhelm Gesenius and the Rise of Phoenician Philology" (PDF). Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 427. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH: 237, 256. ISBN 978-3-11-026612-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-02-21. It was, for instance, by the medium of the London Sanskrit scholar Friedrich August Rosen that Gesenius received last minute copies of four Carthaginian and Numidian inscriptions which had been sent to London early in 1837 by the British consul general in Tunis, Sir Thomas Reade: GESENIUS, Scripturæ linguæque phoeniciæ monumenta, 449 (Appendix altera, which contains discussion of the Carthaginensis undecima to tertia decima, 449–452, and Numidia octava, 452–455). For Gesenius' numerous personal relations that benefitted him in his pursuit of exact copies see EIßFELDT, Von den Anfängen der Phönizische Epigraphik, esp. 8–14, and infra note 99… "Inscriptiones Readianæ nuperrime advectæ" – inscriptions received by the medium of Friedrich August Rosen from London and which were shortly before sent to London by the British consul general in Tunis, Sir Thomas Reade, see note 76.

[2] 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.

[FOOTNOTEM'Charek1988-3] M'Charek 1988.

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