Ahiram sarcophagus
The Ahiram sarcophagus (more correctly: Ahirom ) is one of the oldest and most famous Phoenician sarcophagi . Ahiram was around 1000 BC A minor king of the port city of Byblos, which is now in Lebanon .
Location
The Ahiram sarcophagus - together with two other but unadorned limestone coffins - was discovered in 1923 by the French archaeologist Pierre Montet in grave V of the royal necropolis of Byblos, about 10 m deep. It is now in the National Museum of Beirut .
sarcophagus
The rectangular limestone coffin with its arched lid and a raised, all-round rope motif rests on four crouching lion figures ready to jump , the outer walls are decorated with various scenes. Processions are depicted on the two long sides: On the one hand, the ruler can be seen sitting on a throne framed by winged sphinxes . There is a table in front of him, towards which the bearers of offerings walk. On the other side is a mourning procession scene. On the narrow sides you can see female figures in mourning gestures (mourners ). Two figures with lotus blossoms are depicted on the lid , the lifting bosses of the lid and the feet of the sarcophagus are formed by lion heads. Remnants of an originally rich painting are still partially recognizable.
The Phoenician style of this time is characterized by the fusion of Egyptian and Syrian style elements. The shape of the sarcophagus is based on the Egyptian model. The subject matter and execution of the representations are also influenced by Egypt. The lotus frieze is clearly an Egyptian decorative element, the second band is of Syrian origin and the lions are also part of the Syrian treasure trove.
Inscriptions
Sarcophagus inscription
On a band on the narrow side of the sarcophagus tub and on the edge of a broad side of the lid is a two-part (A and B), 38-word Phoenician inscription in the Old Byblic dialect , which can be considered one of the oldest Phoenician inscriptions.
Transcribed in Hebrew square script, the inscription reads as follows:
" (1) ארן ז פעל [א] תבעל בן אחרם מלך גבל לאחרם אבה ב שתה בעלם (2) ואל מלך במלכם וסכן בס (כ) נם ותמא מחנת ע לגבי גבל וי בו רו ל ויגו לי מחל וי בו ר ספרה לפן גבל"
According to Lehmann, the translation is:
(A) “Ittobaal, son of Ahirom, king of Byblos, made this a sarcophagus for his father Ahirom;
Truly, he set him in secret ”
(B) “ And if a king among kings
and governors among governors,
and army camp commander attacks Byblos,
and then uncovered this sarcophagus -
the stick of his judiciary had been stripped of its
leaves, the throne of his kingship overturned ,
and the rest flee from Byblos.
and he - delete his memorial entry for caring for the dead. "
The dating of the sarcophagus is highly controversial. While Helene Sader, Ellen Rehm and others moved it to the 13th century BC on the basis of archaeological-art-historical analogies. Date, others suggest a later date around 1000 BC due to the fact that the inscription was not possible so early. A. A new palaeographical and philological analysis of the text by RG Lehmann has shown, however, that the inscription, which was historically not possible before the 10th century, was added as a secondary feature in the course of recycling the sarcophagus, so that there is nothing to prevent an early dating of the sarcophagus, but then without an inscription .
Otherwise, the figure of Ahirom is not known. The name is an early Phoenician form of the name Hiram ; Connections with bearers of this name known from the Old Orient or the Old Testament (after Flavius Josephus Hiram I from 978–944 BC, Phoenician king of Tire at the time of Solomon) are possible, but cannot be proven. See also: List of the kings of Byblos .
Epitaph
A second, older and shorter inscription was found on the south wall of the shaft of grave V of the royal necropolis of Byblos. Transcribed it is:
"(1) לדעת (2) הן יפד לך (3) תחת זן"
It is mostly taken as a warning to grave robbers. However, after the new decipherment by RG Lehmann, it has to be translated:
"With regard to knowledge:
here now humble yourself
in this basement"
and possibly refers to initiation rituals that once took place in the tomb.
literature
- Pierre Montet: Byblos et l'Egypte, Quatre Campagnes des Fouilles 1921–1924 , Paris 1928 (reprint Beirut 1998: ISBN 2-913330-02-2 ): pp. 228–238, plates CXXVII – CXLI
- Ellen Rehm: The Ahiram sarcophagus , Mainz 2004 (research on Phoenician-Punic and Cypriot sculpture, edited by Renate Bol, II.1. Dynasty sarcophagus with scenic reliefs from Byblos and Cyprus, part 1.1)
- Jean-Pierre Thiollet : Je m'appelle Byblos . Paris, 2005. ISBN 2-914266-04-9
- Reinhard G. Lehmann : The inscription (s) of the Ahirom sarcophagus and the shaft inscription of grave V in Jbeil ( Byblos ). Mainz 2005 (research on Phoenician-Punic and Cypriot sculpture, edited by Renate Bol, II.1. Dynasty sarcophagi with scenic reliefs from Byblos and Cyprus, part 1.2)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The dates of the sarcophagus and the inscription go from around 1300 BC. Until approx. 850 BC Chr.
- ↑ Herbert Donner , Wolfgang Röllig : Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions. Vol. 1: 5th edition, Wiesbaden 2002, p. 1 (= KAI 1).
- ^ Reinhard G. Lehmann : The inscription (s) of the Ahirom sarcophagus and the shaft inscription of the grave V in Jbeil (Byblos) , 2005, p. 38
- ↑ Ellen Rehm: The Ahiram Sarcophagus , 2004
- ↑ Reinhard G. Lehmann: The inscription (s) of the Ahirom sarcophagus and the shaft inscription of the grave V in Jbeil (Byblos) , 2005, pp. 3–13
- ↑ Herbert Donner , Wolfgang Röllig : Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions. Vol. 1: 5th edition, Wiesbaden 2002, p. 1 (= KAI 2).
- ↑ Reinhard G. Lehmann: The inscription (s) of the Ahirom sarcophagus and the shaft inscription of the grave V in Jbeil (Byblos) , 2005, pp. 39–53