- The Cippi of Melqart (2nd century BCE) are two pedestals made of white marble that hold a dedication in Phoenician and Greek, which enabled Archeologists to decipher the Phoenician language.
- The two named Patrons of the Temple were the Lord Melqart and the Lord of Tyre.
Location of the Find
- They were found at Tas-Silg, Marsaxlokk, Malta during the 17th century CE, by the Knights Hospitaller.
- Their Grand Master presented the Cippi of Melqart to Louis XVI of France in 1782.
Decoding the Phoenician Language
- The Cippi hold 17 of the 22 letters of the Phoenician Alphabet.
- In 1758 CE, the French Scholar Jean-Jacques Barthelemy was able to decode the Phoenician language using the inscriptions on the Cippi.
Museums
- One is now located in the National Museum of Archeology Malta in Valletta.
- The other is in the Louvre, Paris.
Other Artefacts with Phoenician Inscriptions
- The Pyrgi Tablets
National Museum of Archeology, Malta