Late Punic Epigraphy.

• Author: Rollston, Christopher A.
• Position: Book review

Late Punic Epigraphy. Edited by KAREL JONGEUNG and ROBERT M. KERR. Tubingen: MOHR SIEBECK, 2005. Pp. x+ 115. [euro]19 (paper).

The field of late Punic epigraphy has not received substantial attention during recent years; this volume attempts to ameliorate the situation. The attempt is successful and the result is a superb volume that will be of use to scholars within the fields of ancient Near Eastern studies, Semitic epigraphy, and Classics.

Essentially, this is a small handbook of Late Punic texts. The term Late Punic is defined within this volume as denoting "those inscriptions post-dating the Roman conquest and destruction of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 B.C." (p. 1). Phoenico-Punic is defined within the volume as a Northwest Semitic language of the Canaanite branch. This is, of course, an accurate statement and has long been the consensus of the field. The authors, however, also wish to affirm that there are some features of Phoenico-Punic that can be classified as "isoglosses with South Semitic" (p. 1). To demonstrate their point, they refer to the roots kwn and p'l as isoglosses; these roots, though, are attested in multiple Semitic languages (including North Semitic languages such as Ugaritic and Hebrew). Therefore, it would be difficult to suggest that the presence of these words in Phoenician and Punic counts as evidence for isoglosses with South Semitic.

Major older studies such as P. Schroder's Die phonizische Sprache (Halle, 1869), M. Lidzbarski's Hand-buck der Nordsemitischen Epigraphik (Weimar: Emil Felber, 1898), and G. A. Cooke's A Text-Book of North-Semitic Inscriptions (Oxford: Clarendon, 1903) are frequently used within this volume, and a number of the more recent seminal studies (e.g., various articles and monographs by Guzzo, Garbini, Sznycer, Vattioni) also factor prominently. Furthermore, H. Donner and W. Rollig's Kanaanaische und aramaische Inschriften (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1973-79 and 2002) is cited frequently.

The authors traveled to collections and collated some of the inscriptions discussed (e.g., some of the inscriptions in Tripoli); this is commendable. Some of the readings and discussions are based on photos (e.g., p. 75). Sometimes it was necessary for them to rely on hand-copies (e.g., p. 67). Transliterations and translations are provided for all of the inscriptions; moreover, there are often rather detailed...