An Unpublished North West Semitic Inscription from the Collection of the Russian Archaeological Institute in Constantinople

Balakhvantsev Archil S., Kogan Leonid E., Lyavdansky Alexey K., Tunkina Irina V.

The authors publish a hitherto unknown squeeze made from a North West Semitic inscription. The squeeze originally belonged to the Russian Archeological Institute in Constantinople and is now hosted by the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The inscription, performed in relief, may have been made on a large ornamented stone vessel. Paleographic features of the letters point to the mid‑9th century BC as its approximate date. Both paleographic and linguistic features of the text suggest that its origin is to be sought in Southern Canaan (Palestine).

Keywords: North West Semitic epigraphy, Palestine, Canaan, Semitic languages, squeezes (estampages), Russian Archaeological Institute in Constantinople
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