Baal Lebanon inscription
| Baal Lebanon inscription | |
|---|---|
The inscription | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Writing | Phoenician |
| Created | 8th century BCE |
| Discovered | 1874-1875 Limassol, Limassol District, Cyprus |
| Present location | Cabinet des Médailles, Paris |
| Part of a series on |
| Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions |
|---|
The Baal Lebanon inscription, known as KAI 31, is a Phoenician inscription found in Limassol, Cyprus in eight bronze fragments in the 1870s. At the time of their discovery, they were considered to be the second most important finds in Semitic palaeography after the Mesha stele.
It was purchased in 1874–75 by a Limassol merchant named Laniti from a scrap metal dealer, who did not know of their previous provenance. A copy was passed to Julius Euting, and after Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau secured its acquisition by the Cabinet des Médailles, the inscription was published in full by Ernest Renan in 1877.
It is particularly notable for having mentioned Hiram II. It is the only Phoenician inscription to suggest a "colonial" system amongst the Phoenician domains.