Med 28 Punic Selene Gravestone

This child's Punic gravestone with text found at Cirta (ancient Constantine, Algeria). It is now in the Louvre Museum in France. So far the word "Tanit" has not yet appeared in any properly translated Phoenician or Punic text. The image of "Tanit" is actually the goddess Sela/Selene.
Photo from Carol Raddato via Wikimedia Commons at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Punic_stele_with_a_crescent_moon_and_the_sign_of_the_Phoenician_goddess_of_fertility_Tanit,_found_in_Cirta_(ancient_Constantine,_Algeria),_around_300-200_BC,_Louvre_Lens,_France_(26329653164).jpg

Punic Child Gravestone Text from Algeria (170 BCE)

(January 9, 2024) The top image of this gravestone shows the sky-shell with the dark new moon Su traveling along. This indicates the text is about the emotion/motion powers.  

The bottom shows the celestial light goddess Selu/Selene who is Su's feminine power complement. Her celestial light directs the gaze of Su. In the past these goddess images with upraised arms have been identified with a goddess called Tanit. No such goddess exists in properly translated texts.

 The central text says:

  1. Is not the Observer (Su) being revealed? Are not the nest's threads being starved of [word]?
  2. That energy is being thrown-away.   The shepherds (magic crafters) are nourishing the life-threads.  Astrology-magic can energize the involvement of the Revealer (Yahu)
  3. The nourishments can emotionally-affect life-manifestations. Threading the nest will make-scarce eagle-vulture chaos.
  4. Attention can be prodded by the life-threads.  Are not the life-priests shepherding the eagle-vultures?

(November 24, 2023)

Translation in Akkadian (Med Text 28)

(read right to left. Capital letters on object. Small letters are inferred Inner vowels. Verbs are italic bold)  
  1. Ya  ADu  Nu.  Ya  Ba'u  Du  EKu  K[1] (Med 28.1)
  2.  A  Gi  NiDu.  Re'u  Bu  Du.  Tu  Gu  Ku  Nu (Med 28.2)
  3.  Bu  Ne'u  Du.  Ru  Ba'u  IṢu  Ru  NuNu (Med 28.3)
  4.  EWu  Ka'u  Ṣu.  Yu  ABu  ReWu  Ru (Med 28.4)

(Dual use letters are E/H, I/Y, U/W, and '/A in which vowel appears at beginning of words except for Yahu which is keeping its traditional Hebrew transliteration)

In English

  1. Is not the Observer (Su) being revealed? Are not the nest's threads being starved of [word]?
  2. That energy is being thrown-away.   The shepherds (magic crafters) are nourishing the life-threads.  Astrology-magic can energize the involvement of the Revealer (Yahu)
  3. The nourishments can emotionally-affect life-manifestations. Threading the nest will make-scarce eagle-vulture chaos.
  4. Attention can be prodded by the life-threads.  Are not the life-priests shepherding the eagle-vultures?