3 research outputs found
A farewell to Neo-Punic: Tac-Caghqi revisited
The alleged inscriptions in the south-east hypogeum of Tac-Caghqi (within the premises of St Nicholas
College in Rabat, Malta) were discussed in depth by Mons. Benedetto Rocco in 1972. Rocco interpreted
the glyphs as Neo-Punic, with a long 'Inscription' supposedly consisting of a prayer to appease the
deceased through the offering of a gift, and an alleged minor 'Inscription' addressing the dead to 'rise'.
These readings were discussed against the notion of possible libation rites that may have been a custom
within the hypogeum, as suggested by the tomb furniture in situ. Rocco based his readings of the
script and types of letters on his previous study of further alleged Punic and Neo-Punic inscriptions
within cave sites in Palermo and Favignana (Sicily), in combination with semantic analysis of Biblical
Hebrew. Nevertheless, the supposed Tac-Caghqi inscriptions come across as ambiguous sets of glyphs
that are illegible, and actually cannot be deemed Punic or Neo-Punic script.peer-reviewe