Phonecian. Description The Mausoleum of Ateban was built in the second century BC by the inhabitants of Dougga in remembrance of an important prince or dignitary of Numidia. Some have conjectured that it was built for Massinissa, King of Numidia. A limestone frieze with bilingual script was installed on the podium of the mausoleum. The left half of the inscription was engraved in the Punic language, the other half in the Numidian language. The bilingual nature of the inscription made it possible for scholars to decode the ancient Libyco-Berber script, which was written right-to-left. Translation A modern translation of the inscription indicates that the tomb was dedicated to Ateban, the son of Iepmatath, the son of Palu. Other names cited in the inscription, both Punic and Libyan names (and even possibly a Syrian or Jewish name), refer to the monument's architect and the representatives of different professions involved in its construction. Temple (Massinissa) inscription The Temple Inscription was discovered in 1904 during the excavations led by Eugène Sadoux in the Temple of Jupiter at Dougga. It is currently at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, with casts in the archives of the Louvre (ID AO 4611) and the British Museum (ID BM C-2). It is a dedicatory inscription of the temple, which it states was erected in honor of Massinissa, known for his involvement in the Second Punic War from Livy's History of Rome. See also Rosetta Stone Zanata Stone Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga References Further reading Sir Grenville Temple, the 10th Baronet (1799–1847); (1834). Copy of a Letter from Sir Grenville Temple, Bart., to Lieut.-General Benjamin Forbes, M.R.A.S., Relative to a Phœnician Tombstone Found at Maghráwah in Tunis, and Presented to the Royal Asiatic Society. Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 3(3), 548-549. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25581778 British Museum BM 125225 (Libyan inscription) BM 125226 (Aramaic inscription) F. Frances (Ed), Treasures of the British Museum, London, 1972 D.Colon, Ancient Near East Art, British Museum Press, London, 1995 R Parkinson, Cracking codes: the Rosetta Stone and decipherment, British Museum Press, London, 1999 2nd-century BC inscriptions 1842 archaeological discoveries Multilingual texts Middle Eastern objects in the British Museum Punic inscriptions Archaeological discoveries in Tunisia