﻿OLD 
  WORLD 
  ARCHEOLOGY 
  — 
  CASAFOWICZ. 
  449 
  

  

  shut 
  up 
  Mesha 
  in 
  Kir 
  Hareseth, 
  situated 
  a 
  little 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  

   southern 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  Dead 
  Sea. 
  Mesha, 
  in 
  his 
  emergency, 
  offered 
  his 
  

   first-born 
  son 
  as 
  a 
  sacrifice, 
  in 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  invading 
  army, 
  to 
  

   Chemosh, 
  the 
  principal 
  divinity 
  of 
  the 
  Moabites, 
  whereupon 
  the 
  

   Israelites 
  withdrew. 
  Thus 
  far 
  the 
  Biblical 
  account. 
  

  

  In 
  1868 
  the 
  Eev. 
  A. 
  F. 
  Klein, 
  a 
  German 
  missionary, 
  discovered 
  at 
  

   Deban, 
  the 
  ruins 
  of 
  Dibon, 
  the 
  ancient 
  capital 
  of 
  Moab 
  (Numbers 
  

   xxi, 
  30; 
  xxxii, 
  34; 
  Isaiah 
  xv, 
  2), 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  shore 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  

   Arnon, 
  a 
  stone 
  or 
  stela 
  of 
  dark 
  blue 
  basalt, 
  3 
  feet 
  8J 
  inches 
  high, 
  2 
  

   feet 
  3£ 
  inches 
  wide, 
  and 
  1 
  foot 
  If 
  inches 
  thick, 
  inscribed 
  with 
  34 
  

   lines, 
  celebrating 
  the 
  achievements 
  of 
  Mesha. 
  The 
  Arabs 
  of 
  the 
  

   neighborhood, 
  perceiving 
  that 
  the 
  stone 
  was 
  of 
  great 
  value 
  and 
  

   dreading 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  talisman, 
  broke 
  it 
  into 
  pieces. 
  For- 
  

   tunately 
  the 
  French 
  archeologist, 
  Clermont-Ganneau, 
  had 
  succeeded 
  

   in 
  securing 
  a 
  paper 
  impression 
  of 
  the 
  inscription 
  before 
  the 
  stone 
  was 
  

   broken 
  up. 
  He 
  collected 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  pieces, 
  which, 
  with 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  

   his 
  paper 
  impression, 
  were 
  put 
  together 
  and 
  the 
  reconstructed 
  monu- 
  

   ment 
  is 
  now, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  impression, 
  in 
  the 
  Museum 
  of 
  the 
  

   Louvre, 
  Paris, 
  France. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  inscription 
  Mesha 
  relates 
  that 
  Omri 
  and 
  Ahab, 
  Kings 
  of 
  

   Israel 
  (I 
  Kings 
  xvi, 
  21 
  ff.) 
  oppressed 
  the 
  land 
  of 
  Moab 
  for 
  many 
  

   years 
  until 
  he 
  recovered 
  several 
  cities 
  from 
  the 
  Israelites, 
  mentioning 
  

   Medeba 
  (Numbers 
  xxi, 
  30; 
  Joshua 
  xiii, 
  9, 
  etc.), 
  Ataroth 
  (Numbers 
  

   xxxii, 
  34; 
  Joshua 
  xvi, 
  2, 
  etc.), 
  and 
  Nebo 
  (Numbers 
  xxxii, 
  3; 
  Isaiah 
  

   xv, 
  2, 
  etc.), 
  where 
  he 
  slew 
  7,000 
  people 
  and 
  captured 
  Jahaz, 
  which 
  

   had 
  been 
  built 
  by 
  the 
  King 
  of 
  Israel, 
  and 
  describes 
  the 
  public 
  works 
  

   which 
  he 
  undertook 
  and 
  the 
  devastated 
  cities 
  which 
  he 
  rebuilt. 
  

  

  The 
  dialect 
  of 
  the 
  inscription 
  differs 
  only 
  slightly 
  from 
  Hebrew, 
  

   and 
  the 
  characters 
  employed 
  are 
  those 
  of 
  ancient 
  Hebrew, 
  the 
  so- 
  

   called 
  Samaritan 
  or 
  Phenician. 
  The 
  Moabite 
  Stone 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  im- 
  

   portant 
  surviving 
  relic 
  of 
  the 
  Moabite 
  civilization, 
  and 
  its 
  discovery 
  

   was 
  of 
  great 
  importance 
  for 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  alphabet 
  (pi. 
  7). 
  

  

  6. 
  The 
  Black 
  Obelisk 
  of 
  Shalmaneser 
  II, 
  or, 
  as 
  some 
  scholars 
  

   assume, 
  Shalmaneser 
  III, 
  King 
  of 
  Assyria 
  860-824 
  B. 
  C. 
  The 
  

   original 
  of 
  black 
  basalt, 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  preserved 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  

   Museum 
  at 
  London, 
  England, 
  was 
  discovered 
  by 
  Sir 
  Austen 
  Henry 
  

   Layard 
  at 
  Nimrud, 
  ancient 
  Calah 
  (Genesis 
  x, 
  12), 
  about 
  19 
  miles 
  

   below 
  Nineveh. 
  It 
  is 
  about 
  7 
  feet 
  high. 
  The 
  terraced 
  top 
  and 
  the 
  

   base 
  are 
  covered 
  with 
  cuneiform 
  script 
  containing 
  a 
  record 
  of 
  

   Shalmaneser's 
  career 
  nearly 
  to 
  the 
  last 
  year 
  of 
  his 
  long 
  reign. 
  The 
  

   upper 
  part 
  is 
  occupied 
  by 
  five 
  compartments 
  of 
  bas-reliefs 
  running 
  

   in 
  horizontal 
  bands 
  around 
  the 
  four 
  sides, 
  and 
  representing 
  pro- 
  

   cessions 
  of 
  tribute 
  bearers 
  from 
  five 
  nations. 
  Narrow 
  bands 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  the 
  compartments 
  contain 
  short 
  legends 
  of 
  the 
  scenes 
  rep- 
  

  

  