The Cirta steles are almost 1,000 Punic funerary and votive steles found in Cirta (today Constantine, Algeria) in a cemetery located on a hill immediately south of the Salah Bey Viaduct.

The first group of steles were published by Auguste Celestin Judas in 1861. The Lazare Costa inscriptions were the second group of these inscriptions found; they were discovered between 1875 and 1880 by Lazare Costa, a Constantine-based Italian antiquarian. Most of the steles are now in the Louvre.Punic stele with triangular pediment: "Dating from the 2nd century BC, this votive stele was discovered in Algeria in 1875, together with some hundred others, by Lazare Costa, an Italian antiquarian from Constantine. An enthusiastic amateur archaeologist, Costa visited all the civil engineering sites and agricultural development projects in Constantine and its environs. Thus it was that on the slopes of the hill of el-Hofra - then being prepared for the planting of a vineyard - he discovered the greater part of these monuments, today in the Louvre.", Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société Archéologique du Département de Constantine, volume 19, 1878, pages 252 onwards and platesV Reboud, Quelques Mots sur les Steles Neo Puniques Découvertes par Lazare Costa, Recueil des notices et mémoires de la Société Archéologique du Département de Constantine, volume 18, 1877, pages 434 onwards, and plates These are known as KAI 102–105.

In 1950, hundreds of additional steles were excavated from the same location – then named El Hofra – by André Berthier, director of the Gustave-Mercier Museum (today the Musée national Cirta) and Father René Charlier, professor at the Constantine seminary. Many of these steles are now in the Musée national Cirta.Grenier Albert. Nouvelles archéologiques d'Algérie. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 94e année, N. 4, 1950. pp. 345-354. DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/crai.1950.78583 Over a dozen of the most notable inscriptions were later published in Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften and are known as 106-116 (Punic) and 162-164 (Neo Punic).

Judas steles

In 1861 Auguste Celestin Judas published a series of 19 inscribed steles in the Annuaire de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine. Between 1857 and 61 more than 30 such steles had been collected by the Archaeological Society, of which a dozen in 1860 alone.Auguste Celestin Judas, 1861, Inscriptions Numidico-Puniques Découvertes a Constantine, Annuaire de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine 1860-61, Société archéologique, historique et géographique du département de Constantine: "Dans le cours des quatre dernières années seulement, plus de trente pierres avec des inscriptions ou des anaglyphes numidico-puniques ont été découvertes dans l'antique capitale de Massinissa. Plusieurs des inscriptions apportent, si je ne me trompe, un nouveau jour à l'étude de la langue introduite par les Carthaginois... En novembre 1860, une nouvelle trouvaille a eu lieu; elle comprenait une douzaine de pierres.... Les textes qui m'ont paru, à l'aide de ces instruments, susceptibles de lecture sont au nombre de dix-neuf; des copies, les unes réduites, les autres de grandeur réelle, en sont présentées aux plancbes I à IX." Judas noted that the locations of the finds had been difficult to ascertain, his understanding was as follows:Auguste Celestin Judas, 1861, Inscriptions Numidico-Puniques Découvertes a Constantine, Annuaire de la Société archéologique de la province de Constantine 1860-61, Société archéologique, historique et géographique du département de Constantine: p.89 "Des dix-neuf inscriptions dont j'ai parlé,-deux, les nos II et XVII, proviennent dû Coudiat-ati; seize de l'emplacement du nouveau cimetière chrétien, à l'ouest et à 500 mètres du Coudiat-ati, à 725 mètres de Constantine. Pour le n° I, nulle indication." Of the nineteen inscriptions of which I have spoken, two, nos. II and XVII, come from Coudiat-ati; sixteen from the location of the new Christian cemetery, to the west and 500 meters from Coudiat-ati, 725 meters from Constantine. For number I, no indication.

Costa steles Overview On the death of Lazare Costa, Antoine Héron de Villefosse and Dr Reboud negotiated the acquisition of all of Costa's steles for the Louvre. Although not all the steles made it to the Louvre, more were found.Les Inscriptions de Constantine au Musee de Louvre par Philippe Berger, Actes du onzième congrès international des Orientalistes. Paris, 1897. Section 4 Congrès international des orientalistes, 1897, p.273 onwards: "A la mort de M. Costa, M. Héron de Villefosse, aidé du Dr Reboud, dont le nom restera attaché à l'épigraphie de Constantine, négocia l'acquisition de toutes les stèles de Costa pour le Musée du Louvre. Un certain nombre d'entre elles, sans doute déjà dispersées auparavant, ne sont pas parvenues au Musée du Louvre. D'autre part, la collection du Louvre s'est enrichie de quelques stèles qui ne figurent pas parmi les estampages de M. Costa, et d'une vingtaine d'autres provenant du moulin Carbonel et données par le Dr Reboud. Telle qu'elle est, la collection des inscriptions de Constantine, qui ne comprend pas moins de 150 numéros, forme, après Carthage et Maktar, la série la plus complète des inscriptions phéniciennes d'Afrique. Ces inscriptions paraîtront à leur place dans le Corpus; je voudrais dès à présent appeler l'attention sur quelques particularités communes à cette série épigraphique, l'une des plus intéressantes par son unité, comme aussi par certains caractères qui lui assignent une place à part dans l'épigraphie punique."

Concordance A concordance of 135 of the steles was published by Jean-Baptiste Chabot in 1917, and later by the Louvre in 1987.

Costa AO Bertrandy RES KAI KI NE 433-434 1 = 44 5198 30 2 5189 22 1551 3 5196 28 1550 9 4 5242 74 5 5275 107 1549 6 or 5 bis 27606 133 7 5259 91 1565 12 8 5234 66 334 105 98 9 5258 90 10 5201 33 1553 11 5264 96 12 5281 113 13 5279 111 1552 14 5225 57 15 5306 123 16 5191 23 328 17 5308 125 333 18 5307 124 337 19 5309 126 1564 11 20 5240 72 21 5261 93 22 5211 43 23 5311 128 330 24 5268 100 25 5200 32 1554 94 7 26 5310 127 26 bis 5270 102 27 27608 135 28 1024 13 1558 5 29 5186 19 30 5226 58 1559 31 5197 29 327 104 97 32 5269 101 329 33 5247 79 34 5232 64 35 5257 89 36 5227 59 1562 37 5272 104 38 5210 42 39 5252 84 40 5203 35 41 5284 114 42 5260 92 43 5221 53 45 5075 16 46 (lost) 47 5208 40 48 5230 62 49 5280 112 51 5224 56 52 27607 134 53 5235 67 53 bis 5295 116 54 5209 41 1555 2 55 5217 49 56 5195 27 57 27605 132 58 5223 55 59 5220 52 1561 60 5215 47 1560 61 5305 122 62 5263 95 63 5213 45 63 bis 5229 61 64 5205 37 65 5273 105 66 5233 65 67 5304 121 68 5194 26 69 5256 88 70 5266 98 1556 71 5216 48 1557 72 5231 63 73 5262 94 74 5255 87 336 99 75 5249 81 340 76 5192 24 1563 4 77 5251 83 78 5276 108 79 1026 15 80 5253 85 81 1020 9 1535 82 5212 44 83 5278 110 84 5301 118 85 5222 54 86 5238 70 87 5218 50 88 5248 80 89 5219 51 90 (lost) 91 1018 7 1536 3 92 5312 129 93 1023 12 339 103 10 94 1013 2 1537 95 5188 21 96 1021 10 1538 97 5314 131 98 1015 4 338 and 1539 99 1016 5 1540 100 5193 25 335 102 5245 77 103 5250 82 332 104 1017 6 1542 105 5202 34 106 5246 78 107 (lost) 108 5244 76 109 5207 39 110 5204 36 111 5237 69 112 1014 3 1546 113 1019 8 1547 114 5302 119 1548 115 1025 14 116 5271 103 117 5243 75 118 5206 38 119 5214 46 120 5239 71 121 5236 68 122 5254 86 123 5241 73 124 5300 117 125 5199 31 126 5142 17 127 5313 130 128 5187 20 129 5303 120 130 5274 106 131 5277 109 132 1012 1 1544 102 95 8 133 1022 11 1545 6 134 5228 60 135 5289 115 5092 140 5099 141 5115 142 5185 18 1541 5265 97 5267 99 5282 136 5285 137 5286 138 5287 139

Gallery

Berthier steles

Overview At the southern exit of the city, on the El Hofra hill, about southeast of what was then the "Transatlantic Hotel" (today a branch of the Crédit populaire d'Algérie), the construction of a large Renault garage (today Garage Sonacome) was begun in spring 1950. The hill is at the confluence of the Rhumel River and its tributary Oued Bou Merzoug, just south of the Salah Bey Viaduct. On May 6, 1950, the excavator struck a mass of stelae grouped over a length of about , laid flat and forming a kind of wall whose height did not exceed the thickness of four stelae while the width varied from .

The stelae were not found in situ: all appear to have been broken with intention (all were broken and many of the inscriptions were mutilated), and then transported to a sort of dumping ground.

By September 1950, about 500 fragments had been found, more than half of which bearing inscriptions; in total 700 stelae and fragments were found, of which 281 were Punic and neo-Punic stelae, totally or partially legible, 17 were Greek inscriptions and 7 were Latin inscriptions. Almost all the steles were published by Berthier and Charlier, except for three – one long Punic inscription which was too faint, and two Neo Punic inscriptions which were later published by James Germain Février (KAI 162–163).

Some are dated to the reign of Massinissa or the reign of his sons; they range from 163-2 BCE until 148-7 (the year of Massinissa's death) and perhaps until 122-1 (under Micipsa). Number 63 (KAI 112) mentions the simultaneous reign of the three sons of Massinissa – Micipsa, Gulussa and Mastanabai, and one of the stelae contains a complete transliteration of a Punic text in Greek characters (page 167).

Bibliography BERTHIER André - CHARLIER René, 1952–55, Le sanctuaire punique d'El-Hofra à Constantine. 2 volumes

References

External sources The Lazare Costa steles at the Louvre Photos of the Berthier steles