Sandstone stela inscribed in Meroitic script

by Scan The World

This is one of two large stelae discovered in a ruined building south of Meroe. At the top, above a row of bound captives, are the remains of a double scene showing two royal personages standing before a god and a goddess. The rest of the space is occupied by an inscription in cursive script which is one of the longest known texts in Meroitic. It is largely indecipherable but the names of Queens Amanirenas and Prince Akinidad are recognisable. These rulers lived during the late 1st century BC, at the time of Meroe's conflict with the Romans. It has therefore been suggested that the stela was set up to commemorate the Meroitic raid on the First Cataract region under Roman occupation in 24 BC.