A Second Nabataean Inscription from Tell esh-Shuqafiya, Egypt

A second early Nabataean inscription from Tell esh-Shuqafiya, Egypt, is part of the established collection of the Matḥaf Hariyyat Raznah, Zagazig. Other information concerning the provenance of the inscription is vague or lacking. The inscription was written in Nisan, 36 B. C., and dated to the reigns of Cleopatra VII, Malichus I King of the Nabataeans, and a certain ʾṭlh, apparently a local priest. This unique triple dating also fixes the date of the ascendancy of Malichus I at 63/62 B. C. The inscription records a dedication to Dushares, the chief Nabataean god, and locates his shrine at Daphne, modern Tell ed-Defenna, in the northeast Delta. The palaeography of the inscription is significant. This is the second oldest extant Nabataean inscription from Egypt.

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