Monolith-3 Inscription

The inscription on Monolith-3 originally guarded the entry to the monolithic-tomb, written in large letters in the lintel above the entrance. Since antiquity the inscription has been almost entirely destroyed and today only one word can be reconstructed with any confidence. 

The remains of the inscription, first published by Charles Clermont-Ganneau, consists of the final two letters on the far left side. The last letter of the inscription is a reš (ר). Only the top part of the adjacent letter remains, but there is enough to compare letters and identify the second one also as a reš. This strongly suggests that the final word of the inscription was ארר (“curse”). In 1902 R. A. S. Macalister visited the tomb and reported that he was able to distinguish a ל on the remaining portion of the inscription’s right side. In its present state, it is impossible to verify Macalister’s observation. But his suggestion is noteworthy because funerary inscriptions occasionally began with a prepositional phrase (–ל) indicating the tomb’s occupant.

The tail of the a reš (ר) is elongated, which is typical of the Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions in the necropolis. But the size of the letter in this inscription is notable. Its height is 12 cm. The remains of the lintel on the left and right sides allow us to reconstruct its original dimensions, 23 x 80 cm. The vestige of writing on the far left side indicates that the inscription consisted of one line. It is estimated from this information that the inscription was approximately twenty letters long.