Byblos Necropolis graffito

The Byblos Necropolis graffito is a Phoenician inscription situated in the Royal necropolis of Byblos.

The graffito of Ahiram's tomb was found on the south wall of the shaft leading to the hypogeum, about three meters from the opening.

The three-line graffito with William F. Albright's translation:

The fourth sign of the second line (now considered to be a pē), is not very clear, a bēt seems to have been engraved on top of a qōp, or vice versa.

Pierre Montet, the archaeologist who excavated the royal necropolis 1922, made the following comment: "Since the graffiti is a little higher than the niches on the east and west walls, it is easy to understand why this notice was engraved here. The beams that rested in the niches supported a floor spanning the width of the shaft. The builders of the tomb did not consider that the king's corpse was sufficiently protected by the paving of the opening and by the wall built at the entrance to the chamber halfway up the well, so they laid a floor of wood which acted as a third obstacle. The looters, who would have removed the paving and started to empty the well, could not have avoided seeing the notice once they reached this floor."