________________
248
THE ALPHABET W. Baumgartner, Was wir heute von der hebræischen Sprache und ihrer Geschichte tvissen, "ANTHROPOS," 1940-1941.
G. G. Lapeyre and A. Pellegrin, Carthage punique (814-146 arant J.-C.), Paris, 1942.
G. R. Driver, Seals from Amman and Petra, "THE QUARTERLY OF THE DEPARTM. OF ANTIQ. IN PALESTINE," 1944.
PROBABLE OFFSHOOTS OF PHENICIAN ALPHABET
It is quite probable that the following groups are connected with the Punic or neo-Punic scripts, at least, in part. We therefore consider it fitting to deal with them in this Chapter.
Libyan Scripts (Fig. 114 and 124) The ancient Libyans, the progenitors of the Berbers, the present indigenous population of northern Africa, employed a particular writing termed early Libyan or Numidian. About five hundred inscriptions (found mainly in eastern Algeria, and particularly in the province of Constantine, and in Tunis), belonging mostly to the Roman period, are extant (Fig. 124, 1). Some of these inscriptions are bilingual, Libyan
EGITES :
+ + 1
Z= EMOZ+]
IND) Illu
Fig. 124-1-2, Libyarı inscriptions SAATU TIHIMIR PYIXITANNDRVM LXX Punic, Libyan-Tico-Punic, and Libyan-Latin
(Fig. 124, 2). This script was the prototype of the Tamachek, called by the natives Tifinagh ("characters"), still used by the Tuareg, a Berber tribe.
The Libyan inscriptions are either cut in stone, or engraved or painted on rocks. The direction of the writing is generally
from right to left; sometimes, however, verU tical, downwards. The alphabet (Fig. 114)
