Phoenician texts generally are supportive of magic and the motion powers in contrast to their southern neighbors, the Israelites who were anti-magic and supportive of the life powers.
For translation methodology see: How to Translate Alphabetic Akkadian Texts
(August 14, 2022) This text at the bottom of the sarcophagus absolves magic crafters of any blame for the Great Drought which ended the Bronze Age. This is because their emotion magic was not powerful enough to overcome the storm of generated human emotions like envy which inhibited the flow of fertility fluids through the life network. Without this flow, the Opener (Asher, Asherah) cannot open her gate and allow the Revealer (Yahu) to manifest the life forms.
(read right to left)
(August 13, 2022) Sidon was built on a promontory facing an island which sheltered its ships and served as a refuge during invasions. Sidon's Phoenician period began after the Egyptians abandoned the city during the Great Drought of 1170 BCE.
Cyrus the Great of the Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered Phoenicia in 539 BCE and gained the ships and seamen to fight the Egyptians and the Greeks. After defeating Persian King Darius III at the battle of Issus in November 333 BCE, Alexander the Great marched his army (about 35,000-40,000 strong) into Phoenicia, where he received the capitulation of Byblos and Sidon.
Sidon's most important export during the Phoenician era was glass and Tyrian purple dye. The small shell of Murex trunculus was broken in order to extract this very expensive dye.
(August 9, 2022) Like most regions of the earth, correlating the archaeology of the southern levant with carbon 14 dating and absolute dating has been undergoing some debate. The best correlation with linguistics is the chronology proposed by Amihai Mazar in 2014. This chronology is reproduced below:
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
Photo by Olmsted of sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum 2016
These early "translators" named Berger and Maspero made their letters fit the translation they desired which was to mimic the recently popularized Egyptian mummy curses. They also patterned their translation off of another fake translation known as the Esmun’azor sarcophagus found in Sidon in 1855. This sarcophagus was thought to mention a king by that name in its 22 lines. This is their translation translated from French into English from the book "Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament" (1969):
I, Tabnit, priest of Astarte, King of Sidon, son of Eshmun’azar, priest of Astarte, King of Sidon, am lying in this sarcophagus.Whoever you are who might find this sarcophagus, don’t, don’t open it and don’t disturb me, for no silver has been given me, no gold and no jewelry whatever has been given me! Only I myself am lying in this sarcophagus.How this fake translation fooled historians is shown by this quote about it from a 1907 history of Sidon:
There are eleven lines of hieroglyphic writing, the epitaph of an Egyptian general Penptah, covering the lower part of the lid. “In this inscription” says Berger “we have the evident proof that we are in the presence of a sarcophagus of Egyptian make, which was diverted from its primary destination and sold to Phoenicia, to receive the remains of a Phoenician prince.” (Berger, 1887 Re. Arch. II). A Phoenician inscription of seven and a half lines covers the feet. In substance, it resembles that of Esmunazar but much briefer. It opens with a genealogy of the king, Tabnet, priest of Astart, king of the Sidonians, son of Esmunazar, priest of Astart, king of the Sidonians” and continues and closes with a curse upon anyone who might dare to open and disturb his resting place. (Eiselen 1907, p 142)