The Mesha Stele in its current location. The brown fragments are pieces
of the original stele (c. 840 BC),
whereas the smoother black material is Ganneau's
reconstruction from the 1870s.
The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele (inscribed stone) set up around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Chemosh,
the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to
be subjugated to Israel, but at length Chemosh returned and assisted
Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab.
Mesha describes his many building projects.[1] Some say it is written in the Phoenician alphabet, but others say it is written in the Old Hebrew script, which is closely related.
