Sandstone stela inscribed in Meroitic script

This is one of two large stelae discovered in a ruined building south of Meroe. At the top, above a row of bound captives, are the remains of a double scene showing two royal personages standing before a god and a goddess. The rest of the space is occupied by an inscription in cursive script which is one of the longest known texts in Meroitic. It is largely indecipherable but the names of Queens Amanirenas and Prince Akinidad are recognisable. These rulers lived during the late 1st century BC, at the time of Meroe's conflict with the Romans. It has therefore been suggested that the stela was set up to commemorate the Meroitic raid on the First Cataract region under Roman occupation in 24 BC.该石碑为在麦罗埃（Meroe）以南一处废弃建筑中出土的两块大型石碑之一。碑顶在一排被捆绑的俘虏上方，残存着一幅双联场景残迹，描绘两位王室人物立于一神一女神之前的画面。碑身其余区域布满草书体铭文，该铭文是已知麦罗埃语（Meroitic）最长文本之一。该铭文绝大多数内容尚无法破译，但可辨认出女王阿马尼雷娜斯（Amanirenas）与王子阿基尼达德（Akinidad）的名字。这批统治者活跃于公元前1世纪末，正值麦罗埃与罗马发生冲突的时期。因此有学者推测，该石碑的设立是为了纪念公元前24年麦罗埃突袭罗马占领下的第一瀑布区（First Cataract）的军事行动。