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The symbol has many variants, but the basic form consists of a disc on top of a triangle, separated by a horizontal line, like a schematic image of a person.
 
Punic stele containing the sign of Tannit were uncovered in the hundreds in the site of El-Hofra in [[Cirta]] ([[Constantine, Algeria]]) and are showcased in the [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]]. <ref>{{Citation |title=stèle |date=0225 |url=https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010121308 |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bertrandy |first=S. |date=1994-02-01 |title=Cirta |url=https://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2289 |journal=Encyclopédie berbère |language=fr |issue=13 |pages=1964–1977 |doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2289 |issn=1015-7344}}</ref>
The earliest known sign of Tanit was a [[pendant]] revealed in an [[11th century BC|11th-century BC]] building at [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arie |first=Eran |date=2017 |title=The Earliest Known 'Sign of Tanit' Revealed in 11th Century BCE Building at Megiddo |url=https://www.academia.edu/33158934/2017_The_Earliest_Known_Sign_of_Tanit_Revealed_in_11th_Century_BCE_Building_at_Megiddo |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=44 |pages=61–71 |doi=10.1080/03344355.2017.1280968}}</ref> Other pendants of the sign were revealed in [[Ashkelon]], [[Tel Michal]], [[Maresha]], [[Sidon]] and [[Motya]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stern |first=Ian |last2=Wolff |first2=Samuel |last3=Erlich |first3=Adi |date=2018 |title=A New Tanit Pendant from Maresha |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26751870 |journal=Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies |language=Hebrew |volume=33 |pages=232 |issn=0071-108X}}</ref> A coin with the sign and a legend ΦΑΝΗΒΑΛΟΣ (the [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] title of the goddess, meaning "the face of [[Baal Hammon|Baal (Hammon)]]") was found in Ashkelon.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yadin |first=Y. |author-link=Yigael Yadin |date=1967 |title=Symbols of Deities at Zinjirli, Carthage and Hazor |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23734250 |journal=Yediot Bahaqirat Eretz-Israel Weatiqoteha |language=Hebrew |volume=31 |issue=1/4 |pages=53 |issn=2312-0061}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=George Francis |title=Catalogue of the Greek coins of Palestine |year=1914 |location=London |page=LIX |pages= |author-link=George Francis Hill}}</ref>
 
A coin with the sign and a legend {{lang|grc|ΦΑΝΗΒΑΛΟΣ}} ''phanebalos'', presumably the Greek form of the [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] title of the goddess, i.e. {{script|Phoenician|𐤕𐤍𐤕 𐤐𐤍 𐤁𐤏𐤋}} ''tnt '''pn bʿl''''', "Tanit ''the face of [[Baal Hammon|Baal (Hammon)]]''", was found in Ashkelon.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yadin |first=Y. |author-link=Yigael Yadin |date=1967 |title=Symbols of Deities at Zinjirli, Carthage and Hazor |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23734250 |journal=Yediot Bahaqirat Eretz-Israel Weatiqoteha |language=Hebrew |volume=31 |issue=1/4 |pages=53 |jstor=23734250 |issn=2312-0061}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=George Francis |title=Catalogue of the Greek coins of Palestine |year=1914 |location=London |page=LIX |author-link=George Francis Hill}}</ref>
 
The first report about the representations of the sign was in the beginning of the 19th century, on [[stele]] unearthed on the site of [[Archaeological Site of Carthage|Carthage]]. Archaeological excavations have subsequently uncovered representations on other supports, such as [[mosaic (art)|mosaics]] or even on [[ceramic]]s.
 
The excavations of [[tophet]] of [[Carthage]], [[Sousse]] and Motya have highlighted the particularly important diffusion of the symbol in the western basin of the [[Mediterranean SeaBasin]], although the fewlack of discoveries on primitive Phoenician land may only be due to continued occupation of sites, making searches more difficult.<ref>{{cite book|first=Edward|last=Lipinski|title=Dictionnaire de la civilization phénicienne et punique|publisher=Brepols|year=1992|isbn=2503500331}}</ref>
 
Modern scholars associate the symbol with the goddess Tanit, partner of [[Ba'al Hammon]] and the most important goddess in the [[Punic religion]]. This identification is widely, but not universally, accepted. The motif may have had an [[apotropaic]] purpose, intended to offer protection from the [[evil eye]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}
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File:JCC 2018 opening ceremony 32.jpg|A Modern Tanit's sign at the opening ceremony of the [[Carthage Film Festival]] 2018
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[[File:Cirta hofra funerary stele 03 mus constantine (Livius).jpg|none|thumb|200x200px|Hundreds of Funerary Stele with the sign of Tannit were found in [[Cirta]], [[Algeria]] are displayed in [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]]]]
 
==See also==
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[[Category:Religious symbols]]
[[Category:Carthaginian mythology]]
[[Category:Tanit]]
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