A stele of black basalt, with the following dimensions: Height: 1.24 m, width 0.79 m, thickness 0.36 m. The undecorated stele was cut in one piece, with the frame and the base being cut in the same stone. It was found in 1868 in Dhiban, some fifty kilometers south of Amman in 1868, but was subsequently destroyed, and put later together from the remaining pieces, except for the lower part of it, which is still missing. The stele carries an inscription of 34 lines, engraved elegantly in the Moabite language.
The text, dated to the mid-9th century BCE, reports from the erection of a “high temple” for the Moabite deity, Kemosh, by Mesha, the king of Moab, in gratitude for his support against the Israelites. In a subsequent military report, the king describes the battles he led against the Israelite King, which ultimately drove the Israelites from the Moabite territories. This is followed by a construction report about the war-related building activities of Mesha. As mentioned above, the last part of the inscription is lost, but analog to the structure of the contemporary Assyrian royal inscriptions, one expects the inscription to end with blessing and curse formulae..
The English translation for the inscription:
" I am Mesha, son of Chemosh-gad, king of Moab, the Dibonite. My father reigned over Moab thirty years, and I have reigned after my father. And I have built this sanctuary for Chemosh in Karchah, a sanctuary of salvation, for he saved me from all aggressors, and made me look upon all mine enemies with contempt. Omri was king of Israel, and oppressed Moab during many days, and Chemosh was angry with his aggressions. His son succeeded him, and he also said, I will oppress Moab. In my days he said, let us go, and I will see my desire upon him and his house, and Israel said, I shall destroy it forever. Now Omri took the land of Madeba, and occupied it in his day, and in the days of his son, forty years. And Chemosh had mercy on it in my time. And I built Baal-meon and made therein the ditch, and I built Kiriathaim. And the men of Gad dwelled in the country of Ataroth from ancient times, and the king of Israel fortified Ataroth. I assaulted the wall and captured it and killed all the warriors of the city for the well-pleasing of Chemosh and Moab, and I removed from it all the spoil, and offered it before Chemosh in Kirjath; and I placed therein the men of Siran, and the men of Mochrath. And Chemosh said to me, Go take Nebo against Israel, and I went in the night and I fought against it from the break of day till noon, and I took it: and I killed in all seven thousand men...women and maidens, for I devoted them to Ashtar-Chemosh; and I took from it the vessels of Jehovah, and offered them before Chemosh. And the king of Israel fortified Jahaz, and occupied it, when he made war against me, and Chemosh drove him out before me, and I took from Moab two hundred men in all, and placed them in Jahaz, and took it to annex it to Dibon. I built Karchah the wall of the forest, and the wall of the Hill. I have built its gates, and I have built its towers. I have built the palace of the king, and I made the prisons for the criminals within the wall. And there were no wells in the interior of the wall in Karchah. And I said to all the people, 'Make you every man a well in his house.' And I dug the ditch for Karchah with the chosen men of Israel. I built Aroer, and I made the road across the Arnon. I built Beth-Bamoth for it was destroyed. I built Bezer for it was cut down by the armed men of Daybon, for all Daybon was now loyal; and I reigned from Bikran, which I added to my land. And I built Beth-Gamul, and Beth-Diblathaim...Beth Baal-Meon, and I placed there the poor people of the land. And as to Horonaim, the men of Edom dwelt therein, on the descent from old. And Chemosh said to me, Go down, make war against Horonaim, and take it. And I assaulted it, And I took it, for Chemosh restored it in my days. Wherefore I made.... ...year...and I....