The first, the Cenotaph Inscription, was transcribed in 1631 by Thomas D'Arcos[1] and later played a significant role in deciphering the Libyco-Berber script, in which the Numidian language (Old Libyan) was written.

It was noted by traveller Thomas d'Arcos in 1631 in his correspondence with Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc; however this was not published at the time and was unknown to the explorers in the early 19th century.

"[5][8] In 1842, Sir Thomas Reade, the British consul in Tunis, ordered the removal of this inscription from the Mausoleum, which in the process seriously damaged the monument.

Reade demolished the entire wall in which the inscription was embedded, leaving the stone blocks that framed it litter the ground around the mausoleum.

[14][15][16] It is a dedicatory inscription of the temple, which it states was erected in honor of Massinissa, known for his involvement in the Second Punic War from Livy's History of Rome.