In Phrygia a sinner would write his sin and the punishment he suffered upon a stela for every one to see and would return thanks to heaven that his prayer of repentance had been heard.
"The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism"
Franz Cumont
There was a cone of stone at the entrance between a stela of gold and one of emerald, and Matho kissed his right hand as he passed beside it.
"Salammbo"
Gustave Flaubert
On a stela in the Leyden Museum I have discovered that a certain Psamtik, a member of the fallen dynasty, lived till the 17th year of Amasis' reign, and died at the age of seventy-five.
"The Complete Historical Romances of Georg Ebers"
Georg Ebers