Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
About Stories Resources Contact

Images

No images available

Location

JERU0001

Judaea. Jerusalem. 20 BCE to 70 CE. Soft limestone ossuary with chip-carved ornamentation. Funerary.
Transcription

ΠάποςΠάπος

Translation

Pap(p)os Pap(p)os

Diplomatic

ΠΑΠΟϹΠΑΠΟϹ

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
This ossuary has an inner ledge on three sides; cornice on all sides; cavetto above the base on front, left and right sides, which is unusual in this collection; and low feet. Lid is missing. Ornamentation, on the front side, consists of three metopes and bead-and-reel patterned triglyphs. A six-petalled rosette inside a zigzag circle, with petal-tips linked by segments, makes up the central metope. In the two outer metopes, we find twelve-petalled rosettes, with rounded petal-tips, inside zigzag circles. The incised name appears twice (represented here as one continuous inscription): once centered at the top of the front side, in small letters, and once in larger letters on the right side. The name is probably a term of endearment, rather than the word meaning "grandfather." It derives from πἁππας, "papa," for "father." The similar Παπἱας/פפיס, פפיס and Παππἱων, as well as the name "Imma" from Hebrew אמא, "mother," are all attested in other Jerusalem ossuaries. Repetition of the name might have expressed mourners' grief over the deceased, or it might have been rewritten when a first inscription was deemed unsatisfactory. Dimensions in parentheses refer to length and width including cornice.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 40 cm; W: 84(85) cm; D: 31(34) cm

Date

20 BCE to 70 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • encircled twelve-petalled rosettes in outer metopes

  • metopes front of chest

  • rounded petal-tips twelve-petalled rosettes

  • zigzag circles encircling rosettes

  • encircled six-petalled rosette in central metope

  • bead-and-reel pattering triglyphs

Bibliography

Source of diplomatic

No bibliography available for diplomatic transcription.

Source of transcription

No bibliography available for transcription.

Source of translation

No bibliography available for translation.

Other sources

  • Rahmani, L.Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Edited by Ayala Sussmann. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994.
    Zotero
  • Rahmani, L.Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Edited by Ayala Sussmann. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994.
    Zotero
View XML

Cite This Inscription

IIP is committed to the idea that the public good is best served by keeping our data free for use and reuse. You can cite and use this inscription under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Note also that all images are either in the public domain or used with permission, and unless noted we do not hold copyright to them. For permission to reuse the images, please contact the copyright holder, noted in the illustration credit.

The project can be cited as:

Satlow, Michael L., ed. 2002 - . “Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine.” Brown University. https://doi.org/10.26300/PZ1D-ST89

This inscription can be cited as:

"Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine," JERU0001, 12 June 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89