Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Images

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Location

JERU0160

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

Ἰκαρπία

Translation

Ikarpia

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Unfinished ossuary has inner ledge on three sides and flat, sliding lid. Ornamentation on the chest's front side consists of an ashlar wall of irregular header-and-stretcher arrangement within a zigzag frame. Three rows of three eight-petalled rosettes are superimposed on the center, each row linked vertically by zigzag strips between which the ashlar pattern is absent. The chest's back side is similar, but with a a vertical zigzag strip, unfinished at the top, imposed on the ashlars at the center, linking two slightly larger eight-petalled rosettes. The ashlar pattern is absent from the strip, except for its lowest row. On the chest's left side is a simple lattice pattern in a zigzag frame, with interstices containing containing containing regularly spaced eight-petalled rosettes of varying sizes. On the right side are three horizontal zigzag lines in zigzag frames. Ornamentation on the lid consists of a zigzag frame containing two eight-petalled rosettes each within concentric line circles, with zigzag strips linking circles to each other and to top and base of frame. All rosettes are within line circles and have petals shaped as inward-pointing ivy leaves. The name here is the most likely reading of the inscription, on the chest's back side; De Segni suggests [Πολ]ικαρπία, but there is no evidence that those initial letters ever existed. It may represent a local pronunciation of the male name Κάρπος (prefixed with an iota like other Greek names rendered locally), which occurs frequently in Greek literature, inscriptions, and papyri. Alternatively, it may stand for ἐυκαρπία, meaning literally "fruitfulness," which is attested as a female name in Greek papyri.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 36 cm; W: 79 cm; D: 29.5 cm

Date

20 BCE to 70 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • encircled eight-petalled rosettes front, back and left sides and on lid

  • line circles encircling all rosettes

  • zigzag lines right side of chest

  • zigzag strips lid

  • zigzag frame all sides of chest and on lid

  • ashlar wall within frame on front and back of chest

  • ivy leaf-shaped petals all rosettes

  • lattice pattern left side of chest

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
  • 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
  • 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
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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," JERU0160, 14 November 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89