Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Location

JERU0163

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

Φασαήλου καὶ Εἰφιγενείας Φασαήλου υἱοῦ

Translation

of Phasael. And of Iphigenia. Of Phasael, his son

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Ossuary has low feet and cornice with fluted frieze under rim on all sides. Its size is remarkable but not unique; probably Phasael's body was placed in this receptable and the remains of his wife and son added later. Dimensions in parentheses include cornice; height describes that of chest plus that of gabed lid with deep wedge on length of apex. Ornamentation is elaborate. On the chest's front side, it consists of a zigzag frame on left, right, and bottom, with sides of the frame continued onto feet, and a central row and seven horizontal, somewhat irregularly spaced rosettes of 15, 16 or 17 petals. The back side is similar, but without the frame. Left and right sides have the frame, containing one grooved ring carved in high relief, encircling an eight-petalled rosette with petals shaped as inward-pointing ivy leaves. Ornamentation on the lid's front and back sides consists of a zigzag frame with an ashlar patterned frieze at the base and a central row of five horizontal rosettes, each row flanked by rings and rosettes like those of the chest's left and right sides. These rings on the lid seem to derive from representations of knocker or handle rings lacking indications of attachments. On either of the lid's gables sits a large eight-petalled rosette within a zigzag circle, above a large fingergrip. The first word is deeply carved on the lid, under the row of rosettes; the next name appears finely incised to the right of it, mostly in doubled lines; and the last finely incised to its left, partially in doubled lines. The name Φασάηλος is well known from Herod's family, but not elsewhere attested locally on a Jewish inscription. The name is found in many Palmyrene, Safaitic, and especially Nabataean inscriptions from the first and second centuries CE in both male (as here) and female forms. Perhaps the deceased was a Palmyrene or Nabataean who married into a Jewish family. The father and son of this ossuary bear the same name; this is attested elsewhere in the area. The woman's name, meaning "strong born, mighty," is a variant of Ἰφιγένεια, which does not occur in early epigraphy (save for a possible reading in a second century CE inscription at Ephesus), and which has strong pagan connotations, perhaps unknown to the deceased or not considered; in Greek mythology Agamemnon's daughter of that name was identified with goddesses Artemis and Hecate, and a cult image of Artemis-Iphigenia still stood in Syria in the mid-second century CE. The names of the wife and son seem to have been incised by the same hand; perhaps they died at the same time.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 54+38 cm; W: 168(171) cm; D: 48(51) cm

Date

20 BCE to 70 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • ivy leaves petals of eight-petalled rosettes

  • rosettes within frame on front and back of lid

  • zigzag frame left, right and bottom edges of chest's front side, left and right sides, front and back of lid

  • zigzag circles encircling rosettes

  • zigzag circles encircling eight-petalled rosettes

  • sixteen-petalled rosettes on chest's back side and within frame on front side

  • ashlar patterned frieze at base on front and back of lid

  • rings, perhaps deriving from representations of knocker or handle rings flanking rosettes on front and back of lid

  • fluted frieze cornice

  • grooved rings within frame on left side

  • encircled eight-petalled rosettes front and left gable

  • fifteen-petalled rosettes on chest's back side and within frame on front side

  • seventeen-petalled rosettes on chest's back side and within frame on front side

  • eight-petalled rosettes within rings

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," JERU0163, 9 March 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89