Images

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Location

ZOOR0020

Negev. Zoora. March 22, 360 CE to March 21, 361 CE. Sandstone tombstone. Engraved and partially painted. Epitaph.

Transcription

+ Εἷς Θεός ὃν θάροςθάρσος ἔγραψα ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Σωσάννα Ὀβέδας ἀποθανόντος ἐτῶν ιʹ ἔτους σνεʹ

Translation

One (is) the God, by whose encouragement I wrote (this). Monument of Shoshana, (daughter) of Obedas, who died (at the age) of 10 years, in (the) year 255.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the date as the year 254 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, March 22, 360 CE to March 21, 361 CE. The tombstone is one of about 700 discovered in Byzantine Zoora. The majority of the Greek tombstones from this location have been identified as Christian. This tombstone was found in four fragments and reassembled. The inscription contains both spelling and grammatical errors and is recorded in a round alphabet. Lines 3 through 8 are engraved and painted, with the exception of the first epsilon on line 8, which is only painted. Lines 1-2 are painted and recorded in a messy hand with much smaller letters than the rest of the inscription and an irregular alignment. This leads the author to suggest that they may have been added as an afterthought. Lines 7 and 8 are also poorly aligned. There is a cross engraved and painted red at the top of the tombstone with a horizontal bar is elongated. The author notes that the phrase "Εἷς Θεός" is found commonly in inscriptions from the East starting in the late third century CE (and becoming increasingly common in the fourth and fifth centuries CE).

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 46 cm; W: 25 cm; D: 03.5 cm

Date

360 CE to 361 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • cross above the text

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

  • Meimaris, Yiannis, and Kalliope Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou. Inscriptions from Palaestina Tertia Vol. Ia: The Greek Inscriptions from Ghor Es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora). Athens, Greece: National Hellenic Research Foundation, 2005.
    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," ZOOR0020, 7 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89