Images

No images available

Location

ZOOR0049

Negev. Zoora. November 11, 385 CE. White sandstone tombstone. Epitaph.

Transcription

ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Σόλεμος Χρήσκης, ὀποθονοῦς ἐτῶν κεʹ, ἔτους σπʹ, μηνὸς Δίου εκʹ.

Translation

Monument of Solemos, (son) of Chreskes (Crescens), who died (at the age) of 25 years, in (the) year 280, on (the) 25th (day) of (the) month Dios.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the date as the 25th day of the month Dios in the year 280 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, November 11, 385 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. The tombstone, which is almost square in shape, is curved at the bottom and chipped at the right, left, and bottom edges. The smoothed inscribed surface is enclosed by an engraved frame that is curved at the bottom and which is painted red. A cross-rho figure is centered below the last line of text. The square script and the cross-rho figure are inscribed unevenly and painted over in red. There are traces of red paint at the left edge. The inscription includes spelling and grammatical errors. In line seven, the month day numeral is inverted. The personal name Χρήσκης is a transcription of the Latin name Crescens, which was popular in the Imperial period. The author notes that while this name is somewhat common at Ghor es-Safi, it is so far unattested in the rest of in Palestine and Arabia.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 39 cm; W: 35 cm; D: 07 cm

Date

385 CE to 385 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Cross-rho centered below last line

  • Frame around 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
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," ZOOR0049, 12 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89