Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
About Stories Resources Contact

Images

No images available

Location

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA, Imagery © Mapbox

ZOOR0143

Negev. Zoora. January 11, 435 CE. White sandstone tombstone. Epitaph.
Transcription

+ ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Κύρας Ἀββίβου, παυσομένηπαυσαμένη μετὰ καλοῦ ὀνόματος καὶ καλῆς πίστεως ἐτῶν μʹ, ἐν μηνὶ ΑὐδονέουΑὑ ςκʹ, τκθʹ. ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδὶςοὐδεὶς ἀθάνατος.

Translation

Monument of Kyra, (daughter) of Abbibos, who died having a good name and good faith (at the age) of 40 years, on (the) 26th (day) of (the) month Audynaios (?), (in the year) 329. Be of good cheer, no one (is) immortal.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the date as the month Apellaios in the year 329 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, between November 17 and December 16, 434 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 rectangular stone is curved at the top edge, broken at the lower left and right corners, and chipped all around. The smoothed, inscribed surface is flaked off in the upper left corner. The engraved text, written predominantly in round script with a few square exceptions, is painted red in lines one, two, and six. A small, simple engraved cross appears at the top of the tombstone. Traces of a red painted decorative motif appear above the text, particularly on the right side. A horizontal bar appears above the age and year numerals in line six. The month day numeral is inverted. These numerals are divided by two connected angular motifs, each facing the opposite direction. The abbreviation of the word μηνὸς in line six is denoted by its first letter and the sign ξ. The text is surrounded by a red painted frame. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors. The first five letters of the patronymic are mostly illegible, making the reconstruction of the name dubious.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 50 cm; W: 31 cm; D: 10 cm

Date

435 CE to 435 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Frame surrounding the text

  • Cross above the text

  • Angular motif before the year numeral in line nine

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. insc 143.
    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," ZOOR0143, 3 April 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89