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Location

ZOOR0175

Negev. Zoora. August 6, 444 CE. Tombstone. Funerary (Epitaph).

Transcription

+ ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Κύρας Πέτρου διακόνου, ἀποθανούσης μετὰ καλοῦ ὀνόματος καὶ καλῆς πίστεως ἐτῶν ξʹ, ἐν μηνὶ Λῴου ιηʹ, τοῦ ἔτους τλθʹ, ἡμέρᾳ Κυρίου αʹ. ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδὶςοὐδεὶς ἀθάνατος.

Translation

Monument of K[yra], (daughter) of Petros, (the) deaconess, who died having a good name and good faith at the age of 60 years, on (the) 18th (day) of the month Loos, in the year 339, on the 1st day of the Lord (Sunday). 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 1st day of the Lord (Sunday), the 18th day of the month Loos in the year 339 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, August 6, 444 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 nearly rectangular tombstone is broken at the lower right side and upper left corners. Written in a mixture of round and square script, the text is engraved upon a smoothed surface, which is chipped in the upper right section and flaked off on the left side. Lines one, three, six, nine, and eleven are painted over in red, while the rest of the lines only preserve traces of red. The entire inscription is set within incised guide-lines. An outlined cross is centered above the inscription, and the letters alpha and omega are engraved in the lower corners of the cross. A chi-sign is painted in red on top of this cross. Two birds flank this cross. Only the beak of the right bird is preserved, while the left is entirely preserved and mostly painted over in red. Both the text and the decorative figures are surrounded by a square, red-painted, engraved frame. The ends of lines one, two, three, and four of the text are lost due to the chipping of the inscribed surface. A horizontal bar appears above the age numeral in line seven and weekday numeral in line nine of the text. The inscription contains both spelling and grammatical errors. The reconstruction of the name of the deceased is based on the preserved letter kappa and the space alotted for the remaining (lost) letters. The participle in line three indicates that the deceased was a woman. The editor notes that if we accept the reconstruction of the personal name and office, Kyra would have been one of four deaconesses to be buried at Ghor es-Safi within a decade in the mid-fifth century.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 45 cm; W: 27 cm; D: 8 cm

Date

444 CE to 444 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Chi painted on top of the cross

  • Birds flanking the cross

  • Guide-lines set within the text

  • Frame surrounding the text

  • Cross centered above the text

  • Alpha/omega inscribed in the lower corners of the cross

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.
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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," ZOOR0175, 12 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89