Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Location

ZOOR0187

Negev. Zoora. October 18 - November 16, 449 CE. Tombstone. Epitaph.
Transcription

Εἷς Θεός. ΜνημῖανΜνημεῖον Καϊάμου Καϊάμου, ἀπαθανὼνἀποθανὠν, νετὰμετὰ καλοῦ ὀνάματοςὀνόματος ἠτῶνἐτῶν καʹ, ἔτους τμδʹ, μηνὸς Δίου, ἡμέρᾳ ζʹ. +

Translation

One (is) the God. Monument of Kaiamos, (son) of Kaiamos, who died having a good name (at the age) of 21 years, in (the) year 344, in (the) month of Dios, on (the) 7th day (Saturday).

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the date as the 7th day (Saturday), the month of Dios, in the year 344 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, between October 18 and November 16, 449 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 in the lower left and right corners and chipped all around. Written in round script, the text is engraved upon a smoothed surface, which is flaked off at the bottom. Lines three and five are also painted over in red. Except for the last line of text, the inscription is surrounded by a square, incised frame and set within incised guide-lines, some of which preserve traces of red paint. Faint traces of an engraved pediment appear above the text. Red-painted serpentine motifs appear on either side of the frame. Red dots appear in the concavities of these motifs. An outlined cross is centered below the text and flanked by two birds which are barely discernible due to the faded nature of the paint. A horizontal bar appears above the age numeral in line six and the year numeral in line seven. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors. The mu of the word μετά in line four is recorded as an inverted nu. In this inscription, the name of the deceased and the patronymic are the same.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 41 cm; W: 30 cm; D: 0.5 cm

Date

449 CE to 449 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Pediment above the frame

  • Bird flanking the lower cross

  • Guide-lines set within the text

  • Serpentine motif on both sides of the frame

  • Frame surrounding the text, save for the last line

  • Cross below and to the right of 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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Cite This Inscription

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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," ZOOR0187, 12 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89