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ZOOR0190

Negev. Zoora. October 18, 451 CE. Purple sandstone tombstone. Epitaph.

Transcription

+ Εἷς Θεός. ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Δουσάριον ΝίλουΝείλου, ἀποθανόντος μητὸμετὰ καλοῦ ὀνόματος ἐτῶν κςʹ, ἐν ἔτιἔτει τμςʹ, μηνὶ Δίου αʹ, ἡμέρᾳ Κυρίου εʹ. ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδὶςοὐδεὶς ἀθάνατος.

Translation

One (is) the God. Monument of Dousarios, (son) of Nilos, who died having a good name (at the age) of 26 years, in the year 346, on (the) 1st (day) of (the) month Dios, on (the) 5th day of (the) Lord (Thursday). 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 5th day of the Lord (Thursday), the 1st of the month Dios, in the year 346 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, October 18, 451 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 curved in the upper and lower corners, broken in the lower side, and chipped all around. Written predominantly in square script with a few round exceptions, the text is engraved upon a smoothed surface, which is damaged in several places. Lines three, six, and nine are painted over in red. The original frame is engraved and painted over in red, but, due to a miscalculation by the letter-cutter, there are two other red-painted lines in the right and lower sides of the frame. For this reason, the ends of lines two through five fall outside of the original frame. The letters falling outside the frame consist of the last three letters of the second line of text, and the last two letters of the third, fourth, fifth and ninth lines of text. A red-painted cross is faintly discernible above the upper side of the frame. A horizontal bar appears above the age numeral in line six, the year numeral in line seven, the month day numeral in line eight, and the weekday numeral in line nine. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors. The editor suggests that the name of the deceased, Δουσάριος, is derived from the name of the supreme Nabataean god.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 45.5 cm; W: 30 cm; D: 0.07 cm

Date

451 CE to 451 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Cross centered above the text

  • Frame surrounding the text, see note

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," ZOOR0190, 7 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89