Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Images

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Location

ZOOR0268

Negev. Zoora.Second half of fourth century CE. Brownish sandstone tombstone. Epitaph.
Transcription

+ + ΜνημῖνΜνημεῖον Ὀκεύλου, ΦαινοισίΦαινουσίου. +

Translation

Monument of Okeilos from Feinan.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
No date is given ιn the inscription, but it has been dated to the second half of the fourth century CE on the strength of other factors. 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 is rectangular in shape, curved in its right corners and chipped. The inscribed surface has been smoothed to two different levels, both inscribed. On the lower right, remnants of an erased text can be seen. A cross-rho appears above the text. A simple cross is found on each side of the cross-rho, while another is centered below the text. The text and figures are all engraved. The author notes that this is the first attestation of the name Ὀκεύλος in Palestine and Arabia, and that it might be a verion of the Semitic Ὀκαλός.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 46 cm; W: 25 cm; D: 07 cm

Date

350 CE to 399 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Cross one on each side of the cross-rho, one below text

  • Cross-rho above inscription

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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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," ZOOR0268, 18 November 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89