Nazareth, 27 BCE-100 CE. Slab. Imperial Edict.
Provenane is unknown, but a French collector claimed its origination in Nazareth
Taxonomies for IIP controlled values
Διάταγµα Καίσαρος
Ἀρέσκει µοι τάφους τύνβους
τε, οἵτινες εἰς θρησκείαν
προγόνων
ἐποίησαν ἣ τέκνων ἣ οἰκείων
τούτους µένειν ἀµετακίνητους
τὸν αἰῶνα· ἐὰν δέ τις
να ἣ καταλελυκότα ἣ ἀλλῳ τινὶ
τρόπῳ τοὺς κεκηδευµένους
ἐξερριφότα ἣ
εἰς ἑτέρους
τόπους δώλῳ πονηρῷ µε
τατεθεικόταν ἐπ᾿ ἀδικίᾳ τῇ
τῶν
κεκηδευµένων ἣ κατόχους ἣ λί
θους µετατεθεικότα, κατὰ
τοῦ
τοιούτου κριτήριον ἐγὼ κελεύω
γενέσθαι καθάπερ περὶ θεῶν
ε
είας. Πολύ γὰρ µᾶλλον δεήσει
τοὺς κεκηδευµένους τειµᾶν·
καθόλου µηδενὶ ἐξέστω µετα
κεινήσαι· εἰ δὲ μή, τοῦτον ἐγὼ
κε
φαλῆς κατάκριτον ὀνόµατι
τυµβωρυχίας θέλω γενέσθαι.
Edict of Caesar. It is my pleasure that graves and tombs which anyone has prepared as a pious service for forebears, children, or members of his household are to remain forever unmolested. But if any person shows that another either has destroyed them, or in any other way has cast forth the persons buried there, or with malicious deception has transferred the bodies elsewhere to the dishonor of the dead, or has removed the inscribed or other stones, I command an action to be instituted against such person, protecting the pious services of men, just as if they were concerned with the gods. For it shall be by far more proper to do honor to the dead. No one whatsoever shall be permitted to remove them. If anyone does so, however, it is my will that he shall suffer capital punishment on the charge of desecration of graves.
The alleged provenance of Nazareth is doubtful. A recent analysis by Kyle Harper and others determined that the store originated on the island of Kos, though it is certainly conceivable that it was imported to Galilee. Given its concern of desecration of graves, it is easy to imagine the original owner invented the Nazareth provenenance to increase its value.