Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine Prinicipal Investigator Michael Satlow

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Negev. Zoora. May 10, 372 CE. Sandstone tombstone, engraved and painted. Epitaph.

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Five Crosses Three above the text arranged horizontally, two below arranged vertically May 10, 372 CE Negev Zoora An Naq cemetery

Found by local inhabitants in the northwest corner of the Bronze Age, Byzantine and Islamic cemetery in the An Naq neighborhood south of the Wadi al-Hasa, probably in secondary use in later graves.

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

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 Creation Adding Pleiades IDs to origin/placenames adding period attribute to date element, with Periodo value.

+ + + Μνημῖονμνημεῖον ΕἰλιανὸςΑἰλιανός Σηάλλου, ἀποθανόντος ἐτῶνλεʹ, ἔτουςσξζʹ, μηνὸς Ἀρτεμισίου κʹ, ἡμέρᾳ Διός.++

Monument of Aelianus, (son) of Seallos, who died (at the age) of 35 years, in (the) year 267, on (the) 20th (day) of (the) month Artemisios, on (the) day of Jupiter (Thursday).

Μνημῖονμνημεῖον ΕἰλιανὸςΑἰλιανός Σηάλλου, ἀποθανόντος ἐτῶν λεʹ ἔτους σξζʹ μηνὸς Ἀρτεμισίου κʹ ἡμέρᾳ Διός.

The inscription provides the date as the 20th of Artemisios in the year 267 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, May 10, 372 CE. The tombstone is one of about 700 discovered in Byzantine Zoora and is in fair condition. The majority of the Greek tombstones from this location have been identified as Christian. The text of the inscription is enclosed by an engraved rectangular frame and is itself engraved in a round script and is colored in with red paint. Three crosses, engraved and painted red, are arranged horizontally above the text, outside the frame. Two more engraved and painted crosses appear below the text. These crosses are arranged vertically and centered on the text. One of these two is inside the rectangular frame. The text contains both a spelling and a grammatical error. The author notes that the name Αἰλιανός (spelled here as Εἰλιανός) is rare within Israel/Palestine. He also suggests that the Hellenized Semitic name Σηάλλας (or possibly Σεάλλας) may translate as "companion of Allah". The age and month day numerals are marked with a solid horizontal bar over all the letters, while the year numeral is marked with a separate short horizontal bar over each letter.

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