Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine Prinicipal Investigator Michael Satlow

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 zoor0172 zoor0172

Negev. Zoora. July 17, 443 CE. Yellowish sandstone tombstone with purple stripes and two green diagonal veins. Epitaph.

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Frame Surrounding the text Cross Centered above the text Chi Center of the cross Bird Flanking the upper cross Guide-lines Set within the text Serpentine motif (see note) July 17, 443 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 Κύρας Ἀλφίου, ἀπαθανόντοςἀποθανόντος μετὰ κολοῦκαλοῦ ἀνάματοςὀνόματος ἐτῶν ιζʹ, ἐν τληʹ, ἐν μενὶμηνὶ ΠανέμουΠανήμου ηκʹ. ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδὶςοὐδεὶς ἀθάντοςἀθάνατος.

Monument of Kyra, (daughter) of Alphios, who died having a good name (at the age) of 17 years, in (the year) 338, on (the) 28th (day) of the month Panemos. Be of good cheer, no one (is) immortal.

ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Κύρας Ἀλφίου, ἀπαθανόντοςἀποθανόντος μετὰ κολοῦκαλοῦ ἀνάματοςὀνόματος ἐτῶν ιζʹ ἐν τληʹ ἐν μενὶμηνὶ ΠανέμουΠανήμου ηκʹ ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδὶςοὐδεὶς ἀθάντοςἀθάνατος.

The inscription provides the date as the 28th day of the month Panemos in the year 338 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, July 17, 443 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 at the top, broken at the lower left side, and chipped all around its edges. The first half of the text is written in round script, while the second half is written in square, except for the omicrons and thetas. The text is engraved upon a smoothed surface, which shows some recent damage from a pick. Lines one, four, and seven are painted over in red. The text is surrounded by an incised frame and set within engraved guide-lines, with lines two and five also painted red. An engraved, outlined cross with a chi in the middle is centered above the frame. This cross is flanked by two incised, red-painted birds bearing a palm branch. A serpentine motif appears after the age numeral and preposition ἐν in line five, the year numeral in line six, and the inverted month day numeral in line seven. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors.

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