Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine Prinicipal Investigator Michael Satlow

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 zoor0183 zoor0183

Negev. Zoora. April 21, 448 CE. Yellowish sandstone tombstone. Epitaph.

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Cross (see note) Birds Flanking the small cross Frame Surrounding the text Guide-lines Set within the text April 21, 448 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 Παῦλος Ὀφρότου, ἀποθανὀντος μετὰ καλοῦ ὀνόματος ἐτῶν ὀκτώ, μηνὶ Ἀρτεμεσίῳ πρώτῃ, τοῦ ἔτους τριακοσσιοστοῦ τεσαρακοστοῦ τρίτου. + + + + +

Monument of Paulus, (son) of Ofrotas, who died having a good name (at the age) of eight years, on the first (day) of (the) month Artemisios, in the three hundred and forty-third year.

ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Παῦλος Ὀφρότου, ἀποθανὀντος μετὰ καλοῦ ὀνόματος ἐτῶν ὀκτώ, μηνὶ Ἀρτεμεσίῳ πρώτῃ, τοῦ ἔτους τριακοσσιοστοῦ τεσαρακοστοῦ τρίτου.

The inscription provides the 1st day of the month Artemisios in the year 343 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, April 21, 448 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 rectangular tombstone is curved below and chipped all around. Written predominantly in square script with a few round exceptions, the text is engraved upon a smoothed surface, which is weathered in the right section. Lines one, five, eight, and eleven are painted over in red. The inscription is surrounded by a rectangular frame and set within guide-lines. The vertical left side and part of the horizontal sides of the frame are engraved and painted red. The rest of the frame, like the guide-lines, is drawn in heavy red paint. A scene appears above the text consisting of a central outlined cross with four small circles in its corners and inscribed within a double-outlined circle filled with a linear pattern. Another small cross flanked by two birds appears above this figure. Only traces of the birds remain. These figures are all drawn in red paint, except for the small cross, which is also engraved. Another five crosses appear at the end of line eleven, engraved and painted red. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors.

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