V 104. Cherson. Inscribed panel with a cross, VIth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Panel.
Material
White fine-grained marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 16.0, W. 19.0, Th. 8.5.
Additional description
On the front - relief cross. Broken off on all sides.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
Church 19 ("Church with the reliquary").
Find circumstances
1907, excavations of K.K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich.
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 34929.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field 1
Position
On the cross.
Lettering
Lapidary, kionedon. Alpha with broken crossbar.
Letterheights (cm)
1.8.
Text 1
Category
Unknown.
Date
VIth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. IOSPE I2 623; 2. Latyshev 1908, 35, № 31.
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="1">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
<lb n="2"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig><unclear>τ</unclear></orig>
<g ref="#stauros"/> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="3"/><orig>Τ</orig>
<lb n="4"/><orig>Ι</orig>
<lb n="5"/><orig>Α</orig>
<lb n="6"/><orig>Ν</orig>
<lb n="7"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
</ab>
</div> Translation
См. комм. к Тексту 2.
Commentary
See commentary on Text 2.
Epigraphic field 2
Position
On either side of the bottom arm of the cross.
Lettering
Lapidary style. Alpha with broken crossbar and ornate upward-curving stroke at the apex.
Letterheights (cm)
3.5.
Text 2
Category
Demonstrative.
Date
VIth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. IOSPE I2 623; 2. Latyshev 1908, 35, № 31.
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="2">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><orig>Α</orig> <supplied reason="lost"><orig>Ω</orig></supplied>.
</ab>
</div> Translation
Alpha, [omega].
Commentary
Judging by the shape of the monument, it is a panel of an altar screen from an Early Byzantine church. Alpha and omega were probably placed in the middle of each sector, in which case the original width of the panel (or rather, of the cross) would have been ca. 40cm, and on the left, right, and top arms of the cross there would have been ca. 10 letters. Most likely, the letters preserved on the relief cross belong to the name of a dedicant (e.g., Domitian) or a formula (something mentioning ...ἁμαρτίαν). If the former is correct, then the name might also have been repeated horizontally. For the formula of Text 2, see Introduction IV.3.C.d.
Church 19 is variously dated (Biernacki, Klenina, Ryzhov 2004, 85–88), but the discovery made under its altar of a small reliquary with the monogram of Justinian I fits rather well with the palaeographic features of the inscription: alpha with broken crossbar and distinct serifs point to the VI-VIIth centuries. The rare shape of alpha with projecting right hasta is similar to that found on a eulogia stamp (Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich 1901, 116–117, fig. 16), datable to the VIth century, to judge by the script, and in V 314from Kerch.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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