V 108. Herakleian peninsula (Berman's Gully). Dedication of Ioannes (?), XIVth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Small panel.
Material
Limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 25.0, W. 21.0, Th. 4.0.
Additional description
Small panel in the shape of a mirror (circle with a handle); on the polished front is an inset rectangle crowned with a row of three triangles, with one large relief cross potent in the centre, and two smaller relief crosses potent on either side of the top arm of the large cross; the back is polished and bears a six-petal relief rosette surrounded by three circular relief bands, carved by a different hand than the image on the front.
Place of Origin
Herakleian peninsula (Berman's Gully).
Find place
Herakleian peninsula.
Find context
Berman Gully, settlement, Room 8.
Find circumstances
1928, excavations of K.E. Grinevich.
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 30578.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field 1
Position
Left and right of the inset rectangle.
Lettering
Lapidary; on the right side, the letters lean to the right; imitation of uncial script of manuscript titles; letters are elongated. Alpha with a loop, kappa’s diagonals do not touch the vertical, mu with sagging cross-loop, angular rho, cross-shaped psi. Ligature eta-nu.
Letterheights (cm)
0.5–0.8.
Text 1
Category
Dedication.
Date
XIVth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Type of representation, language.
Editions
L1. Shangin 1938, 85–87, № 14.
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="1">
<div type="textpart" subtype="column">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> <supplied reason="lost">Ὑ</supplied>πὲρ ε<lb n="2" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ὐ</supplied>χῆς κὲ
<lb n="3"/><supplied reason="lost">σω</supplied>τηρή
<lb n="4"/><supplied reason="lost">ας</supplied> κὲ ἀφέ<lb n="5" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">σε</supplied>ος ἁμαρ<lb n="6" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied>ιῶν τοῦ
<lb n="7"/><supplied reason="lost">δο</supplied>ύλου σου
<lb n="8"/><expan cert="low"><abbr>Ἰω</abbr><ex>άννου</ex></expan> <supplied reason="lost">ἡ</supplied><unclear>γ</unclear>ου<unclear>μ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">έ</supplied><lb n="9" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">νου</supplied> <supplied reason="lost" cert="low">τοῦ</supplied>
<lb n="10"/><roleName><supplied reason="lost">ἁγ</supplied>ήου</roleName>
Στε<lb n="11" break="no"/><unclear>φ</unclear>άνου. Το<lb n="12" break="no"/><unclear>ῦ</unclear>θο καμ<lb n="13" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ό</supplied><unclear>τ</unclear>η ἅμα
τε
<lb n="14"/>κὲ γρά<lb n="15" break="no"/>ψατη
ἠς ἄφ<lb n="16" break="no"/>εσην
</ab>
</div>
<div type="textpart" subtype="column">
<ab>
<lb n="17"/>ἁμα<supplied reason="lost">ρ</supplied><lb n="18" break="no"/>τηῶ<lb n="19" break="no"/>ν αὐ<lb n="20" break="no"/>τοῦ τε κὲ
<lb n="21"/>το͂ν α<unclear>ὐ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied><lb n="22" break="no"/>οῦ γε<lb n="23" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost" cert="low">νε</supplied>ο͂ν
<lb n="24"/>γένυτο
<lb n="25"/>πάτα<supplied reason="lost">ς</supplied>
<lb n="26"/>ἡμᾶς. Ἀ<lb n="27" break="no"/>μήν.
</ab>
</div>
</div> Apparatus criticus
7-8: Ἰ]ουλιανοῦ Shangin
11-16: τ[ὰ] ἔτη Θωκᾶ μήτηρ μα τέκε καὶ γιὰ τα(ύ)την] Shangin
20-36: τέ[κ]τον αὐτοῦ ... τε ... Γενν[άδιος πᾶπας ἡμ(ῶν) Shangin
Translation
For the prayer, salvation and redemption of sins of your servant Io[annes ?], abbot of [the monastery] of St. Stephen. On behalf of the one who made this and equally of the one who wrote this, for the redemption of their sins and those of his parents (?), may it be so for all of us, amen.
Commentary
After Grinevich’s discovery of the inscription, it was read by I.I. Novosotsky who saw the formula “For the resting [in God] of God’s servant Gurias(?), the son of Stephen” and dated it to the VIII-IXth centuries C.E. Grinevich (1928) does not provide a date for the archaeological remains in room 8.
The panel was designed to be fitted into a slot, or into a wall. The rosette was probably carved first, and by a skilled master who was using a compass. A scribe began the carving of the inscription under the rosette, on a handle-like extension, which is testified by an initial upsilon (the same letter that begins the inscription on the obverse side of the panel). The scribe stopped, however, after the first letter, either because he realized that the extension was meant to be fitted into a slot and would hide the letters, or more likely, due to a lack of space. Later, a less skilled person carved out a rectangular depression with three crosses in relief on the opposite side of the panel, and the inscription was added to the left and right of the carving.
The craftsman commissioned to cut the inscription apparently did not have much experience in working on stone (this is suggested by a clumsy execution of letters due to the fact that he was not using a support for his right hand, as D.Yu. Korobkov has kindly pointed out to us). That the inscription was made by a book scribe is also evident from his imitation of the uncial script of manuscript titles, wherefrom he took some conventional Middle Byzantine letterforms, which misled Shangin. The language of the inscription reveals a mixture of high literary forms (ἅμα τε καί) alongside many orthographic and syntactic mistakes.
1-7. On the formula, see IV.3.B.g. Concerning the deviation (τοῦ δούλου σου instead τοῦ δούλου τοῦ Θεοῦ), see IV.3.E.b.
8-11. The name in line 8 consisted of two letters: most likely, it was Joannes, typically abbreviated as iota-omega. The words “abbot of St. Stephen” point to a monastery of that name, probably of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr. It is possible that the monastery was located in the Herakleian peninsula. All other references (the name Julian, emperor Phocas, priest Gennadios) “discovered” by Shangin find no support in the text.
11-15. A similar formula κύριε, βοήθει τῷ γράψαντι is attested in Bandy 1970, no. 73B and TAM II 735 (Komba in Lycia). A characteristic omission of nu in the combination of letters αντ, also in the same word γράψαντι, is attested in IGLS 371 (Antiochena, 496 C.E.); cf. SEG 27.848. In our case, the omission of nu before tau (also in lines 13 and 25) might be a dialectal feature (see IV.5.A).
20-23. A request on behalf of a dedicant and his parents is attested in Piccirillo 1981, no. 8A (Rihab in Arabia, 533 C.E.) and in Feissel, Philippidis-Braat 1985, no. 88 (Geraki, XVth cent C.E.).
Images
Epigraphic field 2
Position
On the reverse of the handle, under the rosette.
Lettering
See Epigraphic field 1.
Letterheights (cm)
0.5.
Text 2
Category
Unknown.
Date
XIVth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Type of representation, language.
Editions
L1. Shangin 1938, 85–87, № 14.
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="2">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><orig>Υ</orig>
</ab>
</div> Translation
...
Commentary
See commentary for Text 1.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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