V 47. Cherson. Invocation of N–, IX–Xth centuries C.E.
Monument
Type
Small panel.
Material
White fine-grained marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 7.5, W. 18.0, Th. 1.5.
Additional description
Split into two pieces, broken off on all sides; the surface is worn.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
Church 13 ("Western basilica"), northern chapel ("Chapel B"), wall.
Find circumstances
1901, excavations of K.K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich.
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 34912.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the front.
Lettering
Graffito. Letters are leaning to the right. Alpha with slanting crossbar; beta with larger bottom loop and underscoring; delta with the right diagonal extended left and upwards; ksi with bottom underline; У-shaped upsilon. Abbreviations.
Letterheights (cm)
0.5–1.0.
Text
Category
Invocative inscription.
Date
IX–Xth centuries C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Latyshev 1902a, 28–29, № 12.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> <roleName><expan><abbr>Κ</abbr><ex>ύρι</ex><abbr>ε</abbr></expan></roleName>, βοήθη τοῦ δούλου σου <seg part="I">Ν</seg><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb n="2"/>ἁμαρτολὸν <expan><abbr>κ</abbr><ex>αὶ</ex></expan> ἀ<supplied reason="lost">νά</supplied>ξηον δοῦλον
<lb n="3"/>τοῦ <roleName><expan><abbr>Θ</abbr><ex>εο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></roleName>, ἀμή<supplied reason="lost">ν</supplied>. <supplied reason="lost"><g ref="#stauros"/></supplied> <roleName><expan><abbr>Κ</abbr><ex>ύρι</ex><abbr>ε</abbr></expan></roleName>, <expan><abbr>βοήθ</abbr><ex>ει</ex></expan>.
</ab>
</div> Apparatus criticus
1-2: [τὸν] ἁμαρτωλὸν Latyshev
3: +: om. Latyshev
Translation
O Lord, help your servant N[...], a sinful and un[worthy] servant of God, amen. O Lord, help.
Commentary
1, 3. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.E.a. This inscription represents a unique and independent development of the formula. The author is not troubled by the repetition of the word "servant," once with the modifier "Your" and the second time with the modifier "of God." He then also repeats the phrase "O Lord, help." In the space between this final phrase and the preceding "amen," I am inclined to restore a cross, by analogy with the start of the same phrase at the beginning of the inscription. A variant, "O Lord, help your servant" is attested in Grégoire 1929, no. 347 (Tralles, VIII–IXth centuries), and Jerphanion 1936, no. 117 (Zelve, Xth century). The formula "help the unworthy servant" is known from Jerphanion 1936, no. 45.
The script of this inscription resembles that of V 98 and V 245.
Sadly, the first editor provides only very spare references to the archaeological context of this find, so that it is not possible to say whether it could have been built into the wall of a chapel. The dates assigned to "Chapel B" range from the VIth (Beiernacki, Klenina, Ryzhov 2004, 42–43) to the IXth century (Sorochan 2005, 839–840); it is destroyed in the X-XIth century.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to the EpiDoc schema.)