V 111. Bakla. Demonstrative inscription, X–XVth centuries C.E.

Monument

Type

Frame of a niche. 

Material

Limestone. 

Dimensions (cm)

H. 5.0, W. 9.5.

Additional description

Wall niche framed at the top with three roll mouldings and a row of circular holes. Monograms on the bottom part of the frame. Letters are considerably effaced. 

Place of Origin

Bakla. 

Find place

Bakla. 

Find context

East of the citadel, cave north of the "Church of 2003", eastern wall. 

Find circumstances

Discovered in the twentieth century, by several researchers independently. 

Modern location

In situ. 

Institution and inventory

In situ, no inventory number. 

Autopsy

September 2003. 

Epigraphic field

Position

On the right field. 

Lettering

Lapidary. Epsilon and sigma with thickened bottom curves, iota with diaeresis, mu with short middle hastae, almond-shaped omicron, У-shaped elongated upsilon. Ligature: omicron-nu, with omicron not fully closed at the top. 

Letterheights (cm)

1.0.

Text

Category

Demonstrative. 

Date

X–XVth centuries C.E. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

Unpublished. 

Edition

+Ὀσμὺ
κερίον
ἱδονή.

Diplomatic

+ΟΣΜΥ
ΚΕΡΙΟΝ
ΙΔΟΝΗ

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
    <lb n="1"/> <g ref="#stauros"/>Ὀσμὺ
    <lb n="2"/>κερίον
    <lb n="3"/>ἱδονή.
   </ab>
   </div> 

Translation

The fragrance of candles is a delight.

 

Commentary

In 2001-2002, somebody traced the letters of the inscription (often incorrectly) with blue and red pencils, making it difficult to read the text.

2. The interchange of eta and epsilon should be viewed as a Late Byzantine phonetic variant (see Κριαρᾶς VIII, 158).

1-3. To our regret, we were not able to find parallels of the text of this inscription in any Byzantine monument, epigraphic or literary. We may venture a guess that the inscription could have been inspired by the practice of lighting candling in the richly decorated niche, on whose frame it was inscribed.

Iota with diaeresis appears in Crimea from the Xth century (V 66).

 

Images

(cc) © 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to the EpiDoc schema.)