V 160. Kachi-Kalyon.Building inscription of Soterikos and Cosmas, XIII–XVth centuries C.E.
Monument
Type
Wall.
Material
Limestone.
Additional description
Covered with limewash.
Place of Origin
Kachi-Kalyon.
Find place
Kachi-Kalyon.
Find context
West sector, St. Sophia cave-church, nave, western wall.
Find circumstances
1895, survey of Yu.A. Kulakovsky.
Modern location
In situ.
Institution and inventory
In situ, no inventory number.
Autopsy
September 2008.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the front.
Lettering
Lapidary; letters uneven. Alpha with a loop, nu minuscule. Abbreviations.
Letterheights (cm)
4.2.
Text
Category
Building inscription.
Date
XIII–XVth centuries C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Latyshev1896, 62, № 53; 2. Latyshev1901, 76; 2.1. Vinogradov2011, 234–236, № 10.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Ἐ<unclear>κ</unclear>αλι<unclear>ε</unclear>ρ<lb n="2" break="no"/>γίθι ὁ ναὸς
<lb n="3"/>τοῦ <roleName>θεοῦ</roleName> <g ref="#dipunct"/> ὁ τάφος,
<lb n="4"/>ὃν τ᾿ ἅμα <unclear>ὁ</unclear>
<unclear>Σο</unclear>τίρι<lb n="5" break="no"/>κος,
ὁ Κοσμᾶς
<expan><abbr>πρ</abbr><ex>εσβύτερος</ex></expan>.
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
1-2: Ἐκαινίσθ(η)Latyshev
3-5: ἔτ(οὺς) ς.ν´, τοῦ μ(ηνὸς) Α[ὐγούσ]το[υ]· ὁ ἅ(γιος) ΚοσμᾶςLatyshevom.
Translation
The church of God was decorated; this grave, which together Soterikos and Cosmas, presbyter, [set up].
Commentary
Editio princeps was prepared on the basis of a photograph, preserved in the collection of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Branch (f. 110, op. 1, d. 98, l. 288 v.). The photo published here is at the Photo Archive, Institute for History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences (II–1213; О.267.46; it was kindly brought to my attention by S.V. Kharitonov).
1-3. The formula is not otherwise attested in the Northern Black Sea region, but is known from Jerphanion 1936, № 182 (1006 C.E.), 186 (1060–1061 C.E.), and preceded by ἀνεκαινίσθη or ἀνηγέρθη, it is known in Beševliev 1964, № 78 (1042–1050 C.E.) and Grégoire 1929, № 51 (Pergamon, 1544–1545 C.E.), as well as in Vinogradov 2011b (Anakopia in Abkhazia, Xth century C.E.), and it is noteworthy that in the Cappadocian examples it refers to the decoration of a church, and in that from Abkhazia - to the rebuilding of a church. Also of note is the fact that the closest analogy for our formula is found in Cappadocia, the region which also provides parallels for our church's architecture (Vinogradov, Gaydukov, Zheltov 2005, 75).
4-5. The name Soterikos (here Soterichos), also known in Crimea from V 149 (this might even be the same person), is attested in Christian epigraphy (Yorke 1898, 324, № 42, Nikopolis in Armenia Minor; Mitchel 1982, № 130, Hermiai in Galatia), as well as in Tanais (CIRB 1279 (225 C.E.), 1282 (221 C.E.)). On the name Cosmas, see commentary to V 237. On the abbreviation of "presbyter" in Late Byzantine Crimea, see V 122, V 202 and V 218.
Line 6 reproduced on Latyshev's drawing cannot be read from the photograph.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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