V 195. Theodoro.Liturgical inscription, X–XIIIth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Small panel.
Material
Limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H.6.0, W.12.5, Th.2.5.
Additional description
The front is planed and polished. Broken on the left and right.
Place of Origin
Theodoro.
Find place
Mangup.
Find context
Basilica, south-western sector, layer 1.
Find circumstances
1993, excavations of N.I. Barmina.
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 11/37269.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field
Position
Along the upper edge.
Lettering
Lapidary; letters slightly lean to the right. Alpha with a loop, pi - short and wide, omega with slightly pointed loops.
Letterheights (cm)
0.7–1.1.
Text
Category
Liturgical (?) inscription.
Date
X–XIIIth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
Unpublished.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/> <w part="F"><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><gap reason="illegible" quantity="1" unit="character"/>α<gap reason="illegible" quantity="1" unit="character"/>εν</w> <g ref="#dipunct"/>
ἐνώπη<supplied reason="lost">ον</supplied> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
</ab>
</div>Translation
..., before...
Commentary
Judging by the word ἐνώπιον, not associated with a specific formula, we must be dealing with a liturgical inscription. This is corroborated by the findspot being a basilica. The presence of only a single line (the top is preserved and under the text is vacat) suggests that it was a discrete phrase rather than a lengthy text. It might even be an image-related inscription (cf. V 56, V 57, V 58). The ending of the first word -αεν is unknown in such formulae, and suggests that there was a superscript siglum above alpha.
The script does not contain characteristic letters that could help us to date it more precisely, but it is clear that this rather "classical"-looking script is alien to the Theodorite palaeography of the XIV-XVth centuries.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to theEpiDoc schema.)