V 23. Cherson.Dedication of T–, VI–VIIth centuries C.E.
Monument
Type
Cornice.
Material
White fine-grained marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H.15.5, W.28.0, Th.25.5.
Additional description
Cornice with mouldings. The top and front surfaces are polished. Broken off on the left and right.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
Church No 17, floor.
Find circumstances
1908, excavations of R. Ch. Loeper
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 35033.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the front of the topmost band of moulding.
Lettering
Lapidary. Letters with serifs. Rectangular epsilon and sigma.
Letterheights (cm)
3.7–4.0.
Text
Category
Dedication.
Date
VI–VIIth centuries C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Loeper1913, 67, № 16; 1.1. Latyshev1912, 136.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><supplied reason="lost"><g ref="#stauros"/></supplied> <supplied reason="lost">Ὑπὲ</supplied><unclear>ρ</unclear>
εὐχῆς <seg part="I"><orig>Τ</orig><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/></seg>
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
... ἐξLoeper; ὑπὲρ]Latyshev; τ[οῦ...Loeper
Translation
For the prayer of T...
Commentary
Latyshev's reconstruction of the beginning of the text is no doubt correct (for the formula, see Introduction IV.3.B.b), while there are no parallels for the restoration proposed by Loeper. In addition, the final rho is quite clear on the stone; the same can be said about the ending: the introductory words were typically followed by the name of a dedicant (or an anonymous formula "whose name God knows"), but not by an article.
The inscription is typical of Chersonian dedications of the V-VIIth centuries, and it originates, as Loeper suggested, from church 17 where it had been found. This hall church was dated by Grinevich to the VII-VIIIth centuries (see Sorochan 2005, 875). Rectangular epsilon and sigma place this inscription closer to V 7, excepting the Y-shaped ypslion. The closest palaeographic parallel is V 28.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to theEpiDoc schema.)