V 246. Sougdaia.Building inscription (?) of an unknown, 1385–1475 C.E.
Monument
Type
Wall.
Material
Tempera on plaster.
Dimensions (cm)
H.14.0, W.12.0, Th.1.0.
Additional description
Wall painting of a framed field. Broken off on all sides; 15 fragments survive.
Place of Origin
Sougdaia.
Find place
Sudak.
Find context
Fortress, Tower of 1385.
Find circumstances
1980s, restoration clearing.
Modern location
Sudak, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
Museum "Sudak Fortress", КП–593/ЖГС–30–32.
Autopsy
September 2003, September 2009.
Epigraphic field
Position
Within the frame.
Lettering
Dipinto; with a double yellow line between lines of text; ornate letters. Abbreviations.
Letterheights (cm)
6.0.
Text
Category
Building (?) inscription.
Date
1385–1475 C.E.
Dating criteria
Archaeological context, palaeography.
Editions
L1. Vinogradov, Dzhanov2004, 405–406, № 2.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <unclear>π</unclear><unclear>ρ</unclear>ὸς ἀμνη<unclear>σ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">τίαν</supplied><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">όφῳ</w>· <roleName><expan><abbr>θ</abbr><ex>εο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></roleName>
<lb n="2"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">ίῳ</w>· τὰ <w part="I">νω</w><gap reason="lost" quantity="6" unit="character"/><orig>Η</orig> τὸν
<lb n="3"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="line"/>
</ab>
</div>Translation
.. for forgive[ness]... of God...
Commentary
Two large fragments of a fresco were found during the restoration sondage of a wall of a defensive tower, dated to 1385 C.E., on the basis of a building inscription (Baranov 1988). The two fragments are currently in different locations, but it is certain that the text of one is a direct continuation of the other. The presence of an inscription with religious content in a fortification tower testifies to the use of its ground floor as a chapel. Chapels in fortification towers are known both in Byzantium and Western Europe. In Sougdaia, chapels operated in the so-called St. George Watchtower and in the keep of of the Consular Castle.
1. The absence of an article before θεοῦ suggests that the inscription may have been poetic in form. It is difficult to say anything concrete about its content, although the word ἀμνηστία (if it is correctly restored) might point to a formula-type "erected... for the forgiveness of sins."
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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