V 288. Pantikapaion. Epitaph of A–, IVth century C.E.

Monument

Type

Panel (?). 

Material

Limestone. 

Additional description

Broken off on the right and bottom. 

Place of Origin

Pantikapaion. 

Find place

Kerch (?). 

Find context

 

Find circumstances

Unknown. 

Modern location

Unknown. 

Institution and inventory

Unknown. 

Autopsy

Non vidi. 

Epigraphic field

Position

On the front. 

Lettering

Lapidary. Alpha with broken crossbar, kappa with elongated vertical. 

Text

Category

Epitaph. 

Date

IVth century C.E. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

L1. Latyshev 1901, 78. 

Edition

❦ Ἐ[νθάδε κα-]
τάκε[ιται] ὁ δοῦλος resp. ἡ δούλη [τοῦ]
θ(εο)ῦ Α---·
ἐτε[λεύτησεν] resp. ἔτε[ι] ..., μην-
5ὶ Φ[εβρουαρίῳ ..]´.

Diplomatic

❦Ε[.......-]
ΤΑΚΕ[....]ΟΔΟΥΛΟΣ[...]
ΘΥΑ---
ΕΤΕ[........]···ΜΗΝ
5ΙΦ[.........··]

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      <lb n="1"/> <g ref="#leaf"/> Ἐ<supplied reason="lost">νθάδε</supplied>
      <supplied reason="lost">κα</supplied><lb n="2" break="no"/>τάκε<supplied reason="lost">ιται</supplied>
      <app type="alternative"><lem>ὁ δοῦλος</lem>
      <rdg>ἡ δούλη</rdg></app>
      <supplied reason="lost">τοῦ</supplied>      
    <lb n="3"/><roleName><expan><abbr>θ</abbr><ex>εο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></roleName>
      <seg part="I">Α</seg><gap reason="illegible" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>·
      <lb n="4"/><app type="alternative"><lem>ἐτε<supplied reason="lost">λεύτησεν</supplied></lem>
      <rdg>ἔτε<supplied reason="lost">ι</supplied></rdg></app><date>
      <num><gap reason="illegible" quantity="3" unit="character"/></num>,
      μην<lb n="5" break="no"/>ὶ
      <rs type="month" ref="feb">Φ<supplied reason="lost">εβρουαρίῳ</supplied></rs>
      <num atLeast="10" atMost="31"><gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character"/></num></date>.
   </ab>
   </div> 
 
Apparatus criticus

1: Ἔνθα Latyshev
2: ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ Latyshev
4-5: ἐτε[λειώθη ...] Latyshev

Translation

Here lies a servant of God A...; died... (or: in the... year), ... of February.

 

Commentary

In IOSPE II 330, this inscription was included with the ancient texts and represented only in diplomatic transcription. Latyshev apparently transcribed it in the Kerch museum, but I could not locate it there. No images are known.

1–3. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.d. Restoration Ἔ[νθάδε] is to be preferred, on the basis of the reconstructed number of letters per line.

The letters preserved do not allow to ascertain the gender of the deceased.

4–5. Latyshev's restoration ἐτε[λειώθη] is unlikely due to the fact in the Northern Black Sea region such formula appears no earlier than the Xth century (V 243). For this reason, I prefer to suppose either a year date or the word ἐτελεύτησεν, attested in V 70 from Cherson, with a formula very similar to our text (see Introduction IV.3.F.g).

The ivy leaf, otherwise unattested in Christian inscriptions of the Northern Black Sea region, points to a connection with the epigraphic tradition of Roman Bosporus and suggests a date in the IVth century.

 

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