V 67. Cherson.Epitaph of Nicholas (?), Xth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Panel.
Material
White fine-grained marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H.27.5, W.17.0, Th.4.0.
Additional description
Panel with rounded top; on the front is an incised cross, its left arm ending in two and bottom arm in three teardrops. Broken off on the right and bottom.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
Near Church 15 ("basilica in basilica"), rubble fill.
Find circumstances
1903, chance find.
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 4047.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field 1
Position
In corners between the arms of the cross.
Lettering
Lapidary; ornate letters. Alpha with broken crossbar and with a loop, kappa’s diagonals do not touch its vertical, rho with elongated vertical, upsilon with diaeresis.
Letterheights (cm)
1.3.
Text 1
Category
Demonstrative.
Date
Xth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Form of the cross, script.
Editions
L1. Latyshev1905, 109–110, № 21.
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="1">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><expan><abbr>Ἰ</abbr><ex>ησοῦ</ex><abbr>ς</abbr></expan>
<expan><abbr>Χ</abbr><ex>ριστὸ</ex><abbr>ς</abbr></expan>
<lb n="2"/>νικᾷ.
</ab>
</div>Translation
Jesus Christ is victorious.
Commentary
Images
Epigraphic field 2
Position
On either side of the bottom arm of the cross.
Lettering
See field 1.
Text 2
Category
Epitaph.
Date
Xth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Form of the cross, script.
Editions
L1. Latyshev1905, 109–110, № 21; 2. Latyshev1908, 41.
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="2">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> <expan><abbr>Ἐκοιμήθ</abbr><ex>η</ex></expan> <supplied reason="lost">ὁ
ἐν</supplied> <supplied reason="lost">μα</supplied>-<lb n="2" break="no"/>καρήᾳ τῖ
<supplied reason="lost">μνήμῃ καὶ</supplied>
<lb n="3"/>δοῦλος <supplied reason="lost">τοῦ</supplied>
<roleName><supplied reason="lost"><expan><abbr>Θ</abbr><ex>εο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></supplied></roleName>
<lb n="4"/><supplied reason="lost">Νικό</supplied><unclear>λ</unclear><supplied reason="lost" cert="low">α</supplied><unclear>ο</unclear>ς <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
2: Καρηάτι[ος]Latyshev1905
4: om.Latyshev
Translation
Fell asleep, [who is in bl]essed memory, and a servant of God, Nicholas.
Commentary
1-3. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.c. In the editio princeps, Latyshev had incorrectly restored the name Καρηάτι[ος] because he did not take into consideration the size of the monument, but he later corrected his mistake.
4-5. In the last line, Latyshev speculated that the deceased's name may have been written, but he did not include it in his restoration. A widely attested common name Νικόλαος (see commentary to V 48) could, in our opinion, fit the number and shapes of the surviving letters most comfortably, especially since the sigma is set above the line of text in a way similar to Line 1. The inscription most likely ended with a date.
Palaeographic features of this inscription represent a unique case where we observe a process of transition from alpha with broken crossbar to alpha with a loop, which was under way in Cherson in the Xth century.
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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