V 99a. Cherson. Inscription on templon architrave, IX-Xth centuries C.E.

Monument

Type

Templon architrave. 

Material

Marble. 

Dimensions (cm)

H. 14.0, W. 14.0, Th. 15.5.

Additional description

Templon architrave, bearing relief ornament of palmettes enclosed within double circles. Broken on the left. 

Place of Origin

Cherson. 

Find place

Sevastopol (Chersonesos). 

Find context

Unknown. 

Find circumstances

Excavations of K.K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich. 

Modern location

Unknown. 

Institution and inventory

National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 4226. 

Autopsy

June 2014. 

Epigraphic field

Position

On the front. 

Lettering

Lapidary style. Alpha with a loop, mu with sagging cross-loop. 

Letterheights (cm)

1.2-1.7.

Text

Category

Uncertain (dedicatory, building or liturgical inscription). 

Date

IX-Xth centuries C.E. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

Unpublished. 

Edition

[---]ιγμα.

Diplomatic

[---]ΙΓΜΑ

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      <lb n="1"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><w part="F">ιγμα</w>.
   </ab>
   </div> 

Translation

Not feasible.  

Commentary

The end of the inscription is preserved. Judging by its placement, on a templon architrave (that is, architrave of an altar screen, of the Middle Byzantine period), the inscription may have been building, dedicatory (cf. V 28, V 33) or liturgical in character. - ιγμα is certainly the ending of a neuter noun in the nominative or accusative case, but I have not been able to find a parallel for some such noun in Christian epigraphy.

 

Images

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