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, Dzhanov 2004, 405–406, № 2. 

Edition

[---] π̣ρ̣ὸς ἀμνησ̣[τίαν---]όφῳ· θ(εο)ῦ
[---]ίῳ· τὰ νω[. 6.]Η τὸν
[ - - - - - - - - - - ]

Diplomatic

[---]..ΟΣΑΜΝΗ.[....---]ΟΦΩΘΥ
[---]ΙΩΤΑΝΩ[······]ΗΤΟΝ
[ - - - - - - - - - - ]

EpiDoc (XML)

<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

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