V 314. Bosporus. Dedication of an unknown, VIth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Cornice (?).
Material
White marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 11.0, W. 28.0, Th. 18.0.
Additional description
The front is bordered on the top and bottom with parallel grooves there is a half-moon depression on the left. Traces of burning and damage to the front right.
Place of Origin
Bosporus.
Find place
Kerch.
Find context
Predtechenskaya Square (now Lenina), at the site of stone stalls.
Find circumstances
13 May 1911, construction works.
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi.
Epigraphic field
Position
Between the lines.
Lettering
Lapidary style, elongated letters. Alpha with broken crossbar and ornate upward stroke at the apex, rho extends below the writing line, omega with pointy loops.
Letterheights (cm)
2.5.
Text
Category
Dedication.
Date
VIth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Shkorpil 1912, 21, № 11.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> Ὑπὲρ αἰωνί<unclear>α</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ς</supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">μνήμης τοῦ δεῖνος</supplied><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>.
</ab>
</div> Apparatus criticus
αἰωνί[ας ἀναπαύσεως τοῦ δεῖνα] Shkorpil
Translation
For eternal remembrance of...
Commentary
On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.a. The marble cornice attests either secondary use, or the dual function of the monument as an epitaph and a dedication. It probably originates from the earlier Byzantine basilica that had stood on the spot of the Church of John the Precursor (see Ponomaryov 1999, 46).
Ornate alpha with broken crossbar and ornate upward stroke at the apex is also attested in V 104 from Cherson. A clear break with the Bosporan tradition and a similarity with the Chersonian monuments of the VIth century (see commentary to V 104) attest the arrival of a new, Byzantine epigraphic tradition, probably from Cherson: we may recall that at the end of the VIth century, construction works in Bosporus are conducted by the strategos and dux of Cherson (see commentary to V 330).
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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