V 18. Cherson. Dedication of Eusebios and A–, late IV–Vth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Cornice.
Material
Marble.
Additional description
Horizontal moulding on the front. Two fragments survive. Broken off on the left and right.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Institution and inventory
, no inventory number.
Fragment 1
Dimensions (cm)
H. 9.5, W. unknown, Th. 4.5.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
Unknown.
Find circumstances
Before 1896.
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi.
Fragment 2
Dimensions (cm)
H. 9.5, W. 11.0, Th. 4.5.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
South slope.
Find circumstances
1895, excavations of K.K. Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich.
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 34854.
Autopsy
May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the front.
Lettering
Lapidary. Alpha with broken crossbar; beta with vertically spaced loops; angular epsilon and sigma; upsilon is decorated with a short horizontal through the middle. Ligature: omicron-upsilon; abbreviation sign.
Letterheights (cm)
1.8–2.3.
Text
Category
Dedication.
Date
Late IV–Vth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
Fr. 1. 1L1. Latyshev 1896, 30, № 19. Fr. 1-2. L1. Latyshev 1899, 51, № 49; 2. Vinogradov 2010, 143–144, № m.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><supplied reason="lost"><g ref="#stauros"/></supplied>
<supplied reason="lost">Ὑπ</supplied>ὲρ
εὐχῆς
Εὐ<choice><corr>σ</corr><sic>ε</sic></choice>εβίου
<expan><abbr>κ</abbr><ex>αὶ</ex></expan>
<orig><unclear>Α</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<supplied reason="lost">καὶ πάντων τῶν
διαφερόντων αὐτῶν</supplied>.
</ab>
</div> Apparatus criticus
κ[αὶ πάντων ·· ? ·· αὐτοῦ] Latyshev 1899
Translation
For the prayer of Eusebios and A[... and all his near and dear].
Commentary
The first half (up to ΕΥΕ) of the text was published by Latyshev (1896) on the basis of a copy made by N.P. Kondakov. Later that fragment disappeared from the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos. The confusion of sigma and epsilon should either be attributed to Kondakov, or to a common letter carver's mistake (cf. V 19). The second half was found in 1895 (see Kostsyushko-Valyuzhinich 1897a, 91–92, drawing 235), but it was only joined with the first fragment after the publication of Latyshev 1896.
The inscription on the cornice was without a doubt made by a ktitor of some Early Byzantine church, but we do not know which one it was. Taking into consideration the find place of fragment 2, that is, the southern part of the settlement, we could speculate that the inscription had originated from the adjacent Greater Agora, or to be more precise, from an Early Byzantine church that may have stood there (see also commentary to V 44).
1. Concerning the formula, see IV.3.B.b. The name Eusebios occurs in the Northern Black Sea region of the Byzantine period in 436-437 C.E. (Pantikapaion, V 295).
Beta with vertically spaced loops occurs in Cherson in the IV-Vth centuries (see commentary to V 57). Angular epsilon and sigma are attested for this time period in V 5.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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