V 88a. Cherson. Epitaph of an unknown, XIIIth century C.E.
Monument
Type
Stele.
Material
Limestone.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 15.0, W. 14.0, Th. 8.0.
Additional description
Bottom part of a stele with a cross on the back side. Broken at the top.
Place of Origin
Cherson.
Find place
Sevastopol (Chersonesos).
Find context
Area of the Main Street.
Find circumstances
November 1969, chance find by V. Orekhov
Modern location
Sevastopol, Crimea.
Institution and inventory
National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, НВФ 133.
Autopsy
June 2014.
Epigraphic field
Position
Inscribed on the front.
Lettering
Lapidary style. Lambda with free-stading left hasta and capping horizontal stroke pointing left, flattened mu.
Letterheights (cm)
1.0–2.4.
Text
Category
Epitaph.
Date
XIIIth century C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
Unpublished.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
<lb n="1"/><rs type="month" ref="mai"><supplied reason="lost">Μ</supplied>έου</rs>
<lb n="2"/><supplied reason="lost">εἰς</supplied>
<expan><abbr>τ</abbr><ex>ὰ</ex></expan> <num value="30">λ</num>.
</ab>
</div> Translation
... May 30th.
Commentary
The end of an epitaph with a date has survived. The form Mέου is paralleled in IGLS 1912.
Palaeographic features (e.g., the shape of lambda) suggest a Late Byzantine date, but considering the history of Cherson, we should probably date the inscription no later than the XIIIth century.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to the EpiDoc schema.)