Complete
Linguistic features:
No differentiation of ܕ and ܪ
Formulae:
ܢܗܘܐ ܕܟܪܢܐ ܛܒܐ May it be a good memorial of
Quotations from literary texts:
Dating:
AD 300
-
AD 700
Language:
Syriac
Monumental:
Medium:
sarcophagus
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated:
Death; Making of an object
Funds:
Price:
Placement:
unknown
People mentioned:
Name:
ʾWRNS/Ouranios
Patronym:
Status:
maker
Ethnic allegance:
unspecified
Tribal allegane:
none
Family status:
unspecified
Role:
maker
Occupation:
artisan
Age:
Gender:
male
Religion:
Christianity
Religious denomination:
unspecified
Language:
Syriac
Description
date: probably early fourth century. To Pognon, the main dating arguments were: the absence of a differentiation between ܕ and ܪ (an early period), and the presence of a cross (hence, the inscription seems to be Christian, though it uses a neutral commemorative formula for the deceased). description: All the three inscriptions come from one lid of a stone sarcophagus. Quite interestingly, they are carved on the inside face. Henri Pognon saw this object in a new khan (travel station) at Aleppo, near the citadel. The personel used it as a trough for water near a cistern. Pognon speculated that the lid came from a child’s tomb as it measured only: W. 1.10 m; H. 0.60 m. But, perhaps, this is a cover of a large reliquary. The readings are to some extent hypothetical and should not be entirely trusted. Pognon complained that one inscription was very difficult to read, another was partly lost. ed. Pognon 1907, no. 83. Inscription 1: on the right-hand acroterium, partly broken and lost. ܐ and a partly lost sign Inscription 2: on the right-hand acroterium, written from top to bottom. ܕܥܒܕ ܐܘܪܢܣ (?) ܐܘܪܢܣ read ܐܘܪܢܝܘܣ Pognon ‘This which Ouranios made.’ (tr. after H. Pognon) Inscription 3: on one side, at the edge of the lid. + ܢܗܘܐ ܕܟܪܢܐ ܛܒܐ ܕܟܪܢܐ read ܕܘܟܪܢܐ Pognon ‘+ May it be a good memorial of [- - -].’ (tr. after H. Pognon) Commentary: We have here a signature of the artisan who made the sarcophagus or who was commissioned with decorative carvings at a later part of its production. Inscription 3 contains the beginning of a funerary formula.
Author:
Paweł Nowakowski
Added by:
Martyna
Created:
2022-07-27 11:08:20
Last update:
2024-03-28 20:11:14
Building:
unknown
Dimensions: surface: w 1.10 x h 0.60 meter
Condition: All the three inscriptions come from one lid of a stone sarcophagus. Quite interestingly, they are carved on the inside face. Henri Pognon saw this object in a new khan (travel station) at Aleppo, near the citadel. The personel used it as a trough for water near a cistern. Pognon speculated that the lid came from a child’s tomb as it measured only: W. 1.10 m; H. 0.60 m. But, perhaps, this is a cover of a large reliquary. The readings are to some extent hypothetical and should not be entirely trusted. Pognon complained that one inscription was very difficult to read, another was partly lost. Inscription 1: on the right-hand acroterium, partly broken and lost. Inscription 2: on the right-hand acroterium, written from top to bottom. Inscription 3: on one side, at the edge of the lid.
Text: No differentiation of ܕ and ܪ
Date: 300 CE - 700 CE
Probably early fourth century. To Pognon, the main dating arguments were: the absence of a differentiation between ܕ and ܪ (an early period), and the presence of a cross (hence, the inscription seems to be Christian, though it uses a neutral commemorative formula for the deceased).
Findspot: Unknown
Original location: Syria Beroia (Aleppo; Ḥalab; Halep) 36.19924, 37.163725 unknown sarcophagus
Current repository: Unknown
Text type: sepulcral inscriptions
Summary:
Three inscriptions on a sarcophagus from Beroia (Aleppo; Ḥalab; Halep). 300 CE - 700 CE.
Changes history: 2022-07-27 Pawel Nowakowski Creation; 2023-08-28 Pawel Nowakowski Last modification; 2023-10-25 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file
Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;
Available under licence CC-BY 4.0
; @2021apparatus
2.1: read ܐܘܪܢܝܘܣ Pognon 3.1: read ܕܘܟܪܢܐ Pognon
Translation
Inscription 2: ‘This which Ouranios made.’ (tr. after H. Pognon).
Inscription 3: ‘+ May it be a good memorial of [- - -].’ (tr. after H. Pognon).
Commentary
We have here a signature of the artisan who made the sarcophagus or who was commissioned with decorative carvings at a later part of its production. Inscription 3 contains the beginning of a funerary formula.
Bibliography (edition)
- H., Pogon,1907, Inscriptions sémitiques de la Syrie, de la Mésopotamie et de la région de Mossoul, Paris, 83.