Khirbet es-Samraʾ Complete

Description

Situated roughly 50 km northeast of Amman, Khirbet es-Samraʾ formed part of the rural zone around Bostra (modern Bosra), the capital of the Roman province of Arabia. The site has yielded a notably diverse epigraphic assemblage comprising Greek, Christian Palestinian Aramaic (often labeled “Melkite Aramaic” in this context), Nabataean, Latin, and Ancient North Arabian texts. Most inscriptions are funerary; a smaller group consists of Greek dedicatory texts set in mosaic pavements of local churches. All Christian Palestinian Aramaic inscriptions are carved on tombstones, many of which have been recovered in secondary use as building material in both ancient and modern structures. Archaeological investigation proceeded in several phases. A French mission directed by J.-B. Humbert and A. Desreumaux conducted excavations from 1981 to 1992, culminating in a substantial 1998 volume that includes the study of inscriptions uncovered during those campaigns. Work in the cemetery area, undertaken by Hamburg University under the direction of Abdalla Nabulsi, began in 1995 and continues. Plan source: Nabulsi and Macdonald 2014, p. 150, fig. 1. Further reading: Humbert, J.-B. and Desreumaux, A. 1998. Fouilles de Khirbet es-Samra en Jordanie, vol. I. La voie romaine, le cimetière, les documents épigraphiques. Nabulsi, A. and Macdonald, M. 2014. Epigraphic diversity in the cemetery at Khirbet es-Samra, Jordan. Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 149-161. The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity database (4 records of Greek mosaic inscriptions): http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/results.php?full_text_headings=Khirbet%20es-Samra