Artefact ID | 1154 |
TM ID | TM 104815 |
Findspot (DEChriM ID) | 49 (Dayr Abū Mīnā) | Class | Architectural element, Textual |
Material | Stone |
Writing medium | Inscription |
Text content | Subliterary |
Language | Greek |
Description | SEG XXXII 1567; SEG XXX 1718. Inscription on a reused marble slab The marble slab was found under the floor in the presbytery and was probably a former tabletop (‘Tischplatte’) that served in its last use as a foundation for the altar of the Small Basilica (‘Kleine Basilika’ or ‘Gruftkirche’). The slab is inscribed on both sides of the edge of the marble; the first one bears a dedication by Horion, Asklepios and Nilos, whereas the second offers an element of date: “Christ the Saviour under Bishop Petrus” (text given after revision by C. Römer 1982). The texts present the Christian ΧΜΓ cryptogram, nomina sacra, and decorative leaves. |
Selection criteria | Christian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian symbols/gestures/isopsephy, Nomina sacra |
Date from | 373 |
Date to | 378 |
Dating criteria | According to C. Römer, this reused ‘Tischplatte’ should be dated to 373-378: the bishop Petrus was probably Petrus II, who held the bishopʼs see in Alexandria in 373-378; since the ‘Tischplatte’ was used as a spolium for the foundation of the altar of the Small Basilica already in the last quarter of the 5th c., Peter III (480-488) can hardly be considered as another possibility (Römer 1982: 151 and Grossmann 1984: 126-127). |
Absolute/relative date | Absolute date |
Archaeological context | Found during excavations led by the Deutschen Archäologischen Institut Kairo at Abū Mīnā (Spring of 1979), under the altar of the Small Basilica (or Crypt Church). It was again partially uncovered in the spring of 1981, which allowed for a revision of the text. |
Accession number | Abū Mīnā, Small Basilica, in situ |