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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID1312
TM ID-
Findspot (DEChriM ID)10   (Amḥayda)
ClassTextual
MaterialStone
Writing mediumGraffito, Inscription
Text contentSubliterary
LanguageGreek, Coptic
Description

I.Amheida inv. 3053: Coptic gloss on a pagan inscription

Stone block in the middle of which someone has written a Greek verse (from an altar of from the base of a statue); the ink is quite faded.

The hexameter reads: "Great Ammon is the pilot of the life of men". Qualified as "A good pagan hexameter line, Greek in expression but deeply rooted in Egyptian thought".

Above this line are some faint traces of writing in a much smaller hand, reading ⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ. This addition is interpreted as a Coptic gloss on the whole inscription, putting forward the view that it is God who is the governor of life, not Ammon.

Selection criteriaChristian terms/formulas/concepts, Coptic language
Date from375
Date to399
Dating criteria

Belongs to Amheida's last period of occupation, when the temple was no longer in use as such, but was accessible to Christians who wished to leave a mark of their own religion on the structure.

Absolute/relative dateRelative date
Archaeological context

Stone block in the temple of Thoth.

Accession number

Egypt, Amheida, Temple, inv. 3053

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps

• Bagnall, Roger and Cribiore, Raffaella. 2015. "Other evidence of Christianity at Amheida." In An Oasis City, R. Bagnall et al. New York, 131-135.

• Bagnall, Roger and Cribiore, Raffaella. 2012. Christianity on Thoth's hill. In The Oasis Papers 6, ed. R. Bagnall, P. Davoli and C. Hope. Oxford - Oakville: Oxbow Books, 409-416.

Authors
Valérie Schram, 2021
Suggested citation
Valérie Schram, 2021, "Artefact ID 1312", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1312
External links
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