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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID144
TM IDTM 79056
Findspot (DEChriM ID)53   (Ǧabal Mūsā)
ClassTextual
MaterialStone
Writing mediumInscription
Text contentSubliterary
LanguageGreek
Description

SEG XLIV 1434; SB XXII 15481: Christian invocation

Christian invocation reading "Lord Jesus Christ, save and have mercy on your servant Salamanis". Initial and final crosses; use of nomina sacra.

According to the editors, the formula and the name (Syrian-Palestinian) suggest that the dedicant came from Syria or Palestine, perhaps by sea via Sinai.

Selection criteriaMention of Christian individuals/communities, Christian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian symbols/gestures/isopsephy, Nomina sacra
Date from300
Date to499
Dating criteria

Palaeographically dated 4th-6th c. in ed. pr.

Absolute/relative dateRelative date
Archaeological context

In the ed. pr. (Bagnall and Sheridan 1994a), the text is said to be inscribed on a plaque of friable stone found in the apsed building, during the excavation of the fort at Abū Šaʿr. More details are given in Bagnall and Sheridan 1994b: 109, where they distinguish two contexts for the texts published in 1994a: one including Latin inscriptions and a Greek ostracon coming from the early fourth-century fort, and another one with "the other texts [including this Greek inscription] that come from the time when the enclosure and buildings were reoccupied and the main building turned into a church".

Accession number

Egypt, Abū Šaʿr, excavation 1990-1991, field number AS90D-SEX[007] PB#8

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps:

Bagnall, Roger S. and Jennifer A. Sheridan. 1994a. “Greek and Latin Documents from 'Abu Sha'ar, 1990-1991.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 31, 163-164: no. 2.

Additional bibliography:

Bagnall, Roger S. and Sheridan, Jennifer A. 1994b. "Greek and Latin Documents from 'Abu Sha'ar, 1992-1993." The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 31, 109-120.

Bingen, Jean. 1995. "Bulletin épigraphique." Revue des études grecques 108, 553: no. 673.

Authors
Valérie Schram, 2021
Suggested citation
Valérie Schram, 2021, "Artefact ID 144", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/144
External links
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