Description: Block of brown limestone (w:
0.54 x h:
0.50 x d:
0.24) damaged below and at the right edge and cracked vertically down the centre.
Text: Inscribed on one face; above inscription, to the right, a compass-traced cross.
Letters: Perhaps fourth century CE; uneven and badly aligned: 0.03-0.035; lunate epsilon, sigma, omega; cross with forked terminals.
Date: Perhaps fourth century CE
Findspot: Gebel Akhdar: West of Cyrene:
Barke;
recorded in 1926.
Original location: Unknown.
Last recorded location:
Cyrene Museum.
3: ω om. Reynolds, 1960
4: ΚΥΚΙΔΩΜΕΝ[ . . . Pugliese-Carratelli suggested κυρίο]υ κιδωμέν[ων] = κηδομένων Pugliese-Carratelli, 1961; κυκοωμέν[ων] (? for κεκοιμένων) Reynolds, 1960; ΚΥΚΟΔΩΜΟΝ[ . . ] Reynolds-Ward-Perkins-Goodchild, 2003; κὐκοκοδόμον for κὲ οἰκοδόμων Dobias-Lalou, Bulletin Épigraphique
English translation
Translation by: Editors
For the prayer and the salvation of Justus and Menas, readers and builders. Amen, Christ.
English translation
Translation source: Reynolds-Ward-Perkins-Goodchild, 2003
For the prayer and the salvation of Justus and Menas, readers [ . . . ] Amen, Christ.
Commentary
Line 1: The letter χ has the same form as in the chi-rho monogram of C.568.
Line 2: It is difficult to see how space could have been found for the letters ου unless they were ligatured.
Line 3: The ω at the end of line 3 is cut above the line.
Line 4: For κὲ οἰκοδομων. Suggested cautiously by Reynolds, supported, from a study of the squeeze, by Dobias-Lalou.
Bibliography: Reynolds, 1960, 20, whence Robert, Bulletin Épigraphique, 1961.835; Pugliese-Carratelli, 1961, 22, p. 43, fig. 37, whence Robert, Bulletin Épigraphique, 1962.369, SEG 18.767 PHI 324464; mentioned SEG 20.764; Reynolds-Ward-Perkins-Goodchild, 2003, 262.26, whence Dobias-Lalou, Bulletin Épigraphique, 2004.438. An image available at the BSR, wplib-G24-051d
Text constituted from: Transcription (Reynolds).
Images
Fig. 1. Face (C. Dobias-Lalou, 2001: MFA 01/IV/10)