Description: Stele of local sandstone, damaged along the top edge,
especially at the upper right corner: w:
0.29 x h:
0.475 x d:
0.135
Text: Inscribed on one face which is damaged at the left side of lines 5 - 7. Each entruy in a different hand
Letters: Perhaps second century CE; probably 5 different hands; the face was originally laid out with seven deeply scored guidelines,
but the first cutter began on the third. lines 1-5, 0.027; line 6, 0.03; line 7, 0.021; line 8, 0.02; line 9, 0.012; line
10, 0.016; alpha with dropped bar in lines 1, 2, 4 and perhaps 7,8, straight bar line 5, cursive in lines 7 - 9; lunate sigma
and omega and lunate epsilon for the figure in line
Date: Probably second century CE
Findspot: Gebel Akhdar: West of Cyrene:
Messa, on the east side of the Messa/Haniya road, some 12 kms.
to the north, in a rock-cut tomb, found with M.154, M.155, probably with M.157.
Original location: Unknown
Last recorded location:
Cyrene Museum
English translation
Translation by: Editors
Aialan (scil. son) of Aialan, aged 60
Pelea (scil. daughter) of Sosis, ? aged 1
Panarista(?) (scil. daughter?) of Sosis, aged 75
Aristippos(?) (scil. son) of Aialan, aged 52
Aialan (scil. son) of Aristippos aged 25
Commentary
Line 3: it is just possible that another figure was cut and then erased between and Ζ
Lines 4,6: both women were presumably daughters of a Sosis, but for both the genitive case of the patronymic is incorrectly formed (Σώσις for Σώσιος); compare Τιμις, M.150
Line 5: the figure might be λ' = 30, but the shape of serifs on the base line seems to rule out Δ = 4. It is not absolutely clear whether LA here concludes the preceding item or opens the next; it has a dropped bar which links it with line 4 and distinguished it from what follows.
Line 7: in the damaged area it is difficult to distinguish strokes from accidental scratches and the reading is not quite certain - a name like Πάσιππος is also possible.
Lines 1, 2, 7, 9: For the Libyan name Αιαλαν see Masson, 1976.. The other names are Greek and, with the exception of Παναρίστα well-known in Cyrene and its neighbourhood, see LGPN.
Bibliography: Mohamed-Reynolds, 1992, 4 and plate IV, whence SEG 42.1671
Text constituted from: Transcription (Reynolds).
Images
Fig. 1. Face (Reynolds, SB.III.180)
Fig. 2. Face (Reynolds, SB.III.182)