E00729: Greek inscription cut in the face of a quarry in Şenol on the island of Prokonnesos (Sea of Marmara). The quarry is named after *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) or a sanctuary dedicated to her. Probably the 5th c. or later.

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posted on 2015-09-22, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

+ λατομ(εῖον) τῆς Θεωτόκου
τῆς ἐν τῷ ὄρι +

'+ The quarry (of the church?) of the Theotokos, the one on the mountain. +'

Text: Asgari & Drew-Bear 2002, no. 7.

History

Evidence ID

E00729

Saint Name

Mary, the Mother of Jesus : S00033

Saint Name in Source

Θεωτόκος

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Mary_Mother_of_Christ/13729186

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

500

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

650

Place of Evidence - Region

Asia Minor

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Marmara, island

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Marmara island Nicomedia Νικομήδεια Nikomēdeia Izmit Πραίνετος Prainetos Nicomedia

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - unspecified

Cult activities - Places Named after Saint

Other

Source

The inscription was cut in the face of a quarry, located in Şenol on the island of Prokonnesos, to the west of Salta Tapesi.

Discussion

The inscription mentions a quarry called after the Theotokos or after a sanctuary consecrated to her (which perhaps owned the quarry). The Virgin is called ἡ ἐν τῷ ὄρι. ὄρος may mean literally 'a mountain' but also 'a desolate place, desert, monastery'. We find a similar description in Procopius, On the buildings V 9 (E05099) where it refers to the monastery of Mary on the Mount of Olives: τὸ (μοναστήριον) τῆς ἁγίας Μαρίας ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῶν Ἐλαιῶν. The inscription can be dated to the 5th or later, as the term Theotokos ('bearer of God') is very unlikely to occur earlier.

Bibliography

Edition: Asgari, N., Drew-Bear, Th., "The quarry inscriptions of Prokonnesos", in: J. Herrmann, N. Herz and R. Newman (eds.), ASMOSIA V. Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of the Association for the Study of Marble and Other Stones in Antiquity, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, June 1998 (London: Archetype Publications, 2002), 1-18. Reference works: L'Année épigraphique (2002), 1372. Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 247. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 53, 1395.