Evidence ID
E01795Saint Name
Mary, Mother of Christ : S00033Saint Name in Source
ΜηρίαType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed objects
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elementsEvidence not before
431Evidence not after
750Activity not before
431Activity not after
750Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Beroia
Chalkis
Burdj Sbinneh/Borg SbinnePlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Beroia
Thabbora
Thabbora
Chalkis
Thabbora
Thabbora
Burdj Sbinneh/Borg Sbinne
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places
AltarCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Prayer/supplication/invocationSource
A basalt block. Moulded at the top and bottom of all sides, resembling a statue base or an altar. H. c. '3 feet'; W. c. '1.5 foot'; Th. c. '1.5 foot'. The inscription is engraved on one of the faces. H. 0.11 m; W. 0.40 m. Fine lettering. There is no published image.
Found by the American Archaeological Expedition to Syria 1899-1900 at Burdj Sbinneh/Borg Sbinne. First published by William Prentice in 1908, from his own copy. Republished by René Mouterde and Louis Jalabert in 1939.Discussion
Prentice believed that the inscription contained the name Μαρία/'Mary', possibly referring to Mary, Mother of Christ, or a homonymous supplicant. He was, however, unsure about the meaning of the sign inserted in the middle of the word, which he printed as 'S' and described as possibly a cross or the Greek letter rho (perhaps a christogram).
Dating: there is no reliable way to date this inscription. If it really refers to the Virgin Mary, it probably dates to the later 5th or the 6th c. as her cult became popular only after the council of Ephesos 431.Bibliography
Edition:
Mouterde, R., Jalabert, L., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 2: Chalcidique et Antiochène: nos 257-698 (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1939), no. 342.
Prentice, W.K. (ed.), Greek and Latin inscriptions (Publications of an American archaeological expedition to Syria in 1899-1900 3, New York: Century 1908), 251, no. 316.
