Evidence ID
E01873Saint Name
Paul, the Apostle : S00008
Peter the Apostle : S00036Saint Name in Source
Παῦλος
ΠέτροςType of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
400Evidence not after
750Activity not before
400Activity not after
750Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Apamea on the Orontes
ḤarākePlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Apamea on the Orontes
Thabbora
Thabbora
Ḥarāke
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Source
Large basalt lintel. Inscription with carved letters. Letter height 0.05 m. Length of the line 0.43 m.
Recorded by the Princeton Archaeological Expedition to Syria, in a field, to the south of the village. First published by William Prentice in 1922. Republished by René Mouterde in 1955, based on the edition by Prentice.
Possibly seen also by Richard Pococke, an English prelate and anthropologist, while on his tour across the Near East (1737-1741) and published by him as a drawing in the reports of his journeys in 1745 (see the comments in IGLS 4, no. 1581).Discussion
The inscription contains only the names 'Paul' and 'Peter', probably referring to the two Apostles. For a similar text, but with the names given in inverted order, see the inscription from Rouweiha: E01816.
Probably on the basis of the size and shape of the lintel (which is, however, not described in their editions) Prentice, and after him Mouterde, suggested that the lintel came from a church or chapel dedicated to Paul and Peter. The inscription could however have been engraved over a doorway of another structure, for apotropaic/protective reasons.
For a church dedicated to unspecified Apostles in a nearby village, see E01872.Bibliography
Edition:
Jalabert, L., Mouterde, R., Mondésert, Cl., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie, vol. 4: Laodicée, Apamène (BAH 61, Paris: Librairie orientalise Paul Geuthner, 1955), no. 1581.
Prentice, W.K. (ed.), Publications of the Princeton University of archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904-1905 and 1909, Division III: Greek and Latin Inscriptions, Section B: Northern Syria (Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1922), 101, nos. 1032.
Possibly also:
Pococke, R., A description of the East, and some other countries, vol. 2, part 1: Observations on Palaestine or the Holy Land, Syria, Mesopotamia, Cyprus, and Candia (London: W. Bowyer, 1745), 148.
