E01965: Greek inscription just possibly for a church dedicated to a saint John (if so, probably either the Baptist, S00020, or the Apostle and Evangelist, S00042). Found at Tell eḍ-Ḍahab near Apamea on the Orontes (central Syria). Probably 5th-7th c.

The inscription is on a fragment of a lintel (H. 0.33 m; W. 0.92 m) that was found near a ruined building situated about 300 yards northwest of the village, probably a church (later converted to a mosque), close to another inscription dated AD 469/470 (see: IGLS 4, no. 1922). The text of our inscription reads: Ἰωάνο(υ) ΧΜ[Γ - - -] | ἔτου[ς - - -ʹ], which William Prentice translated as '(The church?) of Ioannes (John). ΧΜΓ. In the year [- - -]'. As the fragment was very poorly preserved, René Mouterde was rightly sceptical about this interpretation.