E02666: Greek and Arabic graffiti found at the entrance to the holy cave at the sanctuary (hagios topos) of *Lot (Old Testament Patriarch, S01234) at Deir 'Ain 'Abata near Zoara/modern Ghor es-Safi on the southeast shore of the Dead Sea (Jordan/Roman province of Palaestina III). Probably 6th-9th c.

The cave is located behind the apse of the north aisle. The excavators found no traces of a door between the cave and the aisle: perhaps the cave was separated by a curtain. The doorway was fitted with carved limestone pilasters with capitals, and a carved lintel. At the end of the cave there is a small room (c. 2 m x 2.5 m) paved with marble, with a niche in the floor, which is accessible by way of several steps. There are no traces of an altar.

The south-eastern wall of the north aisle near the entrance to the cave was covered with plaster, on which a Greek and Arabic graffito were scratched. For the Greek graffito, see Politis 2012, 414-415, no. 19 (ed. Y. Meimaris & K.I. Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou): Ζινοβία Νεστασί[ου]/'Zenobia, daughter of Nestasios (= Anastasios)'. For the Arabic graffito, see Politis 2012, 417, no. 1 (ed. M. C. A. Macdonald): invocation of the Compassionate and Merciful God on behalf of one Ğarīr.

For graffiti with scarcely legible words, scratched on pieces of plaster scattered over the church, see Politis 2012, 415-416, nos. 1-3.

Clay lamps and pottery found in the cave range from the 4th to the 8th/9th c. Lower layers contain deposits from the 1st c. AD and the Middle Bronze Age II period (c. 1900-1550 BC).