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E02844: Pottery fragment with a fragmentary Greek graffito just possibly referring to *Paul (the Apostle, S00008). Found in Caesarea Maritima (Roman province of Palaestina I), at the site of the presumed 'chapel of St. Paul'. Probably 5th-6th c.

online resource

posted on 2017-05-25, 00:00 authored by Bryan

Pottery fragment probably from a shallow bowl or platter. Dimensions not specified. The inscription runs along the outer base. Letter height 0.01 m.

Found in the debris of the collapsed vault in the complex of warehouses (Warehouse I, area KK 17) at the site of the so-called Paul's chapel at Caesarea Maritima/praetorium (for a description of this establishment, see: $E02853). Probably originally kept on the second story of that building.

First published by Leah Di Segni and Joseph Patrich in 2000. Re-published by Walter Ameling and Avner Ecker (2011).

Inscription:

] Παυλο[

] Παυλό[υ Ameling Ecker Di Segni

'Paul (or: of Paul).'

Text: CIIP 2, no. 1164.

History

Evidence ID

E02844

Saint Name

Pamphilos, martyr of Caesarea, and his companions (including Paolos of Yamnia and Oualēs of Jerusalem) : S00140 Paulos, martyr in Palestine, ob. 309 : S00164 Paul, the Apostle : S00008

Saint Name in Source

Παῦλος Παῦλος Παῦλος

Related Saint Records

Image Caption 1

From: CIIP 2, 89.

Image Caption 2

Plan of the site. From: CIIP 2, 78.

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Inscribed objects Images and objects - Other portable objects (metalwork, ivory, etc.) Inscriptions - Graffiti

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

400

Evidence not after

800

Activity not before

400

Activity not after

800

Place of Evidence - Region

Palestine with Sinai

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Caesarea Maritima

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

Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima Καισάρεια Kaisareia Caesarea Kayseri Turris Stratonis

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult Activities - Cult Related Objects

Other

Discussion

Given the findspot of the inscription (the supposed site of the prison where the Apostle Paul was detained), Leah Di Segni suggested that the partially preserved name Paulos could refer to the Apostle, though she also considered two less likely possibilities: one of two local martyrs of Caesarea, Paulos, a confessor beheaded on 25 July 309, S00164, or Paulos of Yamnia, a companion of Pamphilos, martyred probably in 310, S01333. However, as owners' inscription are common on pottery, Ameling and Ecker add that we could have here simply the name of the owner of the bowl. The drawing suggests that the inscription was scratched when the vessel had already been fired; and if so, this interpretation seems the most plausible.

Bibliography

Edition: Ameling, W., Cotton, H.M., Eck, W., and others, Corpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae: A Multi-Lingual Corpus of the Inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad, vol. 2: Caesarea and the Middle Coast 1121-2160 (Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2011), no. 1164 (with further bibliography). Patrich, J., "A Chapel of St. Paul at Caesarea Maritima?", Liber Annuus 50 (2000), 370. Di Segni, L., "A Chapel of St. Paul at Caesarea Maritima? The Inscriptions", Liber Annuus 50 (2000), 400, no. 13. Reference works: Bulletin épigraphique (2003), 588. Chroniques d'épigraphie byzantine, 716. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 50, 1476.