Evidence ID
E04614Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Evidence not before
400Evidence not after
600Activity not before
400Activity not after
600Place of Evidence - Region
Syria with Phoenicia
Syria with PhoeniciaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Ḥimṣ/Emesa
BelaḳsahPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Ḥimṣ/Emesa
Thabbora
Thabbora
Belaḳsah
Thabbora
ThabboraCult activities - Places
Cult building - unspecifiedSource
Basalt lintel. Broken and lost at the right-hand end. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.22 m; W. 0.80 m. Decorated with a carving of a cross within a circle. The inscription is to the left and to the right of the cross. Letter height 0.07-0.09 m.
When recorded, the stone was reused in a house in the village of Belaḳsah sited c. 43 km to the northwest of Ḥimṣ/Emesa. First published by Majed Moussli and Joachim Ebert in 1990.Discussion
The editors suggest that the inscription records the beginning of the name of a saint: AE[- - -] (if so, also a building dedicated to the saint). This is possible, although it is not easy to find a matching Greek name (e.g. Αἐλιανός, a corrupted form of Αἰλιανός?). As we have no photograph, just a drawing, we cannot verify the reading. However, if the final Ε was confused with Γ, the inscription may also record the beginning of a prayer, for example: ἅγιος, ἅγ[ιος, ἅγιος ὁ θεός]/'Holy, holy, holy God!'Bibliography
Edition:
Moussli, M., Ebert, J., "Weitere Inschriften aus Emesa und seinen Nachbargebieten", Philologus. Zeitschrift für klassische Philologie 134 (1990), 101, no. 15.
Reference works:
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 40, 1409.
