V 163. Kachi-Kalyon.Epitaph of John, 1391–1491 C.E.

Monument

Type

Stele. 

Material

Limestone. 

Dimensions (cm)

H.32.0, W.17.0, Th.16.0.

Additional description

On the front - a niche, on the bottom - a tenon, on the back - a string course, on the left side - stylized image of palm-tree. Broken on the top and right. 

Place of Origin

Kachi-Kalyon. 

Find place

Fytska Plateau. 

Find context

Southeast slope, gully. 

Find circumstances

2008, construction works. 

Modern location

Bakhchisaray, Crimea. 

Institution and inventory

Bakhchisaray State Historical and Cultural Preserve, no inventory number. 

Autopsy

September 2008, September 2009. 

Epigraphic field

Position

In the niche. 

Lettering

Lapidary. Delta with a raised horizontal. Abbreviations. 

Letterheights (cm)

1.0–1.5.

Text

Category

Epitaph. 

Date

1391–1491 C.E. 

Dating criteria

Explicit date. 

Editions

Unpublished. 

Edition

+ Ἐκυ[μήθι]
ὁ δοῦλ[ος τοῦ]
Χ(ριστο)ῦ Ἰωά[ννης]
τοῦ Κ[---]
5ἐν μην[ὶ Δεκεμβ-]
ρίου ς´, [ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ]
ἁγίου Νε[ικολάου],
ἔτους ςϠ´[..].

Diplomatic

+ΕΚΥ[....]
ΟΔΟΥΛ[.....]
ΧΥΙΩΑ[....]
ΤΟΥΚ[---]
5ΕΝΜΗΝ[.......-]
ΡΙΟΥΣ[........]
ΑΓΙΟΥΝΕ[.......]
ΕΤΟΥΣΣϠ[··]

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      <lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> Ἐκυ<supplied reason="lost">μήθι</supplied>
      <lb n="2"/>ὁ δοῦλ<supplied reason="lost">ος</supplied>
      <supplied reason="lost">τοῦ</supplied>
      <lb n="3"/><expan><abbr>Χ</abbr><ex>ριστο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan>
      Ἰωά<supplied reason="lost">ννης</supplied>
      <lb n="4"/>τοῦ <seg part="I">Κ</seg><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
      <lb n="5"/>ἐν <date>μην<supplied reason="lost">ὶ</supplied>
      <rs type="month" ref="dec"><supplied reason="lost">Δεκεμβ</supplied><lb n="6" break="no"/>ρίου</rs> <num value="6">ς</num>, 
      <supplied reason="lost">ἡμέρᾳ</supplied> 
      <supplied reason="lost">τοῦ</supplied>
      <lb n="7"/><roleName>ἁγίου</roleName> 
      Νε<supplied reason="lost">ικολάου</supplied>,
      <lb n="8"/>ἔτους <num value="69">ςϠ</num><gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character"/></date>.
   </ab>
   </div>

Translation

Fell asleep: a servant of Christ, John, son of K[...], on the 6th of December, the day of Saint Nicholas, in the year 69... .

 

Commentary

The inscription most likely originated from the Late Medieval burial site on the Fytska Plateau.

1–3. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.e. A variant "servant of Christ" is typical for clerics (see commentary to V 209).

6-7. Specification by church holiday is not otherwise attested in Byzantine epigraphy of the Northern Black Sea region. We may compare an inscription of 965 C.E. from Senty church in Karachaevo-Cherkesia (Beletsky, Vinogradov 2005), and for the Late Byzantine period - an inscription from Mt. Athos of 1425 C.E. (Millet, Pargoire, Petit 1904, № 437).

 

Images

 Photograph of face 1(from ??) Photograph of face 21(from ??)

(cc)© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to theEpiDoc schema.)