South Coast: 2161-2648 (A multi-lingual corpus of the inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad) ||...
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XIX. Ziqim 2430. Greek graffito on the base of a fine ware plate, 144-60 BCE Two letters incised on the base of a black slipped, rilled rim plate, which is probably an Attic import. The head of the phi is an upside down triangle. Meas.: letter 1.9 cm. Findspot: Ziqim, in an underground columbarium. Pres. loc.: Beth Shemesh, IAA inv. no. 2012-957. Autopsy: 24 May 2012. Φ Comm.: Probably an owner’s mark. The drawing in the ed. pr. shows another letter preceding the phi, possibly a iota. This was not seen in the autopsy. Bibl.: B. Zissu - S. Rokach, Atiqot 38, 1999, 65-9 (ed. pr.). Photo: AE; Zissu - Rokach 69 fig. 4,5 (dr.). AE 2431. Greek dipinti on Gazan jars, 6-beginning of 7 c. CE Four red dipinti, cursively written sideways on the body of four amphorae of “Ga- zan Jar Type A” or “form 4” (Fabian - Goren 213). Inscriptions (a) and (b) are of three lines; (c) is composed of five lines, above the cross in this inscription there are two faded undeciphered letters or symbols; inscription (d) of two lines. W-shaped omega in (d). Several lines are closed with horizontal strokes, which may also be ab- breviation marks: (a) l.2, (b) l.2 (the stroke curves downwards), (c) l.5, (d) l.3. More traces of paint may be discerned in (c) at the end of l.3. fig. 2430.1 fig. 2430.2 Brought to you by | New York University Elmer Holmes Bobst Library Authenticated Download Date | 10/5/14 5:25 PM
Transcript of South Coast: 2161-2648 (A multi-lingual corpus of the inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad) ||...
XIX. Ziqim
2430. Greek graffito on the base of a fine ware plate, 144-60 BCE
Two letters incised on the base of a black slipped, rilled rim plate, which is probably an Attic import. The head of the phi is an upside down triangle.Meas.: letter 1.9 cm.
Findspot: Ziqim, in an underground columbarium.Pres. loc.: Beth Shemesh, IAA inv. no. 2012-957. Autopsy: 24 May 2012. Φ
Comm.: Probably an owner’s mark. The drawing in the ed. pr. shows another letter preceding the phi, possibly a iota. This was not seen in the autopsy.
Bibl.: B. Zissu - S. Rokach, Atiqot 38, 1999, 65-9 (ed. pr.).
Photo: AE; Zissu - Rokach 69 fig. 4,5 (dr.).AE
2431. Greek dipinti on Gazan jars, 6-beginning of 7 c. CE
Four red dipinti, cursively written sideways on the body of four amphorae of “Ga-zan Jar Type A” or “form 4” (Fabian - Goren 213). Inscriptions (a) and (b) are of three lines; (c) is composed of five lines, above the cross in this inscription there are two faded undeciphered letters or symbols; inscription (d) of two lines. W-shaped omega in (d). Several lines are closed with horizontal strokes, which may also be ab-breviation marks: (a) l.2, (b) l.2 (the stroke curves downwards), (c) l.5, (d) l.3. More traces of paint may be discerned in (c) at the end of l.3.
fig. 2430.1
fig. 2430.2
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368 XIX. Ziqim
Meas.: letters 2-6 cm; (c) cross: h 13 cm; undeciphered letters/symbols above cross: h 13 cm.
Findspot: Found in situ in a deposit of about 70 amphorae of this type, in a Late An-tique warehouse excavated on a sand hill site called Ard el-Mihjar (on “Ziqim” Beach) located on the sea shore on the banks of the Shiqma River south of Ashkelon.Pres. loc.: Beth Shemesh, IAA inv. nos.: 2005-1302 (a); 2010-2879 (b); 2010-2880 (c); 2005-1301 (d). Autopsy: 24 May 2012. (a) Υ̣Ι̣
Χ++ΑΡ̣Ι̣ ΘΕΟΦΑ̣+
(b) Υ̣Ι̣Ι̣ Χ̣+ΑΝ++ E++++Φ̣Φ̣ΧΙ
(c) ++ (cross) ΙΣΧ++Σ̣Α ΙΙ Μ̣Α̣Τ̣ Σ̣
(d) Ι̣Α̣ Μ̣Α̣Τ̣++ Λ̣Μ̣Ε̣Ω̣Θ̣ or Λ̣ Ι̣Μ̣Ε̣Ω̣Κ̣
(a) Υ Ι | Χ++ΑΡΙ | Θεοφά(νους?)(b) Υ ΙΙ | Χ+ΑΝ++ | E++++ΦΦΧΙ(c) ++ | ἴσχ[ου]σα(?) | ΙΙ | μάτ(ια) | σ’(d) ια’ | μάτ[ια] | ΛΜΕΩΘ or ΛΙΜΕΩΚ
(a) Y … 1 (property) of Theophanes?(b) Y … 2 … (numbers?)(c) … containing 2 matia 200(d) 11 matia of…
fig. 2431.2 (a)
fig. 2431.1 (a)
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Ziqim 369
fig. 2431.3 (b)
fig. 2431.4 (b)
fig. 2431.5 (c)
fig. 2431.6 (c)
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370 XIX. Ziqim
fig. 2431.7 (d)
fig. 2431.8 (d) Comm.: These are the only inscribed jars found in an assemblage of 70 "Gaza" type jars arranged in a storage room. Fabian - Goren left these inscriptions undeci-phered, for they are written in a mostly illegible cursive script. Nevertheless some observations are possible:
The cross may indicate that at least a part of these inscriptions is Christian (e.g. M. Lang, Graffiti and Dipinti, 1976, 87ff.), but it may also be a mark like the one on a Gaza Jar from Yavneh-Yam (see no. 2277).
ll.1 and 2 of inscriptions (a) and (b) seem to repeat the same formula: l.1: begin-ning with the letter upsilon followed by 1 [inscr. (a)] and 2 [inscr. (b)] tally marks. l.2: containing a repeated, undeciphered word beginning with the letter chi.
Inscription (a) l.3 seems to contain a name, possibly Theophanes (by far the most popular option for these letters in the LGPN).
The letters MAT appear twice in (c) l.4, where they are preceded by two tally marks in l.3; and in (d) l.2 where they are preceded by the number 11 in l.1. ΜΑΤ may be the dry volume measure μάτιον, usually 1/10 of an artaba, being 3.88 liters (see: R. Bagnall, in: R. Bagnall ed., The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, 2009, 187).
Gaza jars were mostly wine containers. Residue analysis of samples from this storeroom confirmed this to be the case here as well (see Fabian - Goren 213). Ac-cordingly reading a dry measure on these jars is problematic. Perhaps these were the only inscribed amphorae in the storeroom exactly because they were singled out for their different contents (for dry goods in Gaza Jars see: P. Mayerson, in: L. Stager - J. Schloen - D. Master eds., Ashkelon 1: Introduction and Overview (1985-2006), 2008, 472).
Bibl.: Unpublished. – P. Fabian - Y. Goren, Atiqot 42, 2001, 211-9.
Photo: IAA; Fabian - Goren 214 figs. 1-4 (dr.); AE.
AE
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