V 334. Tamatarcha (?).Dedication of an unknown, XIII–XVth centuries C.E.
Monument
Type
Panel.
Material
White marble.
Dimensions (cm)
H.37.0, W.27.0, Th.unknown.
Additional description
Broken off on the left.
Place of Origin
Tamatarcha (?).
Find place
Taman (?).
Find context
Unknown.
Find circumstances
Unknown, before 1941
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi.
Epigraphic field
Position
On the upper part of the panel.
Lettering
Lapidary. Mu with T-shaped middle, angular omicron and rho. Abbreviation marks.
Letterheights (cm)
2.5.
Text
Category
Dedication.
Date
XIII–XVth centuries C.E.
Dating criteria
Palaeography.
Editions
L1. Rozanova1947, 173–174, № 1.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Τῇ
<expan><abbr>μ</abbr><ex>ητ</ex><abbr>ρὶ</abbr></expan> τοῦ
<expan><abbr>κ</abbr><ex>υρίο</ex><abbr>υ</abbr></expan>.
</ab>
</div>Translation
To the Mother of the Lord.
Commentary
Prior to 1941, the monument was stored at the belltower of the Pokrov Church at Taman. Rozanova's publication is our only source of information about the monument. The panel, according to Rozanova, was in secondary use; two letters, psi and kappa, survived from the original inscription.
Rozanova dated the inscription to the IVth century on the basis of script, which in her opinion was similar to that of the II-IIIrd centuries, however, it is quite clear that the ligature μ(ητ)ρὶ and mu with T-shaped middle militate against such a date; rather, ornate lettershapes (large serifs for kappa and tau, angular rho) suggest a Late Byzantine date.
The formula seems to suggest that we have a dedication to the Mother of God, but the exact function of the inscription is impossible to determine. The descrition of the Mother of God as "Mother of the Lord" is essentially unique in Byzantine epigraphy.
Images
© 2015 Andrey
Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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