DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45613#0039
Tell id-Deheb Il-Berdoneh
21
If in the disk the crescent and the small disk represent the moon-god and the
sun-god respectively, as I believe they do, there is here a curious combination of pagan
and Christian symbols. The original significance of these pagan symbols must have
been lost entirely, and they must have become merely conventional ornaments, or else
they must have been retained because they were believed to have some magical effi-
cacy, although the original reason for this belief had been forgotten.
852. Architrave (?), 592-3 a.d. On a block with heavy overhanging mouldings,
below which is a broad fascia containing the inscription. Near by another block was
found, similar, but without letters. Probably these blocks were parts of an architrave,
or of a composite lintel : the building, to which they belonged, is not evident. The
inscribed block is about 50 cm. long and 43 high: the inscribed fascia is 25 cm. high.
The letters, 16 cm. high, are incised.
+ ΕΤΟΕΔ/Ι\+ -f- "Ετος -j-- + Year 904. + (592-3 a.d.)
853. Lintel. The left end of a lintel, lying a few feet east of the ruined building
where No. 849 was found. The fragment is 92 cm. long and 33 cm. high. At the
left of the second line is some sort of ornament, perhaps intended for a leaf: this and
the inscription itself are executed in simple, broad, incised lines upon a plain surface.
The letters are very unequal in size.
’Llzvo(u) X. Μ. [Γ·] Ετου[ς ....
{The church?) of Ioanes. Chfrisi) b{orn) {of) M{ctry).
In {the) year ....
854. Fragment. A stone now used as a lintel in a modern courtyard, in the
eastern part of the village. Its total length is 1.16 m., its width to 12 cm.: it is
broken at the top, through the tops of the letters; at both ends also, and perhaps
at the bottom. Before the inscription is a blank space of 31 cm. The first word is
72 cm. long. The letters are incised. Copy by Dr. Littmann.
j-Γααρας Σ[
„ Gaaras. S-
Inscr. 854.
855. IL-BERDONEH. Lintel (?). A long, narrow stone, about one and a half
meters in length and 30 cm. in width, now used as a beam in a modern dwelling.
It had been exposed to the smoke so long that tar completely obscured some of the
letters. As a woman was making bread immediately under it, and refused to move,
and as a large crowd of natives insisted upon entering the room with me, I did not
attempt to make a careful drawing, or to take measurements, of the stone. The reading,
however, I believe to be correct.
The original stone had been split lengthwise, so that the tops of some of the
letters in the first line are lost. In the center is a disk, formed by a raised band.
But the space within the disk is now blank, and seemed to have been so originally.
The letters of the inscription, also, are in relief.
Νοχ μ
(XeTOY/
Inscr. 853.
21
If in the disk the crescent and the small disk represent the moon-god and the
sun-god respectively, as I believe they do, there is here a curious combination of pagan
and Christian symbols. The original significance of these pagan symbols must have
been lost entirely, and they must have become merely conventional ornaments, or else
they must have been retained because they were believed to have some magical effi-
cacy, although the original reason for this belief had been forgotten.
852. Architrave (?), 592-3 a.d. On a block with heavy overhanging mouldings,
below which is a broad fascia containing the inscription. Near by another block was
found, similar, but without letters. Probably these blocks were parts of an architrave,
or of a composite lintel : the building, to which they belonged, is not evident. The
inscribed block is about 50 cm. long and 43 high: the inscribed fascia is 25 cm. high.
The letters, 16 cm. high, are incised.
+ ΕΤΟΕΔ/Ι\+ -f- "Ετος -j-- + Year 904. + (592-3 a.d.)
853. Lintel. The left end of a lintel, lying a few feet east of the ruined building
where No. 849 was found. The fragment is 92 cm. long and 33 cm. high. At the
left of the second line is some sort of ornament, perhaps intended for a leaf: this and
the inscription itself are executed in simple, broad, incised lines upon a plain surface.
The letters are very unequal in size.
’Llzvo(u) X. Μ. [Γ·] Ετου[ς ....
{The church?) of Ioanes. Chfrisi) b{orn) {of) M{ctry).
In {the) year ....
854. Fragment. A stone now used as a lintel in a modern courtyard, in the
eastern part of the village. Its total length is 1.16 m., its width to 12 cm.: it is
broken at the top, through the tops of the letters; at both ends also, and perhaps
at the bottom. Before the inscription is a blank space of 31 cm. The first word is
72 cm. long. The letters are incised. Copy by Dr. Littmann.
j-Γααρας Σ[
„ Gaaras. S-
Inscr. 854.
855. IL-BERDONEH. Lintel (?). A long, narrow stone, about one and a half
meters in length and 30 cm. in width, now used as a beam in a modern dwelling.
It had been exposed to the smoke so long that tar completely obscured some of the
letters. As a woman was making bread immediately under it, and refused to move,
and as a large crowd of natives insisted upon entering the room with me, I did not
attempt to make a careful drawing, or to take measurements, of the stone. The reading,
however, I believe to be correct.
The original stone had been split lengthwise, so that the tops of some of the
letters in the first line are lost. In the center is a disk, formed by a raised band.
But the space within the disk is now blank, and seemed to have been so originally.
The letters of the inscription, also, are in relief.
Νοχ μ
(XeTOY/
Inscr. 853.