268, no. 3 (dr.) (ed. pr.) | |
166, no. 3 (dr.) | |
593-594, no. 203* C, fig. 246 (dr.) | |
19, no. 16 |
SEG 40 (1990): 1477
CIIP IV.1 (2018): 2674 (dr.)
In the mosaic pavement of the nave, in front of the bema.
Five-line inscription set in a tabula ansata (70 x 160 cm). Both the frame and the characters are traced in blue tesserae. The characters average 9-10 cm high. The are beautifully shaped and regularly spaced and belong to the round alphabet. The omicron and theta are drop-shaped, which points to a date not earlier than the mid-6th century. The only abbreviation is a stigma, in two forms: the full-sized upright form and the small sloping mark jointed to the kappa to form καί.
Ἑπὶ τοῦ ἁγιωτ(άτου) καὶ ὁσιωτ(άτου)
ἡμῶν Πορφυρίου ἐπισκό-
που ἐψηφώθη ὁ ναὸς οὗ-
τος σπουδῆς Ἐγλῶνος πρεσβ(υτέρου)
κ(αὶ) ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας τῶν καρποφορ(ούντων).
In the time of our most holy and pious bishop Porphyry, this church was paved, owing to the zeal of the priest Eglon and for the salvation of the benefactors.
Building inscription attributing the laying of mosaics in the church to the time of Porphyry the bishop.
The genitive σπουδῆς is used as opposed to the more common σπουδῇ. Εγλῶν is based on the Arabic name 'GL, 'GLN. The village must have been in the bishopric of Jericho. It is likely that Porphyrywas bishop of Jericho between Gregory, who took part in the synod of Jerusalem in 536, and 570, the date of the latest inscription in the church.