Understanding Christian and Jewish tombstones from ancient Zoora
Most Jewish tombstones from Zoar (Zoora) carry Aramaic inscriptions painted in red ochre. These gravestone epitaphs give the name of the deceased, followed by the date of death and conclude with expressions of peace.
In “Tales from Tombstones” in the March/April 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, two scholars expert in interpreting the gravestone epitaphs and iconography—Professor Steven Fine and Kalliope I. Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou—provide separate discussions of the Christian and Jewish tombstones of Zoora.
According to Fine, the Jewish tombstones from Zoora typically feature Jewish Aramaic inscriptions painted in red ochre surrounded by a decorative border. The gravestone epitaphs give the name of the deceased, followed by the day, month and year of death and then conclude with expressions of peace unto Israel. The painted texts of the Jewish tombstones are often accompanied by stylized depictions of common Jewish symbols, such as the seven-branched menorah.
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This Christian tombstone, colorfully decorated with deeply carved, green-and-red-painted symbols, belonged to Gorgonios, son of Claudius, a 55-year-old subdeacon of Zoora.
As discussed by Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou, more than 400 Christian tombstones have been discovered in Zoora, almost all of which are inscribed in Greek. The gravestone epitaphs of the Christians of Zoora typically include several lines of incised text that give the name of the deceased, their age, followed by the exact date of death. The majority of the tombstones are colorfully decorated with common Christian symbols, such as the cross, birds, fish and palm branches.
As with the Jewish tombstones, the gravestone epitaphs reveal much about the Christian community of Zoora. In addition to providing the names of local Christians, the gravestone epitaphs furnish a nearly complete list of local church officials, from deacons and subdeacons to presbyters and bishops. Similarly, we find the year of death reckoned according to the number of years since Trajan’s establishment of the province of Arabia (106 C.E.).
To continue learning about Zoora’s Christian and Jewish tombstones, read the articles of Steven Fine and Kalliope I. Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou in “Tales from Tombstones,” Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2012.
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[…] Bible History Daily: Ancient Gravestone Epitaphs Give Insight into Early Jews and Christians. […]
The author wrote: ” The painted texts of the Jewish tombstones are often accompanied by stylized depictions of common Jewish symbols, such as the seven-branched menorah.”
From the accompanying picture, it looks like it is an 8/9 branched menorah, used after the Chanukah miracle was celebrated annually, rather than the seven-branched Menorah lit in the Temple itself.