Grave Marker

Grave Marker

Limestone

A large limestone funerary stele from Palmyra, depicting a young, clean shaven man in a toga. There is draped material behind and a vertical Aramaic inscription in the upper right hand corner. Inscriptions are usually horizontal, rather than vertical as in this case. Read from top to bottom, left to right, the surviving text is (transliterated): [...]Š[...]RY BR | [...]L[...] There were probably more than two lines but only one survives (which is not even completely legible), and a few marks of the second one are visible. The first part of the first line was probably the name of the person being commemorated, ending in -RY. -Y was a common ending for a male name, for example YRHY = Yarhai, one of the most common Aramaic names. After the personal name the first line finished with BR, "son of", which is the normal formula to introduce the patronymic which probably follows at the second illegible line. A custom-built metal base (not attached) is included.

Roman, from Palmyra, Syria

Purchased from Charles Ede Ltd, London, 2009.

AD 175 - AD 225

09.001

Purchased from Charles Ede Ltd, London, 2009.
Part of the Turner Collection, before 2005.