Epitaph of Samuel

The Epitaph of Samuel (სამუელის ეპიტაფია) is an Ancient Greek limestone tombstone slab epitaph inscription which was discovered in 1934, in the monastic cemetery of the Byzantine period, at the YMCA area in Jerusalem.

The inscription mentions "Iberian [i.e. Georgian ] bishop, Samuel" and the purchase of a tomb or a monastery in the area of Tower of David. Because of the incorrect Greek, it is unclear if the Iberians bought a tomb or a monastery. It is assumed the church belonged to the Iberian clergy and possibly served the whole Georgian monastic community of Jerusalem. It may have been a cemeterial church, extremely rare in Palestine of Byzantine period, and completely absent in ancient Georgia. The slab is partly broken and the whole right corner of it is lost. It is dated to the late 5th or early 6th century AD. The inscription is kept at Rockefeller Museum.

Inscription

 * ΝΗΜΑΔΙΑΦΡΣΑΜ
 * ΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥΙΒΕΡΩ
 * ΚΤΗΣΜΟΝΗΣΑΥΤΟΥΟΗΓ
 * ΡΑΣΑΝΕΝΤΩΠΥΡΓΩΔΑΔ


 * nēmadiaphrsam
 * piskopouiberō
 * ktēsmonēsautouoēg
 * rasanentōpyrgōdad


 * Translation: Tomb belonging to Samuel, bishop of the Iberians, and to his monastery, which they bought in the area of Tower of David.