Abstract

In 2020, 13 Jewish epitaphs were found at the Jewish necropolis at the Pavlovsky Cape near Kerch, of which 4 turned out to be more or less intact. Although the rest are destroyed, some texts lend themselves to approximate reconstruction. One Hebrew inscription is dated to 584 BE = AD 281, all others in Greek. This is a signifi cant addition to about two dozen already known Jewish epitaphs found at the Bosporus. New epitaphs of the 2nd – 4th centuries AD shed light on the offi cial nomenclature of the Panticapaean synagogue: archisynagogus, presbyter, etc. The anthroponymy of the Bosporan Jews has signifi cantly expanded, and it is almost all Jewish, which is unusual for the Diaspora. Based on the new epitaphs, some conclusions can be drawn about the position of the Jewish community of Panticapaeum.

Keywords

Cimmerian Bosporus, Panticapaeum, Jewish necropolis, new Jewish epitaphs of the 2nd – 4th centuries AD, local synagogue positions, personal names, position of the local Jewish community.

Denis V. Beylin, Institute of Archaeology of Crimea, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kerch, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Valery P. Yaylenko, Independent researcher, Moscow, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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