Happenings 03
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Relief slab of a pseudo-sarcophagus with crosses and birds

Relief slab that decorated the long side of a built Christian tomb of 11th-12th c. The half left part of the slab is missing. In the main face, two crosses on stepped bases are depicted, enclosed in a frame formed by a wide band. The cross on the right is Latin and is flanked by a number of vine shoots growing from its base. Above the shoots an eagle on the right and a small bird on the left are depicted pecking at bunches of grapes. The cross on the left is double (Anastasis (Resurrection) cross) with a cypress growing from its base. The slab was reused, according to the engraved inscription in Hebrew, as a tombstone in the grave of rabbi Yitzhak Sarouk that died on Monday, 9th of Heshvan of the year 5375, that is November 1615.

Code

AG 274

Type

Relief slab

Chronology

1st use: 11th-12th c./ 2nd use: 1615 a.D.

Dimensions

Height 68 cm., width 112 cm., thickness 10 cm.

Material of Construction

Marble

Origin

Thessaloniki