Epitaph of Lucia, Daughter of Peter, 461 CE

Gray Sandstone

Ghor Es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora), Palaestina Tertia

Byzantine period

22nd March, 461 CE

Length- 45.5 cm, width- 31 cm, thickness- 7.5-8 cm, height of letters- 1.1 cm

Unpublished

Translation of the Greek text-

“One (is) God, Lord of all things. Monument of Lucia, (daughter) of Peter, who died with a good name at the age of 20, in the year 356, in the month of Artemisius, the seventh, on the sixth day of the Lord (on Friday). Be of good cheer Lucia- nobody is immortal.”

Year 356 began on 22 March 461. The 7th of Artemisius according to the Arabo-Macedonian calendar, fell on April 27, which was a Thursday. However, in Palaestina the day began at sunset- thus, if Lucia died after sundown, the day would have been called Friday. The date should have been also advanced to the next (8th) instead of 7th of Artemisius, but apparently whoever dictated the inscription forgot to do so. LDS

Joan Goodnick Westenholz. Three Faces of Monotheism. Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, 2007. pp. 42-43