Two New Sepulchral Inscriptions from a Rescue Excavation in the District of Keles (Bursa)

Abstract

This article presents the results of a 2024 rescue excavation conducted by the Bursa Museum Directorate in the Kıranışıklar district (Keles, Bursa) following illicit excavations. The site, likely a public complex dating to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period, yielded mosaic floors, architectural elements, and various small finds. Two funerary inscribed altars, discovered in 2022 and now in the Bursa Museum, indicate the structure’s later reuse as a necropolis. The first inscription is a funerary epigram of four distichs for an eighteen-year-old youth named Menophantos. The poem emphasizes his sudden death and notes that he „grew up in the lap of Zeus Kersoullos,“ confirming the region’s association with this specific cult (Hadrianoi/Olympene). The second inscription is a standard funerary text commissioned by Papias for his wife, Eias. Both altars, dating to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, attest to the Roman-period necropolis at the site and offer important insights into the Late Antique settlement patterns of the region.

Keywords

• Bursa museum
• epigram
• distich
• Bursa
• Bursa
• Keles
• Keles
• Zeus Kersoullos
• funerary inscriptions

Zwei neue Grabinschriften aus einer Rettungsgrabung im Gebiet von Keles (Bursa)

Abstract

This article presents the results of a 2024 rescue excavation conducted by the Bursa Museum Directorate in the Kıranışıklar district (Keles, Bursa) following illicit excavations. The site, likely a public complex dating to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period, yielded mosaic floors, architectural elements, and various small finds. Two funerary inscribed altars, discovered in 2022 and now in the Bursa Museum, indicate the structure’s later reuse as a necropolis. The first inscription is a funerary epigram of four distichs for an eighteen-year-old youth named Menophantos. The poem emphasizes his sudden death and notes that he „grew up in the lap of Zeus Kersoullos,“ confirming the region’s association with this specific cult (Hadrianoi/Olympene). The second inscription is a standard funerary text commissioned by Papias for his wife, Eias. Both altars, dating to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, attest to the Roman-period necropolis at the site and offer important insights into the Late Antique settlement patterns of the region.

Keywords

• Bursa
• Keles
• Museum von Bursa
• Grabinschriften
• Epigramm
• Zeus Kersoullos

References

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