A Greek Dedicatory Inscription Found in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

The dedicatory inscription in question, found in the Rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in the late 1960s or early 1970s, refers to various duties and offices of an anonymous benefactor-dedicator, who was also engaged in a construction (architectural) project, probably in Caesarea Maritima, the capital city of the province. The inscription is engraved on a broken grey-veined marble column, which suggests that it was quarried at Proconnesus (the Island of Marmara) or perhaps at Dokimeion (Phrygia) in Asia Minor. Only one-third of the circumference of the column has survived. It can be assumed that the column once stood in a public place in light of the public nature of the inscription. It seems plausible that the inscribed column was brought to Jerusalem from Caesarea Maritima, together with other marbles (columns, slabs, statues, etc.), either in the mid-11th century or at the time of the Crusaders in the 12th century; and was then reused as a paving stone in the church.

Based on various circumstantial evidence, the terminus post quem of the inscription is 231-232 CE and its dating can be attributed as up to the end of the 3rd century CE.