ECG011. The Decree of Vani

Material: Plaque

Object type: Bronze

Dimensions: w 12 x h 28 x d 1 cm

Decoration:

Text: cm

Letters:

The letters are engraved between the two parallel lines drawn beforehand. Letters are clear and the edge points are carved deeply while their connecting lines are not that dee

0,7 0,6-0,7

Date: III BC (lettering)

Findspot: Found in 1985

Original location:ვანი

Last recorded location(s): ვანის არქეოლოგიური ექსპედიციის მუზეუმი

Text type:Unknown

Editor(s): Tinatin Kaukhchishvili, Otar Lortkipanidze, Michael Vickers

Publication details:Ilia State University, Institute of Linguistic Studies; დოკუმენტი ვრცელდება Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 ლიცენზიის ფარგლებში.

Translation

Translation by Tinatin Khaukhchishvili: “Sensible, or moderate... Completely pure, clean... laid one’s hand on... started (some kind of job)... grave, tomb... backwards... To their successors... And of those who made it (some stela of a female gender?) in a written document (possibly a formal complaint)... cut out (written) and stela... Neither some people, nor the invincible (or the ones who cannot be negotiated with) should be impeded... They had better follow the written (rule)... Both from them and from women… and all the others who will add and who will count…. And the stela erected in Suri…. The Earth and the Sun and the Moon… and may all (female gender) be merciful... Neither those who had it in mind and those who take action... All the opposite was done against the negotiators... The great gods … Yet, nothing (only particles)… to the hungry (or all of them)

Commentary

A comment by Tinatin Kaukhchishvili: The Archaeological Museum in Vani preserves a fragment of a Bronze plaque unearthed in 1985. The right part of the plaque has no edges. The plaque had not obviously been plain, as is evidenced by the presence of a fragment of a frame shaped like a semi-column. It is possible to distinguish 26 lines from which the 11th-26th lines present no doubt. The first 10, however, are damaged by fire so that it is hard to figure out what it really says. According to the bits and pieces available, the text seems to be an ecclesiastical legal document, which poses certain conditions: the one who intends to start a job (any job) should be fully pure. They should be purified even before touching a grave and this applies to them as well as to their offspring. This statement is engraved on a stela and is addressed against those who, by the way, cannot be dealt with without this prohibition. The inscription calls parishioners, men (?) as well as women (they obviously belong to the same circle) and all the others (these “others” must represent a different class by their context) should follow this ordinance. There is an additional point in the ordinance about the manner of adding and monitoring. The stela with the aforementioned ordinance is erected in Suri. They call the gods: earth, the Sun and the moon; They ask one of the gods to be merciful. This mercy does not apply to those who intended or committed evil (an act forbidden by this document). The counselors agreed that whomsoever do the contrary, the great gods will not help them and they will go through all kinds of tribulations. It is noteworthy that the inscription mentions the geographic name “Suri” (the same as the written sources call “Surion/Surium”) that is the Hellenistic name for Vani, also the Triad of the great gods (Earth, the Sun and the Moon) that were worshipped in Suri. Date: According to the outlines of letters (Ω, Σ, Μ, Β, Ρ, Ε, Γ ...) and the lingual norms (μηθέν, ἀνεπιχείρητος) the inscription refers to the 3rd century B.C. Archaeologically the fragment was found in the layer dated back to the late Hellenistic period.

Bibliography

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 1999 თინათინ ყაუხჩიშვილი, საქართველოს ბერძნული წარწერების კორპუსი, 149-150

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 1976 თინათინ ყაუხჩიშვილი, საქართველოს ისტორიის ძველი ბერძნული წყაროები, 241-245

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 2004 თინათინ ყაუხჩიშვილი, საქართველოს ბერძნული წარწერების კორპუსი, ტ. I, 149-150

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 1951 თინათინ ყაუხჩიშვილი, ბერძნული წარწერები საქართველოში, 92

ყიფიანი, 2011 ოთ. ლორთქიფანიძე, ვანი, არქეოლოგიური გათხრები

მაჭავარიანი, 1985 O. Lordkipanidzé, Vani, une Pompei géorgienne

ჰაფიზოვი, 2017 O. Lordkipanidze, Vani, ein antikes religiöses Zentrum des goldenen Vlieses (Kolchis), 353-401

გუდავა, 1954 Medeas Gold - Neue Funde aus Georgien

ჩიქობავა, 1940 Michael Vickers, Vani, rich in gold, 35-36

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 1967 თინათინ ყაუხჩიშვილი, ვანის ბერძნული წარწერები

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 1987 თინათინ ყაუხჩიშვილი, ვანის ბერძნული წარწერა ბრინჯაოს ფილაზე

ყაუხჩიშვილი, 1988 Тинатин Каухчишвили, Греческая надпись на бронзовой плите из Вани, 248-261

Images

 [Open image]  Fig. 1. Decree of Vani, 1985