Hi, all. I am having trouble with this seal. The
inscription is not as clear as it seems, and the only letters on the
obverse that I am sure of are the EI to the right of the
portrait. I've looked through most of the DOAKS
seals bearing saints up to the 11th century, and the most similar busts are those of St. Basil. The inscriptions on some of these match with the EI, but not with the rest of what I can see. The other problem is that this
portrait seems much later in
style than the
monogram, which is also very hard to read. This seal was a gift, so I can not be certain it came from
Caesarea, where virtually all of the
Byzantine seals I found were from the late 5th to early 7th century. Any
help, ideas or corrections would be appreciated! Thanks, again. Jimi
Lead Seal
Caesarea Maritima Uncertain Date
Obv: Bearded? facing
portrait of Saint Basil?,
nimbate,
uncertain
inscription to left...T or Γ?, and right O..? / EI / IA..?
Rev: Damaged, incomplete cruciform
monogram, containing
Greek letters Λ, K?, C?, I (O, Y), and at least two, three, or
more letters to left and right.
20 x 19.5 x 4.0mm. 7.67gm.
Axis:0
Unknown
provenance,
Israel, 1970's
(click for larger pic)
