Neue Inschriften im Museum von Bolu (Bithynion/Klaudiupolis)

Abstract

This article presents some 40 hitherto unpublished inscriptions from the Bolu museum, most of which stem from Klaudiupolis, though in some cases the provenance remains unclear. Two inscriptions were found on the coast near Akçakoca (Dia) on the boundary between Prusias ad Hypium and Herakleia Pontike. One of these inscriptions (no. 5) attests that the cult of Zeus Bennios known from Phrygia and the middle Sangarios valley had spread as far as that region. Two dedications stem from Phrygia and were given as a permanent loan by the museum of Afyon. Of historical importance is the honorary inscription no. 3, as it attests that the consul Arabianus was a native of Klaudiupolis. The honorary inscription no. 2 acquaints us with the notable Titus Domitius Pius Iulianus, undoubtedly a descendant of the Domitius Pontikus Iulianus who in the Hadrianic period founded the now unearthed stadion. The funerary inscriptions are frequently engraved on moulded column drums, which were widely used in the East Bithynian and West Paphlagonian region. Of these, four feature epigrams praising the virtues of the deceased. From a Christian context are a baptismal font bearing the name of the donor, a barrier plate with a quotation from Matthew's Gospel and a cross-shaped funerary stele of the presbyter Polychronios. Also included in the catalogue are a dozen further stones bearing no inscriptions.