Clay chalice rim (two nonjoining fragments); painted inscription · Skoteino Cave
SKO Zc 1
- Site
- Skoteino Cave
- Object
- Clay chalice rim (two nonjoining fragments); painted inscription
- Period
- LM IA–B
- Scribe
- —
- Findspot
- Skoteino Cave
- Edition
- —
Text2 lines
- 1NA-TU-*301-NE
- 2]QA-KI-TI[
TranslationCandidateincomplete
The dedicated one; […]QA-KI-TI[…].—OR: The Giver; […]QA-KI-TI[…].
Word by word2 words
- NA-TU-*301-NEnatūnānthe dedicated one (passive) or the giver (active)—from √n-t-n 'to give' + -ān suffixProbable
- ]QA-KI-TI[unread
Commentary
Context: Cave sanctuary votive—two words painted on a chalice rim, two non-joining fragments, order uncertain. The Skoteino Cave (south of Knossos) is one of the largest cave sanctuaries on Crete.
Two-word cave sanctuary dedication. Dual reading of NA-TU-*301-NE from √n-t-n: passive natūnān ‘the dedicated one’ (Nĕtīnīm parallel—temple servant class) or active nātānān ‘the giver’ (theophanic title paralleling A-TA-NA-TE = Athena). If active, the inscription is a divine epithet rather than a human dedicant’s self-identification.
Epigraphic note
Painted inscription on two nonjoining fragments of the rim of the same clay chalice; fragment order and reading direction uncertain