Limestone funerary stone of the Byzantine Period, inscribed in Greek with a prayer on behalf of the owner, a woman named Makareia. The words echo the ancient Egyptian appeal to the living, addressed to those who pass by the tomb. At the centre lower margin stands the Coptic cross, derived from the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph reading 'ankh' 'life'. The stela was acquired at Armant, and probably comes from a fifth or sixth century cemetery in that area, when that town was an important bishopric.
Charles H. Keene, On a Stone with a Greek Inscription (Early Christian) from Upper Egypt, in: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 1892, 18, 295-298.
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