Graffito
(0118) Text: Εγ[γράφομεν Θε]οδώρῳ | εἰς Ἡ[ρώ]δειον [ἀ]δινιόο[ν] | εἰς τὸν τόπον βασι- | λε[ί]ου. οὐ | κόλαζε | αὐ(τὸ)ν.
Translation: We inscribe this for Theodore in the the fortress of Herodium in the place of the palace. Do not punish him! (Trans. Christopher B. Zeichmann)
Commentary: Testa plausibly interprets this as a bit of grief over a soldier being punished within the fortress. All graffiti at Herodium is likely from the pre-War period, evinced by the use of Greek and taking into account history of the site.
Provenience: Herodium, Judaea 22 BCE-70 CE
Bibliography: CIIP 3362; Emmanuele Testa, Herodion IV: I graffiti e gli ostraka, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum 20 (Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, 1972), no. 36.