Kyrenia Gate / NIC_KG_01

The epigraphic text is composed of four contiguous fragments reconstructed and displayed on the south façade of the Gate after 1931. The inscription is displayed on six lines, of which the first four are channelled on a quadrangular fragment, while the last two are incised on three contiguous fragments creating a rectangular shape. It seems probable that they all were part of the same epigraphic element (a block or a slab) created to remember the building of the Kyrenia Gate by the Venetians. The fragments are surrounded on all sides by a moulded frame with a cornice on its top. The left side of the superior fragment, with the first four lines of the text, is missing and has been replaced by pieces of the same stone without inscriptions. From a palaeographical point of view, the text is incised in Humanistic Capital but with peculiarities suggesting that it must be the product of a local workshop. In fact, there are many ligatures, tall or small letters (sometimes included) and the module of the characters is irregular. Leaf-shaped interpunction marks are visible in the last line of the text.

Images credits: photo NIC_KG_01_05 by M. Klajban (2019) through Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Kyrenia_Gate%2C_Nicosia%2C_Cyprus.jpg) CC BY-SA 4.0