Epitaph of Samuel

The Epitaph of Samuel (Georgian: სამუელის ეპიტაფია, romanized: samuelis ep'it'apia) is an Ancient Greek limestone tombstone slab epitaph inscription which was discovered in 1934, in the monastic cemetery of the Byzantine period, at the YMCA area in Jerusalem.

[1][2] The inscription mentions "Iberian [i.e. Georgian[3]] bishop, Samuel" and the purchase of a tomb or a monastery in the area of Tower of David.

Because of the incorrect Greek, it is unclear if the Iberians bought a tomb or a monastery.

[4] It is assumed the church belonged to the Iberian clergy and possibly served the whole Georgian monastic community of Jerusalem.

[5] It may have been a cemeterial church, extremely rare in Palestine of Byzantine period, and completely absent in ancient Georgia.