Ossuary of Markeos and Ioudas with Greek inscription,

1 c. BCE-1 c. CE - Plain limestone ossuary, reconstructed; gabled lid too short for box, perhaps intended for a different ossuary. Greek inscription (a) incised to medium depth on one short side (rough-finished), 5 cm from the top rim and slanting down to the right. Above this inscription on rim, another Greek inscription (b) with very faintly incised letters (not all letters of ed. pr. still legible). A third Greek inscription (c) faintly scratched on the other short side (rough-finished), 6 cm from the top rim and slanting down to the right. Lunate sigma in all three inscriptions. Meas.: h 37, w 75, d 30 cm; lid: h 11 cm; (a): l. 22 cm, letters 3-5.5 (b): l. 22 cm, letters 3 cm; (c): l. 22 cm, letters 3-5 cm. Pres. loc: Beth Shemesh, IAA inv. no. 1975-667. Autopsy: 14 June 2007.

(a) ΜΑΡΚΕΟΣ
(b) ΜΑΡΚΑΕΟΣ
(c) ΙΟΥΔΑΣ
(a) Μάρκεος
(b) Μάρκαεος
(c) Ἰούδας
(a) Markeos.
(b) Markaeos.
(c) Ioudas.

fig. 23.3 (b) Comm.: Inscriptions (a) and (b), written in different hands, obviously refer to the same person, who had the common Latin nomen gentile Marcius, usually spelled Μάρκιος.Ἰούδας is the most common Greek version of Hebrew Yehuda. Given their placement on the ossuary, the two names probably represent two deceased relatives, rather than one man with the name Marcius Ioudas; Marcius may also be a distortion of the praenomen Marcus, but this is not likely. [source]