Russian version
Copyright © 2000 by Sergei V. Rjabchikov. All Rights Reserved.
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SIGNS INSCRIBED ON THE FRAGMENT OF A TMUTARAKAN'
(TAMATARHA) VESSEL
by Sergei V. Rjabchikov
The signs inscribed on the fragment of a Tmutarakan' (Tamatarha) vessel
(a private collection) are presented in figure 1.
Figure 1.
The lower sign has been read by the author earlier,
it is the Scandinavian rune d (Dagaz 'day') separated by a short
line. This construction symbolizes the beginning of a new day, the idea 'darkness/day'.
I believe that this sign is a code for the place name Tmutarakan'
(Tamatarha) signifying
'(The transformation
from) the Darkness to the Shine (the sun god Tarh)'. Moreover, I
have compared the component tarakan'/tarha of this name with
Russian tarashchit'
(glaza) 'to goggle', too. In fact, the upper sign depicts an eye which
is also divided into two parts. Besides, I have found the sign "eye" and the
word sush 'dryness' (the designation of the sun) on the fragment of a
Tmutarakan' amphora (Rjabchikov 1998: 24, fig. 6; 22-3).
So it is fair to say that I have just discovered the name of the Old Russian
Principality Tmutarakan' (Tamatarha) or the name of the sun deity Tarh
on the vessel's fragment.
REFERENCE
Rjabchikov, Sergei V., 1998. Tainstvennaya Tmutarakan'. Krasnodar:
Torgovo-promyshlennaya palata Krasnodarskogo kraya.
Copyright © 2000 by Sergei V. Rjabchikov. All Rights Reserved.
Published 20 March 2000.
Sergei V. Rjabchikov, Krasnodar, RUSSIA.
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