St. Catherine's Monastery

The wood roof of the nave, also of 6th-century date, rests on beams that bear
inscriptions honoring Justinian and his famous wife Theodora.
These inscriptions had been reported by travelers as far back as the 18th century,
but not until a 1958 expedition was a careful study made of them in relation to the
church structure.  The inscriptions mention "our most pious Emperor" Justinian and
his "late Empress" Theodora.  Theodora died in 548 and Justinian in 565,
so that the church was completed between those years.  Thus the expedition
guaranteed the authenticity of the inscriptions and also narrowed the traditional
6th-century date for the completion of the church to a 17-year band of time.

St. Catherine's monastery, Mount Sinai.  9/20/2000

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