- Measurements and Technique: 61 x 25 x 28 cm. Plain.
- Provenance: Unknown.
- Description: Inner ledge on three sides.
- Inscription: On the front side, very faintly incised and hardly discernible:
First line: "spirh.spirh" 'Shappira, Shappira' Second line: "`plgnh" 'Apollogena'(?)

Comments: The Aramaic name Shappira (sometimes written with an "`" instead of a "h") is well represented on ossuaries in its Greek (see also Acts 5:1) and Hebrew/Aramaic form, see CIJ II, Nos. 1272 (Greek), 1282 (Hebrew [= Rahmani, No. 35]), 1384 (Hebrew); Bagatti and Milik, pp. 84-85, No. 13b with Fig. 22:3, and PI. 29:82 (Hebrew); Puech, Nos. 30 (= Jacoby, card 29B), 39; Rahmani, Nos. 198, 455 (Hebrew); see also the tomb inscriptions, CIJ II, Nos. 1378 (Greek and Hebrew) and 1393 (Hebrew). For the distribution of female names in the Second Temple period, see Hachlili, 1984, p. 189; Ilan, 1989, p.199; ten known individuals with this name are listed (three known from documents of the Judaean Desert) of about a total of 247 women known by name, which means that only three names are more frequent (Salome, Mariamme and Martha). The double writing of the name on the same side is not a rare phenomenon on ossuaries; for further examples, see Rahmani, Nos. 107, 108, 218. The otherwise unknown name Apollogena could perhaps be interpreted as a female form of the Greek ’Απολλογενης[1], written in Hebrew letters.There are some examples of Jews bearing names with the theophoric element referring to the 'Greek god Apollon[2]. For a good example illustrating the custom of writing Greek names with Hebrew letters, see Rahmani, Nos. 84 and 86, where on the same ossuary one can find ’Απφιας. ’Αθηνα(γορου) and "apjhs atngrs".

[1] Pape and Benseier, pp. 107-108; LGPN I, p. 50; LGPN II, p. 42; LGPN IIIA,p. 49. The connection of personal names with -γενης is very common in the Greek onomasticon and often both male and female forms are known, e.g. Kαλλιγενης and Kαλλιγενεια or ’Ιφιγενης and ’Ιφιγενεια. Thus, we should expect ’Απολλογενεια instead of ’Απολλογενη, but besides the ending -γενεια, the forms -γενια or -γονη are to be found.
[2] Cf. ApolIonios, a Jewish envoy in Rome, Josephus, Ant.13:260; 14:248; for examples from the diaspora in Egypt, CPJ III, p. 170 (index) and Acts 18:24.

Zitat aus: Fritz/Deines, Catalogue of the Jewish Ossuaries in the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology, IEJ 49, 1999, 222-241.

Ossuary No. 16 drawing of inscriptionOssuary No. 16 front, with traces of inscription visible on upper right part