Funerary portrait of a man, Palmyra (Syria), 2nd/3rd century AD.
Many of the portraits are inscribed above the shoulder in Palmyrene-Aramaic with the name and genealogy of the deceased, and sometimes the date of death as well.
The original language of Palmyra was Aramaic (which later shifted to the Greek language); Palmyrene-Aramaic had two systems of writing: a monumental script and the one here, which is a Mesopotamian cursive.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: Website of ‘britannica.com’ .