RB. 2017 - T. 124-3 (pp. 446-454). doi 10.2143/RBI.124.3.3245468 THE ARMENIAN GRAFFITO FROM THE SOUTHERN CHURCH OF SHIVTA BY Yana TCHEKHANOVETS Israel Antiquities Authority yanatchk@gmail.com Yotam TEPPER Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, and Israel Antiquities Authority yotamtepper@gmail.com Guy BAR-OZ Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa guybar@research.haifa.ac.il ABSTRACT The brief report is dedicated to a fragmentary Armenian graffito, recently dis- covered in the apse of the Byzantine Southern Church of Shivta, in the Negev desert. The location of the graffito and its paleographic analysis allows to date it to the 9 th -11 th centuries, already after the abandonment of the site, and testifies to the continuous tradition of Christian pilgrimage, connecting Palestine with the sanctuaries of the Sinai. RÉSUMÉ Le bref rapport est dédié à un graffito fragmentaire arménien, récemment découvert dans l’abside de l’église byzantine de Shivta, dans le désert du Néguev. L’emplacement du graffito et son analyse paléographique le font remonter aux 9 e -11 e siècles, déjà après l’abandon du site, et témoignent de la continuité du pèlerinage chrétien, reliant la Palestine aux sanctuaires du Sinaï. Shivta (ancient Sobota: Arabic- Isbeita or Subeita) is a large Byzan- tine village (about 90 dunams: 9 hectares), is located on the northern