Archaeologists Find Oldest Painting of the Apostles in Roman Catacombs
by Teresa Neumann : Jun 23, 2010 : Staff – Reuters
"This is a very important discovery in the history of the early Christian communities of Rome."
(Rome, Italy)—Archaeologists believe that 1500 year-old images found in a section of the catacombs of St. Tecla near St. Paul’s Basilica, that have been recently restored, may have been among those that most influenced later artists’ depictions of the faces of Christ’s most important early followers. (Photo: Images found in branch of catacombs of St. Tecla near St. Paul’s Basilica/Globe And Mail)
"These are the first images that we know of the faces of these four apostles," said Professor Fabrizio Bisconti, the head of archaeology for Rome’s catacombs. "This is a very important discovery in the history of the early Christian communities of Rome."
The images consist of four circles depicting the apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew and John, on the ceiling of the burial place of a noblewoman believed to have converted to Christianity.
The use of lasers as an "optical scalpel" allowed restorers to reveal with "stunning clarity" images that up until then were blurry. According to the report, the wrinkles on St. Paul’s forehead, for example, are clear and the whiteness of St. Peter’s beard has re-emerged.
"It was very, very emotional to discover this," said Barbara Mazzei, head of the project.
The report noted as well that other scenes from the Bible, such as Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead or Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac, are now also much clearer and brighter. [http://www.archaeologynews.org/story.asp?ID=623655&Title=Archaeologists%20find%20oldest%20paintings%20of%20apostles]
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This discovery is a great one. I wish detail of discovery is given us. I also wish to have further information like where the Catacomb is located etc.
God bless all your hard works.
Thank You
I believe if these discoveries dating is somehow wrong.If the dating was around 62-BC,that’s around 1900yrs ago then we would give them a benefit of doubt
It sounds interesting but since we can’t see the picture it is really difficult to comment on the authenticity of this.
It’s a shame we can only see a small thumbnail of the photo. Will there be more and larger photos?
I am really looking forward to being able to see more on this development and simply can not wait to learn more. We are taught that we should always approach things with a open mind then see if they line up with scripture. If we simply would apply this practice to things like this we might even learn more/
I am really looking forward to being able to see more on this development and simply can not wait to learn more.
There is a story that (in the 1970s) examination of one of the catacomb wall paintings covered an older painting; and, that the older painting was not restored. I hope that if the technology is available, painted over pictures can be restored with an open mind if interpretation is needed – I am not an expert in art restoration.
My wife was told by someone who worked in Rome in the 1970s, that in a catacomb (he called it a church), an original painting had been partially painted over. If the technology exits, it would be interesting to compare an original with the painted over picture.