>Nick Pisa writing from Rome for The Scotsman is reporting that Raffaella Giuliani, chief inspector of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, who is overseeing the dig, and a group of archaeologists have found 1,000 skeletons in recent discovered catacombs in Rome.

Pisa wrote:

Archaelogists [sic] exploring one of Rome’s oldest catacombs have discovered more than 1,000 skeletons dressed in elegant togas.

Experts are thrilled by the find – which dates from about the first century – as it is the first “mass burial” of its kind identified. Mystery surrounds why so many bodies were neatly piled together in the complex network of underground burial chambers, which stretch for miles under the city.

It was the custom then for Rome’s upper classes to be burnt not buried, so it is thought the skeletons may be early Christians. Tests are being carried [sic] to establish whether they suffered violent death or were victims of an unknown epidemic or natural disaster.

Readers have been debating the significance of this discovery. The question in the mind of many readers is whether these skeletons are the remains of Christians who died in opposition to Rome. Read this news report and join the debate about the significance of the findings.

Read the article by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology; Catacombs