New Discoveries in the Jewish and Early Christian Catacombs of Rome

The catacombs of ancient Rome form the single most important source of information concerning the rise of Christianity from an archaeological point of view. This lecture focuses on exciting new results produced by a science-based approach to these materials, as performed within the framework of a recently concluded international project based at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. It discusses the results and historical ramifications of a series of radiocarbon datings in the Jewish and early Christian catacombs of Rome by seeking to answer such questions as: What does the fact that the Jewish catacombs antedate the Christian ones tell us about Jewish-Christian relationships in the very center of the Roman Empire? By then elaborating on the evidence produced by stable isotope analysis and several other research techniques, this lecture also delves into the harsh demographic realities that Jews and Christians alike were facing during the first centuries of the Common Era. In an attempt to bring back to life the common folk that lie buried in the endless and pitch-dark subterranean galleries of the catacombs, I will argue that there is very little in the archaeology of these monumental sites that lends support to more optimistic notions about the rise of Christianity such as those proposed, most prominently, by Rodney Stark.
This lecture is sponsored by the UC Multi-Campus Research Group in Late Antiquity in cooperation with the UCSB Ancient Mediterranean Studies Program.

jwil 02.xi.2011