[Pink.]

The oldest known image of the apostles Andrew and John have been discovered in catacombs under the city of Rome, dating back to the 4th century A.D., archaeologists announced Tuesday.

The paintings were found in the same location where the oldest known painting of St. Paul was discovered last year, the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology said Tuesday.


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Using lasers, Italian art restorers say they have discovered what appear to be the oldest paintings of some of Jesus Christ's original apostles, the BBC reports. The faces of apostles Andrew, John, Peter and Paul were uncovered in a catacomb in Rome.

"These are the first images that we know of the faces of these four apostles," said Fabrizio Bisconti, the head of archaeologist for the Vatican-owned catacombs. The paintings appear to date from the second half of the 4th century or the early 5th century.

"It was very, very emotional to discover this," said Barbara Mazzei, who was in charge of the project

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They are part of a group of paintings around an image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd on the ceiling of what is thought to have been a Roman noblewoman's tomb, experts said.

A painting of St. Peter makes up the fourth member of the group, but older images of him are thought to exist, Vatican experts said.

Their inclusion in the tomb shows the aristocrats were among the last Romans to convert to Christianity, archaeologist Fabrizio Bisconti said.

The Roman matron must have been very rich, he said, as the colors and richness of the decoration show.

The images of the apostles' heads and shoulders against a deep red background were uncovered after two years of work, Vatican experts said.

Archaeologists used a new laser technology to remove layers of white carbon calcium deposited on the frescoes over the centuries without disturbing the paintings.

They are located in the catacombs of St. Tecla, one of the 40 Roman catacombs under Rome. It sits under a modern eight-story building in a working-class neighborhood. It is closed to the public and its entrance is mostly hidden.

The Vatican spent about 60,000 euros (about $74,000) on the archaeological work, it said. The apostles were a group of a dozen men, according to Christian tradition, who spread the gospel of Jesus after his crucifixion.

[Pink.]

The earliest known icons of the Apostles Peter and Paul have been discovered in a catacomb under an eight-story modern office building in a working-class neighborhood of Rome, Vatican officials said Tuesday.

The images, which date from the second half of the 4th century, were discovered on the ceiling of a tomb that also includes the earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew. They were uncovered using a new laser technique that allowed restorers to burn off centuries of thick white calcium carbonate deposits without damaging the dark colors of the original paintings underneath.

The paintings adorn what is believed to be the tomb of a Roman noblewoman in the Santa Tecla catacomb and represent some of the earliest evidence of devotion to the apostles in early Christianity, Vatican officials said in opening up the tomb to the media for the first time.

Last June, the Vatican announced the discovery of the icon of Paul — timed to coincide with the end of the Vatican's Pauline year. At the time, Pope Benedict XVI also announced that tests on bone fragments long attributed to Paul "seemed to confirm" that they did indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint.

On Tuesday, Vatican archaeologists announced that the image of Paul discovered last year was not found in isolation, but was rather part of a square ceiling painting that also included icons of three other apostles - Peter, John and Andrew - surrounding an image of Christ as the Good Shepherd.





An Atztec tomb, the oldest known paintings of Peter and Paul, the graveyard of the gladiators, the world's oldest shoe and more. The latest discoveries from the ancient world.

"These are the first images of the apostles," said Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of archaeology for the catacombs, which are maintained by the Vatican's Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology.

The Vatican office oversaw and paid for the two-year, euro60,000 restoration effort, which for the first time used lasers to restore frescoes and paintings in catacombs. The damp, musty air of underground catacombs makes preservation of paintings particularly difficult and restoration problematic.

In this case, the small burial chamber at the end of the catacomb was completely encased in centimeters (inches) of white calcium carbonate, which under previous restoration techniques would have just been scraped away by hand. That technique, though would have left a filmy layer on top so as to not damage the paintings underneath.

Using the laser, restorers were able to sear off all the layers of calcium that had been bound onto the painting because the laser beam stopped burning at the white of the calcium deposits, which when chipped off left the brilliant darker colors underneath it unscathed.

[Nite]

excellent post,cheers

[Pink.]

thanks.

I am more interested in the history of these artifacts and how they actually verify the dates.


There is a slide show on CNN but I didnt put it here.....


Check it out.

[Pink.]

Here is the link to the cnn article with the slideshow.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/0...nd-john-found/

I LOVE the artwork!!!!

[Gh007]

Pinkie are we missing Eek

[GODREKR]

Originally Posted by PinkPanties ↗

thanks.

I am more interested in the history of these artifacts and how they actually verify the dates.


There is a slide show on CNN but I didnt put it here.....


Check it out.

Me too. Excellent post Pink.

[Dennislp3]

Originally Posted by Gh007 ↗

Pinkie are we missing Eek

LOL I think we all are....I bet he would have run with this one for sure....prolly would have been on about how they watch you til death and if you sin they stare and laugh at you lol

Thanks for the post Pink