A Roman temple dedicated to the Imperial Cult dating from the Christian 4th century AD has been discovered in Spello, Italy.
Professor Bonin had directed underground imaging that suggested the structure existed underneath a parking lot.

This temple reflects the persistence of pagan traditions along with the arrival of Christianity.

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Boin, an expert in ancient Roman and its religious transitions, had been digging in the town of Spello, the famous medieval hilltop city about 20 minutes from Assisi and 2.5 hours north of Rome. Boin selected the town based on a rescript of a 4th-century letter from Emperor Constantine to the townspeople regarding a religious holiday.

This rescript, which was discovered in the 18th century, allowed the people of Spello to celebrate a religious festival in their hometown rather than travel a great distance to another festival. However, in order to do so, the town was told it must erect a temple to Constantine's divine ancestors, the Flavian family, and worship them, showcasing how multicultural Roman society was at the time.

 

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-cult-mentality-professor-monumental-discovery.amp

About 2000 municipal seals to have been found in Southern Turkey. These stamped clay pieces were used to secure and verify documents. Many of well-preserved seal images were of Jupiter Dolichenus, an important mystery cult popular in the Roman military in the second and third century AD.

Below are a few threads on Jupiter Dolichenus:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/11/archaeologists-uncover-over-2000-seal-impressions-in-ancient-doliche/149262
 

In the mystery cult, Jupiter Dolichenus was recognized as a god of the heavens as well as determining military success and safety.

Jupiter Dolichenus was usually represented standing on a bull and carrying his double ax and thunderbolt.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Dolichenus#:~:text=Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman,to mid-3rd centuries AD.

A fragment of Psalms 46 written in Greek and thought to be of Byzantine origin was recently found in Israel. A tiny gold ring was also found at the site.

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"This is one of the most common psalms used in the ancient Christian liturgy. It appears that one of the monks drew a graffiti of the cross on the wall and underneath it, he penned a prayer he knew well," Ecker explained. "Based on the style of the script, the inscription dates back to the first half of the 6th century CE." He also noted, "Several grammatical errors in the transcription suggest that the writer did not speak Greek as his native tongue, but rather, he might have been a local, perhaps even a native of the region, and spoke Aramaic or another local language,"

https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/hybtu2wlp

The excavations in Huqoq, Israel at a 5th century synagogue have revealed numerous mosaics and other finds. Most recently, a mosaic related to the Samson story has been discovered. Below are some of the other mosaics and historically significant finds:

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  • A Hebrew inscription surrounded by human figures, animals and mythological creatures including putti, or cupids. 
  • The first non-biblical story ever found decorating an ancient synagogue — perhaps the legendary meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish high priest. 
  • A panel depicting two of the spies sent by Moses to explore Canaan carrying a pole with a cluster of grapes, labeled “a pole between two” from Numbers 13:23.
  • Another panel showing a man leading an animal on a rope accompanied by the inscription “a small child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). 
  • Figures of animals identified by an Aramaic inscription as the four beasts representing four kingdoms in the book of Daniel, chapter 7. 
  • A large panel in the northwest aisle depicting Elim, the spot where the Israelites camped by 12 springs and 70 date palms after departing Egypt and wandering in the wilderness without water referenced in Exodus 15:27. 
  • A portrayal of Noah’s Ark. 
  • The parting of the Red Sea. 
  • A Helios-zodiac cycle. 
  • Jonah being swallowed by three successive fish. 
  • The building of the Tower of Babel. 

   

https://www.unc.edu/posts/2023/07/10/unc-chapel-hill-led-archaeological-dig-in-galilee-uncovers-mosaics-of-samson-and-commemorative-inscriptions/

The Pool of Siloam, found in the historical city of Jerusalem, is undergoing further excavation. Originally built during the reign of Hezekiah (715-687 BCE), it became a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city. 

The Pool of Siloam also became important to Christians as it was the place, according to the Gospel of John, where Jesus sent a “man blind from birth”  to the pool for healing.

Mark 9.6:

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When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam.” So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.

The pool was destroyed and covered during  the first Jewish-Roman War of (AD 66-74)

The pool was rediscovered during an excavation work for a sewer in 2004.

Only recently, however, have workers been able to excavate more extensively. Recent discovery includes more steps of the pool.

https://m.jpost.com/archaeology/article-758229

According to Wikipedia, a capitolium was a Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva). It would have a separate chamber dedicated to each god.

Capitolia were built in a prominent area in many cities in Italy and in the Roman provinces, especially during the Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitolium

https://edition.cnn.com/style/ancient-roman-temple-sarsina-supermarket-scn/index.html

Wall painting of a woman at the well, perhaps the earliest known representation of the Virgin Mary, from baptistery of the Christian building. Paint on plaster, 3rd century AD. 

Dura-Europos was the easternmost Roman stronghold in Mesopotamia (found in modern-day Syria). The Romans under Lucius Verus wrested control of the city from Parthia in AD 164 and it remained under control of Rome until the Sasanians under Shapur I captured the city and deported the population in AD 256-257.

Archaeological evidence shows this border town had become a site for religious tolerance. Evidence shows a variety of faiths practiced at the site, including the still-persecuted Christian faith at possibly the World’s oldest church.

Women at the empty tomb of Christ.

Here is a good article on the religious diversity of Dura-Europos:

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In the Roman period, the time that is best known from the archaeological evidence, we know of no fewer than 19 different religious buildings, many of which had been built under Arsacid (Parthian) rule in the centuries before. Some religious structures, like the Mithraeum, Synagogue, and Christian building, focused on single deities. Others were home to a range of gods. Together, the evidence for the many gods and goddesses of Dura-Europos, preserved through inscriptions, sculptures, and paintings, give us a sense of the complex cultural and religious interconnections of the Roman era in Syria.

Much of this religious imagery was destroyed by ISIS during the Syrian war in 2015.

 https://the-past.com/feature/the-gods-of-dura-europos/

The synagogue of Dura-Europos dated to AD 244:

Mithraeum of Dura-Europos

Here’s a previous thread on evidence of chemical warfare found at Dura-Europos:

So it makes me curious why old religions before Christianity had so many deities devoted entirely to minor things such as Syn the Goddess of Locks in Scandinavian religion who all locksmiths in the Viking era revered as an all powerful entity and Fornax the Bread Goddess of the Roman Empire.

Whats the reason behind this? Was it actually an important thing not to sneer at (as modern humans do) that for example that across East Asia that there exist multiple deities whose sole purpose is for hot baths? Or that West Africa had a god for drums? Was it actually a big deal that so many ponds across Europe once had an entity specifically devoted to each pond and worshiped in reverence for being patron of that small pond not featured in national maps?

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An eight-inch-high figurine of the Greek god Pan, a symbol of fertility that is thought to be some 1,700 years old, was found by Turkish authorities during an excavation at the ancient Byzantine church of St. Polyeuctos in Istanbul. Dating from the year 527, the church’s remains are in the Saraçhane Archaeology Park in the city’s center. 

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/figurine-greek-god-pan-ruins-istanbul-2315180
 

Now my Avos are pretthy nationalistic, to the point they have been accused of white supremacy by modern woke crowds. Even discounting how seemingly patriotic they are about being Portugeuse, they hold many old views like homosexuality being a great evil, using condom condemns to hell, and so many "rightwing beliefs"..............

Yet despite that they will treat statue of nonwhite Jesus used by Brazillians with utmost sacredness, they had prayed to a Lady of Guadalupe statue without hesitation, and despite their bragging about Portuguese pride they treat everybody black, Vietnamese, and so on with complete respect. Even allowing my sister to marry a MidEastern person who attends an Eastern Catholic Church and treating one of my cousins who's dark skinned and half Guatemalan with utmost equality as a family member.

However as I said earlier they only attend Latin mass church. They genuinely believe that Language was the one sole thing that kept the whole Church united and Vatican 2 Open a permanent damage to the Church by creating more ethnic strife bby allowing the use of different langauges. That Latin as the sacred liturgy was what keep people from all different churches and races using a variety of art traditions from the stereotypical desert Hispanic design of architectural building to the Lady of La Vang who looks very Vietnamese.............. That the Church as united through Latin and the language effectively shut people from beinging controversial issues to mass such as illegal immigration from non-English countries and white supremacy and ethnic segregation in France and other nations where French is an official language.

So they believe despite John Paul II's benevolent intentions, officially allowing Vernacula Mass has destroyed Church unity and is a big reason why stuff like BLM and Latinos refusing to learn English are getting hacked into the Church.........

That said I know Eastern Orthodoxy on the fsurface seems dicided by ethnicity...... Yet any devoute Orthodox Christian shares the same views as my grandparents where despite being proud of their ethnicity, they'd ultimately believe we are all human and despite nationality, race, and ethnicity were are all equal under the banner of one church.... And that this is pretty much the stancce of the Orthodox council that all humans within the CHurch are ultimately all human beings equal under the eyes of God...........

SO it makes me curious. Oothodox Christianity from what I can read fromt he beginning had always been a supporter of the Vernacular and the Church believes local language liturgy reflects just how much mankind is equal in God's eyes and respectful of all the different cultures under Eastern Orthodoxy. I even seen some theologians in Orthodoxy point out to the Tower of Babel as proof that God does not want a united language in the united Churchh but wants a variety of language used in mass across the entire Orthodoxy.

Yet Eastern Orthodoxy is very rigid in art traditions. Where as you have Churches in Peru of Mary wearing Incan clothes and even the Biblical people being represented as different races in a single Church (like a church in Juarez having a white Jesus Christ yet all Mary statues are the nonwhite Lady of Guadalupe) as well as apparitions of Mary appearing as a black woman or an infant Jesus appearing as person from Prague..............

Eatern Orthodoxy demands all MAry icons to appear the same, all Jesus crucifixes with similar appearances, etc. Not only is the Orthodox Church's position is permanent about the racial appearance of Jesus in Church art, they even pretty much only allow one specific style of art. 2D art. Almost all entirely icon with a few glass stains and perhaps a sculpted stone work or two. But all are completely 2 Dimensional and created to show Jesus, Mary, and the Biblical figures looking like a Jewish Palestinians or Hebrew. Unlike Catholicism where you have paintings, marble statues, colored figurrines, and a whole hell of variety of art styles ina single church in addition to the diversification of Biblical figures to represent local population's cultures and ethnic demographs.

But somehow despite the reigid art approach, Eastern Orthodoxy is the Church that learned to appreciate vernacular mass centuries early on in Christian history while Catholicism was so harsh about a single language in mass and otehr sacred rites.. And one thats already been dead for centuries by the time of the Crusades, Latin......

So I ask why? Esp since so many people wrongly assume Eastern Orthodoxy is a racist denomination full of segregation or at least orthodoxy is full of ethnic strie in Churches. I seen people assume that they cannot go to a Serbian Orthodox Church if they are not Serbian because they think its a completely different denomination from Ukraine and based on bigotry whether you are Serbian or not sums up what people assume Orthodox Churches are like.

Despite what my grandparents believe about Latin being encessary for the Church's unity, I myself find it bizarre it took so long for local language to be used in mass considering how diverse Catholic art tradition is about different cultures and how Catholicism has a tradition of different nationalisies and ethnic groups attending a single parish even in very racist places like Australia.

Why did these trends happen?

Another book I'll add to my queue. This new book dealing with pandemics thru history shows that disease has played an important role in the arc of history. I found this statement from a critical review interesting:
 

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Kennedy lays this argument out through reframing well-known historical events in terms of the diseases and epidemics that led to them. The rise and fall of empires, the brutal conquests of colonial powers, the map as we now know it—all this has depended far more on disease than we may have thought. Some of this may sound familiar: for example, the fact that European settlers in North America, both intentionally and unintentionally, used smallpox to wipe out Indigenous populations, to make the work of colonizing easier. Entirely new to North America, smallpox “raced ahead of the Spanish,” in Kennedy’s words, devastating whole communities. The disease proved decisive: “Without the help of Old World pathogens,” he argues, “early efforts to colonize the American mainland foundered.” Take, for example, the Spanish conquistadors’ attempts to take Tenochtitlan. The first try failed, but a second expeditionary force arriving a year later brought with it smallpox, which devastated the city and brought the Spanish victory.

Other examples that Kennedy invokes may be more surprising. Despite the Roman Empire’s vaunted aqueduct and sewer systems, he explains, Romans’ lack of any understanding of germ theory meant that their water infrastructure festered with disease, hastening the empire’s downfall. Citing Kyle Harper’s The Fate of Rome, Kennedy argues that “pandemics caused immense damage and played a crucial role in weakening the Roman Empire,” far more so, he claims, than the “Barbarians” at the gates.

Kennedy argues that the rise of Christianity over Roman pagan religions can be traced to its version of the afterlife, an afterlife that became attractive in the face of repeated plagues and pandemics. But it would seem that if the issue here is simply mortality, the Roman Empire’s ceaseless warfare might drive soldiers into embracing Christianity’s afterlife as well.

 

The idea that instability and chaos results in increased religiosity is not a new one. Several other books have suggested that Christianity offered comfort in this life and potentially the next. I can't remember the name of the book that stressed Christian "burial societies" (which helped to pay for funeral services) in Ancient Rome helped to solidify Christianity in Ancient Rome. This book looks interesting, nevertheless.

Burial society - Wikipedia

Are Germs the Main Characters in History? | The New Republic

(Thanks to Lapman's Quarterly for bringing this to my attention)

The Pantheon, a former Roman Pagan temple, is now used to celebrate the Christian Pentecost, which commemorates the decent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and followers of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-31). This is celebrated 50 days after Easter (May 28th. 2023). The red rose petals represent Christ’s descent into heaven.

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Firefighters fearlessly climb the 43-meter high dome of the Pantheon. They assemble this time not to extinguish but to light the Pantheon with the fire of 24 kg of the rose petals. The faithful stand below as they fall, evoking the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Investigation of a 6th century manuscript fragment revealed an earlier 3rd century Syriac translation of the Gospel. This is one of the earliest translations known.

There have been other discussions of investigating palimpsests, finding interesting works (see below).

[Palimpsest: a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.]

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This gospel, which has traditionally been attributed to the apostle Matthew, was likely written sometime in the second half of the first century. So the newly discovered text is probably about 200 years younger than the bulk of the gospel.

The small manuscript fragment, which can now be considered as the fourth textual witness, was identified by Grigory Kessel using ultraviolet photography as the third layer of text, i.e., double palimpsest, in the Vatican Library manuscript. The fragment is so far the only known remnant of the fourth manuscript that attests to the Old Syriac version – and offers a unique gateway to the very early phase in the history of the textual transmission of the Gospels.

For example, while the original Greek of Matthew chapter 12, verse 1 says: "At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat," the Syriac translation says: "[...] began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them."

https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/news/new-testament-fragment-of-1750-year-old-translation-discovered

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/uv-light-reveals-hidden-never-before-seen-version-of-the-gospel-of-matthew-on-ancient-parchment

A hiker on a plateau in the Ammertenhorn Mountains, Switzerland stumbled on a Roman coin in 2020. Further investigation has yielded a votive sheet at the site, among other finds:

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In two dig seasons since the hiker’s lucky discovery, archaeologists have found a hundred more Roman coins struck from the 1st century to the 5th century A.D. The earliest is a coin of Tiberius 22-30 A.D.; the newest a coin of eastern emperor Arcadius (r. 395-408 A.D.). The team also unearthed 27 rock crystal stones, 59 Roman shoe hobnails, a fibula from the 1st century B.C. and a fragment of a bronze votive plate shaped like a leaf.

https://www.heraldonline.com/news/nation-world/world/article273148170.html#storylink=mainstage_lead

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/

A Mithraic sanctuary has been uncovered at the Villa del Mitra in Cabra, Spain. It dates from the 2nd and 3rd century AD.

https://arkeonews.net/1800-year-old-sanctuary-to-mithras-discovered-in-spain/
 

To my knowledge, Britain stood out at least twice as far as the early Christianity is concerned. First to mention is Pope Linus whose mother Claudia Peregrina seemingly was a daughter of a British chieftain subdued by the Romans. Here Russian wiki seems to provide more details than the corresponding article in English. Despite the questionable validity of the details, it is somehow assumed that Claudia Peregrina must have been mentioned in Timothy 4:21 just next to her son Linus and her husband St. Pudens (step-father of Linus?).

St Linus is very remarkable, because effectively he was the first Roman pope who suсceeded St. Peter (St. Peter's role as a pope is often regarded as rather fictional, as he might have been brought to Rome only to be executed there).

The second time Britain stood out was at the time when Constantine was proclaimed an emperor in York by the troops of his father.   While emperor Constantine is very well known to have had a direct relationship to the rise of the Christianity in the empire. 

Were there any other events  between the 2 already mentioned, which would somehow highlight Britain in the context of the early Christianity?

Thanks.

Excavation team 2022 investigating a newly-discovered Etruscan temple.
 

Vulci was one of the the twelve cities of the Etruscan Federation and an important city in the pre-Roman era. Excavations and discoveries continue of this pre-Roman society.

Aerial view on the new temple 

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Archeologists have identified one of the largest known sacred buildings of the Etruscans. The temple's strata offer insights into more than 1000 years of development of one of the most important Etruscan cities. The newly discovered temple is roughly the same size and on a similar alignment as the neighboring Tempio Grande, and was built at roughly the same Archaic time. This duplication of monumental buildings in an Etruscan city is rare, and indicates an exceptional finding.

Recreation of the Tempio Grande

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/estruscan-temple-0017513

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221111103037.htm

Map of the Etruscan cities, including Vulci.

I know very little about the early Christian Church. It is interesting to see excavations in the area that confirm the importance of the early Christian movement in the area.

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A 12-person team led by the local archaeology museum began excavations around the Church of St. Pierre, a pilgrimage site for many Christians, on October 10 in the province of Hatay.

“During the excavations, we found rooms and many offering vessels belonging to the settlement from the late Roman era,” said Ayse Ersoy, head of the Hatay Archeology Museum.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ersoy said: “We think that at that time, people who visited the church on pilgrimage bought offering vessels from here, and filled it with holy water in the Church of St. Pierre.”

 

https://arkeonews.net/roman-era-chambers-and-clay-offering-vessels-found-in-antiocheia-ancient-city-in-southern-turkey/

Here is a short video on Antioch. Although focusing on the early Christian Church, it is interesting, nevertheless:

The Serbian city of Niš (ancient Naissus) was important in Roman history. A large army of Goths led by Cniva was defeated in AD 268 or 269 by either Gallienus or Claudius II. It was also the birthplace of Constantine I.

A recent discovery of over 100 burial sites from the 4th and 5th century were found there. They offer interesting insights to early Christian life in that area:
 

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"What we have found here are over a hundred burial units from the 4th and 5th centuries, spread on about 500 square meters that we have opened. There we have 13 brick tombs, five regular graves, four vaulted ones, one belonging to a new type of tombs, and we also found a large number of items. These are primarily personal belongings of the deceased, small glass vessels that were used during the funeral, and jewelry

We found one burned tomb, it is definitely the grave of a pagan who, it is believed, out of protest, asked to be buried according to pagan customs. Then, a skeleton was found that has an artificially deformed skull, which is characteristic of Germanic tribes, we believe that this was a member of the Gepids who practiced this custom before accepting Christianity. This was a woman and given that she was buried here, she was probably baptized.

 

https://www.telegraf.rs/english/3572666-historic-discovery-in-nis-childrens-skeletons-hundreds-early-christian-graves-found-under-torn-down-house

I suppose the discussion about the emergence of the monotheism must have been a popular topic on this forum. Many sources claim that Judaism is the first ever monotheistic religion on this planet. Other sources claim that Jewish borrowed the monotheistic ideas from Atenism of ancient Egypt, becauses Moses started to preach about the same time when Atenism emerged during the reign of Amenhotep IV (Amenhotep  was condemned for his monotheism, any mentioning of his name was to be expunged after his death). Ancient Egyptians are also known to believe in life after death. So the question I have here to ask is if Jewish had borrowed the monotheism from Egyptians, then how come they hadn't also borrowed the idea of the life after death? 🙂

Thanks.