Discovery in Basque Country

On his weblog The Way of the Fathers, Mike Aquilina describes the discovery in Basque country of third century Christian inscriptions and the earlist image of the Crucifixion known. I hadn't heard anything about this anywhere else, so on the assumption most of you haven't either, let me recommend you go here, here, and here. The first item begins:

Talk about paydirt. Archeologists in the Basque Country announced this week that they have have discovered 270 third-century Roman inscriptions, many of them Christian in character. This epigraphic set is “among the most important of the Roman world” and includes an image of Calvary — “the most ancient known up to this moment.”

The site seems to represent a transitional phase, when Christianity was emerging in a pagan religious landscape that included cults of Egyptian deities as well as the more familiar local gods.

The links include links to the news stories on the subject. And while I'm at it, some of you may find of interest another of his posts, Nursing Mothers in the Preaching of the Fathers. He notes:

Breastfeeding was a favorite metaphor of many Church Fathers, but especially Clement of Alexandria, Augustine, and Ephrem. They spoke of mother’s milk as a symbol of God’s grace, of His providence, of the sacraments, and even of the Holy Spirit. It’s a metaphor rarely used in modern preaching, at least in the United States, because breastfeeding, once a necessity, is now a rarity — and the female breast is treated almost exclusively as a sex object.

And also while I'm at it, I'd commend this amusing item from The Grail Code, published by Christopher Bailey, author with Mike of The Grail Code. The whole site is fascinating if you're interested in the Grail and similar subjects.

Both Mike and Chris are Touchstone authors, by the way.

Comments

[Little Gidding]

May I also raise on this blog, as others have on other blogs where this has been reported, the question about why the inscribed crucifix has "RIP" on it? I assume this find isn't a "piltdown man," but I haven't seen anyone attempt an answer yet. Maybe someone reading this can do so?

[pgepps]

Yeah, the idea of a Crucifixion with RIP instead of INRI above Christ's head, in the 3rd C, seems really, really, suspect.

What's the rest of the story? Where's the details we're missing?

[Ethan Cordray]

Maybe it's Chi Iota Rho...though it certainly looks a lot like RIP in the pic.

[Nick]

Does "Cavalry" in this context mean three persons crucified? I was under the impression that there were earlier instances of cross usage and that the "Alexemos" (sp?) graffiti was older.

[William Tighe]

"Alexamenos worships his god" -- from Pompeii (or Herculeaneum), and therefore no later than 79AD -- a graffito of a man worshipping a crucified man with an ass's head.

[Nick]

So I ask again :)

What makes this so special if we have earlier evidence of usage? Is that it was used in relation to worship?

[louise]

The best is the third (?) century painting of the Assumption on the lower walls of St. Clement's, Rome.

Some say it is the Ascension but I've seen it and the position and size of Our Lady over the Apostles leaves no doubt in my mind it's of the Assumption, in which case it'd be the earliest known evidence of that belief

[Maggie]

Forgive me for speaking out of a certain amount of ignorance, but I understand that RIP (Requiescat in Pacem) was in fact an inscription used by Romans. And it would make sense to put it on a tombstone.

[James Kabala]

The Alexamenos graffito is actually not from Pompeii, but from the Palatine Hill in Rome; its date is uncertain.