Ancient frescoes depicting the early Christians and some scenes from the Bible were uncovered in Rome’s oldest catacomb located near the Appian Way.
The frescoes, estimated to be 1,600 years old, revealed a “fusion” of pagan symbols and images related to the Christian faith, indicating recent conversion from paganism to Christianity, project head Barbara Mazzei said, according to The Telegraph.
“It’s a fusion of older pagan symbols with new Christian images. The family had only recently converted to Christianity,” project head Barbara Mazzei said. Painted from the catacombs’ ceiling are colourful artworks showing famous biblical scenes, such as Jesus feeding the five thousand, Daniel and the lions and Noah’s Ark.
An image of Jesus Christ, seated on a throne with a man on his right and another on his left, could be seen at the centre. The men were believed to be either the apostles Peter and Paul or St Nerius and St Achilleus.
These images were not always visible, as the catacombs’ ceilings used to be completely black. “When we started work, you couldn’t see anything – it was totally black. Different wavelengths and chromatic sele-ction enabled us to burn away the black disfiguration without touching the colours beneath,” Mazzei said. The frescoes had been covered with algae, smoke stains from oil lamps and calcium deposits for centuries. They were restored through the use of laser technology that effectively peeled off the grime, revealing the fascinating artwork beneath.
