ARTEFACT 'HOTSPOTS'
Material culture (‘the physical remains of a culture’) are extremely important to understanding ancient history and what life was like in the past. Below are examples from the Italian and Tunisian regions of the Roman Empire. Although these artefacts date to just after the Persecutions, they still provide thoughtful insights into common Christian beliefs and persecution memories. For each artefact, they are numbers that correspond to the key beneath with more information.
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Roman 'Gold Glass' Drinking Vessel with Several Church Leaders (c. AD 300s)
Discovered in an undisclosed Christian catacomb in Rome (Italy) [BM 1863,0727.9]
1. GOLD GLASS
This is the bottom of a gold-leaf ‘gold glass’ drinking vessel. These glasses were given as gifts during festive occasions like weddings and birthdays. Inscribed is the phrase PIE ZESES (“Drink, that you may live”) which conveys good wishes, and the bottom piece would be broken and repurposed as tomb markers in Christian catacombs [1].
2. Peter and PAVLVS (Paul)
“The Rock” and the First Bishop of Rome (Peter, now damaged) and “the Apostle of the Gentiles” (Paul) represented the doctrinal authority and passion for the early Church. They were common symbols of Roman Christians and persecutions as they were faithful in their work and were some of the earliest persecuted (AD 64/5)[2].
3. SVSTUS (Sixtus) and LAVRENTEVS (Lawrence)
Pope Sixtus II and archdeacon Lawrence were friends and heroic martyrs of the faith under Emperor Valerian (AD 258). When Sixtus was captured and beheaded, Laurence was tasked with handing over the treasure by the prefects but chose to help the poor and was killed by gridiron [3]. For this reason, they are placed alongside the two apostles.
4. IPPOLITVS (Hippolytus) and CRISTVS (Callixtus)
Originally oppositions of the same faith, the rigorous antipope Hippolytus (died 235) and slave-Pope Callixtus I (died 222) were both persecuted for their faith and represent the struggles and reconciliation of the Church [4]. Although the glass says CRISTVS, it is believed to refer to Callixtus on stylistic grounds [5].
5. TIMOTEVS (Timothy)
Timothy was a mentee of Paul and the First Bishop of Ephesus, who was stoned to death and represented the idea of apostolic succession: continuation of the Church under different leaders [6]. Considering the scroll next to Timothy, it is likely the person represented by the glass was a cleric or devout Christian.
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Roman 'Daniel in the Lion's Den' Mosaic on Blossius' Tomb (c. mid-400s AD) [Bardo National Museum]
Discovered at Furnos Minus, near the modern village of Furni, and 40km southwest of Carthage (Tunisia)
1. BLOSSIUS
This tomb mosaic was dedicated to "the memory of Blossius" and was completed by Honoratus, a man of free status (INGENVS). Both figures are unknown, but it is likely Blossius was a patron of the actor Quadratus [7].
2. DANIEL
Daniel symbolised the Roman practice of damnatio ad bestas (“death by animals”) for many Christians [8]. He was a biblical figure thrown into a Lion's Den twice and survived as he was “found blameless before God” [9]. It is unknown whether Blossius was killed this way, but it implies he died for his beliefs, nonetheless.
3. LION RAMPS
Each lion is standing on a wooden ‘plank,’ which were artistic representations of the ramps used to lift animals into amphitheatres, of which each could carry 250 kilograms (enough for two lions) [10]. This is confirmed by two cases in the same area of Furnos Minus and the Colosseum [11].
4. FAMILY TOMBS
Beneath the mosaic, eight tombs were discovered in the house [12]. Even though Kalinowski does not draw any parallels, the number of central square motifs and the number of tombs inside the complex match. All we know is that this was a "family monument, which Honoratus constructed for his patron, and the former’s relatives" [13].
5. RUTUNDA
Outside this mosaic is a preserved inscription on a tomb: RVTVNDA IN PACE FIDELIS | DISCESSIT XIII KAL NOBEMB ("The faithful Rutunda departed in peace on the 13th Kalends of November") [14]. She is likely a relative of Blossius.
FOOTNOTES
1. Rutgers 2000: 83-85; Howells 2015: 82-83.
2. Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 13:47; RM 6.29.1.
3. RM 8.7.1, 8.10.1; Cross 1974: 804, 1281.
4. Hippol. Haer. 9.7; RM 8.13.1, 10.14.1; Cross 1974: 221, 652-653.
5. Dalton 1901: 127-128.
6. Philippians 2:19-23; RM 1.26.1.
7. Kalinowski 2017: 115.
8. Ibid. 118-124.
9. Daniel 6, 14; specifically, Daniel 6:22.
10. Kalinowski 2017: 121.
11. Ibid. 124.
12. Ibid. 117.
13. Ibid. 117.
14. Gauckler 1898: 336-337.