We will be organizing an ONLINE session for the 2026 annual meeting of the North American Patristics Society in Chicago -- "Clothing and Meaning-Making in Early Christianity." We'd love to consider your proposal! CfP opens on October 15.

Subscribe to the newletter of the Pontifical Institute of Christian #Archaeology (PIAC) in #Rome www.piac.it/news/1757680...

Giornate di studio in ricordo di Hugo Brandenburg www.piac.it/eventi/giorn...

Love catacombs and ancient Mediterranean material culture? Oraganized, and good with numbers? We are looking for a new Treasurer and Board member. See announcement below.

welcome and attn: new followers! 👇

Love catacombs and ancient Mediterranean material culture? Oraganized, and good with numbers? We are looking for a new Treasurer and Board member. See announcement below.

Fresco of the good shepherd from the Crypt of Lucina, one of the oldest sections of the #catacombs of Callixtus in #Rome. Early third century. (Wilpert water color) #archaeology #EarlyChristianity #art #antiquity

If you'll be in #Rome in December, check out the special opening for visits to the Jewish #catacombs of Vigna Randanini!

I read the RBL review of _Judeophobia and the NT_ about 3 times to make sure I didn’t overlook an incisive critique of something we got wrong. But each time, all I found was a kind, complimentary reflection 🥹 Deepest thanks to Paula Fredriksen for this review—and to the many contributors! ❤️

Vault fresco from the #catacomb of Saints Peter and Marcellinus with the Good Shepherd figure at the center and biblical scenes in the round including Noah in the ark, the Baptism of Christ, Daniel with lions, and the Raising of Lazarus. Birds and gazelles, too! (Joseph Wilpert water color)

welcome and attn: new followers! 👇

And register for next week's online panel with four more Shohet recipients showcasing research on Roman Judea, Morgantina (Sicily), and tomb paintings in Blaundos (Turkey)! 8/5 at 12:30 pm EDT zoom.us/meeting/regi... #onlineevents #archaeology

Join us on August 5th to hear our Shohet Scholars discuss their fascinating research from this past year. Register here: shorturl.at/ua6kE

The decorated interior of a 2nd century AD tomb that was discovered in 1951 during works on Quirino Majorana Street in Rome. The whole tomb was moved to the Baths of Diocletian where it can be visited today. 📷 My own. #TombTuesday #RomanArchaeology

Spanish discovery suggests Roman era ‘church’ may have been a synagogue www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

This is difficult territory to navigate. I'm thinking we should probably develop a tutorial for the @catacombsociety.bsky.social website using the collective experience of our members!

Interested in learning more about the kinds of projects the International Catacomb Society funds through its Shohet Scholars Grant? Check out the recordings of our panels featuring presentations by past Shohet recipients. Here's the 2024 panel youtu.be/hep93VM-9Ac #archaeology #grants

Curious about life in rural Roman Judea, outside of the cities? Cult worship in ancient Morgantina? How 400 rock-cut tombs in Turkey got vivid paintings? Join the Shohet Scholars Zoom panel, and learn more about religious life in the ancient world! shorturl.at/fG2gv

You can also read up on these projects prior to the online discussion. Here's Gregg and Orit's report on their Horvat Midras project www.catacombsociety.org/gregg-e-gard... Register here! shorturl.at/ua6kE

Join us on August 5th to hear our Shohet Scholars discuss their fascinating research from this past year. Register here: shorturl.at/ua6kE

Imitations of catacomb paintings in the crypt of Foligno Cathedral, painted at the beginning of the 20th century. The Cathedral also has a contemporary mosaic on the west facade with Pope Leo XIII. @arturoviaggia.bsky.social @catacombsociety.bsky.social

Join us for a sponsored session at NAPS on "Useful and Personal Objects as Evidence for Early Christian Belief" Saturday, May 24th, at 9am CT Session Chair: Robin Jensen. Presenters linked below, including our own @arturoviaggia.bsky.social !

• 9:40am, Arthur Urbano “Statues of Orators and the Christianization of Paideia in Mid-Fourth-Century Rome and Constantinople” • 10:00 AM: Discussion!

We are delighted to announce scholars Mary Jane Cuyler, Caroline Johnson Hodge, @chancebonar.bsky.social and Mark Ellison as this year's Shohet Scholars Grant recipients. The Shohet grants support original research on the Ancient Mediterranean. Read on for more about their projects!

Join us for a sponsored session at NAPS on "Useful and Personal Objects as Evidence for Early Christian Belief" Saturday, May 24th, at 9am CT Session Chair: Robin Jensen. Presenters linked below, including our own @arturoviaggia.bsky.social !

I just had an article published in Source: Notes in the History of Art titled "(I’ve Got the) Magic Stick: The Virgus and Vitis in Roman Imperial and Early Christian Art." Always pleased to slip in a reference to Lil' Kim in a piece on imperial iconography: www.journals.uchicago.edu/eprint/6TCKK...

To round out the birthday: I found out that I’m part of the next cohort of Shohet Scholars with @catacombsociety.bsky.social! Honored that the Society is willing to fund my research on religious actors & expressions in ancient Mediterranean slave revolts

We are currently conducting some important updates to our website. Service may be disrupted for several hours. Sorry for any inconvenience!

This is a great volume to get an introduction to the study of the catacombs -- topography, iconography, epigraphy, etc., etc. Glad to see it updated with important bibliography, excavations, and restorations from the last quarter century.

An updated edition of the important study on the catacombs of Rome published in 2000. Le catacombe di Roma, un volume rinnovato per il Giubileo www.vaticannews.va/it/vaticano/...

Mid 4th c. sarcophagus belonging to a child and discovered in the Vatican necropolis. A youth dressed in the style of an orator is depicted at the center in the roundel. The two registers display a number of biblical and apocryphal scenes. How many can you identify? 📷🇮🇹 flic.kr/p/TDDnuf #photography

Tomorrow is the last day to submit a proposal for this year's annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Consider submitting to our open call for the *newly renamed* program unit, Rabbinic Literature and Culture.

this, on the other hand, is definitely an image of the Annunciation. Mosaic from the triumphal arch in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, #Rome. Lots of angels swarming around a very imperial looking Mary! flic.kr/p/mqMWgf

I'm not convinced by this reading, but some scholars have claimed this is an image of the #Annunciation from the catacomb of Priscilla. It would be the earliest (third century). Anyway, enjoy it for today's feast!

The Vatican Digitizes a 1,600-Year-Old Illuminated Manuscript of the Aeneid

The deadline to submit a letter of nomination for the new Raffaella Cribiore Award for Outstanding Literary Translation has been extended to April 22, 2025! www.classicalstudies.org/awards-and-f...

⛪️ C6-7th pectoral crosses from the Aleman, Burgundian or Lombard kingdoms. Note the rose on the centre of the large cross 🌹 Such crosses are thought likely to have adorned the chests of the deceased, with the holes used to attach them to clothing. Refs. Musée de Cluny My 📷 @museecluny.bsky.social

Congrats to Lily Vuong on her latest publication! Lily was the recipient of an ICS Shohet Grant in 2019 for her project "The Apocryphal Mary in Text, Pictorial Art, and Iconography". See her presentation on our YouTube channel! youtu.be/6cVbCnmOaco?...

We are thrilled to welcome Shira Telushkin as the new Business Manager on the ICS team! Shira is a writer, teacher, producer, and community builder who loves promoting discussion of the ancient world. Welcome Shira! Read more: www.catacombsociety.org/shira-telush...

A peek from the organ loft at the oldest surviving apse mosaic in #Rome in the church of Santa Pudenziana, early 5th c. Chat it up with the sacristan, and he may just let you up there! 📷🇮🇹 flic.kr/p/2oED38U #photography #LateAntiquity #art #Italy #EarlyChristianity

Visit our website and become a member. Members have access to our online image database DAPICS and receive invitations to all ICS programs and events. catacombsociety.org

The ICS is co-sponsoring an online session at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the North American Patristics Society. Here's the lineup! Chaired by ICS president Arthur Urbano (@[email protected])

The ICS is co-sponsoring an online session at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the North American Patristics Society. Here's the lineup! Chaired by ICS president Arthur Urbano (@[email protected])

For #ReliefWednesday a justly famous piece from the #CapitolineMuseums in #Rome, from the first landing of the monumental staircase of the palazzo dei #Conservatori. This scene of #MarcusAurelius in #triumph has been above ground since #antiquity, somehow escaping defacement. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Welcome new followers! Check out the free sources on our website--open access resources on the catacombs and catacomb art, bibliographies of scholarly sources, and information on how to visit the catacombs. Become a member and access our DAPICS image archive! www.catacombsociety.org

Fresco from the #Catacombs of Callixtus probably depicting Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (Joseph Wilpert watercolor) #archaeology #earlyChristian #art #Rome

My @cambridgeup.bsky.social Element, “The Author in Early Christian Literature,” is officially out and free to download for the next 4 weeks! I hope you enjoy these thoughts on Paul, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Eusebius, and a host of other ancient folks. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

#MosaicMonday this week features an extraordinary #mosaic wall panel from #Pompeii via #Naples. The amazingly rich effect of wall mosaics was due in part to their reduced exposure to wear and tear, unlike floor mosaics, and in part to their material, #glass rather than stone.