Radiocarbon Dates from the Jewish Catacombs of Rome

Bibliographic Data

ID9245995
AuthorsLeonard V Rutgers, Arie F M De Jong, Klaas Van Der Borg (0000-0002-5999-2804)
Year2002
Volume44
Issue2
Pages541-547
Publication date2002-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadiocarbon (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0033822200031891
OpenAlexW2404358395
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited11

This paper reports on the first chronological assessment of the Jewish Catacombs of the ancient Rome performed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of small-size charcoal fragments scattered in the mortar used for sealing off the graves in the Villa Torlonia Catacomb complex. The significance of the obtained 14 C readings has been carefully evaluated by taking into consideration the known technologies of quicklime production during Roman and recent times. The new data are of great concern for providing evidence that the Jewish catacombs were used for burial since the first century AD, thus some two centuries prior to the period traditionally believed to be the starting point of burial in the Jewish catacombs of ancient Rome. Such a significant aging of the Jewish catacombs could result in a deep re-examination of the current understanding of the beginning and the evolution of the custom of catacomb burial in both Jewish and early Christian communities in Rome

Accelerator mass spectrometry · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Haskalah · Jewish studies · Judaism · Radiocarbon dating · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Historical Studies · History

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