Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces
The 'Christianos' graffito, the Herculaneum cross-shaped mark, and the ROTAS square — all uncertain
Found 1862 — 'Christianos' graffito noticed by Giuseppe Fiorelli's excavators in 1862 and read by Alfred Kiessling; Herculaneum 'cross' found by Amedeo Maiuri (1938); ROTAS squares found 1925 and 1936 (Matteo Della Corte)
Where Pompeii and Herculaneum, Bay of Naples (Italy)
Dates from before 79 CE · Early Roman Imperial · Believers in Italy after Paul's arrival (Acts 28)
Now at Herculaneum cross-wall in situ (House of the Bicentenary); ROTAS square in situ at the Palaestra, Pompeii; the 'Christianos' graffito is lost
How Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces was found
A charcoal scrawl in a hostelry (Region VII, insula 11) was read as including the word CHRISTIANOS by Kiessling days after the find but had faded by 1864. At Herculaneum a wall in the House of the Bicentenary showed a cross-shaped impression above a small cupboard. Two copies of the ROTAS-SATOR word square were found at Pompeii, which some solve as a hidden PATER NOSTER with alpha and omega.
What it is
Three separate items: a lost charcoal inscription of disputed reading; a cross-shaped plaster mark most likely left by a removed wall bracket or shelf; and a five-word Latin palindrome square (SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS) of debated meaning.
Why it matters for the Bible
Acts 28:13–14 says there were believers at Puteoli, 30 km from Pompeii, by about 60 CE, so Christians in the Bay of Naples before 79 are entirely possible. But none of the three finds proves it: the graffito is unverifiable, the 'cross' is probably a bracket, and the ROTAS square appears in non-Christian settings too. The entry is here so readers know the claim and its weakness. The most that can be said is that the region Paul passed through is exactly where such traces might one day appear.
The Hebrew word: me-shee-chee-YEEM
מְשִׁיחִיִּים
מְשִׁיחִיִּים is pronounced me-shee-chee-YEEM and means Messianics, Christians (Greek Christianoi) (Strong's G5546).
People this discovery connects to
- Paul — שָׁאוּל (Shah-OOL) — asked for
Places
- Puteoli — פּוּטֵאוֹלִי (poo-teh-OH-lee) — Latin Puteoli, port near Pompeii
Events
Believers at Puteoli by 60 CE · Eruption of Vesuvius, 79 CE
Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces in Scripture
Acts 28:13-14 Believers already at Puteoli, a short distance from Pompeii, before the eruption.
Acts 11:26 The name 'Christians' first used at Antioch — the word the lost graffito may have carried.
Questions people ask
What is Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces?
Three separate items: a lost charcoal inscription of disputed reading; a cross-shaped plaster mark most likely left by a removed wall bracket or shelf; and a five-word Latin palindrome square (SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS) of debated meaning.
When was Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces discovered?
It was found in 1862 by 'Christianos' graffito noticed by Giuseppe Fiorelli's excavators in 1862 and read by Alfred Kiessling; Herculaneum 'cross' found by Amedeo Maiuri (1938); ROTAS squares found 1925 and 1936 (Matteo Della Corte), at Pompeii and Herculaneum, Bay of Naples.
Where is Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces today?
Herculaneum cross-wall in situ (House of the Bicentenary); ROTAS square in situ at the Palaestra, Pompeii; the 'Christianos' graffito is lost.
Which Bible verses does Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces relate to?
Acts 28:13-14, Acts 11:26.
Is Pompeii and Herculaneum: Claimed Christian Traces authentic?
All three items are genuinely ancient but their Christian interpretation is rejected or doubted by most scholars.
Related discoveries
- כּוֹסAntioch-on-the-Orontes: Mosaics and the 'Chalice of Antioch'The city where disciples were first called Christians — and a famous silver cup that is not what it seemed
- דֶּרֶךְVia Egnatia and the Port of NeapolisThe Roman highway and harbour that carried the Good News into Europe
- תַּרְשִׁישׁTarsus: The Roman Road and Cleopatra's GatePaved street and city gate of Paul's 'no mean city'
- בֵּימָהGallio Inscription (Delphi)Letter of Emperor Claudius naming Gallio proconsul of Achaia — the anchor date for Paul's ministry
- מָקוֹם תְּפִלָּהLydia's Baptism Site on the Gangites (Zygaktis) RiverThe riverside 'place of prayer' outside Philippi where Europe's first recorded believer was immersed
- דַּמֶּשֶׂקDamascus: Straight Street and the Temple of JupiterThe Roman city grid of Acts 9 and the great temple that became the Umayyad Mosque
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Sator Square'
- M. Guarducci, 'La più antica catechesi figurata: il grande musaico della basilica di Gaius', and critical review in B. Longenecker, The Crosses of Pompeii (2016)
- Roger Pearse, "The Christianos graffito from Pompeii" (1862, Fiorelli, Kiessling, de Rossi; now lost)
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