The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-02
: UNIQUE FIND IN RoMg.
Houses of Christians IN the Fourth
Century UnearCh 30.

Century Unearvhsd.
A house has been discovered in Rome
which teloaged t. christi ans in the 70 urth
century. The Emperor Julian in A. D. 36l
causei two chris ian chanbs.lains of the
palace to be st-a1gled in their
own house AID buried il the celia be-
CAUSE they refused TO relOu &C stbeir
religion. JulIan's successor, Jovian, caused
church to be built over he house, making
the first story, flied With earth aat stones,
ths foundation. This story tie eel ar
be leatl has remained u1alte ei Iii was a
short ums ago uncovered. That portion
which ntains the evidence OF Its having
bee Ow ed by chris'ia IS Is thus d3s RI Del
IN Chambers journal:
So far four large chambers have been
cleared as well as two smaller ones diva 5
We may call then-and g.ea, deal II that
portion of the house devoted u nestle
purpos s. o e n be hall has a frieze Of
eleven nude figures, holding fescoan OF
fl overs aud fruit, each figure ab lut three
feet SIX inches high. drawn with perfect
grace and mastery. Between the
figures are peecocks and d lcEs pacing in
easy attIt ldss aud birds fly among the gar
la .ds. Tne vaulting Of this chamber is
covered with an Iltricate pattern Of vines
aillng in all directio 5. wi chil1ren
plckirg grapes ami soaring birds. O1e bird
has posnced on m )use, aud IS pecklng il
to death. This chamber belonged aim s
certai ~ to the house of the bro hers
parea 5. aid the palnti g to period before
the family embraced christianity, no. taat
there IS a Y particular heather symbol in
The deco a,lon, or that the early Oh istians
objected . represe cations If the nude, out
tn t the quality Of the drawing Is sup .ri0r
to the age OF Co istantine, an is determined
to belong to the third century at the latest.
The tablinum, or grand reception rom
OF the house, however, leaves no doubt as to
the religi N of the owners of the house. On
g vault is represented Moses re nov-
ing his shoes before he approaches
the burning bush; also woman
with hands upif1et in prayer. In two
plac IS in the house are pa nt.ngs rep esent-
ing a vessel of mll ana vo sneep. one ap-
preaching and the other turning aAay-s
"el.-knOwl symbolic representa- ion found
III e Catac mbS-the vessel signifying The
sincere mix of the word" = hich some re-
ceive and others reject
The Padre Gerua o observe i that the
plaster of the wal, he plaster laid on 10
receive the PAINTED decorations, was in one
: lace raised in a S rt OF blister. lie picked
1t, ara from under the plaster came
forth a leaien sal with the initials Of
Christ thereon. The Romans were won't to
lay leaden sAals stamped with the image
of the emperor in the foundations of their
buildings. Here the plasterers must have
bed the leadan seal with the symbol Of
their he lveniy king with one finger against
che wall " lie they piaste-ed over it to fix
it in plaza, t. SD W TO after ages that the
work had been done by christians = *
This cellar having been cleared of earth,
Padre Germalo noelced that the vaul.
above had been rudely cut through, form
ing rough heXagonal hole. Moreover,
steps were found Leading upward, aud
these, on being cleared, led t.
passage. at the end of which was a win
dow with grazing, exactly over the place Of
urial u the martyrs. This was the win
d w through wni pilgrims let down rib
boas to touch the tomb. But what was
peculiarly iatere,u z here was series of
p sintings, represent e on one side tue mar
tyrdom, on tie other the figures of
the martyrs themselves. and others
bringing baskets OF offerings in their
hands. As these paintings CERTAINLY belong
TO his time, a ID, as he was contemporary
with the martyrs, it is not impossible
thai we have ii his series actual por-
traits. In conclusion, we must
point out that this discovery is
absolutely unique. Many heathen mansions
hava been disiI-erre1, but this is the only
4 use that mas bee found that unm stalk
ably belonged to christians. In another
tay IL IS uniq le-it Is the sole extaut
sa nple Of three-storiel r man house.
One was uncovered at Pompei but the walls
fell. Here the walls are intact, built mo
those Of a church.