טיוטה:Jewish Catacombs in Rome

Jewish Catacombs in Rome

The Jewish catacombs in Rome are a number of ancient burial systems located near Rome, in which the city's Jews were buried in ancient times. The tombstones in which they were found yielded many findings about the scope of the Jewish community in Rome. 534 tombstones were found in the catacombs, on which were engraved the names of the synagogues to which the deceased were associated and from which we learn about the existence of twelve synagogues in the city. In addition, the distribution and extent of catacombs throughout the city (see map) indicates that a large Jewish population lived in the city and its surroundings (when it was estimated that there were about 40,000 inhabitants [1] before the destruction of the second jewish temple, and an even larger number afterwards.

The Location of the Catacombs

List of places where catacombs with inscriptions identified with Jews were found:  

• Via Nomantana near Villa Torlonia. Two synagogues are buried there: Hager and Hasbora. According to the location, it appears that Jews were buried there and they were a part of the construction projects of the Colosseum.
• Via Labicana outside the Porta Maggiore
• Via Appia Pignatelli near the "city" of Christian catacombs.
• Via Appia.
• Via Cimarra.
• Via Ostiensis, at Monteverde.

Two of the catacombs are open for visit in coordination with the Government Antiquities Authority, Villa Torlonia and Vigna Randanini. In the catacombs you can see paintings in colors on the tuff rock and among them paintings of Jewish symbols such as Menorah and fronts of arks, as well as animals and human figures.

In the catacombs were also found gilded coasters of cups, including depictions of fronts of arks and symbols related to the work of the jewish Temple, similar to those appearing in mosaics in synagogues from the Mishnah period in the Land of Israel. Some of the coasters are displayed in the Apostolic Library in the Vatican.

The catacombs on Ostiansa Street in the Monteverde district are the largest and oldest of them all. They were used from the first century BC to the fourth century. The ancient captions in these catacombs state that the deceased were "freed slaves" - probably from the captives that Pompey brought with him to Rome in 69 BC.

Synagogue Names

• The names of these synagogues were identified in the inscriptions:
• Agger, probably the elders.
• Synagogue of the Subura
• Via Labicana Unknown synagogue
• The Campan synagogue (Via Appia Pignatelli Synagogue of the Field of Mars)
• Via Appia Synagogue of Elaias
• Via Ostiense Synagogue of Agrippa
• The Augustinian Synagogue in Memory of the Emperor Augustus
• The Synagogue of the Hebrews - perhaps due to the spoken language (Synagogue of the Hebrews)
• Vernacular synagogue
• Synagogue of Volumnius
• Synagogue of the Tripolitans
• Synagogue of the Calcaresians

Distribution of names of the deceased by language

In 405 of the tombstones the engraved names are Greek, in 123 the names are Latin, and in the rest the names are Hebrew, Aramaic or mixed names.

This figure led to the conclusion that the main language and culture of the Jews of Rome was Greek and not Latin. Also in the writings of a Christian apostle visiting his believers in Rome eighteen people appear with a Greek name, four with Latin names and only two with a Hebrew name.

The livelihoods of the Jews

From the tombstones found in the catacombs it is possible to learn about the professions of the Jews of Rome, they were dealers in peddling and petty trade, painters, butchers, teachers ,they traded in used clothes and were even fortune tellers.

The Catacombs dating

A study by Klaas van der Borg of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands suggests that the use of burial in the Jewish catacombs of Villa Torlonia dates back to the 1st century, two hundred years before its date. The study reports an attempt to estimate the date of catacombs formation using carbon-14 dating. As a source of carbon, the researcher used small pieces of carbon found in the plaster used to seal the catacombs. The use of this method is based on the knowledge of the known technologies for lime production in ancient Rome, so by finding the date when the coal found in the plaster that was used to seal the catacombs was formed - a relatively accurate dating can be obtained.

Estimating the estimated date of creation of the coal test which was used after the dead burial, made it possible to arrive at an estimated age dating to the catacombs.

The difficulty in performing isotopic tests stems from the fact that finds with significant dating such as coins or written reliefs were not found in catacombs. Although 255 seals were found in the bricks used for construction and flooring, this is a secondary use of the building materials. Also, in order to reach a definite dating comparative finds with other archeological sites in ancient Rome are needed.

The research in the catacombs of Villa Torlonia was recently renewed under the direction of Dr. Yuval Baruch on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Dr. Daniella Rossi from the Italian Ministry of Culture, the studies were renewed during a week of work in the catacombs. In this study the catacombs were re-mapped and findings were discovered alongside the burials indicating the use of catacombs up to the fourth century AD.

The excavation and Conservation project in the Jewish catacomb in Villa Torlonia

Extensive conservation operations were carried out at the site that lasted a year (2018 - 2017), all 3,800 tombs and all the frescoes were conservated by the conservator Amir Genach who carried out the project together with Rabbi Hezekiah Kalmanovich who carried out the burial, all work was coordinated with Dr. Daniella Rossi from the Italian antiquities, in fact the burial was renewed and the tombs were sealed to the original configuration after architectural and archeological analysis and in-depth study, all work was done on the initiative and funding of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish organization "Atra Kadisha" in full coordination with Italian rabbis Rabbi Alfonso Arbiv and Rabbi Rabbi Kalmanovich.

New discoveries:

• Many tombs along the floor of the cave.

• The only Hebrew inscription in Villa Torlonia was discovered, its existence was not known.

• The decipherment of the cave planning address by Amir Genach and others.

Footnotes

1. The figure of 40,000 is based on what is written in the Antiquities of the Jews, Vol. III, page 272 that 8,000 Jews joined a delegation from the Land of Israel that appeared at the Temple of Apollon before Caesar, his friends and the Roman leaders. It is assumed that among the public that arrived there were only heads of ancestral houses. Assuming that each average family had about 4-5 people, the estimate of 40,000 residents is obtained.
2. The catacombs are not open to the general public. Some copies of the inscriptions are in the Great Synagogue in Rome.
3. This page has been translated from Hebrew: קטקומבות יהודיות ברומא

קישורים חיצוניים

• The Jewish diaspora: Rome - a major source
• The Encyclopedia of Judaism

• Dating the catacombs using carbon isotopes 14
• An article on the Israeli documentation project at Villa Torlonia, Rome
• Summary of the conservation project