Jewish catacomb came first, study finds (Christianity, Christians, Christ, judaism)

[jewscout]

Jewish catacomb came first, study finds
Jewish catacomb in Rome predates its Christian counterparts by at least 100 years, indicating that burial in the city's sprawling underground cemeteries may not have begun as a Christian practice, according to a study published Wednesday.



Scholars have long believed early Christians were the first to bury their dead in Roman catacombs. But Dutch experts from Utrecht University who dated organic material from a Jewish catacomb in the city say it appears early Christians inherited the practice from Jews.

"Perhaps it doesn't clinch the argument, but it makes it very likely," said Leonard Victor Rutgers, an antiquities professor who led the university's team. The findings, published in the journal Nature, further illustrate links between early Christian culture and Judaism, out of which Christianity emerged in the fist century A.D.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1121825992893