Introduction to A Jewish Archaeology. The Christian Discovery of Jewish Catacombs in Rome.

What is it about?

This study takes its cue from archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi’s ground-breaking, “analytical, not synthetic” approach to ancient cemetery investigation. His research on ancient Christian institutions in Rome would define the state of the field in the second half of the nineteenth century and the century to come. Here, the historiographical discourse focuses on an ancient catacomb for Jews in southeast Rome on the historic Randanini estate. The purpose is to examine not only the remains themselves but also why they mattered and to whom. It reveals what their enduring presence has signified to later generations up to the present day. The catacomb of Vigna Randanini remained in use for interment throughout much of the late Roman era (third through seventh centuries CE) before its apparent loss to recorded history as a distinctly Jewish site. In light of this strange omission—we are talking about not just a handful of objects but several thousand tombs—this study seeks to identify the circumstances in which generations of Christians visited, studied, and ultimately preserved a Jewish site. It offers new perspectives on site formation by integrating unpublished archival data with deep knowledge of the site. Addressing complex layers of setting, identification, interpretation, and presentation from antiquity to the present sharpens our image of the catacomb, of which significant areas remain undocumented and purposefully obscured. How this situation fits within the larger picture of archaeological activity and site preservation in Rome underscores a distinct and enduring relationship between Jews and Christians in the Roman Catholic imagination. This association underwent profound changes in de Rossi’s lifetime and helped shape his fundamental conclusions about catacomb development and utility beyond a primarily theological perspective.

Featured Image

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

Why is it important?

In a startlingly vivid way, a new examination of de Rossi's crucial role in discovering Jewish catacombs in Rome reshapes the traditional narrative surrounding the founding father of Christian archaeology. This book reassesses Giovanni Battista de Rossi’s deep personal commitment to the study of Christianity and something equally dear to the Roman-born: the pursuit of the city’s past and its renewed significance to the modern world.

Perspectives