Every story in catacomb art is a tale of deliverance, a tale of the powerlessness of death and the certainty of the resurrection. Looking back through fifteen hundred years of Christian art, it appears the crucifixion of Jesus holds the highest place. We haven't looked back far enough. Go back to the first three centuries after Jesus walked among us. Walk the dark corridors of those subterranean burial chambers of the persecuted Christians. There we find a much different theology at work: a theology with resurrection hope and power at the center. If catacomb art were all we had of Christian theology and practice from the first three centuries AD--no Scriptures--we would have no choice but to conclude that the first message of the Christian faith was the Easter gospel.

"The subterranean tombs known as the Roman Catacombs are truly time capsules. Some tunnels date to the first century. Both Jewish and Christian graves are found there, including cremated and skeletal remains, and some have only been discovered recently. It's challenging to receive permission to explore these tunnels. Luckily, young historians can find all they need to know in the well-researched pages of this intriguing book, full of extraordinary images and facts. They'll learn much about the history of Rome and the different cultures that sought to bury their dead beneath the living in this ancient city."

The catacombs -- including several labyrinthine burial grounds and underground places of worship -- along with numerous Roman churches and basilicas are depicted with overlays that show how they look today and how they likely appeared in early Christian times.

Rome was the largest city in the ancient world. As the capital of the Roman Empire, it was clearly an exceptional city in terms of size, diversity and complexity. While the Colosseum, imperial palaces and Pantheon are among its most famous features, this volume explores Rome primarily as a city in which many thousands of men and women were born, lived and died. The thirty-one chapters by leading historians, classicists and archaeologists discuss issues ranging from the monuments and the games to the food and water supply, from policing and riots to domestic housing, from death and disease to pagan cults and the impact of Christianity. Richly illustrated, the volume introduces groundbreaking new research against the background of current debates and is designed as a readable survey accessible in particular to undergraduates and non-specialists.

Reproduction of the original: The Catacombs of Rome by W.H. Withrow