Page 24 - Archaeology - October 2017

JOURNEY FROM THE TRENCHES
INTO THE
NOT BY BREAD ALONE
HEART OF
HISTORY

Since 1983, Far Horizons has been
designing unique trips led by
renowned PhD scholars for small
groups of sophisticated travelers
who desire a deeper knowledge of
both the past and living cultures.

AMERICAN SOUTHWESTCHRISTMAS IN OAXACA
September 2 – 11, 2017
December 20 – 28, 2017
ETHIOPIABELIZE
September 23 – October 7, 2017January 6 – 14, 2018
CHINA’S SILK ROADSUDAN
October 10 – 26, 2017
January 21 – February 3, 2018
GUATEMALA’S MAYAEASTER ISLAND
With the T
With the kite festivalapati Festival
October 21 – November 2, 2017January 29 – February 9, 2018
GUJARA
SOUTH INDIAT & RAJASTHAN
November 4 – 20, 2017February 3 – 19, 2018
CHRISTMAS IN OAXACAMEXICO’S YUCATAN
December 20 – 28, 2017February 16 – 25, 2018
SUDANEGYPT
January 21 – February 3, 2018With Bob Brier
March 3 – 16, 2018
MYANMAR (BURMA)
January 3 – 17, 2018JORDAN
CAMBODIA & LAOS
April 7 – 20, 2018
IRAN
January 6 – 22, 2018
BELIZE Catacombs of Domitilla, Rome, Italy
April 12 – 28, 2018
CENTRAL ASIA
January 6 – 14, 2018
April 18 – May 5, 2018
EASTER ISLAND
eep in the heart of Rome’s largest catacombs, laser beams have unveiled
CYPRUS & MALTA
With the Tapati Festival
stunning 1,600-year-old early Christian frescoes. Mixing pagan symbols with
January 29 – February 9, 2018
April 22 – May 6, 2018
D Christian images, the paintings adorn the ceilings and walls of two burial
GUJARAT & RAJASTHAN
ITALY: THE ETRUSCANS
chambers in the Catacombs of Domitilla, a labyrinth of tunnels and tombs stretching
February 3 – 19, 2018
June 2 – 13, 2018
over 10 miles beneath Rome near the ancient Appian Way. The crypts, carved out of
EGYPT
ST. PETERSBURG, PARIS,
volcanic tufa, were created for wealthy merchants involved in the imperial grain trade
LONDON
With Bob Brier
and the production of bread. They were painted around a.d. 360, a few decades after
March 3 – 18, 2018
July 14 – 25, 2018
the emperor Constantine declared Christianity legal. “The chambers have long been
…and much more!
…and much more!
Bolivia • Bulgaria • Turkey • Peru • England known, but laser cleaning has removed centuries of grime, algae, and chalk, reveal-
Bolivia • Bulgaria • Turkey • Peru
Ireland • Romania, Georgia and Armenia ing elaborate scenes and new findings,” says Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent in
England • Ireland • Georgia and Armenia
Cambodia and Laos • Croatia • charge of catacombs for the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology.
Cambodia and Laos • Croatia
Jordan • Iran • Central Asia
France • China • Greece • Myanmar Led by Barbara Mazzei, restorers have been able to remove not just the black
Spain and Morocco • Italy
Spain and Morocco • Scandinavia
patina but also graffiti covering the frescoes. Old pagan symbols of the afterlife
such as peacocks, scenes from the Old and New Testaments, and depictions of the
grain trade have emerged for the first time. Such a mixture of symbols reveals the
difficult shift suffered by wealthy Romans as they slowly abandoned their pagan
beliefs to embrace the new Christian religion in the fourth century a.d. Says pon-
tifical commission head Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, “These tombs represent the
roots of Rome and of Christianity.”
1-800-552-4575 –rossEllA lorEnZi
1-800-552-4575
www.farhorizons.com.farhorizons.com
www
22 ARCHAEOLOGY • September/October 2017