"In the March/April 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, ...looking at some of the earliest archaeological evidence of crucifixion and imagery roughly contemporary with Jesus’ crucifixion.
The two graffiti were both discovered in Italy—one, the so called Alexamenos graffito, on the Palatine Hill in Rome and the other in Puteoli during an excavation. Both show a crucified figure on a cross and date to sometime between the late first and mid-third centuries A.D. Likewise, a striking red gemstone bears a crucified figure surrounded by a magical inscription.
All three of these ancient crucifixion images shed light on the reality of Roman crucifixion in practice and share a few features in common:
The crosses are in the shape of a capital tau, or Greek letter T;
the Puteoli graffito and the gemstone seem to depict figures who have been whipped or flayed;
all three figures appear to be nude, perhaps explaining why at least two of them are shown from behind;
and in each case, the feet seem to be apart and possibly nailed separately (unlike the overlapping feet of Jesus in popular portrayals).
Assuming that Roman crucifixion methods were similar throughout the empire, these crucifixion images give us a more authentic depiction of how Jesus’ crucifixion was carried out." BAR
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
John 19:17,18
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| Puteoli Graffito |
The two graffiti were both discovered in Italy—one, the so called Alexamenos graffito, on the Palatine Hill in Rome and the other in Puteoli during an excavation. Both show a crucified figure on a cross and date to sometime between the late first and mid-third centuries A.D. Likewise, a striking red gemstone bears a crucified figure surrounded by a magical inscription.
All three of these ancient crucifixion images shed light on the reality of Roman crucifixion in practice and share a few features in common:
The crosses are in the shape of a capital tau, or Greek letter T;
the Puteoli graffito and the gemstone seem to depict figures who have been whipped or flayed;
all three figures appear to be nude, perhaps explaining why at least two of them are shown from behind;
and in each case, the feet seem to be apart and possibly nailed separately (unlike the overlapping feet of Jesus in popular portrayals).
Assuming that Roman crucifixion methods were similar throughout the empire, these crucifixion images give us a more authentic depiction of how Jesus’ crucifixion was carried out." BAR
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
John 19:17,18
