On Tuesday, archaeologists announced that images of the apostles Andre and John dating back to the 4th century A.D. have been discovered under the city of Rome.
The images were found near the location of the oldest known painting of St. Paul which was discovered last year. They are all part of a group of paintings based on the theme of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and are on the ceiling of what is believed to be a Roman noblewoman’s tomb.
Although a painting of St. Peter completes the group, older images of him are known to exist. Archaeologist Fabrizio Bisconti said that the Roman noblewoman must have been very wealthy as the colours and richness of the painting show.
Vatican experts say that it took two years of work to uncover the paintings using a cutting-edge laser technology. The painting are located in the catacombs of St. Tecla, one of forty Roman catacombs under the city of Rome. It is located directly under a modern eight-story building in a working-class neighbourhood.
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