The Fora of Rome and their Christian Graffiti (4th-8th centuries)

The world was changing between the 4th and the 8th century. It was a time when the Roman Empire faced many challenges. Old truths were questioned as Christianity gradually influenced all levels of society. In this world, Rome’s central fora, with their political, historical, and religious monuments, stood as the embodiment of Roman tradition. However, even the old fora had to change. Thus, in the early 5th century, Christian graffiti were incised on one of their temples. The graffiti were a striking result of the area’s Christianisation and the earliest archaeological evidence of this process. Despite this, no thorough analysis of the graffiti exists. Several are still unpublished, while pollution is eroding them. They must be documented to avoid ultimate disappearance. FROG will 1) digitally preserve the Christian graffiti, 2) provide new knowledge of the fora’s use and meaning in early medieval Rome by analysing the graffiti in their spatial and temporal context, and 3) enhance the understanding of the fora’s role in the emergence of Christian pilgrimage and identity by analysing the graffiti in their cultural context. Using written, epigraphical, and archaeological sources, FROG analyses the fora’s Christian graffiti, use, and role in Rome’s Christianisation through human acts. The analysis is based on an innovative combination of collective memory theory, resilience theory, and activity spaces, enabling the interpretation of the interplay between the fora’s physical and mental landscape. This approach provides a unique opportunity to understand how humans from all layers of society shaped the fora to reflect their identity and needs. Thus, FROG is innovative in its study material, method, theoretical framework, and focus on a broader range of Rome’s actors beyond the elite. This will result in new knowledge on the development of the Roman Empire’s most symbolically important sites during a crucial period of urban and religious change.

In the 5th century, Christian graffiti were incised on a temple near the Forum Romanum – the heart of pagan Rome. They were a striking result of the area’s Christianisation - potentially the earliest archaeological evidence of this process. Rome’s Imperial fora and the Forum Romanum were essential cultural, political, economic, and religious centres used and adapted by the city’s inhabitants between the 4th and the 8th centuries. They are thus critical case studies of the Roman Empire’s Christianisation. Their graffiti offer a unique opportunity to examine this process from a non-elite perspective. Despite this, no thorough analysis of these graffiti exists. Several are still unpublished, while pollution is eroding them. They must be documented to avoid ultimate disappearance. FROG will 1) digitally preserve the Christian graffiti, 2) provide new knowledge of the fora’s use and meaning in early medieval Rome by analysing the graffiti in their spatial and temporal context, and 3) enhance the understanding of the fora’s role in the emergence of Christian pilgrimage and identity by analysing the graffiti in their cultural context. Using written, epigraphical, and archaeological sources, FROG analyses the fora’s Christian graffiti, use, and role in Rome’s Christianisation through human acts. The analysis is based on an innovative and ambitious combination of collective memory theory, resilience theory, and activity spaces, enabling the interpretation of the interplay between the fora’s physical and mental landscape. This approach provides a unique opportunity to look beyond elite monuments and understand how humans shaped the fora to reflect their identity and needs. Thus, FROG is innovative in its study material, method, theoretical framework, and focus on a broader range of Rome’s actors beyond the elite. This will result in new knowledge on the development of the Roman Empire’s most symbolically important sites during a crucial period of urban and religious change.