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He was buried without a sarcophagus or a walled grave, which at first glance indicated the grave of a poor man. Unexpectedly, under the tool of an archaeologist, objects of value appeared: a huge silver ring with a precious stone and a carved fish and a cruciform anchor, a coil of gold wire and a bronze compass.
VERA Solid silver ring, Photo by B. Subašić
– The type of burial did not distinguish this tomb from the dozens of similar ones we examine each week, but the precious objects placed next to the deceased indicated a completely different story – says prof. Dr. Miomir Korać, director of the Archaeological Institute and head of the Viminacium Scientific Project. – An anchor with a fish on each side is engraved on the gem of the silver ring, and in ancient times these are symbols of Christian, persecuted, illegal and closed communities of the first followers of the new religion that originated in the Middle East.
CIXER Symbol of God, architect of the world
Photo by B. Subašić
The early persecuted Christians used the secret language of signs to recognize each other. These were common symbols of secular Roman art, but they were used in a way that only devotees of the early church could understand. Today’s Christian symbols, and especially the cross, only come into use after the legalization of this religion, in the time of Constantine and Licinius.
FISHERMAN OF HUMAN SOULS
FISH is one of the first symbols of Christianity. The use of fish drawings to represent Christ has its roots in the acronym formed when the fish’s Latin name, ichthus, is written in the ancient Greek alphabet. That code reads as “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior.” This symbolism was close to the believers because Christ is a “fisher of human souls”, and the apostles are “fishers of men”. Therefore, the early church was also called “Peter’s boat.”
The anchor was a symbol of the cross and martyrdom in general. Saint Clement, the fourth pope, was executed with an anchor tied around his neck and then thrown into the sea.
Photo by B. Subašić
For the early Christians, the anchor, the anchor, was a symbol of hope for salvation, because it was generally considered a sign of security in ancient times. With its shape, with a bar at the top, it reminded believers of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, whose symbol was a fish.
MYSTICAL Precious objects at the discovery site
Photo by B. Subašić
– In early Christianity, the modern symbol of the cross was not used, but the letter T, similar to the anchor on the viminacium ring – says Dr. Korać. – Believers placed infinite faith and hope in Christ, and the symbol of the anchor, the anchor, expressed this metaphorically. Saint Paul says in his “Epistle to the Hebrews”: “… we who have resorted to clinging to the hope that we have before us, we have it as an anchor of the soul, strong and reliable” – quotes Dr. Korac.
THE TIME of the burial of the mysterious deceased was estimated in the first half of the 3rd century, and the body, as is the case with Christians today, was buried on the east-west axis. Archaeologists say that this Christian from Viminacium lived in the late second and third centuries, in a historically foggy time, when a new religion was being created that would change the history of mankind.
GOLD Precious Wire Coil
Photo by B. Subašić
– In that story, Viminacium played a very important role, they unequivocally indicate new discoveries in which important data is encoded – says Dr. Korać. – An example is the modest burial of the deceased, who obviously was not poor, because large valuables were placed next to him. When you look at the whole image, you see that it is an encrypted message. That man belonged to a cult to which the luxurious burial and leaving the memory of existence in this world is irrelevant. The precious objects placed next to him are not there to attest to material wealth. They are symbols that indicate that this man was a great devotee of the cult and that he probably occupied a high place in the spiritual hierarchy.
ROMAN coin from the beginning of the 3rd century.
Photo by B. Subašić
Next to the feet of the deceased, archaeologists discovered a compass, a spool of gold wire, and an unknown iron tool, which is currently unrecognizable due to corrosion. The first association with the objects placed in front of the deceased is that they indicate his occupation. Such a practice is not unheard of in the necropolis of Viminacium, where various graves of doctors with their instruments were discovered and buried. However, such a simple interpretation is not always the only one nor is it correct.
– The meaning of the compass and the coil of the golden wire has not yet been decoded – says Dr. Korać. – The objects that are placed in the tombs are carefully selected and their possible symbolism should be taken into account. The compass is a tool of the architect, the creator, which is why in the Middle Ages it appeared sporadically as a symbol of divine creative power in representations of the creation of the world. The representation of Christ with the compass is found in icons, in illuminated manuscripts, and in many cathedrals.
Photo by B. Subašić
The coil of golden wire may be a symbol of “Ariadne’s thread”, a mythical ball of thread from the popular Hellenic myth that allowed the hero to be saved, a way out of a deadly labyrinth.
– Such a salvation story is completely Christian, and we have already said that Christians use popular ancient symbols, only in their own way, as a secret language. In general, it is known that the influence of Hellenic Platonism in the creation of Christianity that we know is extremely great. Viminacium can preserve the code, the real “Da Vinci Code”, which will reveal how the story unfolded.
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