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for AJS 2013 Seminar, Materiality of Jewish Death Session One on ���Communities and Contexts���: This contribution examines the arrangements of the distinctive tomb form known as the ���kokh��� (pl. ���kokhim���) within certain areas of the catacomb of the Vigna Randanini in Rome, drawing attention to their characteristics and organization in light of the kokh���s limited presence in the other catacombs of Rome during the third and fourth centuries CE. It will be included in forthcoming publication of Eric M. Meyers and Sean P. Burrus, The Practice and Materiality of Jewish Death (forthcoming in Duke Judaic Series, Eisenbrauns)., Book chapter presented at the Association for Jewish Studies seminar on The Practice and Materiality of Jewish Death (2013).

The Jewish catacomb below the Vigna Randanini in Rome underwent a ���check-up��� in the late spring of 2000 that confirmed the very satisfactory condition of the galleries first explored in the mid-nineteenth century and still accessible today. An equally positive result was that the microclimate was stable and posed no immediate threat to the few frescoed areas of the catacomb.1 Yet also emerging from this report was that a small number of delicate surface areas inside the site were falling away and could be reinforced to prevent the eventual collapse of larger sections. A glance at the accompanying plan will show these sensitive areas are found for the most part at the intersections of the galleries where intensive funerary use often weakened a wall���s original stability. Over the course of roughly seventeen centuries, and a century and a half of modern exposure after excavation, the catacomb was showing its age. In the summer of 2001, architects and officials from the Italian Archaeological Superintendence approved of a project for maintenance work inside the catacomb. Work began on September 10, 2001, and continued uninterrupted for the next month. This report on the Vigna Randanini catacomb reviews several interesting aspects of the project and its results. The details are not very obvious to the average visitor to the catacomb, and may strengthen or clarify information already published on the site., Roma Subterranea Judaica, Publications of the International Catacomb Society, 1 (2010).

At a press conference on June 16th, 2011 in the ���Caduti di Forte Bravetta��� Council Chamber of Rome���s 16th Municipal District, archaeologists from the LATERES Cooperative and University of Rome at Tor Vergata presented the initial results of their study of the southern slope of the Monteverde in Rome above the Tiber River���s right bank. The project in course must also track down unpublished evidence of the early 20th century digs, particularly those of 1913 and 1919, that may or may not survive. These preliminary results have led site supervisor Dr. Daniela Rossi to propose the excavation of the garage site in the summer of 2011, and further outreach to area residents for insights into the changes affecting the Monteverde quarter in recent times. The publication of these studies, along with a new archaeological map of the zone, should be recognized as a significant contribution by the Italian government to the Jewish cemeteries in its care., Article on a press conference held in Rome on 16 June, 2011, to announce preliminary results of probes in the suspected site of the Catacombs of Monteverde, long inaccessible and believed to have been almost completely destoryed.

The Jewish catacomb discovered in late 1881 below the via Labicana (the modern via Casilina) a little over two miles southeast of Rome has been described as one of two small funerary hypogea for the ancient Jews of Rome in addition to larger catacombs by the consular roads of the Appia, Nomentana, and Portuense. A three-day survey of the site in January of 1884 revealed a small section of an underground cemetery. Yet the Roman archaeologist Orazio Marucchi (1852���1931) believed that many galleries inaccessible at the time of his study would demonstrate that, once excavated, the via Labicana catacomb would indeed prove extensive, possibly reaching the size of another Jewish catacomb in Rome below the Vigna Randanini, which had been continually accessible since its discovery in 1859. Unsuccessful attempts to rediscover the Jewish catacomb have forced scholars to acknowledge ���the exact location of the catacomb is not entirely certain.��� But we know from Marucchi���s testimony that the catacomb extended below the via Labicana (areas I���L���M) to an ancient staircase below the property leased to the Marolda-Pitili family on the periphery of the large and ancient ���Villa Certosa��� (Carthusian Chart-house). When Marucchi republished his study in a larger work, he stated in a footnote that the vigna Marolda-Pitili ���era posta incontro all��� osteria cosidetta ���del Pino.������ Early twentieth- century maps place this osteria at via Casilina, 277 at the corner of via Ignazio Danti. On the opposite side of the street, small workshops, shacks, and bare lots now cover the land formerly belonging to the Marolda-Pitilli family., Dello Russo, Jessica, The Jewish Catacomb of via Labicana, in Roma Subterranea Judaica, Publications of the International Catacomb Society (PICS), 3 (2010), pp. 1-13.

Elsa Laurenzi's presentation of the Jewish catacombs of the Vigna Randanini in Rome for the Gangemi Series on "Roma Ebraica" is the first detailed archaeological monograph on the site in many generations, a fact most surprising given the catacomb's significance as one of the few monumental testimonies to Ancient Jews in Rome thus far revealed. That the book itself is jointly sponsored by Italy's Cultural Ministry and the Jewish Community of Rome (with funding provided by the Elio Toaff Foundation for Jewish Culture) is a sign of a new season of collaboration between "Synagogue and State" on the conservation of Jewish cemeteries in Italy, a legal obligation for the country's government and long an issue of concern to Jews. Laurenzi's detailed and informative overview will serve as a guide for future investigations. Many pieces of the puzzle exist, but need reassembling. It is exciting to take stock of the work in the Vigna Randanini catacomb up to this point and focus on what needs a clearer resolution. Now is the time to move beyond the manifest, and make bold and interpretive analyses of the site.

[Italiano]: Questo primo volume della serie Judaica Venusina è dedicato alle catacombe ebraiche nella collina della Maddalena di Venosa (Basilicata) e ospita undici contributi, suddivisi in due parti. Nella prima parte sono stati accolti tutti i testi (di M.L. Nava, V. Cracolici, G. Di Pace, M. Di Lieto, M. Savarese, A. Mantrisi) già elaborati per i convegni svoltisi nel 2003 e 2009 in occasione della riapertura al pubblico delle catacombe, i cui atti non sono stati mai pubblicati. I testi, rivisti e integrati, illustrano in dettaglio le metodologie seguite, le ricerche svolte e i risultati ottenuti nel corso dei lavori di consolidamento e restauro compiuti principalmente agli inizi degli anni 2000. Sono presentati per la prima volta, fra l’altro, i dati sulle cosiddette catacombe “di Santa Rufina”, a loro volta interessate, nelle stesse circostanze, da ampi lavori di consolidamento e restauro. La sezione si conclude con un saggio aggiuntivo (di S. Mutino) in cui si traccia un bilancio di alcune delle strategie di conservazione a suo tempo adottate. La seconda parte ospita quattro nuovi contributi (di J. Dello Russo, M. Lazzari, G. Lacerenza, V. Muscio) presentati nel corso del workshop sulle catacombe che, nel 2019, ha visto riuniti tutti gli autori presso l’Università di Napoli L’Orientale. I testi offrono, rispettivamente, il quadro della storia delle scoperte ebraistiche a Venosa, dalle prime esplorazioni alla riscoperta del sito di “Santa Rufina”; una discussione sugli aspetti geologici e geomorfologici della collina della Maddalena; un excursus sulle tipologie e caratteristiche del materiale epigrafico che vi è stato rinvenuto; la presentazione di alcuni recenti esperimenti di digitalizzazione della catacomba, utili sia per finalità di ricerca che per la sua fruizione a distanza ./[English]: This first volume of the Judaica Venusina series is dedicated to the Jewish catacombs in the Maddalena hill in Venosa (Basilicata). It features eleven articles, divided into two thematic parts. The first part brings together all the texts (by M.L. Nava, V. Cracolici, G. Di Pace, M. Di Lieto, M. Savarese, A. Mantrisi) elaborated upon during the conferences held in 2003 and 2009 on the occasion of the reopening of the catacombs, the proceedings of which have never been published. The texts, revised and integrated with additional information, illustrate in detail the methodologies that were followed, the research carried out, and the results obtained during the consolidation and restoration of the complex, carried out mainly in the early 2000s. Here, for the first time, among other things, new data on the so-called “Santa Rufina” catacombs make their scholarly debut, subject, in turn, on the same occasion, by extensive consolidation and restoration works. The section ends with an additional essay (by S. Mutino) in which an assessment is made of some of the conservation strategies adopted at the time. The second part comprises four new contributions (by J. Dello Russo, M. Lazzari, G. Lacerenza, V. Muscio) presented on the occasion of a workshop on the catacombs held in 2019 at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. The texts offer, respectively, a full picture of the history of the Jewish discoveries in Venosa, from the early explorations to the rediscovery of “Santa Rufina”; a discussion on the geological and geomorphological aspects of the Maddalena hill; an excursus on the contents and characteristics of the epigraphic material found in the catacombs; and the presentation of a recent digitization of the main catacombs.

The publication of Elsa Laurenzi's Le catacombe ebraiche in 2011 inspired a conference in late February of the following year (2012) on current research in the Jewish catacombs of Rome. As Laurenzi's book is, in essence, a comprehensive introduction to this area of study, and reasonably cautious on all counts, it is the conference itself, involving a great diversity of perspectives and experiences, that has the most potential to inspire new research and debate on these sites. For this reason, Laurenzi's work is considered along with what was discussed at the event. The link to the conference video is:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2LKZootsLk.

Review of: Ferraiuolo, Augusto. Religious Festive Practices in Boston���s North End: Ephemeral Identities in an Italian American Community (Albany, 2009) in Journal of the North End Historical Society 1, ed. J. Pasto (March, 2012), pp. 87-92., Dello Russo, Jessica, Review of: Ferraiuolo, Augusto. Religious Festive Practices in Boston's North End: Ephemeral Identities in an Italian American Community (Albany, 2009) in Journal of the North End Historical Society 1, ed. J. Pasto (March, 2012), pp. 87-92.

The catacombs discovered in November of 1919 during excavations to reinforce the foundation piers of the ���scuderie nuove��� or new stables at the southwest corner of the Villa Torlonia were the last to be identified as Jewish in Rome in modern times. Nearly a century later, they are still the most studied of Rome���s ancient Jewish cemeteries, although their accessibility has long been an issue for a variety of political, economic and environmental concerns. In light of the proposed changes to the Villa Torlonia, including new structures that could directly affect the Jewish cemeteries and other ancient remains below its public grounds, we review the building history of the site and recent studies of the catacombs��� chronology and conservation, with the expectation that what is known of these catacombs in their present state might undergo significant changes in the near future., Roma Subterranea Judaica, Publications of the International Catacomb Society, 7 (2012)

In 1927, the Harvard classicist Harry Joshua Leon (1896-1967) successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, De Judaeorum Antiquorum Sepulcretis Romae Repertis Quaestiones Selectae, (naturally, for a Harvard Ph.D. at that time, written entirely in Latin), a collection of about 500 epitaphs from the Jewish catacombs of Rome, accompanied by a short introduction to scholarship on the subject later published in English as ���The Jewish Catacombs and Inscriptions of Rome: an account of their discovery and subsequent history,��� (Hebrew Union College Annual 5, 1928, pp. 299��-314). In no way can our short presentation do justice to Leon���s profound learning in Classical languages and literature, or comment at length on his observations ��� he himself would refrain from calling them ���conclusions��� ��� about the Jews in Ancient Rome. Instead, we discuss a number of Leon���s approaches that we have found most useful in our own work on Jewish catacombs, notably in the assessment of their location, present condition, excavation history, and current whereabouts of artifacts from these sites., Lecture delivered on October 20th, 2011 at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, MA.

Discussion of signatures left on the walls of a painted chamber in the Catacombs of Vigna Randanini in Rome. While incomplete, its data raise issues of access to the catacomb in the 19th and 20th centuries. Interestingly enough, American Jewish names top the list. No particular name stands out for historical significance, but this opinion is subject to change with further analysis of this unique characteristic of the site.

A thick government file dating to the final years of the Papal State exists on the Jewish catacomb found in 1859 below land that had belonged until recently to the family of CDAS secretary Mons. Felice Profili. Known even today as the ���catacomb of the Vigna Randanini��� after the property owner who first made its discovery known, its excavation was treated with marked differences from those in the neighboring ���Christian��� sites, although the hard labor and primitive methodology employed in all such undertakings no doubt remained much the same. As a non-Christian site beyond de Rossi���s and the CDAS���s direct control, the catacomb was accessible to a different set of scholars eager to investigate rare material evidence of the Jews in ancient Rome. These men saw to it that the catacomb would never again be forgotten. But the catacomb���s rare fame and con tinued accessibility also led to unregulated exploitation and spoliation of the site. The lawsuit filed in 1870 against the Randanini for their illegal sale of Jewish artifacts by a bankrupt and nearly powerless Papal State contains the original excavation licenses, site reports, meeting minutes and other official communication on the Jewish catacomb between 1859 and 1870. What it best reveals, if anything, is the struggle of the Roman authorities to enforce legal measures to protect the city���s antiquities while encouraging what would otherwise not have been accomplished without funding from a private source. The drama that unfolds during the second half of the nineteenth century in this archaeological dig thus leaves modern visitors with a curious, though hardly complete, understanding of the site., 2011 Roma Subterranea Judaica 5, Publications of the International Catacomb Society

Recent publications have reminded us once again of what little information exists about a Jewish catacomb discovered in 1866 below the Vigna Cimarra in Rome. New research, however, has revealed its exact location and condition. Access to and study of this catacomb look far more promising now than they have been for generations. With the catacomb's fortunate preservation, de Rossi's "note" can now be transformed into a modern presentation of the site., Dello Russo, Jessica, The Jewish Catacomb of the Vigna Cimarra, in Roma Subterranea Judaica, Publications of the International Catacomb Society, 2 (2010), pp. 1-22.

The inscription CIJ 1.1, a child���s funerary epitaph in Greek, was first published by Father Antonio Lupi, S. J. in his Dissertatio ed animadversiones ad nuper inventum Severae Martyris epitaphium, Palermo, 1734, p. 140. As noted by Father Antonio Ferrua, S.J., all known copies of the inscription up to the present time depend on Lupi���s edition. The inscription itself ���disappears��� after the mid-eighteenth century, but is included in nearly all the studies and collections of Jewish inscriptions in Rome following the recovery of a number of examples from the Monteverde catacomb in 1748. The neutrality of the text of CIJ 1, 1 may be workshop influenced: today we see that what Winkelmann���s described as an ���urn of poor workmanship��� is, in fact, a small marble sarcophagus, more or less intact. The front of this container is decorated with human and animal figures flanking a large rectangular tablet at center that contains the epitaph. Although an exceptional iconographic and epigraphic find, and still conserved within the Palazzo Rondinini (or Rondanini) in Rome, the sarcophagus has attracted little attention and study until very recently. Several theories present themselves. That most likely is that the sarcophagus is a fantastic creation of the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, perhaps incorporating a ���real��� or authentic inscription (or a fake one with obvious ���mistakes���); another ���Jewish��� piece, CIJ 1.380/JIWE 2.557, of unknown provenance, is known to have existed in multiple copies at this time.42 The sarcophagus���s irregularities in cut and decoration also favor a modern origin, as does Winkelmann���s bland description, possibly made before the piece was ���improved upon��� by one of Rome���s many artisans to fetch a higher price. On the other hand, if ancient, it may not be ���Jewish��� at all, but rather created for a non-Jewish client. The title archon, although commonly used for Jewish individuals in Rome, was never in itself exclusive to Jews, and could refer to a leader of one of the many other communities in Rome at the time, including the Mithraic sect. 43 Long ignored or missing until the mid-twentieth century, the sarcophagus needs to be examined more closely to determine its authenticity and relationship to the collection and study of Jewish antiquities in eighteenth-century Rome., Lecture delivered by invitation to Prof. Danilo Mazzoleni's seminar on Ancient Christian Epigraphy at the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology in Rome, and published in ICS Varia (2010)

The legacy of Mr. John Harvey Treat (Harvard A.M., 1861) continues to provide Harvard today with the financial means necessary to acquire works on the catacombs for its library collections. The extraordinary story of how this Lawrence businessman actively promoted the excavation and preservation of the ancient cemeteries in Rome is a worthy precursor to ICS founder Estelle Shohet Brettman’s mission—or, as Treat would define it, “cause”—of gathering information about these archaeological sites for their use in Boston by students from all over the world. The Treat Book Fund has broadened its range today to include books on many Christian traditions, and the expansion of Harvard’s library network has sent these books to all corners of the university.50 A large part of Treat’s original collection of books on Christian Archaeology and the catacombs remains intact, however, in Widener Library’s section on archaeology.&nbsp

Critical analysis of the study and documentation of a Imperial Era necropolis developed as a cemetery for Jews in the Late Roman Era in the southwestern slope of the Monteverde Vecchio quarter in Rome. The pioneering 19th century Talmudic scholar and historian, Abraham Berliner, wrote that he had ���traveled the entire Roma Pagana... and Roma Christiana��� to follow the history of the Jews in Rome. In the face of the loss of so much physical evidence from the Monteverde cemetery, the same approach must now be taken to write a history of the Jewish catacombs in Rome, for similar, even shared, paths were laid for the Christian and Jewish catacombs���s origins, development, abandonment, and partial preservation. Just as recent work on Jewish artifacts has argued against an ���isolated��� existence for Rome���s Jewish community in Late Antiquity, so, too, a study of the Jewish catacombs, particularly those on the Monteverde, considered for generations by many, if not all, an ���isolated��� site among the network of Christian burial places on both sides of the Tiber, requires deep immersion into centuries of scholarship on the Christian catacombs of Rome. So vulnerable to the political and theological issues that permeated the pages of scholarship, this Jewish catacomb���by virtue of its early discovery, extent, and, above all, destruction���should be seen, in a manner of speaking, as the ���barometer��� to measure the highs and lows of catacomb research, and any one generation���s focus on issues that are in many cases still unresolved today.5 Even in our own time, the Jewish catacombs risk ���isolation��� once again from our continued preoccupation with their ���Jewishness������on the administrative as well as scholarly level���and need to be examined in a more critical light for their structure, contents and ���storia��� as it were, the history of modern studies on these funerary sites., 2010 Roma Subterranea Judaica 4, Publications of the International Catacomb Society