- Oct 17, 2011
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Now, after careful extraction and analysis, a bone said to have belonged to Saint James has been radiocarbon-dated – and sadly de-authenticated. Despite being incredibly old, having died at some time between 214 and 340, the individual housed in the Santi Apostoli church for one and a half millennia turns out to have been a few generations off the real deal.
In ancient Rome, families commemorated the birthdays of their ancestors by taking festive meals at their graves. This custom was later taken up by early Christians, who came together around the tombs of their saints on their name days.
But there was a problem. As Christianity became more dominant, the tombs of saints became overcrowded. Plus, the tombs were often situated outside the city walls, which made the feasts potentially risky. In an effort to make them safer and more accessible, saints’ remains were exhumed and transferred into churches in a process called translation.
Now, after careful extraction and analysis, a bone said to have belonged to Saint James has been radiocarbon-dated – and sadly de-authenticated. Despite being incredibly old, having died at some time between 214 and 340, the individual housed in the Santi Apostoli church for one and a half millennia turns out to have been a few generations off the real deal.
In ancient Rome, families commemorated the birthdays of their ancestors by taking festive meals at their graves. This custom was later taken up by early Christians, who came together around the tombs of their saints on their name days.
But there was a problem. As Christianity became more dominant, the tombs of saints became overcrowded. Plus, the tombs were often situated outside the city walls, which made the feasts potentially risky. In an effort to make them safer and more accessible, saints’ remains were exhumed and transferred into churches in a process called translation.