Did Roman Jewish catacomb predate Christian tombs?

rome (ap) | A Jewish catacomb in Rome predates its Christian counterparts by at least 100 years, indicating burial in the city's sprawling underground cemeteries may not have begun as a Christian practice, according to a study published this week.

Scholars have long believed that early Christians were the first to bury their dead in Roman catacombs. But Dutch experts from Utrecht University who dated organic material from a Jewish catacomb in the city say it appears that early Christians inherited the practice from Jews.

"Perhaps it doesn't clinch the argument, but it makes it very likely," said Leonard Victor Rutgers, an antiquities professor who led the university's team.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, would further illustrate links between early Christian culture and Judaism.

Radiocarbon dating showed the Villa Torlonia catacomb, a Jewish burial site, was constructed between the first century B.C. and the first century, long before any of Rome's 60 Christian catacombs, Rutgers said.

Although ancient Latin texts place a Jewish community in Rome as early as the first century B.C., burial places like Villa Torlonia previously were thought to have been used only from the third century, roughly around the time Christians began using catacombs.

"So where and how did this ancient community bury its dead?" Rutgers said. "Now it seems likely that they used catacombs from the beginning."

Rutgers said that to confirm his findings, radiocarbon dating would have to be used on Christian catacombs as well, as those burials are usually dated by evaluating the style of the decoration and architecture used on the site.