Images from 350-400... or within 200
years of when these men walked on the Earth!
It could
very well be that these images are copies of others that
existed from the time of the Apostle's lives, and could
potentially be accurate renditions of what they looked like.
The earliest known icons of the Apostles Peter and Paul
have been discovered in a catacomb under an eight-story
modern office building in a working-class neighborhood of
Rome, Vatican officials said Tuesday.
The images,
which date from the second half of the 4th century, were
discovered on the ceiling of a tomb that also includes the
earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew. They
were uncovered using a new laser technique that allowed
restorers to burn off centuries of thick white calcium
carbonate deposits without damaging the dark colors of the
original paintings underneath.
The paintings adorn
what is believed to be the tomb of a Roman noblewoman in the
Santa Tecla catacomb and represent some of the earliest
evidence of devotion to the apostles in early Christianity,
Vatican officials said in opening up the tomb to the media
for the first time.
Last June, the Vatican announced
the discovery of the icon of Paul — timed to coincide with
the end of the Vatican's Pauline year. At the time, Pope
Benedict XVI also announced that tests on bone fragments
long attributed to Paul "seemed to confirm" that they did
indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint.
John is spotlighted in
this image
Peter..
Another image of Peter
Pointing out a fresco of Peter
and Paul
source:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/22/ancient-icons-apostles-peter-paul-rome/?test=latestnews
