Words and Images in Early Christian Inscriptions (3rd–7th Century)

The use of both words and images in the epigraphic medium is already attested in the very first Christian inscriptions (mid 2nd century). This inscriptional habit continued uninterrupted until the end of Late Antiquity (7th century) providing us with an important insight – also corroborated in the works of contemporary historians and Church Fathers – into the transformation of the notion of ‘exposed writings’, associated with inscribed texts that were intended to be seen rather than read.