One of the most striking archaeological discoveries of the last year - the image of a woman on the wall of a house church of the 3rd century in Syria most likely depicts not a Samaritan woman at a well, as scientists previously believed, but the Most Holy Theotokos at the time of the Annunciation. This is exactly what experts at Yale University now believe, in the museum of which the find is kept, according to Christiantoday. Scientists interpreted the thin lines around the female figure as an indication of the imminent birth of the Savior into the world. If they manage to prove that this is so, the female image will turn out to be the oldest surviving image of the Mother of God in the world. A fragment of the wall painting of the church was discovered back in 1920 at the excavation site of the Roman city of Dura Europos. The place where the image was found is considered to be one of the oldest Christian sanctuaries in the world. In addition to the image of the Virgin at the well, other murals on the theme of the Gospel story were also found here: the Good Shepherd, Christ walking on the waters with the Apostle Peter, the healing of the paralyzed by the Lord.
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