Historical tattoo: Christian symbol is discovered on a 1,300-year-old body in Sudan; look

Researchers at the University of Warsaw discovered a religious tattoo on a 1,300-year-old body in Sudan. The record found is a Christogram with Greek letters that symbolizes a tribute to Jesus Christ.

According to the Polish Center for Mediterranean Archeology (PCMA), at the University of Warsaw, the individual was unearthed from the monastic site of Ghazali, in the Wadi Abu Dom region, in the Bayuda Desert, northern Sudan.

Released last Wednesday (18), the scientists' statement detailed that the individual's remains had a tattoo on the right foot representing a Christogram that combines the Greek letters chi and rho. Such a religious symbol uses the first two letters of Christ's name to form an abbreviation.

Furthermore, researchers noticed that the two Greek letters: “alpha” and “omega” (the first and last letters of the alphabet Greek, respectively) represent the Christian belief that God is the beginning and the end of everything”, explained the statement from university.

(Image: Kari A. Guilbault/University of Warsaw/Reproduction)

Rare record of a Christian tattoo

One of the first moments of the research happened with a Polish-Sudanese team of scientists who carried out excavations at the archaeological site of Ghazali, between 2012 and 2018. In 2016, they located buried bodies and began a detailed analysis of the remains.

After initial observation, the research team became suspicious of the record found on the right foot of one of the bodies. However, analyzes of bioarchaeological research validated the hypothesis.

“It was a big surprise to suddenly see what looked like a tattoo when I was working with the Ghazali collection. At first I wasn't sure, but when the images were processed and the tattoo was clearly visible, all initial uncertainties were eliminated,” said Kari A. Guilbault, researcher who participated in the discovery.

According to the Live Science website, the symbol with Greek letters is an abbreviation that began to be used around 324 AD. C., after Constantine became the authority of theRoman Empire.

A curious fact about this archaeological discovery is that the tattoo on the foot was in the place where Christ had a nail driven in, according to the Bible.

Another important point is that this is the second time that scientists have identified records of tattooing as a practice of ancient civilizations in Sudan.

Now, the results of the discovery continue to be analyzed, but, in any case, for scientific studies, the revelation of the tattoo Christian religion suggests relevant data about religious and cultural practices in Sudan, demonstrating how people expressed their beliefs.

* With information from Galileo Magazine, Live Science It is University of Warsaw.