Archaeologists working at the ancient city of Laodicea in western Turkey have uncovered Christian symbols carved into a Roman council hall that dates to about 50 BC, the team said, offering new material evidence tying the site to early Christian communities mentioned in the New Testament.
The structure, identified as a bouleuterion or municipal council chamber, could seat roughly 800 people and served as the political and judicial center of the city. Within the ruined hall the excavation team found a carved cross and the Chi‑Rho monogram — the Greek letters representing the first two letters of "Christ" in Koine Greek — etched into the stonework, alongside a headless statue of Emperor Trajan and rows of seating inscribed with names of council members and civic groups.
The council hall was built under Roman rule around the middle of the first century BC and remained a prominent civic space while Laodicea was part of the Roman provincial system. Inscriptions on stone benches designate places for leaders, elders, youths and ordinary citizens, a practice archaeologists say likely served as reserved seating for different segments of the city’s governing and civic bodies.
Researchers said the Christian markings were almost certainly added after the building’s construction. The New Testament places the life and crucifixion of Jesus in the first century AD, and the Book of Revelation — commonly dated to about 90–100 AD and addressed to seven early Christian communities in Asia Minor — names Laodicea among those churches. Revelation 1:11 instructs John to write to churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea; Revelation 3:14–22 addresses Laodicea directly and rebukes its members for being "lukewarm," urging renewed devotion.
An epistle referenced in Colossians also indicates Laodicea’s early Christian connections. Colossians 4:13–16 mentions a disciple named Epaphras and directs that letters be read to the church of the Laodiceans, suggesting an organized Christian presence in the city during the first century.
The newly recorded Christian symbols are consistent with broader patterns of Christian visibility in public spaces from the second through fourth centuries, archaeologists said. Christians sometimes repurposed civic structures or inscribed symbols in existing buildings. The Chi‑Rho monogram became a particularly prominent emblem after the early fourth century, when the Edict of Milan in 313 AD legalized Christianity within the Roman Empire and accelerated the religion’s public expression.
Laodicea’s long period under Roman authority, from roughly 133 BC through its decline in the seventh century AD, placed it in the heart of Asia Minor’s civic and religious transformations. Emperor Trajan, whose headless statue was found in the bouleuterion, reigned from 98 to 117 AD and is among the Roman figures whose images commonly appeared in municipal centers across the provinces.
The find underscores Laodicea’s role as both an administrative hub and a locus of early Christian activity. The presence of Christian symbols inside a civic building used for political and judicial functions illustrates how religious communities left marks on urban landscapes long before Christianity became state sanctioned.
Archaeologists cautioned that while the carvings demonstrate Christian presence, precise dating of when the symbols were added will require further analysis. Continued excavation and study of the bouleuterion and its inscriptions aim to refine the chronology of religious use and reuse at the site and to illuminate how early Christians in Laodicea navigated civic life within the Roman imperial framework.