You’ve probably already seen coverage of the discovery of a Roman Era mass grave for unwanted newborns. Roger Pearse has posted a stunning reflection on the “casual evil” of Roman life. You must read it.
It’s not the first such discovery. You’ll find the story of Ashkelon’s sewer clogged with newborns here.
I hope you’ve read Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity, which treats this subject in chilling detail.
The archeologists seem sure that the recent find must have been associated with a brothel. But I’ve seen no evidence to lead to that conclusion. Why pass off on the prostitutes what was acceptable in polite company?
The article mentions that they’re planning to do DNA tests on the bones found at the site. Should they find that there’s not a high degree of family relationships between the remains (i.e., not from the same mothers), they’ll have to revise their thesis that the site is a brothel…