Today was the last seminar day. We heard three reports, one on Greek rhetoric under Roman Empire, another on Etruscan portrayal of types of women's bodies, and then the report on the nearby archaeological site with Syrian features. In the afternoon I worked more on writing captions for photos I've taken and read.

I went back to the Simone restaurant again, but this time I had lasagna. It was very tasty and a welcomed change from the evening pizza dinners.

My time in Rome is coming to a close. I'll be going tomorrow morning to visit the Catacombs of Priscilla. I'm expecting to have dinner tomorrow evening with David Balch, one of the foremost NT scholars doing work on Roman households. Our group has a little party planned for Saturday evening. And I need to settle my bill tomorrow. I hope I'm not shocked by the total. Most costs of this trip have been a surprise.

This morning a few of us set off to see the Catacombs of Priscilla . It took two buses to reach the edge of the city. We were disappointed at first when we learned they had no record of the American Academy arranging for our visit. They wanted to make us wait for 20 minutes and join a tour of 27 other people. There were three people discussing the issue with us. Someone went to get the person in charge, one of the nuns of the Benedictine order who oversee the site. Then another woman came out, who was an American, a researcher in residence. The two of them took the three of us on a guided tour of the catacombs there.

It certainly is an incredible experience to go below ground and walk through the tunnels dug by people seeking to entomb their dead in a holy place. In various places someone plastered the walls and painted frescoes.  There were scenes of Jesus as the Good shepherd, Jonah and the sea monster, Lazarus, Daniel and his buddies in the fiery furnace, and some other biblical images of rescue and resurrection. There were many images of woman, such as Mary, the mother of Jesus, Susanna, Mary & Martha, and other female figures. It's difficult to interpret some of the images.All in all it was an incredible experience.

On the bus ride back some transportation officers -- whatever they call them -- got on the bus and asked to see tickets. Two young girls didn't have tickets and didn't have any extra money to pay.

The big thing today was paying my bill. There were many unexpected expenses on this trip, not the least of which was the double-booking during the time we were in Campania. We paid for our rooms at the Academy plus the hotel rooms. No one knew that it was going to be expected. The stipend we received from the National Endowment for the Humanities paid for most of the trip, but I needed to dip into my sabbatical funds to pay the rest.

I've also managed to arrange for my trip to the airport on Monday morning. A colleague needs to leave at the same time, so we will share a taxi. Perhaps we're even on the same flight to Chicago.

This evening I was able to have dinner with David Balch, who is living in Rome during his sabbatical. He has just published a book on Roman Domestic Art and Early House Churches. He had a copy with him. I had a great time talking with him about Roman houses, publishing, teaching, family, church, retirement, and many other interesting topics. We had dinner in a piazza behind a 12 century church with other church architecture all around us. What an interesting place to dine. David first took me inside the church. For a minute I thought he was going to make me sit and meditate for awhile before dinner. This was in Trastavere so guess what I got to do? Walk back up the "Stairs of Trastevere." It might be the last time, so I took the stairs with Roman gusto.