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A wall painting of a woman at the well, perhaps the earliest known representation of the Virgin Mary, is from the baptistery of the Christian building. It is painted on plaster, 3rd century AD. Dura-Europos was the easternmost Roman stronghold in Mesopotamia, located in what is now Syria. The Romans, led by Lucius Verus, took control of the city from the Parthians in AD 164, and it stayed under Roman rule until the Sasanians, led by Shapur I, captured it and deported the population around AD 256-257. Archaeological evidence shows that this border town was a place of religious tolerance, where different faiths were practiced. This included Christianity, which was still facing persecution at the time. Notably, it may have been home to one of the world's oldest churches. Above: Woman at the empty tomb of Christ Here is a good article on the religious diversity of Dura-Europos: Much of this religious imagery was destroyed by ISIS during the Syrian war in 2015. https://the-past.com/feature/the-gods-of-dura-europos/ The synagogue of Dura-Europos dates to AD 244: Mithraeum of Dura-Europos Here’s a previous thread on evidence of chemical warfare found at Dura-Europos: