From The Christian Post:
Archaeologists working across Turkey have uncovered a series of discoveries that are offering new insight into the earliest centuries of Christianity, including what researchers describe as the best-preserved early image of Jesus ever found.
The discoveries, made in recent years throughout Anatolia — modern-day Turkey — include newly identified churches, Christian tombs, inscriptions and artifacts that researchers say prove the region’s importance in the growth of Christianity after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Among the most significant finds is a third-century fresco discovered in the western Turkish city of Iznik, depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Archaeologists say the painting ranks among the oldest known images of Christ as an adult and is exceptionally well preserved due to its location inside a sealed, oxygen-depleted family tomb.