Dura Europos, a backwater town inhabited by various empires from 300 BCE to 256 CE, is special because it was mostly preserved after it was sacked. Along the western wall, which was buried with sand to reinforce it during the battle, many relatively complete houses and buildings were found. Included in that was three religious houses, with one being a synagogue and the other a Christian church. The Christian church dates to ca. 240 and its baptistry is located in Yale University (due to how archaeology worked in the 1920s/30s). Pieces from the baptistry are located in Yale’s art gallery. You should go. They are just beautiful. Below are a few pictures from today. You can see more images here.
