Most of us have heard about Rome’s catacombs at some point in our lives. These are ancient underground burials, dug into the rock under the city of Rome itself. There are more than forty of these catacombs, some of which have only come to light in recent years.
These catacombs are known best as burial places for Christians, but they have also hosted pagan burials as well as Jewish tombs. The catacombs came about around the second century, since there was a minimum of available land for burial and cemeteries were growing overcrowded.
There’s not really enough land around Rome for standard burials, but the soft volcanic rock under the city is remarkably well suited for tunneling. Before it comes into contact with the air, it’s quite soft, hardening later on exposure to air. Many kilometers of tunnels wind their way through the area under the city, and in some places are up to four layers deep.
If you’re interested in early Christian or Jewish art, the catacombs are a must-see, containing the majority of artistic examples of these cultures in Rome before the fourth century or so. There are amazing sculptures and frescoes here.
Originally Roman citizens cremated the dead, but the popularity of burial either of bodies or the ashes rose during the second century CE. Christians also preferred burial over cremation, since burial was considered vital to resurrection.
The first big catacombs were carved through rock outside the city, since there were laws in place forbidding burying people inside the city limits. Originally the catacombs were used not just for burial, but also for celebrations of the deaths of Christian martyrs and for memorials. They were not, however, used for regular worship.
In and around Rome, there are forty known catacombs, all built along roads such as the Via Ostiense and Via Appia. The catacombs often are named after saints such as Sebastian and Calixtus, who are believed to be buried in them by some.
Enormous passage systems were created by these early excavators, around seven to nineteen meters below the surface, encompassing an area of around two and a half square km. The levels are joined with narrow stairs, with passages no more than three feet wide in most places. Burial niches are placed along the walls.
These niches were relatively small, but bodies were placed both here and in special burial chambers that more closely resembled Roman tombs of the time. Carvings and frescoes can be found here.
With the rise of Christianity to a status as a state religion, the practice of burial in catacombs declined, though this did not happen right away. As the dead were buried increasingly in churchyards, the catacombs became used only to celebrate the martyrs.
Northern invaders attacked Rome and ransacked the catacombs. By the tenth century CE, they had fallen out of use, holy relics removed to above ground locations, and the catacombs were forgotten until their rediscovery in the sixteenth century.
Over the centuries the catacombs have been intermittently explored, though professional studies weren’t published until the nineteenth century. These burial locations now act as an important monument to the early church, and are under the maintenance of the Vatican.
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