Roman Catacombs


Catacombs are man-made underground passages used primarily for burial, but also for other religious purposes.

There is a class of subterranea which is named catacombs. The name catacomb is derived from the Greek kata kyumbas (at the gorge), which was romanized to ad catacumbas. What the Romans meant was a valley near Rome, between the 2nd and 3rd milestones of the Appian Way, where stone for buildings was quarried. The abandoned quarries were then used by the early Christians to bury their dead including the apostles Peter and Paul. They became the oldest known Roman catacomb and were much later named San Sebastiano. In other words, the term as well as the most famous catacombs of the world are of Roman origin.

But term catacombs is used all over the World and covers a wide spectrum of underground burial structures, it somewhat includes the term ossuary. This page on the other side is dedicated only to Roman Catacombs, the subtype of catacombs which is a result of the clash of religions in the Roman Empire. Most of them are located at Rome, but there are others all over Italy.

The Via Appia was probably the most important road of the old Rome, leaving the city to the southeast. In the plains around Rome it runs absolutely straight towards the former cities Capua, Tarentum and Brundisium. This plain consists of tufa, a certain kind of limestone which is deposited by limestone rich water. Tufa has certain characteristics: it is rather soft, at least as long as it is not dried, it is lightweight and it is stable. All this is very useful for building underground tunnels. It is easy to dig, sometimes it is cut with saws, it is rather easy to transport, and the danger of collapses is rather low. All those facts make it a good rock for building underground.

The early Christians of Rome did not have their own graveyards, they were buried beneath non-Christian Romans. This was a little problematic, as the burying rites differed. At this time during the first and second century most Romans were cremated, which was not acceptable to Christians, because of their faith in the resurrection. But there was also a problem of space, as burying requires a lot of space. Along the Via Appia several huge Roman family tombs existed, and some of the grave owners were converted Christians. They opened the graves to their brethren in the faith, and the Christians started to dig their catacombs below those family tombs.

The Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire during the second and third century until in 313 with the Edict of Milan tolerance was granted. This is the time in which the catacombs were built. But despite the legends, the catacombs were just graveyards and not hiding places. Being well known to Roman authorities they were still open most of the time since the Romans respected the dead.

During the centuries numerous catacombs were built. There are approximately 1,000 kilometers of tunnels below Rome, but they are not connected. There are catacombs up to five levels deep, with huge stairs and air vents. The biggest single catacomb is 16 km long.

The catacombs were still used after the Edict of Milan, but a century later the Church returned to bury exclusively above ground. It was now possible for Christians to buy plots of land without fear of confiscation, to have places of worship, and to build churches both inside and outside the city. Barbarians from the North, Goths and Longobards, invaded Italy and attacked Rome. They also sacked and damaged the catacombs, until at the beginning of the 9th century the Pope ordered to remove the relics of the martyrs and the saints to the city churches. Now the people stopped to visit the catacombs, and they were forgotten until Antonio Bosio (*1575-✝1629), nicknamed the Columbus of subterranean Rome rediscovered them 800 years later. During the 19th century the catacombs were explored archaeologically by Giovanni Battista de Rossi (*1822-✝1894), the father of Christian Archaeology.

Today most catacombs are closed to the public, because of security reasons, to protect those important archaeological sites and in respect to the dead which are buried there. But seven catacombs in Rome are open to the public. The most visited catacomb is the Catacomb of St. Callixtus at the Via Appia. Two more are at the same road, others are nearby.

History

~200 first graves dug.
313 tolerance was granted to Christians, the use of catacombs declined.
~400 the Church returned to bury exclusively above ground.
400-800 catacombs repeatedly sacked and damaged by Goths and Longobards.
~1600 catacombs rediscovered by Antonio Bosio.
~1850 catacombs explored by Giovanni Battista de Rossi.
1929 as a part of the Lateran Treaty the Christian catacombs became Vatican territory.

Literature