Catacombs
The catacombs were a subterranean
burial place for the Christians. All catacombs were outside the walls
of the city, as there was a law forbidding the burial of bodies
within the precincts of Rome. Prior to the Empire's acceptance of
Christianity, Romans practiced cremation. The sixty known principal
catacombs, can be found mainly along the Appian Way.
These early burial sites were either simple graves marked to preserve
the memory of a Christian martyr or to mark vaults of noble families
sympathetic to the Christian religion.
Construction of the early catacombs began in the second century and
was used for both memorial services and internment of the dead. Some
of the catacombs were built on four levels connecting a enormous
system of galleries and linking passages with steep, narrow steps.
Bodies of the deceased were placed in niches, 16 to 24 inches high by
47 to 59 inches long cut from the wall of soft tufa rock.
The
bodies were fully clothed, wrapped in linen and sprinkled with
ointments to offset the decaying odor and sealed with a slab
inscribed with the name of the deceased, date of death and a
religious symbol.
The Catacombs of St. Callistus served as the official burial grounds
for the first bishops of Rome and the Crypt of the Popes contains the
tombs of several pontiffs.
After A.D. 313, Christianity was established as the official religion
of the Roman Empire. Consequently, the subterranean burial practice
gradually declined as
aboveground cemeteries became the custom.
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