Another city is hidden under the ancient streets of Rome with its buildings and labyrinths of streets. Ancient catacombs with a total length of more than one and a half hundred kilometers were used earlier as burial places.
Along the famous Appian Way in Rome, under the surface of the earth, there is an extensive system of dungeons. These catacombs are long labyrinths of tuff, within the walls of which there are rectangular niches for burials. Today, almost all niches are open and empty, but closed ones have also survived (for example, in the Panfil catacombs).
Appian Way / Arthur John Stratt, 1858
In total, there are more than 60 different catacombs in Rome with a total length of 150-170 km - this is about 750,000 burials. By the way, the very name "catacomb" (lat. Catacomba) was not known to the Romans, they used the word "cemeterium" (lat. Coemeterium) - "chambers". Only one of the coemeteria - Saint Sebastian, was called ad catacumbas (from the Greek katakymbos - deepening).
Appian Way
The first catacombs at the gates of Rome appeared in the pre-Christian era. Roman law prohibited burial within the city, so the Romans used large roads leading from Rome for burials. Most of the monuments on the Appian Way were erected in the 2nd century, after wealthy citizens began to bury bodies in the ground instead of the Roman tradition of burning the bodies of the dead.
The price for plots of land at the beginning of public roads connecting the largest cities was high, therefore, the closer the burial was to the city gates, the more respected the owner of the plot was.
Appian Way. Tomb of Cecilia Metella
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Roman proprietors arranged a solitary grave, or a whole family crypt, on the plot they owned, where only their loved ones were allowed. Subsequently, their descendants, who converted to Christianity, allowed only co-religionists for burial on their sites.
This is evidenced by numerous inscriptions preserved in the catacombs: “[Family] tomb of Valery Mercury. Julitta Juliana and Quintilia, for his venerable released and descendants of the same denomination as myself”,“Mark Anthony Restut built a crypt for himself and his loved ones who believe in God”.
Appian Way. Tomb of Ilarius Fusca
The earliest (IV century) historical sources about the Roman catacombs are the works of Blessed Jerome and Prudentius. Jerome, who was raised in Rome, left notes about his visits to the catacombs:
Together with my fellow peers, I had the custom on Sundays to visit the tombs of the apostles and martyrs, often descend into caves dug in the depths of the earth, in the walls of which on both sides the bodies of the dead lie, and in which there is such darkness that this prophetic saying: "let them enter into hell live."
Jerome's description is supplemented by Prudentius' The Suffering of the Most Blessed Martyr Hippolytus, written about the same period:
Not far from the place where the city rampart ends, in the cultivated area adjacent to it, a deep crypt opens its dark passages. A sloping path, meandering, leads to this refuge devoid of light. Daylight enters the crypt through the entrance, and in its winding galleries, just a few steps from the entrance, the dark night turns black.
However, into these galleries clear rays are thrown from above the holes cut in the vault of the crypt. And although in the crypt there are dark places here and there, nevertheless, through the indicated holes, significant light illuminates the interior of the carved space. Thus, it is possible to see the light of the absent sun under the earth and enjoy its radiance. In such a cache hides the body of Hippolytus, next to which an altar is erected for divine rites.
It is from the celebration of divine services in the catacombs on the tombs of martyrs that the Christian tradition of celebrating the liturgy on the relics of saints originates.
The catacombs in the period of the II-IV centuries were used by Christians for carrying out religious rituals and burials, since the community considered it its duty to bury co-religionists only among their own. The funeral of the first Christians was simple: a body previously washed and anointed with various incenses (the ancient Christians did not allow embalming with cleansing of the insides) was wrapped in a shroud and placed in a niche. Then it was covered with a marble slab and, in most cases, bricked up with bricks.
Catacombs of Saint Callistus
The name of the deceased was written on the slab (sometimes only individual letters or numbers), as well as a Christian symbol or a wish for peace in heaven. The epitaphs were very laconic: "Peace be with you", "Sleep in the peace of the Lord" and the like. Part of the slab was covered with cement mortar, into which coins, small figurines, rings, and pearl necklaces were also thrown. Oil lamps or small vessels of incense were often left nearby. The number of such items was quite high: despite the plundering of a number of graves, about 780 items were found in the catacombs of St. Agnes alone, laid with the deceased in the tomb.
Catacombs of Saint Agnes
Christian burials in the catacombs almost exactly reproduced Jewish burials and did not differ in the eyes of their contemporaries from Jewish cemeteries in the vicinity of Rome. According to the researchers, the early Christian epitaphs ("Rest in peace", "Rest in God") in the catacombs repeat the Jewish funerary formulas: "bi-shalom", "bi-adonai".
By the way, this "work" of gargoyles gave rise to some funny sayings. To this day, in France, they say about hopeless drunks that "he drinks like a gargoyle", or "he drinks so much that, looking at him, the gargoyle will die of envy."
The Fossors were in charge of managing and maintaining order in the catacombs. Their responsibilities also included preparing burial sites and mediating between sellers and buyers of graves. Images of fossors are often found in catacomb painting: they are depicted at work or standing with the tools of their labor, among which are an ax, a pickaxe, a crowbar and a clay lamp to illuminate dark corridors. Modern fossors participate in further excavations of the catacombs, keep order and lead scientists and those interested in unlit corridors.
The most common form of burials in the catacombs were niches - loculi, literally “shtetls”. They were made in the form of rectangular oblong depressions in the walls of the corridors. The remains of the deceased were placed in tombs under low, deaf arches in the wall, called arcosols. Tombstones were used as altars during the liturgy.
Since the 4th century, the catacombs begin to lose their importance and are no longer used for burial. The last Roman bishop who was buried in them is Pope Melchiad. His successor, Sylvester, was already buried in the Basilica of San Silvestro in Capite. In the 5th century, burials in the catacombs completely ceased, but from this period the catacombs became popular among pilgrims who wanted to pray at the graves of the apostles, martyrs and confessors.
Titular Basilica of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome, Italy
They visited the catacombs, leaving various images and inscriptions on their walls (especially near the tomb with the relics of saints). Some of them described their impressions of visiting the catacombs in travel notes, which are one of the sources of data for the study of the catacombs.
The decline in interest in the catacombs was caused by the gradual extraction of the relics of saints from them. For example, in 537, during the siege of the city of Vitiges, the tombs of the saints were opened, and their relics were transferred to the city churches.
This was the first extraction of relics from the catacombs; subsequent records of the chroniclers report larger actions. For example, Pope Boniface IV took out thirty-two carts with relics from the catacombs, and under Pope Paschalia I, according to the inscription in the Basilica of Santa Prassede, two thousand three hundred relics were recovered from the catacombs.
At the end of the 9th century, visits to the Roman catacombs, which had lost the relics that attracted pilgrims, practically ceased; in the 11th-12th centuries, only a few cases of such visits are described. For almost 600 years, the necropolis, famous in the Christian world, was forgotten.
In the 16th century, Onufriy Panvinio, a theological professor and librarian of the papal library, began to study the catacombs. He researched early Christian and medieval written sources and compiled a list of 43 Roman burials, however, the entrance was only found in the catacombs of Saints Sebastian, Lawrence and Valentine.
Once again, the Roman catacombs became known after May 31, 1578, workers engaged in earthworks on the Salar road stumbled upon stone slabs covered with ancient inscriptions and images. At that time, it was believed that these were the catacombs of Priscilla. Soon after their discovery, they were buried under the rubble and re-excavated only in 1921.
Catacombs of Saint Sebastian
Later, the catacombs were explored by Antonio Bosio, who in 1593 first descended into the Domitilla catacombs. Full-scale research work began only in the 19th century, when works on their history and painting were published.
Since 1929, the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology has been managing the catacombs and the research carried out there. The Institute for Christian Archeology under the commission is engaged in the protection and preservation of the open catacombs, as well as the study of painting and further excavations.
Domitilla catacombs
The Christian burial system is the most extensive of all. The oldest of them are the Priscilla Catacombs. They were the private property of the family of Akilius Glabria, the Roman consul. The rooms in them are decorated with early Christian frescoes, of which the feast scene (allegory of the Eucharist) in the Greek chapel and the oldest image of the Virgin with the child and the prophet, dating back to the 2nd century, stand out.
Priscilla's catacombs
The walls of about 40 catacombs are decorated with frescoes (less often mosaics) depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments, pagan myths, as well as various Christian allegorical symbols. The most ancient images include the scenes of "Adoration of the Magi", which date back to the II century. Also, the appearance in the catacombs of images of the acronym or the fish symbolizing it dates back to the II century.
The presence in the places of burials and gatherings of the first Christians of images, both biblical history and saints, testifies to the early tradition of venerating sacred images. Other symbolic images common in the catacombs, partially borrowed from the ancient tradition, include:
anchor - an image of hope (it is the support of the ship at sea);
dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit;
phoenix - a symbol of resurrection;
the eagle is a symbol of youth ("like an eagle your youth will be renewed" (Ps. 102: 5));
peacock - a symbol of immortality (according to the ancients, his body did not undergo decomposition);
rooster - a symbol of resurrection (the cry of the rooster awakens from sleep);
the lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ;
lion - a symbol of strength and power;
olive branch - a symbol of eternal peace;
lily - a symbol of purity;
a vine and a basket of bread are symbols of the Eucharist.
Researchers note that Christian fresco painting in the catacombs represents (with the exception of New Testament scenes) the same symbols and events of biblical history that are present in Jewish burials and synagogues of that period.
It is interesting that in the catacomb painting there are no images on the theme of the Passion of Christ (there is not a single image of the crucifixion) and the Resurrection of Jesus. But often there are scenes depicting Christ performing miracles: the multiplication of the loaves, the resurrection of Lazarus. Sometimes Jesus holds in his hands a kind of "magic wand", which is an ancient tradition of depicting miracles, also adopted by Christians.
Another common image in the catacombs is Oranta. Initially, as a personification of prayer, and then as an image of the Mother of God, representing her with her hands raised and outstretched to the sides, palms outward, that is, in the traditional gesture of intercessory prayer.
Long dark corridors with an atmosphere of death soaring in them inexorably attract both pilgrims and ordinary tourists to the Roman catacombs. Some crave goodness from the burial place of their saints, others - thrills and photographs for memory. Scientists are special visitors. The story buried in the walls still keeps its secrets and is ready to reveal them only to a select few.