An unusual and fantastic find was discovered on the territory of the Vatican in February 1939. Pope Pius XI died at this time. The deceased pope was to be buried in an underground basilica located under St. Peter's Cathedral, not far from the crypt of Pius IX.
However, in the process of work it became clear that there was clearly not enough space for the construction of the next crypt. By order of Cardinal Pacelli, the workers continued excavations and went deep under the wall. But to their surprise, they saw a well-preserved marble floor beneath a layer of earth.
Ancient legend
It is believed that the Apostle Peter - the most devoted disciple of Jesus Christ - was crucified on the orders of the Emperor Nero during the mass persecution of Christians. He was also buried somewhere nearby, probably at the very place where the magnificent cathedral was later erected. Cardinal Pacelli spent almost his entire life trying to find the tomb of the great saint.
By order of Pacelli, who by that time had become pope and bore the name of Pius XII, large-scale excavations began in the underground corridors of St. Peter's Cathedral. Research continued for a decade, from 1939 to 1949. It was assumed that the work would be carried out in the strictest confidence, but the plans of the clergy were impeded by the outbreak of the world war. The final report on the excavation was presented to the general public in 1952.
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Many archaeological scientists believed that the southern walls of St. Peter's Church was erected on the site of the founding of Nero's circus This fact was indicated by many documents dating back to the beginning of the 17th century. However, over time it turned out that the cathedral was erected on the site of the Basilica of the Emperor Constantine, under which a city with a cemetery hidden underground was discovered. In the first centuries of our era, both pagans and Christians were buried here. The burial place was fenced off with a high wall, on which traces of plaster have been preserved to this day.
Iconic wall
But what mysterious place did you need to enclose with a wall more than two meters high? The fence was covered with religious writings, for which archaeologists called it "the wall of signs." The researchers managed to build the following sequence of events:
- In the 67th year, Saint Peter was executed by order of the emperor Nero;
- After about 15 years, Christians bought the land on which the apostle's tomb was located, and built a wall of stone around it;
- A century later, another barrier was built around the burial.
It should be noted that the soil on which the Cathedral of St. Peter was built is of a bad quality - it is damp and swampy. For this reason, the massive building had to be erected on piles that go into the ground for several meters. Archaeologists have thoroughly studied the “enclosure,” but the remains of the apostle have never been found. However, for the majority of believers, this circumstance does not really matter.
There is a version that the relics of St. Peter were secretly transported to the San Sebastian caves (Spain) during the persecution of Christians in 258. According to this hypothesis, later, when the emperor Constantine was in power, the relics of the apostle were returned to the territory of the Vatican and were safely hidden in one of the many caches.