The bedrock beneath many ancient cities was honeycombed with caves and passageways.
Under the Umbrian hill town of Orvieto, for example, is a labyrinth that remained in use
through the Renaissance, when warring noble families cut private escape routes through
the maze.
The tombs and tunnels under Naples sheltered much of the city’s population during the
air raids of the Second World War.
But far more expansive than these, more enticing than the half-submerged tangle of funerary
chapels and hypogea below the streets of Alexandria, more awe-inspiring than even the cave cities
of Cappadocia, were the sprawling subterranean cemeteries we know as the Catacombs of Rome.
The full extent of the Roman catacombs is a mystery.
The Catacomb of Callixtus alone contains about 12 miles (20 km) of passageways, and housed
an estimated 500,000 burials.
About 60 other catacombs have been at least partially explored, and more – perhaps many
more – still await discovery.
Altogether, the tunnels of the Roman catacombs may be nearly as long as the Italian Peninsula.
Antonio Bosio, an early explorer, was once lost underground for two full days after his
torch burned out, groping blindly among the bones and broken lamps of the city of the
dead.
The catacombs came into being at a moment of transformation in Roman burial customs.
For centuries, it had been customary to cremate the dead.
There were exceptions to this rule – some noble families, for example, had traditions
of inhumation, and victims of lightning strikes were buried on the spot – but for most Romans,
a funeral involved buying wood from the priests of Libitina, carrying the funeral couch to
one of the public burning places, and kindling a pyre.
From the early second century onward, however, cremation was gradually displaced by burial.
The reasons behind the transition are obscure.
Christians, believing in the resurrection of the body, rejected cremation; but there
were too few of them to drive trends at that early date.
The strong cultural influence of the eastern provinces, where inhumation had long been
standard, may have been partly responsible.
Ultimately, it may just have been a matter of fashion.
Whatever its cause, the transition from cremation to burial placed unprecedented demands on
the crowded cemeteries that ringed Rome.
Grave plots were already so expensive that cremated members of the middle classes were
often interred in columbaria, “condominiums of the dead” with hundreds, and sometimes
thousands, of niches for funerary urns.
As burial replaced cremation, demand grew for an equally cost-effective means of entombing
unburned bodies.
From that need, and from the steady growth of Rome’s Christian community, the catacombs
emerged.
The earliest Roman catacombs were family tombs, excavated to extend the capacity of a small
grave plot.
Gradually, a few larger catacombs were constructed as inexpensive alternatives to surface tombs.
These early catacombs seem to have had no particular religious affiliation.
By the late first century, however, Rome’s Jewish community had begun to create its own
catacombs.
This precedent likely inspired the Christian catacombs, which were developed on a large
scale from the beginning of the third century.
The city of Rome stands on thick deposits of the soft volcanic stone known as tufa.
Into the tufa, within a half-day’s walk of the city and between 20 and 70 feet (6-22
m) underground, the Christian catacombs were cut.
Often starting from quarries or sandpits, they were excavated piecemeal, expanding gradually
outward and downward.
Though seldom more than a few feet wide, the passageways could be 20 feet (6 m) high, and
were laid out on as many as five levels.
The walls of the passageways were lined with rows of burial niches, or loculi, sized to
fit either a child or an adult.
A body would be dusted with quicklime, wrapped in a sheet, and laid in the niche, often with
a few bottles of perfume to mask the stench of decomposition.
Then the niche would be sealed with tiles or stone slabs.
Wealthier Christians and martyrs were laid to rest in arcosolia, arched niches framing
a sarcophagus.
As catacombs grew, chambers were opened from the main passageways and developed as private
mausoleums by families and trade guilds.
The catacombs contain some of the first examples of Christian art.
Simple motifs – the fish, the dove, the anchor – were etched or painted onto tomb
slabs to symbolize elements of the Christian faith.
More interesting, from an art historical perspective, are frescoes illustrating episodes from the
Bible, often using conventions and figures from the repertory of classical art.
In this sense, though few of them can be called masterpieces, the frescoes of the catacombs
prefigure the brilliant paintings of the Renaissance.
Tens of thousands of inscriptions have been discovered in the catacombs.
Although the earliest, in keeping with the eastern origins of Rome’s Christian community,
are in Greek, the majority are Latin.
Most consist only of the deceased’s name and the words “in peace.”
A few are more elaborate, like the lengthy poetic epitaphs composed by one fourth-century
pope for the tombs of the martyrs.
Contrary to a persistent legend, the catacombs were never used as places of refuge during
the persecutions of the third and early fourth centuries.
The martyrs of the persecutions, however, were buried in the catacombs, and eventually
drew pilgrims in such numbers that air shafts and wider staircases had to be built to cope
with the crowds.
The massive expansion of the Church after Constantine’s legalization of Christianity
was mirrored underground, as miles of new corridors and hundreds of thousands of tombs
were cut through the straining tufa.
The apogee, however, was short-lived.
Interments diminished through the fifth century and stopped in the sixth, thanks to a combination
of changing burial customs and the erosion of Rome’s population.
Parts of the catacombs were already closed in late antiquity, as the spoil from new graves
was heaped in older passageways.
After the fall of the empire, as Rome’s hinterland became depopulated and dangerous,
the bones of the martyrs were moved to churches within the city, and the catacombs were abandoned.
Though never completely forgotten, they vanished from the popular consciousness until 1578,
when part of the Catacomb of Santa Priscilla collapsed, revealing a passageway glowing
with ancient frescoes.
Since their clearance in the mid-nineteenth century, they have remained one of Rome’s
leading attractions.
The catacombs are only part of the fascinating world beneath the streets of Rome, where medieval
crypts plunge into ancient sanctuaries, and the painted chapels of a Renaissance church
balance on the frescoed walls of a Roman mansion.
In no other place is so much history visible, or so much history hidden.
If you’re visiting Rome, and want to explore the wonders of the subterranean city, I recommend
Through Eternity Tours.
In addition to their Underground Rome and Catacombs tour, they offer many other itineraries
exploring the history and culture of the eternal city, from famous attractions like the Colosseum
and the Vatican to sites not found in any guidebook.
If you’re planning a trip, and would like to explore ancient Rome with Through Eternity’s
expert guides, use the discount code TOLDINSTONE2022 to save 5% on your purchase of any private
or group tour.
See the video description for a link and additional details.
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You might also enjoy my book, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants.
Thanks for watching.