Catacombs Of Rome
Five of Rome’s roughly 40 (and counting; new ones are still being found) catacombs are open for public viewing, and while no fresh corpses are in situ, the dark, damp underground burial halls are not for the sensitive, easily spooked or claustrophobic.
Why catacombs and not “normal” graves? Circumstance and finance. Land was in limited supply and expensive in Rome between the second and fifth centuries AD. Land underground wasn’t really land, per se. There was a general lack of space for burials, but Christians refused to accept the old Pagan tradition of cremation. As such, it is largely Christians and Jews that were interred in the catacombs.
Located on the periphery of the city proper, the catacombs contained niches carved into the stone walls, some smaller niches for children, and larger ones, even rooms, for family crypts. Bodies would be wrapped in sheets and placed in the niches, then sealed with a stone, much like modern grave markers. Art decorates some of the catacombs.
They boast thick walls, narrow passageways, steep stairs, low arches and dark corners. Once the persecution of Christians ended, they were allowed to build churches and most of the bodies were moved to other burial sites. There are some notable people from history, including a pope or two, that were entombed in the Catacombs of Rome.
