EARLY CHRISTIAN CATACOMBSNecropolis Session #4 2011

Alesha Klein

The word catacomb is derived from the Latin ad catacumbas, meaning “at the hollows,” a phrase that referred to the chambers at a hollow south of Rome.

In its simplest form, a catacomb consisted of several underground galleries and chambers in a rectangular or grid plan. Many hallows were cut in the walls, one above another, to receive the bodies of from one to four family members.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-catacombs

WHAT ARE THESE CAT-A-COMBS?

cemeteries of the early Christians and contemporary Jews, arranged in extensive subterranean vaults and galleries. Besides serving as places of burial, the catacombs were used as hiding places from persecution, as shrines to saints and martyrs, and for funeral feasts

Columbian Encyclopedia

The first significant Christian catacombs were excavated in the 2nd century AD.

Originally they were carved with a soft volcanic rock, on the outside boundaries of the city walls.

WHY WOULD THEY HAVE THEM?

Non-Romans, many of whom had elaborate burial rituals, were dumped in a generic mass grave (called a necropolis).

Christian belief in the bodily resurrection led the early Christians to reject this practice and bury their dead instead. 

http://iometria.com/fotografia/2008/06/19/necropolis/

WHEN IT WAS LOST…

By the 10th century the catacombs were typically abandoned and they remained forgotten.

In the disturbed period when Rome suffered waves of barbarian raiders, the catacombs were filled in to prevent desecration, their entrances sealed, and the remains of the martyrs transported to places of safety.

From the 16th century, abandoned catacombs were gradually restored by the Roman Catholic church.

http://www.rotten.com/library/death/catacombs/

ADVANTAGES

The catacombs had some advantages: they were an idyllic way to strengthen the sense of Christian community in life and death and they provided quiet, out-of-the-way places for memorial ceremonies and displaying Christian symbols.http://faculty.etsu.edu/kortumr/11earlychristianity/htmdescriptionpages/

04catacombs.htm

As Christianity gained converts and burials multiplied, the catacombs were expanded into

honeycombs of galleries. Many of the catacombs of well-known Christians

were decorated with wall paintings that depicted Christian symbols, such as the fish, lamb, and

anchor, or with biblical scenes.

WORKS CITED

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-catacombs http://www.rotten.com/library/death/catacombs/ Atlantic Monthly

http://libweb.uwlax.edu:2109/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=376c7a2e-e12b-4f9a-97ac-12c1ee0c31c4%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=103

Colombian Encyclopedia http://libweb.uwlax.edu:2109/eds/detail?sid=1744e387-1267-4173-bfbd-

f34ca528e8a2%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia http://libweb.uwlax.edu:2109/eds/detail?sid=a63a3602-150c-411c-b9a5-

7205587bdd13%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d

THE END

THANK YOU