Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/475

 CATACOMBS

419

CATACOMBS

a wide circle around the city, the majority being about half an hour's walk from the city-gate.

The question, however, arises as to whether the Christians were able to construct these subterranean cemeteries without molestation from the heathens. Undoubtedly the Romans had knowledge of the spots where the Christians buried their dead; but according to old laws every spot where a body lay was under the protection of Roman law and custom that guaranteed the inviolability of burial places. It is true that the Emperors Deciusand Diocletian, at a later date, declared the ground covering the eata- nimbs to be the property of the State, thus making it impossible to enter the catacombs by the ordinary ways. But the successors of Decius and Diocletian repealed these laws as contrary to the entire spirit of the Roman State. Even though the Christians felt themselves secure in the catacombs, yet the laying out of the galleries, the burial of the bodies, the odour of decay, and the pestilential air in summer, made the lives of the fossores, or excavators, one of the greatest self-sacrifice, while visiting the graves of the departed became much more difficult for the sur- viving members of families. Therefore, after the Emperor Constantine had granted freedom to the Church, and hail set an example for the erection of churches and chapels over the graves of martyrs by building a basilica over tie- burial-place of Sts. Peter

and Paul, it became customary to lay out cemeteries above ground, preferably in the neighbourhood of such holy spots. At the same time, however, burial in the catacombs did not fall into disuse, especially as the piety of the popes and the faithful of the fourth century led to the adorning of the rest- ing-places of the early martyrs with marbles, paint- ings, and inscriptions (see Damasus, Saint, Popk). Furthermore, by enlarging the burial chambers, by opening shafts for light, and by the construction of broader stairways, access was made easier for the faithful of Rome and for pilgrims. Just as. in tie' course of the fourth century, the veneration of the martyrs, especially at their graves and on the anni- versaries of their death, became more widespread, so the confidence in their intercession found its ex- pression in tie- endeavour to secure burial in the vicinity of a martyr's tomb.

Then came that year of misfortune. 111), when the Goths laid siege to Rome for months, devastated the surrounding country, and plundered the city itself. This naturally put an end to burial in the catacombs. In the following centuries Goths, Vandals, and Lom- bards repeatedly besieged and plundered Rome; plague and pestilence depopulated the region around the city; both the churches over the graves of the martyrs ami the catacombs sank into decay, and shepherds of the Campagna even turned the deserted Sanctuaries into sheepfolds. for this reason I'ope

Paul I (757 67) began to transfer the remains of the martyrs to the churches of the city; the work was continued by Paschal I (817-24) and Leo IV (847- 55). As a result the catacombs lost their attraction for the- faithful, and by the twelfth century they were

completely forgotten.

In 1578 i catacomb on the Via Salaria was acci- dentally rediscovered. It was not, however, until

the publication in 1632, after the author's death, 'if

the "Roma Sotterranea" of Antonio Bosio (q \ that attention was once more called to the cats

Combs. Eor nearly forty years, from the year 1593, Antonio Bosio had devoted himself to finding and exploring the early Christian cemeteries. The real

Columbus of the catacombs, however, is Giovanni Battista de Rossi (q. v.). !)•■ Rossis labours and publications have I'd to the wide diffusion of a knowledge of archaeology and an increased •

tion for tin' catacombs. Among his works are: "Roma Sotterranea" in three volumes; "Inscrip-

tiones Christiana 1 " in two volumes, and numerous scattered pamphlets and articles; he also founded and edited the "Bullcttino di archeologia cristiana" (since 1863). The Holy See gives between three and four thousand dollars (18,000 lire) annually for the work in the catacombs, and the excavations are superintended by a special commission (see Akch.e- oloqy, The Commission ok Sacred). De Rossi died 20 September, 1894, after devoting nearly fifty years, from his earliest youth, to the exploration of the catacombs and the study of Christian antiq- uity. His work was and is carried on by his pupils, among them Armellini, Stevenson, Marucchl, Wil- pert, and others. The publications annually issued

by Catholic and non-Catholic investigators bear witness to the self-sacrificing zeal ami devotion as well as to the sound scholarship with which the science of Christian antiquities is pursued. In addi- tion to this tin' i 'nil, ,i,uiii Culiorum Martyrum, by holding religious services followed by popular ad- dresses on the feast, days of the martyrs, in the various catacombs, endeavours to stimulate tin reverence of Romans and strangers I'm' these noble memorials

of the Early Church and to diffuse the knowledge

of them. In all quarters the example of Home acted as a stimulus to the study of Christian antiquity and led to exploration and excavations; unexpected treasures of the first Christian centuries have been rescued from oblivion in other parts of Italy, in France. Illyria, Greece, North Africa, Egypt, Pales- tine, and Asia Minor.

At Home, during the last half-cent ury. excaval ion- were undertaken in the following catacombs on the outskirts of the city; the catacombs of Tina-la and Commodilla on the Via Ostiensis; the catacomb of Domitilla on the Via Ardeatina; those of Callistus, Prsetextatus, and Sebastian on thi Via \ppia: Sta Petei and Marcellinus on the Via Labicana; Lauren tins and Ilippolvlus on the Via Tiburtina: Nico medes. St. Agnes, and the in mi Icriiim nnijiis on the

Via Non [hraso and Priscilla on

the Via Salaria Nova : Hermes on the Via Salaria

Vitus; Valentinus on the Via I'lamiiiia. On the