The construction of the catacombs of Rome and elsewhere seem to have
become an obsession among ancient Christians by the middle of the 3rd
Century. Combined with a universal belief in resurrection after
death in the same body used during life and the deaths
of multitudes of Christian faithful due to especially harsh persecutions
from around the year 235 onward, the necessity to keep Christian corpses
safe from those who hated them seems to have become the primary function
of the ancient Christian Church. And, the best way to secure those
bodies was to hide them underground in a labyrinthian network of
galleries which would be difficult to discover and/or dig out once sealed
with earth.
The catacombs were not called that by their builders. The term catacumbas appears twice in the priceless "Depositio Martyrum", a document prepared before 354 A.D. Those references are amplified on page 9 of the Testini book, which states:
"Strangely enough the word catacomb was coined in Rome by chance. Going along the Via Appia, before reaching the tomb of Cecilia Metella, one passes a dip near the Circus of Maxentius. This district was originally called catacumbas, a Greek word meaning 'near the hollow', and which alludes to that dip, which is still visible, although the road level has been raised several metres. In this very place stood what today is known as the Cemetery of San Sebastiano, and which was the only catacomb known in the Middle Ages. The name catacumbas subsequently became attached not only to this cemetery, but to all the others ..."
The "Who Built the Catacombs?" video states that catacumbas referred to tombs hollowed-out of the sides of cliffs. Both associations could have been used by visitors applying personalized meanings to the term. In either case, catacumbas referred to the area along the ancient Appian Way where tombs of all kinds were located. In other words, much like Amerigo Vespucci, whose name became associated with the continents to which everyone wanted to go, the underground Christian burial sites became associated with the district to which everyone wanted to go to see them - CATACUMBAS. Beginning sometime in the middle ages, the term was applied exclusively to the underground burial sites.
| EVOLUTION |
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Except for the uniquely Christian portions of inscriptions, it appears that nothing about their construction is unique. Underground tombs had been in use for thousands of years by the Egyptians. In fact, the reversion from cremation back to whole body burial by wealthy pagan Romans, coincident with the rise of Christianity, may have had much to do with the catalyst for comparative philosophical discussions provided when the Egyptian Cleopatra "got in their face" around 30 B.C.
Whole body burials had long been practiced by Jews as well as Egyptians. The organized nature of burial sites was similar to that used for the urns containing cremated remains. Funeral clubs comprised of working class tradesmen banding together to share the cost of "cheaper by the dozen" burial sites was apparently not unique to those of Christians. And, finally the tufa sub-soil making systematic underground work feasible was familiar to mine workers as well as others having worked it.
There had long been what came to be called catacombs dug into the sides of bluffs along the Appian and other (high)ways emanating from Rome. What made the Christian ones unusual, and what may have made them less likely to be found, was that they were underground. They may have taken advantage of tradesmen already in a similar business associated with the Egyptian burial customs in Alexandria. Regardless of how, it's pretty sure they were begun only by those who could afford it and passed into the hands of the Church through bequest.
Wealthy Romans seemed to have begun building extravagant underground crypts for their bodies in emulation of the Egyptians. And, merely as a matter of need and common sense, they most likely hired the expert construction firms already doing it for wealthy Jews and Egyptians. Given the nature of the Roman Culture and Laws of the times, those firms were most likely Greek. (Greeks seem to have been the primary businesspeople throughout the Empire.)
Given that Greeks had enjoyed "the" primary civilization of the world before the Romans, they were probably eager to forsake the gods having placed them into that second class citizenship and may have embraced Christianity with a fervor unlike other nationalities. In other words, not only were the underground construction firms Greek, they were probably among the earliest Christians, too. As the need for more Christian burial sites arose, there were also more Christian Greek firms around to satisfy and safeguard the demand. (It may be that by the middle of the 3rd century, the Christian firms had exclusive control of all underground burial activities.)
In the case of Christians, the need to preserve whole bodies for the sake of resurrection in emulation of Jesus Christ became almost an obsession; although not probably until around the 3rd decade of the 2nd century when there were entire families who had all been raised under the new belief from infancy. The archaeological evidence seems to support this timing. And, especially because of the new "goodwill toward all fellowmen" belief of their new faith, these wealthy Christians also provided underground burial sites for their Christian slaves, servants and tradespeople. The early evolution of the Callistus Cemetery and Catacomb complex may be a perfect example of the entire process. It appears to be the first site becoming so involved in the non-familial burial process that it was donated to the Church in its entirety. It probably became too expansive and expensive for the donating family to handle on its own, so they gave it to their Church. The Church used it to establish itself as a de facto corporation, long before that was legal, and developed the 'catacomb' burial system for all the Christian cemeteries of Rome.
As more wealthy families converted to Christianity, the business of building underground crypts became more extensive. As the firms expanded and became more Christian, their dedication to the task became less profit motivated. Eventually, the entirely Christian firms began to take advantage of the hidden nature of their underground work with that involved with the Christian slaves building the pagan edifices of the Empire. The Baths of Diocletian may have been a good example of the duplicity involved in this process. (The discovery of that duplicity may have heightened Diocletian's furious enragement in 304, but it's not likely to have motivated it - his 'final solution' was just another in a long line of persecutions happening since the 1st century.)
As new boatloads of Christian slaves were marched up the Ostian Way toward the baths worksite near the Via Nomentana, they may have been allowed a refreshment rest at the half-way point. Those furnishing the respite may have also been searching out Christians capable of secretly working on the catacomb sites hidden immediately adjacent to the pits from whence the bath site's raw materials came. Regardless of whether the Christian Greek firms were also involved in construction projects for the Empire, like the Baths of Diocletian, they were most likely involved in the systematic construction of the catacombs where Christians were being entombed. Many of the workers helping dig the galleries and other tunnels of the catacombs could have been Christian slaves supposedly working in the adjacent underground pits from whence the sand and pollozzo for the cement came. Secret entryways, including trapdoors above or below, are mentioned regarding the catacombs. They would have facilitated secret access from one work site to another.
(One logical method to use workers in an alternative enterprise without drawing attention to the decreased productivity resulting therefrom would be to use the raw materials from one in the output of the other. Since various references indicate that the quality of the tufa dug out to build the catacombs was not sufficient for that going into the cement it's possible they may have been mixed, or that at least some of very high quality was mixed with that of lower quality to arrive at something usable to avoid suspicion. If all the mixing was able to be done below ground, so much the easier. Otherwise, this alternative theory needs looking into. There should be enough material left around Rome to provide the basis for an analysis which would prove whether it was all virgin material or a mixture from separate sources.)
A modern corollary to the conflict between Christians and the Empire during the 1st three centuries may be the so-called war ongoing between drug thugs and the United States government. There's lot's of talk; some occasional, intensive crack-downs; more sophisticated, underground alternatives; more resources wasted; and eventually, complete failure to accomplish the stated objectives. Paying so much attention to a relatively minor problem involving only a small segment of the community promotes its awareness to a much broader segment and furthers its expansion, sophistication and perceived need for more attention - establishing the vicious cycle that ends in the problem requiring resources that don't exist.
When researching events during the 3rd century, one soon discovers the importance of cemeteries - especially in regard to anything relating to Christianity in the area of Rome. They provide us with almost the only 'legitimate' record of events of the time; primarily because all other records, buildings, leaders and oral history of the Christian Church were destroyed during the four year long FINAL Great Persecution begun by Diocletian in 303. Some history was 'created' thereafter, perhaps by people who may not even have been Christians, let alone participants with first hand knowledge of the events described. As such, it can only be legitimized by comparing it to written correspondence originating before 304 which also describes dates, events, individuals or other circumstances which are substantiated by inscriptions in the catacombs that weren't destroyed.
Why the cemeteries weren't destroyed along with everything else is another matter needing the light of day. If the pagan rulers didn't respect the God of the Christians, the living Christians themselves nor their assets, why should they respect their dead?! My belief, coming from the references to having been "blocked up" by the extant leadership, is that these most holiest of burial places were well hidden from both the Empire and the average citizen. Surely, Emperors had workers who could dig as well as anyone else. Hey, they had Christian slaves who could do it! They just needed to know where to begin - AND THEY DIDN'T! That Callistus itself survived when everything else was destroyed is prima facie evidence that it was well hidden from the destroyers. It goes without saying that whatever was above ground must have been searched and/or destroyed, too.
So, the conflict with the greedy pagan rulers of the day required burial sites, which like the tombs of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, were hidden in order to ensure that their treasure remained unmolested - that treasure being the body of the person so entombed. And, due to the cost involved, only the wealthiest families could afford to have them dug. Eventually, these already prepared underground crypts came into the possession of the Church and the enterprise expanded dramatically to include all Christians - martyrs and otherwise. It's generally acknowledged that the digging begun in the 2nd century became almost obsessive-compulsive by the middle of the 3rd century.
The first meaningful donation of one of the 2nd century cemeteries appears to have been what comes to be known as the Callistus, aka Calixtus or Callixtus cemetery and catacombs. In other words, up until the 3rd century, the Christian Church had more in the way of spiritual than physical assets. One of the reasons, the persecutions of this period may have been so intense is that the Empire wanted that newly accumulating, tangible wealth for itself. It especially didn't want it, and the power it affords, aggregating amongst a group of people who were perceived to be a threat to its imperial authority.
In Calixtus is entombed Saint Cecilia, who may have been among the first martyrs, not involved in the formal Church leadership, from a family with enough wealth to allow for the possibility that her body could be preserved for resurrection - if only it could be kept away from the angry masses. Such anger is referenced in a quote of Quintus Septimus Tertullian that's expressed in the "Who Built the Catacombs?" video:
"How often does a hostile mob, bypassing the regular courts,
assail us?! In their riotous fury, they do not even spare Christians who
are dead but plunder their corpses." (220 A.D./C.E.)
It seems likely that when the site for the most venerated Pope (Bishops of Rome) martyrs was chosen, the most logical place was near that which was already the most dignified and graceful place - where the beloved Cecilia was already 'enshrined' by her family. There obviously wasn't a century of digging involved with the 40 plus crypts of the Saint-Martyrs, so most of the burials involved regular Christians, who may or may not have been martyrs, but who were buried below rather than above ground.
Again, according to Testini, page 11:
"The determining factor in the fame and development of a Catacomb was the laying there of a martyr. The veneration of the faithful for these heroes of the Faith, who were considered efficacious interceders before the Lord, ..."
So, not only did the Church acquire a beautiful, large cemetery, they also got the 'secret' burial place of one of the most revered martyrs of the day. (This, of course, is assuming that St. Cecilia did indeed die in the 2nd century BEFORE her family donated the cemetery to the Church.)
The first indication that this may be an entirely unexpected circumstance for the Church is when Pope St. Zephyrinus (199-217) calls deacon Callixtus out of his pensioned retirement to manage this newly acquired treasure. Apparently, up until the middle of the century, most of the activity, if any, involved the digging of galleries and loculi for the regular martyrs being buried there. There seems to be no mention of any significant Saint having been buried there prior to Pope-Saint Pontian around 236 when Pope-Saint Fabian begins the Calixtus expansion in earnest.
It may have been too difficult to have enough soldiers with oxygen consuming torches or lamps searching within the narrow passageways for live or dead Christians. In addition, the galleries themselves were probably sealed off as each was filled with bodies so that their entryway looked just like a part of the wall of another passageway. Such sealing was probably thick enough to withstand a metal bar or spear being poked through. The narrowness of the passageways themselves precluded the introduction of bars wide enough to do the job. Then, the labyrinth nature of the passageway meant that even in those areas which were left open, only those having been there before could avoid getting lost to find their way back out. The catacombs may have been designed to be as frustrating and frightening as possible for inexperienced intruders - which seems to have been the sole distinction allowing their continued usage as effective hiding places.
Another aspect is the reference to small structures or buildings being placed above various openings as places of worship. I think these may also have been places to hide the tufa/sand needed to quickly seal one of the 'steep' staircases to further frustrate entry thereto. The steepness would allow gravity to do the work with relatively little effort. The same technique may have been used within the catacombs themselves when more than one level was involved. The steepness of the stairways from one level to the next not only decreased the time it took to create them, it may also have been a handy security tool. The proof would lie in the discovery of entryways at the tops of such stairways large enough to hold the reservoirs of sand/tufa doing the sealing, along with some type of blocking technique. Perhaps some of the stone steps found later were the blocking devices holding back the sand - especially if found askew rather than in a normal stepstone fashion.
So, they were hiding places, but for dead Christians and in a method
designed for minimum discovery. They were hidden in a maze of
darkness within underground cemeteries that themselves were impossible to
hide.
The reason the Callistus catacombs are important to the Cyriac family is because in it are at least two inscriptions
referencing the family name. One is that of "CAR
KYRIACO" and another that of "DASVMIA QVIRIACE". Those and the
name Cyriac, Cyriaca and Cyriacus being referenced in
various other aspects of Church activities of the time leads one to
believe that the family and their
home was heavily involved in 3rd century Church activities.
That's also a reason why the burial process must have been a closely guarded secret, entrusted only to a very few - especially those few not being martyred routinely as 'official' leaders of the 'unconventional' new religion. It's probably also a reason why, as the Church grew and each succeeding core of leaders was killed off, it became necessary to have at least some individuals who could survive the various killings in order to preserve the assets - especially those of an oral nature kept secret from the authorities. It became time for 'secret agents'. For a Church which took pride in openly and courageously expressing (thereby proselytizing) its faith, having the need for 'secret' agents must have been especially stressful.
| CALLISTUS/CALIXTUS/CALLIXTUS Cemetery (199-304) |
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Among the various statistics given in the INTRODUCTION to The Catacombs of Saint Callixtus, these stand out:
- it's located in an area about a mile past the St. Sebastian Gate along the Appian Way or around two and one-half miles south by southeast of the Colosseum; (The ancient Aurelian Wall of Rome is a ?little over a mile? from the Colosseum where the Appian Way begins.)
- the Callixtian complex covers almost 90 acres of land;
- the galleries of the catacombs underground are 12 miles long in as many as four levels encompassing about 45 underground acres;
- there are "perhaps a half a million" tombs having been built for "each Christian, including the poor and the slaves";
it became the "official cemetery of the Church of Rome" at the
beginning of the 3rd century while Saint Callixtus was Pope (218-222)
after having been the its first ?Superintendent? during the tenure of his
predecessor, Pope-Saint Zephyrinus (199-217). (It's noteworthy that
the cemetery is named after Callixtus, because he was
actually buried about 4 miles west in Calepodius on the Aurelian
Way. If St. Cecilia was already dead and buried there, why
not call it Cecilia!? The cemetery of St. Sebastian assumed his
name only after he was martyred and buried there in the 4th century -
AFTER Christianity was legalized and it was safe to do so. Was the practice in the 3rd century "to NOT IDENTIFY cemeteries
whose Patron Saint was merely an ordinary Christian", because to do so
would invite the wrath of the Empire!?)
it's considered the most important and imposing of the approximately
60 other catacombs in Rome;
- its oldest sections are those of SS. Lucina & Cecilia and the famous Crypt of the Popes.
| Cyriac family connection |
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Cyriaca, the almost 66 year old widow from an unidentified ?Dasumian? family may have been the very last Saint buried in Calixtus. It's possible that all those responsible may have been killed before the rites establishing her Sainthood could be accomplished. Or, equally likely, she could have been buried in the catacombs apart from the "Papal Crypt" of the Saints. got permission from Marcellinus (296-304) to build a family crypt near that of the Pope(?s?). (Deacon) ?Superintendent? Cyriacus may have done likewise. (It's interesting she's not buried in the Ciriaca Cemetery!)
The first hint at the significance of Cyriaca and the cemetery Callistus to the family Cyriac comes at this point. Presuming that:
- the "4th century" reference above means she was buried sometime after 299/300;
- the last Pope-Saint buried in Calixtus was Cais in 296; and
- the next three Pope-Saints were not 'routinely' buried there; then Cyriaca may have been among the very last Saints buried in this most holy cemetery BEFORE THE ENTIRE LEADERSHIP, including the administrative leaders were killed during the FINAL Great Persecution of Diocletian and Gallerius begun in 303.
It could also mean that her ?relative? Cyriacus, just like the deacon Severus, got permission to build a family crypt in Calixtus. Accommodating such a routine burial request would indicate that by the beginning of the 4th century, the Church leadership had been lulled into believing the persecutions were tapering off.
