CATACOMBS (Gr. kata, and kumbos, a hollow), subterraneous chambers and passages formed generally in a rock, which is soft and easily excavated, such as tufa. C. are to be found in almost every country in which such rocks exist, and, in most cases, proba bly originated in mere quarries, which afterwards came to be used either as places of sepulture for the dead or as hiding-places for the living. The most celebrated cata combs in existence, and those which are generally understood when C. are spoken of, are those on the Via Appia, at a short distance from Rome. To these dreary crypts it is believed that the early Christians were in the habit of retiring, in order to celebrate their new worship, in times of persecution, and in them were buried many of the saints and martyrs of the primitive church. They consist of long narrow galleries, usually about 8 ft. high and 5 wide, which twist and turn in all directions very much resembling mines; and at irregular intervals, expand into wide and lofty vaulted chambers, The graves were constructed by hollowing out a portion of the rock, at the side of the gallery, large enough to contain the body. The entrance was then built up with stones. on which usually the letters D. M. (Deo Maximo). or xr., the first two letters of the Greek name of Christ, were inscribed. Other inscriptions and marks, such as the cross, are also found. The original extent of the C. is uncertain, the guides maintaining that they have a length of 20 m., whereas about 6 only can now be ascertained to exist, and of tiuse, many portions have either fallen in or become dangerous. When Rome was besieged by the Lombards in the 8th c., many of the C. were destroyed, and the popes afterwards caused the remains of many of the saints and martyrs to be removt and buried in the churches. Art found its way into the C. at an period, and
ninny remains of frescoes are still found in them. After being neglected for centuries they were again brought to notice by father Bosio, who spent thirty years in their exploration. Ills investigations were published in 1632, two years after his death; but the most exhaustive treatise on the subject in all its aspects is the Roma Sotterranea of De' Rossi (1864-67), of which an abridgment is published in English by Dr. Northcote. The C. at Naples, cut into the Capo di Monte, resemble those at Borne, and were used for the same purposes, being in many parts literally covered with Christian symbols. In one of the large vaulted chambers there are paintings, which have retained a freshness which is wonderful, considering the time and the dampness of the situation. The palm-tree, as a memorial of Judea, is a prominent object in these pictures. At Palermo and Syracuse there are similar C., the latter being of considerable extent. They are also found in Greece, in Asia Minor, in Syria, Persia, and Egypt. See NECROPOLIS. At _Milo, one of the Cyclades, there is a hill which is honey-combed with a labyrinth of tombs running in every direction. In these bassi-rilievi and figures in terra-cotta have been found, which prove them to be long anterior to the Christian era. In Peru and other parts of South America, C. have been discovered. The C. in Paris are a species of charnel-houses, into which the contents of such burying-places as were found to be pestilential, and the bodies of some Of the victims of 1792, were cast.