The following is a list of the principal •ata combs around Rome, arranged according to the Roman roads along which they are placed: Vin „Ipvia, Catacomb of Calixtus, Catacomb of Pra textatus, Catacomb at .I rrlcrr Catacomb of Domitilla; Via Port cnsis, Catacomb of Pontianns; 1 ia Sala ria I t as, Cata comb of Basilla Saint llermes): ,s'uturia NOra, Catae01111) of 21Itiximus (=Saint Felieitas), Catacomb of Th•aso, Catacomb of Priscilla ; 1 is Noriieu tang, tstria n Catacomb, Catacomb of Saint A!mes: Fia of Hip polytus, Catacomb of Saint Laurentins t= Cata comb of Cyriaca): l ia Luhimnu, Catacomb of Saint Peter and Marcellinus. Of all these, that of Calixtus is by far the most important, and has been the most fully illustrated. Tt contains the famous papal crypt, where the popes of the Third Century were buried, and an analysis of its com ponent parts best illustrates the of a large catacomb from the union of many units— in this ease sonic twelve in number. Its earliest nucleus was the crypt of l.ueina, the private burying-lot of that matron. Not only this and other parts of the catacomb date from the First Century or early Second Century, but the same true of parts of the catacombs of Doinitilla and Priscilla, which almost rival that of Ca The historic interest of the Boman catacombs is incalculable. All the churches belonging to the pre-Constantinian period seeni to have disap peared without leaving a trace behind; conse quently, the chapels of the catacombs are alone in showing how the early liturgical proscriptions —for example, those of the Apostolic Coast i I ion N—AN ere conformed to. The old theory that the catacombs had been really excavated as sand pits and for the extraction of tufa by the pagan Romans, and Mond been simply appropriated by the Christians, was first attaeked by :Nlarchi and totally dispersed by De Rossi; they are entirely the work of the Christians themselves, and were sometimes connected with the sand-pits only as a matter of convenience in the Third Century, as already explained. Using ancient literature as a guide, De Rossi undertook a series of ex cavations by which he laid bare a largo part of ancient subterranean Home, at the expense ,4 the Papal Government, aided by private subscrip tions.
After the Italian Government had occupied the Papal States, in 1ST°, Parliament decreed that not only should the Vathan, with Saint Peter's, Saint .lobo Lateran, the summer resi dence of Castel Gandolfo, etc., remain under the jurisdiction of the Pope, but also the catacombs, which the I;overnment authorities cannot. there fore, excavate. It is partly from lack of funds. partly from the opposition of private land owners, that excavations are so slow and spas modic. About 15,000 inscriptions have conic to light, but this is only a fraction of what remains underground. De Rossi believes they once num bered over 100,000. After the catacombs were re discovered, in 157S. they were recklessly despoiled, especially of inscribed stones, which were col lected as curiosities or used by hundreds as building material. In this way a large part of their epigraphic Hales was dispersed and de stroyed, and no systematic collection of early Christian epigraphy was ever made, such as was the case with classical inscriptions. Whatever
could lie done at so late a date was done by the late De Rossi, grouped the available mate rials in one of the galleries of the Vatican. ar ranged according to their themes. Tn the Vatican :Museum, also, arc many of the small objects rescued from the catacombs ( .11 usco ('rist law), etc.) : others are in the Kircherian :Museum, over the Biblioteca Nazionalc. The Lateran :Museum has the greatest collection of sarcophagi, as well as sonic facsimiles of frescoes and many inscriptions—a collection made under :\larchi and Do Rossi. The catacombs themselves can be visited with ease in all innmrtant parts, and though most of the inscriptions, titu/i, and small objects have been removed, enough remain in situ to show what the original condition must have been.
It was natural that the data furnished by the catacombs for the earliest. eh rist ia n history should give food for hen led partisan controver sies between Bomar! Catholic and Protestant archirologists, the latter denying the tolie age claimed by De Rossi for the earliest monuments, and disputing tummy interpretations of catacomb frescoes that seemed to support Catholic dogmas. Schultze has been the most vigorous of the Protestant arelurologists. How ever. the general unprejudiced consensus of opin ion is in favor of De llossi's views. Since his death little has been done, hut the recently or ganized conventions of Christian archeology have reawakened interest. excavations are being re newed, and the patient and original investiga tions of Wilpert promise a new advance, when we shall possess a work in which the catacomb frescoes will be reproduced in photographic plates for the first time.
The decorative art of the catacombs is confined to the chambers where the most distinguished persons received burial; the long galleries, or umbulacra, where the masses were buried re mained lierfectly plain, with straight sides and arched or pointed roof, roughly hewn. The burial cavity, the locus or /ocu/us, was closed with a tabflla. or slab, on which was cut the tit nine. or funerary inscription. usually accom panied by one or more emblems, or even figures. To it were also attached a variety of objects in the shape of offerings, such as terra-cotta lamps. that were kept burning on anniversaries, as well as glass vases or bottles, medals, coins, etc. At intervals a shaft was cut connecting the gallery with the surface. and letting in light and air. They were called la minuria. and were funnel-shaped. They were also used for extract ing the material excavated from a gallery, and for letting down sarcophagi. The chambers open ing at intervals from the galleries were either the smaller •ubieula, which were private burial 1001118 for families or associations, or the larger eryptcr, used for religious services and for the burial of great personages and martyrs. These crypts were provided with altars and seats, and were often double, so as to provide for the sepa ration of the sexes. Here are to be found the majority of the graffiti, scratched by pious pil grims; here are the monumental inscriptions. and the pious desecration of earlier tombs to bury others near the martyr.