The ancient authorities that help in identify ing, the catacombs. in tracing their historic stages and connecting them with different martyrs are: the Acta ;Variant''. or reports on martrydoms, more or less contemporary, which often relate where the bodies were placed : the Liter Ponli ficalis, early lives of the popes, which mention transformations and Papal burials in the crypts; the inseriptions of the catacombs themselves; the early literature, such as the poems of Pruden thus, the poetic inscriptions of Pope Damasus; the descriptions of pilgrims, such the itiner aries of the Seventh and Eighth centuries: the topographical monographs on Rome of the later Middle Ages, such as the ilirubilia U•bis Roma'.
The fundamental modern books on the cata combs are those of Giovanni Rattista de Rossi. who not only published descriptions of the most important catacombs and their contents, but established the correct method for studying and identifying them, determining their dates and his tory. lle founded the science of early Christian arch:eulogy by his Roma Sotterranea Cristiana (3 vols., Rome, 1861-77) ; his inscriptioncs Chris tiatoe vrbis Roma. (2 vols., ltome, 1861-88) ; his Bulletins di .1 rch coloq ia 'rist joint, published quarterly since 1863, and his part of the Corpus .1 ',scrip ion um Lotiniruui that refers to Christian inscriptions. The English manual of Northeine and Brownlow. Rotor C1'1111(1'17 (•..! vols., Lon don, 1879), the French of Allard, Les ('atacomb, 8 de 1,'onie ( Paris, 1896), and De Richemont, Non rthcs Et adcs site its 'a(acombcs Rom a i nes ( Paris, 1870), the German of Kraus, Roma Sot terMiell .( Freiburg, 1879), are all of them smn
maries of De Rossi's results for those who can consult the expensive and ponderous works of the master. Each language has also had a Dictionary of Christian Antiquities which em bodies the same materials, though it also treats of the later period: Martigny. Dietionnaire des antiquites clay ticnnes (Paris. 1877); Smith and Cheetham, Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (London, 1875-80) ; Kraus. kcal-Enryklopudie (h• christliehen Alterthiitaer (Freiburg, ISSO sO). Still later handbooks have been issued, some more systematic, others more detailed. and usually showing some independence of judgment. Such are : Ptcra t6. L'A reheologie eh ret ie nue (Paris, 1892) (in the Quantin Series) ; Schultze, Pic Gntnkonihen (Leipzig, 1882) ; •ilpert, Pr•in eipirnfruqen, der ehristlichen Archiiologie (Frei 1892) ; and lastly Marucchi's three small volumes, of which two have appeared and which give the fullest and ablest modern statement: O. Maruechi, 1:lenient S d'archeologic ch•etienne (Paris-Rome, IS99-1901). A brief and very popular account is given in Boissier's Prome nades archeologiques (Paris, 1880). To these should be added Garrueers colossal work, Sto•ia dell' artc crisliana (Prato, ISSI ), whose second volume eontains outlines of most of the km MY a catacomb frescoes. Roth Garrueci and De Rossi rely on the early work of Bosio. Roma Soife• ranca, published in Rome (1650). which de scribed and gave plates of many works since then lost.