June 3rd, 2019

June 3rd, 2019 

On this day, we visited the Christian catacombs; cemeteries that were built underground. Originally, catacombs were called dormitories and were a sleeping place. Once used as catacombs most tombs were sealed with terracotta or marble, but now open for people to see because of thieves. In 103 AD, two roman martyrs were killed for claiming to be Christians at the front of the catacombs. After the deaths of saints and martyrs, people tried to find their bones to harness special powers from their bodies. In 303 AD, the persecutions were finished. Christians wanted to be buried with the martyrs which initiated the catacombs. The Christians had many symbols that represented them: the fish and the anchor. These symbols showed Jesus as a good shepherd and symbol for hope and peace. Most headstones only showed symbols of anchors in the catacombs, they were also marked by their date of death and their first names. Many last names were not carved, so it is hard to understand the history of the catacombs. The Christian death day is meant to be the Christian birthday; they say “sleep in peace” instead of “rest in peace.” The tombs were made by early on grave diggers said to be engineers. The walls were easy to carve and still hold well to this day. Since the ground was so easy to form, they decided the underground catacombs were the best option for burials.