Catacomb
The catacombs are underground excavations where ancient tombs placed in the body they do not burn. Most of these catacombs were originally that old abandoned quarries. The word catacomb comes from the Latin ecclesiastical catacumb by metathesis and attraction-Cumbers (rest), the expression of catalytic tumbas (among the graves), Greek (bottom) and (tomb) (1).
The most famous are those of Rome , especially those of St. Sebastian , and that of Saint-Calixte , those of Naples , who first used for the burial of the pagans were the fourth century only reserved for Christians (there are built many churches and chapels); those of Syracuse , the famous Stone Caves of Dionysius the tyrant , those of Catania , to Agrigento and Palermo. Often the catacombs served as a refuge for early Christians: in times of persecution, they secretly gathered there to pray and celebrate the Eucharist.
Summary |
| Catacombs of Rome | |
|---|---|
| Place Built | Outside pomrium |
| Construction date | from the third century BC. AD |
| Ordered by | Roman Republic |
| Building Type | Catacomb |
The map of Rome below is timeless.  Catacomb of Callistus | |
| List of monuments of ancient Rome | |
change  | |
The catacombs of Rome were places of burial ground in which the Christians of Rome , in particular, buried their dead in the first centuries after Jesus Christ.
The original name of this place was "cmeteria" (dormitories). The term "catacomb" could come from a Greek-Latin hybrid expression, but not until the tenth century that the term became a generic name for this kind of underground Christian cemetery.
The catacombs were the most important Christian , but there were also the Jews and Gentiles.
History
The first catacombs were dug from the third century BC. AD outside the ancient walls of the chamber (along the routes of access to Rome ), to enforce the Roman law requiring to bury or cremate the bodies outside the City : c is the limit of pomrium. In this sense, the Romans resumed the practice of ancient Etruscans. In fact one of these cemeteries was called Catacombs, San Sebastiano on the Via Appia whose entrance was at the bottom of a depression, a valley, a career.
This place became then the fourth century , a shrine to honor the martyrs of Rome. But according to historians use by Christians of the catacombs to hide from persecution is not established, they only admit that the Christians used to celebrate their religious rites at the funeral of their coreligionists.
In the sixth century , the catacombs gradually ceased to be places of burial, but remained for some time to places of worship, as attested by the numerous graffiti left by pilgrims to the tombs of martyrs , such as prayers to St Peter and St Paul, left in the Apostolica Memoria (Memory of the Apostles) to San Sebastiano.
However, some catacombs remained places of worship still known and revered, the catacombs of San Sebastiano, San Lorenzo, San Pancrazio and San Valentino. In the ninth century , during the many invasions (including Saracen), the relics of martyrs were transferred into the churches of Rome, so many are finally condemned and catacombs to be rediscovered many centuries later by archaeologists.
Organization
They were extended without a plan, up to a height of 5 or 6 feet, superimposed on several levels, sinking up to 20 meters. The hallways were very narrow (60-80 cm).
There are now some sixty catacombs, housing thousands of graves spread over several hundred kilometers. Each main gallery is interspersed with secondary galleries that form a real network. In the catacombs of San Sebastiano , galleries spread over more than twelve miles. The 65 known catacombs develop their galleries in total over 600 kilometers.
The galleries provide access to the burial chambers, called crypts (crypt), some contained the tomb of a martyr or were intended for the celebration of liturgical ceremonies and anniversaries of the dead (refrigerium). The crypt is the most famous crypt of the Popes in the catacomb of St. Callistus.
The galleries are dug along the rectangular niches in which the bodies were deposited. Niches that closing the graves were covered by a marble slab, terracotta or wood. Most of these niches could contain two or more bodies and names of the dead were engraved on the plate, or are affixed to objects belonging to the deceased. This type of burial was called loculus. Later the loculi were dug in the vaults under the pavements and even on stairs. This type of burial was reserved for the poorest (hence the fact that they could hold up to five bodies, often people from the same family who, for lack of means could afford better as a final resting place). These loculi were stacked along a wall in stacks or pilae.
There is another type of burial near the loculus, called "tombs mensa." But unlike the loculi, it is no longer niche dug into the wall, but rather deep (much like the current system of our morgues ...)
Galleries can also lead to cubicles, which are burial chambers that can contain multiple loculi. This type of room was reserved for the most affluent and could serve as a family tomb, there also met members of the same trade.
Some niches arcosolium named, were larger and more tombs and were cared for decorations. Above the grave, dug in the tuff there was a rainbow, hence their name. Later they were built and the stone that covered the grave, arranged horizontally, could serve as an altar to celebrate mass.
The catacombs could be illuminated by a few holes, and oil lamps , and chandeliers , hanging lamps as well as skylights - those great wells dating back to the surface were used for workers in the construction of galleries move through various and tools to clear the land.
Decorations
The catacombs were often decorated with stucco or paint expressive and rich color contrasts.
The painting style is the most used linear style red and green. It is to define geometrically by lines of red paint and green on white, frames can accommodate a scene or various reasons. This style is inspired by a Roman decorative style, the fourth Pompeian style.
Iconographic level, the themes vary over time. Indeed, prior to 313 which is the proclamation of the Edict of Milan by Constantine, granting freedom of worship, Christians suffer persecution and can not speak openly. The paintings of the catacombs are symbolic at this time and were often used symbols of the new faith: the fish, olives, bread, twigs, vines, and the boat dove. Then, after the date of 313, Christians can finally speak freely then changes the iconography and scenes from the Old and New Testaments are depicted on the walls. The themes that we find most often are those episodes in the life of Jonah - including that of Jonah swallowed by the sea monster - or passages in the life of Christ (Healing of the Paralytic, the Resurrection of Lazarus .. .).
However, it is worth noting that all individuals buried in the catacombs are not Christians, there were also pagan decorations making such reference to the Greco-Roman mythology.
Catacombs of Paris
By extension, it is also the name we gave to the part of underground quarries of Paris which were stored in the bones of millions of people when we decided to empty the cemeteries of Paris from 1786 , and the remains that contained the church, and it has formed huge ossuaries. The catacombs of Paris are part of the old mines extending under much of the city of Paris. The name of the catacombs, in the case of the city of Paris, is abusive. It is actually an ossuary, bones have been displaced since cemeteries.
The careers of Paris today consist of a network of galleries of inspections to which access is strictly forbidden since 1955, and municipal ossuary at 1 avenue Colonel Rol-Tanguy, where are stored the remains of 6 million Parisians.
As part of literary fiction and film
In film several movies were filmed in the "catacombs" Cartridge (with Jean-Paul Belmondo ), but mostly The Gaspards with, among other actors Michel Serrault , Philippe Noiret , Michel Galabru , Chantal Goya.
It is also largely within this framework that runs The Affair of the Necklace of Blake and Mortimer , who speaks of the conspiracy of the Hood ( 1934 ).
It is also the title of a manga created by French authors whose frame are the Catacombs of Paris
Visiting the Catacombs of Paris
- The catacombs can be visited during the day. A party is open to the public and well maintained. The course takes place over time in the middle of some bones are arranged in patterns of heart or cross. Moreover, everything along the way poems and other inscriptions dealing with death.
- Under the Hospital Cochin, Careers Capuchin is transformed into museum. She has a concentration of consolidations of various ages as well as oddities like it exists anywhere else in the ancient quarries. The museum is worth visiting, unfortunately only for groups by appointment with the association (SEADACC) to which the mayor of Paris has given the management of the site.
- Many people also visit the rest of the network of underground quarries. This remains a crime that a police officer may sanction a fine. We call these explorers basements Parisian " cataphiles ", and many new words are formed on this basis (cataguide, etc..). It is of course very dangerous to venture into this labyrinth of tunnels without being accompanied by someone who knows the scene: the network extending about 250 km, it is easy to get lost.
Catacombs of Lyon
There are also catacombs in Lyon but they are closed to the public because of the high risk of landslide. As in Paris, these "catacombs" does bear the name, neither of the ossuaries or crypts.
They extend under Fourviere , and also in the Red Cross and Old Lyon. Privileged few were able to see them. The location of the various inputs of the catacombs Lyon is not disclosed because these catacombs are not open to the public. At the Red Cross, the entries of the catacombs are located mainly in deep caves, those discoveries have been convicted. At Fourvire entries are known all condemned (although it is likely that some remain accessible).
In the Old Lyon , the entries are in the cellars and sewers (all of them are either convicted or monitored). There is no significant discovery has been made, apart from 4 to 5 cubic meters of human bones in 1952, and pottery and other objects of Roman ... Rumours of treasure hidden by the Resistance during the Second World War are, so far, unfounded.
The galleries are mostly Lyon galleries dug drainage during periods either to capture or to drain water to prevent collapse of the hills like the disaster of 1930 when a section of hillside collapsed Fourvire.
Galleries soldiers were built along the ring of forts around Lyon. Finally some galleries keep their mystery as to their function, such as "fishbone" Bibliography The catacombs of Rome have been described by Antonio Bosio , by Giovanni Gaetano Bottari and Louis Perret , Paris, 1853 - 1857. The first Christian art. Andr Grabar.
The earliest Christian images. Symbol to the icon (II -VI century), Frederick Tristan , 1996. Image Gallery
References and sources
External Links
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