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Catacombs
5
Transcript
cat·a·comb
Noun
1. An underground cemetery consisting
of a subterranean gallery with
recesses for tombs, as constructed
by the ancient Romans.
2. An underground passageway or
group of passageways.
Synonyms: cave, chamber, crypt, grotto, passageway
Underground burial was a common practice in ancient Mediterranean cultures, and you can find underground burial tunnels and tombs in Egypt, Greece and many other cultures and lands. However the first system of tunnels and tombs to be referred to as catacombs was the ones under Appian Way in ancient Rome, where supposedly the bodies of the apostles Peter and Paul were said to have been buried. The catacombs of Rome date back to the 1st Century and were constructed first by Jewish and then by Christian communities. Some scholars believe that catacombs came about to help persecuted Christians to bury their dead secretly.
Many catacombs remain under urban areas and are often popularized by stories of their use by war refuges, as army bunkers, as smugglers hideouts, and even as meeting places for cults. Of course they mainly serve as museums and subject matter for research.
In the late 1700's, in Paris, catacombs became a creative solution to public health problems. Overcrowding in cemeteries and mass graves, in part due to improperly disposed of bodies, became a major problem and created unsanitary conditions that led to the spread of disease. Many of these graveyards were shut down, and Paris police moved all the remains buried in the cemeteries to an underground network of ancient limestone quarries. This became the now infamous Catacombs of Paris. The bones and remains of over 6 million people sit in these catacombs and line the walls.
Catacombs are extremely important in art history. They were not just
burial chambers but housed many decorations, including inscriptions, paintings, statues, ornaments, and other items. Most of these decorations were used to identify, immortalize and show respect to the dead. The catacombs in Rome are extremely important for the art history of early Christian and Jewish art, as they hold a large majority of fresco and
sculpture examples from before about 400 AD. Much of this early
catacomb art also depicts burial methods in ancient Rome.
CATACOMBS
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