The Cult Center of the Martyr Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina 9780860543329, 9781407342092

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The Cult Center of the Martyr Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina

Gabriel Bertonière

BAR International Series 2:60

1985

·B.A

•

122 Banbury Rd, Oxford, OX2 7BP, UK

GENERAL EDITORS AR Hands, B. Se., M.A., D.Phil. D.R Walker, M.A.

B.A.R.-S26o, 1985: 'The Cult Center of the Marty Via Tiburtina'

©

Hippolytus on the

John A. Bertoniere Jr., 1985

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860543329 paperback ISBN 9781407342092 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860543329 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

CONTENTS

LIST

OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

ix

PREFACE

xiii

SECTION ONE.

HISTORY

OF

THE

THE

EXPLORATIONS

AND

STUDIES

OF

CATACOMB

Chapter I .

I I.

THE

CATACOMB

1 . 2 .

The The

3 .

The Work of

G . -B. 1 . • 2 . 3 .

III.

BEFORE

THE

V .

THE

OF

DE ROSSI

3

Gori

DE ROSSI

1 1

The First Excavations The Excavations of 1 881-82 The Excavations of 1 882-83 IN THE

TWENTIETH

CENTURY

1 7

Marucchi The Work of Fornari Other Modern Studies

SECTION TWO. IV.

TIME

Discovery of the Statue Early Explorations

CATACOMB

1 . 2 . 3 .

THE

DAMASAN

TOPOGRAPHICAL

PERIOD

2 6

1 .

Depositio martyrum

2 . 3 . 4 .

I CUR 7 , n . 1 9957 Damasup, Inscription I CUR 7 , n . 1 9938 b-c

5 . 6 .

I CUR 7 , n . 2 0178 I nscription Laeta

Deo

7 .

I nscription

quae

PRUDENTIUS

SOURCES

AND

Omnia

THE

Hippolytus

p lebs videntur

FIFTH CENTURY

1 .

Prudentius,

2 . 3 .

I CUR I CUR

4 . 5 . 6 .

Martyroloqium Hieronymianum I CUR 7 , n . 20157 Passio Polychronii

7 .

I CUR

7 , 7 ,

7 ,

n . n .

n .

Peristephanon

XI

1 9961 1 9983

1 9991

f ertur

3 3

VI.

THE 1 . 2 .

VII.

THE

CENTURY

ITINERARIES

1 .

Notitia De

4 . THE 1 .

4 8

ICUR 7 , n . 1 9994 Inscription of Andreas

2 . 3 .

VIII.

S IXTH

OF

THE

presbyter

SEVENTH

ecclesiarum u rbis

CENTURY

5 2

Romae

locis sanctis martyrum quae sunt foris civitatis Romae William of Malmesbury, Gesta Rerum Anqlorum: De numero portarum et sanctis Romae Anonymus Einsiedlensis POPES

OF

THE

EIGHTH AND

Sources Relative to Paul I ( 757-67) Liber

NINTH

the

CENTURIES

Reign

5 9

of

Pontificalis

Constitutum of foundation of the monastery of St. Stephen Translations to S aint-Denis of Paris During

Sources Relative to t he Paschal I ( 817-24)

XII. X III.

Pontificalis: Pontificalis:

Paul

I

Gregory Hadrian

I II I

Reign

Liber Pontificalis: Paschal Inscription in S . Prassede Liber Pontificalis: L eo IV

of I

UNDATED MATERIAL AND LATER MEDIEVAL DOCUMENTS

SECTION

XI.

of

4 .

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 .

X .

Time

Liber Liber

5 . IX .

the

2 . 3 .

ICUR 7 , n . 2 0166 ICUR 7 . nn. 1 9940-44 ICUR 7 , n . 2 0086 b ICUR 7 , n . 20059 Later Medieval Documents

THREE.

THE

INTRODUCTION. THE

7 3

TOPOGRAPHY

THE

GEOGRAPHICAL

CATACOMB

CONTEXT

THE GEOLOGY

OF

THE

PLAN OF

GENERAL

1 .

Area

2 . 3 .

Area ä The area

THE

OF

THE

THE

the

vi

CATACOMB

TODAY

7 9

THE

8 3

AREA

CEMETERY

8 6 CATACOMB

a of

OF

iter

9 0

4 .

5 . 6 . XIV.

THE 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 .

6 .

7 . 8 . 9 .

1 0.

1 1.

XV.

THE 1 .

2 .

Areas e and Area e Area f Area 2 — Area h

f

EARLY CULT CENTER AND

ITS RETROSANCTOS

1 01

Area a : Galleries a l and a 2 Area b Area c Z one Q in Retrospect Area Beneath Z one R The Formae GG11 and 1 5 G 16 GG6, 2 0, and 2 3 GG18, 1 8', 1 9, 2 1, and 2 2 The South Wall The North Wall The West Wall The East s ide of Z one R The Ceiling o f the Early Phase of Z one R The Area Beneath Z one S Gallery a l6 The Southern Part of Zone S F unction of t he Early Phases of Z ones Q , R , and S The General Area of the Tomb of t he Martyr The Primitive Cemeterial Shape: The Martyr's Tomb and I ts Immediate Context The Relationship Between the Orig inal Cubicle a nd the Early Cult Center The Larger Cemeterial Context of the Cubicle of the Martyr

LATER CULT CENTER General Structure Expansion of The Original P lan Ceiling s tructure a nd masonry P lastering Lucernaria P aving F loor Level Z one Q Creation Orientation A ltar Ceiling P erimeter Walls Function

vii

1 45

3 .

Zone R P lan Perimeter Walls PP6 and 8 Ceiling Area of Division R and S Masonry Zone S

4 .

Used

in

Between Zones

Zones

Q and

R

Creation North Wall South Wall Masonry Floor Level Area

Between Arches

PP7-8

and

PP9-10 XVI.

THE

ENTRANCE TO

1 .

Zone

V

2 . 3 .

Zone Zone

U T - the

4 .

Relative the

XVII.

XVIII.

THE

CENTER

1 66

Iter

Chronology of

New Cult

THE ABSOLUTE CENTER

LATE CULT

Center

CHRONOLOGY

Elements and

Iter

OF THE

CULT

in

1 75

THE IMPORTANCE AND POSITION OF CULT CENTER IN THE CONTEXT OF ROMAN MARTYR CRYPTS

THE THE

NEW 1 77

CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX

APPENDIX

1 82 I .

I I.

TITULUS OF THE CHURCH OF S ILVESTRO IN CAPITE

I II.

THIS

STUDY

ABBREVIATIONS

FOR

1 95 AND 1 977; USED 2 01 2 06

BIBLIOGRAPHY SYMBOLS

ARCHEOLOGIA

THE EXCAVATIONS OF 1 975 THE GRAPHIC MATERIALS IN

L IST OF

1 89

GRAPHIC DOCUMENTS IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE PONTIFICIA COMMISSIONE DI SACRA

APPENDIX

S .

2 07 GRAPHICS

2 13

PLATES

viii

L IST OF

A .

F igure 1 .

Accessible

ILLUSTRATIONS

Line

Drawings

areas:

P lan

1

P l.

2

2 .

Cult Center:

3 .

Cult Center: North E levation and S ection A-A

P l.

3

4 .

Cult

P l.

4

5 .

Cult Center:

P l.

5

6 .

Cult Center Sections: a . B-B b . C-C c . Grave 1 1 d . Graves 1 3 and 1 6

P l. P l. P l. P l.

6a 6b 6 c 6 d

Center:

P lan

P l.

South Apse

E levation E levation

7 .

P lan

I I

TIB

9 Detail

8 .

P lan

I I

T IB

2 :

9 .

Sections

1 0.

of

Detail

Stations

P lan I I TIB 1 : Cult Center

8 1 0 1 -9

Area Near

8 7 the 9 1

1 1.

G5:

1 2.

G5: Hypothetical Cross Section of t he Grave in I ts O riginal State

1 10

1 3.

Area

1 27

1 4.

Early Cult

1 5.

Early Cult Center: Reconstruction

1 6.

P lan Without

near x :

Later

P lan

and

Center:

Paving

Section

P lan

1 43

Axonometric

Late Cult Center, System of Supporting Arches: Axonometric Reconstruction

ix

1 09

1 44

1 47

B .

P hotographs P late

1 7.

1 8.

1 9.

2 0.

General v iew of t he c ult c enter f rom beyond a rch PP7-8 at the t ime o f excavation.

7

P artial v iew o f GG1 and 4 in a rea b ( center) and gallery a l ( to the r ight): east corner o f G 7 with P lc r esting on t op of t he space f ormerly occupied by the body; i n the l ower r ight c orner, t he s ill o f t he p assageway l eading f rom a l i nto area b .

8

Gallery a l ( above); tufo bank Z a nd passageway between a l and area b ( below) f rom t he s outheast.

9 a

G 5

i n area c f rom the northwest; GG1, 3 , a nd 4 p artially v isible in t he l ower portion o f the photograph.

2 1.

General

2 2.

Tufo bank Z and the presbytery steps ( left); GG11 and 1 5 ( right) f rom t he s outh.

ha

T ufo bank a nd G il

l ib

2 3.

2 4.

v iew o f

z one R f rom t he northeast.

9 b

Z and the presbytery steps ( left) ( right) f rom t he s outheast.

1 0

L ower l evel: n iche in the wall o f G il ( right) a nd G 13 ( left); m iddle l evel: e ntranceway i nto area c covered with t he pavement o f t he l ate c ult c enter; upper l evel: s outh step of l ate cult c enter f rom the n ortheast.

1 2a

2 5.

S outhern portion o f

1 2b

2 6.

P 2

2 7.

zone R f rom the west.

f rom t he north. T he s outheast a rea b i s visible to the l eft.

c orner o f 1 3a

The preserved portion o f G 7: i ts arch ( right) a nd P lc, which s upports the overhead bank o f tufo a fter t he r emoval o f t he l eft p ortion o f the arch ( left).

1 3b

2 8.

G allery a 2

1 4

2 9.

The ceiling o f area a 2 at i ts western end. T he s loping c eiling c ut d irectly in the t ufo bank and then p lastered i s s upported by modern masonry.

3 0.

f rom t he west.

G 10 f rom i ts destroyed s outhern end . The c ourses o f t iles a nd b ricks that f or m t he r emaining portion o f the g rave's arch a re

1 5a

v isible at the northern extremity. Nearby on t he l ower r ight a tufo bank i s c overed by the brick masonry that f orms the eastern s ide o f t he s tructure. 3 1.

3 2.

The original ceiling of the new cult preserved b etween P P1 and 3 .

1 5b

center 1 6a

A portion o f the original c eiling o f the n ew c ult c enter p reserved b etween P P3 and

5 .

1 6b

3 3.

The north wall

o f

z one

S f rom P 9

3 4.

T he

o f

z one

S f rom P 14

3 5.

A portion of the pavement of zone S to the west o f G 24 s howing I CUR 7 , n . 2 0226.

1 9a

Area at the foot o f P 7. The masonry s upporting I CUR 7 , n . 2 0226 i s s een above; immediately below i t on the r ight, t he p laster f ragment " x" i s shown in s ection . A lso visibile are the s outheast corner o f G 23 ( lower r ight c orner) a nd t he masonry mass at the base o f P 7 ( right).

1 9b

The a rched entrance f rom z one U i nto t he i ter ( zone T ). To the rear, two other a rches a re visible. The o ne on t he r ight l eads to the cult c enter; the one on the l eft ( now b locked) once l ed to another a rea o f the cemetery.

2 0

3 6.

3 7.

3 8.

3 9.

The

The

s outh wall

to P 13.

1 7

to P 8.

1 8

i ter f rom t he s outhwest with T l the f oreground.

i n

i ter from t he n ortheast w ith T 6 the f oreground.

i n

x i

2 1

2 2

P REFACE

T he p urpose of t he p resent s tudy i s t o i nvestigate t he origins o f the underground c ult c enter i n the c atac omb o f H ippolytus o n t he V ia T iburtina. This l arge a rea d iscovered a round 1 879 was excavated by De R ossi during t he 1 881-82 a nd 1 882-83 s easons o f e xcavation c onducted u nder t he auspices o f t he Commissione d i a rcheologia s acra . A t t his t ime t he e ntrance v estibule, t he a ccess c orridor, and t he crypt i tself were f reed f rom t he accumulated r ubble, a nd t he o ver-all s tructure was c onsolid ated. A lthough t he c rypt with i ts vestibule a nd a ccess c orridor h ave b een c arefully maintained s ince that t ime, t he l arge network o f g alleries which , were v isible during D e Rossi's t ime h ave g radually b een d amaged by c ave-ins a nd by water s eepage, s o that l ess t han a f ifth o f the g alleries mapped out i n t he n ineteenth c entury a re s till a ccessible t oday . Therefore a c omplete t opographical s tudy o f t he c atacomb i s n ot y et p ossible. A s eries o f new excavations were carried out by the author below t he f loor l evel of t he western end of t he c rypt i n 1 975 a nd 1 977. These r evealed a g roup o f s truct ures r elated t o an e arlier phase o f t he c ult c enter a nd o ffered the p ossibility o f a f uller s tudy o f this import ant a rea . For this r eason t he p rincipal f ocus o f t he present s tudy will b e t he c ult c enter i tself. A lthough o ur main emphasis is on the earlier phase of this area, we propose t o i nvestigate a lso i ts f inal s tructure at t he moment t he c atacomb was d efinitively a bandoned . S ince, however, o nly the western end o f t he c ult c enter h as been systemat ically excavated, our conclusions c oncerning i ts eastern e nd a nd i ts monumental e ntrance s equence must r emain t entative . We a lso propose t o t ake s tock o f material t hat h as been g athered over t he y ears c oncerning t he t opography of the catacomb as a whole and to study briefl y t he l ay-out o f t he g alleries which a re s till a ccessib le and their r elationship t o t he g eological s trata i n which t hey a re s ituated . S ection 1 t races t he h istory o f the explorations and o f various t opographical s tudies of t he c atacomb made f rom the s ixteenth c entury up t o t he present day . S ection 2 p resents

t he major t opographical

s ource

material c oncerning the c atacomb, b oth l iterary and epig raphical, i n a s ingle c hronological s eries. A lso consid ered here a re s everal i nscriptions, which though they t hrow no d irect l ight on t he t opography o f t he a rea, n onetheless a re o f importance in d ating s pecific portions o f t he s tructures s tudied . Their t exts, h owever, a re f or t he most part not c ited i n e xtenso . S ection 3 i s a t opographical s tudy o f t he e xcavated a rea o f the c rypt and ( subject to t he l imitations outl ined a bove) o f o ther a reas s till a ccessible . A fter a b rief description o f the c atacomb a nd the geographical a nd g eological c ontext i n which i t i s s ituated, we cons ider i n Chapter 1 3 t he over-all s tructure o f t he catac omb . C hapters 1 4 a nd 1 5 t reat r espectively o f t he e arlier and the l ater phases i n t he development o f the v eneration a rea o f t he martyr. C hapter 1 6 d escribes t he monumental entrance s equence to t he cult c enter . Chapter 1 7 a ttempts to d efine, i nasmuch a s t his i s possible, t he a bsolute c hronology o f t he c ult c enter, a nd Chapter 1 8, f inally, d iscusses t he l ast version o f t he c ult c enter i n r elation t o t he other martyr c rypts o f Rome . I n s peaking o f t he u nderground c rypt o f t he martyr we have preferred to u se t he expression " cult c enter" o r " crypt", r eserving t he word " basilica" f or t he a boveg round s tructure i n the martyr's h onor d escribed in t he a ccount o f P rudentius. T he masonry-lined corridor des igned in a l ater period to l ead p ilgrims directly to the tomb of the martyr we r efer to a s t he iter. The e xpressions " late c ult c enter" and " early c ult c enter" r efer r espectively t o ( 1) t he p resent c rypt a nd ( 2) the smaller one d iscovered b elow the l evel o f its f loor . T he f ollowing s ymbols have b een u sed i n t he d iscussion o f the c atacomb: a - h f or the individual areas of t he catacomb as a whole a nd Q - V for t he zones i nto which the l ater cult c enter a nd i ts access corridor a re d ivided f or p urposes o f d iscussion ( Fig. 1 ). I am deeply indebted to those who have helped me in the l ong venture of research in t he catacomb o f H ippolytus over the past y ears . My t hanks go e specially t o R ev . Umberto F asola, t he d irector o f my d octoral d issertation, on which t his s tudy i s b ased . Without h is e ncouragement a nd h elp i n many f orms, i t would h ave n ot b een possible. I t was due to h is i nitiative a nd assistance that I was able to undertake t he excavations in the c rypt. My p rofoundest gratitude goes to I ng . F rancesco T olotti, who h as b een a c onstant s ource o f h elp . Not o nly has h e had the p atience to r ead t he successive v ersions o f t he t ext, b ut he h as s pent many l ong hours d iscussing t he p roblems c onnected with t he r esearch b oth i n t he c atacomb a s well a t h is h ome . A lthough we have

x iv

n ot always been in agreement on certain points, his advice has been determinative in s everal important s ect ors of the work . I am deeply i ndebted to P rof. L . Reekmans o f the University o f Leuven, whose help dates b ack to t he early s tages of my r esearch, when he k indly o ffered the assist ance of Mrs. S ylvia Montanan i i n drawing up t he e arly p lans of the monument. Many thanks are due a lso to her . S ince then h is s ound advice h as n ever b een wanting whenever I have consulted him . I have a special debt of gratitude to my students at N otre D ame U niversity's Rome P rogram over t he past t en y ears. Not only d id they help i n the on-site research at t he catacomb, but t he g raphic materials in this s tudy a re t heir work . My thanks go also to those whom I have consulted for advice on various problems connected with the work: Msgr. Victor S axer, Rector of the P ontifical I nstitute of Christian Archeology, Rev . Antonio F errua, S .J ., D r. Margareta Steinby, Prof. Paolo Testini, and Dr . Vincenzo F iocchi. Special t hanks a lso go to my colleague Wendy White f or her careful reading of the manuscript and for her helpful s uggestions. While I am grateful for the kind advice which I have r eceived f rom so many, I t ake f ull r esponsibility f or the c onclusions which I have reached . These are in many cases t entative, a nd it i s my i ntention to r eturn to t he s tudy o f the catacomb when it will be possible to continue the excavation o f the c rypt . I wish to thank the Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia S acra f or p ermission to r eproduce the p hotographs which appear as F igures 1 7-26, and Prof . L ouis Reekmans, f or those which appear as F igures 3 3, 3 4, 3 8, and 3 9. T he other photographs were taken by Mr. Theodore C urtin and myself. I am a lso g rateful to the P ontificio I stituto di Archeologia C ristiana f or permiss ion to r eproduce t he l ine drawings of i nscriptions 1 9936 and 1 9937 f rom I CUR 7 .

SECTION ONE

H ISTORY

OF

STUDIES

THE OF

EXPLORATIONS THE

CATACOMB

AND

CHAPTER ONE

THE CATACOMB BEFORE THE T IME OF D E ROSSI

1 .

The

D iscovery

o f

T he

S tatue

The f amous s tatue d iscovered during t he 1 6th century a nd believed t o represent H ippolytus has been reexamined by Guarducci . Her r esearch l ed h er to t he c onclusion t hat the statue was created in pagan rather than Christ ian c ircles a nd probably r epresents the f emale philos opher Themista. Only l ater was it adapted for Christian u se by t he a ddition of i nscriptions on e ither s ide of the t hrone on which the f igure i s seated. These inscriptions contain a list of t he works of a certain Hippolytus and a t able for the calculation of the date o f E aster .1 Thus t he statue c ontinues to be of interest both to h agiog rapher and patrologist. O ur own interest i s l imited to t he topographical question a s to where it was d iscovered a nd its possible relation to the c emetery of H ippolytus. P irro L igorio who restored t he s tatue s hortly after i ts discovery described it i n a document which i s now i n the National L ibrary of Naples. This a ffirms t hat it was d iscovered outside the city walls s lightly beyond the Castro Pretorio in an area between the Via N omentana and the V ia Tiburtina .2 Another document of L igorio offers f urther c larification: " . . hebbe i n R oma o ltre i l Castro pretorio un'altra chiesa dall'Heret ici r ovinata dove fu trovata guasta l a s ua statua. . . . "3 Once again we are outside the Aurelian walls at s ome point beyond the Castro P retoria, b ut now t he statue i s s aid to have been found in a ruined church . This presumably corresponds to t he p hrase of t he e arlier d escription " in certe ruine." S ince the discovery of the crypt of the martyr around 1 879 it h as b een c ommonly believed that t he s tatue must h ave been found somewhere near i t .4 I ndeed the catacomb

' See

Guarducci,

2C odex X III Antiquities, p p .

f ol.

La

B 7 , p . 1 05-6.

s tatua 4 24.

1 975 C f.

and

L a

s tatua

1 977.

Mandowsky-Mitchell,

3S tate Archives of Torino, Codex J . A . I II 1 1, 5 2r, c ited i n Guarducci, La s tatua 1 977, p . 2 2. 4C f.

De

R ossi,

E logio D amasiano,

3

pp .

3 9-40.

i s c learly s ituated in the area described by Ligorio i n t he Naples document. 5 Various notarial documents of t he M iddle Ages mention a mons s . H ippolyti and even a cripta s . Hippolyti i n this area, and the memory o f t he s aint s eems to have been s till a live h ere in L igorio's t ime. 6 But i t i s impossible to d etermine what t he ruined c hurch he refers to r eally was. I t might have b een t he small apsed building l ater described by Gori or even c onceivably a portion of t he c atacomb or of the a boveground basilica itself. 7 I n conclusion, it s eems r easonable to suppose that t he r e-worked s tatue was d iscovered s omewhere n ear the c emetery of the saint. This does not mean, however, t hat it was n ecessarily c reated f or it, a lthough this i s a good possibility. F urthermore even i f this was the c ase, i t i s no l onger possible f or u s to d etermine at what t ime it was brought there. G uarducci j udges that t he Christian i nscriptions were added approximately b etween 2 22 and 2 50. 8

5T he expression " poco discosto dal Castro" s eems t o s uggest a s ite n earer to t he Nomentana than the T iburt ina, but the use of Castro a s a point of reference i n t he description of L igorio i s probably due to t he fact that access to this area between t he two consular roads was principally a long two small roads which began at a point near the rear wall o f the Castro, the Via Cupa a nd t he Vicolo d ei Canneti. The l atter l ed directly to t he a rea o f the cemetery o f Hippolytus ( Fig. 7 ). 6T estini, D i a lcune testimonianze, p . 4 8, n ote 1 3. The Act o f rent of Jan. 3 0, 1 110 m entions the c ripta. S ee p . 7 5. 7G uarducci,

La s tatua 1 975, p . 1 87, note 4 7 maint ains a prudent s ilence. B ovini, S ant'Ippolito, p . 7 4 s uggests that the reference i s to t he small apsed structure d escribed by Gori, which was s ituated aboveground i n the vigna Gori, a hypothesis which, i t s eems to u s, s hould not be totally excluded s ince this i s t he o ne aboveground building we definitely k now of that was i n existence during L igorio's t ime. S ee pp. 8 -9. T estini's objections to this hypothesis do n ot s eem convincing. Testini, op. c it., pp. 4 9-50. He h imself proposes that t he reference i s to the ruins o f t he aboveground basilica described by P rudentius, which he b elieves were s till v isible. He o ffers a s a possible explanation o f the curious phrase " dall'Eretici r ovinata" s ome l ingering memory o f one or other o f the barbarian invasions that c aused h avoc i n t he c ity. op. c it., p . 4 8. 8S he proposes that the Christians adapted i t for t heir own u se s imply by considering t he s eated f emale f igure an a llegorical representation s uch as Astronomy o r

4

2 .

The Early Explorations

R ecords a re extant of v isits to t he g alleries of the c atacomb o f H ippolytus from the t ime of Bosio on. Without exception these early explorers speak of them as p art o f the catacomb of Cyriaca, not realizing that they pert ained to a completely distinct cemetery. L ittle of i nterest i s contained in their accounts. B osio's a ccount of h is visit s ometime a round 1 597 s hows that the galleries he explored were in f act those o f H ippolytus, and it was in this a rea t hat he d iscovered the inscription containing the name o f the martyr which h e published i n Roma S otterranea. 9 H e nevertheless c ontinued to b elieve that t he cemetery of Hippolytus w as only a part o f that of Cyriaca, a type o f error which he makes i n r espect to other cemeteries of Rome. He a lso b elieved that that the martyr was buried underneath the a ltar o f t he H oly S ouls in t he c hurch o f S an Lorenzo, t hus accepting the f act of the supposed " discovery" o f t he relics by Angelo o f Bologna, apparently unaware o f t he translation of the saint. 1 °

Arithmetic and by adding the inscriptions. La s tatua 1 975, pp. 1 85-86. I n La s tatua, 1 977, p . 2 8 s he p roposes t hat the statue thus adapted might possibly have been s ituated in t he l ibrary of a hypothetical villa of t he martyr on the Via Tiburtina, perhaps even before h is d eath, a fter which t ime it might have passed to t he c emetery. T estini i s of the opinion that when i t was adapted f or Christian u se t he mass of marble f rom which t he statue had been made was not transformed i nto another s tatue b ut s imply u sed as a b lock on which t he i nscript ions were engraved. Testini, op. c it., p . 5 0. However, much o f t he o riginal l ower portion of t he s eated f igure h as been preserved today despite the reworking o f some o f t his a rea by L igorio. Furthermore t he s ketch made by L igorio before his work of restoration s hows that he f ound this l ower f rontal a rea l argely i ntact. Thus t he C hristian " adaptation" did not remove this f rontal port ion o f t he s eated f igure. In t he l ight o f this Test ini's opinion seems improbable. 9 , , . s i s coperse un'adito i n un'altra parte di q uesto c imiterio [ Cyriaca] p iü o ltre n ella V ia T iburtina i n una Vigna c ha andando verso T ivoli s i trova a mano manca, l a quale a ll'hora e ra di G iovanni B attista Marini; p erö questa parte e talmente r ipiena d i terra, e in a lcuni l uoghi r ovinata c he n on potemmo p er e ssa camminar molto . . . . " Bosio, Roma S otterranea 1 :409. For the i nscription s ee I CUR 7 , n . 2 0166. 1 0

B osio,

2 2.

c it.,

p .

4 01;

5

Gori,

Della porta,

pp.

The next we hear of these galleries i s at t he time o f Boldetti. He describes an area t o t he l eft o f the T iburtina, which he refers to a s t he.cemetery o f S t. H ippolytus, a lthough he too considers it a part o f that o f Cyriaca. 11 The text a lso makes i t c lear that many o f the tombs of t he c emetery were opened a nd the b ones removed as r elics. This practise, which h e carried out in other c emeteries as well, w as b ased on the f alse s upposition that the catacombs were used exclusively f or t he burial of martyrs. Various i nscriptions r emoved i n the process are included i n his work.' Mazzolari r ecords having s een t he d estruction of a gallery which was still intact at a short distance beyond the church o f S . L orenzo, but it i s not c lear on which s ide of the road i t was located. I t might have b een part o f the network of Cyriaca. 13 The epigraphical w orks of Marini c ontain i nscriptions which he d escribes a s having been found in the catacomb o f Cyriaca. Due to t he conf usion of the two c emeteries, however, s ome of t hem might have come f rom H ippolytus. 14 G iuseppe Reggi a lso visited galleries o f H ippolytus during h is v isits to t he T iburt ina in 1 768-69, and some of i ts i nscriptions appear i n h is work. 15 L ike his predecessors Marchi a lso b elieved

6 0-61. H ippolytus was a lso l inked to the immediate area o f S . Lorenzo by B aronio a nd S everano who believed that a r uined building in the vineyard o f the monastery a ttached to t he c hurch was dedicated to h im. Baronius, Martyrol ogium, p . 4 48 and S everano, Memorie 1 :647 both c ited by De Rossi, C imitero, p . 4 3. S ee a lso Mazzolari, D iario Sacro 3 :283-84. " He describes these galleries a s b eing s ituated • • • nella Vigna, oggi d el S ignor Lorenzo B elloni vicino ad un pozzo profondo che da f inestre corrisponde in t re o rdini a l c imitero." B oldetti, O sservazioni, p . 5 68. De Rossi realized that the entrance used b y Boldetti was the same o ne in u se in i s own t ime. D e Rossi, C imitero, p . 4 5. 1 2 B oldetti, op. c it., p . 5 68. According t o D e Rossi ( op. c it., p . 4 6) t he i nscriptions r emoved at t his t ime were taken to the Museo di Casa O livieri at Pesaro, home of t he d irector of t he excavations, Msgr. O livieri, papal s acristan.

1 3

op.

I CUR

Mazzolari,

c it.,

p .

D iario

S acro

C f.

c ited by D e Rossi,

4 7.

1 4 F or the epigraphical 7 :408-79, p assim.

1 5

3 :293,

Codex Vat

Lat

collections

9 029,

6

pp.

3 52

o f Marini

f f.

see

The i nscrip-

t hat the galleries o f H ippolytus were part of the cemet ery of Cyriaca a nd was even c onvinced that t he two were l inked together by a gallery passing under the Tiburtina, which he c laims to have discovered i n April 1 842. De R ossi correctly discounted this fact on the basis of i nsufficient p roof. 1 6 P erret r eferring " . . . l a partie du c imitiere qui p orte l e nom d e S aint-Hippolyte . . . ä gauche de l a vole T iburtine . . . . " gives two i llustrations o f cubicle d 6 a , which h e describes a s a c rypte ( Fig. 1 ). 17

3 .

The Work o f

Gori

G ori's book published i n 1 862 contains the earliest d etailed topographical description of t he c atacomb which h as come down to u s. 18 F urthermore, he was probably the f irst to understand that t he c emetery o f H ippolytus was t otally distinct f rom that o f Cyriaca. B ased on visits made before or during 1 862, h is description of t he underg round area i tself i s l argely l imited to gallery e 1 7 w ith i ts f our c ubicles, t he l argest o f which he wrongly i dentified a s the crypt of the martyr ( Fig. 1 0). He d escribes two s eparate entrances i nt6 the catacomb, s ituated on e ither s ide of the Vicolo dei Canneti ( Figs. 7 and 8 ). T he one to t he r ight was in what he c alls t he v igna Fortunati, but i t had a lready been s ealed off. The o ne to t he l eft corresponds to t he o ne d escribed by B oldetti and which was to r emain in use until 1 902. 19 H e a lso notes t he presence of what he c alls " nove r espi-

t ions referred to were V igna Viscari quasi in . . . . " which s eem to They were published by a nd now appear in I CUR 1 6

p .

a nd

Marchi,

found in galleries " . . . nella f accia a S . L orenzo f uori l e mura c orrespond to t hose o f H ippolytus. B ovini, S ant'Ippolito, pp. 1 84-99 7 :408-79, passim.

Monumenti,

p .

7 7;

De Rossi,

C imitero,

5 0. 1 7 P erret, Catacombes 6 :84; XLVIII ( vue perspective).

3 :Planches

XLVII

( plan)

1 8 G ori, D ella porta, pp. 6 0-72. Despite its l imit ations it merited t he p raise o f De Rossi i n C imitero, p p . 52-53. 1 9 " Nella vigna Gori a lla porta chiusa presso i l casino del v ignaiolo u na gradinata i ntroduce e a s gembo e a c hiocciola i n un seno a ssai l argo ed a lto aperto nel t ufo; poco dopo a man dritta p iove i l barlume a traverso d ella canna dello pozzo che propriamente colä s i adima." G ori, op. c it., p . 5 6.

7

V ico lo d e i C anne t i

F i gur e 7 PLAN I T IB 9 DETA IL 0

0 .5

1 M

r atorii del c imitero." These were probably t he openings ' o f t he many wells to which h e r efers l ater. S ome o f t hem were p erhaps originally l ucernaria; o thers were p robably c ave-ins. I t i s n ot i mpossible t hat s ome were p art o f a water s torage system that p redated t he c emeterial use o f t he area. 2 ° O f particular i nterest, h owever, i s h is description o f a s mall b uilding on t he G ori p roperty, which s eems t o h ave been the only r emnant o f t he aboveground c emetery s till f airly well p reserved at h is t ime. S ince t his building h as been destroyed and h is a ccount i s t he f ull est we h ave, i t i s w orth c iting:

. . . l a casa d el v ignaiolo . . . ha'l p avimento c omposto d i m armi c on f rammenti d 'isc rizioni t olti a lla c atacomba e l e pareti e st erne f regiate da u n f rammento d i b assorilievo; i n una c amera a p ianterreno r ipiena d i l egna ho

2 0u . . . pozzi c on a cque s alubri e s orgive p rattic ate d entro l e c atacombe ( in q uesta v igna e n eu e l imit rofe s ino a lla V igna F ortunai) a g rande profond itä. . . . " i bid., p p. 6 4-65.

8

r avvisata l 'abside con due nicchioni ( il terzo a s inistra r imanendo tronco) di un'antichissima c hiesa. L e mura sono r icoperte di un intonaco f ortissimo. Fatto nettare i i p avimento S i e t rovato c omposto di un mosaico ordinario di s assolini c ollegati i nsieme come quello d ella p iü antica basilica di S . L orenzo . . . s otto un angab o d el c asale una colonna di c ipollino s corgesi i nterrata nel s uolo ed incastrata n el muro. 21

I t seems reasonable to believe that this building once f ormed part o f t he aboveground portion o f t he c emetery c omplex. Gori maintained that i t was the basilica of St. S tephen described by medieval s ources as b eing n ear t he c emetery of H ippolytus, but there i s no r eal evidence for t his. H is d escription of i ts entrance as opposite to t hat o f the catacomb corresponds with what i s shown on P lan I I TIB 2 ( Fig. 8 , a and b ) . 22

2l i b i d

.,

p .

6 3.

2 2 D e Rossi, C imitero, p . 5 2. When Ashby wrote his C lassical Topography 3 in 1 905 t he building was s till s tanding, and i t appears on his map o f the area. H e n otes that there were t races o f other buildings with s imilar orientation to the s outh o f i t: " The Casale i s b uilt upon t he oratory o f S . Genesius, t he major axis o f which i s parallel to the l ine o f the high road . . . . " T races o f other buildings s imilarly o riented a re to be s een to the S outh of it." S ee note 4 1, p . 1 8.

9

\O

C o

F i gur e 8 PL A N

I T IB 2

DETAI L

a . e n trance t o c a tacomb b . a p sed b u i ld ing

• r b , \ .

• . ;

2 > z '

. , ; ) A '

0

1 0

50 M.

CHAPTER TWO G .-B.

1 .

The

DE ROSSI

F irst Exploration

I n 1 862 a c ave-in o ccurred underneath o ne o f the h edges o f the Vigna Fortunati, which, as we s aw, l ay on t he opposite s ide of t he Vicolo dei Canneti f rom t he V igna Gori. I t was on this occasion that De Rossi and h is brother v isited " un'ampia regione s otterranea" i n which he found graffiti o f the workmen who were there a round 1 829. 23 This s eems to have been the l arge southe rn portion o f t he l owest l evel of t he c atacomb, which i s no longer accessible. H is brother made a sketch map o f what t hey s aw. Though they were unable to p ass through under the r oad i nto the zone below the vigna Gori because of c ave-ins, De Rossi got a g limpse o f a s ystem o f mas onry walls and arches which l ed him to s uspect that the c rypt of the martyr was not far off. 24 Due to work a lready b egun on t he catacombs o f t he Appia and the Ardeatina De Rossi had to defer the excavation of H ippolytus uuntil 1 881. D uring t he i ntervening period, however, his disciples s howed great i nterest in t he area. We f ind S tevenson, f or i nstance, reporting on

2 3 D e Rossi, Cimitero, p . 5 3. The o lder workmen i nformed De Rossi of this work a ffirming that they h ad s een many l oculi that were s till s ealed, some o f them with i nscriptions. I mperial c oins were a lso n oted. i bid., p . 4 9. The inscriptions discovered at this t ime were brought to t he Vatican l ibrary a nd a re d iscussed i n S ettele, G ., " Osservazioni s opra l e l apide pagane che s i t rovano nelle c atacombe" in D issertazioni della pontif icia a ccademia d 'archeologia 5 (1835):181-200 c ited by De Rossi, op. c it., p . 4 9, note 2 . 2 4 " Procedendo sotterra dalla vigna Fortunati verso l a contigua v igna Gori, n el s econdo p iano d el c imitero apparivano grandi ed a lti archi d 'opera l aterizia; e tutto un complesso di grandiosa f abbrica s otterranea." C imitero, p . 5 5. As i s c lear from h is description, the area i n question was t he ambulacro, which he w as to excavate in 1 882-83. H e was probably walking a long a l ower l evel gallery ( perhaps t he o ne d iscovered by F ornari i n 1 930) and s aw the masonry of the iter f rom below through a cave-in.

1 1

Maxentian coins he had found i n the catacomb. 25 More important, Armellini in o ne of h is explorations o f the catacomb sometime around 1 879 came a cross a cave-in in t he wall of o ne of t he g alleries. This l ed h im i nto what l ater turned out to be the apse o f the cult center of t he martyr. More than anything e lse t his discovery p roved t o be instrumental in De Rossi's f inal decision t o e xcavate. 26 Another important event o f the intervening y ears, however, was De Rossi's discovery o f t he t ext o f D amas us's inscription in honor of Hippolytus in the C orvie S ylloge. 27 I n 1 881 three fragements o f the inscription i tself were f ound in t he p avement o f t he Lateran b asilic a. 28

2 .

The Excavations

o f

1 881-82

I n the Spring of 1 881 p reparations were u nderway. The opening in the vigna F ortunati through which d e Rossi h ad passed in 1 862 was s ealed o ff s ince it was n ot a f easible point of departure f or the excavation, w hich

2 5 H e described these coins f ound " . . . entro un l oculo d el c imitero di s . I ppolito . . . . " in t he course o f a l ecture reported in " Conferenze della societä di c ultori della cristiana archeologia in Roma" i n B AC 1 879:21-42. C f. the conference o f Jan. 2 7, 1 878, p . 3 1. 2 6 A rmellini writing i n 1 893 ( Antichi Cimiteri, pp. 3 17-18) s ays that he made this d iscovery s everal y ears before the excavation of the crypt i n 1 881. This would put us at l east in 1 879. Furthermore he c laims t o have made the discovery a lone and then subsequently a nnounced i t to h is f riends, presumably Marucchi among t hem. They then visited the s ite together. M arucchi, however, seems to c laim that t he d iscovery was made t ogether: " Nel marzo 1 881 i l compianto Armellini cd io f acemmo d ella l unghe e splorazioni in questo c imitero. Da una f rana penetrammo f ino ad una abside, ove erano dei graff iti . . . " Marucchi, Catacombe, p . 3 58. Note a lso the d iscrepancy with Armellini's account concerning t he date. I n C imitero, p . 5 7 De Rossi attributes t he discovery t o both.

2 7

C f.

De Rossi,

La

s illoge

e pigrafica.

2 8 D e Rossi suggests t hat the H ippolytus inscription was removed i n c onnection with t he 1 425 Bull o f M artin V a uthorizing the removal of marble s labs " . . . a quibusc umque e cclesiis c apellis et l ocis e cclesiasticis camp estribus" f or use in paving t he L ateran basilica.

1 2

began instead in the vineyard of Msgr . Gori, who gave h is p ermission on Feb . 1 6, 1 882. 29 U nfortunately the excavation j ournal f or this year contains only the most s ummary information about the campaign concentrating p rincipally o n the inscriptions f ound .J° Working f rom s urface l evel at a p oint above t he apse the workmen r emoved the rubble which f illed the c rypt. ' The d irection of t he excavation was probably f rom the apse towards the entrance o f the crypt . I t was during this f irst c ampaign that f ragments of t he inscription f rom the time of Pope Vigilius came to l ight. 32 By the e nd of the 1 881-82 campaign the crypt had been excavated up to the point where it is met by the i ter ( T 6 , F ig . 1 ). 33 At the t ime of publication of

2 9 L etter of Msgr . Gori to De Rossi ( 1881-82), no document number.

in CDAS Acta

3° The campaign i s covered in De Rossi, Giorn ale d i s cavo 7 ( 1881-82):137-74. A brief notice at the beginning o f a series of reproductions o f the inscript ions f ound d uring t he excavations notes that t he work took p lace " . . . negli u ltimi mesi della gestione 1 8808 1 e i n tutto 1 1 c orso dell'anno 1 881-82 n ella v igna d i Monsignore C armine Gori." S ee a lso De Rossi, Notizie, p . 1 64, which notes that t he excavation of t he crypt was underway. 3 1 D e Rossi, C imitero, p . 5 6. The sketch of the excavations b efore t he work o f consolidation b egan s hows abundant s unlight coming i n from above zone Q . 3 2 I n E logio D amasiano, p , 4 0 De Rossi reports that the f irst of the fragments found in the crypt was discovered near the apse . Two others l ater turned up in the paving of t he church of SS . Quattro Coronati. C imitero, p . 5 7. A l etter dated Feb . 2 0, 1 882 from the authorities at the church in question r egisters a c omplaint that t he pavement had not been properly r epaired after the removal of an inscription. CDAS Acta, 1 881-82, no document n umber. This probably refers to these two f ragments. The G iornale d i s cavo 7 :137-38 notes that they were f ound i n May, 1 882. 3 3 At t he end of this campaign De Rossi saw the beginning o f this g allery a nd r ealized that i ts masonry was the same which he had seen from the opposite end in 1 862 when he tried unsuccessfully to enter f rom t he v igna Fortunati: " . . . un ambulacro spazioso fornito d i archi d 'opera l aterizia c he s ono quelli v isti n el 1 862 v enendo dalla vigna c ontigua." C imitero, p . 5 7. From this i t i s c lear that t he d irection f rom which De Rossi was c oming when he s aw t his ambulacro in 1 862 was the other

1 3

Cimitero in the 1 882 i ssue o f the Bolletino the s caffolding s upporting t he n ew ceiling of t he r estored c rypt w as s till up, and thus De Rossi was not able t o provide a f loor p lan or e levation in his article. 34

3 .

The

Excavations

o f

1 882-83

D uring the campaign o f 1 882-83 the excavation cont inued, a nd t he gallery that h ad b een s een earlier f rom the end of the cult c enter on one end and f rom t he c avein b elow t he v igna F ortunati on the o ther was f inally c leared. An i nscription o f A .D. 5 28 ( ICUR 7 , n .19994) was discovered on t he s ill of t he entranceway i nto t he i ter ( Fig. 1 , zone T ). The vestibule in f ront o f this doorway was a lso excavated ( zone R ), a nd at the moment o f the publication of the brief Continuazione in the 1 882-83 i ssue of t he B olletino s till another a rea was beginning to appear from the rubble beyond t he vestibule t o t he s outheast ( zone V ). This l arge area f illed with f ormae was s ituated s everal s teps above t he vestibule, but despite i ts nearness to g round l evel due to t he s lope of t he h ill at this point, De Rossi j udged that i t was an underground s tructure. H e t entatively s uggested that i t might be part of the basilica described by Prudentius. 35 During this c ampaign an important i nscription f rom t he time o f Damasus was discovered among the ruins o f the s teps from the vestibule i nto z one V . 36 I t was discussed

s ide of the Vicolo del Canneti and that the vineyard which l ay there was t he one he referred t o as t he v igna Fortunati. The description o f Gori s eems to c orroborate this i dentification. Thus t he position o f the v ineyard on the Carta Archeologica d i Roma ( Sheet I II-F, n . 1 4) i s i ncorrect. I t appears to t he NW o f t he a rea c overed by the cemetery i n the Vigna Cicciaporci-Morelli s upposed by t he authors to have been i ncorporated i nto t he v igna Fortunati. Apparently the main property o f the F ortunati was s ituated on t he V ia Cupa in t he T or S anguigna p roperty. ( ibid. I II-F, n . 8 ; t ext: p . 1 91, n .VII b ; p . 1 86, n . 8 .0.) 3 4 S ee C imitero, pp. 5 6-75 for a summary topographic al description of t he c ult c enter a nd d iscussion o f various epigraphical f inds. 3 5 D e Rossi s imply uses the expression basilica ( Cont inuazione, p . 1 76), b ut it i s c lear t hat he i s r eferring to this s ince the underground s tructure he excavated i s a lways r eferred to a s t he c ripta.

3 6

I CUR

7 ,

n .

1 9936.

. n elle

1 4

rovine

d ei

g radini

i n the Bolletino of 1 883. Unfortunately, however, this i ssue c ontains no f urther i nformation about t he important a rea beyond the entrance vestibule as had been promised. I ndeed f rom this t ime on De Rossi s eems to have abandoned a ny further research on the catacomb of H ippolytus. 37 Among t he earliest graphic documents concerning t he c emetery the most important i s a p lan o f the catacomb and t he crypt of t he martyr a s they were during t he c ourse o f t he excavations o f 1 882-83 ( Plan I I T IB 1 ). Z ones U and V do not appear on i t. 38 I t i s probably a copy o f an o riginal p lan o f Michele S tefano De Rossi. Despite i ts many inaccuracies it r epresents not only the f irst but t he most complete p lan of t he c atacomb in existence. A p ortion of it i s reproduced as F igure 1 0. L ikewise o f importance i s P lan I I T IB 2 , a portion o f which i s included i n this work as F igure 8 . Drawn up p robably a round 1 889 a nd p artially based on the p lan w e h ave j ust described, i t s hows the galleries of the catac omb a nd t he c rypt in t he context of t he a boveground a rea n ear them around the t ime of the excavations. The o ld e ntrance to t he c atacomb, t he house of t he v ignaiolo with i ts small apse, and the main country roads are a ll shown, making this an important complement to t he verbal a cc ounts of the area which have come down to u s. F inally P lan I I T IB 9 ( a part o f which we r eproduce a s Figure 7 ) s hows the catacomb in the context o f an even w ider geographical a rea. This p lan drawn up a round the s ame time as the preceding one i s of importance because i t s hows t he c ontour l ines of t he t errain. The l ast mention of the catacomb in this period p receding t he d eath o f De Rossi i s by Armellini, who

c ostruiti tra s embra e ssere

1 1 vestibolo della cripta e l 'edificio che l a b asilica d 'Ippolito . . . " l oc. c it.

3 7 C f. De Rossi, I scrizione s torica, pp. 6 0-65. A d ocument s umming up damage in t he Gori v ineyard c aused by t he excavations was submitted to the Commission on Aug. 1 8, 1 882. CDAS Acta 1 881-82, d ocument 7 . Another docum ent of Nov. 1 8, 1 882 addressed to the Holy S ee makes mention of c ontributions r eceived from t he A rchbishop o f P aris and the B ishop o f Marseilles towards the expenses o f the excavations. T he c atacomb of H ippolytus i s a lso t reated by De Rossi in the following, which however add n othing to t he i nformation c ontained in t he works a lready c onsidered: D e Rossi, Conferenze 2 4 March, 1 881; 1 1 March, 1 883; 2 9 April, 1 883. 3 8 F or a f uller discussion o f this and other e arly g raphic documents in t he a rchives of t he Commission s ee

Appendix

2 .

1 5

writing in 1 893 notes that very f ew paintings r emained i n t he c emetery . He describes one, h owever, in s ome detail, and the text is worth noting since the painting i s no l onger a ccessible: In una galleria pres so i l loculo di un bambino in una nicchia quadrangolare s i vede i i r itratto del defunto a mezzo busto r iccamente vestito; i l c ampo e s parso di f iori i ndicanti i l c eleste giardino; nella parte superiore e d ip into i l profeta G iona dormente; a lle due e st remitä della f i9ura S i veggono due canestri c olmi di f iori. 39

Armellini, Antichi C imiteri, p . 3 22. Shortly a fter De Rossi's d eath a n ote by C rostarosa indicates that the l ucernaria o f the crypt h ad been c losed . P . Crostarosa, " Catacombe r omane: S cavi dell'ultimo t riennio" in BAC ( 1897):115. 3 9

1 6

CHAPTER THREE

THE CATACOMB

I N THE

2 0TH CENTURY

1 . MARUCCHI

The s econd edition o f Marucchi's Catacombe reports t he opening o f the " antico accesso" of the catacomb in April, 1 902. The f ormer e ntrance was c losed o ff at t he s ame t ime. U nfortunately i nstead of c learing the important a rea d iscovered by De R ossi at t he e nd o f h is l ast campaign ( zone V ) Marucchi built on top of i t a new s et of s tairs l eading down to t he ancient vestibule ( zone U ) without f irst making a p lan o f what he was covering. 4 0 The s mall aboveground s tructure f irst described by Gori and variously i dentified by the early explorers was s till i n e xistence at this t ime a lthough t he p roperty on which it was s ituated had passed to the Centro Chimico. Marucchi l aments t he f act t hat it w as b eing u sed a s a s table, however, and notes that s teps had been taken to restore i t. Ashby a lso mentions it a long with other

" Marucchi, Catacombe, p . 3 24. This entranceway was c ertainly s ituated approximately in the same p osition a s the present one. Apart from the f act that Marucchi r efers to i t a s " 1"antico a ttiguo a lla b asilica" it i s a lso c lear f rom h is description o f the route o f the visit he p roposes: " Appena s i s cende da questo a ntico accesso teste ristabilito, per entrare nel sotterraneo s i vede u na specie d i vestibolo, in f ondo a l q uale s i s corge l 'antica porta d 'ingresso in opera l aterizia . . . . " i bid. p . 3 24. F urthermore a n ote by Marucchi i n Notiz ie deqli s cavi ( 1902), pp. 3 67 f f. records a f ind made during t he work on this entrance, which was a lready underway in 1 901. Carta A rcheoloqica d i Roma 3 :192, n . VIII. The work of Marucchi on this entrance has been totally obliterated by t he n ew s tructure c reated by F ornari, and no graphic materials i n the archives c an be related to t his project with a ny s ecurity. The work must have been c arried out by Fontana. I t i s not impossible that t he p encil s ketches on t he earlier P lan I I T IB 2 a re p art of the early designs for this entrance, but they by no means c onstitute t he definitive drawing which would b e required f or the actual implementation o f the project.

1 7

ruins s imilarly oriented. 41 P lan I I T IB 2 ( Fig. 8 ,b) s hows it as a small building about 1 0 x 1 1 m . l ying perpendicular to t he road l eading t hrough the G ori property. The apse d escribed by Gori is shown as i nscribed within the perimeter walls o f the building itself, alt hough t he wall behind i t might have been a modern s tructure. I n Catacombe Marucchi briefly outlines the t opog raphy o f t he c atacomb a nd p rovides an overly r egularized p lan of the cult c enter, which appears a s an a lmost perf ectly rectilinear s tructure. 42

2 .

The Work o f

Fornari

Fornari who was the director of the U fficio t ecnico of t he Pontificia Commissione d i Archeologia Sacra f rom 1 925 to 1 960 was responsible f or a s eries of structural works on the catacomb. 43 The f irst of these was a recons truction of t he entranceway that h ad been opened by Marucchi in April, 1 902. H is account i s of some i nterest: A S . I ppolito s i sono iniziati i l avori per l 'apertura d el nuovo i ngresso s u V ia dei C annet i. Nello sterro per l e fondazioni dei muri,

4 1 C f. Marucchi, op c it., p . 3 39; Ashby, C lassical Topography, p . 9 3. Gori h imself ( Della p orta, p p. 6 3-64) thought it to be the basilica of S t. S tephen; Marucchi ( loc. c it.) s aw i t as t he basilica o f Genesius, a posit ion taken up by Ashby, C lassical Topography, p . 9 0. D e Rossi more p rudently p referred to await f urther e xcavation before deciding, but he a lso s uggested the possib ility that i t might be e ither t he b asilica of G enesius or even that o f H ippolytus ( later r e-named, according t o this l atter hypothesis, t he basilica of S t. Stephen). These ideas were expressed, however, before the d iscovery o f t he a rea to t he s outh of t he vestibule, a nd h e never took up the question again. D e Rossi, C imitero, pp. 5 25 3. 4 2 M arucchi, r epeats material D e Rossi.

i bid., pp. 3 20-29. H is s tudy o therwise f ound i n C imitero a nd other writings o f

4 3 F ornari, G iornale d i s cavo I V, p . 3 7. T he Giorn ale d i s cavo which he kept begins a n ew s eries a nd i s numbered P .C.A.S. G iornale d i s cavo I -IV. I t was not continued during t he p eriod a fter t he S econd World War, however, and the l ast volume covers only t hrough 1 947. We r efer to this a s Fornari, G iornale di s cavo.

1 8

s i s ono s coperte a lcune f orme del c imitero a ll'aperto e o ltre ad a lcuni f rammenti epigraf ici, s i e pure r invenuto un s arcofago intatto privo d i c operchio . . . .44 T he expression " l'apertura d el n uovo i ngresso" c ertainly g ives the impression that the work carried out here took p lace in an a rea where p reviously there was no e ntrance. F urthermore, t he only graphic material relative to an entranceway at this p oint ( apart f rom t he vague pencil s ketches on P lan I I T IB 2 ) consist of two project drawings f or t he entrance, which, a lthough they bear n either name nor date, s eem to date f rom the t ime o f F ornari. 45 Notwithstanding this f act, however, it will be r emembered t hat an entrance at this point h ad a lready b een opened by Marucchi in 1 902. Another i mportant c ontribution o f F ornari c onsists i n the careful p lan which he drew up of the crypt and z ones T , U , a nd V a long with t he n ew e ntranceway j ust r eferred to, c orrecting the inaccuracies o f the earlier P lan I I T IB 4 . 46 O f particular importance in this p lan are a group of f ormae s hown i n t he f loor of z one V but which were then c overed by the foundations f or the entranceway. These a re almost c ertainly t he f ormae r eferred to in t he G iorn ale d i s cavo. I t i s interesting to note that Fornari c onsidered t hem part of t he aboveground a rea o f t he c emetery. They must surely have been s ituated in the ambitus of t he l arge a rea outside t he vestibule which De Rossi discovered towards the end o f the l ast campaign. Thus t he present p lan i s o ur only existing g raphic r ecord o f this area. 47 I t i s of further importance s ince it

4 4

Fornari,

G iornale

d i

s cavo

IV,

p .

3 7.

4 5 P lan I I T IB 6 ( Scale 1 :100) i ncludes a p lan and s ection of t he entrance i tself a long w ith an e levation o f t he proposed f acade on Vicolo dei Canneti. I t bears the t itle " Sistemazione dell'ingresso a l c imitero d 'Ippolit o." P lan I I T IB 3 ( Scale 1 :100) repeats the same drawi ngs a nd adds a variant plan a nd s ection. T he p aper a nd t he style of l ettering u sed for the t itle c learly indic ate that the d rawings were made at some p eriod l ater t han the work c arried out at the t ime o f Maruchhi. 4 6 P lan I I T IB 7 ( Scale 1 :100) i s dated s imply May, 1 937 a nd bears the name o f Fornari. Two l ines in pencil ( one extending from the entrance to T 6 , another f rom T 6 to the apse o f t he c ult center) i ndicate t he bases o f t he measurements made. F or P lan I I T IB 4 s ee Appendix 2 .

4 7

to

the

Two other structures ( probably a lso f ormae), shown northeast of t he modern s tairs were, no doubt,

1 9

p roves that z one Q o f the cult c enter had been e xcavated on t he o ccasion o f t he measurements t aken f or t he map . T he p rincipal f ormae o f the area appear i n rough outline. O n March 1 0, 1 930 i n t he c ourse .o f t he operations f or the c onstruction o f Viale delle P rovincie which i nvolved c utting t hrough t he spur i n which t he c atacomb i s s ituated s everal galleries appeared on two different l evels ( one c orresponding to s treet l evel, another h igher up). A small c ubicle was a lso discovered at t he s ame t ime a long with a f light o f s teps l eading to i t . 48 I n t he c ourse o f t he f ollowing d ays t he g alleries were excavated a nd by April 2 F ornari c ould r eport that he h ad traced the m a ll t he way back to t he main body of the c atacomb . They turned out to b e l ower l evel g alleries. A point o f access was e stablished by means o f as haft s et i nto t he f loor of the catacomb, and the openings on the Viale were c losed o ff on May 1 3. 49 O n May 1 , 1 945 there i s a report o f repairs f or damage caused d uring the war by t he explosion of a bomb i n 1 943. 50 U nspecified work i s r ecorded f or F ebruary o f 1 946, a nd a f inal e ntry notes that t he o pening o f a gallery on Viale XXI Aprile ( former name for a portion o f V iale delle P rovincie) had to be r eClosed . 51

a lso s ituated i n this area . These s tructures s eem to have b een c opied by F ornari f rom P lan I I T IB 4 . They were perhaps no longer visible during his time and had to be t aken f rom t he e arlier drawing . 4 8 F ornari, G iornale d i s cavo 4 :37-38. The cubicle i s s hown on a copy of P lan I I TIB 2 o nto which t he course o f the new Viale delle Provincie has been drawn in pencil by F ornari . I t a ppears a long with i ts s tairs. A nother p encil l ine perhaps i ndicates the position of t he gall eries r eferred t o . 4 9 i bid" p . 3 8 . F ornari i s n ot specific a s t o where t he s haft was s ituated, b ut i t i s n o doubt t he o ne s till a ccessible n ear the s outheastern end o f T 1 . 5 0 T he damage c aused was considerable and c ertain p iers o f t he c rypt h ad to be r epaired ( P 1 3 a nd 1 4 j udging by t he d ate 1 945 i nscribed on t hem). J osi, C imitero, c o1.180 r ecalls t hat t he d ate o f the e xplosion was J uly 1 9, 1 943.

5 1

F ornari passim.

Fornari, op c it., p . 3 9. Work carried out by a fter this i s r ecorded i n t he p ages o f RAC,

2 0

3 .

Other Modern

S tudies

S tyger s tudied t he c atacomb a nd t he c rypt b oth i n Römischen Katakomben and i n Römischen Märtyrerqrüfte, and i t i s to h is m erit to have u nderstood that t he r ear part o f the crypt c onsisted at l east partially o f a widened c atacomb g allery. He a lso mentions a painting o f J ob which i s no l onger accessible. 52 De Angelis d 'Ossat studied the catacomb briefly f rom a geological p oint of view on two different occasions. 53 During a f irst v isit he came to t he conclusion that i t was situated o n a l evel corresponding to the third l evel o f Cyriaca, basing h imself e xclusively on observations made in two s hort galleries and to a l esser extent on the c eilings of z ones T a nd U . The map which a ccompanies h is t ext s eems to b e a copy of P lan I I T IB 1 0. 54 Later on, when two g alleries of t he c atacomb were discovered in the c ourse of the creation of Viale delle Provincie, he was able to inspect t he geolo9ical s ection o f e ight s trata i n which they were s ituated. 5 I n 1 936 and 1 939 Josi discovered s even more f ragm ents of t he i nscription H ippolytus f ertur o f Damasus i n t he pavement o f the Lateran basilica. These were publ ished in RAC i n the s ame years. 56 Bovini's work on S t. H ippolytus p ublished in 1 943 d iscusses the topographical sources o f the catacomb ( both epigraphical a nd l iterary) a nd r emarks briefly on t he excavations carried out in it over the centuries. 57 I t a lso o ffers a brief topographical d escription of t he c atacomb as i t was in his t ime, the chief value of which

5 2 S tyger, Römische Katakomben, pp. 1 96-97; Römische M ärtyrqrüfte, pp. 1 85-91. A p lan o f the cult c enter and an e levation o f i ts north wall a ppear in both. These, h owever, are c onsiderably inaccurate because o f their over-regularization of various f eatures. H is belief t hat t he system o f masonry arches i n the crypt functioned a s a s upport f or an aboveground b uilding i s n ot born out by a ny archeological evidence. 5 3 C f. De Angelis d 'Ossat, Geologia ( 1930), a nd Antichi C imiteri ( 1949), p p. 1 20-21. 5 4 D e Angelis d 'Ossat, G eologia, p . 1 61, a lthough no c redit is g iven f or t he map.

5 5

De Angelis

5 6

Josi,

5 7

Bovini,

A ltri

d'Ossat, t re

Antichi

f rammenti

Sant'Ippolito,

2 1

pp.

C imiteri,

and

I l

F ig.

p .

c arme.

1 23-78.

pp.

1 60-65

XIII,

1 20.

l ies i n the description o f the galleries o f the l ower l evel, which a re n o l onger a ccessible. The p lan of t he c rypt ( Fig. 2 2) i s d erived f rom t hat o f S tyger, while that o f t he c atacomb a s a whole ( Fig. 3 0) i s l ittle more t han a s chematic map o f the galleries he inspected on t he o ccasion o f h is s tudy. F igure 2 4, h owever, i s a n import ant photograph o f the base o f the a ltar which h as s ince d isappeared. An article by F errua published i n 1 949 s ummarizes t he s tate o f t he c atacombs d uring t he w ar and i ndicates r estorations c arried out a fterwards. 58 H ippolytus was among those that h ad b een u sed a s a ir r aid shelters f rom 1 939 on, and i t was during t his p eriod t hat the l ast t races o f t he a ltar o f t he c rypt d isappeared. A s erious c ave-in a lso had to b e repaired o n the north s ide of t he c rypt. 59 I n 1 951 J osi's brief a rticle on the c atacomb a ppeared i n the E nciclopedia C attolica. " T he d iscovery o f c ertain g alleries o f t he c atacomb i n the c ourse o f building activity in the area w as reported i n I l T empo o f F ebruary 2 8, 1 963. 61 P lans for t he new F acoltä d i E conomia e Commercio o f t he U niversity of R ome appeared on O ctober 2 0, 1 964 r ecording t he preparatory work for the c onstruction. 62 This c onsisted o f a series o f s ixty-two b orings made i n t he a rea i n o rder t o find s uitable positions f or t he p ile f oundations o f t he new e difice. Areas i n which t hese r evealed t he p resence o f c atacomb galleries were avoided i n p lanning the system o f f oundations. A ll o f t he b orings a re s hown on t he f inal d rawing, however, a long with t he c atacomb galleries e nc ountered i n t he c ourse o f t he o peration. These could n ot be perfectly correlated with t he o ld De Rossi map d ue to i ts i naccuracy, b ut a p recise m ap o f gallery e 1 7 ( along with i ts cubicles) was drawn up, and i t n ow serves a s a p recise p oint o f r eference f or t he borings. The building was constructed t o the s outheast of g allery e 1 7 a nd c onsequently does n ot c over t he a rea o f t he c ult c enter ( Fig. 1 0). T he date o f works c arried o ut in the catacomb by t he C ommission s ince 1 945 have b een r ecorded on p laques s et

5 8

F errua,

Attivitä,

pp.

9 -21.

5 9 i bid., p . 1 4. F ornari was r esponsible f or this work, but s ince he no l onger k ept a g iornale d i s cavo d uring t his period h e l eft no written r ecord o f i t.

6 0j os i , 6 1

1 1

6 2

C f.

C imitero.

T empo

( Rome),

F eb.

2 8,

1 963.

I stituto d i M erceologia,

2 2

p .

5 .

Relazione.

i nto the walls. 63 Most recently the publication o f the s eventh volume o f I CUR h as made available f or s cholars t he inscriptions pertaining to the catacomb. " The present work i s based p artially on excavations i n the cult c enter o f the martyr carried out by the a uthor during t he years 1 975 a nd 1 977. These a re des cribed in Appendix Three as are the various graphic d ocuments drawn up in connection with t hem.

6 3

( 1945), ( 1955), c ult

These i nclude PP13 and 1 4 in the cult c enter east s ide of g allery a 4 ( 1948), s outh s ide of T 2 P 14 i n the cult center ( 1971), and P 12 i n the

c enter. " See

I CUR

7 ,

" Coemeterium H ippolyti,"

2 3

pp.

4 08-79.

SECT ION

TOPOGRAPHICAL

TWO

SOURCES

CHAPTER FOUR

THE DAMASAN P ERIOD

The earliest mention we f ind o f a martyr H ippolytus buried on t he V ia T iburtina i s i n t he t ext of t he Deposit io martyrum compiled by the f amous s ecretary o f D amasus, Philocalus. He i s most c ommonly i dentified with t he p resbyter H ippolytus exiled with P ontianus to S ardinia i n A .D. 2 35. 65 The i nterest o f the great pope in the burial place o f t he martyr i s s hown by t he c onsiderable number o f e pigraphical items related to t he c emetery which d ate f rom h is p eriod. The great i nscription H ippolytus fertur was very probably created for the martyr's cult c enter. While it i s a document o f great importance f or t he hagiog raphy o f the s aint, i t contains l ittle of topographical i nterest. Of greater importance i n this r espect i s the i nscription of the presbyter Leo, Laeta D eo plebs, which s peaks o f a renovation o f t he d omus martyris during this p eriod by Leo himself presumably u nder the auspices of D amasus. A lthough they contain no d irect topographical information, a number o f inscriptions r e-used a s building material f or the new version o f the martyr's cult center s how that t he D amasan r econstruction p rogram took p lace i n an early phase of the monument, which we refer to a s t he e arly c ult c enter. These i nscriptions i nclude ICUR 7 , nos. 1 9957, 1 9938 b-c, and 2 0178.

6 5 T hough the Depositio was edited i n 3 54, t he mater ial c ontained i n it i s based on l ists d rawn up s ometime during the years 3 35-36. F or the presbyter in q uestion s ee t he L iberian Catalog i n LP 1 :4-5. There i s c onsiderable polemic concerning the identity o f the martyr. S ee Amore, Note and R icerche s u I ppolito. There s eems to b e l ittle doubt, however, that he l ived in the third cent ury. Amore ( op. c it., p p. 6 5 f f.) s uggests that the position o f his name before that o f P ontianus i n the e ntry o f August 1 3 might well i ndicate t hat he h ad a lr eady been i nscribed i n the calendar before the t ime o f t he t ranslation o f P ontianus, s ince o ne would e xpect t he n ame o f the pope to take precedence over that o f a presbyter who was h is contemporary.

2 6

The

inscription

from the

s uccessor, S iricius, between the catacomb fact

that will

be

attested by

1 .

IDUS

AUG.

time

Ypoliti

later

et

2 .

1 9957

QVI

ICUR 7 , n . A . D. 3 73

IN

DD

N . . 1 NN

present later

pieces the p lace near

center,

( Fig.

3 .

XIII

KAL was

and

CONS OCT

re-used

although

as

a paying

broken

into

s lab four

upper l eft hand corner was found sealed in the south shoulder of the apse by the plas-

tering of the wall. For importance in the dating center

PACAE

I III

PR

inscription

cult

in Calisti.

D VI

AVG

DEP

Pontiani

FILIO

VIXIT ANN

MENS

The

inscriptions.

in Tiburtina;

ATHANASIO

the

Damasus's

Depositio Martyrum 66 A .D. 3 54

BENEMERENTI

f or

of

suggests a possible relationship and the titulus of Pudenziana, a

this reason it is of capital of this portion of the cult

1 8).

Damasus,

Inscription Hippolytus A .D.

H IPPOLYTVS

FERTVR

fertur 67

3 66-84

PREMERENT CVM

IVSSA TYRANNI

PRESBYTER IN SCISMA SEMPER MANSISSE NOVATI TEMPORE QVO GLADIVS SECVIT PIA VISCERA MATRIS DEVOTVS CHRISTO PETERET CVM REGNA P IORVM QVAESISSET POPVLVS VBINAM PROCEDERE POSSET

6 6

6 7

n .

3 5,

LP

1 :12.

ICUR p .

7 ,

n .

19932;

see

also

1 69.

2 7

Ferrua,

Epigrammata,

CATHOLICAM D IXISSE F IDEM S EQVERENTVR VT OMNES S IC NOSTER MERVIT CONFESSVS MARTYR VT E SSET HAEC AVDITA REFERT DAMASVS PROBAT OMNIA XRS The t ext of t he i nscription h as been preserved f or u s in the Sylloge Centulensis under the heading I N SCO HYPOLITO MARTYRAE. F ragments of t he original w ere d iscovered by De Rossi i n the f loor of the church of S . G iovanni in L aterano around 1 850. Others c ame to l ight l ater during a restoration o f the same f loor in 1 936 and 1 938. 68 F errua notes that the inscription must have been s till in p lace even a fter t he damage c aused b y t he Goths s ince the text was copied for the Sylloge a fter t his time. 69 Even though no f ragments were f ound in the catacomb, i t s eems l ikely that t he i nscription was o riginally s ituated in some part of the cemeterial complex, s uch a s t he aboveground basilica or ( more probably) in t he u nderg round cult c enter. There are, h owever, no c lear traces in t he monument o f t he s pot where it was once a ffixed, and the heading o f the Sylloge i s o f l ittle help.

4 .

I CUR 7 , A . D.

n . 1 9938 3 66-84

b -c

These two s mall f ragments j udged by Ferrua to b e t ruly the work o f Philocalus were f ound by De R ossi i ncorporated i nto o ne o f t he walls of t he crypt. Thus they provide a dating f actor f or some unspecified part o f t he masonry of t hese walls. Unfortunately De R ossi who r emoved them does not indicate the precise s egment of wall in which he found them. 70

6 8 D e Rossi, La s illoge epigrafica, p . 2 6; Josi, I l c arme d i Damaso, pp. 2 31-36 a nd A ltri tre f rammenti, pp. 3 20-22. F or the portions of the text contained i n t he f ragments c f. I CUR 7 , n . 1 9932, commentary. 6 9 F errua, op. c it. p . 1 71. F urthermore J osi points out that t he g eometrical s hapes i nto which t he i nscript ion was cut for inclusion in a p attern of opus s ectile in t he L ateran f loor, when l aid t ogether, show that t he s tone must have been s till i ntact when i t was r emoved by t he workmen.

D e Rossi, Giornale d i s cavo ( 1881-82), p . 1 39, nos 3 18-19; a lso C imitero, p . 6 9. O ther s imilar f ragments ( nos. 1 9938 a-a') a lthough b elieved by De Rossi to b e g enuine a re j udged by F errua to b e o nly an imitation o f P hilocalus's work. l oc. c it.; Ferrua, op. cit., n . 7 01 pp. 2 45-46. An impression of 1 9938 b made in t he cement o f the wall i s a lso preserved. i bid., n . 3 6, p . 1 74. 7 0

2 8

5 .

I CUR 7 , 3 66-84

n . 2 0178 71 A .D.

T IMOTEVS PRESBYTER

This i nscription in genuine Philocalian l etters was r e-used as f acing f or t he n orth s teps l eading up to the p resbytery area of the cult center ( zone Q ) and thus provides a d ating f actor f or this important s ection o f the structure.

6 .

I nscription Laeta D eo p lebs A .D. 3 66-384

LA EA D EW L EBS, S IMC T A C AN EI ld 140V ATA 1 omysmA 0 , 1 0M 4 .NTAO P ER I W IRCV

7 2

ä Ng itg \ T

NAW VRN 1 1S TE SSED I IN C L I TAPAC I F IC IS r eMS ! t SE IWA TN I M ECV SP ER P,E Ty., . . . H E C OMN IANOVA Cp i lD I \ ,

This i nscription was discovered during the 1 882-83 c ampaign of e xcavation at a soot n ear t he bottom o f the p resent day entrance s tairs. 73 Despite the fact that much o f t he r ight h and portion of t he i nscription i s missing, i t clearly r efers to the r estoration of the domus martyris by a c ertain L eo whose name appears in t he a crostic and very probably again in the l ast l ine ( although the l etter o i s missing). F urthermore, there i s a r eference to the intistes. There seems to b e l ittle doubt that his n ame, which i s p robably i ndicated in he t hird l ine

7 1

7 2

S ee a lso F errua, I CUR 7 , n . 1 9936; , pp. 1 73-74.

22. s ee

c it.

n .

7 0,

pp.

a lso F errua,

2 44-45.

op.

c it.,

n .

3 51

i n

7 3 S ee D e Rossi, Continuazione, pp. 1 76-77. question w as i n z one V . ( See F ig. 1 .)

2 9

The

spot

(-A SO), is that of Damasus. 74 Leo, however, seems to have been more immediately responsible for the work· of renova­ tion. Ferrua suggests that he was possibly a p resbyter of one of the tituli which served the cemetery.7 5 The inscription was not found in its original posi­ tion, but the use of such expressions as moenia and domus martyris led De Rossi to believe that the restora­ tion work took place in the aboveground basilica. This consideration, however, does not seem to us of sufficient weight to rule out other possibilities (e.g. a restora­ tion of the underground cult center, or a more extensive one involving the whole complex) .76 7. Inscription Omnia guae videntur77 A .D. 384-99? OMNIA QVAE VIDENTVR A MEMO RIA SA NTI MA R TYRIS YPPOLITI USQVE HVC SVRGERE TECTA ILICIVS PRAESB SVMPTV PROPRIO FECIT 74For the missing word before the name of Darnasus De Rossi suggested auctore or sedente. Ferrua points out that the shape of the letters is not out of keeping with the period of Damasus and that the inscription may well be the original one .and not a copy, as De Rossi sug ­ gested. Cf. Ferrua, .Q.£• cit., p. 174, note on line 3. The expression natus gui an tistites is interpreted by De Rossi as a reference to Damasus�s enrollment in the clergy at a young age. Ferrua, however, suggests that it might refer to the day of papal election considered as a kind of dies natalis. Cfo ICUR 7 :414. 7 5cf. Ferrua, Epigrammata, p. 174, note to v. 3 . He suggests that Leo/s work might have been carri ed out. after that of Damasus himself, perhaps even after his death. 7 6cf.

De Rossi, Iscrizione storica, pp. 64-65; Styger, Romische Martyrgrlifte, pp. 186-87. These expres­sions might well have been inspired by poeti c usage and need not be taken literally. Fu rthermore the use of masonry in restorations in the catacombs was a common feature so the word moenia could even be taken in a literal sense. In any case he hi mself deferred judgement on the question until after a more full study of the results of the last excavation campaign, although no further reference is made to it in his later writings. 7 7De

Rossi, Monumenti...s. Pudenziana, pp. 5 7 -58 and Museo, p. 16; cf. also Cim�tero, pp. 15-16.

30

The present inscription was discovered in 1 850 u nderneath t he Villa Gaetani ( Villa Caserta), which was l ocated between the church o f S . V ito and the Via Merul ana. The name o f a presbyter I licius i s a lso f ound i n s everal other inscriptions i n connection with various works carried out i n S . Pudenziana during t he r eign o f S iricius and I nnocent 1 . 78 P resuming that this was one a nd the same i ndividual De R ossi b elieved that t he V illa C aserta inscription was related to t he church of S . P udenziana. H e f ound confirmation of this f act i n t he c atalog of Torino ( c. 1 320 A .D.), which l ists a church i n h onor of St. H ippolytus near S . P udenziana. 79 F or these r easons he i nterpreted t he i nscription a s r eferring to t he construction of a portico extending f rom the memoria o f St. H ippolytus a ll t he way to t he t itulus o f P udenz iana ( usque h uc). I n this hypothesis the inscription would have b een o riginally s ituated in or near t he l atter c hurch. The memoria o f H ippolytus he identified with the p resent church o f S . Lorenzo i n f onte. "

f or

7 8 C f De Rossi, Monumenta...s. P udenziana, a consideration of t he o ther i nscriptions.

pp.

5 7-58

7 9 T he catalog i s found in Codex l at A 3 81 of the B iblioteca N azionale di Torino. F or a t ranscription s ee H ülsen, Chiese, p . 3 2. The text i ndicates that the c hurch was a lready in ruins: " Ecclesia s ancti Ypoliti e st d estructa non habet servitorem." Thus i t was of greater a ntiquity than t he c atalog i tself, but there i s no earl ier mention o f the memoria i n a l iterary document. A ll t races of t he church have d isappeared today. On t he basis of the other churches mentioned immediately before a nd after it i n the text Hülsen j udged it to have been s ituated on t he s lopes of t he Viminal ( probably on t he v icus patricius) with which he incorrectly i dentifies the mons s . H ippolyti mentioned i n a Bull of I nnocent IV. T estini, D i a lcune t estimonianze, pp. 4 8-49, note 1 3 has s hown f rom a v ariety o f l ate medieval documents that t he e xpression pertains to the r ise o f l and in which the c atacomb of H ippolytus i s s ituated. S ee p p. 7 4-76.

" The reason for the identification i s based on the l egend that t he c hurch o f S . Lorenzo i n f onte was f orm erly the house of H ippolytus in which Laurence was held p risoner a nd i n which H ippolytus h imself w as s upposedly b aptized by the s aint. A well underneath the church ( relocated s ince t he c onstruction of t he Metropolitana u nderground railway) i s supposedly l inked with this f act. C f. De Rossi, Monumenti...s. P udenziana, p . 5 8. Armell ini, Chiese, p . 2 24 who accepted the relevance o f the i nscription to the t itulus o f P udenziana s eems to have b een the f irst to h ave pointed out that the catalog of Torino c arefully d istinguished b etween t he c hurch o f H ippolytus and that o f S . Lorenzo i n f onte. Various

3 1

The catalogue o f Torino, however, makes i t c lear that t he c hurch o f S . Lorenzo i n f onte i s distinct f rom the church o f H ippolytus on the E squiline to which De Rossi refers. Furthermore t he i nterpretation o f the words usque huc a s referring to S . P udenziana i s far f rom c ertain, even i f we suppose t he c hurch mentioned in t his l ate medieval catalog to b e the one referred t o in the i nscription. The original p osition of t he i nscription might well have been e lsewhere t han in the t itulus, and consequently t he c onstruction in q uestion might have extended in some other direction f rom the memoria near S . Pudenziana. Notwithstanding these considerations, however, the presbyter I licius o f P udenziana might well have been t he one referred to here, and the church o f St. H ippolytus, which was, at l east in t he l ater M iddle Ages, s ituated near the great titulus might indeed have been t he memoria of t he i nscription. F ar l ess c ertain, however i s the f act that the inscription was originally s ituated in the t itulus. I f t he s mall memoria d ated b ack to e arly C hrist ian times we may well have here one further i ndication of t he l ink b etween t he martyr or t he Tiburtina and t he titulus Pudentianae. 81 B uchowiecki has suggested t hat the inscription was originally s ituated in or near t he c emetery on t he T iburt ina. While this remains a possibility, however, there i s no positive evidence to s how that this was i ndeed t he c ase. 8 2

others f ollowed De Rossi's error. C f. P . Adinolfi, Roma n ell'etä d i mezzo 2 ( Rome, 1 881):248; R . Lanciani, Ruins and Excavations o f Ancient Rome ( London, 1 897), p . 3 93; Marucchi, Basiliques, p p. 3 68-70; Bovini, Sant'Ippol ito, pp. 1 45-46. 8 1 H ülsen, Chiese, p . 2 63 f or mention of another c ity church dedicated to t he martyr a nd attested t o f or t he f irst time in 9 62. I t was apparently s ituated near S . Athanasius i n t rivio.

8 2

s ition

Buchowiecki, Handbuch I I, p . 2 63. I n this s uppot he memoria would be t he c ult c enter i tself.

3 2

CHAPTER FIVE

P RUDENTIUS AND THE F IFTH CENTURY

P rudentius's visit to t he c atacomb in the early years o f t he f ifth century i nspired h im to s et down an a ccount of i t, which i s the earliest extensive descript ion we have o f t he martyr's burial p lace. Written s hortly a fter the death of Damasus, it g ives u s a g limpse o f t he monument s uch as it was a fter t he work c arried o ut during the r eign o f this pope. F rom this account we l earn that the martyr H ippol ytus was buried in a c emetery outside but not f ar f rom the c ity walls in an underground area, that his relics were kept i n an a ltar a lso u sed f or t he Eucharist, a nd that the r ichly decorated shrine was the object of daily veneration by t he f aithful. O n a wall a bove t he t omb there was a p ainting depicting the martyrdom o f the s aint. Nearby was a three-aisled t emplum, l arger and more s plendid, better able to r eceive the great number o f p ilgrims who came on the f east d ay of t he martyr. Documents dating f rom l ater i n the century ( the Martyrologium H ieronymianum a nd t he Passio P olychronii) a re the f irst to make mention of the other martyrs vener ated in t he c atacomb. Notwithstanding t he uncertainty c oncerning the historicity o f some o f these, they will henceforth be an object of veneration in t he c emetery, and the itineraries of the s eventh century will provide descriptions o f their tombs. These documents, moreover, are of some t opographical interest. The Martyrologium i ndicates that t he burial p lace of t he martyrs was on the Via Tiburtina. The Passio f urther s pecifies that it was in a c ripta, thus i ndicating t hat it was underground. I ts position " iuxta nimpham" possibly suggests s ome topographical f eature s till visible at t he t ime t he document was written. Two inscriptions found i n the catacomb ( ICUR 7 , nos. 1 9991 a nd 2 0157) s uggest a c ertain r elationship b etween the cemetery and the t ituli o f Prassede and Pudenziana during t he s econd half of this c entury. F inally, two other inscriptions dated respectively 4 07 a nd 4 10 ( ICUR V II nos. 1 9961 a nd 1 9983), which were r e-used as building material in the construction o f the n ew c ult c enter s et f urther t ermini a q uo f or t he cons truction of this l atter.

3 3

1 .

Prudentius,

Peristephanon X I, 1 23-34; c a. A .D. 4 01-4

1 53-98;

2 13-34

Exemplar s celeris pan es habet i nlitus, in quo multicolor f ucus d igerit omne h efas, p icta super tumulum species l iquidis uiget umbris e ffigians t racti membra c ruenta u iri. Rorantes s axorum apices uidi, optime papa, purpureasque notas u epribus i npositas. Docta manus uirides imitando e ffingere dumos l userat et m inio russeolam s aniem. Cernere erat ruptis conpagibus ordine nullo membra p er i ncertos s parsa i acere s itus. Addiderat caros gressu l acrimisque s equentes, deuia quo f ractum s emita monstrat i ter.

Haud p rocul extremo c ulta ad p omeria u allo mersa l atebrosis c rypta patet foueis. Huius in o ccultum g radibus u ia p rona r eflexis i re per anfractus l uce l atente docet. Primas n amque f ores s ummo t enus i ntrat hiatu i nlustratque dies l imina uestibuli. I nde u bi progressu f acili n igrescere u isa e st nox obscura l oci per specus ambiguum, occurrunt celsis i nmissa f ormina t ectis, quae i aciant c laros antra s uper radios. Quamlibet ancipites t exant h inc inde r ecessus a rte sub umbrosis atria porticibus, at t ar nen excisi s ubter c aua u iscera montis crebra terebrato f ornice l ux penetrat. S ic datur absentis p er s ubterranea s oils cernere fulgorem l uminibusque frui. Talibus H ippolyti corpus mandatur opertis, propter ubi adposita e st ara d icata deo. I lla s acramenti donatrix mensa e ademque custos f ida sui martyris adposita s eruat ad aeterni spem u indicis o ssa s epulcro, pascit i tem sanctis Tibricolas dapibus. Mira l oci p ietas et prompta p recantibus a ra spes hominum p lacida prosperitate i uuat. H ic c orruptelis animique et c orporis aeger oraui quotiens s tratus, opem merui. Quod l aetor r editu, quod t e, u enerande sacerdos, conplecti l icitum est, s cribo quod haec e adem, H ippolyto s cio me debere, deus c ui C hristus posse dedit quod quis postulet adnuere. Ipsa i llas a nimae exuuias quae c ontinet i ntus aedicula argento f ulgurat ex s olido. P raefixit tabulas d iues manus a equore leui c andentes, recauum quale n itet speculum, n ec P ariis c ontenta aditus o bsudere s axis addidit ornando c lara talenta open . Mane s alutatum concurritur; omnis adorat pubis, eunt redeunt soils adusque obitum. Conglobat in c uneum L atios s imul ac p eregrinos

3 4

permixtim populos religionis amor. Oscula p erspicuo f igunt inpressa metallo, balsama defundunt, f letibus ora r igant. l am c um s e r enouat d ecursis mensibus a nnus natalemque diem passio f esta refert, quanta putas s tudiis c ertantibus a gmina cogi quaeue c elebrando uota coire deo ! * Angustum t antis i llud specus e sse c ateruis haud dubium est, ampla fauce l icet pateat. Stat s ed i uxta a liud, quad t anta f requentia templum tunc adeat cultu nobile regifico, parietibus c elsum s ublimibus atque s uperba maiestate potens muneribusque opulens. Ordo c olumnarum geminus l aquearia t ecti s ustinet auratis s uppositus trabibus. Adduntur g raciles tecto breuiore r ecessus, qui l aterum s eriem i ugiter exsinuent. At medios aperit t ractus u ia l atior a lti culminis exsurgens editiore apice. Fronte s ub aduersa gradibus s ublime tribunal tollitur, antistes praedicat unde deum. 83

Apart f rom i ts hagiographical i nterest this text i s o f capital importance from a topographical point of view. C ritical o pinion s ituates P rudentius's v isit to Rome i n t he first few years of the f ifth century. 8 4 The text thus r epresents t he e arliest extensive topographical descript ion we have o f the martyr's burial p lace. I t i s import ant to keep t his early date in mind when trying to c orrelate Prudentius's description with the crypt of the m artyr as we s ee i t t oday.

8 3

Prudentius,

ed.

Cunningham,

pp.

3 74-77.

8 4 P rudentius himself makes reference in Peristephanon X II, vv. 4 7-48 to h is v isit to t he basilica o f S . P aolo f uori l e mura: " Regia pompi loci est, princeps bonus has s acravit a rces/ l usitque magnis ambitum talentis." Prud entius, ed. C unningham, p . 3 80. S ince the basilica was f inished s hortly a fter 4 00 a nd there i s mention o f only o ne ruler responsible for its consecration, the date 4 01 is generally a ccepted as t he e arliest one possible f or the trip. Opinions as to how l ate i t might have been r ange from 4 02 to 4 04. S ee Martinez F azio, Un d iscutido t estimonio, p . 4 6, note 2 f or a s ummary of these.

3 5

The poem was supposedly written as a l etter to the bishop Valerian who r equested epigraphical material o f P rudentius ( vv. 1 -16). I t i s in connection with h is s earch f or this that he came i nto c ontact with i nformat ion concerning H ippolytus, whose martyrdom in O stia a nd burial in Rome a re narrated ( vv. 1 7-152). S et in the context of this narration is the descript ion o f a painting s een " super t umulum." This b egins w ith verse 1 25 and continues at l east through v erse 1 34, which c learly s till makes r eference to t he artefact. I n t he following verses, however, ( vv. 1 35-52) one has the impression that Prudentius s lips i mperceptibly i nto a n e laboration of the story of how the Christians g athered up t he p arts of t he martyr's body a fter h is violent d eath. There follows a description o f the cemetery and t he underground shrine of t he martyr w ith i ts a ltar ( vv. 1 537 4). After praising the e fficacy o f the martyr's intercession particularly in h is own case ( vv. 1 75-82) Prudent ius describes the shrine of the martyr ( vv. 1 83-88) a nd t he daily crowds of v isitors that c ome to it ( vv. 1 952 15). Even greater crowds gather on the feast d ay of t he s aint, a nd t he underground s hrine i s i nadequate to acc omadate them. However, a l arger edifice ( templum), which i s b etter able to receive t he p ilgrims, i s s ituated nearby. This i s described ( vv. 2 15-30). The f east is c elebrated on t he I des of August ( vv. 2 31-34). Valerian i s invited to c elebrate this f east a lso. The p oem c loses with f arewell s alutations ( vv. 2 35-46). I t s eems to u s that the following topographical i ndications a re c lear f rom t hese t exts. 1 . The tomb o f t he martyr i s s ituated i n a n underground burial p lace. Prudentius does n ot i ndicate the r oad on which the martyr was buried. I t i s s imply said to be s ituated outside but near t he c ity walls, but t he desc ription makes i t c lear that the t omb i s s ituated in a hypogeum ( "mersa . . . c rypta," v . 1 54). This t ext i s thus the f irst l iterary source to make explicit mention o f this f act. T he p osition o f t he tomb underground i s c lear from the following f eatures o f the cemetery which he d escribes. 2 . The a pproach to t he burial a rea i s by s teps l eading down f rom aboveground. One h as t he impression t hat these s teps enter the hypogeum directly f rom the outside ( "mersa l atebrosis c rypta p atet f oveis," v . 1 54), t he i mage being one of a l arge opening visible on the outside. Y et i t c annot be excluded that they began their descent f rom

3 6

within

a l arger

building. 85

The expression " luce l atente" which would mean l iterally that one went down t he s tairs i n the darkness i s perhaps best translated by Thomson: " with the help o f l ight from a s ource unseen ." 86 The g eneral meaning o f vv . 1 57-58 i s c learly that what l ight enters the stair is that which filters in from the e ntranceway. Three expressions f urther describe t he e ntranceway ( "primas . . . fores"; " limina vestibuli"; " summo h iatu"). The f irst c learly r efers to t he doorway a nd the second , to t he area immediately adjacent to i t . T he third i s more difficult to i nterpret. 8 / 3 .

The underground a rea

i s

i lluminated by

l ucernaria

( vv.

1 59-68). The e xpression l ucernarium i s not used, but the meaning i s c lear. The idea i s r epeated i n two s uccessive g roups o f verses ( vv . 1 59-62; 1 63-66), the f irst ment ioning them i n connection with the growing darkness which the visitor encounters as he gets f arther and f arther from t he e ntrance, t he s econd indicating t heir h elpfulness i n f inding one's way in the tangle o f underg round g alleries ( "arta s ub umbrosis a tria porticibus," v . 1 65). I t s eems to u s that the expression f ornice used f or the ceiling of the passageways need not be taken in t he l iteral s ense of a barrel vault a s Lavarenne suggests by his translation, " plafond c intre" 4 . The relics o f t he martyr are l inked to an a ltar ( ara). T he terse a nd b eautiful verses 1 71-74 c learly l ink t he a ltar with the actual relics ( "servat . . . ossa") and

8 5 T he s teps are described by the expression " gradibus v ia prona r eflexis." L avarenne t akes t his to i ndicate a s piral staircase, yet it s eems to u s that the expression c ould a s easily be i nterpreted to mean a s taircase d iv ided i nto two f lights, the s econd going down either p erpendicular t o or in an opposite direction f rom the f irst f light . Prudence, ed . Lavarenne, p . 2 28, note 4 f or p . 1 70.

8 6

Prudentius,

t rans.

T homson,

p .

3 15.

8 7 L avarenne considers it to refer to a s ituation where inside t he door there is a small vestibule on the s ame l evel a s the threshold itself. According to h im the " summo h iatu" r efers to t he e nd p oint of this vestibule where the actual s teps begin to descend . Thus he interp rets t he " summo t enus intrat h iatu . . . dies" a s meaning t hat the daylight reaches a s f ar a s this point . Further on in the poe m in connection with a description of the c rowds that come on the feast of the martyr, the entrance i s described a s being wide: " angustum tantis i llud s pecus e sse catervis / haud dubium e st, ampla fauce l icet pat eat ." The meaning o f f auce here, however, might s imply b e a poetic one describing the over-all dimensions of the c rypt r ather t han r eferring directly to the entranceway .

3 7

underline its eucharistic function ( "sacramenti donatrix"; " pascit T ibricolas"). F urther description o f the material beauty of the shrine i s offered by the comment that it i s c overed with s ilver p laques ( "argento f ulgurat ex solido"; " praefixit t abuias," vv . 1 84-85). The object of this decoration i s described by t he poet a s being " ipsa aedicula ." L avarenne's translation of this word a s " petite chapelle" s uggesting t hat it i s the over-all architectural context which i s decorated i n this f ashion s eems i ncorrect to u s. I t i s even possible to read the expression as being a paraphrase o f a ra s ince it is s aid to contain t he body ( "illas animae e xuvias quae continet intus," v . 1 83). B ut we f eel that i t i s better to take i t as r eferring to t he immediate a rchitectural context of the a ltar, whatever concrete s hape i t might have had . Thomson t ranslates i t a s " shrine" a nd perhaps comes c losest to i ts true meaning .8 8 The aditus is s aid to be covered with plaques of P arian marble. This i s translated by Thomson a s the " approach," but i t might s imply r efer to t he l ar9er a rchitectural context o f the cult c enter itself .ö 9 5 . The shrine i s the object o f daily veneration by the l ocal population a s well a s b y p ilgrims ( vv . 1 89-94).

8 8 While i t cannot be excluded that the altar in question was a p ortable one p laced near ( adposita) t he tomb only on the occasion of the E ucharistic s ervice, the text of P rudentius s eems to s uggest r ather that i t was one with the tomb, describing the mensa as both " sacramenti donatrix" a s well a s " custos f ida s ui martyris," the l atter expression being difficult to apply t o a wooden s tructure brought in on c ertain occasions. Furthermore the adposita might well r efer to t he construction o f a f ixed a ltar n ext to t he a lready e xisting tomb . I n any case i ts strict meaning should n ot be overly pressed in a poetic text where t he reason for i ts inclusion might well be the need for an extra syllable to f ill out the meter. The word is used a s econd t ime two verses l ater i n relation to the word mensa, where the meaning may well be that of a table spread with food according to a u sage well attested for adposita in the Vulgate. S ee Thesaurus L inguae L atinae, s .v . appono . 8 9 P erhaps the word Prudentius i s using i s adytum . This word is used in medieval Latin in t he sense of " penetrale, martyrum memoria, presbyterium ." S ee 0 . P rinz and J . S chneider, Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch, Munich, 1 967, col. 2 82. A lthough normally u sed in t he form adytum, i, the accusative p lural f orm a dytus has

been noted.

l oc.

cit.

3 8

6 . The f east o f t he s aint ( natalem d iem) i s an o ccasion f or the gathering o f l arge n umber o f p ilgrims f rom f ar and wide . The verses describing this are charact erized by a t ypically P rudentian outpouring of hyperbole ( vv. 1 95-212). 9 u 7 . Nearby a l arger church o ffers more s pace f or t he w orship o f the many p ilgrims on the f east day ( 215). w ord used to d escribe the building i s templum. I ts l ocation i s d efined vaguely as near t he crypt of t he m artyr ( "Stat sed iuxta a liud . . . templum").

The

8 . In this b uilding a double r ow o f c olumns s upport g ilded beams u pon which the panelled c eiling l ies. Vers es 2 19-22 make it c lear that these colonnades d elimit a c entral space s ituated between them f rom two s ide ones e xtending on t he other s ide of each c olonnade. The c entral space i s not only wider ( "via l atior") but a lso h igher ( "exsurgens editiore apice") than t he s ide ones ( "graciles", " tecto breviore"). Verses 2 21-22, which d escribe t he s ide s paces, however, a re o bscure. The word for the s ide spaces i s recessus, and it has g iven r ise to a d iversity of o pinion , a s to t heir i nterp retation. S ome have understood the word to mean small c hapels or a pse-like s tructures l ining t he s ide walls. I n this case t he p lural form of the word i s taken as i ndicating many more than two. 91 I t s eems to us, however,

Delehaye's opinion ( Origines, p . 2 69) H ippolytus w as not an i mportant e nough martyr in Rome to merit such a great celebration, and he proposed that Prudentius c onfused t he f east of H ippolytus with that of Laurence, which had taken p lace three days earlier ( August 1 0) at t he nearby c emetery of Cyriaca. The s uggestion, however, i s a gratuitous one, s ince the focus of Prudentius t hroughout t he poem i s t he s pecific martyr whose l ife, m artyrdom, burial, and veneration he i s intent on desc ribing. Besides, t he n ote of exaggeration i s in l ine w ith Prudentius's style. C f. Testini, D i a lcune t esti monianze, p p. 5 9-60 who c alls attention to t he importance o f the cult o f the martyr as witnessed by the fact of his b eing o ne of t he f ew s aints who appears on P aleochristian s arcophagi and on gilded g lasses, where he i s associated w ith P eter, P aul, Laurence, S ixtus I I, a nd C yprian. 9 1 L avarenne thus translates: " . . . de petites c hapelles, p lus b asses de p lafond, q ui s 'enfoncent s ans i nterruption d ans toute l a longueur des cötes". P rudence, ed. L avarenne, p . 1 72. H . H otzinger, D ie a ltc hristliche A rchitektur ( Stuttgart, 1 889), p . 3 3 ( cited by Schumacher, Prudentius, p . 1 1, n ote 4 6) a lso s uggests t his interpretation as a possibility. H e proposes two a lternatives f or t he over-all s hape of t he building: e ither a f ive-aisled s tructure or one with three a isles

3 9

that the main point P rudentius i s making i n t hese verses i s t he d istinction b etween t he h igh a nd wide m iddle a rea a nd the l ower and n arrower s ide a reas. Y et t he word r ecessus r efers p recisely to t hese s ide a reas a nd n ot t o s ome other l esser architectural e lement such a s a s eries o f n iches. They s eem, moreover, t o l ie immediately b eh ind the colonnade on each s ide. Thus i t i s p robably more c orrect t o i nterpret t he word r ecessus a s a periphrastic way o f describing two s ide a isles f lanking t he nave on t he o ther s ide o f e ach r ow o f columns. I t i s hardly t he word one would u se t o describe s ide a isles in an a ccurate way, but p oetic l icense could explain its choice, the image b eing a visual one, t he s pace behind t he c olonnade b eing s een ( from the point o f view o f one s tanding in t he nave) a s a s eries o f n iches b etween t he c olumns. I n this s upp osition the next verse possibly i ndicates t hat these r ecessus a ctually f orm a c ontinuous a isle on e ach s ide ( "qui l aterum s eriem exsinuent," v . 2 22). 92 S chumacher c onsiders that t he c hurch described b y P rudentius c orresponds t o the b asilica maior o f S . L orenzo excavated in 1 950 and 1 957. 93 The f eatures h e s ingles out f rom P rudentius" d escription, however, a pply f or the most part to a ny l arge b asilica: considerable s ize, a double r ow o f c olumns, t he r oof of t he a isles l ower than that o f the n ave. T he only r eference to t he peculiar f orm o f t he c ircus-shaped b asilica w ith i ts c olonnade continued to f orm an a mbulatory around the r ear o f t he b uilding he f inds r eflected in v . 2 22. H e s eems thus to c onsider r ecessus a s r eferring t o t he s ide a isles a nd i nterprets t he verse a s meaning that t hese a isles a re c ontinued a ll the way around the c hurch: i ugiter. W hile this i nterpretation c annot b e e xcluded, t he p hrase i s a n ambiguous one and i s by i tself i nsufficient j ustification f or c onsidering t he description o f P rudentius a s r eferr ing to a c ircus-shaped basilica. I t m ight e qually w ell be i nterpreted a s s imply d escribing t he f act t hat t he s ide a isles are coterminous in l ength w ith t he nave, i ugiter underlining this f act a lone.

a nd s ide recesses. I t i s difficult, h owever, t o s ee h ow he f inds f ive a isles or even t hree a isles w ith s ide r ecesses, s ince P rudentius mentions only three e lements: t he c entral s pace a nd t wo s eries o f r ecessus. 9 2 A f urther possibility would be that t he r ecessus a re t wo i n n umber a nd that t hey r efer t o t he t wo s ide a isles. I n any c ase i t must b e a dmitted that l ine 2 22 i s very o bscure. 9 3 S chumacher, P rudentius, p p. l ica maior s ee K rautheimer, Corpus

4 0

1 1-12. F or the b asi2 :94-114;118-23.

An ambo f rom which the bishop preaches i s r eached by s everal s teps. The meaning of the phrase " fronte s ub a dversa" ( v . 2 25) i s not absolutely c lear but s eems to mean that the tribune i s opposite the entrance. 94 T he impression o ne gets f rom P rudentius's t ext i s t hat the templum used f or the celebrations on the f east d ay of the martyr is connected to the cemetery of H ippol ytus i tself. I t i s s aid to be i uxta . The s tructure i tself with i ts colonnade a nd roofs of d iffering h eights was c learly a n aboveground building . Yet curiously the l ater s ources a re not c lear i n a ffirming t he p resence o f s uch a s tructure i n intimate relation to this catacomb, a nd s everal a uthors have s uggested that the building i n q uestion was none other than the basilica major o f S . L orenzo. 95 With regards to P rudentius' text i tself i t must be admitted that it is not explicit as to whether or n ot the basilica in question i s properly that of the s aint, a nd t he descriptive t erm i uxta does not r ule o ut t he possibility that i t was the basilica major o f S . L orenzo or s ome other s tructure connected with t his c emet ery, s ince the distance between the two was l ittle over 4 00 meters. Y et this i s not l ikely. 9 . The poet s aw on a wall " super tumulum" a painting d epicting the martyrdom o f the s aint ( vv . 1 23-34). The t erminology used makes i t c lear that the poet i s speaking o f a concrete a rtefact which he s aw ( "multicolor f ucus . . . picta . . . species l iquidis viget umbris"; " docta manus v irides imitando e ffingere dumos"; " lustrat e minio r usseolam s aniem"). F rom the s ame terminology i t s eems e vident that t he artefact in question was a p ainting . The subject matter of the painting i s the martyrdom o f Hippolytus, i n which he i s dragged to h is death by wild horses to which he has been tied, and the gathering of the members of the saint by the Christians after his martyrdom. I t i s to b e noted that the description of the pict ure i s s et in the context o f t he poet's narration o f t he martyrdom and burial of Hippolytus, which takes up the g reater part o f the f irst half of the poem ( vv. 1 7-152) a nd not in the context o f his description of the actual

9 4 S ee Prudence, ed. Lavarenne, p . 1 72; " . . . en f ace se dresse . . . " and Prudentius, ed. Thomson, p . 3 21: " Facing you, at the top of some steps . . . . " 9 5 D uchesne, Le s anctuaire, pp . 6 -7; Muhoz, La basil ica, p . 9 ; S chumacher, Prudentius, pp . 8 -12. K rautheimer, Corpus 2 :8, however, maintains that g iven t he context o f Prudentius's a ccount the church i n quest ion seems rather to be one linked directly to the catac omb of H ippolytus.

4 1

c emetery, which constitutes much o f ( vv. 1 52-234).

the

s econd p art

I t i s a lso curious that the description o f the p ainting i s not only mentioned in t he context of the n arration but serves a s part of the narration i tself, particularly in t he part which describes t he g athering o f the martyr's members. I n f act one i s not sure where the description of t he p ainting ends a nd t he t hread o f t he s tory i s taken up again. As the t ext stands, vv. 1 35-51 c ould be i nterpreted as r eferring to t he p ainting, but i t i s c lear that i t would have had to b e of truly monumental proportions, a nd it s eems more l ikely that the poet has s lipped back into h is narration. A lthough not included in the account of t he shrine o f t he martyr, this description nonetheless refers to t he tomb ( "picta super tumulum") in the underground c ult c ent er. 96 A lthough some contemporaries of De Rossi c alled the veracity of Prudentius' account i nto question, he himself accepted this eye witness account a s true. S ince his t ime most s cholars have a lso been in f avor of i ts authenticity. 97 I t s eems to u s that many of the authors who

% Amore, Martin , p . 2 47, note 5 0 suggests that the painting w as r eally in t he c hurch of t he martyr i n Portus r ather than in the catacomb, but h is reasons f or this opinion a re not c onvincing. 9 7 S ee De Rossi, C imitero, pp. 7 1-74. His s uggestion that it was of s mall proportions i nspired by a m odel f rom a miniature in a manuscript i s wholly gratuitous. S ee a lso Marucchi, Catacombe, p . 3 27, n ote 1 . De R ossi a lso c ites P . A llard, Lettres c hretiennes ( Paris, 1 882) p . 2 60 in f avor of this opinion. Among t hose o pposed t o it h e c ites J . Döllinger, H ippolytus und K allistus ( Regensburg, 1 853), pp. 5 7 f f., who c onsidered P rudentius t o have confused the martyrdom o f H ippolytus with a represent ation of t he death of t he H ippolytus of Greek mythology; E . Müntz, Etudes s ur l 'histoire d e l a peinture e t de l 'iconographie chretienne ( Paris, 1 881), p . 1 7, who f ound s uch a representation out of keeping with the t raditions o f P aleochristian a rt; a nd F .-X. K raus, " Hippolytus" i n Real-Encyklopädie der christlichen A ltertümer 1 :659-60. Among t he l ater opinions s ee H . D elehaye, Les l egendes hagiographiques, 3 rd ed. ( Brussels, 1 927), p . 7 1; Testini, D i a lcune t estimonianze, p p. 5 6-58. B ovini, S ant'Ippolito, p . 4 1 doubted the veracity of the account a nd c ited ( in addition to those mentioned by D e Rossi) the following who were o f the opinion that it was false: J . F icker, Studien z ur H ippolytusfraqe ( Leipzig, 1 881), p . 2 87, who f inds c lose parallels between the t ext o f S eneca's Phaedra a nd t he d escription of P rudentius.

4 2

have denied the veracity of the account do so because of t he d ifficulties in accepting t he curious fashion in which the saint i s martyred. However, i t i s one thing t o accept t he h istoricity of the f act of H ippolytus's martyrdom in this way and quite another to admit the possib ility o f a p ainting having existed of a l egendary a ccount o f such a martyrdom. I n answer to the objections l eveled against this l atter possibility on t he b asis o f i ts being out of keeping with early Christian art, Testini h as d rawn up a l ist of t elling e xamples showing t hat such a representation would by no means be unique i n t he vocabulary of the i conography of the fourth century. 98

2 .

I CUR 7 , A .D.

n . 1 9961 4 07

This curious f ragment u sed to l ine t he b ase of a small niche in the south wall o f zone R in the cult center s eems t o have been part of an i nscription dated A .D. 4 07 ( Fig. 4 ). I t t hus provides one more terminus a quo f or t he c onstruction of t he n ew c ult c enter o f the martyr. 99

3 .

This dated

I CUR 7 , A .D.

inscription

n . 1 9983 4 10

incorporated

i nto

the masonry

S tyger, Märtyrergrüfte, p . 1 88 s eems a lso to have been o f this o pinion. A more recent o pinion in f avor o f P rudent ius's veracity i s found in J . Vives, "Veracidad historica de P rudencio" in the Miscellania o f Analecta Sacra Tarraconensia 1 7 ( 1944):199-204. 9 8

T estini,

D i

a lcune

t estimonianze,

pp.

5 7-58.

9 9 I t i s dated i n a year in which an Augustus was consul f or t he s eventh t ime. De R ossi p roposed three possible dates : 4 07, 4 16, or 4 50, but F errua has shown that t he f irst i s t he correct o ne s ince in this year a lone the Augustus in question had no f ellow consul. De Rossi, C imitero, p . 6 7; F errua i n I CUR 7 :421-22. The year 4 16 i s in no way pertinent, and it i s difficult to s ee why De R ossi c onsidered it a p ossibility. F errua's i ndication that the stone i s used to pave the area near t he a ltar i s i ncorrect.

4 3

o f the r ight wall of the new cult c enter s erves a s a f urther t erminus a quo f or t he c onstruction of t his l atter. 1 00

4 .

F ebruary

Martyrologium H ieronymianuml° c a. A .D. 4 31-50

2 :

1

V III KAL. MART. Romae via T iburtina ad s anctum Laurentium natale s anctae C oncordiae.

A ugust

1 3:

I D. AUG. Romae via Tiburtina Hyppoliti martyris.

August

2 4:

I X KAL. S EPT. R omae Genisi martyris.

s ancti

O f the many entries, which mention a H ippolytus in t he martyrology o f J erome only t he o ne f or August 1 3 l inks the name with the Via Tiburtina. 1 °2 Among o ther s aints a ssociated with t he c atacomb in l ater s ources Concordia and Genesius a lso appear i n this document, but Concordia i s l isted under t he c atacomb of Cyriaca ( "ad s anctum Laurentium"), whereas l ater documents s ituate her burial p lace in the catacomb o f H ippolytus.' " Among these t he Notitia ecclesiarum i ndicates that h er tomb w as i n f ront of the entrance ( "ante f ores") o f the cubiculum where H ippolytus w as buried. This c ould mean that s he was buried outside the entrance o f the underground portion o f t he c emetery. In this c ase i f it w as e nclosed i n a s eparate aboveground structure this might have been i nterpreted as p ertaining to t he n earby c emetery o f Cyriaca. S cholars are not agreed that there really was a Roman martyr by t he name o f Genesius, but t he p resent document distinguishes between the s aint of Arles and the o ne of Rome l isting their f east days r espectively on

1 00 D e Rossi, G iornale d i s cavo 1 882-83, p . 6 0 H e does not i ndicate in which stretch of w all it h ad been u sed, b ut i s i s s ituated today on the r ight wall o f the cult c enter, a nd perhaps this w as t he p oint n ear which i t w as f ound, a s F errua s uggests. I CUR 7 :426.

1 01 Martyrologium H ieronymianum, 1 °2 S axer,

l "See

Note

Testini,

d i D i

a giografia, a lcuni

4 4

pp.

pp.

1 08,

4 39,

5 83.

1 02-108.

t estimonianze,

pp.

4 8-51.

August 2 5 and August 2 4. 1 " I n any case he appears among t he martyrs o f t he c atacomb of H ipppolytus both i n the N otitia E cclesiarum and in D e l ocis. I t s hould be noted t hat in t he present entry there i s no indication of the c emetery in which he i s buried. The dedication of a basilica of SS. S ixtus, H ippolyt us, a nd Laurence commemorated on Nov. 2 i s n ow generally r ally believed to be a duplication of the entry o f Feb. 2 c ommemorating a church i n Forum S empronii ( Fossombrone) . 105

5 . I CUR 7 , n . 2 0157 p robably mid-fifth century

LOCVS ROMVLI PRESBYTERI TITVLI

PVDEN

-

TIANAE This inscription testifies to a relationship between t he cemetery a nd t he t itulus o f P udentiana. F errua c ons iders it to date from the middle of the f ifth century.

6 . Passio P olychronii, 3 1 1" e nd of f ifth, b eginning o f s ixth century

B eati vero Yppoliti p edes l igari ad c olla indomitorum equorum et s ic per cardetum et t ribulos trahi; qui d um t raheretur emisit s piritum. E adem hora dimiserunt corpora in c ampo, i uxta nimpham ad l atus a gri, Verani i dibus augusti.

' "Amore,

Martin ,

pp.

1 02-103.

1 05 D elehaye, La dedicace, pp. 1 09-10. Earlier opinion s aw it as t he d edication o f t he basilica major o f S . L orenzo fuori l e mura. S ee Quentin in Martyrologium H ieronymianum, p . 5 83 f or further bibliography.

1 06

Delehaye,

Recherches,

4 5

p .

9 5.

This l ate f ifth century passio l argely concerned with t he martyrdom o f S ixtus a nd L aurence is o f i nterest to us because Hippolytus a lso appears a long with the other martyrs of h is c atacomb, C oncordia h is n utrix, T riphonia and Cyrilla ( wife and daughter of the emperor Decius) and indeed his whole f amilia. " 7 The material in t he l ater passiones of t he martyrs a lthough l argely l egendary i n character sometimes contains e lements i nspired by t he t opography of t he martyr s hrines at the time of their composition. I n t he present case t he expression " iuxta n impham ad l atum agri Verani" might be an allusion to a fountain or spring n ear the shrine of Hippolytus at the time t he a uthor was writing. I n Gori's t ime the area was noted f or its many s prings o f f ine water, and even today one o f these i s still i n use. 1 °8 B asing himself on this abundance of water G ori i dent ified the catacomb with the cemetery ad nympham where, according to c ertain documents, P eter supposedly bapt ized. De Rossi, however, preferred to i dentify this with the " . . . c imitero O striano presso s . Agnese." 1 " Both authors l inked t he n impha mentioned h ere w ith the possessio Acqua Tutia g iven by Constantine to t he bas ilica o f S . Lorenzo f uori l e mura, b ut this s eems unl ikely. 1 10

While an earlier version o f the passio was in circulation at t he t ime of S t. Ambrose, there i s s ome dispute as to whether H ippolytus and the other s aints o f the catacomb were a lready i ncluded in this early t ext. S ee Delehaye, Recherches, pp. 7 0-71; Amore, Note, pp. 9 09 4. 1 07

1 08

Gori,

10 9 i bi d

De

Rossi,

.,

Della porta, p p.

Cimitero,

7 0-71; p .

5 2

p . f or

6 4-65. the cemetery ad n ympham

a nd Roma

S otterranea

1 :190

s ee f f.

1 1 ° LP 1 :182,4. Corvisieri, D ell'Acqua Tocia ident ified t he possessio with o ne o f a s imilar n ame, which appears frequently in the archives o f S . P rassede, and he conjectured that it was related t o t he r iver T utia on whose banks Hannibal pitched camp. H e f urther i nterpreted t he ad l atus of the LP account as r eferring to the Veranum f undum o f the entry immediately preceding this o ne ( 2:2-3). Duchesne ( LP 1 :108, n ote 8 7), who a dmits the probability of the identification specifies the Fossi di S ettebagni as b eing t he s tream in question but points out that this could hardly be said to b e a d l atus agri Verani. He p roposes that t he e xpression a d l atus was originally l inked with some o ther topographical indic ation s ubsequently l ost f rom the text. S ee a lso De Rossi, Cimitero, p . 1 9, note 2 .

4 6

This is the first document which we have encountered that makes mention of Triphonia and Cyrilla, both of whom a re judged by Amore to be an invention of the author. 111 Their burial is described as taking place in the sa me a rea as that of Hippolytus himself. The familia of H ippolytus are buried at the s ame t ime as the martyr h imself in campo i uxta nimpham . Concordia whose body is at first thrown into a c loaca is later discovered and given burial by the presbyter Justinus " . . . iuxta c orpora s anctorum Yppoliti et ceterorum . 1 , 1 2 He later b uries Triphonia " . . . in eadem cripta ubi sanctum Yppolitum" and Cyrilla " . . . cum matre sua, ubi posuit c orpus beati Laurentii." 113

7 .

ICUR 7 , A .D.

H IC REQVIISCIT DEPS

SVBD

n . 1 9991 4 89

IN PACE ARGYRIVS

I II

NON

RAVIT F ILIA EIVS

MAIS

CONS

QVI Vix PROVINI

V _ c

FAVSTA A PRB TIT PRAXSedis

As Ferrua n otes, this inscription seems to show that t he titulus of Prassede exercised a certain authority over t he catacomb in the year 4 89.

1 11

Amore,

1 12

Delehaye,

1 13ibid "

Martin ,

p .

1 02.

Recherches,

p .

9 6.

9 7-98. The same expression appears in t he passio known as Magnas Martyrum: " Tunc corpus eius r apuerunt christiani et posuerunt in crypta, quae est i uxta agrum praetorianum die i d. aug ." P . Lagarde, H ippol yti Romani quae f eruntur omnia graece ( Leipzig, 1 858), p . XV . No mention is made in this passio of t he burial o f his companions. p

p.

4 7

CHAPTER S IX

THE S IXTH C ENTURY

The important • inscription o f the presbyter Andreas f rom t he t ime of Pope V igilius ( 537-55) attests to r ep airs carried out in the crypt o f the martyr p robably a fter t he destruction c aused by an a ttack on t he c ity a t s ome t ime during the Gothic wars. The inscription of A .D. 5 28 s ealed in p lace by t he archway over t he entrance o f the catacomb offers a terminus a quo for the construct ion of a portion of t he monument.

1 .

H IC

REQVIESCIT

QVI VIXIT ANN P LM

I N

I CUR 7 , n . A .D. 5 28

PACE XXX DP

1 9994

H ILARVS

L IC OR

I

I VL PC

I DVS

T T

PVDENIIS

MABORTI

VC

This inscription was re-used as a threshold for the arched entranceway i nto t he i ter l eading to t he c ult c enter. S ince the masonry o f the archway rests upon i ts two extremities it p rovides a t erminus a quo f or the dating of this s tructure and very probably of t he late cult c enter as a whole. 114

1 14 T he curious reason for t he space between the P C and MABORTI in l ine 2 i s t he f act t hat t he s lab u sed f or t he i nscription was an o ld threshold i nto which two holes had been c ut in this spot to receive t he door bolts. The s tone seems to h ave served f irst a s a threshold, then a s a tomb c over, a nd f inally once a gain a s a threshold. The relationship between t he catacomb of H ippolytus a nd t he t ituli o f Pudenziana a nd P rassede ( witnessed t o by I CUR 7 , nn. 1 9991, 1 9994, and 2 0157) suggests that t he c atacomb s erved t he needs of t he e cclesiastical r egion i n which they l ay. P ani E rmini holds that these t ituli were s ituated in t he f ourth r egion, b ut t he question s till awaits a f uller treatment on the basis o f medieval archiv al documents that have not y et been f ully s tudied. S ee Corpus d ella s cultura a ltomedievale, vol. 7 : L a d iocesi d i Roma, 1 : La I V r egione ecclesiastica, ( Spoleto, 1 974),

p .

3 4.

4 8

2 .

I nscription o f Andreas A .D. 5 37-55

P resbyter 115

T E R VM i . V MM O T E R D ID E M A N TAR

I YRPOT 7 10 L VCEN 1 0 ' I T TERE A ESTQV i E N ESC IT V OCRESGAPN E C I NVM 5T \ P V ITPE

d , rDM

c 5 NOVV ;B AR I°

r "

rr ! " .

O R EMQV L S V L EV IG I L IO \ S i v " )

R AESBY E k l A i \D F ilA EC

M EN D IE M r s V S I B I S T E S E N T A LO M T I R I SAV LA A F A C T A SVV N T RAD E E M E G I T Oy P S

CLIJ "

a e

De Rossi d iscovered two f ragments o f the i nscription a t various p oints in t he c ult c enter d uring t he excavat ions o f 1 881-82 ( d-e), while two o thers were l ater f ound i n t he c hurch o f SS. Q uattro C oronati where they h ad b een u sed a s paving s tones ( b-c). An additional p iece with t he beginning o f t he f irst t wo l ines s eems to have b een d iscovered around the t ime o f the excavations. 116 B asing h imself on t he t ypology of i nscriptions c ommemorating r estorations i n the c atacombs a fter the G othic attack he p roposed a r estoration, which emphasized t he n otion o f s piritual vs. material l ight. 117

p p.

1 15 I CUR 5 7-66.

7 ,

n .

1 9937.

S ee a lso D e Rossi C imitero,

1 16 F errua maintains t hat this f ragment was discovered o nly in 1 930, b ut De R ossi's G iornale d i s cavo 1 881-82, p . 1 38 s hows i t in a s ketch o f the various f ragments o f t he i nscription. P erhaps it w as s ubsequently l ost a nd r ediscovered i n 1 930.

1 17He published t he t ext o f the f ragments a long w ith a p roposed r estoration i n C imitero, p p. 5 7-66. H is t rans cription o f t he i nscription, however, i s not a ccurate s ince h is text i ncludes many more l etters than a re a ct ually p resent i n the f ragments themselves. Moreover, h is restoration does n ot t ake i nto a ccount t he f ragment w hich c ontains the f irst l etters o f t he f irst two l ines, d espite t he f act that a c opy o f i t a ppears i n t he G iorn ale d i s cavo!

4 9

The preserved f ragments make i t c lear that t he ins cription c ommemorates work done i n t he " martyris aula" by a certain Andreas presbyter during the reign o f Vigil ius ( "praesule Virgilio"). The w ord antra, which occurs twice, seems to r efer to the underground area. T he phrase " barbaricis a usib h ostes" p robably refers to an attack on the " sacrum l ocum" of l ine 1 0. Given t he r eference to t he reign of Vigilius there i s l ittle doubt that this took p lace during the G othic wars. 118 The r ecurrence of t he t heme of l ight ( lucem, v . 4 ; l umen, v .7; d iem, v . 8 ) shows that this was one of the major themes of t he c armen. The destruction caused by the Goths i n the c atacombs i s r eferred to in t he LP's account of t he l ife o f S ilver ius ( 536-37), but no specific cemeteries are mentioned. 119 The texts o f two i nscriptions mentioning r epairs a fter the Gothic wars are recorded in t he Sylloges, but the only other i nscription of this s ort which has c ome down to us i s one for the shrine of the martyr A lexander in the catacomb of Trasone. 12 ° There i s l ittle more informat ion that c an be g leaned f rom the i nscription i n i ts present state. 121

1 18 Ferrua ( ICUR 7 :144) points out that the c rosses a t t he beginning a nd e nd of t he i nscription a re not u ncommon during the period 5 38-45.

1 19

LP

1 :291,

1 -8.

1 20 S ee F errua, I l avori, pp. 1 42-48 and more recently F asola, Le r ecenti s coperte, p . 2 89. The two o ther i ns criptions are for Crisanthus and Dan a and Diogenes. I hm, Epigrammata, n n. 8 7 a nd 9 9, p p. 9 1 a nd 9 9. S ee a lso De Rossi, I nscriptiones 2 , n . 8 8, p . 1 15, which r ecords damage s uffered by a tomb on t he S alaria Nova d uring t he Gothic attack. 1 21 De Rossi's attempt to pinpoint the exact phase o f t he Gothic wars in which t he destruction took p lace on the basis o f the phrase " iterum s ummota" i s certainly overly ambitious. C imitero, p . 6 2. Furthermore h is restoration of l ine 7 has met with c riticism for t he attempt to i nterpret t he l ine as r eferring to t he l ucernaria o f the crypt. H e c laimed that these were r eferred t o by the word l umen a nd that t he specula ( used i nstead o f s pecul aria) were the translucent c losure panes fitted i nto t hem. F errua ( ICUR 7 , p . 4 15) c ites Büchele's r estorat ion, which appears in I hm's edition: " [Roma p ereg]rinum s tupuit per [ sae]cula l umen • • • " I hm, Epiqrammata, p p. 8 6-87, note on v . 7 . H e s uggested, however, s ecula as a preferred spelling based on a more p lausible number of l etters f or t he s pace available i n t he l acuna. D e Rossi f ound traces o f only two l ucernaria in the crypt but

5 0

During the years of Vigilius's reign the c ity was s ubjected to t hree d ifferent s ieges by t he Goths. T he f irst one under Vitigis was unsuccessful ( February 5 37 March 5 38). The s econd one l ed by T otila was more t err ible and possibly l asted more than a year ( 545 - Decemb er 1 7, 5 46 ) .122 After capturing the c ity he held i t f rom D ecember 1 7, 5 46 until s ometime i n 5 47 when Belisarius t ook it back. On Jan. 16, 5 50, however, he was able to r ecapture it, a nd t he c ity r emained i n Gothic h ands until N arses once again captured it for the Byzantines in 5 52. Any work o f r estoration of t he c atacombs would have b een highly unlikely during the s ieges a s well a s during t he period o f B elisarius's c ommand in the c ity f rom 5 47 t o 5 49, at which t ime the population was a lmost exclus ively military . 123 This l eaves u s with the interim period b etween the s iege of Vitigis and the first of Totila ( 538-45) and the period from the reconquest of Narses to t he death of V igilius ( 552-55). The s ources, however, note Totila's c oncern for the welfare of the c ity during h is second p eriod of occupation ( 550-52). At this t ime he restored s everal damaged buildings in the Trastevere a rea. 124 G iven the respect in which Totila held the s hrines of t he martyrs ( an a ttitude s hared by V itigis before h im) it i s not unreasonable to suggest that he might have f ostered a restoration program here too . 125 I t i s noteworthy that h is respect f or these monuments i s r ecorded by a writer from the enemy camp . Thus we must not exclude this p eriod as a possible t ime for Andreas's work of restoration in the catacomb of H ippolytus .

hypothesized t hat three were called for by the f orm and dimension o f t he monument. C imitero, pp. 6 7, 6 9. 1 22 Opinions a s to when the s iege began range from the s ummer of 5 45 [ F . Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom i n Mittelalter von V . b is XVI. Jahrhundert, ed . W . Kampf, ( Stuttgart, 1 963) 2 :196] to s ometime around December [ E . S tein, Histoire du Bas-Empire, ed . J . R . Palanque, ( Paris, 1 947), p . 5 78]. B ertolini s ituates i t in the autumn . 0 . B ertolini, Roma d i f ronte a B isanz io e a i Lonqobardi in I stituto di S tudi Romani, S toria di Roma 9 , ( Bologna, 1 941), p . 1 63. 1 23 Totila evacuated the c ivilian population upon his departure in 5 47 and even s tationed the main part of his army outside the c ity to the west . P rocopius stresses the desolation of t he c ity in which no h uman i nhabitants remained. Procopius. Hyper ton polemon 7 . 2 2.

8 .

1 24 p 22. --

1i 298; Procopius. ibid., VI, 4 .

Hyper

1 25

5 1

ton polemon

7 .

3 7

and

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE

I TINERARIES

OF THE S EVENTH CENTURY

Just as Prudentius described the burial p lace of t he martyr a fter t he restoration work o f Damasus, s o t oo t he present itineraries witness to i ts shape after t he work of Vigilius. I n addition to confirming c ertain d ata o ffered by earlier l iterary documents, these important s ources provide n ew i nformation. Thus we l earn f rom De l ocis t hat the catacomb lay o n t he l eft ( north) s ide of t he V ia T iburtina and w as s ituated on a r ise in the terrain described a s a mons. Furthermore, Notitia e cclesiarum w ith i ts u sual p recision o ffers us a topographical description not only o f the tomb of Hippolytus h imself, but a lso of those o f t he other martyrs of the catacomb, whom we met for t he first t ime i n t he documents of t he s ixth c entury. These tombs are distinguished into three ( possibly f our) groups: Concordia, ante f ores; H ippolytus, s ub t erra in c ubiculo; Triphonia, Cyrilla, and Genesius, a ltero c ubiculo ( Genes ius p ossibly occupying a f ourth c ubicle). The exact meaning o f the word basilica used b y De l ocis a nd Malmesbury in their d escriptions of t he monument i s not c lear. ( It might possibly refer e ither to t he c emeterial complex as a whole o r to the u nderground cult center a lone.) However, while none o f the three documents mention t he aboveground basilica d esc ribed by Prudentius, their s ilence may not be adduced t o d isprove i ts existence.

1 .

Notitia e cclesiarum u rbis s econd quarter o f s eventh century

Romae 126

P ostea i llam viam demittis et p ervenies ad s anctum Ypolitum martirem, qui requiescit s ub t erra in cubiculo, et Concordia mulier eius martir ante fores, a ltero cubiculo sancta Triphonia r egina et martir, e t Cyrilla f ilia e ius et martir, quas Messius D ecius i nterfecit, uxorem et f iliam, et s anctus G enesius martir.

1 26

Valentini-Zucchetti,

Codice Topografico

5 2

2 :79-80.

During the y ears of Vigilius's reign the c ity was s ubjected to t hree d ifferent s ieges by t he Goths. The f irst one under V itigis was unsuccessful ( February 5 37 March 5 38). The s econd one l ed by T otila was more t err ible and possibly l asted more than a year ( 545 - Decemb er 1 7, 5 46 ) .122 After capturing the c ity he held it f rom D ecember 1 7, 5 46 until s ometime i n 5 47 when Belisarius took it back. On Jan. 16, 5 50, however, he was able to r ecapture it, a nd t he c ity r emained i n Gothic h ands until N arses once again captured it f or the Byzantines in 5 52. Any work o f restoration of t he c atacombs would have b een highly unlikely during the s ieges a s well a s during t he period o f B elisarius's c ommand in the c ity f rom 5 47 to 5 49, at which t ime the population was a lmost exclus ively military . 123 This l eaves us with the i nterim period between the s iege of Vitigis and the first of Totila ( 538-45) and the period f rom the reconquest of Narses to the death of V igilius ( 552-55). The s ources, however, note Totila's c oncern for the welfare of the c ity during h is second p eriod of occupation ( 550-52). At this t ime he restored s everal damaged buildings in the Trastevere area. 124 G iven the respect in which Totila held the shrines of t he martyrs ( an a ttitude s hared by V itigis before h im) i t i s not unreasonable to s uggest that he might have f ostered a restoration program here too. 125 I t is noteworthy that h is respect f or these monuments i s recorded by a writer from the enemy camp . Thus we must not exclude this p eriod as a p ossible t ime f or Andreas's work o f restoration in the catacomb of H ippolytus.

hypothesized t hat three were called f or by the f orm and dimension o f t he monument. C imitero, pp. 6 7, 6 9. 1 22 Opinions a s to when the s iege began range from the s ummer of 5 45 [ F . Gregorovius, Geschichte der Stadt Rom i n Mittelalter von V . b is XVI. J ahrhundert, ed . W . Kampf, ( Stuttgart, 1 963) 2 :196] to s ometime around D ecember [ E . Stein, H istoire du Bas-Empire, ed . J . R . Palanque, ( Paris, 1 947), p . 5 78]. B ertolini s ituates i t in the autumn . 0 . Bertolini, Roma d i f ronte a B isanz io e a i Longobardi in I stituto di S tudi Romani, S toria di Roma 9 , ( Bologna, 1 941), p . 1 63. 1 23 Totila evacuated the c ivilian population upon his departure in 5 47 and even stationed the main part of his army outside the c ity to the west. P rocopius stresses the desolation of the c ity in which no h uman i nhabitants

remained. 1 24

8 .

2 2.

LP

Procopius.

Hyper

ton polemon

1 :298; Procopius. 1 25ibid., VI, 4 .

Hyper

5 1

7 .

2 2.

ton polemon

7 .

3 7

and

CHAPTER

THE

I TINERARIES

S EVEN

OF THE S EVENTH CENTURY

Just as Prudentius described the burial p lace of t he martyr a fter t he r estoration work o f Damasus, s o t oo t he present i tineraries witness to i ts shape a fter t he work o f V igilius. I n addition to confirming c ertain d ata o ffered by earlier l iterary documents, these important s ources provide n ew i nformation. Thus we l earn f rom De l ocis t hat the catacomb lay o n t he l eft ( north) s ide o f t he V ia T iburtina and w as s ituated on a r ise i n the terrain described a s a mons. Furthermore, Notitia e cclesiarum w ith i ts usual p recision o ffers us a topographical description not only o f the tomb of H ippolytus h imself, but a lso of those of t he other martyrs of the catacomb, whom we met for the first t ime in t he documents o f t he s ixth c entury. These tombs are distinguished into t hree ( possibly f our) groups: Concordia, ante f ores; H ippolytus, s ub t erra in c ubiculo; Triphonia, Cyrilla, and Genesius, a ltero c ubiculo ( Genes ius p ossibly occupying a f ourth c ubicle). The exact meaning o f the word basilica used b y De l ocis a nd Malmesbury in t heir d escriptions of t he monument i s not c lear. ( It might possibly refer e ither to t he c emeterial complex as a whole or to the underground cult center a lone.) However, while none o f the three documents mention t he aboveground basilica d esc ribed by Prudentius, their s ilence may not be adduced to disprove i ts existence.

1 .

P ostea

Notitia e cclesiarum u rbis s econd quarter o f s eventh century

Romae 126

i llam viam d emittis et p ervenies

ad

s anctum Ypolitum martirem, qui requiescit sub t erra in cubiculo, et Concordia mulier e ius martir ante f ores, a ltero cubiculo sancta Triphonia r egina et martir, et Cyrilla f ilia e ius et martir, quas Messius D ecius i nterfecit, uxorem et f iliam, et s anctus G enesius martir.

1 26

Valentini-Zucchetti,

Codice Topografico

5 2

2 :79-80.

Postea pervenies ad ecclesiam S ancti Laurentii; i bi s unt m agnae basilicae duae . . • • The pilgrim i s l ed directly f rom the church o f S . Agnese on t he N omentana ( "illam viam") to t he c atacomb o f H ippolytus, a fter which he will visit the churches o f S . Lorenzo. With i ts u sual p recision t he i tinerary i nforms us of the burial of H ippolytus " sub terra in cubiculo." Furthermore t he tombs of t he other martyrs l inked to the s ame c atacomb i n the P assio Polychronii a re a lso indicated. Triphonia a nd Cyrilla ( wife a nd daughter of D ec ius a s in the Passio) are buried in " altero cubiculo" a long with G enesius. 127 Concordia, however, ( here described as wife r ather than nutrix o f H ippolytus as in the Passio) i s s aid to be " ante fores," an expression which in the context may be i nterpreted e ither a s r eferring to the cubiculum o f H ippolytus or to t he c atacomb i tself. I t i s t o be noted that there i s no mention o f an ecclesia or b asilica i n connection with the cemetery. The only topographical description i s " ad s anctum H ippolitum." This, i s however, not to be interpreted to mean that there w as no aboveground s tructure h ere. There a re numerous occasions i n this document where neither eccles ia n or basilica a re u sed at a ll in s ituations where t he other two i tineraries use one or other o f these terms. 128 Thus o n t he b asis of this text we s imply do not know i f there was a monumental aboveground s tructure i n this cemetery. T he author does not a llude to s uch. This i s understandable s ince the martyr was buried i n the underground portion of t he cemetery, a nd this w as h is main point of interest. S ince the basilica i n question did not contain t he bodies of the martyrs it w as n ot ment ioned. 129 T hus we can only a ffirm that Notitia has no-

1 27 Perhaps the phrase a ltero cubiculo i s to b e taken f or granted before t he name o f Genesius. 1 28 E ven i n the case o f S . P aolo f uori l e mura the great basilica i s not directly mentioned: " . . . et s ic vadis ad S anctum Paulum via O stiense, et i n australi parte c erne e cclesiam S anctae Teclae . . . " Notitia, pp. 8 9-90. S imilarly there i s no a llusion to the imposing basilica of Nereus and Achilleus. After a v isit to Marcus and Marcellinus " . . . descendis per gradus ad sanctos martires N ereum et Achilleum." i bid., p . 8 9. Notice that i n both cases despite the presence o f a monumental c onstruction the author l imits h imself to the expressions " ad Sanctum Paulum" and " ad s anctos martires N ereum e t Achilleum." T he s ame i s u sed in o ur own case: " pervenies ad s anctum Ypolitum." 1 29 S imilarly we f ind him omitting any mention of the great basilica to which Constantina's tomb was a ttached in the complex of S . Agnese, a lthough i t must be admitted

5 3

thing either positive or negative to o ffer concerning t he presence of an aboveground b asilica attached to t he catacomb of Hippolytus.

2 .

De

l ocis

s antis martyrum quae s unt f oris c ivitatis Romae 13 ° s econd quarter o f s eventh c entury

I nde in boream, sursum in monte, basilica S ancti Hyppoliti e st, u bi i pse cum f amilia s ua tota . XVIIII. martyres iacet: carcer ibi e st in q uo f uit Laurentius; i bi e st Trifonia uxor D ecii Caesaris et Cyrilla f ilia e ius, inter u trasque Concordia et s anctus Genesius, et m ulti martyres ibi sunt. This document, which describes the cemetery a fter that o f Cyriaca i s t he f irst l iterary s ource we h ave encountered which s ituates i t on a mons 4 a term t hat will a lso be used in l ater medieval s ources. 131 I t i s the f irst text to specify that it was l ocated on t he l eft s ide o f the T iburtina ( "in boream"). The s aints mentioned in Notitia e cclesiarum appear once a gain h ere ( Concordia, Triphonia, C yrilla, a nd Genes ius) a long with the nineteen members of the f amilia o f H ippolytus ( the l atter a group f ound in t he Passio Polyc hronii but omitted in Notitia) and " multi martyres." Note that Concordia i s r eferred t o n either as n utrix n or a s wife of H ippolytus. H ippolytus and h is familia are s aid to be in t he basilica, but t he exact burial p laces o f the others are not indicated. 132

that this s ilence might be based on the f act that the basilica was possibly a lready in r uins. i bid., p . 7 9. B ut he does not l inger very l ong o n the e cclesia o f S . S ebastiano, which i s r eferred to o nly in p assing, to s ay t hat one descends f rom i t to r each the tomb of C yrinus. i bid., p . 8 5. The ecclesia o f P ietro e Marcellino, f urthermore, i s mentioned only a s a reference point for t he position o f t he memoria of T iburtinus. ibid., p . 8 3. 1 30

Valentini-Zucchetti,

1 31

S ee

pp.

Codice Topografico

2 :114-15.

7 4-76.

1 32 The expression " inter utrasque" applied t o Concordia and Genesius most probably i s to b e i nterpreted a s "tog ether with both [ Triphonia and C yrilla1" rather t han " between t hem" in a precise topographical s ense.

5 4

The term u sed to d escribe the burial p lace o f t he m artyrs i s b asilica, a word which i n this document i s u sed a lmost i nterchangeably with e cclesia t o s ignify a s ingle s tructure. Other c ases o f i ts u se s how t hat a s ingle s tructure described a s basilica may be e ither a boveground, o r p artially buried. There i s o ne s omewhat d oubtful case i n which i t i s possibly u sed o f a s ingle u nderground s tructure x b ut i t i s n ever u sed o f a t otal c emeterial c omplex. 133 G iven the preponderance o f the u sage o f the t erm i n t he s ense o f a s ingle s tructure ( either a boveground or a t l east partially below ground) one would be t empted t o c onsider t hat i n t he c ase o f H ippolytus t he s ame w as t rue. B ut t he indication o f the text that H ippolytus i s b uried i n this b asilica goes c ounter to this i nterpret ation o f the word s ince the f act o f the martyr's burial i n a t otally u nderground c rypt i s well e stablished, a s we h ave s een, f rom the texts o f Prudentius and Notitia and a s i s o bvious f rom t he a rcheological r emains. I n the l ight of this i t s eems better t o a ssume that t he a uthor i s u sing t he t erm to mean e ither t he underg round cult c enter ( as h e does p ossibly once i n t he c ase o f Tertullinus) or the whole complex o f the c emetery. 1 34 A lthough this l atter p ossibility i s n ot s upported by a nother example o f a s imilar u se e lsewhere i n the document, we must r emember t hat in a ll t hree i tineraries t he ambivalence i n usage o f the words e cclesia a nd b asilica i n t he c ase o f s ingle b uildings t aken i n c onjunction w ith t he f act that many important buildings a re not r eferred t o with e ither of these t erms ( or a ny a rchitectural t erm f or that matter) makes i t impossible f or u s t o c onsider t he f ive c ases where t he word basilica i s u sed i n Malmesb ury a s a c omplete l ist o f the s ituations where the a uthor d eemed t he word to be applicable. The c arcer i n which Laurence was imprisoned i s s aid t o be h ere, an a llusion no doubt to t he P assio where H ippolytus i s the guard o f Laurence while he i s i n pris on. 135 I t i s not to b e excluded that t here i s a t opogra-

1 33 S ee t he f ollowing p assages i n D e l ocis: s ingle a boveground s tructures: P aul ( 109), Marcus a nd M arcell ianus ( 110), and Emerentiana ( 115); partially buried o nes: L aurence ( 114), Agnes ( 115), a nd H ermes ( 117). The c ase o f Tertullinus ( 112) m ight possibly b e an i nstance o f i ts u se f or a s ingle u nderground s tructure. 1 34 S chumacher, P rudentius, p . 1 0 i nterprets r eferring to t he u nderground c ult c enter.

i t a s

1 35 Passio P olychronii i n Delehaye, R echerches, pp. 8 68 8 where, however, t he p risoners a re kept i n t he d omus o f H ippolytus.

5 5

phical i tself

a llusion here to some f eature of the catacomb to which the author l inks t he s tory of t he Passio .

3 . William o f Mal mesbury, Gesta R erum Anqlorum: portarum et S anctis Romael-36

D e

numero

A . D . 1 120-40 ( based on earlier document of third quarter of s eventh century)

Et i bi n on l onge basilica S ancti Ipoliti, u bi ipse cum fami 1ia sua pausat, id est dece m et o cto . Et i bi r equiescunt beata Trifonia u xor Decii, et f ilia e ius Cirilla et Concordia nutrix eius. 137 The shrines of the Tiburtina are described a fter that of A lexander at the seventh mile of the Via Noment ana . Not properly an itinerary, the document d oes not f ollow s trict topographical order . The author b egins with S . Lorenzo and Cyriaca then d escribes Hippolytus o n t he other s ide of t he road, only t o backtrack a fterwards t o mention the church o f St . Agapitus, which i s o nce again on the other side of the road heading towards the c ity gate. This text o ffers l ittle beyond the i nformat ion g iven i n De l ocis. The f amilia c onsists o f o nly e ighteen individuals and according t o the reading which Valentini-Zucchetti f ollow Concordia h as b ecome t he nutrix o f Cirilla !138 No mention i s made of G enesius. Once again we f ind the use of the word basilica in r eference to the p lace where H ippolytus and the o ther martyrs l ie buried. I t i s u sed o nly f ive times i n the document, and its meaning is clear in only three of these. In the c ase of S ilvester i t i s u sed of a n above-

1 36

Valentini-Zucchetti,

Codice Topografico

2 :145.

1 37 V alentini-Zucchetti, op. c it. p . 1 45. T he reading of De Rossi in Roma Sotterranea 1 :179 ( ". . . et i bi non l onge Ipolitus vel basilica s . Ippolyti ubi ipse . . . . " ) is not attested by any manuscript indic ated in the critical edition of S tubbs [ Willelmi Malbur iensis Monachi D e g estis r equm Anglorum l ibri q uinque 2 :406 i n Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi s criptores 9 0 ( London, 1 887-89)] nor i n that of Valentini-Zucchetti, which we have used . 1 38 0ther manuscripts, however, have Ypoliti a fter t he word nutrix i nstead o f e ius. Valentini-Zucchetti, op . cit., p . 1 45, critical apparatus for 1 . 1 1.

5 6

g round s tructure, whereas i n Trasone i t i s u sed o f the e ntire c omplex o f t he c emetery . I n t he c ase o f F elicitas i t i s u sed to d escribe two t opographically d istinct s tructures ( the b urial p laces o f F elicitas u nderground a nd that o f S ilanus below). 139 The broadness o f this u sage p ermits o f a c hoice, in t he c ase o f H ippolytus, o f u nders tanding the word e ither of the underground c rypt or o f t he cemetery c omplex as a whole. Thus t here i s no real problem with the fact that H ippolytus i s said to be b uried i n the b asilica . 14 °

The cumulative evidence o f the three major i tinerar ies c oncerning t he t emplum r eferred t o b y P rudentius may b e summed up a s f ollows: 1 . The absence o f the words e cclesia a nd b asilica i n the a ccount o f N otitia may n ot b e i nterpreted a s meaning t hat t here was no a boveground building on the s ite, s ince o ther e xamples i n t he d ocument s how t hat i t i s s ometimes equally s ilent even when a s tructure k nown t o u s f rom o ther s ources i s i n question . 2 . I t i s impossible to d efine the exact meaning o f the word b asilica i n D e l ocis a nd Malmesbury i n t heir d es cription o f t he catacomb o f H ippolytus. Y et g iven the f act that they describe the relics of t he martyr a s resting in this basilica it seems c lear that they did not r efer e xclusively to t he a boveground s tructure ( if s uch e xisted) s ince i t d id not c ontain the body o f the s aint . I t s eems r easonable t o s uppose that t he word was t aken b y t hem e ither i n the s ense of the underground cult c enter a lone or of t he catacomb as a whole. There i s no way of absolutely e xcluding one or other o f t hese hypotheses, however . Consequently none o f t he t hree d ocuments o ffers c onclusive e vidence concerning the existence o f an aboveg round c hurch i n t he c omplex o f t he c emetery .

1 39 S ee t he f ollowing passages i n Malmesbury: S ilvest er, F elicitas, a nd T rasone ( 144), P rocessus a nd Martin ianus ( 156), a nd H ippolytus ( 145). I n t he c ase o f F elicitas, B onifatius's burial a rea d oes n ot s eem t o b e i ncluded i n t he expression s ince the a uthor a lso a dds . . . et non 1onge Boni f acius . " (144) 1 40 0nce a gain S chumacher, P rudentius, p . 1 0 p roposes that t he meaning o f t he t erm i s t he u nderground c ult c enter a lone . I t i s difficult t o s ee how this c an be j ustified on t he basis of t he usage of the word in other c ases i n the d ocument, a lthough once again the author's u se of t he word p recludes a ny f irm d efinition o f h ow b road h e c onsidered i t to b e .

5 7

4 . Anonymus E insiedlensis 141 f rom t he time o f H onorius I ( 625-38) to that o f Leo IV ( 848-52)

I n v ia Tiburtina S ancti Ypoliti.

f oris murum: I n dextera.

I n s inistra. S ancti Laurentii.

This text i s another witness to t he l ocation of martyr's remains on the l eft s ide o f the Tiburtina.

1 41

Valentini-Zucchetti,

Codice Topografico

5 8

t he

2 :189.4.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE

POPES

OF THE E IGHTH AND N INTH CENTURIES

The most important of the many documents adduced as s ources f or t he c atacomb of H ippolytus d uring this l ong p eriod are undoubtedly the accounts found i n the L iber P ontificalis o f t he r eigns o f H adrian I ( 772-95) a nd L eo I V ( 847-55). S et i n the context of a l arge renovation p roject on t he V ia T iburtina, Hadrian's work i n the c atacomb of H ippolytus testifies to the continuing exist ence of t he s hrine o f t he s aint, while t he explicit mention of the translation o f the martyr to the church o f S S. Quattro Coronati more than 1 50 y ears l ater by h is s uccessor Leo I V ( 847-55) i s the f irst secure mention of t he removal o f h is body from i ts o riginal r esting p lace. While the fact of the massive translations of the martyrs undertaken by Paul I ( 757-67) a nd P aschal I ( 8172 4) are well a ttested in the pages o f o f the s ame L iber Pontificalis H ippolytus i s nowhere l isted among those t ranslated. F urthermore, the inscriptions o ften adduced to prove that h is relics were among those removed a re not contemporary with the pontiffs i n question and contain c ontradictions which make them undependable as s ourc es in this connection. More important, the supposed translation o f t he martyr on these o ccasions i s contrad icted not only by the l ater, well attested translation at the t ime of L eo IV, but in t he c ase of t he i nscription o f Paul, by the fact o f the continuing cult o f the martyr a s witnessed by Hadrian's r epairs. A t ranslation o f a portion of the relics to the monastery o f S aint-Denis near P aris at t he t ime of Paul I c annot be e xcluded. The Liber P ontificalis's mention o f a church o f S . G enesius r epaired by Gregory I II ( 731-41) c annot be s ec urely i dentified as part of the monumental complex of t he cemetery o f H ippolytus.

1 .

Sources

Relative A .

D .

to the

Reign

o f

P aul

I

7 57-67

Both the a ccount of Paul's reign found in the LP as well as t he c onstitutum i ssued by h im on t he o ccasion o f t he founding o f the monastery o f S . S ilvestro i n c apite r efer to t he important d ecision made d uring h is t ime to t ransfer the bodies of the martyrs f rom the catacombs to c hurches in t he c ity.

5 9

L iber

Pontificalis

The f irst mention made of work in the catacombs i s r elative to h is work in t he cemetery " . . . u bi p rius beata Petronilla s ita quiescebat, f oris porta Appia . . . . " f rom which he b rings the body o f t he s aint i n its sarcophagus and p laces it i n her chapel a t S . P ietro. 142 F urther on we f ind the f ollowing a ccount: . . magnam s ollicitudinis curam erga s anctorum cymiteria i ndesinenter gerebat; unde c ernens p lurima eorundem s anctorum cymiteriorum l oca neglectu a c desidia antiquitatis maxima demolitione a tque i am vicina ruine posita, protinus eadem s anctorum corpora de i psis dirutis a bstulit cymiteriis. Quae . . . infra hanc c ivitatem Romanam i ntroducens, a lia e orum p er t itulos ac diac onias seu monasteria et reliquas ecclesias c um c ondecenti s tuduit recondi honore. H ic s anctissimus presul i n sua propria domu monasterium a f undamentis in h onore s ancti Stephani, s cilicet martyris atque pontificis, n ecnon et beati S ilvestri, idem pontificis et confessoris Christi, construx it. U bi et oraculum in s uperioribus e iusdem monasterii moeniis aedificans, eorum corpora magna c um veneratione c ondidit. I nfra c laustra vero ipsius monasterii e cclesiam mirae pulchritudinis a f undamentis noviter contrux it . . . i llicque innumerabilium s anctorum c orpora quae de praefatis d emolitis abstulit cymiteriis maxime venerationis condidit a ffectu. 143 S everal

things

are c lear

f rom these texts:

1 . The t ranslations undertaken by Paul were c arried o ut i n order to s ave the bodies of the s aints from t he poor conditions which existed in certain cemeteries at his t ime. 2 . The bodies were distributed among various churches o f t he c ity. Among these p articular mention is g iven to t he c hurch l inked to the monastery which the pope f ounded i n

1 42 p codices

1 :464,

L a nd

1 8-30.

Note

that

B . p .

4 61,6

- 4 65,1.

6 0

this

i s

f ound

only

i n

h is former home ( S. S ilvestro i n c apite) and to a n o racul um s ituated on an upper f loor o f the s ame monastery. 3 . The bodies of Stephen I and S ilvester were p laced in t he oraculum, b ut no l ist i s g iven o f t he " innumerabilium s anctorum corpora" p laced in the church i tself. These, h owever, a re e xplicitly s aid to have b een t aken " de praef atis demolitis cymiteriis." 4 . The relics specifically r eferred to i n the texts are f rom t he a rea o f t he Appia-Ardeatina ( Pope S tephen f rom C allixtus and P etronilla from Domitilla) and the S alaria ( Silvester f rom Priscilla).

Constitutum o f Foundation of Saint S tephen

t his

o f

t he Monastery

The question of the translations i s taken u & ) a lso i n document, which provides f urther details: 14 I gitur c um per evoluta annorum s patia d iversa s anctorum Christi martyrum atque confessorum e jus f oras muros hujus Romanae u rbis s ita c oemeteria n eglecta antiquitatis s atis manerent diruta, c ontigit postmodum ab impia L ongobardarum gentium inpugnatione funditus esse demol ita, q ui etiam et a liquanta ipsorum e ffodientes martyrum sepulchra et impie devastantes, quorumdam s anctorum depraedata auferentes s ecum deportaverunt corpora, et ex eo tempore omnino desidiose atque n eglegenter e is d ebitus v enerat ionis exhibebatur honor. Nam et quod dici nefas e st etiam et diversa animalia i n a liquant is eisdem sanctorum coemeteriis aditum havent ia, i llic eorum existebant s ecta p iacula, a quibus f oetoris exercebant squalorem. Unde conspecta eorumdem s anctorum l ocorum desidiosa i ncuria e t ex hoc valde ingemiscens atque uberr ima doloris attritus moestitia a ptum p rospexi annuente D eo eosdem s anctos martyres et confessores C hristi, et v irgines ex i idsem dirutis auferre l ocis, quod et cum hymnis et canticis spiritualibus in hanc R omanam i ntroduximus urbem, et in ecclesia quam noviter a f undament is in e orum honorem construxi i nfra moenia s cilicet domus, quae mihi parentali successioni obvenit i n qua me natum c onstatque nutritus, eorum s anctissima collocans condidit c orpora . .

Confirming the information we have f rom the L iber P ontificalis t his text adds c ertain n ew i tems. While

1 44

MGH

Concilia

2 a:66-67.

6 1

r epeating that the cemeteries suffered both from neglect as well as f rom the fact that they were so old, it further s pecifies that they were damaged by the Lombards who a lso s tole s ome o f t he bodies o f t he martyrs. A fter t his attack ( which was probably that o f A ' istulf in 7 56) the c ult of t he saints in these p laces was wholl y neg lected. 145 This s ituation i s emphasized by a v ivid description of t he animals i nhabiting them. The only p lace c ited a s beneficiary o f the t ranslat ions i s t he monastery i n question . This, however, need not be a contradiction o f the text o f the LP, s ince the present document l inked to t he f oundation of t he monast ery makes mention only o f the translations made to i t, without denying that other relics were g iven t o other i nt own churches. A brief passage which occurs before the Constitutum in one of the codices a nd after it in the others used for this edition specifies the names of S tephen a nd S ilvester a s among those t ranslated, two names which we f ound a lso in the LP's account .' " Thus only three of the names of the saints transl ated by Paul have come down to us in these documents, a nd that o f H ippolytus i s not among them . S cholars have long tried to fill in this lacuna by means of the lists of s aints i n two i nscriptions, which a re commonly bel ieved to date f rom the same t ime a s the translations t hemselves. T he n ame of H ippolytus a long with t hose o f Triphonia and Cyrilla appear here . However, the many c ases in which these l ists contradict well documented t ranslations o f martyrs and repairs o f their c hurches which took place after the t i me o f P aul, they do not seem to be authentic documents, at least in the form in which t hey have come down to u s . 147 I n the l ight of this they

1 45 F or the attack of Aistulf s ee 0 . Bertolini, Roma d i f ronte a b isanzio e a i l onqobardi, I stituto d i studi r omani, S toria d i Roma 9 ( Rome, 1 941):558-60.

1 46

" Mense J unio die VIIII

i ntroduximus

i n hoc ora-

culo c orpus beati S ilvestri episcopi et c onfessoris Chris ti. Mense Augusto die VIIX [ sic] i ntroduximus corpus b . S tephani martyris a tque pontificis t empore Constantini e t l eonis Augustorum et P ipini excellentissimi r egis Francor um et d efensoris Romanorum, i ndictione I IIIX [ A .D. 7 611." MGH Concilia 2 a:6. I t precedes the Constitutum i n C od Vallicel. S ee Duchesne, Saint D enis, p . 3 28 where h e again affirms the authenticity o f the Constitutum but i nsists on c ertain l ater modifications. The t ranslation o f S ilvester i s f urther attested by a l etter o f Paul t o P epin . S ee MGH, Epistolae Merowinqici 1 :556. 1 47 T itulus o f the church of S . S ilvestro i n capite a nd an i nscription in t he q rotte o f S . P ietro . S ee Appendix 1 for a f uller s tudy o f these inscriptions.

6 2

a re t he

not a s afe guide city churches.

T ranslations T ime o f

to

j ust which relics

t o S aint-Denis P aul I

near

P aris

P aul moved into

During

De Rossi c ites Mabillon's Annales and F elibien's H istoire as witnessing to a t ranslation of H ippolytus to t he French monastery during the time o f Paul 1 . 146 1 The r elics in question a re t hose o f St. A lexander a nd S t. H ippolytus. F ulradus, abbot o f Saint Denis at the time o f Pepin goes to Rome to a ttempt to obtain r elics f or the monastery. This takes p lace i n the context of Paul's t ranslations f rom t he c atacombs. F elibien s ets the v oyage around A .D. 7 63. 149 The relics o f A lexander and H ippolytus, which a re brought back a re g iven t o two f ound ations of Fulradus in A lsace: Lebraha, which receives A lexander a nd S . H ilt ( also c alled Fulrado-Villers), which receives H ippolytus. T o suppose that this translation involved the total r emoval of t he martyr's remains from h is b urial p lace meets with the same objections l evelled against the other s upposed translations, n amely that it contradicts t he c ontinuing cult o f the martyr as attested by Paschal I 's r epairs and t he certain t ranslation of t he martyr at t he t ime of Leo IV. Yet given the f act that the affirmation o f the t ranslation o ccurs in documents contemporary with the r eign o f Paul, one must admit the possibility o f the t ransferral o f a portion of h is remains to S aint-Denis a nd thence to S . B ilt i n A lsace. But this act i s to b e s een as distinct f rom t he program of P aul to r emove the b odies of certain martyrs from c atacombs which were in a r uinous state. Thus the documents relative to the translations o f P aul from t he c atacombs to t he c hurches of t he c ity o f R ome offer l ittle by way of concrete information as to which bodies w ere r emoved save t hose of S tephen, S ilvest er, and Petronilla, which are well attested by the a ccounts of t he LP a nd t he Constitutum. As we have s een t here are very grave doubts concerning the relevance o f t he S . S ilvestro a nd Vatican i nscriptions to t he a ctual w ork of Paul h imself. F uture s tudy might be able to

1 48

2 :167,

De Rossi, C imitero, p . 3 8; Mabillon, Annales 2 23. S ee a lso F elibien, H istoire, p p. 5 3, 6 0,

8 9. 1 49 Felibien, op. c it., p . 5 3. c ertainly r eturned by July 7 64.

6 3

F ulradus

had

a nd

i ndividuate some o f the martyrs truly moved by the pope, but it i s h ighly u nlikely that H ippolytus was among them.

2 .

LP: G regory 1 11 150 A .D. 7 31-41

. . in ecclesia B eati Genesii martyris t ect um noviter r estauravit; u bi et a ltare erexit i n nomine Salvatoris domini D el nostri, in q uo c ontulit patenam a rgenteam et c alicem, s eu c oronam argenteam cum delfinis VI, necnon e t c ornulam auream c um c ruce, p endentem super a ltare. •

No other source makes mention o f such a church e ither in t he c ity or outside t he walls. Given t he p resence of the relics o f St. Genesius in the c atacomb o f H ippolytus, De Rossi s uggested t he p ossibility t hat the c ella absidiata s ituated i n the vigna Gori might have been t he c hurch i n question, a lthough he d id n ot p ress the point. 151 None of the documents make i t absolutely c lear where G enesius was buried, b ut t he impression o ne gets from Notitia, which i s the most precise, i s that it was underg round i n a cubicle. 152 I t i s therefore difficult to s ee why an aboveground s tructure would be named in h is honor. The church i n question might s imply have been a small i nt own c hurch, a ll t races o f which h ave d isappeared.

3 .

LP:Hadrian 1153 A .D. 7 72-95

E cclesia vero beatae Agnes martyris s eu basilica beatae Emerentianae, p ariter etiam et e ccles iam beati Nicomedis s itam f oris porta Nument ana, s imul et cymiterium b eati Yppoliti martyr is iuxta s anctum Laurentium, quae a priscis marcuerant t emporibus, noviter r estauravit.

1 50

LP

1 :419,

1 51

D e Rossi,

1 52

S ee

1 53

LP

pp.

1 7-20. Cimitero,

p .

5 2-53.

1 :511,

6 -8.

6 4

5 3.

The work of Hadrian in the cemetery o f H ippolytus i s to be s een in t he wider context of an extensive r ebuilding program for the entire group of cemeterial s hrines a long the T iburtina. Records o f t his a ctivity appear throughout the entire a ccount o f the L P's account o f the pontiff. 154 I t i s to b e noted that not only are i ndividual s anctuaries r estored, but t he great p ortico l ining the Tiburtina f rom the gate a ll the way to t he b asilicas o f S . Lorenzo i s r ebuilt. This underlines t he i ntention of the pope to r estore the unified c omplex o f s anctuaries which c luster around that o f S . L orenzo. 155

1 54 S ee t he following passages in LP 1 : S . L orenzo: b asilica ad c orpus - g ift of vesture ( 505, 1 2-14) and r estoration ( 508, 1 1-14); S . L orenzo: basilica m inor r epair of roof ( 500, 1 5) a nd g ift of vela - ( 505, 1 2-14); Cymiterium of Cyriaca - r estoration ( 508, 1 5); Ecclesia o f S . Stefano ( near church o f S . Lorenzo) - r enovation ( 508, 1 4); Ecclesia of S . S tefano ( near cemetery of H ippolytus) - r estoration ( 511, 8 -9); Cymiterium o f H ipp olytus - restoration ( 511, 8 ); Basilica o f S . Agapito r estoration ( 507, 2 7-28); Basilica o f S . J anuarius r epair of roof ( 505, 2 4-25); porticus f rom Aurelian gate to basilica o f S . Lorenzo: n ewly r ebuilt ( 508, 1 1-12). 1 55 A c hurch o f S . S tefano i s mentioned on two differ ent occasions: once ( 508, 1 1-15) where it i s described a s being " sitam iuxta eas [ the two basilicas o f S an L orenzo]" a nd on another o ccasion ( 511, 8 -9)as " sitam i uxta cymiterium S ancti Yppoliti." These are interpreted by De Rossi a s r eferring to two s eparate b asilicas. The one near H ippolytus he interprets as being the o ld aboveg round basilica of t he martyr mentioned by P rudentius, which, according to him, s omehow got r enamed in a l ater p eriod. De Rossi, C imitero, p p. 2 2-23. Testini who r ejects this i nterpretation ( correctly i t s eems to u s) n onetheless maintains t he distinction b etween t he two c hurches referred to i n the text. Testini, D i a lc une t estimonianze, p . 6 0, note 5 3. I t would s eem more l ikely that the ecclesia mentioned i s one and the s ame. T he description of an edifice as being e ither n ear to S . L orenzo or to S . H ippolytus would be equivalent s ince the d istance b etween t he two i s a mere f our hundred meters. F urthermore, t he repetition of the name of the s ame b uilding as t he object o f t he pope's c are need c ause n o wonder in the L P's account of Hadrian where i t i s not u nusual to f ind the same b uilding repaired more than o nce. Consider the case o f the basilica ad corpus o f S . L orenzo: " . . . basilicam S ancti Laurentii martyris ubi s anctum eius c orpus quiescit, adnexam basilicae maioris quae dudum i sdem praesul c onstruxerat, u ltro c itroque n oviter restauravit . . . . " ( 508, 1 1-15) G iven the a bsence of a ny mention o f a s econd c hurch o f S . S tefano b y any other s ource and the improbability of the coexist ence o f two s uch c hurches in such a l imited a rea i t

6 5

I t seems to us that this is of importance in relation to t he c atacomb of H ippolytus in that it precludes our minimizing the s ignificance of t he work in this cemetery as being just one more i te m on what s eems an e xagger atedly l ong l ist o f Hadrian's q esta in the c atacombs . Rather it is only one ite m in an extensive renovation program for an entire group of s anctuaries a long the T iburtina. 156 The importance of this text l ies in the f act t estifies to t he c ontinuing existence of t he c ult H ippolytus on the Tiburtina even a fter the period a nd c onstitutes a f urther s trong a rgument against l ikelihood that H ippolytus was o ne o f the martyrs l ated by this p ope.

that it of of P aul the trans-

S ignificant in the account of the work on the " cymit erium s ancti Yppoliti" i s t he a bsence o f the mention o f any ecclesia, which one might expect to find a s a test imony to t he aboveground b asilica mentioned by Prudentius. Thus we must focus our attention on the word c ymiterium u sed by t he LP in connection with t he work done here . Dulahey has shown that the word cymiterium as u sed i n the LP's account of H adrian r efers n ine times out o f t hirteen to the underground portion of a cemetery and only once to " . . . un ensemble f orme par surface et s oussol s elon l a s ignification ancienne ." Two other c ases are doubtful. 157 Thus the work usually r efers t o t he c omplex o f u nderground s tructures i n a catacomb. I t i s c lear, however, that we are not dealing with cemeteries used as such s ince the areas outside the walls had l ong been abandoned as p laces of burial. While it i s impossible to exclude t he c ase of o ccasional burials i n t hese areas, a r e-opening of the catacombs for purposes o f burial on s uch a massive s cale as would be i mplied b y

s eems to u s more probable that the two texts c ited above r efer to s eparate repairs on one a nd t he s ame b uilding d ifferently described in each case according t o two t opog raphical r eference points, both o f which were n ear t o t he church in question . This s ense of cohesion o f the cemeterial monuments o f t he T iburtina i s born o ut i conographically i n a s till earlier period i n the mosaic o f the Pelagian basil ica ( 579-90) where H ippolytus a nd S tephen appear a long 1 56

with

Laurence.

1 57 Dulahey, Les travaux, p . 1 2. The references i n t he f irst c ase are: LP 1 :508,15; 5 09,13,14,16,20,23,24, 2 5, and 28; 5 11,7; for the second case: ibid., p . 500,28.

Doubtful:

5 09,21

and

2 5.

6 6

the number o f unlikely.

c ymiteria

repaired by Hadrian

i s highly

The case o f H ippolytus i s one of those in which the word cymiterium i s used a lone without mention o f an e cclesia or basilica. While the meaning here i s uncert ain, c onsidering that t he word i s most f requently u sed o f underground s tructures in the LP's account of Hadrian a nd that t he p rincipal s hrine of t he martyr was s ituated u nderground, i t s eems l ikely that this i s the meaning h ere a lso. I t s hould be n oted, of c ourse, that this does n ot exclude the existence of the aboveground basilica r eferred to by P rudentius. What i s c lear i s that the work does not r efer to the basilica i tself. 158 I t i s possible that t he aboveground b asilica was by this t ime no longer in use, or that it was i n such a ruinous s tate that i t was d ecided not to r ebuild i t, but this must r emain necessarily hypothetical, and our only f irm conc lusion must once again be that t he existence o f t he aboveground basilica cannot be proved or disproved f rom t he present a ccount.

4 .

LP:

Sources

Paschal

R elative to t he Reign o f A .D. 8 17-24

Paschal

I

1159

The present text i s description o f P aschal's P rassede:

s ituated in the context o f the r ebuilding of t he c hurch o f S .

S imili modo et arcum triumphalem, e isdem metall is m irum in modum p erficiens compsit. H ic enim beatissimus et praeclarus pontifex multa c orpora s anctorum d irutis in c imiteriis i acentia, p ia sollicitudine, ne remanerent n eglecte, q uaerens atque i nventa c olligens, magna venerationis affectu i n i amdictae s anctae Christi martyris P raxedis e cclesia, quam mirab iliter r enovans construxerat, cum omnium advoc atione Romanorum, episcopis, p resbyteris, diac onibus et c lericis l audem Deo psallentibus, deportans r econdidit. This text t estifies to the e fforts of Paschal to d iscover t he r elics of t he s aints r emaining in t he a ban-

1 58 T his i s true despite the t endency pointed out by Dulahey to u se t he word more a nd more of c emeterial b asilicas from the s ixth century on. op. c it., pp. 1 0-11.

1 59

LP

2 :54,

1 9-24.

6 7

doned cemeteries and to transfer them to the church of S . Prassede newly rebuilt by himself. As in the case of the translations of Paul I the LP does not provide us with a complete l ist of the saints in question. In fact, unlike the entry for Paul ( which mentions the names of Stephen I and Silvester among those removed) there are no specific names mentioned here. The fact of the translations is corroborated not only by the triumphal arch mosaic of the church with its scene of the entry of the martyrs into paradise but also by the presence of a s emi-circular crypt for the relics built under the presbytery in imitation of that of Pope Gregory in the basilica of St. Peter. 1 60

Inscription Once

in

S .

again

Prassede 161

as

in

the

tried to find evidence the saints translated.

case

in an This

of

Paul

I scholars

have

inscription f or the names o f is situated at present in

the nave of the church of S . Prassede and not only does it contain the name of the pope but the last lines make it c lear that it purports to have been composed during his lifetime. INN DNI

DI

SALV NRI

IHV XPI

TEMPORIBVS

SCS SIMI

AC TER

BEATISSIMI

ET APOSTOLICI

DN

PASCHALIS PAPAE

PORA

INFRADVCTA

SVNT VENERANDA

SCORVM

CR

IN HANC

SCAM ET VENERABILEM

BASILICAM BEATAE

XPI

VIRGINIS

PRAXEDIS

QVAE

PRAEDICTVS PONTIFEX

DIRVTA

CRYPTIS TIA AVFERENS

1 60

Krautheimer,

1 61

Grossi

EX

CYMITERIIS

SEV

IACEN ET

Gondi,

SVB

Corpus La

HOC

SACRO

SCO

3 :252.

celebre

6 8

i scrizione;

S .

Fabiano.

ALTARE SVMM CVM D ILIGENTIA PROPRIIS MANIBVS CONDIDIT SE

IVLIO

DIE

[ List of HOS

OMNES

XX names

DI

TIVS CANS

IN MEN INDICTIONE DECIMA follows.]

ELECTOS

FREQVEN

DEPRE

QVATENVS

PER EORVM VALEAT

PRECES SVAE

POST FVNERA CARNIS AD CAELI

DERE CVLMEN

CONSCEN AMEN

F IVNT E TIAM IN SCI

S IMVL OMNES

DVO MILIA CCC

According to the text the relics are grouped into three s ections of the basilica: the semicircular c rypt, the oratory of S . Z eno on the right side of the church, a nd the oratory of S t. John t he Baptist on t he l eft s ide. A further group was situated on an upper f loor of the monastery in t he oratory of St. Agnes. The first and l argest group ( situated in the crypt) i s l isted according to categories: popes, bishops, p riests, deacons, martyrs ( including Hippolytus), and f inally virgins. There follows a l isting of t he s aints i n the oratories and this in turn is followed by the brief prayer o f Paschal f or the intercession of the s aints, whose relics reach the bewildering total of 2 300! Grossi Gondi has pointed out the many problems conn ected with the text of this inscription. 162 The date i ndicated ( July 2 0, 8 17) i s too early in t he r eign o f P aschal to have permitted time for the rebuilding of the c hurch. The description of the oratory of S . Zeno a s b eing " in ipso ingressu basilicae" hardly seems to corr espond to t he actual s ituation. The l ist i ncludes names o f saints a lready translated during earlier periods in h istory. F inally, the l ist of t he popes f ollows n either c hronological nor topographical order. More important

1 62

Grossi Gondi,

S .

F abiano,

6 9

pp.

1 5-17.

s till he shows not only that the present stone dates f rom t he t ime of B enedict X III ( 1730) b ut that t he o ne it r ep laced probably dated back only t o the f irst h alf of t he t hirteenth century. 1 63 This f act t aken i n conjunction with the c ontrad ictions i nherent in t he i nscription i tself s uggests t hat even i f the present eighteenth c entury t ext i s t ruly based on that of t he t hirteenth c entury a nd this one i n turn on the original f rom the time o f P aschal, i t has nonetheless undergone a lterations. A corroboration o f this l ies in the f act that manuscript copies made of the i nscription before 1 730 show considerable variants. 164 Thus a lthough t he name o f H ippolytus occurs in t he l ist o f those resting in the c rypt ( no other martyrs o f t he c atacomb a re mentioned) t he p resent inscription c an h ardly be adduced as a s ecure proof that Hippolytus was i ndeed t ranslated by P aschal. As was mentioned in c onn ection with the translations to S . S ilvesto t he relic collections of l arge c hurches were c onstantly g rowing t hroughout the Middle Ages, and t he remains o f H ippolytus might e asily have f ound their way i nto this c ollection a t s ome time a fter the reign o f Paschal.

5 .

LP: Leo 10 - 65 A .D. 8 47-55

. . . beatissimus papa multa corpora s anctor um quae d iu i nculta i acuerant, s ummo s tudio s ummoque cordis a ffectu, ad honorem omnipotent is Del, i nfra huius a lme u rbis menia congregav it mirifice. Name et corpora sanctorum martyr um I III Coronatorum s ollerti cura inquirens r epperit; pro quorum desiderabili amore b asilic am quae s anctorum f uerat n omini consecrata . . . i n splendidiorem pulcrioremque statum p erduxit a f undamentis, ad l audem omnipotentis D el, eorumque s acratissima c orpora cum C laudio, N icostrato . . . Ypolito quidem c um s uis f amul is numero XVIII . . . necnon et capite s ancti P roti, s anctaeque C eciliae, s ancti A lexandri, s anctique S ixti et s ancti S ebastiani atque s acratissimae v irginis Praxedis, pariter s ub s acro a ltare recondens l ocavit, et a lii multi quorum nomina s unt D eo c ognita.

1 63

p p.

4 43

I bid.,

pp.

1 3-14;

s ee also La

c elebre

f f.

1 64

Grossi

1 65

LP

Gondi,

2 :115,

S .

2 2-27;

F abiano, 1 16,

7 0

3 -5.

pp.

1 5-17.

i scrizione,

CHAPTER NINE

UNDATED MATERIAL AND LATER MEDIEVAL

SOURCES

We group here a number of undated inscriptions and g raffiti which t estify to the presence of t he c ult of the martyr in this catacomb. I n addition, a group of notar ial documents dating from 1 062 to 1 244 are presented which show by the use of such terms as mons s . Ypoliti a nd cripta s . Ypoliti that the memory of t he s aint's b urial p lace l ingered on in the Tiburtina area in the f orm of these p lace names.

1 .

I CUR 7 , n . undated

REFRIGERI MNVS

2 0166

TIBI

I POLITVS

DO S ID

This inscription recorded by Bosio corroborates the i dentification of the cemetery as that of Hippolytus.

2 .

I CUR

7 , nn. 1 9940-44 undated

These graffiti provide for us the names of various v isitors to the crypt and also i nclude their s hort p rayers to i nvoke the help of the saint. They are found i n the p laster of t he l ater c ult c enter's wall ( 19942-44) a nd in those o f the iter ( 19940-41) and are thus subseq uent in time to t he creation of these s tructures. The l atter are of topographical interest in that they mention t he name of Hippolytus thus confirming the i dentification o f the cult center as pertaining to the martyr of this n ame.

3 .

I CUR

7 , n . 2 0086b undated

This fragment, which probably contains a portion of t he name of H ippolytus o ffers some corroboration f or the i dentification of the cemetery as that of Hippolytus.

7 3

4 .

D RACONTIVS

I CUR 7 , n . 2 0059 undated

PELAGIVS ET I VLIA ET ELIA

ANTONINA PARAVERVNT S IBI AT

LOCV

I PPOLITV SVPER ARCOSOLIV PROPTER VNA FILIA

Though brought to t he Vatican l ibrary towards the end of the eighteenth century from s ome unspecified cemet ery, this i nscription mentions a " locu at I ppolitu super arcosoliu." As De Rossi pointed out one of t he s o-called Greek martyrs buried on t he Appia was a lso named H ippolytus, thus it i s impossible to d etermine which of the two i s r eferred to i n this i nscription, a lthough both he and Ferrua f avor the martyr o f t he Tiburtina. While t he question of t he identification o f the cemetery i n which the " Greek" martyrs were b uried i s s till debated, i ts existence s eems r elatively well establ ished, and the question must remain open as t o which o f the two martyrs t he present i nscription r efers, s ince i ts p lace of discovery i s not known.' "

5 .

Later Medieval Documents Relative to P roperty Holdings A .D. 1 063-1244

T estini cites a variety o f l ate medieval documents r elated to p roperty holdings near t he Tiburtina ( Acts o f s ale or rent) and a Bull o f Innocent IV o f May 5 , 1 244 t o t he Abbot of t he monastery o f S . L orenzo f uori l e mura l isting the possessions of the monastery in the Verano area where reference i s made to a " mons s . Ippolyti." 169

'68 De Rossi, C imitero, p . 4 8; F errua, ICUR 7 :439. For t he question of the " Greek martyrs" s ee A . Amore, " Sulla questione dei cosiddetti martin i Graeci" i n Antonianum 3 0 ( 1955):129-31 and more r ecently i n Amore, Martin , pp. 1 29-31. Two attempts at l ocalizing the c emetery in question a re f ound i n De Rossi, a nd 0 . Marucchi, " Nuove osservazioni sulla i scrizione greco de Euprosdectos" i n RAC 5 ( 1928):123-24. 1 69

Testini,

D i

a lcuni

These appear i n ASRSP 2 3 ( pp. 2 19, 2 21, and 2 24);

t estimonianze,

p .

4 8,

note

1 3.

( 1900), n n. XX, XXI, a nd XXIII 2 4 ( 1901), n . XXXV ( pp. 1 63-64);

7 4

As i s c lear f rom the context in many o f these texts, t he mons in q uestion i s s ituated on t he Tiburtina a nd i s r ightly interpreted as referring to the r ise i n the t errain in which t he c atacomb of H ippolytus i s s ituated. This tallies well with the expression a lready used in the s eventh century by t he a uthor of De l ocis " in boream s ursum i n monte."I 7 ° The act o f rent o f J an. 3 0, 1 110 i s o f particular i nterest s ince in addition to t he phrase " in montem s ancti Ypoliti" it a lso makes a direct r eference to a " cripta sancti Ypoliti." 171 P osita extra porta sancti Laurentii i n montem s ancti Ypoliti: f ines e ius a duobus p artibus possidet monasterio beati Laurentii, a tertio I ohannes B onelle, a q uarto e st cripta s ancti Ypoliti. This s eems to be the only c ase in these documents where some c oncrete topographical f eature i s mentioned other than the mons. The expression chosen to d escribe t he structure whatever i t was, underlines the f act of i ts b eing underground ( partially at l east), s uggesting the possibility that t he underground c ult c enter of t he martyr or a part o f the catacomb was still somewhat access ible or at l east known to e xist, a lthough in r uins. I t c annot be excluded that the structure was even s till i n u se at t he t ime.

2 6 n .

( 1903), n . CXXII I ( p. 3 98).

and CLVII

( pp.

6 9;

1 16-17);

2 6

( 1903)

1 70 T he expression " . . . f oris portam s ancti Laurent ii in monte s ancti Ypoliti . . . . " i s used in a ll o f t hese texts except in the B ull o f I nnocent IV. H ere too, however, it i s c lear that we a re dealing with a l ist o f t he possessions o f the monastery o f S . Lorenzo precisely i n the Verano a rea. The relevance o f the expression to the catacomb o f H ippolytus was a lready p ointed o ut by De R ossi ( Cimitero, p . 42) and Armellini ( Antichi Cimiteri, p . 3 16) a lthough they d id not h ave available as much documentation as i s p resented by Testini. H ülsen seems to have been referr ing to the a forementioned Bull of May 5 when he i ncorr ectly identified the " mons s . Ypoliti" with the s lopes o f the V iminal. H e c ites, however, another Bull o f I nnocent dated March 1 9 of the same year [ ASRSP 2 8 ( 1905), n . 4 5 ( p. 3 5)1, but there i s c learly no pertinent i nformation i n this Bull.

1 71

ASRSP

2 4

( 1901),

n .

XXXV,

7 5

pp.

1 63-64.

A f inal note which i s possibly pertinent to t he c emetery i s t he mention o f a " vallem s . Genesii" in t he B ull o f Innocent IV as part o f the property o f the monast ery o f S . Lorenzo. 172

1 72” . . . agger Varanus, vallem de P loppis, montem de P ilellis, montem I ncantatum, v allem D . G enesii, f eudam, B acculi, montem S . Ypoliti cum valle de Scrinariis . . . " A SRSP ( 1903), n . I , p . 3 98. I t i s c urious that t he name o f Genesius was related to a valley rather than to one o f t he montes. P erhaps this bears s ome r elationship to t he position of the martyr's tomb.

7 6

SECTION

THE

TOPOGRAPHY

OF

THREE

THE

CATACOMB

CHAPTER TEN

THE CATACOMB TODAY

The catacomb of H ippolytus i s entered today f rom Via d ei Canneti by m eans o f a modern s tairway, at t he bottom o f which one enters a vestibule ( zone U , F ig. 1 ), whose walls a re constructed l argely o f opus vittatum masonry. I n the corners o f the room f our small brick piers offer s upport to a modern g roin vault. Facing t he s tairs i s a h andsome arched entranceway into the catacomb proper; it i s f lanked on e ither s ide by an engaged column of brick a nd surmounted by a somewhat s implified pediment ( Fig. 3 7). This gives access to a l ong corridor ( averaging a bout 1 .5 m . i n w idth) whose walls a re a lso l argely of o pus vittatum masonry ( zone T , F igs. 3 8 and 3 9). A long i ts course a variety of p assageways of d iffering s ize ( now all b locked with rubble) once l ed to other areas. I ts ceiling i s c arved d irectly in the tufo but r eceives s upport from a s eries o f transverse brick arches. The g allery t erminates in a wider s pace ( T6) where some o f t he more important epigraphical f inds of the catacomb are on display ( Fig. 3 9). F rom h ere o ne turns l eft i nto the c rypt of the martyr. This consists o f an area a lmost 2 0 meters l ong. I ts w idth varies, b ut there i s a general t endency towards a g radual diminution from approximately 5 m . at i ts western e nd to 2 .8 m . a t i ts e astern one. The over-all s hape i s t hat of a gentle curve northwards a long the east-west a xis. At the extreme western end there i s an apse, which i n i ts l ower r eaches i s c ut directly i nto the tufo bed ( Fig. 1 7). Extending in f ront o f i t f or a distance of a pproximately 3 m . i s an a rea e levated a bove t he r est o f t he cult c enter. The s ide walls o f this s ection open i nto small s paces, which were p robably s creened o ff by masonry when t he cult c enter was s till i n use. At t he extremity of this a rea l ie two s teps ( one s et t o the north a nd another to the south) l eading down to t he l evel of t he n ext s ection o f t he c ult c enter. B etween them a nd roughly on the same l evel i s the area o nce occupied by t he r emains o f a small masonry a ltar. A ll traces o f i t have disappeared save f or two cuts in t he tufo s urface o f t he f loor, which p robably s erved to f ix chancel s creens and which come to an end on either s ide of t he s pace o riginally occupied by t he a ltar i t-

7 9

s elf. refer

This to a s

entire area between t he apse and t he zone Q . ( See F ig. 2 , Z one K ey.)

steps we

Beyond the l ine of the steps the f loor l evel drops 3 2 cm. A considerable portion of t he paving s labs o f t he area are still i n position a long t he s outh wall, and these show that t he l evel was c onstant at l east as f ar a s the pier P 6. This s econd area we r efer to as z one R ( Fig. 1 7, f oreground). B eyond t his point there a re n o paving s labs ( save f or a f ragment near P 7), and the e arth f ill which c onstitutes t he f loor a t p resent s lopes down to a point near the rear o f the c rypt, which i s 1 .05 m . l ower than that of t he e levated a rea i n f ront o f the apse. This section we refer to a s z one S ( Figs. 3 3 a nd 3 4). A lthough considerable portions o f tufo a re visibile in c ertain p arts of t he s ide walls o f t he cult c enter, they are l argely masonry constructions. The o riginal structures have been extensively r epaired by D e Rossi, but they still s urvive i ntact in l arge areas, many o f them covered with p laster, which i n s ome spots s hows traces o f painted decoration consisting l argely of geometric patterns. The original ceiling of the s tructure has b een perfectly preserved o nly on t he n orth s ide of t he e levated area in front of the apse ( Figs. 3 1 and 3 2). 173 A ll a long t he walls, however, there a re c lear traces of t he springing points o f a s eries o f t ransverse masonry arches, which originally s canned t he l ength o f t he c ult center at somewhat irregular i ntervals, and these guided De Rossi in h is r econstruction. H e was even a ble to salvage here and there portions o f the original intrados of s everal o f the arches. The l ucernarium s ituated near PP9 and 1 0 i s constructed entirely of modern masonry dating f rom the t ime o f De Rossi's restoration, but h is work s eems t o follow t he l ines of t he r uined s tructure he d iscovered. The s ame i s true o f the lucernarium s ituated to t he east o f P 14. Three points in the crypt o ffer access t o t he f ew c atacomb g alleries s till e asily a ccessible. T o t he e xt reme rear o f the cult center an opening in t he north wall g ives a ccess to g allery a l4 ( Fig. 1 ). A fter a d istance of several meters, however, there i s an change of l evel, a nd t he o riginal f loor i s c overed by a

1 73 A t ransverse arch spanning PP13 and tains t he original core a lthough t he f acing s ide of it i s modern.

8 0

1 4 s till c ono n e ither

c onsiderable amount of earth f ill. P erhaps there were once stairs h ere. Galleries a l8 a nd a l3 a re a ccessible only with great difficulty. Their walls are f aced with small tufo b locks.

o ne way a l5 o ff

Further up the same north wall of the cult c enter may enter g alleries a l2 and a l5 through an e ntrancecut through the rear wall o f arcosolium G25. However is extremely s hort, and a l2 i s a lmost immediately c ut by a cave-in.

More important, i n the apse a third opening g ives a ccess to a small group of galleries, whose f loor l evel l ies more than 2 m . lower than that of the crypt. 174 T hese may be i nspected f or only about 4 5 meters with a ny e ase. T urning f irst to the r ight one descends a f light o f modern s teps down i nto what we have d esignated as a rea a . Gallery a 2 i s of importance in the h istory o f the c ult center, b ut there i s l ittle e lse to s ee in t hese s mall galleries save the traces o f painted decoration in an arcosolium i n a 4. The c ubicle a 4a h as not been e xcav ated. Returning up the steps one may then descend on a r amp of accumulated r ubble down i nto g allery d 5. To t he r ight it i s b locked by f urther rubble, but i t c an be f ollowed to t he l eft. Two of i ts c ubicles have been e xcavated. I n the one f arthest away ( d6a) various archit ectural e lements have b een carved in t he b ed o f f ine t ufo in which the area i s s ituated. These consist of f our columns i n t he corners and a f loral d esign in t he c eiling. The f loor of this cubicle has given way, and below i s visible a g allery of a l ower l evel o f t he c atacomb. T his l evel i s today l argely inaccessible due to extensive water s eepage, but De Rossi explored a l arge n etwork o f g alleries, and they appear on P lan I I T IB 1 . One vent uring down t he modern s tairs i nto t he g allery, however, i s still able to pass through to the l eft ( with diffic ulty) a nd r ise back up i nto g allery e 15. C oming back to d 5 and heading in the opposite direction one notices on

1 74 A part f rom the f act of the unseemly shape of the o pening, which i s extremely l ow, there would have been a s udden drop o ff of 2 m . in f loor l evel between the apse a nd gallery a 7. At t he p resent t ime o ne walks on a ccumul ated rubble a t this point. I t was through this opening t hat Armellini d iscovered t he c rypt around 1 879, a nd h is d escription gives the impression that the opening was a lready there. Armellini, Antichi C imiteri, p . 3 18. M arucchi who c laims ' to h ave accompanied - Armellini on this o ccasion r efers to t he opening a s a " frana." Marucchi, C atacombe, p . 3 58.

8 1

the right the transverse galleries d 7-d2 have been c ut o ff by c ave-ins.

and

d 3,

which

Further to the north gallery d 5 i s cut off by wall m . I ts l ower r eaches a re today l argely c overed with r ubble, which perhaps conceal a p assageway, but today o ne must c limb over it in order to r each t he upper l evels o f the catacomb ( areas e - h ). These bear l ittle r elations hip to t he crypt both b ecause o f t heir d istance f rom i t and their diversity of l evel. The two galleries h l and h 2 at t he extremity of this a rea s eem to have b een des igned a s water reservoirs. The precarious state of the c atacomb today i s but o ne chapter in a l ong h istory o f d ecay. As we h ave s een, De Rossi in the 1 880's was able t o explore a lmost f ive t imes as many g alleries as a re a ccessible today, y et i t i s c lear f rom the many i ndications o f cave-ins o n his map that he h imself h ad s een o nly part o f what was o nce an even more vast c emetery. This s tate o f a ffairs h as been brought about both by natural phenomena a s well a s by t he a ctivity o f man. The entire l ower region o f the catacomb has suffered f rom water s eepage, which i s p erhaps p artially d ue to t he p resence o f springs in the area. 175 Furthermore, cavei ns have i solated considerable b locks of g alleries. I n t he immediate vicinity o f the cult c enter, both areas a a nd d have s uffered considerable d amage, a nd a lmost half o f the outlying areas o f the upper l evel galleries have b een cut o ff. 1 /6 The work o f man has a lso taken i ts t oll of d estruction. As we have s een, t he c reation o f V iale delle Provincie, the construction o f modern buildings, a nd bombardment during World War I I have a ll c ontributed to the destruction o f the cemetery.

1 75

1 76

p rovides

Gori,

Della

Porta,

pp.

6 4-65.

A comparison between F igure 1 and a detailed r ecord o f these.

8 2

P lan

I I

T IB

1

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT OF THE CEMETERY

The cemetery o f Hippolytus i s s ituated to t he l eft o f t he V ia T iburtina approximately o ne k ilometer b eyond t he Porta Tiburtina. P lan I I T IB 9 , which dates f rom a round 1 889 s hows t he entire z one outside t he Aurelian w alls from the Castro Pretorio to Porta S . Lorenzo s till u nencumbered with buildings ( Fig. 7 ). T he a rea was l arg ely one of vineyards. The contour l ines of the map show that the area o f i nterest to us i s l ocated f airly near t he t ip o f a s pur, which projects about a kilometer f rom the SE corner of t he Castro P retorio. This f eature i s rather well defined o n three s ides by the valleys which surround it. To the s outh it i s bounded by a v alley which s eparates i t f rom t he path o f the Via Tiburtina; in it . runs the Vicolo d ell'Osteria. To t he east near i ts t ip l ies another v alley i n which the Via Cupa i s s ituated. F inally to the n orth there i s a third, narrower valley, which extends f rom the Via Cupa to a point near the wall o f the Castro P retorio. The Vicolo dei Canneti a lso visible on the map b egins at a p oint near t he SE corner of t he Castro P ret orio and follows the crest of the spur to a point rather n ear i ts t ip where i t turns sharply s outh a nd descends to m eet the Via T iburtina i ntersecting the V icolo dell'Oster ia on i ts w ay down. This i ntersection i s s hown in more d etail on P lan I I T IB 2 ( Fig. 8 ). F rom i t two private r oads l ead i nto vineyards s ituated on e ither s ide o f V icolo dei Canneti. The one to the l eft i s indicated on P lan I I T IB 9 a s t he vigna G ori. The one to t he r ight i s n ot identified, but it i s c lear f rom the accounts of Gori a nd de Rossi that this was the vigna Fortunati. 177 The present d ay entrance to t he c atacomb i s s ituated a long the surviving southern arm o f the Via dei C anneti. 178 A lthough A shby reports that he found no

S ee pp. 7 and 1 1 and note 3 3, p . 1 3. This r oad appears on the Nolli map where i t i s c alled V icolo d elle Mattonelle, a name s till in u se at t he time o f G ori. F rutaz, op. c it., p l. 4 11; Gori, D ella Porta, p . 7 3. The s ame name appears e lsewhere. S ee Frutaz, op. c it., p lates 4 4 and 4 99. Note that today i t i s a via i nstead of a v icoletto. 1 77 1 78

8 3

traces o f ancient constructions immediately adjacent t o i t, the orientation of z ones U a nd V , which s erved as a monumental entrance s equence i nto the catacomb i n ancient t imes, s uggest that s ome road must have r un nearby ( Fig. 1 ). 179 Furthermore, there must have been a road l inking t he complex of H ippolytus with t he major s anctuary of t he T iburtine area, that o f S . L orenzo. S ince the l ower portion o f V ia d el Canneti ( since d estroyed) f ollowed t he most direct route between the two, l eading up t he fairly gentle s lope o f t he s pur, it s eems r easonable t o s uppose that i t follows at l east the approximate course o f an early road.' " I t s hould be noted that the Via Tiburtina r uns s lightly h igher up t he other s ide o f t he Osteria v alley, which l ies to the south of the spur. Thus the t wo cemet eries of Cyriaca a nd H ippolytus were s eparated n ot only by the road itself but by this valley which l ay between them. Our knowledge concerning the aboveground c emetery o f Hippolytus i s l imited to t he r emarks of Ashby a nd others c oncerning the small building with the inscribed apse s ituated in the former v igna Gori opposite t he e ntrance to the catacomb. 181 ( Fig. 8 , b ) The aboveground basilica mentioned by P rudentius s eems to have l eft no t races t hat can be securely documented. I n 1 888 with the beginning o f the work on t he Polic linico a l ong p rocess began, which would terminate i n the complete transformation of this area of vineyards into a busy u rban neighborhood. A g lance at t he present day map shows that the Vicolo dell'Osteria, which bounded the spur on i ts s outhern s ide, h as completely d isappeared. The Via Cupa i s today a s hort s treet l eading o ff t he Tiburtina, a nd it i s not c ertain t hat it f ollows t he exact course a s the earlier street o f the same n ame. The l ower e nd of t he s outhern portion o f t he Vicolo d el Canneti a long with i ts entire northern portion h as disappeared, a lthough V ia Antonio S carpa runs in t he s ame d irection as the north arm at a s hort distance f rom i ts original course. More important the spur i tself has been c ut through in an approximately north-south d irection at t wo points: Viale Regina Margherita and Viale delle Provincie. I n t he c ourse of t he operations of opening a passage for V iale Regina Margherita it was d iscovered that t he spur

1 79

t he

Ashby,

C lassical

Topography,

3 :93.

1 80 A s we shall see later, z one V partially covered s pace n ow o ccupied by t he road ( Fig. 1 ).

1 81

S ee

pp.

8 -9,

1 7,

and note

8 4

4 0.

contained another hypogeum, the so-called catacomb of Novatian. 182 The creation o f Viale delle Provincie was to c ause h avoc to c ertain galleries of t he c atacomb o f H ippolytus. Galleries that were destroyed by the cut made through t he spur a re s till visible on t he n orth s ide o f the s treet.

1 82 E. j osi, " Cimitero a lla s inistra della Via Tiburt ina a l Viale Regina Margherita" i n RAC 1 0(1933):179-233; 1 1(1934):7-47 and 2 03-46. S ee a lso the important remarks o f Fasola on t he evolution of the e arliest g alleries i n " I cimiteri c ristiani: I ntroduzione a lla d iscussione" in Atti del I X c ongresso internazionale d i archeologia c rist iana ( 1975) ( Vatican City, 1 978):191-94. For further b ibliography s ee A . Frutaz, " Cimitero di N ovaziano" i n E nciclopedia I taliana.

8 5

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE GEOLOGY

O F THE AREA

The geological aspect o f the c atacomb of H ippolytus s till awaits a t horough s tudy. A lthough de Angelis d 'Ossat directed his attention to i t on two s eparate occasions, i t was n ever t reated i n h is l onger work on t he s ubject of the geology of the catacombs, and an i nspect ion of currently a ccessible areas s hows that h is res earch here was extremely l imited i n scope. 183 As we have s een, h is remarks i n t he f irst a rticle were based on the inspection o f gallery a l5, t he c eilings of z ones U a nd T , a nd one other " galleria devastata" which he does not identify. H e makes no mention o f the d ifferent l evels o f t he c atacomb a nd s eems to d efine t he totality as being s ituated i n only two strata o f tufo which he s aw " . . . n ella g alleria a destra d i c hi guarda l 'abside [ a15] dove s i trova i l tufo granulare, c on s egni di a lterazione, s opra i l t ufo t erroso-argilloso s ottostante; del primo ho misurato un metro di s pessore e m . 1 ,80 d el s econdo." As will be s een f rom St. 9 in F igure 9 there i s indeed i n this g allery a lower s tratum of tufo which measures 1 m ., but f ar f rom being " terroso-argilloso" it i s the most solid o f the strata i n the catacomb, whereas t he remaining 1 .60 m . of the g allery's wall consists of several far l ess s olid strata. I n the l ight of this it i s d ifficult to a ccept h is assertion that " La f avorevole resistenza del s oprastante g ranulare, funzionante egregiamente da t etto, ha invitato i f ossori ad a llargare s overchiamente l a basilica . . . . " As we will s ee, s till other s trata o ccur a bove t he ones in question, none of them really stable, and it was rather in s pite of these weak s trata that t he builders d ared t o create a wide crypt taking c are, however, to provide masonry s upports a ll a long i ts c ourse. H is s econd article presents a more accurate description of e ight o f t he s trata o f tufo f ound i n the catacomb. I t was based on observations made during the c reation o f V iale delle Provincie. Considering t he s lope o f the spur at the point where his s tudy was c arried out there i s l ittle wonder that t he s trata he describes correspond l ittle with those outlined shown in our F igure 9 . The p oint of contact b etween t he two s eries m ay well be stratum f , which appears at the top of his s ection a s

1 83

Antichi

De Angelis d :Ossat, Geologia, C imiteri, pp. 1 20-21.

8 6

pp.

1 60-62

and

C r s

_ J

3

•

12

_ J

s tratum n . IV ( 8) ( qranulare t ipico) immediately b elow which i s a muddy s tratum p ossibly c orresponding t o s trat um d o f our F igure 9 . H is a ccount i s thus not o nly a n i mportant r ecord o f t he l ower s trata o f t ufo f ound i n t he c atacomb but a lso a witness t o t he f act t hat t here w ere g alleries on t wo d ifferent l evels b elow t hose s tudied i n t he present work, thus s howing t hat the c atacomb h ad g alleries on f ive d ifferent l evels. For the catacombs o f the T iburtina Ventrigilia d epends a lmost e xclusively on t he work o f D e Angelis d 'Ossat a lthough h e s peaks o f a ll o f these hypogea a s b eing s ituated i n t hree s trata o f t ufo: " . . . u n l iv ello di t ufo granulare e due l ivelli di t ufo t erroso che l o a ccompagnano s uperiormente e i nferiormente . . . . " i nstead o f the two mentioned i n t he earlier work o f D e Angelis d 'Ossat. 184 H e t entatively i dentifies t hese t hree s trata w ith n n. 1 9, 2 0, a nd 2 1 o f t he t able o f s trata o f the tufi a ntichi c omposed on the basis o f a s eries o f observations o f these a t v arious p oints i n t he S alario spur. 185 F or the purpose o f the present s tudy we may l imit o urselves to s everal i mportant o bservations made d uring t he course o f our research. The g alleries t oday a ccess ible a re s ituated i n a geolo9ical s ection o f a pproximately 3 1 m . i n t otal depth.' " T his band i s s ituated i n t he g eneral context o f t he s o-called t ufi a ntichi c reated by the S abine volcanos. 187 O f t he f ourteen s trata o f tufo v isible o nly o ne i s o f s emilithoid c omposition. A t the one spot where i t i s t otally v isible this band ( f) i s 2 .30 m . thick ( Fig. 9 ). F or o bvious r easons g reat u se was made o f i t i n c reating the galleries o f what w e p ropose to s how w as o ne o f t he o ldest r egions o f t he c emetery, namely a rea d . I ts s turdy quality p ermitted t he c arving o f a rchitectural d ecoration o f c ertain c ubicles ( e.g. d 6a). O f the other s trata which appear on t hose s ituated b elow s tratum f a ppear i n a ccessible today, but they were n oted at p oints. T he ones a bove i t, h owever, a re

1 84

Ventriglia,

1 85

F or the

G eologia,

table

p .

F igure 9 n one o f g alleries e asily c ertain c ave-in f requently s een

1 71.

s ee Ventriglia,

op.

c it.,

pp.

1 68-

7 1. 1 86 T he map o f accessible areas ( Fig. 1 ) i ndicates n ine p oints where s ections w ere m ade s howing t he c hanges i n tufo s trata ( Fig. 9 ). These s tation points a re i ndic ated by t he s ymbols ST 1 , 2 , 3 , e tc. T he s trata a re d esignated by the l etters a , b , c , e tc.

1 87

i bid.,

p .

1 71.

8 8

not only i n the upper reaches of some of the o lder gall eries but a lso in t he g alleries of t he upper l evels which are excavated exclusively in them. I n consistency these upper s trata a lternate b etween beds of r ather muddy tufos ( strata 2 , d , 1 , k , and m ) and bands of l oose volcanic d eposits ( strata h , i , k , a nd m ), both of which a re very unstable when they appear in the wall o f a g allery. The s tability o f s uch g alleries i s i ndeed prec arious when their ceilings are s ituated in them. This s ituation i s a ggravated by t he f act that t he bedding o f t he individual s trata i s extremely i rregular on a horiz ontal p lane, a nd a ny r elatively horizontal l ine c hosen a s a ceiling l evel passes in and out o f two and sometimes t hree d ifferent s trata. This c an be d isastrous when there i s question of strata i , k , or m , which are extremely unstable. Finally, a s Ventriglia has pointed out concerning t he Tiburtina a rea a s a whole, t he s trata h ere have a s light inclination towards the east in the direction, t hat is, of the valley o f the Marranella. 188 This i s noticeable f rom t he ensemble of s tations s hown in F igure 2 .

1 88ibid.,

p .

8 2.

8 9

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE GENERAL PLAN OF THE CATACOMB

The catacomb o f Hippolytus s eems to have had at l east f ive d ifferent l evels. Two o f these are no l onger r eadily accessible s ince they have s uffered greatly f rom water seepage. 189 O f the others the most important groups a re s ituated near t he c ult c enter, but their f loor l evel i s about 2 m . lower. The n etworks of Areas a and d l ie r espectively to t he north a nd west of the c rypt, while areas c and b are two small burial zones i n the immediate vicinity of t he martyr's t omb. The other areas are s ituated on higher l evels, which today are accessible only with d ifficulty. Areas e a nd f constitute small networks, while g i s a l arge s ingle space, the f unction of which i s not c lear, a nd h i s a g roup o f two g alleries that are probably part o f a reservoir system. The small areas c a nd b will be s tudied in s ome detail in connect ion with the cult c enter. O f t he r emaining ones the most important by f ar a re a a nd d .

1 .

Area

a

Of this a rea many o f the galleries s een a nd mapped by De Rossi are inaccessible today. Thus in order to g et a better i dea of i ts s hape we must r efer to h is p lan ( Fig. 1 0). C urrent excavation has shown that at l east two gall eries o f t he n etwork were t runcated by t he creation o f the new cult c enter. As we will s how l ater, a p ier set up in t he northwestern c orner of t he c ult center has b locked o ff a gallery that once e ntered this space during an e arlier p eriod in i ts evolution ( P1, F ig. 2 ). Thus today one part of it ( al) i s in t he cult center while another ( a2) i s s till attached to a rea a ( Figs. 1 and 1 4). F urthermore, P 13 at the opposite end of the crypt

1 89 Our only records of these are Plan I I TIB 1 , the s canty r emarks o f Bovini, Sant'Ippolito, p p. 1 20-21, and De Angelis d 'Ossat, Antichi C imiteri, pp. 1 20-21, whose observations s eem to confirm t he f act that the l ower area now subject to i ntermittent f looding included at l east two d ifferent l evels. A t t hree points in the catacomb i t i s still ' possible to e nter this lower network.

9 0

o bstructed gallery a l4. T he l ower r eaches o f the s outh e nd of t his g allery s urvive b elow t he l evel o f t he n ew c ult center.

F ig ure 1 0 PLAN IIT IB 1

er F c i/ J 1

c 1 7

AREA NEAR CULT CENTER

1 1

e l7

Though l inked with area d n ear the apse o f t he cult c enter a t t he j unction o f g alleries a 7 a nd d 54 a rea a a s a whole c learly originated a t a l ater p eriod. 19 ° Many o f i ts galleries ( a5, a 7, a nd a 9 a long w ith c ubicle a 4a a t t he end o f a 4) c ome to a n abrupt e nd a t the f airly s traight l ine o f g allery d 5, which w as c learly i n exist ence before t hem. I n a s imilar way f urther t o t he east a l2 and a l7 c ome to an e nd n ear t he n orth wall o f t he c ult c enter. Thus area a i s a small i rregular network o f g all eries n estling a round t he c ult c enter a nd p artially m odified by i t a t two points: a l a nd a l4. I n t he l ight o f t he f oregoing we have t he f ollowing r elative c hrono-

1 90 T he well s ituated at t his point i s a l ater s truct ure. I ts r ound s haft appears o nly overhead. At f loor l evel t he e arly j unction o f the g alleries i s v isible i n t he p lan.

9 1

l ogy:

a rea d ,

area

a and

f inally t he

l ate

cult

c enter.

T he f loor l evel of t he a rea i s considerably l ower t han that o f the cult c enter ( between q .-1.10 and q .-0.90) while i ts c eiling l evels vary b etween q .+1.75 a nd +2.40. As can be s een f rom F igure 1 0, it c ontains f ew cubicles. I t i s difficult today to get a c lear idea o f the d irection o f t he evolution of t he area, n ot only b ecause o f i ts very poor s tate o f preservation, but also because extensive masonry repairs have masked t he pick m arks, which otherwise might have c larified the s ituation. 191 The o rigin o f gallery a l6, which was incorporated i nto z one S o f the l ate cult c enter, i s uncertain. As we s hall s ee, i t p robably s temmed f rom a l4, but this is by no means c ertain. 192 2 .

Area d

T he n etwork of area d l ike t hat of a rea a h as been o nly been partially preserved. The most important sect ion which h as s urvived i s d 5 a long with t iny p ortions o f v arious other galleries, which s tem from i t. This may b e f ollowed f or about 2 5 m . to t he n orth up to a p oint where t he main gallery i s cut off by the masonry wall m . I t i s possible, however, to t race i ts c ourse even beyond this wall, even though access i s extremely difficult, and two f urther g alleries, which s tem f rom it ( d8 and d 9), can a lso be partially explored. O f t he many cubicles, which appear on F igure 1 , only two have been f ully excavated ( d6a and d 5a). Gallery d 3, which i s perpendicular to d5, c an with d ifficulty be traced eastwards b ack to a p oint where a c hance opening on its northern s ide gives access to the

1 91 0 f the accessible galleries, a 2, a 3, and a 5 do n ot show c lear t races of t he d irection o f their e xcavat ion. G allery a 7 was created from a 6 and extends as f ar a s d 5, which w as a lready in existence. G allery a l5, which s eems to be among the l atest galleries i n t his s ystem, was developed f rom a l2. T he opening in t he back o f the arcosolium G25 was caused e ither by this o peration or by some l ater one. I t would l ater s erve as a n entry p oint into area a f rom the new cult center when t he old a ccess p oint a t a l was c losed off. Gallery a l4 w as p robably c reated f rom a l8. When P 13 of the later cult c enter w as built in i ts path another improvised e ntrance i nto the new cult c enter was created by opening a space i n t he t ufo bank to the east o f t he n ew p ier.

1 92

S ee pp.

1 25

f f.

9 2

c ult center through the back o f the recess G 28 ( Fig. 1 ). 193 B eyond this point i t i s cut off by a cave-in. C ubicle d 3a, which c an be s een t oday through an opening i n the south wall o f z one Q o f the cult center was c reated o ff o f t his g allery. I n the accessible parts of this area the ceilings a re s ituated a round q .+2.15, a nd t he f loor l evel s eems t o h ave been between q .-1.00 and q .-1.50, a lthough not a ll o f the g alleries h ave been f ully excavated. Many of t he c eilings a re s ituated in the stratum of s emi-lithoid tufo ( f).194 I ts f ine quality made possible the decorative c arvings f ound i n d 6a a nd r eported i n two other c ubicles b y Bovini; these l atter are no l onger accessible. 195 S ince t he c omplete n etwork h as not been p reserved, i t is impossible f or us to d etermine what i ts over-all p lan was. Gallery d 5, t he b est p reserved, s eems to have b een developed f rom d 3 j udging, at l east, f rom the direct ion of t he pick m arks on t he walls. This l atter gallery i n turn s tems f rom an area which was l argely r estructured by the c reation o f t he l ater i ter, a nd which s ubsequently s uffered f rom massive cave-ins. Thus it i s not possible f or us to determine e ither t he p oint of departure f or t he e volution of area d or its total extent. 19 b S ince both

1 93 T his p assageway.

small

and

i rregular opening was

never

a true

1 94 A lthough t he ceiling o f most of gallery d 5 and t hat o f d 8 a re s ituated around q .+2.15 in s tratum h , t he c ubicles o ff o f d 5 and d 6, the northern end of d 5, galler ies d 10 a nd d ll a long with t he cubicle d ya a ll have t heir ceilings in this s tratum. 1 95 B ovini, S ant"Ippolito, P l. 1 74. The cubicles in q uestion a re e l7b ( Bovini culbicle 2 8) a nd e l7d ( Bovini c ubicle 3 2). These appear on F igure 1 0. B ovini suggests t hat d 6a w as t he b urial p lace of C irilla a nd T rifonia. T here are, however, no traces of graffiti or inscriptions t o bear this o ut, a s he h imself admits. C ertainly t he a rchitectural decor a lone i s not a cogent reason f or such a suggestion. 1 96 I t could have been very extensive. The l arge a reas to t he s outh of t he c ult c enter and to t he e ast o f t he iter have n ever been explored due to c ave-ins. Another c ave-in at t he e nd o f gallery e 9 h as r ev ealed an area o f about 3 x 1 .5 m . into which two galler ies enter. A c ubicle was a lso c reated h ere. A lthough t he area i tself has been heightened, the ceiling l evel o f b oth galleries a s well a s that o f t he cubicle a re s itu ated at q .+1.73 i n s tratum f at about the s ame l evel as t he ceiling o f t he n orthern e nd o f d 5. This c urious s pace might well b e one o f the outlying s ections o f area d .

9 3

d 5 and d 3 run i n c lose proximity to t he crypt o f the martyr, one might s uspect that t his a rea was a mong the most important o f the early cemetery and perhaps even t he very o ne in which t he martyr w as o riginally buried. T he f act that i t i s s ituated in the f inest s tratum o f tufo i n t he area a rgues f or i ts antiquity. I t c ertainly s eems o lder than the other networks near i t. We have a lready s een that area a i s of more recent o rigin s ince i ts development was l imited by the presence o f d5, a nd our c onsideration of t he c ult c enter w ill a lso show that t he small retrosanctos area b was l ikewise l imited b y the p resence of the same gallery. 197 A lthough this may be s o, we s hall s ee that it i s i mpossible at the p resent t ime to f ind any concrete l ink between i t and t he area o f t he martyr.

3 .

The Area

o f

t he

I ter

As we h ave s een, i t is not n ow possible t o determine exactly how f ar area d originally extended. T he area o f the i ter a nd i ts immediate s urroundings might h ave once been part of it. Whether or not this i s the c ase, a word i s in order about this a rea i n t he p eriod previous to t he c reation of the i ter i tself. T races of earlier cemeterial structures h ave been i ncorporated i nto t he i ter. T he f irst i s s ituated immed iately to the north o f T4 and the s econd to t he north o f T 5 ( Fig. 1 ). These two s eparate t ufo s urfaces w ith l oculi are roughly a long the s ame axis, but the l atter runs a long a l ine f urther to t he w est than the f ormer. At the s outhern extremities o f both of these s egments there a re perpendicular tufo s urfaces with l oculi. This s hows that other galleries or passages l ed off t his area toward t he east. Further north s till another p erpendicular s urface with l oculi may have been part o f a gall ery, but this c annot be determined s ince i ts f urther c ourse i s today covered by the masonry wall of T 6. F urthermore, t he wide masonry a rch a t T 3 might mark the c ourse of another early gallery a lthough no tufo surfaces have been preserved h ere. A ll of these e lements point to t he presence of an area to the east o f t he i ter. There w as p robably at l east one other gallery parallel t o the i ter i tself; perhaps c ubicle T 7's o riginal entrance w as a long i ts c ourse. 198 I t i s interesting to n ote that the b uilders

1 97

S ee p .

1 98

This

1 08.

cubicle

i s today accessible

9 4

through a modern

o f the i ter kept open the access to this area providing p assageways at T 3, T 4, a nd T 5. The l arge opening in t he e ast wall of z one U ( subsequently c losed) a lso points to t he importance o f this area to t he e ast. What was the earlier shape of the iter i tself? One m ight s uspect that i t t oo r epresents an original c atacomb g allery reworked over the l ong period of the cemetery's e xistence and f inally enlarged i nto a monumental p assagew ay to t he tomb o f the martyr. The portion o f the i ter which has been most f ully s tudied i s T l ( Figs. 1 a nd 3 8). The tufo b ed which f orms i ts f loor surface was c leared. A lthough i t has been worn d own in some s pots t he f loor l evel i s s ituated at about q .-1.30. I ts c eiling, which i s cut directly i n the tufo b ank, i s s ituated at about q .+1.19. F ive f ormae were d iscovered i n i ts f loor, one o f which was extremely l arge a nd probably o ffered s pace f or more than o ne body ( G40). 199 O f particular interest i s the fact that the west wall o f T l partially covers both G 42 a nd 4 3, thus s howing that p rior to the construction of the i ter this a rea was s omewhat wider. Thus f ar f rom being a widened g allery the i ter, at this point at l east, i s narrower t han t he s tructure that preceded i t. Furthermore t he s outhern extremity of the zone was not discovered, and t he curious orientation of G 43 a nd G 44 s uggest that i t p ossibly extended further to t he east at this end. I t i s d ifficult to f ind a ny c ontinuity b etween z one T i and the spaces immediately adjacent to i t in the i ter. T he area to t he north h as the s ame f loor l evel b ut i s c onsiderably narrower than T i, while the area to t he s outh i s c entered f urther towards t he east. I ndeed t he p lan of the i ter a s a whole shows l ittle continuity from o ne space i nto t he next. These considerations show that f ar from being a w idened c atacomb gallery t he i ter i s p robably a s tructure

o pening in the wall o f T6. i ts l evel i s c ertainly well o f T6.

I t was never excavated, but over a meter h igher than that

1 99 I t was not possible to excavate this forma to i ts b ottom, or to r each t he s outhern e nd o f G41. I ts l arge s ize and the way G 41 opens into i t c auses one to wonder whether or n ot it might have been a cubicle s ituated at a l ower l evel and G41, a gallery l eading i nto i t. I n this h ypothesis t he a rea i n question would have been t rimmed d own and buried in order to c reate the iter. While there i s a l oculus i n t he s outh wall o f G 40, which f avors such a n interpretation, G 4 1, i s extremely narrow to b e a g allery ( 56 cm.). Only further excavation c an s ettle t he question.

9 5

created by the artificial l inking o f spaces which were perhaps not originally j oined together in an o rganic way. Yet a g lance at F igure 1 shows t hat both galleries d2 a nd d3 o riginated f rom a g allery which must have r un p arallel to the course of the iter. Was t he area o f the i ter originally part o f a rea d ? While the f loor l evel of T i ( q.-1.30) i s r ather c lose to that of many of a rea d 's g alleries ( q.-1.00 t o q .-1.50) i ts ceiling i s considerably l ower ( q.+1.19 compared to t he typical + 2.50 o f area d ). T he height of a n area's galleries i s usually a rather s table f eature o f t he s ystem, while t he f loor l evels t end to vary a ccording to whether o r not a specific gallery has been l owered. In t he l ight o f this it i s d ifficult to s ee how T i could be part of area d 's system. F urthermore i ts t otal height i s only about 2 .50 m .; t hus it i s n ot l ikely t hat it w as ever l owered. I t s eems instead t o h ave been r ather s table throughout t he period of i ts use. There remains the possibility that the gallery from which d2 and d 3 originated r an s lightly f urther to t he west than the i ter i tself and would today be s ituated i n an area which was never explored because o f cave-ins. 2 00 The s eparate s tructures i ncorporated i nto the i ter might conceivably have been smaller areas entered from this gallery. I f s uch a gallery ever e xisted it i s p ossible that i t l ed into t he cemetery from the h ill s ide and might even h ave been i ts o riginal e ntranceway. I n conclusion, i t i s not l ikely that the i ter was created by w idening a c atacomb gallery t hat once r an a long its course. Rather it s eems to be an artificial l inking of s tructures which were o riginally s eparate, s uch as T l. P erhaps a gallery of area d ran parallel t o it f urther to t he west, a nd the s tructures i ncorporated into the iter might conceivably h ave been related to this. The p assageways in t he eastern s ide of t he i ter and the vestibule point to the existence o f an another area to the e ast.

2"

Just beyond the entrance v estibule of t he catacomb a l arge archway l eads p recisely i nto this z one, which thus r emained accessible even a fter the c reation o f the i ter. A possible approximate p osition of t he gallery f rom which d 2 and d 3 originated i s shown on F ig. 1 as gallery d l.

9 6

4 .

Areas

e a nd

f

A c ave-in a long gallery d 5 a t a point j ust beyond t he masonry wall which b locks i t o ff g ives a ccess t o two s mall n etworks o f galleries l ying at ,a h igher l evel than a reas a a nd d . They a re s ituated i n t he s outhwest p art o f the c emetery. O f t he tufo s trata i n which both are s ituated . 1 , h , 1 , a nd n o ffer s ome s tability t o t he c eilings o f t he galleries, but they are r arely over a m eter i n t hickness a nd a re s eparated f rom o ne a nother by e xtremely l oose volcanic d eposits ( k a nd m ). F urtherm ore, t he a reas a re obviously c lose t o g round l evel. O verhead there a re v isible i n v arious spots masses o f r ubble a ccumulated i n p its o r wells, w hich a re i nterr upted b y the c eilings o f the g alleries. I n f 4 the m asonry f loor o f a modern building i s visible. G iven t his s tate o f a ffairs t he creation o f areas e a nd f p robably d ate f rom a l ater p eriod in t he c atacomb's h istory when t he f ossores had t o b e content with poorer c onditions s ince t he b etter s trata h ad a lready b een l argely occupied by earlier galleries.

A rea

e

The original entrance point i s no l onger i n evid ence, a lthough t he pick marks on t he tufo w alls s eem to s uggest that t he main g allery, e l, was c reated f rom e 9 ( now i naccessible) a nd t hat t he o ther g alleries were c reated o ff o f i t. The ceilings o f the s ystem l ie bet ween q .+3.84 a nd q .+4.02. These l ie e ither i n s trata j o r 1 . N ot o nly t he c eilings but the walls a lso t estify t o t he p oor q uailty o f t he t ufo, a nd t he t rue f loor l evel o f the g alleries i s h idden by the r esultant debris. Y et j udging f rom t he f act t hat g allery e 2 c rossed over d 5 o f t he l ower area i t must h ave been s lightly h igher t han d 5's c eiling l evel. This would have b een approximately q .+1.90. Thus the galleries o f e a re consequently r ather l ow. T heir t ypical w idth i s a pproximately 8 0 c m. T he p lan o f t he a rea i s that o f a grid o f galleries ( el a nd e 2 p erpendicular t o e 6 a nd e 8). The gallery numbered e 15 on F igure 1 i s today a ccessible t hrough s tairs i n t he f loor o f c ubicle d 6a. T hese l ead i nto a gallery o f the l ower l evel o f the c atacomb. T o t he l eft i mmediately b eyond a c ave-in one i s barely able t o e nter i t. Even though i t t oday cons ists o f a s tairway, l argely c luttered by e arth f ill, i t i s c lear that i t was o riginally a s imple gallery. I ts c eiling i s n ot a s loping o ne s uch a s we would e xpect t o f ind i n a s tructure originally d esigned f or s tairs, and f urthermore c ubicle e l5b i s i solated h igh up on i ts north w all ( Fig. 1 0). T oday i t i s totally i solated f rom t he o ther n etworks o f t he c atacomb. O n i ts e astern e nd a m odern masonry s tairway l eads in f rom aboveground, but t he gallery i s well p reserved beyond t his. I ts s tairs, h owever, a re b rought t o an end by an immense c ave-in on i ts western e nd. J ust b efore t his t o t he l eft i s t he

9 7

present day access point. B eyond the cave-in i t i s possible to s ee that gallery e 15 o riginally continued s ome distance further, a lthough i n De Rossi's t ime it s eemed to e nd at t he turn o ff point to t he l eft. Totally i solated as this gallery i s, it i s imposs ible to r elate i t with a ny c ertainty to a ny o f t he s ystems we have been s tudying. T he only c riterion is that i ts c eiling i s s ituated a t q .+3.34 a nd is i n stratum k . This seems to f it best into a rea e , which i s the only o ne whose c eilings a re r ather c onsistently s ituated i n s tratum j , a lthough they are s omewhat h igher ( q.+3.84 t o q .+4.02). Galleries e 16 and e 17 can s till be s een b eyond a cave-in, a nd t heir c eiling l evel s eems to correspond c losely to that of e 15. Though i ts f loor is now covered with d ebris f rom c ave-ins, i t s eems that e 16 h ad a lso been l owered f or use as a stairway. I t i s probable that both of these s ets of s teps ( in e 15 a nd e 16) w ere des igned to provide access to the l ower l evels o f t he c atacomb. As can be seen in F igure 1 0, the o ld entrance in u se until t he time o f Marucchi w as s ituated at the e ast end o f e 17. Today the end o f the gallery i s s ealed o ff by masonry, a nd t he s tairs a re no l onger visible. P erhaps this work was carried out in connection with t he cons truction of t he University building, a lthough n o records have been kept concerning it.

Area

f

At the western end of e 12 an i rregular passageway l eads i nto another s ystem of g alleries, a rea f . A mass ive cave-in has l argely h idden t he spot where t he two s ystems meet, but two galleries e nter i t, one f rom the north and the other from the south. Area f i tself consists o f a l ong gallery ( fl) with a s eries o f s ide ones perpendicular to i t. These l atter a re f or t he most part unexcavated. The general s cheme c onsists o f a s ingle l ong gallery intersected b y a series of s hort ones a ll a long i ts course. P ick marks o n the wall make it c lear that the whole system developed from gallery f 10. Due to t he c ave-in n ear t he l ink b etween area e and area f i t i s impossible to t ell whether f was developed f rom e i tself or f rom s till another g allery ( f5), which l eads into t he space where the cave-in occ ured. I t i s s ituated at a l ower l evel than t he o ther two and

enters

the area

f rom the

9 8

s outh.

2 1

°

The group o f galleries f 2, f 12, f 13, and f l4 s itua ted at t he s outhern extremity of t he a rea i s curiously l ower than the r est . I ts ceiling l evel i s at about q .+2 .80 in s tratum j , and i ts total height s eems t o have b een a l ittle over 1 .70 m . The area i s i n extremely poor c ondition, b ut t here s eems to have been l ittle burial h ere, and one s uspects that i t was a pre-existing struct ure incorporated by t he f ossores i nto a rea f . The area i s the highest one in the catacomb, its c eilings s ituated b etween q .+4.96 and + 6.03. Gallery f lO has its ceiling at the bottom of stratum n , but due to t he irregular b edding of s tratum m t he builders were f orced to l ift the level of fl well into stratum n , s tation 2 r ising over a meter i nto it ( Fig. 9 ). As in area e the poor quality p f the tufo has occas ioned many c ave-ins, a nd t he r ub 1 -1P accumulated on the f loor makes i t impossible to determine the true f loor l evel. Towards the middle o f gallery f l i t was e stimated t o l ie at q .+1.96 thus giving the gallery a total height o f about three meters. I t s eems to have b een even h igher a t s tation 2 . Thus the galleries o f this network are c onsiderably h igher than t hose o f e , but t heir t ypical width ( c. 73 cm.) was less.

5 . Area

q

At the northern end of f l a cave-in on a lower l evel g ives access to a l arge area of i rregular s hape ( approximately 5m. x 7m .). There a re t races of l oculi i n i ts n orthern and western walls; these are cut directly i n the t ufo bank . A l arge arch o f opus vittatum masonry g ives a ccess through the southern wall i nto a cubicle partially f aced with masonry o f small tufo b locks. I t c ontains o nly loculi. A s imilar arch exists on the northern wall, b ut it i s totally f illed with rubble, and t he area b eyond i t cannot be inspected . The ceiling level here is situated in the weak tufo s tratum i , a nd i t i s thus d ifficult to r elate t he a rea even hypothetically to any other we have s tudied, s ave p ossibly d . T o t he west of this a rea a cave-in g ives access to area h .

2 °1 G allery f 5's ceiling i s at q .+3.70 in s harp contrast to that of area . f as a whole, which is around q .+5.00, but t his gallery might have been an access point f rom the l ower s ystem o f g alleries l eading up towards f .

9 9

6 .

Area

h

A ll t hat i s a ccessible of t his a rea t oday a re two p erpendicular galleries only 1 .70 m . in height a nd 6 6 c m . i n w idth. Their c eilings a re s ituated in s tratum . 1 , a nd t heir f loor burrow down about 1 2 cm. i nto the t op of s tratum f . The w alls a re i n e xcellent c ondition a nd c ontain no loculi. I ndeed t hey show no traces o f cemet erial u se at a ll. This f act t aken a long with t he s hall owness of the galleries s uggests t he possibility that they were part o f a s ystem o f g alleries designed t o s erve a s a reservoir f or water. The porous s trata f ound in t heir walls ( h a nd i ) would have p ermitted water t o g ather here, while the s turdy tufo o f i ts f loor ( f) would n ot have p ermitted i t to f ilter further down. T he thin b ut even coat of calcium deposits ( . ) n their walls s eems t o c onfirm this hypothesis. 2 °2 I n De Rossi's time i t was possible to pass t hrough t he s outhern e nd o f h 2 i nto an i rregular a rea f rom which another system o f galleries of orthogonal p lan w as access ible. I t is n ot impossible that t hese t oo were p art o f the same system. Recently in connection with f urther work in an area newly acquired by t he Facoltä d i e conomia e commercio other galleries o f the catacomb have come to l ight, s everal o f which a re s imilar to t hose o f a rea h . The calcium deposits on their walls suggest that t hey too were part of a water storage system. 2 °3

2 02 S ee s ull'origine

F . Tolotti, " Influenza delle opere i drauliche d elle c atacombe," RAC 5 6(1980):4-48.

2 °3 W e are grateful to Rev. Umberto Fasola f or this i nformation. An article by h im in c ourse of publication will d iscuss these galleries more f ully. One wonders whether t he s mall c luster of g alleries f 2, f 12, f 13, and f l4 were not a lso once part o f this system or a s imilar one. Their c eiling l evel i s l ikewise i n s tratum . 1 , and their total height i s a lso l ess t han that o f a t ypical c atacomb g allery.

1 00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE EARLY CULT CENTER AND

I TS

RETROSANCTOS

I ntroduction

The unusually l arge s ize o f t he present c ult c enter w ould l ead o ne to s uspect a priori that the area i t c overs was once a group of i ndependent s tructures, which were only l ater unified into the s ingle whole which we s ee today. The excavations in t he western portion of t he c rypt have shown that this indeed was the case. I t i s c lear that t he a rea in question underwent at l east two d istinct phases. I n an earlier Z one R consisted o f a s ingle s pace l argely covered with f ormae, whereas Z one Q was made up of a s eries of small spaces d ivided f rom o ne another a lthough i nter-communicating. I n a l ater period, when i t was decided to c onstruct t he l arge c ult c enter which we s ee t oday, t he f loor o f the new s tructure was s et at a higher l evel. I n z one R this was s et at q .0.00 ; i n zone Q , however, which w as t o be the presbytery it was set higher at about q .+0.32. A ll f ormer s tructures that rose h igher t han these two n ew l evels were cut down accordingly; those that were lower were s imply f illed i n. The paving s labs of t he n ew c ult c enter were thus l aid on top of the trimmed tufo s urfaces or of the f ill u sed to bury t he abandoned l ower structures. The most massive destruction took p lace in zone Q where t he bank o f tufo Z , which w as t he major d ividing wall between areas a l, b , and c had to be cut down more than a meter, and t he whole the whole system o f earlier c eilings removed ( Fig. 1 ). Two factors in particular make i t possible for u s to r econstruct t he earlier s tate of a ffairs. F irst of a ll, s ince the l ater cult center was built above the earlier s tructures, some of the wall s urfaces o f these l atter s urvive both i n the form of vertical p lastered s urfaces a s well as t ombs s ituated in t hem. S econdly, t he many f ormae f ound here enable u s to e stablish what was once t he f loor l evels o f each o f t he previous s tructures. On the basis of this two-fold criterion, therefore, we propose to d iscuss each of t he s tructures f ound b elow Z one Q o f the cult c enter. O ur analysis divides these i nto three a reas which we denote as a l, b , a nd c . F igure 1 4 presents a f loor plan o f these during their f inal phase of e xistence. ' Figure 1 5 i s an axonometric r econs truction drawing of a ll three during this same f inal phase. Areas b and c a re s ituated approximately 6 2 cm. below the l evel o f the paving s labs in the presbytery of

1 01

the l ater cult c enter. Area a l, however, begins on i ts eastern extremity at about 6 0 cm. b elow this l evel and s lopes downwards to a l evel 4 5 cm. deeper just t o the west of G6.

1 .

Area

a :

Galleries

a l

a nd

a 2

As we have s een in our c onsideration of a rea a , o ne o f its galleries was partially i ncorporated i nto the c ult c enter on i ts western e nd by t he c reation of a p ier i n the center o f the gallery, thus i solating one s egment o f i t ( al) from t he o ther ( a2). The r emains of a l, which today l ie below the f loor l evel o f the cult c enter, were uncovered during excavation a nd a lthough t he u pper p ort ion of the walls have disappeared, they are s till pres erved in their l ower r eaches in -me p laces up to 4 5 cm. above the original f loor l evel ( Fi: 1 9). Gallery a 2 i s s till a ccessible a nd f orms part o f t he n etwork ( Fig. 2 8). The pier which divided the original gallery into two i s made up of f our d istinct but c ontiguous e lements: P l, P la, P lb, and P lc. P l, which i s l argely composed of marble s labs l aid in courses c emented together, breaks through two of the tiles of the c eiling which l ies above i t. S ince these t iles a re s upported by t he f lat a rch, which in turn receives support from P la, this l atter p ier must have a lready been in existence b efore t he c losure ( Fig. 2 8) . 204 Thus the principal e lement i n the c losure o f the gallery was P l, curiously triangular in s hape b ecause o f the space it had to f ill. S ince the point chosen for the division of t he gallery necessitated t he destruction o f one half of the arch over arcosolium G 7, still a nother e lement was added to this a lready complex p ier: P lc, which served to s upport the remaining portion o f the a rch. 2 °5 Consequently one half o f this grave can still

2 " Pier l b cannot be properly s tudied since it i s l argely buried in rubble. A lthough i t is f aced with small tufo b locks as i s P la, i t i s distinct in construct ion f rom i t. P 1 c ontains a t ile with a s tamp o f the o fficina buconiana ( CIL 1 1, nn. 1 548-60) active during a nd a fter t he r eign of D iocletian. T he present s tamp i s a variant not found in C IL.

2 05

This

p ier may be

( Fig. 1 9) a s well as outline of the space

seen both

f rom the

s ide o f

f rom that o f a 2 ( Fig. 2 7). The for the body ( now f illed w ith

1 02

a l

b e seen in gallery a 2 ( Fig. 2 7), while its other half was t otally destroyed in i ts upper reaches a long w ith much o f t he tufo bank which l ay on top of i t, s ince this space w as now to be o ccupied by t he n ew c ult c enter. Thus with t he removal of p iers P 1 and P lc we r eturn to the s itua tion in t he g allery at the t ime it was d ivided.

G allery a l-a2

I mmediately

B efore

t he

D ivision

Despite i ts brevity t he g allery d id not f ollow a s traight course but took a s light turn to the r ight at t he eastern t ip of a rcosolium G 7. I ts s outhern p erimeter wall cut d irectly i n the tufo and p lastered over c ontained an o pening g iving a ccess to a rea b . I ts marble d oor sill i s s till in p lace ( Fig. 1 9). I n addition to t he arcosolium j ust described ( G7) a nother i s s till preserved i n the s ame wall ( G8). The northern wall o f the gallery i s more complex. The small portic- visible i n a l before i t disappears behind the masonry a l : P 1 a lso consists of p lastered t ufo, but on t he s ide o f a 2 i t i s an e xclus ively masonry s tructure consisting of small b locks of t ufo into which various graves were constructed. 2 " On t his s ide of t he g allery an entranceway l eads i nto gall ery a3. This was created by l inking the main mass of masonry with P la by means o f a f lat arch near c eiling l evel ( Fig. 2 8). Thus this pier i s an integral part of this masonry w all, which c onstitutes t he n orth s ide o f t he gallery. An indication of the f loor l evel of the gallery i s p rovided by t he covering of f orma G 6, which s lopes down f rom the l evel o f z one B ( q.-0.38) to the point where i t i s broken away ( q.-0.58). The tufo f loor of t he g allery j ust beyond the tip of the grave l ies at q .-0.73. Unf ortunately this s lope i s more d ifficult to t race on the s ide of a2 s ince the f loor here was reinforced with masonry in c onnection with t he c onstruction o f P l. I n a ny case the gallery was c learly a s loping one obviously d esigned to l ink t he d ifference in l evel b etween Z one R a nd area a . This l atter, as we have s een, was considera bly l ower. I t remains to s ay a word about the ceiling o f the g allery at this f inal period b efore i ts partial destruct ion. The portion which covered a l has, of course, been

m asonry on the s ide of a l), and the position o f the g rave's eastern s houlder c an be s een on F igure 2 . 2 " These c onsist not only o f l oculi but a lso of a k ind o f ground l evel a rcosolium ( G9) t oday l argely f illed with subsequent masonry supports f or its arch. The masonry throughout was extensively r epaired in modern

t imes.

1 03

totally destroyed by the creation o f the new cult c enter. We have a lready s een that t he point immediately a bove P 1 c onsisted of tiles. These were l aid against one another at an angle, b ut, as c an be s een i n F igure 2 8, t his covering d id not extend very f ar i nto a 2 but was brought to an e nd by a t ransverse arch c onstructed of r ubble masonry ( partially visible at the top of the s ame photograph) d esigned to g ive partial s upport to a vault c ut d irectly in the tufo overhead. F rom this arch t he vault s lopes s harply upwards t owards t he meeting point w ith gallery a 4 where i t has been s hored up by modern masonry ( Fig. 2 9) . 207 The function of the s lope becomes c lear at the cross p oint of g alleries a 2, a 4, a nd a 5. Overhead at t his point are extensive remains of a l ucernarium made o f the s ame tufo b lock masonry as t he n orth wall of a 2. Today i t i s totally c losed o ff by modern masonry, but the l ight which once entered it was obvious i channeled i nto gall ery a l precisely by its s loping c ,A _ing, thus p roviding i llumination f or t he c rucial p assageway l eading o ff o f Z one R into area a . I n summary, then, at the time of i ts closure gallery a l-a2 constituted a s loping l ink b etween Z one R a nd the main part of the network o f area a . I t was well l ighted by t he l ucernarium s ituated at i ts j unction with a 4 and a 5. A long i ts course were passageways i nto area b and i nto g allery a 3. ( Figs. 1 4 a nd 1 5).

Earlier

P hase

o f

G alleries

a l

and a 2

S everal e lements s trongly s uggest t hat this w as n ot the original shape of this small but important a rea. The change o f direction in such a small space, the i rregular f ashion in which the gallery meets gallery a5, a nd most important t he extensive u se of masonry n ot only i n the l ucernarium but also a long the entire north wall a ll p oint in this direction. The tufo bed, which l ies behind the l arge masonry b lock that c onstitutes t he n orth wall of a 2, i s p lastered ( at l east to the rear of G9) and was very probably an earlier phase of t he n orth wall i f n ot t he original one. 2 °8 F urthermore F igure 2 shows that i f we r emove this massive b lock we have a c ontinuity b etween t he t ufo s urface thus revealed and the north wall o f a 5. Thus

2 °7 T he portion of the ceiling covered by t iles i s at q .+0.72. The tufo vault s lopes up f rom this t o q .+2.15.

2 08T

h e

p lastering

b lock masonry which f ace.

i s

s eems

to

e xtend behind

built up a gainst this

1 04

the

tufo

r ear

sur-

t here i s a good chance that the original gallery ran a long a c ourse f urther n orth than t he present one. This i s also shown by the fact that the corner of this tufo w all at t he c ross p oint with a 4 ( visible to t he extreme u pper l eft of F ig. 2 ) r ises up to a considerable height s eemingly o ffering support to what must have been the e arlier version of the l ucernarium s ituated a lso further n orth than the p resent masonry one. 2 " I f we compare t he c ourse of this hypothetical e arly v ersion o f a2 w ith that followed by a l we discover that t heir axes do n ot coincide. This makes it d ifficult to s uppose that a l and a 2 were really conceived a s a s ingle g allery. I t i s not possible t hat a 2 c ontinued i n a s traight l ine much f urther a long its former course s ince t here i s a tufo b ed still in p lace to t he north of t he f orma G 6. This i s visible to the extreme right of F igures 2 a nd 1 9. I nstead i t v eered o ff t owards t he l eft i nto a 3. Gallery a l, moreover, l eaves z one R in such a perp endicular f ashion a s to s uggest that it was c reated f rom t his direction. Y et i t cannot have had any hope of d evelopment i ndependent of a rea a , which l ay so n ear. I t s eems much more l ikely that it was born a s a l ink with t he pre-existing a rea, mediating a s i t does t he differe nce in l evel by its s loping f loor. We propose then that the decisive f actor in b ringing a bout the f inal phase in this area was the determination t o l ink Z one R w ith area a by means o f a passageway ( al) c reated only on this occasion and for this purpose. I n o rder to c reate t he l ink f rom the other s ide a 2 was s ingled out, but it was necessary to r elocate the new v ersion of this gallery further to t he s outh in order t hat the two could meet. I t was precisely on this occas ion that t he o ld s outh wall w as c ut c onsiderably away, a nd a n ew north wall was created in tufo b lock m asonry. 210 F urthermore a new l ucernarium was created in m asonry to give l ight to what would become a busy pass ageway. Even w ith these adjustments the two galleries m et at a s light angle, which, a fter a ll, was not an i mportant consideration. Given the p resent state of the monument, p roposal concerning the earlier s tate of this

our g allery

2 09 T he present vault cut d irectly in the tufo i s s lightly c urved, a nd it i s thus easy to s ee that it was c arved out only on the occasion o f the relocation of the g allery, s ince i ts arch corresponds to t he width of the n ew gallery.

2 10

GG7and

8 were

thus

created only a fter

t ion.

1 05

this opera-

must remain l argely hypothetical. I f i t i s correct, however, an important consequence l ies in the f act that area a as a system must have preceded the l ink t hat connected i t to z one B a nd consequently c ould n ot have been developed f rom gallery a l.

2 .

Area

b

Once again s ince the l ater p hase of Z one R w as c reated at a h igher l evel than t he e arlier one, t he l ower portion of the walls of this small area have been pres erved f or u s. The original s ituation i s s omewhat obs cured by the construction of the great p ier P2 o f the l ater c ult c enter. This p artially f ills t wo of t he graves o f the area ( Fig. 2 0, l ower r ight corner). I ts f loor l evel i s i ndicated by t he p resence of two f ormae, GG3 and 4 ( Fig. 1 8). A s mall piece of t he marble covering o f G4 h as been preserved i n s itu ( Fig. 2 0, l ower l eft corner). I ts upper surface i s at q .-0.28, which i s 4 5 c m. a bove t he l evel o f a l at t he point where a rea b c onnects with it. 211 On e ither s ide o f the forma G 4 p lastered t ufo walls a re preserved to a h eight o f q .+0.28 on t he east a nd q .-0.08 on the west. While the e astern s ide is t he solid wall o f Z , t he o ne on t he west c onsists o f t he r emains o f the facade o f the arcosolium G 1 ( Fig. 1 8). There i s another arcosolium b eside i t to t he s outh ( G2), but its f acade has been a lmost totally destroyed by P2, which a lso partially f ills t he g rave i tself ( Fig. 2 ). T he same p ier a lso half f ills the f orma G 3, a s c an be seen in the s ame photograph. Thus t he burials i n t he area c onsisted o f two arcosolia and two formae. 212 Of t he perimeter walls of this area, t he c learest a nd most continuous one ( despite t he damage caused by P 2)

2 11 The f loor l evel o f b , which i s otherwise c ons tant, s eems to be d isturbed by t he extraordinarily high l evel of this fragment o f the covering s lab of G 4. This i s probably to be e xplained, h owever, by a r e-use o f t he f orma immediately before the abandonment o f the a rea on t he o ccasion o f i ts being buried u nder t he f loor o f the n ew cult c enter, which was at a h igher l evel, or a t some period even l ater. 2 12 A s mall l oculus was a lso c reated i n the l ower portion o f G 2. I t i s n ot impossible that there w ere f ormae in the east wall o f the gallery, but there are none in t he l ower r eaches of t he w all that h as b een preserved.

1 06

i s the western w all preserved to s ome degree as the f acade walls o f t he two arcosolia. S ince t he short s outhern wall was outside the perimeter of the new cult c enter, i t w as n ot t otally destroyed above t he n ew f loor l evel, and a considerable portion of the gallery's s outhe ast corner i s p reserved to a height o f q .+0.05. I ts p lastered tufo s urface i s visible behind and to the s ide o f P 2 ( Fig. 2 6). I t marks t he s outhern perimeter of t he a rea. 2 13 A small portion o f the east wall o f the area i s p reserved on i ts s outh end. After 7 cm., however, it i s b roken off and r eappears again only a fter 2 .50 m . in the f orm of a p lastered tufo s urface t rimmed o ff a pproxim ately a t the f loor l evel o f the l ater cult center. Through this i nterruption in t he east wall o ne was a ble to pass through into area c ( Fig. 2 0). The south s ide of this p assageway h as t otally d isappeared, s ince i t b ecame necessary to destroy it a long with other struct ures in area c in o rder to built p ier P 2a of t he l ater c ult center. The northern s ide, moreover, i s poorly p reserved a s a r ough s urface. Y et there s eems to be no d oubt that this opening was indeed a -passageway between a reas b a nd c . The r emainder of t he east perimeter wall i s well preserved a s a p lastered tufo surface to t he east o f forma G 4214 ( Fi. 2 g 0). The northern perimeter of the area at the t ime of i ts abandonment consisted o f a p assageway connecting a rea b with area a ( Fig. 1 9). One entering b f rom a passed t hrough a doorway s ituated 4 5 c m. above t he l evel of t he l atter. 215 The marble threshold o f the door i s s et into a c ut in t he t ufo, and two t riangular cuts s ituated on e ither s ide suggest that posts o f s imilar material were s et in t he s ides. A l intel probably c rowned t he whole.

2 13 A t l ower l evels this south wall can be s een for a bout 3 5 cm. i n t he narrow s pace b etween it a nd P 2, w hich was built against it. The l ower footings of the p ier have broken through it and extend i nto a tomb in a n earby cubicle. This l atter had its entrance f rom gall ery d 3. Apart f rom t he damage done to i ts wall by the f ootings of P 2, the upper portions of the same p ier have a lso broken through into t he c ubicle at a point h igher u p, creating a considerably l arge opening through which o ne may e nter t he c ubicle. 2 14 There were no graves i n the l ower l evel of this e ast wall. P erhaps l oculi existed in i ts upper r eaches, b ut there were no arcosolia since these would have l eft t races in t he p ortion of t he wall preserved. 2 15 T his s harp difference in l evel was perhaps n ally not so g reat i f gallery a l h ad p aving s labs.

1 07

origi-

B eyond the doorway the narrow passage veered s lightly t o t he r ight changing c ourse once a gain a s it passed into b i tself. An over-all view of the area a s defined b y i ts perimeter walls s hows some i rregularities. T he west w all i n particular i s extremely uneven, and the two a rcosolia s ituated in it a re not on a s traight l ine. Which o f the two points o f a ccess to this a rea was t he original one? The c are with which t he doorway l eading into i t f rom area a was executed suggests that this must have been t he original p oint o f access. Y et this supposition i s not without i ts difficulties. F irst of a ll, t he tortuous s hape o f t he p assageway l ooks more l ike a l ater breakthrough f rom one a rea i nto an a djacent one. S econdly, as c an be s een f rom F igure 2 the space created for the door s i r has cut dangerously into t he s houlder of t he arch c overing G 7, a nd t he p ass ageway itself l eaves only a thin tufo wall b etween i tself a nd t he c ontinuation o f t his same s houlder. F inally and most important, the northern end o f G4 s eems to show traces o f the f act that this w as t he o riginal t ermination point of the gallery. Above the w estern portion of this end ( corresponding to t he area which t he passageway does not go over) a p ortion o f the t ufo wall i s p reserved f or s everal c entimeters ( Fig. 1 8). S imilarly, the creation of the p assageway has obviously c ut through a small portion o f t he e ast wall o f area b , but this same wall i s preserved on a l evel below that o f t he p assageway f or a d istance o f 2 5 cm. The p oint a t which it ends corresponds to t he wall preserved in the NW corner. These considerations s eem t o u s to indicate that this p assageway w as n ot t he original p oint of a ccess i nto area b . The entrance from area c s eems to h ave been t he original one, even though today i t h as l ost a ll traces o f a carefully cut opening. P erhaps the f irst stage o f the evolution o f the a rea consisted only o f GG2, 2 ' a nd 3 , a nd o nly later t he s pace f or GG 1 and 4 was created. I ndeed the west w all of the area f ollows a s lightly d ifferent axis in the t wo sect ions occupied by arcosolia GG1 and 2 , as we h ave seen. This s eems to s uggest that t he t wo s egments w ere created s eparately. The void o f the cubicle to the s outh must have been noticed by t he f ossores when they c reated t he f irst section, thus f orcing them to expand t owards the north when more graves were requested. 216

2 16 I t i s unlikely that the cubicle was c reated l ater, s ince it i s d ifficult to imagine p lanning it s o c lose to a preexisting gallery a nd not running i nto i t.

1 08

I n s ummary then, we f ind that area b was a small, p erhaps private b urial s pace created o ff o f area c a nd c onsisting at f irst probably o f the space occupied by GG2 a nd 3 , l ater l engthened to i nclude t he s pace o ccupied by G G1 and 4 . A p assageway was opened l ater between it and g allery a l ( Figs. 1 4 a nd 1 5).

3 .

Area

c

This small a rea been l argely covered by t he s outh s teps of the l ater cult c enter and the construction o f p ier P 4. For p urposes o f c larification F igure 1 1 s hows t he original p lan without the l ater steps. The area c enters around a l arge f orma ( G5), t he upper l edge of w hich defines the f loor l evel o f the area ( q.-0.20) ( Fig. 2 0).

GRAVE LATER

5 WITH OUT PAV IN G

0 .5

1M

This l arge forma obviously contained s everal bodies, a nd it s hows t he e ffects of considerable r epairs. After d igging down the f ossores widened the l ower space l eaving t wo l edges o f tufo overhead, thus c reating a s pace, which i n section probably had the shape shown in Figure 1 2. O nly t he s outhern one ( B) h as been preserved, however. L ip A apparently broke away necessitating the construct ion o f a s omewhat oversized wall of s mall tufo b locks a nd brick to provide support for the new covering s lab.

1 09

F igure

1 2.

Hypothetical c ross s ection in i ts original f orm.

o f G 5

The function of P 4', which f ills the eastern tip o f t he forma, i s s omewhat d ifficult to i nterpret ( Fig. 1 1). I t i s s ituated further to the east than the steps of the l ater c ult c enter a nd t herefore c ould not be d esigned t o s upport them . F urthermore this p ic,r t erminates approximately at t he c losure l evel of t he f orma a nd c ould not have been designed to s upport any s tructure in t he later c ult c enter s ince i ts f loor l ies at a h igher l evel. T he t rue function of the p ier seems r ather to provide support f or t he important P 4, which s its c lose by to t he s outh. To understand the reason for this we must remember that t he s outhern s ide o f t he f orma s till r etains t he l edge o f tufo ( b) corresponding to the widening o f the t omb below i ts opening in t he f loor of t he a rea. T he weakness of this mass of tufo i s i llustrated only too well b y the f ate of t he s imilar one to t he n orth ( a) i f our i nterpret ation o f this l atter i s correct. P 4', therefore, was constructed to f ill t he dangerous void extending u nder this l edge in order to p rovide a f irm f ooting f or P 4, which c ould then be built partially over i t. The eastern s ide o f the area consists of a v ertical wall o f tufo s ituated j ust beyond t he east edge o f G 5. I t i s preserved to a height of approximately 1 0 cm . beneath o ne of t he paving s tones of t he n ew c ult c enter ( Fig. 2 4, l eft s ide). The northern s ide o f the area immediately adjacent to this e ast wall does n ot have s uch a b oundary wall. I nstead the top of the f orma reaches a l evel of only q .-0.35. This was c learly t he entrance p oint into a rea c f rom Z one R . The p laster on the SE tip o f the l arge bank of tufo ( Z) at a p oint above area c 's f loor l evel i s the only preserved f ragment of the west s houlder of this passageway. B eyond this o pening t he n orth wall o f the area i s preserved to a height of about 2 0 cm. I t runs a long t he edge of G 5. As i t approaches t he w estern end of the area i t tends to s lope inward f rom i ts base i n a curious way. At a p oint c orresponding to the e xtremity o f the l edge on which the c losure s lab o f the f orma sat i t t urns to t he l eft f ollowing t his same l edge f or about 1 0 cm. after which it i s broken o ff. The plastering continues to this same p oint. This small surface of 1 0 cm. i s all that i s preserved of t he western perimeter o f t he area. Originally this p robably continued a long the

1 10

l ine of the l edge and consisted of a solid wall cut in t he tufo b ank. At some l ater t ime area b was c reated o ff i t. I t i s more difficult to determine the position of t he southern perimeter wall of t he a rea. I t c ertainly c ould not have extended f urther south than the present wall of t he l ater c ult c enter, which i s l argely a p last ered tufo surface ( Fig. 2 0). A priori one would expect t he width of t he g allery to be i ndicated r oughly by the s hape of the f orma l ocated in it, and s ince we have a g ood i ndication that t he north, t he east, a nd part a t l east of the west perimeter wall f ollowed the edge of the c losure s lab's r idge, it s eems r easonable to s uppose t hat t he same was true on the southern s ide. Beyond t he l ine of this l edge a nd r oughly p arallel t o it at a distance of 6 5 cm. to t he south runs a shallow c ut in t he tufo f loor ( G5') about 4 - 5 cm. deep ( Fig. 2 0). I f we are correct in assuming that the l ine of the l edge corresponds to t he s outhern perimeter of t he a rea, G 5' would probably be a f aint trace of the bottom of some g rave s ituated in i ts s outhern wall. This w as p robably a g round l evel l oculus j udging f rom the curved shape of its r ear wall, which s uggests a s pace carved out f rom t he f ront rather than from above as would have been the case w ere it an a rcosolium type t omb. This l atter hypothesis, h owever, cannot be excluded. The eastern end of this s tructure i s n ow covered by the p ier P 4, b ut i t would p resumably have been roughly as l ong a s the forma G5. 217 Thus area c i s a lso a s mall b urial s pace c reated d irectly off of Z one R . I t c ontains a l arge forma and p robably a g round l evel wall tomb probably a l oculus ( Figs. 1 4 and 1 5.)

4 .

d id

Zone

Q i n Retrospect

B efore t he c reation of not constitute a s ingle

t he l ater c ult c enter Z one Q space but was rather a c lus-

2 17 A bout 1 0 cm. further to the s outh l ies the l ine c hosen by t he b uilders of t he l ater c ult c enter a s t heir s outhern perimeter wall. I n its upper reaches this wall i s a surface c ut in the tufo b ank. Lower down, however, P 2b and part o f P 2a partially f ill an earlier structure. This c onsists o f a vault c ut in t he tufo b ank, but it h as b een partially destroyed by the creation o f the new cult c enter. I ts o riginal f unction i s no l onger discernible.

1 11

ter of small, i rregularly shaped burial areas. O nly one of these ( al) l ed to a n etwork o f galleries, which was s ituated to the west. The massive tufo bank Z was a wall o f d ivision b etween them a nd w as a pparently never used f or burials ( at l east in the portion of i t still p res erved). I n t he l ight o f this it i s i mpossible t o ident ify this z one a s the early phase of the cult c enter. The primary need f or a v eneration a rea i s space where t he worshippers can gather. H ere the space i s divided into s mall i nconvenient c ompartments. A striking f eature o f this group of burial areas i s the f act that they were a ll developed e ither d irectly or i ndirectly o ff of t he north and south extremities of zone R 's western end, a voiding t he center of t he western wall i tself. B efore considering zone R l et us recapitulate the r elative c hronology of t he areas we have b een c onsidering. Gallery a l s eems to h ave been c reated f rom the direction o f Z one R a s a l ink with a p reviously e xisting s eries o f galleries s ituated to the west. I t w as forced to s lope downwards to meet t he l evel of a 2. T he l ink between the two was probably made at the point where a change o f direction i s noticeable in t he p lan o f a l-a2. The segment a2 s eems to have been r elocated further to t he s outh than i ts original c ourse in order to f acilitate the meeting with a l. Area c was created directly o ff o f Z one B a s a small burial z one corresponding in p lan r oughly with the shape of G5. S ubsequently area b was c reated o ff t he back of area c . G G2 a nd 3 were p robably developed f irst and GG1 and 4 l ater. Later still a r ather e laborate entranceway w as c reated b etween a rea b and gallery a l. This came very near to the shoulder o f a 2's a rcosolium G 7 a nd was f orced to f ollow an i rregular c ourse. F rom this i s s eems c lear that the new a 2 was a lready in existence when this operation took p lace, a lthough i t i s difficult to f urther determine i ts chronol ogical r elationship with area a a nd t he e arlier p hase o f b .

5 .

Area

B eneath

Z one

R

The tufo s urface d iscovered u nder t he paving s labs o f zone R i s s ituated c . 3 5 cm. below the l evel o f the l ater c ult c enter in z one R . A s mall a rea near t he middle o f i ts south s ide has preserved a portion o f i ts paving. This c onsists of i rregular p ieces of marble s et i nto f ine cement ( Fig. 2 5). I t l ies a t q .-0.30, t hus determining t he f loor l evel of t he a rea b efore t he c reat ion of the new cult c enter. 218

2 18 A p riori one might interpret this bottom o f a f orma c reated in t he f loor of

1 12

surface as a t he l ater c ult

T he

Formae

Taken a s a whole these formae witness to the cons tancy o f t he f loor l evel of this a rea i nasmuch as t hey a ll have their upper borders at approximately the same l evel, s howing that they were a ll created o ff o f t he s ame f loor surface. 219 I t i s striking that many of them have t heir major axis a long an approximately east-west l ine w ith the exception o f GG11 and 1 5, which are roughly p erpendicular to t he others. ( The s mall G 18" a lso h as t his orientation.) I n addition it s hould be noted that a c onsiderable n umber of them ( GG5, 6 , 1 0, 1 9, 2 0, 2 2, and 2 3 are o- i ented more precisely a long a l ine which i s not p erpendicular to t he l ine of t he s teps in t he n ew c ult c enter and to t hat o f the chord of its apse. GG11, 1 3 a nd 1 5, however, a re in c loser r elationship to this l ine o f steps, GG11 and 1 5 being parallel to i t and G 13 perp endicular. S everal o f the formae a re of particular interest in that they help us f urther define c ertain f eatures o f the t opography o f this area and thus call for more c omment.

F ormae G ll

a nd G 15

These two formae r eally consist of a massive space c ut down i nto t he tufo f loor of the area a nd s ubdivided b y a wall of small tufo b locks. This wall i s to ed by a c ourse o f bricks and r ises to a height of 4 2 cm. 22 ° The

c enter, but the bare 3 0 cm. that s eparate it f rom the l evel of t he l ater s tructure would o nly suffice f or the b ody of a child. Yet the area preserved i s c learly too w ide to be i nterpreted as t he bottom of a grave o f a c hild. The only p art of the f loor of zone R that r ises h igher than this i s t he s lab of marble l ying b etween G 16 a nd G 17 ( Fig. 2 5, upper l eft area). 2 19 G 14 i s a small forma created in the f loor of the l ater c ult c enter. I t c onsists o f a s mall r ectangular s pace created by three s labs of marble s et together a long t he face of P 15 to c reate s pace f or the burial o f a c hild. 2 20 S ince this wall was to b e only 1 5 cm . thick, i t was constructed of s ingle rows of small tufo b locks built up against an upright board or s lab o f marble. On t he s ide of G 15 t he cement c learly s hows t he impress o f the f lat object u sed for this operation, although it is no l onger t here. On t he s ide of G ll t he c urtain o f tufo b locks appears.

1 13

east wall of G 15 and the dividing wall between t he two c losely parallel t he l ine of t he s teps of the n ew c ult center, while the west wall o f G il follows a course more p erpendicular to t he majority of t he .other f ormae nearby. The north and s outh ends o f the great cavity cut i n the tufo a re l ined with masonry c omposed of small tufo b locks. On the southern end the l ining i s perpendicular to t he l ine o f t he s teps while on t he north it i s more i n l ine with the other formae. The northern end o f G 15 has an additional l ining consisting o f a t ile with a b ricks tamp dated to the period A .D. 2 12-217. 2 21 G 15 h as t he more r egular s hape of t he two, i ts east end bein ' parallel to i ts west one. G il, however, has a h ighly i rregular west wall, which, as h as been s aid, i s not parallel to the dividing wall but follows a c ourse perpendicular to many of t he a rea's other formae. I t s hows no trace of a l edge on which the c losure s lab might have been supported. I t e xpands a s it h eads downwards towards the bottom of the grave particularly on the s outh s ide. There a re two c urious n iches ( c. 2 0 x 2 0 x 5 cm.) near i ts north and south extremities ( Fig. 2 1). Their tops l ie j ust below t he f loor l evel of t he area. Towards the center o f the wall an i rregular depression h as been c ut i nto i t. I t will be f urther n oted that the t ufo s urface beyond this wall r ises to an average height of about q .-0.25, which is a bove t he f loor l evel e stablished f or this entire area ( Figs. 2 2 and 2 3). The p oint of departure f or this complex g rave w as probably a s imple forma. We propose the following reconstruction of i ts evolution in t he l ight of t he e xisting evidence. G il was probably the earlier of the t wo formae s ince i ts west wall l ines up well with t he general orientation of the area's other formae. I ts east wall must have been roughly parallel to it a nd c ut d irectly into the tufo bank. The method o f c losure cannot be d etermined, t he l ower reaches of t he west wall having b een modified, and the entire east wall destroyed when it was decided to c reate another f orma a longside it. For this operation the original forma was widened towards the east, b ut t he s hape o f t he r esultant c avity i n the tufo shows that the builders decided to c hange t he original orientation s lightly, s winging t he entire s tructure around about 1 0° to the west. A wall of small tufo b locks w as s et up to d ivide t he s pace into two f ormae. After this operation the direction of the west wall r emained as a witness to t he o riginal state of a ffairs. Another indication o f this i s provided by the wall o f small tufo b locks which l ines t he northern s ide o f both

2 21

C IL

1 1,

4 80d.

1 14

g raves. This too betrays the o ld orientation. The wall on t he s outh e nd of t he graves, however, f ollows t he n ew d irection of the grave for the s imple reason that the operation of r eorientation n ecessarily t rimmed away the s outhern end o f the tufo wall o f the o ld grave in order to c reate s pace f or t he shift of axis. Still another c lue to the original orientation i s a fforded by t he l ine marking t he western edge of t he g rave's f loor. This too follows the o ld orientation as c an be s een from t he dotted l ine on t he p lan. Moreover t he bevelling that appears on the south part of this wall i s simply part o f t he original s urface, which expanded o utwards in typical fashion, while the north part i s t rimmed s traight down in o rder to c reate s ufficient width f or the new f orma. The chisel marks corresponding to t hese two s ections f ollow quite d ifferent patterns ( Fig. 2 1). I t was probably at the t ime of this operation that t he two small n iches were carved in t he west wall o f G ll. P erhaps the original supporting l edge for the c losure of t he tomb was no l onger u seable, a nd some s ystem of s upp ort had to be devised. Two bars could have been l aid across t he g rave f or this purpose resting on o ne s ide o f t he dividing wall and f itting into these niches on the o ther. 2 22 This overall operation of reorienting the space in q uestion apparently c aused d amage to t he n orth wall of G 13, but the new masonry l ining ( no l onger preserved at this p recise p oint) s erved to s hore up t he s ide of this s mall grave ( Figs. 2 4 and 2 5). I t a lso came dangerously n ear to G 17. S ince this n ew o rientation i s in l ine with t he steps of the new cult c enter we f eel that the oper ation must have t aken p lace i n connection with the c reation of this l atter structure or at s ome t ime subs equent to i t.

G 16 This grave helps to e stablish a terminus post quer n f or the eastern extremity of z one R i tself. I ts e astern e nd, however, i s unfortunately obscured by the f act that

2 22 A t the time of excavation s tray bones were f ound i n the s outh n iche, a nd a cranium in t he n orth one. S ince the area had a lready been excavated at l east once before, there i s no guarantee that these b ones were there f rom ancient t imes. I n any case there could be no quest ion of veneration n iches s ince they l ay b elow f loor l evel. However, one cannot totally exclude the possib ility that they s erved as p laces of d eposit f or b ones d isturbed during the course of work on the grave.

1 15

the p ier P 8 partially f ills i t . The dotted l ine on F igure 2 s hows the measureable c ontinuation of i ts northern wall. The eastern wall i tself could not b e s een. I ts bottom i s partially l ined with an i nscription . 223

GG6,

2 0,

and

2 3

These formae s ituated in the northern part o f the o ld c ult c enter a re a ll oriented i n the s ame d irection and are s imilar i n shape. This l eads us to believe that they were a ll c reated within a r elatively short s pan o f t ime. The best preserved of the g roup i s G6, which l ies outside but near z one R at t he b eginning of g allery a l. The space for the body has an approximately anthropomorphic s hape with a n iche c arved i n e ither extremity f or the f eet and head of the corpse. Near the surface a rectangular space is cut out with a l edge to support the covering t iles, two o f which are preserved in s itu . G23, though l ess well preserved seems to h ave had a s imilarly rectangular indentation at f loor level t o s upport t he c overing t hough l ittle o f this i s preserved since much of the original f loor has worn away. Here too the s pace f or t he body i s curved at i ts western e nd, b ut there i s no accentuated niche for the head of t he body, the over-all s hape being an approximately e lliptical one . the western end has been deformed perhaps by the f all of a sizeable piece of the vaulting, which was found in it during excavation . G20, which l ies on the same axis as G23 i s only partially v isible s ince it i s l argely f illed with the f oundation masonry for the new cult center's n orth wall. ( Its bottom could not be uncovered, but i t is a t l east a t

2 23 I CUR 7 , n . 2 0095, which i s based on De R ossi's transcription in G iornale d i s cavo 7 : 4 12. An i nspection of the stone i n s itu, however, shows that the portion o f it j ust beyond t he i ndication of t he month ( " MES X ") i s covered by pier P8 in such a way that there could poss ibly be an I in t he numeral. The original dividing wall b etween this f orma and i ts neighbor G 17 s eems to h ave broken away at s ome t ime and was repaired by the creation of a curious wall cons isting o f i rregular p ieces o f marble l aid in h orizontal courses but without cement to b ind them together ( Fig . 2 5). As c an be s een f rom this photograph the uneven s ides of these p ieces j ut out into the space o f G 17. Care was t aken, however, to provide a r elatively f lat s urface on the s ide of G 16, and s ince this wall r ises to t he l evel of t he n ew c ult c enter, t he repair a nd r e-use of the grave must have taken place subsequent to i ts c reation . I t c annot be r uled out that this curious wall might be the work o f De Rossi's workmen .

1 16

q .-0.98.) A part of the l edge for c losure support has b een preserved, h owever, a nd a lthough t he eastern ext remity of the space for the body i s straight, the curve o f i ts s outh wall s uggests t he possibility that t he w estern extremity might have been rounded as in G 23. 224 These graves a ll p ertain to an earlier phase o f t he m onument and were covered over by the structures we s ee t oday. Of this there c an be no doubt. G6 l ies b elow the s teps l eading up to z one Q 's l ater phase and the f ound ations f or t he north wall of t he n ew structure invade b oth GG20 and 2 3 ( an important proof that the north wall o f the e arlier s tructure w as s ituated further north than t he later one). Y et the f act that they are s ituated at t he northern extremity of t he area a nd d iffer f rom t he o ther formae l eads us to s uspect that they are not among t he earliest o f t he z one. G G18,

1 8',

1 9,

2 1,

a nd

2 2

These are s imilar to the preceding in their approxim ately e lliptical s hape a nd t he presence o f a l edge f or c losure support, o f which only t races remain. A ll of t hem save G 21 a re s ignificantly smaller, h owever, and t heir bottoms are s ituated at a l evel about 3 5 cm. h igher. G 21, a lthough l arger a nd r oughly rectangular i s

2 24 Graves of anthropomorphic and e lliptical shapes a re studied i n two a rticles by Raspi-Serra: " Rinvenimento d i necropoli barbariche nei pressi di Bomarzo e di Norc hia" in Bolletino d 'Arte S erie V , 5 9(1974):70-80 a nd " Una necropoli a ltomedioevale a Corviano ( Bomarzo) ed i l p roblema d ella s epolture a " logette" l ungo l e sponde m editerranee" in Bollettino d 'Arte, S erie B , 6 1 ( 1976): 1 44-57. T he p recise s hape typified by G6 in t he c atacomb o f Hippolytus does not appear in the examples shown in h er i llustrations, b ut t he e ssential f eatures of o verall e lliptical shape of the space for the body a long with the c haracteristic n iche f or t he h ead correspond well w ith t he general type, which itself admits of considerable v ariations as h er p lans show. S he proposes that the anthropomorphic type was int roduced into I taly by t he Moors in t he s ervice o f B elis arius during the period o f the G othic Wars. G 6, howe ver, s hows that it was present at a s till earlier d ate, s ince, as we propose to s how, the l ater cult center, which buried t he e arlier o ne a long with gallery a l, was c reated during the t ime of Pope Vigilius, precisely as a r esult of t he d estruction caused by these wars. T here c ould have been l ittle burial in the catacombs during the t urbulent years of t he v arious s ieges t he c ity s uffered f rom 5 37 on, and it i s extremely probable that these g raves were a lready in existence by this t ime, even t hough they probably date f rom a l ater phase of the e arly c ult c enter.

1 17

only 1 0 cm. deeper and s eems to b e related to t he same group. A s hallow c ut in t he tufo s urface to t he east o f the entire group i s no doubt the tracing made f or a grave that w as n ever executed. A f urther distinguishing f eature o f this g roup i s t he haphazard way the graves a re l aid out in t his northe astern area o f zone B , l eaving much o f what must have been p recious f loor s pace unused. I n this they s tand apart from most of the other formae of zone R , which a re a ligned with their neighbors to make maximum u se o f available f loor space ( GG11, 1 5, 1 6, 1 7, 2 0, and 2 3). I n addition s everal such a s GG11 a nd 1 6 were designed f or more than on body. I t s eems to u s probable that these graves w hich s tand apart f rom t he r est in t erms of their shape, s ize, d epth, and irregular l ayout date f rom a l ater p eriod t han t he others. 225 This l eads us to q uestion whether or not they r eally pertain to t he o lder phase of the monument a t a ll. Might they not be graves c reated in the f loor of t he n ew c ult c enter? The highest preserved tufo l evel in the early phase of z one R i s j ust to t he e ast of G 13. I t l ies o nly 4 c m. below the l evel of the surface o f the preserved p ortion of t he f loor, which i s a lmost adjacent to it. Y et as c an be seen in Figure 6d t he paving could have plausibly covered this g rave a long with i ts c overing s lab s et down i nto the l edge, which is still r ather well preserved. This i s a ll t he more possible i f t he s lab itself s erved as the pavement at this spot i n the f loor. The same r easoning would hold true in t he a rea around G il where the highest tufo l evel i s 5 cm . below that of t he pres erved p ortion of t he paving. Thus these graves m ay b e reasonably a ssigned to the earlier phase of the z one. A f urther i ndication that s eems to p oint in this d irection i s the orientation of GG19, 2 1, and 2 2, which i s approximately t he s ame as that o f t he l arger graves of t he z one. I t c annot o f course be excluded that they were c reated a fter t he construction of t he n ew c ult c enter, b ut this

2 25G13,

which

i s

located to the

southwest,

i s

a lso

c lose to t he s urface. A lthough i t i s more rectangular i n s hape, it too perhaps pertains to this s ame group. G 12, a s light c ut in t he tufo near G 13, m ight be i nterpreted as a forma o f a child created in the f loor o f t he l ater c ult c enter, b ut a p aving s lab of this l atter was still sealed in p lace over the space when t he area was excavated, a nd nothing w as f ound that could b e interpreted as the walls of a grave at this point. I t i s perhaps best i nterpreted a s a groove c ut f or t he i nsert ion of some architectural or decorative f eature o f the earlier c ult c enter, a lthough nothing s imilar i s p res erved on the north s ide.

1 18

d oes not s eem l ikely. Notwithstanding, however, the p robability t hat these graves date f rom before t he p eriod o f the l ate cult center, their characteristics s uggest that they are l ater than a ll of the others that we have c onsidered. I n conclusion, the f ormae o f the early phase of the z one s eem to f all i nto three c ategories: ( 1) the l arger and probably o lder ones ( GG11, 1 6, and 1 7), ( 2) the a nthropomorphic group a long t he north wall ( GG6, 2 0, a nd 2 3), which are probably l ater, and ( 3) the group of small a nd shallow g raves ( GG18, 1 8', 1 9, 2 1, a nd 2 2 a nd poss ibly G 13), which are a lmost certainly the l atest o f a ll. Our study of the formae of z one R has shown that they weie all created more or less from the same level, and that the area they occupy shows no traces of dividing walls above f loor l evel. We are in a s ingle unified space. We must now attempt to define the extent of that s pace and to t race i ts perimeter walls inasmuch a s this i s possible.

T he

South Wall

At the western extremity o f z one R 's southern perimeter there i s an opening i nto a rea c ( Fig. 2 4). Beyond t his to the s outh l ies one of the best preserved s ections o f this early phase o f t he z one . This i s due to the f act t hat s everal paving s labs of the l ater cult center were s till in p lace at t he t ime o f excavation, a nd conseq uently the area beneath them had never been touched s ince they were s et i n p lace. O f particular interest, a s we have a lready s hown, i s t he portion o f the paving p reserved to t he west o f G 16. Adjacent to i t on the south a tufo bank perpendicular to t he f loor r ises to a h eight o f about 2 5 cm. A p ortion o f c ipollino r evetment i s s till i n p lace on i t ( Fig . 2 5) .226 I t extends f or about 1 .55 m . f rom a point near t he SW t ip o f G16 to what must have been the shoulder of the ent ranceway i nto area c . The tufo bank was razed at about 1 2 cm. below t he l evel o f the l ater cult center, and the c ut extends f urther s outh under t he paving s labs, which are still in place . The bank was clearly trimmed off j ust at the l evel needed f or the f loor of the new struct ure. At the SW tip of G16 a new structure appears. Immediately to the south of this grave a curved s urface of

2 26

Four p ieces

o f

c ipollino were f ound among the

s tones u sed to create t he d ividing wall b etween G 16 and G 17, three o f them over 2 0 cm . l ong. These might well have been r emains of t he r evetment o f t he o riginal wall.

1 19

p lastered tufo rises to a point where once again it is c ut o ff by t he paving s tones of t he l ater c ult c enter ( Fig. 2 1). In plan it begins at the SW tip of G 16 and extends to t he east where i t i s c ut o ff by by P 6. J udging f rom the portion that has been preserved i t s eems to be r elated to G 16, a long t he s outh s ide o f which i t runs. This somewhat apse-like s tructure in the wall behind G 16 i s p robably to be i nterpreted as a d ecorative background f or the f orma itself. H owever, it was not p reserved in t he n ew c ult c enter d espite the f act that t he grave itself was possibly still in use at t his time . Between PP6 and 8 it is impossible to follow the course o f the o ld south wall. These piers, which date fro m the time of the construction of the ne w c ult center, c annot be properly inspected . The poor state o f preserv ation o f P 8 would make c omplete excavation extremely dangerous. Consequently the underlying area c an only be s een on t he west f ace of P 8. Thus t he SE corner o f t he earlier phase of zone R cannot be determined at the present t ime. To recapitulate, the s outh wall began on i ts western extremity with a passageway into a rea c . From h ere a tufo bank extended towards the s outh . I t was covered at very l east f or s ome c entimeters f rom t he f loor with a r evetment of c ipollino. I n correspondence with G 16 the bank was c ut i nto a s hallow apse-like c urve, which was p lastered.

The

North Wall

The fact that the footings for the walls of the new c ult c enter p artially f ill G 16 makes i t c lear that the north wall of zone R ran along a l ine further to the north than t he p resent one. J udging f rom that p ortion o f the grave that is still visible it must have had an overa ll width o f at l east 5 0 cm. or more . This would constitute a terminus a quo f or the northern wall. A c urious t riangular i ndentation i n t he wall of t he new cult center at the point of meeting of PP5 and 7 helps to define more p recisely j ust where the e arly wall a ctually r an ( Fig . 2 ). The s urface o f P 7 that l ies along t he back o f this t riangle i s r oughly p arallel to t he orientation o f numerous formae in z ones Q and R . 227 F urthermore, s ituated in this t riangle a nd even e xtending a l ittle south beyond i t i s a f loor s urface of rubble masonry o f f ine t exture s ituated a t q .-0.29 corresponding

2 27 These include GG5, Further it i s p erpendicular and G15.

6 , 1 9, 2 0, 22, and 2 3. to t he e arly v ersion o f

1 20

G ll

to what we know to be the level of the early phase of z one R . While t he p ier P 3 s eems to have b een constructed s eparately the e ntire s tretch o f wall f rom i ts east end up to and including P5 are of one and . the same construct ion . 228 Yet this in turn i s built up against P 7, which p roves t hat it was a lready in existence. F urthermore, even the plastering on P7 is covered by this wall, which s hows that it was a visible architectural member b efore the wall of the new cult center was created . These considerations taken together s trongly s uggest that P7 is a portion of the north wall of the earlier v ersion o f z one R . We f ind confirmation f or this f urther t o the west at t he point where G 10 l ies. This curious g rave ap)ears t oday as a s tructure opening o ff o f t he s anctuary area of the new cult center just beyond the n orth s teps ( Fig. 3 0). I ts bottom, which i s c overed with a spread of f ine cement, l ies at q .-0.13. The opening i n t he wall of the c ult center, which gives access to the g rave today i s l argely constructed o f modern brick, but t he lower portion of t he west s houlder i s p reserved i n the original tufo to a height of q .+0.50. Upon entering this l ow a nd n arrow s pace o ne f inds t hat it too has been l argely rebuilt with modern brick, p articularly i n i ts upper r eaches. Y et the l ower portion c orresponding t o the space for the body i s r ather well p reserved . T he s outhern half o f t he western wall s hows the same bed of tufo visible on the wall of the cult c enter i tself, whereas t he n orthern half c onsists o f small tufo b lock masonry . The entire surface has been c overed with a s pread o f c ement. The eastern s ide o f t his l ower space, which i s a lso covered with a cement spread, is of brick masonry, which in turn comes to an end about 3 5 cm. before the northern end of the grave . At this point we meet a tufo bed which rises sharply d isappearing i nto the upper masonry . ( This i s visible to t he r ight i n F igure 3 0.) The narrow northern end of the space is composed of tiles staggered in such a way that they r ise to for m the beginning o f a n arch over the space f or the body . This, ho wever, is broken o ff about half way and is replaced by a modern vault, which i nstead of bending down to c omplete t he arch extends in a horizontal l ine t owards the modern opening in the wall o f the cult c enter. The upper port ions of this s pace a re l argely r edone in modern masonry, but there is a sufficient portion of the west wall pre-

2 28 T his i s visible in the foundations. The upper s urfaces here a re s till c overed with t he p lastering o f the new cult c enter .

1 21

served to show that it once was a l unette in correspondence to the s emicircular vault overhead . 229 These c onsiderations taken t ogether s uggest v ery s trongly that the grave was an a rcosolium which f aced east. The s outhern e nd o f t he g rave was totally des troyed, no doubt i n connection with the creation of the n ew c ult c enter, when g allery a l's north wall was l ikewise destroyed i n its upper reaches. I ndeed the southern s houlder o f t he g rave was t rimmed even f urther d own and used as a support for the top step of the new sanctuary a rea ( Fig. 2 3, upper r ight c orner). I ts s hape was f urt her a ltered - a lmost beyond recognition - by the creat ion of t he p ier P 3 against i ts f acade. The importance of this grave l ies in the fact that i t helps us f urther define t he s pace o f z one R 's e arlier phase . 23 ° S ince i t f aced east this means that t here must have been an open s pace in f ront o f i t. I n view o f the other considerations we have presented concerning the position of the north wall of zone R this open space must have been the early phase of z one R itself. I n f act i f we p rolong t he l ine of P 7's f ront s urface in a westerly direction we arrive a lmost perfectly at the tufo bed visible at G lO's north end ( Fig. 2 ). Thus we feel that the l ine of the old north wall ran a long a c ourse r ather well defined by t he southern f ace o f P 7. I f i t ran any further to t he south there would be no open space in f ront of G 10. F urthermore it c annot have been s ituated much f urther n orth due to the presence of g allery a 3 ( Figure 1 0). The o rientation of G 10 corr esponds well with that of the earlier phase o f z one R 's west wall, as we shall see, in that it is s lightly obl ique to the l ine of s teps in the n ew cult center . One f inal feature of the o ld north wall is h inted at by P lan I I T IB 1 . This show gallery a 3 r unning c lose beyond t he n orth wall o f t he p resent c ult center. Furthermore another small gallery ( a17) extends even further in t he d irection o f t he c ult c enter but i s soon c ut o ff . The symbol used by the map maker shows some sort of i nterruption or i rregularity; this s uggests that t he gallery, a s he s aw i t, was interrupted e ither by masonry or by a cave-in . While t he a ccuracy of t he map i s not

2 29 T he f ragmentary portion p reserved shows this to have been c onstructed of small t ufo b locks and c overed with a spread of p laster . 2 3 ° The fact that its west s ide is largely built of the same masonry as PPla and lb s uggest that its creation was part of the over-all work involved in the revision of gallery a l in i ts f inal phase b efore definitive a bandonment.

1 22

s ufficient to t race the exact spot a t which this gallery would have touched t he o lder phase o f z one R , it does s uggest the possibility at l east that it once entered i t a t s ome point a long t he north wall.

The West Wall We have a lready determined the north and south ext remities o f t his wall, the f ormer c orresponding r oughly with the SE tip of the tufo bank Z and the latter with t he northern extremity o f G 10. The exact l ine of t he west wall i tself must have run between two t ermini: t he e astern face o f Z , which r ises to q .+0.19 ( well above t hat of c he f loor l evel o f z one R 's early phase), and the western extremity o f G il which was c learly s ituated i n z one R itself. I n our consideration o f G il we demonstrated that the l ine of i ts western edge is at a divergence of about 1 0° f rom the l ine o f the steps of the l ater cult c enter . Moreover, this l ine of G ll's west s ide i s r elated to many o f the structures o f the early phase of z one R . 231 We f eel that these various s tructures r epresent z one R 's s ystem of orientation . I t s eems probable that t his would have been reflected a lso in the western wall of the cult c enter . Thus within the termini which we have described we would tend to define it along a l ine roughly parallel a nd near to G ll's western edge rather than to the l ine o f s teps of t he n ew c ult center, which c learly f ollow a d ifferent orientation . 232 I n summary, the sequence of the e lements in this wall as f ar as can be determined seems to have been ( from s outh to north): a tufo s urface ( represented today by the tufo bank Z a lthough drastically trimmed down a nd c ut b ack to the l ine o f the new steps), the entranceway into a rea a , and f inally the f acade o f t he arcosolium G 10.

2 31

I t

i s

roughly parallel

to G 10

and

i s perpendi-

c ular not only to GG19,20, 2 2, a nd 2 3, which l ie within z one R itself, but a lso to GG5 and 6 , which witness to t he direction t aken by areas c a nd a r espectively as they l eft zone R . 2 32 This might tie in with the f act that G 6's eastern extremity i ntrudes about 2 3 cm. beyond t he n orth s teps i nto z one R . I n f act the descent noticeable i n the g allery i n which i t i s l ocated b egins near this eastern edge . A ll o f this suggests that the southern shoulder o f i ts entranceway ( corresponding to the l ine o f the west wall) must have been located further to the east than the present l ine f ollowed by the steps of the l ater cult c enter.

1 23

The

East

S ide

o f

Z one

R

The determination of the exact course of t he east wall o f zone R i s extremely d ifficult s ince t he area where it once ran has been excavated only along its northern c ourse. S ince this corresponds to t he l ine o f demarcation between zones R and S we will take up the question once again in connection with z one S .

The

Ceiling

o f

the Early

P hase

o f

Z one

R

What form of c eiling covered this r elatively l arge space? The span of the area from north to south was 4 .5m. at i ts western e nd a nd a lmost 4 m . at i ts eastern one. A barrel vault cut directly i n the tufo b ed could have s panned this s pace, but g iven t he poor quality o f the t ufo strata which run through the ceiling, it is more probable that t he builders constructed a masonry vault, or at least a system of transverse masonry arches to l end s upport to a vault c ut directly i n t he tufo bed, s imilar to those u sed in the ceiling o f this area in the later c ult c enter . I n this c ase p erhaps some f orm o f masonry would have been used in the walls of the structure to o ffer s upport f or such a vault . Y et a lthough t he masonry pier P7 seems to be a segment of the north wall of the o ld s tructure, there i s no i ndication of masonry on t he opposite s ide to the s outh . Rather the l ower r eaches o f this wall have been preserved in the form of a c ontinuous tufo bank seemingly cut off only on the occasion of the c reation of t he new c ult c enter, as c an be seen in F igure 2 5. 233 There r emains t he possibility that the b uilders u sed a s a f oundation f or this hypothetical masonry s upport system f or the vault, the upper surface of the sturdy tufo of stratum f . This would mean that the upper portion of the walls of crypt consisted of a continuous s tretch o f masonry resting upon the upper s urface o f f , which would constitute the wall's l ower p ortion .

*

*

*

I n summary, we have found that the earl y phase of z one R was a unified space s ituated at about q .-0.30. I ts west wall ran from the SE corner of Z to the north s houlder o f t he a rcosolium G 10 providing passage into area a immediately before this grave. F rom this l atter point t he n orth wall probably f ollowed a f airly s traight course terminating a long the north f ace o f what i s today

2 33 T he only possible exception to this i s P 6 if were to be interpreted as belonging to the o ld c ult

center

r ather

than to the new .

1 24

t his

t he pier P 7, which i ndeed seems to b e a f ragment of it. In this wall it i s possible that there was a passageway t o the galleries that l ie to t he north . The south wall r an from t he S E c orner o f Z b eginning' with t he p assageway i nto area c f ollowing the l ine a long the c ipollino r evetment to the western end of G16, where it seems to have g iven way to a p lastered surface of curvilinear s hape . This today d isappears i nto P6 a nd consequently i ts e xact p oint of termination cannot be determined . I n order to d iscuss t he p osition of t he east wall we must f irst c onsider what l ies beyond z one R to t he east .

6 .

The Area

Beneath

Z one

S

Z one S h as not been systematically excavated, but p artial excavation a long t he n orth wall o f t he c ult c enter and at v arious other points have shown that, a s i n the case of Q , t he space now included in the zone was not originally a unified one.

G allery a l6

( Fig.

2 )

The best p reserved of the earlier s tructures of the z one is a gallery whose north wall is today l argely ‚ embedded in that o f the cult center i tself ( a16). I ts f loor l evel l ies 4 0-50 cm. below t he l evel o f t he l ater structure, and the lower part of its south wall is preserved to a point where it was cut o ff to create the f loor l evel o f the new cult c enter . The three arcosolia ( of which G 26 h as extensive t races o f mosaic decoration) and the group of loculi beyond them to the east are all part o f this g allery a nd not o f the c rypt i tself ( Fig . 3 ). In the surviving part of its south wall, which is preserved below t he l evel of the new c ult center, there are traces o f what might be p lausibly i nterpreted a s t he bottom l edges of three l oculi ( GG38, 3 9 a nd 4 0). The f loor of its two extremities were inspected. At i ts eastern e nd the f loor l evel i s a t q .-1.07., and the s outh wall o f the gallery i s preserved up t o q .-0.74. I ts eastern wall, however, h as been destroyed, a nd beyond this point t o the east l ies another, deeper depression, whose bottom i s s ituated at q .-1.41. The f orma G 34 s ituated at t he end of a l6 has a lso l ost i ts eastern wall. The depression to t he east of a l6 i s s ituated a long the same l ine as gallery a l4 and is a l most certainly its continuation, which was destroyed when the new cult cent er was c reated . P 13 was s et up i n t he c ourse o f the gallery, and the remaining portion was trimmed down to the l evel o f the f loor of the new s tructure . 234 The dividing wall between the end of a l6 and a l4, however, i s

1 25

no l onger preserved, and i t i s impossible to t ell whether t he opening b etween the two i s a c hance b reakthrough o r an indication that the two galleries were once i n communication with one another. At t he time they were des troyed, however, there was a considerable difference i n l evel between the two ( q.-1.41 and q .-1.07). The opposite extremity of t he gallery is once again marked by a s harp change in l evel near the point where zone R and zone S meet. In immediate proxi mity to the n orth wall o f the c rypt l ies a s tructure which e xtends about one meter f rom this wall i n roughly perpendicular f ashion ( Fig. 3 5). This mass of masonry pertains to t he f loor of the new cult center and i s covered by a fragment of o ne o 7 i ts paving s tones. We will r eturn to a consideration o f it l ater on . More interesting f or our present purposes i s what l ies below i t ( Fig. 1 3). This consists e ssentially o f a depression in the tufo bank in which the entire mass of masonry s its. The c learest portion of t he depression i s i ts bottom s urface ( q .-0.62), which supports the mas onry . O f the two s ides of t he d epression the n orthern one i s the better preserved s ince i t corresponds to the north wall o f t he c ult c enter at this point. The s outhe rn one i s preserved only very partially and consists o f a s urface o f tufo, a tiny p ortion o f which has p reserved its plastering. This we refer to as x ( Figs. 2 , 1 3, and 3 6). To the east there is a sharp drop-off of c . 6 0 cm . at the bottom of which lies the f loor of the western end of g allery a l6. To t he west l ies f orma G 23 in z one R ( Fig. 3 6, right). The impression one gets i s t hat this depression i n which the l ater masonry s its c onstituted a passageway l eading f rom gallery a l6 into z one R . 235 The f ragment x might p lausibly be i nterpreted as a portion of t he p last er of its south wall. There are s everal problems with

2 34 S everal l oculi in the gallery's west wall are partially covered by t he p ier . O ne of these at l east i s the grave of an adult and is covered for what must surely be f our f ifths o f i ts total l ength . Thus it would extend at l east as f ar as the opposite s ide of P 13 and probably even f urther . From this i t s eems c lear that t he d epress ion in the f loor of the cult c enter i s the continuation of t he g allery . The three s urfaces that are p reserved s how traces o f p laster, thus ruling out the possibility that t he d epression might have been a f orma. 2 35 T he p lastering of its south wall ( at x ) and its brief l ength both s eem to exclude t he hypothesis t hat i t was a f orma .

1 26

PLAN

SECT I ON

A -A

a 16 SECT I ON B -B (masonry r e moved)

.

F igure 1 3 SECT I ONS OF AREA NEAR X

1 27

this hypothesis, however. F irst o f a ll, the p lastering of x is situated at a l evel below t hat of the e arl y phase o f -Z one R . 236 More important s till i s the abrupt s ucc ession of t hree d ifferent l evels i n • the s hort s pace between the termination point of g allery ( q.-1.21), t he tufo s urface o n which t he masonry r ests ( q .-0.62), a nd the f loor of zone R ( q.-0.30). The 3 2 cm. difference between the l ast two points is not great and c oul d have been corrected by either a s ingle s tep or a g entle s lope in t he f loor . The d ifference b etween t he l edge and t he f loor of the gallery, however, i s a lmost 5 0 cm . A further anomaly consists in the f act that the o rientation of the gallery i s somewhat oblique to that o f t he o ld phase o f z one R . This i s b est v isible a t P7 where the two directions meet. I t i s all the more not iceable in t he l ight o f t he r elative s traightness o f t he gallery which maintains the s ame direction a ll a long i ts course. I n any case, even though it i s l ikely that at one t ime g allery a l6 l ed i nto z one R , t he discrepancy of b oth l evel and orientation of the passageway between the two s uggests that this was not t he o riginal s ituation. S ince the ledge between al6 and zone R is situated at approximately the same l evel as the area near G31, which, as we will see in a moment, predates the late cult c enter, i t is possible that when it was p lanned to use a l6 as a n ew access path to z one R i ts l evel was l ifted to q .-0.62 to correspond to t he l evel of a g eneral p lan decided upon f or the restructuring o f zone S . Thus at the time of its burial gallery a l6 was s ituated at a different l evel from both of the s tructures which l ay beyond i t on e ither end: z one R , on t he one hand, at q .-0.30 and gallery a l4, on the other at q .-1.41. This l ack of c oordination makes i t impossible f or us today to determine with any certainty the origin of t his curious gallery . Was i t c reated o ff of t he b ack of z one R or was it created from the end of gallery a l4? Bec ause of i ts d iversity of l evel i t i s not c learly referable to e ither o f them . Y et s ince i ts orientation i s not perpendicular to z one R , a nd s ince t he l ink b etween t he two s eems to have partially destroyed the eastern end o f G 23 in i ts upper r eaches, i t i s more l ikely that the gallery originated f rom a l4 and was only later l inked t o t he z one R i n a way s imilar to t hat o f a 2. Y et this

2 36 As can be seen from Figures 2 and 36, x see ms to be b roken o ff by G 23, but t he t rue s hape of t he grave's eastern end has c learly been deformed as can be seen by c omparing i t with t he western end. Thus what s eems t o b e an interruption might not have b een so . Nonetheless, the r elationship b etween t he l evel o f t he t omb a nd that o f this supposed passageway remains obscure.

1 28

h ypothesis i s not without i ts difficulties, and i t i s i mpossible to r ule out e ither o f t hese a lternatives. O ne even wonders if the gallery might not have been c reated f rom a p erpendicular one which l ed i nto i t f rom t he south . I n the portions o f the gallery which h ave b een i nspected, h owever, there i s no t race of t he e ntrance point o f s uch a gallery . In t he l ight of t he presence o f g allery a l6 a nd i ts l ink with the z one R , the question o f the exact position o f the e ast wall o f this z one i s s omewhat c larified. The western extremity of gallery a l6 i s an absolute t erminus a d quem f or t he l ine o f this wall. I t c an be brought e ven further t o the west, however, when we consider that s everal c entimeters beyond t he l ine of t he e astern extremities of the formae GG21 and 2 3 the tufo level of zone R f alls o ff abruptly f rom q .-0.32 to q .-0.81. Furthermore even though the s outhern portion o f this l ine of f all-off h as not been excavated, a nother f actor s eems to s uggest that it continues i n a rather s traight l ine. As we h ave s een, t he f orma G 16 a lthough p artially f illed by P8 can s till be inspected for 2 0 cm . further e ast a long t he f ace o f this p ier . This i s p robably t he a pproximate position of its termination point. This p oint, however, corresponds well with the eastern extremities of GG21 and 2 3. Thus the eastern f ormae o f the z one terminate a long a f airly s traight l ine. This l ine t aken together with the fact of the abrupt change of l evel b eyond i t constitutes a s trong a rgument in f avor o f t he hypothesis that the eastern perimeter l ine was s itu ated more or l ess a long its course . 237

T he

Southern Part of

Z one

S

The area to the south of gallery a16 was systematic ally trimmed d own to a l evel a round q .-0.65 at t he t ime o f the creation of the new cult c enter. I ts f loor cont ains numerous f ormae ( GG29-37), but there a re f ew t races o f any early s tructures which predate this operation. B etween P P12 and 1 4, however, excavation h as r ev ealed the presence o f a rectangular depression ( G31), which h as been f illed with rubble masonry up to t he l evel o f the new cult c enter. On i ts north s ide i t i s s epar ated from forma G 30 by a dividing wall of tufo. The a djacent piers apparently c over the extremities o f the d epression, a nd i ts original s ize i s not measurable . To t he rear at ground l evel a tufo bank i s preserved, upon

2 37

This

l ine

of demarcation was the point a t which

t he builders of the new cult center l owered the l ine of their ceiling ( Figs. 4 and 5 ).

1 29

which the present masonry wall o f the new cult c enter r ests. T hus t here i s l ittle doubt t hat t his d epression p redates the n ew c ult c enter a s we s ee i t today . The builders were careful to f ill it in to provide g ood f ootings f or the two p iers which apparently r est part ially u pon i t . T his depression was a lmost c ertainly a forma . The s egment o f wall above it ( between P P12 and 14) was much r epaired i n modern t imes, but i t r ests on a tufo b ank, a nd p ortions o f t ufo h ere a nd there on i ts s urface betray t he f act t hat the wall was i tself o riginally a t ufo bank . J udging f rom s everal r ecessions i n t he modern masonry, l oculi must h ave s till been v isible i n D e Rossi's time s ince it was his practice to note their p resence by this means in cases where an original tufo bank had t o be r eplaced with a masonry wall f or r easons o f s tability . A ll of this suggests that we are dealing with an area with l oculi on i ts wall a nd at l east , o ne f orma i n its f loor. Another s tructure n earby i s p erhaps r elated t o this b urial s pace . A c lose i nspection o f t he e ast f ace of P 14 s hows that i t i s constructed against . an e arlier p ier o f tufo or masonry s et f urther back, f rom which an a rch once s prang; this i s p artially p reserved a nd i s embedded into P 14 ( Fig . 3 9). I t h as t races o f f resco d ecoration . S ince the s urface o f this e arlier p ier c orresponds approx imately to that of t he wall behind G 31, it seems l ikely t hat a t an earlier period this arch g ave a ccess t o the a rea t hat c ontained t he f orma. I t i s impossible t o d etermine what the n ature o f this s pace was. I t c ould h ave c onceivably been a gallery . 238 The f act that t he l evel of forma G31 corresponds to the that of the new cult center i s of some importance . I t shows that t he l ater s tructure s et i ts f loor a t a l evel a lready i n existence at l east i n one part o f zone S . I t i s i nteresting t o n ote t hat t his l evel d oes not correspond to that of a l6 or of the other cemeterial a reas n earby . The western portion of the south s ide of z one S has not been inspected below the f loor l evel o f the n ew cult c enter, but one f eature o f the early phase of t he monument s eems t o h ave b een p reserved i n t he western e xtr emity o f i ts wal1. 239 The two r ecessions GG27 a nd 2 8

2 38 The entire south wall of the new cult center i s much l ess r egular t han t he n orth o ne . T he l ine o f p iers t hat s tand out f rom i t perhaps mark o ther e arlier struct ures e ncountered by t he builders . 2 39 T hree spots a long the f oot o f the s outh wall were c leared in order to determine t he f loor l evel o f z one S

1 30

a re largely masonry constructions. Yet i t i s c lear that t he wall i n which they a re s ituated was originally a t ufo b ank . I ndeed this i s s till visibile at one point of the wall s urface a bove G 27's arch ( Fig. 4 ). The r est o f this s urface is still covered with plaster, and the wall as a whole has been l argely consolidated with masonry, partic ularly in its upper r eaches . H owever, to t he r ear o f t he arches of b oth of t he graves t he t ufo bank i s s till c learly v isibile . Do these structures date from the time of the late c ult c enter or a re they earlier? G 27 i s s ituated in the new cult center at a point where there is an important c hange in level both of the f loor as well as of the c eiling . B ecause of this the builders constructed two s eparate, but a djacent a rches to p rovide s upport f or t he c hange o f l evel in the ceiling ( arches PP5-6 and PP7-8). A s can be seen i n F igure 4 , arch PP7-8 on t he s outh s ide r ests directly on top of the arch o f G 27, surely a p recarious postion f or s uch an important a rch. I t h ardly s eems l ikely t hat the builders would have r isked s uch a d angerous s ystem s imply to p rovide an arcosolium g rave i n t he wall of the new s tructure . I t s eems more l ikely e ither t hat t he a rches were created by the builders of the new cult center to repair weak s pots in t he wall, or a lternatively t hat they were a rcosolia dating f rom an earlier period in the h istory of the monument. Given the fact that they are in immed iate j uxtaposition to one another i t s eems to u s more p robable that they a re i ndeed earlier graves. Yet a s they s tand today, t he top of G28's arch i s considerably h igher than that of G 27, a nd i t i s d ifficult to s ee h ow t hey c ould be related to the s ame l evel. Furthermore the s urfaces of t heir i ntrados c ut d irectly i n t he tufo bank a re rather f lat, and the graves do not resemble one a nother in over-all s hape. They were no doubt much modif ied when the n ew cult center was c reated . ( One import ant modification was t he r einforcement of t he western s houlder o f G 27's a rch by a p ier which partially i nvaded t he forma G 16.) In t he l ight of these anomalies i t i s b etter not to t otally exclude the hypothesis that they might have b een i nserted into t he walls o nly when t he n ew

at the time of the new cult center: two in the space b etween P lOa a nd P 10 a nd a nother immediately i n f ront o f G 27. I n a ll three c ases the masonry wall continues down to a point where it rests on a surface of rubble masonry c onsisting o f c rushed terracotta bound together with c ement. This was p robably t he f oundation f or t he wall o f the l ater cult center . The earlier f eatures o f the z one l ie h idden b eneath t his. The s pace under the a rch o f G 27 h as been f illed with . s imilar masonry no doubt t o consolidate i t, f urther complicating t he s tudy o f t his important a rea.

1 31

cult center was created, in order to shore up some defect in the tufo bank. I f, however, they were truly graves, we have one more c lue to t he s hape o f z one S during an e arlier p eriod. There i s no other s urviving indication o f the n ature o f t he a rea onto which t he a rcosolia f aced, b ut g iven the l imited amount of space to the west, it was most likely a gallery. I f we c onsider that t he g round l evel i n f ront o f them was rather c lose to that of G31 at the opposite end of the new c ult center, it is possible that we a re dealing with two i solated f ragments of a gallery which once p assed this way . Might this then have been t he gallery which gave a ccess to z one R ? As in t he case of a l6 on t he opposite s ide of the crypt there are problems with such a solut ion . Approximating t he height o f t he a rcosolium's f acade one would e stimate that t he f loor l evel o f the gallery was at about q .-0.70. This would mean t hat there was a difference of level between it and the old cult c enter which was at about q .-0.30. This i s not in i tself a great problem. The difference could have been handled by a s tep or two . H owever, t he d irection of t he gallery i s once again oblique to that of z one R , as was the case with a l6, and furthermore it is not in l ine with the south wall of zone R , which, as we shall see, was one of t he most s table f eatures o f i ts p lan throughout the h istory of i ts evolution . Unfortunately the p recarious s tate of P P6 a nd 8 p reclude t he p ossibility of t he excavation which this important area merits. But i n the l ight o f t he evidence available t oday, we feel that t he l ack o f sufficient correspondence between the two zones at this p oint preclude a ny f irm c onclusions about how they were related during this early period . I f there was a c onnection b etween t hem, i t was p robably a l ater one, a s i n the case of gallery a l6. Thus our knowledge of the over-all shape of zone S during t he early phase o f i ts h istory i s extremely l imited . What i s perhaps most s triking i s the s ense o f d iscontinuity b etween i t and z one R . Not only t he import ant change of l evel which occurs h ere, but the shift i n axis between the two zones make i t difficult f or us to understand the relationship of the two . Within the zone i tself t he c learest d istinction i s b etween gallery al6 and the area to the south of i t, e ach o f which i s s ituated at a considerably d ifferent l evel. Yet the a rea t o the south betrays two d ifferent phases at the sa me l evel, at least in the case of G 31. We must k eep in mind, however, that the area might have had as complex a history as that of the earl y cult center itself but left no traces of this because it was s ituated at a l evel h igher than t he o ne decided upon f or t he f loor of the new s tructure and was consequently destroyed

in

i ts

entirety .

1 32

7 .

Function o f

t he Early Phase o f

Z ones

Q ,

R ,

and

S

Having considered z ones Q , R and S in detail we must n ow try to define their respective f unctions. The area c overed by them is at the heart of the l arger c ult center c reated l ater . I ts presbytery was s ituated on top of z one Q , a nd t he a ltar with i ts s pace f or t he r elics s at c lose by the s teps that mark the l ine o f demarcation b etween z ones Q a nd R . We have every r eason to believe t hat the nucleus of the earlier phase of the cult c enter i s nearby . There seems to be l ittle difficulty i n identifying t his with z one R i tself. The l arge space undivided by walls is situated at a constant level and is filled with f ormae i n a way typical of c emeterial c ult c enters in t he c atacombs. Z one Q , however, with i ts multiplication o f small burial areas huddling around the west end of zone R h as about it a ll the characteristics o f a typical retros anctos area: maximum u se o f space, i rregularity o f p lan, a nd, in the c ase o f a l, a l ink with a s ystem of galleries n earby . Z one S s till awaits a more thorough excavation, b ut it s eems that gallery a l6, which was probably created o ff of a l4, was only l ater l inked to z one R . The s pace b etween PP12 a nd 1 4 perhaps a lso pertained to an earlier c emeterial s tructure, a s d id GG27 a nd 2 8. I f these e lements are t ruly f ragments of a gallery which once e ntered zone R near i ts s outheastern c orner, t he connection between the two also seems to be only a l ater a rrangement. The image of the early veneration area which emerges f rom our analysis, however, i s a s omewhat v ague one. The e xtreme measures taken to c reate the new cult center have s wept away most o f t he t races o f many e ssential details o f its l ay-out . The respect for the z one o f the tomb o f t he martyr, however, c aused t he builders to p lan t heir n ew structure i n accordance with i t, and we must follow t he clues they l eft behind in our attempt to define the p osition o f the focal point of the entire s tructure, the t omb o f t he martyr i tself.

8 .

The G eneral

Area

o f

T he Tomb o f

the Martyr

S everal c onsiderations enable u s to d efine r ather s ecurely the g eneral area in which this was l ocated . F irst o f a ll, t he c oncentration of t he r etrosanctos area i s definitely n ear the west wall o f the o ld s tructure. Areas a l-a2, b , a nd c a ll l ie h ere . This in i tself s uggests

the

n earness

o f

the

venerated grave.

1 33

Furthermore the s pot chosen f or the a ltar o f the n ew c ult center was precisely near the line of the o l d west wall o f the earlier center . This masonry structure with i ts l oculus f or t he relics r epresents a l ater p hase o f t he martyr's tomb and conceivably even a relocation of t he original tomb i f t he destruction which occasioned a t l east one phase of the rebuilding o f the sanctuary aff ected t he martyr's r emains. Nonetheless even s upposing t hat the martyr's r elics had been moved, when t he builders of t he l ater s tructure decided to e xtend t he o ld center both to the east and to the west the spot chosen for the r elics was near the l ine of the o l d west wall, which i s, in fact, the only point o f contact between t he n ew p resbytery a nd t he o ld c ult c enter. F inally, apart from the important f ormae G G11 and 1 5, the majority of t he o thers a re c lustered t ogether a long an approximately east-west axis s uggesting a systematic attempt to provide even further burial s pace near the martyr, thus extending the f acilities offered by the r etrosanctos. The o riginal version o f GG11-15, however, with i ts diverse orientation s trongly s uggests a structure that was there before this d evelopment b egan . This, i t will be noted, l ies c lose to t he o ld west wall. A ll o f this s uggests that t he martyr's tomb must have been s ituated near the west wall o f the original c ult c enter . I n o rder to a ttempt a more precise i dentification of it we must first consider the question of the original c emeterial area i n which t he tomb was l ocated . This was c learly the point o f departure f or the gradual evolution of t he a rea i nto an ever expanding c ult center .

9 .

The

P rimitive

C emeterial

S hape:

T he Martyr's

Tomb

I f we consider the evolution of zone R before the creation of the new cult center, we find that the wall behind G ll i s treated as a f ixed p oint i n the s tructure . The cult center is not created by pushing this wall f urther back b ut r ather by extending to t he east, l eaving the west wall as a kind of point of arrival or rear wall. The only concession made was to c reate p assageways in o r n ear i t l eading to a retrosanctos area, but it r emained as a f ixed p oint . Whatever t he p recise s hape o f the original area o f the martyr, the c reation of the early c ult c enter would i nvolve i ts gradual extension, p articul arly towards the east. The orientation o f the majority of t he f ormae i s there a s a witness of this. Which then o f the graves s ituated near the west wall might have been t he grave of the martyr? It seems to u s that there are two possibilities which are the most l ikely . F irst o f a ll, t he o riginal version of G ll itself

1 34

might have been the tomb of the martyr. We have shown that i t was p robably o ne o f t he s tructures p ertaining to t he e arlier c emeterial a rea, i ts monumental position near t he west wall s erving as a fulcrum of the entire s pace. T his hypothesis, however, i s not without i ts d ifficult ies. A p riori, t he f orma i s a r elatively l ate type o f g rave in t he c atacombs . I t s eems u nlikely t hat i t would h ave been u sed f or a martyr o f the t hird c entury . This i s n ot an unanswerable o bjection, however, s ince t here i s at l east one other case in which a Roman martyr was b uried i n s uch a grave . 24 ° Another d ifficulty with this theory, however, l ies i n t he f act that g iven t he s hape o f t he a ltar i n t he l ater cult c enter with i ts l oculus apparently f or the p rincipal r elics o f t he t he s anctuary, t hese would h ave had to be removed from the grave by the creators of the l ater s tructure . Y et t he t omb i tself a lthough r e-oriented does not s eem to have been so totally destroyed t hat it c ould n ot have b een r epaired . I t s eems unlikely t hat the r elics o f the martyr would have b een moved without a good r eason, p articularly s ince t he t omb i tself d id not s eem t o h ave b een i rreparably damaged . F inally i t s eems c lear that t he r eorientation o f t he t omb dates p recisely f rom during or a fter this p eriod o f t he l ater c ult c enter s ince t he n ew o rientation c onforms t o that of the new l ine of steps and the chord of the a pse . Y et i t was p robably a lso at t his t ime that t he o riginal s ingle f orma was enlarged to make s pace f or two b odies, i f not more. I t does n ot s eem l ikely that t he t omb of the martyr i tself would be widened t o make s pace f or another b ody. But even g ranted this l ast possibility, whose r elics were those in t he a ltar? S urely i f the relics of the o ther s aints o f the c atacomb had t o be r elocated within t he c ult c enter due t o t he d estruction o f t heir o riginal t ombs one would not expect t hem t o t ake the pre-eminent p lace. F or t hese r easons i t s eems t o u s h ighly unlikely that the martyr was ever buried in this forma. I t s eems more l ikely that t he t omb o f t he martyr was s ome sort of grave s ituated i n the west wall of the

2 4

l etti,

° The c ase o f E rmete s eems r ather L e a ntiche c hiese, p p. 1 9-20.

1 35

c lear .

S ee Car-

original burial area . The tufo l edge on which t he later altar once rested could well have been the bottom of t he tomb. I n this supposition the l ater a ltar would have been c onstructed immediately over t he s pot of t he origin al burial without unduly d isturbing the remains of the s aint. 241 The height of the tufo l edge constitutes a kind o f terminus a quo f or t he b ase o f t he grave . I t i s s ituated at q .+0.20 m ., which i s c onsiderably h igher t han t he f loor l evel o f t he early c ult c enter ( q .-0.30). T his seems to rule out the possibility that the grave was an arcosolium. For such t he b ottom o f t he s pace f or the body would have been approximately at the same l evel a s the f loor in front of the f acade i f not even l ower. 242 Consequently the grave if it was here woul d have been a tomba a mensa or a l oculus. 243 Thus the venerated tomb was probably situated i n the western perimeter wall of t he o ld c ult c enter. The a lmost total destruction of this w 11 by the b uilders o f t he n ew c ult c enter, however, has obliterated a ll traces o f its upper surface including whatever architectural s hape it h ad during this e arlier p eriod i n i ts h istory . I f, a s s eems l ikely, the f inal phase of the old c ult center dates f rom the t ime o f Pope D amasus, t he structure of the monument perhaps had a shape similar to that of the shrines o f J anuarius i n t he c atacomb of P raetextatus and that o f Peter and Marcellinus i n the cemetery which

2 41 The creation of the l ine of steps in the new cult center with t heir n ew l ine o f o rientation would have necessarily modified the f acade o f the tomb s ituated a s it was in the west wall of the original burial a rea. This wall, as we have shown, probably ran along a line s everal degrees f urther to t he n ortheast than do the s teps. 2 42 I t i s not impossible, however, that the f loor l evel of the o ld cult center represents a lowering of the f loor of the original burial area, but the considerable depth of G ll a nd the well p reserved s outhern p ortion o f i ts west wall with i ts characteristic bevelling s eem t o s uggest otherwise. This, h owever, i s not a s ecure c riterion . U nfortunately there are no other points of r ef erence f or j udging t he original f loor l evel more accur ately. 2 43 To the rear o f the cuts f or the chancel screens on e ither s ide o f t he a ltar there a re vertical c uts i n the tufo that could well r epresent the typically irregular o utline o f t he r ear wall o f a l oculus ( Fig 2 and 2 2). This outline i s interrupted by the l ater cut made in the tufo bank probably f or t he marble s lab, which corresponded to the rear o f the a ltar in the l ater cult center.

1 36

b ears their name . B oth of these are j udged to date probably from t he time of the s ame pope. This is a ll the more plausible s ince in all three cases there is a recurr ence of three f eatures in t he g eneral l ay-out o f t he c rypt. 1 / The martyr's grave i s a wall tomb s ituated to t he rear of t he v eneration a rea . 2 / Immediately i n f ront o f it lies a l arge forma parallel to it in orientation a nd itself t he o bject of an evolution in t he d irection o f i ncreasing space for burials. 3 / Other formae ( for the most part perpendicular to i t) f ill the s pace b etween i t a nd the rear wall of the s tructure. F urthermore they are p robably a ll r elated to t he work of pope Damasus whose a ctivity in the catacomb o f Hippolytus was precisely in t he ambitus of this o ld c ult center, as we propose to s how . I n the c ases of Januarius and P eter and Marcell inus t he shrine around t he martyr's tomb consisted of an a rched masonry s tructure against the face o f the tufo wall, f lanked on both s ides by columns ( Januarius) o r p ilasters ( Peter and Marcellinus). They are j udged i n both cases to date f ro m the time of Damasus, and it is p ossible that h is dedicatory i nscriptions were i ncorp orated directly i nto these structures a nd that t he a ltar s lab was a lso s omehow worked into t he composition . 244

2 44 S ee Tolotti, Ricerca, pp . 7 1 f f.; Guyon, Recherc hes, pp. 3 10-311, F igs. 2 and 3 . For the pattern of the f ormae, see also the case of the tomb of Felix in the c emetery of C ommodilla, where there are two f ormae p arall el to the tomb and many others behind them perpendicular to it. Kanzler, Relazione, tay. I II. I n the c ase of H ippolytus the presence of the a ltar i s testified to by P rudentius, who v isited t he c rypt s hortly a fter A .D . 4 00 at a time when the o ld cult c enter was still f unctioning. H e r efers to an a ra which both c ontained the relics and a lso had a properly eucharistic f unction . P rudentius, e d . Cunningham, vv . 1 71-74, p . 3 75. I n the cases o f Januarius and P eter and Marcellinus t his eucharistic f unction i s n ot explicit, a nd t he s truct ures in question could conceivably be interpreted as mensae. For t he tomb o f J anuarius s ee T olotti, op . c it.,

pp .

70-71. P lausible reconstruction s chemes for the Damasan i nscriptions l inked to t he s hrines o f J anuarius a nd P eter a nd Marcellinus have been proposed by Tolotti and Guyon . I n the c rypt o f Hippolytus, on t he f ront l edge of the t ufo bank Z there are considerable remains o f cement which s till show t he imprint o f what was p robably a marble s lab . Though there i s no uniform bottom edge to t his, it descends to a p oint near t he f loor l evel of t he e arly cult c enter . I t would be tempting to s ee in this a p ossible p lace f or t he Damasan i nscription H ippolytus f ertur. But s ince the f ace of Z was a lmost certainly cut b ack when t he n ew cult c enter was created, it s eems more p robable that the s lab cemented in p lace here was somehow r elated to t he a ltar of t he n ew s tructure.

1 37

1 0.

The

P rimitive C emeterial S hape: Space o f the Martyr

T he

Burial

I s it possible to i solate the position o f t he origin al burial s pace of t he martyr within t he perimeter o f t he early cult center and thus define the point o f departure f or the evolution that was to terminate in t he shape it had at the time it was destroyed? We believe that the key to t he answer to t his question l ies in the notable lack of symmetry of the martyr's g rave with r espect to t he r est o f t he s tructure . A g lance at F igure 1 4 shows it r elegated to the e xtreme l eft s ide of t he a rea . I f, a s we h ave shown, t he west wall of the crypt was one of the wal _ls of the original burial s pace ( probably t he o ne opposite i ts entrance) t he tufo bank which constituted the s outh wall of the cult c enter must be at l east a t erminus a d quem f or t he s outh wall o f the burial space. I n the l ight o f this i t s eems probable that t he north wall would have been s ituated opposite it at l east at about the s ame d istance f rom t he c enter of t he martyr's tomb . This would be at a p oint about 2 .80 m . f rom the south wall. A possible guide in f urther determining t he e xact s hape of the original space in which the martyr's tomb was s ituated i s t he t ypology o f t he f ormae of t he z one. As we have seen, the formae of the early cult center fall i nto three groups: ( 1) t he l arger a nd probably o lder f ormae ( Gll, 1 5, 1 6, and 1 7), ( 2) the anthropomorphic g roup ( GG6, 2 0, a nd 2 3) p robably s omewhat l ater, and f inally ( 3) the group of small graves ( GG18, 1 8', 1 9, 2 1, a nd 2 2) which a re a lmost c ertainly t he l atest o f a ll. I n the absence of any other criterion we propose t hat the s pace occupied by t he o lder group c orresponds r oughly with the area of the original burial place of the martyr ( if it was not even smaller), while the areas i n which t he l ater formae are s ituated represent l ater e xtensions o f this s pace . S ince, as we have s een, the north wall o f the original space might well have been s ituated at a point about 2 .80 m . f rom the s outh wall, the area occupied by GG20 a nd 2 3 a nd ( partially by G 6) would i ndeed be a l ater extension of the original burial z one. There i s an important consequence o f t his. S ince both a l a nd poss ibly a l6 enter the space gained by the extension of the original c ult c enter, they a re b oth subsequent t o the operation of widening . I ndeed i t does not seem improb able t hat t he widening o f t he c ult c enter towards t he north and the two l inks with area a ( al and a l6) are p art of o ne operation d esigned perhaps to a lleviate t he p robl em of crowding around the tomb o f the martyr, o ffering

1 38

additional outlets to the stream o f pilgrims. F urthermore, i t i s not impossible that t he p assageway b etween area b and the newly created a l was opened either at this t ime or l ater with a v iew to f urther ' facilitating t he c irculation o f v isitors a round the tomb . T he exact s hape o f t he expansion to t he n orth i s perhaps f urther c larified by the area occupied by the l atest o f t he f ormae o f t he c rypt. A s we have s een, the f ormae G 18, 1 8', 1 9, 2 1, and 2 2 s tand apart f rom the o thers i n zone R in s everal r espects. They are f or t he most part smaller and shallower and are arranged somewhat h aphazardly i n t he a rea which they o ccupy. I t i s f urther c urious that they never entirely f illed this important f loor s pace near to t he tomb of t he martyr. One h as t he impression that the f ossores created them l ate i n the h istory o f t he monument at a period when this space s uddenly became available for use, but that they never h ad t he t ime to make f uller u se o f it . A ll of this a rgues i n f avor of a l ate date. Thus it i s possible that the space they occupy was once a tufo bank destroyed only a t a l ate period in the history of the early cult center. I f we r emove t he s pace occupied .by t he e nsemble o f t hese two s ets o f graves, what remains i s an L -shaped s tructure, whose arms a re about 1 .50 m . wide. This helps to explain why G ll l ies perpendicular to most of the f ormae o f t he c rypt. No doubt it was t he e arliest o f t hem a ll and o ccupied the only s pace then avialable: the f loor of one of the arms of the L , while the l ater formae were c reated p erpendicular to i t i n the space which was gradually expanding t owards t he north . The n ature of the evidence with which we are working i s not sufficiently s trong to make this anything more than a working h ypothesis, but i f it i s correct, the s ubsequent evolution o f the area would have consisted of a first expansion to the north a long with the creation of the two l inks with area a , followed by a l ater one which involved the removal of t he tufo bank corresponding to t he area subsequently occupied by GG18, 1 8', 1 9, 2 1, and 2 2. Where was the entrance to the original zone of the martyr? This question l eads us in turn to a final important consideration . To which area of the cemetery did the tomb of t he martyr belong ?

1 1.

The

L arger

Cemeterial

Context

o f

the Martyr

S ince t he west wall of the original s pace c ontained the body of the martyr and the lower reaches of the south o ne a re s till preserved, it i s c lear that t he original entrance into the martyr's burial space was not f rom this d irection . F urthermore, beyond t he north wall l ies the tangle of the small galleries of area a , which seems to

1 39

l essen the probability o f a n early p assageway c oming f rom this d irection . T he most l ikely d irection s eems t o b e f rom the east . The creation of the new cult center has l argely a ltered t he s hape o f z one S t hrough which t his p assageway would have c ome . A lthough t here a re no t ufo b anks i n e xistence t hat would p reclude an e ntranceway, t here i s l ittle that c ould b e p lausibly i nterpreted a s t he o rigin al a ccess p ath to t he z one o f t he martyr . There i s a n important hiatus between zones R and S both in l evel and i n o rientation, a nd a lthough they might h ave b een l ater t ied i nto t he o ld c ult c enter, n either g allery a l6 or t he hypothetical g allery o nto which G 27 f aced s how s igns o f a n o riginal c onnection with t his a rea . Another p ossibility i s that a n a ccess g allery ( perhaps l eading i nto t he L -shaped s tructure) would h ave b een s ituated at a h igher l evel t han t hP f loor o f t he l ate c ult c enter, and was consequently d estroyed . B ut e ven i f we a dmit t his p ossibility we might well a sk t o which a rea of the catacomb did the zone of the martyr belong? One would naturally expect that this would be a rea d , the o ldest o f those p reserved . Y et t here a re no d irect c onnections b etween t he two . More important s till, t heir f loor l evels do not correspond, a nd the z one o f t he martyr d oes n ot f it i nto t he g eneral o rientation o f t he a rea. We must s imply accept the f act that there i s not enough evidence available t oday t o e nable u s t o d efine the area of the cemetery to which the tomb of the martyr b elonged or even to i ndicate t he o riginal a ccess g allery which l ed to i t . O ne possibility i s that the o riginal a rea was s ufficiently small a s t o b e t otally o bliterated by l ater expansion around the immediate a rea o f t he tomb, which a lone h as been p artially p reserved f or u s u nder t he l evel o f the n ew cult c enter . I f the original entrance to the zone of the martyr h as b een swept away by l ater d evelopments, i s i t p ossible t o define the path which p ilgrims f ollowed t o t he s acred t omb, at l east d uring t he f inal p hase o f t he e arly c ult c enter? P rudentius's description o f h is v isit s uggests that he p assed t hrough an u nderground g allery s ufficiently l ong to have been marked in more than one spot by l ucernaria . Thus t he s tairway h e u sed c ould n ot h ave b een very c lose to t he z one o f t he martyr . I f t he p rimit ive s tairs were i n t he immediate v icinity o f t he t omb, they must have no l onger been in normal use during Prud entius's time. We propose to show later on that the crypt which P rudentius v isited was a lmost c ertainly t he o ld c ult c enter at s ome p hase o f i ts develpment, most l ikely t he l ast . This means t hat a lready a t t his t ime there must have been some modification of z one S to bring the pil-

1 40

grim through it to the tomb of the martyr, since, as we have seen, this s eems to have been the most l ikely direct ion for such a n approach . Two e lements preserved in z ones S a nd T f avor this hypothesis. First of a ll, a lthough the the areas near G 31 and GG27 and 28 in z one S were in existence before the ne w c ult center, t hey are s ituated at approximately the same l evel as t he n ew c ult c enter i tself. B ut s ince this l evel does not b ear any recognizable relationship to the o lder galleries in t he v icinity ( such as t hose o f area d ), it s eems to have been a l ater development . This suggests that t he new cult c enter was l aid out at a l evel which, though a lready in use before its creation, was not an early one . Might this not be an i ndication that the b uilders of the o ld cult c enter were a lready at work c reating an improvised passageway that would l ater be e xpanded into t he new cult c enter and i ts monumental a ccess p ath? S econdly, in t he i ter t he a rea i nspected i n T i shows that a lthough there is no trace of an early c emeterial g allery at this p oint, there a re c lear i ndicat ions that the area was already in use before the creat ion of the i ter a s we know i t today . A lthough t here i s no evidence as to the nature or even the exact shape of t he original area in which the martyr was buried, i t i s perhaps worth r ecalling that more than once we have seen references to water in conn ection with t he area o f the catacomb . The Passio Polyc hronii t ells u s that t he martyr was buried i uxta n impham ad l atus a qri Verani. The expression recurs i n c onnection with t he f amilia of H ippolytus, who a re a lso buried i n campo i uxta n impham, whereas Concordia i s t hrown i nto a c loaca. F urthermore, t he abundant s prings noted by Gori in the area and still somewhat in evidence c ould well have motivated t he creation o f s ome s ystem of water storage. I ndeed two perpendicular galleries in a rea h d esigned f or this f unction a re s till in e xistence, and, a s we h ave s een, certain other galleries on P lan I I TIB 1 but n o l onger a ccessible today were p robably part of the s ame s ystem . Though there are no concrete traces in the monument to show that the z one of the martyr was related to this, i t i s worth considering the possibility t hat t he a rea o f h is burial was i ndeed part o f such a water s torage system .

*

*

*

I n summary, then, we propose the following evolution o f zone R a nd the area immediately adjacent to i t. The martyr was probably buried in a l oculus in a small cemeterial zone of which there seems to be no surviving t races s ave t he immediate area i n which the venerated tomb was s ituated . In a ny c ase there i s no c lear i ndication that this formed part of area d , seemingly the

1 41

o ldest o f the preserved cemeterial areas. The burial zone was possibly c reated in an a bandoned water r eservoir . The immediate context o f t he martyr's tomb was probably an L -shaped s pace . No s ecure t race o f t he original path of a ccess has been p reserved . P erhaps i t was s ituated in area S at a h igher l evel than that of the l ater cult center, which destroyed it . The growing c ult of the martyr l ed to a two-fold evolution: a gradual enlargement o f the original burial space and the creation of a series of small burial areas immediately adjacent to i t. I t i s not possible to correl ate t hese two p rocesses i n a s ingle c hronological s eries. I n the course o f the gradual expansion of the original s pace t he west a nd t he s outh walls remained relatively s table. I t i s possible that even before this expansion h ad begun, t he c reation o f area c a nd p erhaps even b was under way . 245 There i s no concrete r ecord o f t he expansion to t he east, s ince we have no s ecure traces o f the original east wall of the burial space. The most notable expansion which i s s till r ecognizable t oday i nvolved the destruction of the old north wall of the area and the creation of a new one c . 1 .80 m . further north. This added space would s erve not only to provide further room a round t he t omb b ut a lso to c reate two l inks with area a : al and a l6. I t c annot be now determined whether these two features were carried out as part of t he progra m of expans ion or were a s ubsequent development . I n any c ase the end r esult must h ave p romoted an o rdered f low o f t raffic in this busy area, providing f urther points of access and exit in addition to t he original o ne, wherever i t might have been . The creation of a l ink between a l and area b must a lso have been a h elp to t raffic, permitting c ircul ation a ll the way around the b lock which contained the

2 45 T here i s no s ecure indication of relative chronology between these two areas and the l ast stage in the evolution of the o ld cult c enter . They may have conceivably come a fter it or i n conjunction with it. T his, however, s eems unlikely . The gradual evolution betrayed by t he s equence ( area c , f irst part of a rea b , s econd p art o f a rea b ) s uggests rather a process that h ad a lready begun before t he f inal r evision of t he e arly c ult c enter.

1 42

r elics o f the martyr . T he f inal s tage in the development o f t he o ld c ult c enter p robably c onsisted i n t he r emoval o f a tufo bank that had been maintained up until then p erhaps a s a s afeguard i n s upporting t he t ufo vault o f t he early shrine area . This resulted i n a small c rypt of a pproximately s quare s hape.

N

OLD CULT CENTER

F igu re 1 4 PLAN OF EARLY CULT CENTER AND RETR OSANCTOS 0

a1 6

1 43

I M

AX ON O METR I C

RECONSTRUCT I ON

OF EARLY CULT CENTER AND RETROSANCTOS . . 1. , -

0

1 44

1M

CHAPTER F IFTEEN

THE LATER CULT CENTER

The l ate cult c enter i s the one which we s ee today i n the c atacomb of H ippolytus, a w itness to t he f inal s hape of the monument before the definitive abandonment o f both c atacomb a nd s hrine. I f we were able to s peak o f a n earlier cult center and in some measure describe its s hape this was p ossible in t he measure that i ts f loor p lan and to s ome extent f ragments of i ts walls are pres erved e ither u nderneath t he f loor l evel of t he n ew s tructure or in the form o f walls incorporated into or u ndisturbed by t hose of t he l ater edifice.

1 .

E xpansion of

the

General

O riginal

S tructure

P lan

The basic p lan f or the new structure called f or a c onsiderable e nlargement of t he o lder one. This was c onceived of a s an extension o f the original space princ ipally to t he west and to t he e ast. I n c omparison with t he expansion i n these two directions the modifications o f the l ine o f t he walls to t he north a nd s outh were m inimal. The expansion to the west called for the destruction o f the west wall o f t he o ld s tructure a nd t he l eveling o f t he walls of the retrosanctos areas a l, b , and c a long w ith t he l arge t ufo bank Z that s eparated t hem. These w ere trimmed down to a point s lightly below the l evel d ecided upon f or t he f loor of t he new s tructure, which w as fixed around q .+0.33 f or this new area. The expansion to the e ast i s a lso c lear f rom the f act that the new cult c enter extends considerably beyond t he eastern p erimeter of t he e arlier one. The o rientat ion o f gallery a l6 dictated that of the new z one, and t he builders s imply d estroyed i ts s outh wall a nd c ut back t he tufo bank t o t he desired width for the new s tructure. O nly f urther e xcavation c an r eveal t he e xact n ature o f whatever other earlier s tructures were s ituated in this d estroyed bank. The n ew l evel was s et at l east 7 0 cm. a bove that o f t he widened gallery. B etween t hese two e xtensions to t he e ast and to t he w est the o ld cult center i tself was buried about 3 0 cm. b eneath a n ew f loor l evel decided upon f or this middle s ection of the new structure.

1 45

The resulting p lan o f the n ew s tructure was an extremely e longated o ne of r ather i rregular shape due t o the desire to i ncorporate the pre-existing structures we have mentioned .

Ceiling

S tructure

and Masonry

The considerable width o f t he new c rypt ( varying between 3 and 5m.) coupled with i ts extreme l ength c alled for some system o f additional s upport f or the c eiling. This was p rovided by t he c onstruction o f a s eries of arches resting on piers built at varying intervals along the north and south walls of the new s tructure. 246 The springing points of many of these are still preserved . The c ore o f a rch P P13-14 and t he entire arch PP1-2 are s till s tanding . D e Rossi on the basis of this data r estored t he other a rches with modern masonry ( Fig . 1 6) . 247 Thus the core structure of the new cult center consisted of this s eries of massive masonry piers and arches s canning the crypt f or i ts entire l ength . The restorations o f De Rossi have a lmost . completely f illed the ceiling areas between the pairs o f arches with modern masonry. Thus it is impossible to tell in most c ases whether these spaces were s imply barrel vaults c ut in t he tufo bank or i nvolved t he u se o f s ome masonry. Not only was masonry used to create the system of p iers but even i n many c ases t he walls between t he piers. In some cases the walls consist of earlier tufo ones or n ew ones c ut directly i n the h itherto i ntact t ufo banks . This i s particularly true in the apse area, in c ertain portions of the south wall between PP2 and 10, a nd most e specially in the north wall between PP7 and 1 3. In a ll o f these c ases, however, i ntermittent b reaks in t he tufo s urface are shored up with masonry and, more important, t he h igher reaches of t he walls a re entirely o f masonry .

2 46 I n most cases these are t rue p iers cons tructed against t he walls. S ometimes, however, t hey s eem to be merely s egments o f the walls themselves upon which the builders chose to support the arches o f the ceiling, as in the cases of PP7, 9 , 1 1, and 12. 2 47 0n the south wall between P8 and P10 there is a s pringing point of y et a nother a rch, which De R ossi did not r ebuild. There i s no corresponding point on the opposite s ide, but t he wall i s much r epaired with modern masonry, and this feature was probably destroyed .

1 46

SHADE D AREAS REPRESENT OR IG I NAL MAS ONRY

F igure 1 6 SYSTE M

OF SUPP ORT IN G

LATE CULT CENTER

1 47

AR CHES FOR

This was necessary s ince in the c ase o f pre-existing t ufo walls that were maintained in u se t he original s tructures certainly did not have their ceilings as h igh a s those o f t he new cult c enter, a nd c onsequently on t he o ccasion o f cutting away the tufo beds to greater heights t he builders decided to s hore up these n ew c uts with masonry f acing . This was a prudent measure i n that i t p rovided added s upport f or t he vaults i ntervening b etween the s eries o f arches which l ined the s tructure. These masonry s urfaces b etween t he s uccessive p iers r ise to a greater height than the p iers themselves ( Figs. 3 and 4) .248 Thus whatever the material of t he vaults that r ose f rom these wall s egments, their springing p oint was higher than that o f the arches. Moreover t he arches were v isible a s s eparate entities a long t he c eiling l ine o f the cult c enter, the vaults that occurred b etween the m had to be further recessed i nto the ceiling and consequently the s urface of these N T aults were h igher t han the intrados o f the arches. 249 T hus i t i s possible that t he a rches were c onstructed at i ntervals under what was i n some cases, at l east x a continuous barrel v ault, which r an f rom west to east . 2D ° Two portions o f original inter-arch vaulting have been preserved on t he north s ide o f z ones Q and R , and their i rregularity s how that there was probably no uniform method o f handling these portions of the c eiling ( Figs. 3 1 and 3 2). Apart f rom the poor quality of the tufo s trata at this l evel, no doubt s pecific p roblems encountered in the area between e ach s et of arches called f or s pecific s olutions. We s imply wish to s tress that where this was possible a s imple vault c ut directly i n t he tufo b ed would have s ufficed to provide an e fficient s ystem o f ceiling s upport when t aken in conjunction with t he s eries of masonry arches s et up a ll a long t he crypt .

2 48 Most of the upper reaches of these walls are r es torations by De Rossi, but e nough o f t he original masonry i s embedded i n his work to make this a ffirmation possible. 2 49 T he s ide f aces o f the fragments o f these arches a re a lways p lastered, thus s howing that t hey were not embedded i n masonry at their s ides. 2 5 ° An excellent example o f this s ystem o f c eiling s upport c an be s een i n t he c rypt o f St . Thecla where t he original barrel vault cut d irectly i n the sturdy tufo o f the z one i s s till p reserved . I n t his example, h owever, unlike that o f the c rypt of H ippolytus the masonry structure was supported by three piers and two arches in each case . S ee F asola, La b asilica s otterranea, pp . 2 04-206,

F igs.

5 and

2 3.

1 48

F inally i t should be noted that the ceiling l ine o f t he new c ult c enter does not f ollow a c onstant l evel. I n z one Q this i s on an average q .+5.00, zone R being only s lightly l ower a t q .+4.80. I n z one S ; however, we e nc ounter an abrupt drop of l evel to about q .+3.50. The p oint of junction between R and S is marked by arches P P5-6 and PP7-8. These two arches built immediately a djacent to o ne another give s tability to the c ross-over. T his change occurs not only at the point where the old c ult c enter came to an end but a lso in a zone where the f loor s eems to h ave changed to a l ower l evel.

P lastering A s can be s een f rom F igures 3 ,4, and 5 extensive portions of t he p lastering of the walls of the new cult c enter have been preserved . The quality o f the p laster i tself seems to differ in zones Q-P ( where it is more s turdy) and in z one S where i t i s l ess s o . Despite this f act a g eneral p attern o f geometric decoration ( of which t he best preserved portions are executed i n red) s eems to c over t he entire s tructure in a ll t hree z ones. Here and there we find traces of another coat of p laster on t op of t he one j ust d escribed, but t he f ragments preserved are too small to enable u s t o detect e ither t he p attern o f t he l ater painted decoration or e ven t he extent o f the replastering i tself. 251 The south wall of zone S has been extensively nicked to prepare for a new layer of plaster, but this seems never to have been a pplied.

Lucernaria D e Rossi discovered traces o f two l ucernaria, one at the point at which the axis of the cult center meets that o f the i ter l eading f rom the entrance o f the catacomb, a nd a nother i n z one S of t he c ult c enter i tself directly i n front o f the arcosolium G 25. These he rebuilt, and t he masonry l ining which we s ee today s eems to date entirely f rom this restoration . Certainly problems of equilibrium would have been posed by s uch a structure terminating a t its l ower end i n the barrel vault between the a rches P P9-10 a nd PP11-12, a nd i t i s l ikely that t he original made use o f masonry a lso, a lthough this i s no l onger i n evidence. 252

2 51 T hese portions are visible above the arcosolium G 26 a nd on t he p ier P 8. The s pace b etween t he g raves GG27 and 2 8 h as a lso been replastered but not r epainted .

of

2 52 D e Rossi i n his reconstruction o f the inscription Andreas p resbyter p roposed that t he expression " trinum

1 49

Paving The paving of the cult center in zones Q and R was c reated with r e-used s labs o f marble . Among t he p res erved portions ( mostly i n the s outhern part of t he apse and a long the south wall of z one R ) there are f ragments o f tomb coverings with inscriptions. Their edges ( where in immediate proximity to t he perimeter walls) a re covered by the s ame spread of p laster which covers the walls themselves, a witness to t he f act that t hey were s ealed in p lace by this wall covering and were p robably part of the same operation of decoration of the c ult c enter . Even on the north s ide where the stones have been l ost, the t ermination point o f the p laster s hows c lear traces of their position. 253 O f particular importance i s the dated i nscription ( A .D . 3 73) s ituated near the south s houlder o f the apse a nd s ealed in p lace by t he p lastering o f its wal1. 254 F rom zone S only one f ragment o f paving material h as been preserved . I t c onsists of a p ortion of an i nscribed s tone s ituated i n f ront of the s ealed o ff arcosolium G 24 quite near the j unction with z one R . 255 F urthermore t he poor s tate o f p reservation o f the wall p laster i n this z one, particularly in i ts l ower r eaches makes i t imposs ible to e stablish t he l evel of t he s labs on t his basis . It even opens the question as to whether or not this eastern portion of t he c ult c enter was e ntirely p aved .

F loor

Level

The paving s tones a lso enable u s to determine the f loor l evel o f z ones Q a nd R . F or z one Q we f ind a l evel of q .+0.33 and for zone R , q .0.00. A step situated at q .+0.15 on t he n orth a nd a nother on t he s outh s ide l ink the two z ones. The absence of s ufficient remains of the original p aving i n z one S ( if there were a ny) makes it

s tupuit per specula lumen" referred to t hree l ucernaria of the c rypt. H is opinion, however, h as not met with c ritical f avor. S ee note 1 21, p . 5 0. I n any c ase he d iscovered only two l ucernaria. 2 53 For the i nscriptions i n t he paving of z one Q s ee ICUR 7 , nn. 1 9957, 2 0029,20033, 2 0178; for zone R , ibid., nn. 20190, 2 0247, and 20311. Another s lab ( 62 cm. x 3 8 cm .) re-used in t he construction o f P 2a a nd inscribed with the s ingle word LOCVS does n ot appear in I CUR 7 .

2 54

I CUR

7 ,

2 55

ibid.,

n . n .

1 9957.

See p .

20226.

1 50

2 4.

impossible to d etermine the l evel here . We will discuss t his proble m in our treatment of zone S as a whole.

2 . Zone

Q

C reation The p lan f or incorporation o f this f ormer r etros anctos a rea i nto t he n ew c ult c enter proper c alled f or t he destruction of the great tufo bank Z , which was, i n e ffect, t he wall of s eparation b etween these v arious a reas and the c ult center i tself.

O rientation The orientation o f the z one in relationship with what had been the o ld west wall of the c ult c enter was s lightly c hanged by about 1 0 degrees to the northwest. We have s tudied this i s s ome d etail in t he p receding chapter, but now we are in a position to better unders tand t he meaning of this a lteration . A g lance at t he t otal l ength of the new cult center shows that due to its h aving to conform to p revious structures t he f inal r esult a ppears in p lan as a l ong curving structure, which, even a s it s tands t oday, does n ot o ffer total v isibility o f t he apse area t o one s tanding at the r ear. The reo rientation partially corrects t he overly curving s hape t he structure otherwise would have had, i f i t were made t o conform exactly to t he axes o f the two pre-existing s ystems, i .e., t he o ld cult center and r etrosanctos on t he one hand a nd gallery a l6 on the other. Another important reason f or the r e-orientation o f z one Q i s the f act that h ad the builders p lanned i t f urther to the n orth they would have f ound themselves i nvolved in t he a lready considerable c omplications o f a rea a , which we described in the preceding c hapter . The apse would have had to be created partially out of the a rea occupied by G 7 and t he gallery in f ront o f i t ( a2). I n changing t he orientation, n ot only was b etter v isib ility a ssured down the entire l ength o f the s tructure, b ut the apse could be easily carved out of an a l most s olid tufo wall to the rear o f area b , destroying the u pper portion o f t he a rcosolium G l. I ndeed this wall s eems to have b een taken by the builders a s determinative o f the n ew orientation. I t i s r eflected i n the a lmost p arallel l ine o f the new presbytery steps. F inally, a nd most important of a ll, t he p osition o f the tomb of the martyr in the final phase of the early c rypt was not c entered i n t he r ear wall of t he s tructure. I t was l ocated r ather over towards the southern s ide o f t his wall. The change i n orientation o f t he n ew c ult

1 51

center made it possible for the builders to bring it into better f ocus on t he c entral axis o f the building . I n fact the new altar itself could now be set up on top of what was very probably t he very tomb 'of t he martyr. the concrete operation thus called f or the f ollowing s teps:

1 .

t he c reation and 4

o f

t he

p iers

PP1,

l c,

2 ,

3 ,

a nd

2 . the tri mming down of the tufo bank Z to the l evel determined f or t he n ew structure 3 .

the creation o f two s teps l eading down f rom the new l evel on either s ide of t he tufo bank ( Thrown over the voids corresponding to the entrance way i nto areas a a nd c these l ine up perpendicularly to t he new axis.)

4 .

the creation of the a ltar in a position between the s teps a nd on a spot which seems to have been in the tufo bank Z , on a surface which might well have been t he bottom o f the martyr's tomb .

A ltar Certainly one o f the major points o f importance in zone Q was the altar. A ll traces of the masonry of which i t was made have disappeared . I ts l ower part was still preserved at t he t ime o f t he d iscovery o f the c rypt, b ut, as we have seen, the last remains vanished during the c ourse o f t he S econd World War. Constructed o f brick, s everal courses of which were preserved, i t measured approximately 8 5 x 5 0 cm . a nd c ontained a rectangular shaped r ecession apparently f or t he r elics. 256 Judging from the photograph published by Bovini the bottom o f this r ecession might well h ave c orresponded with the tufo s urface s till preserved today

2 56 F or the documentation concerning it s ee D e Rossi, C imitero, pp. 7 0-71 a nd Conferenza 2 5 F eb .1883, p . 9 9 ( where he explicitly s ays that i t was constructed of brick). I t appears in t he De Rossi s ketch of t he crypt before i ts restoration, in two p hotographs in B ovini, S . Ippolito ( Fig. 2 3, p . 1 56 and F ig. 2 4, p . 1 57) as well a s on the map of Styger i n Märtyrergrüfte, p . 1 88 and that o f F ornari, which p rovides t he most d ependable basis f or its measurement . '

1 52

t owards the f ront o f t ufo b lock Z . 257 S everal marks on this b lock h elp t o d efine t he a ltar's p osition. Two shallow cuts which appear on the top of the surface run parallel to t he l ine of t he f ront edge of Z ( Fig. 2 ). They perhaps s erved to f ix two c hancel s creens, one on e ach s ide o f t he a ltar . The d istance b etween t he t ips o f t hese i s approximately 9 0 cm. This tallies r ather well with the 8 5 cm. i ndicated on t he F ornari map . F urthermore a vertical cut in the tufo to the rear of this space i s s ituated 6 2 cm . f rom t he f ront e dge o f Z . Once a gain t his appears on t he F ornari map, which s hows that the a ltar a lthough f lush with t he f ront o f t he l ower s tep was n ot built d irectly up against this tufo c ut to i ts r ear . The b ricks v isible i n t he De Rossi s ketch on t he e ast side and the cement spread visible in the Bovini p hotograph on t he s outh s ide were no doubt not t he surf ace visible a t t he t ime t he a ltar was s till in u se . I t would have b een a t l east p lastered over or more p robably c overed with marble r evetment . I ndeed the s pace between t he back of the a ltar and the tufo cut might well have b een f itted with a l arge marble s lab , which f unctioned a s t he rear o f t he a ltar . The f latness o f t he c ut ( particul arly in i ts s outhern portion) s eems to s uggest this. Little of t he marble f acing on the front of t he l edge where the a ltar was s ituated has been preserved, b ut there a re c onsiderable r emains o f t he c ement u sed t o f ix the p ieces o nto the tufo surface . I n the c enter, c orresponding more or l ess to t he p osition o f t he a ltar, t his cement reaches a depth of 4 0 cm. below the f loor l evel of t he n ew c ult c enter . P erhaps t he s lab on t he f ront of the altar was more massive and rested for supp ort on t he tufo l edge which l ay below. The Damasan i nscription H ippolytus f ertur was apparently s till i n evidence in the n ew c ult center s ince it was copied by t he author o f the Sylloge C entulensis s ometime i n the e ighth or n inth c entury . P erhaps i t was mounted i n t his p osition i n f ront o f the a ltar . F inally we recall that the face of the west wall of t he o ld c ult c enter would have had to be cut back a l ittle to make the l ine of the steps perpendicular to the n ew orientation. T his would mean t hat i f t he a ltar o f t he earlier cult c enter was a lso s ituated i n approximately t he s ame s pot s ome a djustment o f position would h ave been necessary f or the new one .

C eiling T he unification o f c eiling e ntailing a s

2 57

See Bovini,

z one Q and the construction o f i ts i t d id t he d estruction o f t ufo b ank

op .

cit., F ig.

1 53

2 4.

Z a long with the individual ceilings o f the small areas of the r etrosanctos must have been more o f an a rduous task f or the builders than the restructuring o f z one R , which a lready h ad considerable d imensions. The careful choice of positions f or the crucial p iers PP1, 2 , 3 , a nd 4 a nd t heir s turdy construction d id much to assure the success of the operation . 258 H aving built P1 in the middle of the o ld area a l-2 and P 2 in the s outhern extremity of area b the b uilders must h ave been able then to safely remove the tufo bank and create the great arch that spans the two p iers. S imilarly, having p laced P 3 in f ront of G 10 a nd P 4 i n t he SE c orner of a rea c they could l ikewise build the a rch spanning t hem . After this the destruction o f Z 's upper p ortion a nd the creation of the walls and vaulting between the t wo pairs o f piers would have been considerably easier . 259 The northern half o f t he vault b etween arches P P1-2 and PP3-4 has been well preserved and consists o f masonry s till covered by a p lastering t hat makes i t impossible t o determine its nature ( Fig . 3 1). T his portion o f the vault was c learly built a fter t he c onstruction o f arches PP1-2 and PP3-4 had been completed s ince i t rests against them. I t extends from a l edge cut back in the t ufo wall between PP1 and 3 up towards a transverse arch u pon which it r ests. This arch i n turn rests upon t he masonry s ituated above arches PP1-2 and P P3-4. O nly one s urface of i ts s tructure is in evidence, t he o ne s een o n t he s urface o f the ceiling i tself. B eyond i t to the s outh i s a modern masonry vault c onstructed d uring the r estoration of De Rossi.

Perimeter Walls As we have seen the apse was easily created in the tufo wall of a rea a 's western perimeter, b ut c reating reasonably acceptable walls on the north and s outh s ides of this i rregular area with b its o f gallery and f ormer tomb openings in the walls was s omething of a challenge f or the p lanners. The north s ide of the chord o f the apse was c reated by cutting through the o ld south wall of gallery a 2 directly through the c enter o f arcosolium G7. A s we have

2 58 This is effectively shown by the fact that it is o nly in this a rea that extensive p ortions of t he o riginal vaulting o f the l ater cult center a re preserved . 2 59 The work involved in the e levation of t he ceiling of the area to i ts new height has revealed in s ection some kind of gallery in the upper reaches of the cutting f or the apse.

1 54

shown, in its lower reaches this wall still has the masonry support inserted to hold up t he o ld arch of the g rave ( Fig . 2 , P lc). The tufo s urface above i t cuts t hrough what a re probably two l oculi of t he o ld gallery ( Figures 1 8 and 1 9). The north wall of the zone is a succession of e lements: t he s urface of P l, a b it o f tufo bank, and then t he opening into t he s ide of G 10. One wonders i f the b uilders c losed t his o ff with masonry s ince, a s it s tands t oday, the masonry of the opening itself i s wholly modern. I t i s n ot impossible, however, that i t was l eft o pen for u se a s a l ater tomb. As r egards t he s outh wall, the c avity which i s v isible today t o the s outheast o f P 2 was c ertainly c losed o ff with masonry a fter t he construction of t his massive p ier. T races o f this masonry remain, but the major p ortion h as f allen away, a nd De Rosli l eft i t open i n h is r estoration. 2 60 F unction There seems to be l ittle doubt that zone Q funct ioned a s the p resbytery of t he n ew c ult c enter. The p resence of the a ltar within i ts ambitus makes this c lear. The z one as a whole i s s eparated f rom t he r est o f t he structure not only by its e levation of 3 3 cm . above z one R but by t he s et of chancel s creens, which, as we h ave seen, probably f lanked the a ltar. A ll o f this s uggests that i t was a p lace s et a side f or the c lergy . G iven the fact o f this s eparation, i t s eems l ikely that t he services would have been o fficiated f rom t he western s ide of the a ltar. I n this hypothesis the total height o f the a ltar must have been a round 1 .10 m . s ince i ts base was situated on a step about 1 2 cm. or more lower than t he paving s tones o f z one Q as a whole.

3 .

Z one

R

P lan This area p resented f ar f ewer problems to t he build ers of t he n ew c ult c enter than d id z one Q . The princip al revisions c alled f or were occasioned by the s light c hange o f orientation decided upon f or both z ones Q and R . S ince zone Q had been swung around approximately 1 0

2 60 T his i nvolved creating a f lat arch o f bricks a bove s upports D e Rossi's n ew vault. I t i s through this n iche-like structure that one can today enter cubicle

d 3a.

1 55

degrees to the northwest zone R a lso had to follow this direction in order to meet up with zone S , whose orientat ion was l argely f ixed by that o f gallery a l6. T his meant that the o ld north and south walls coul d no l onger be used . Both had to be shifted s lightly towards the s outheast, t he change of position b eing most marked on their western ends. Notwithstanding the ease with which this s hift i n axis c ould be implemented in t he c ontext o f t he c omplexi ties o f zones Q , the principal motive f or the r eorientat ion was without a doubt t he d esire to r e-center t he martyr's shrine f rom the anomalous position it o ccupied in t he l ast phase o f t he o ld c ult c enter - f ar o ver t o the l eft s ide of the structure .

Perimeter Walls For the north wall a s tretch o f masonry whose f ootings c onsist o f tufo b locks was c reated f rom t he west s urface of the pier P 3 to a point near the end o f zone R f ollowing the new l ine of orientation . 261 This r an over certain f ormae of t he o ld c ult c enter ( GG20 and 2 3), a nd rubble masonry footings were inserted into these where necessary f or t he s tability of t he n ew wall ( Fig . 2 ). In the case of the south wall the presence o f a continuous tufo bank that c onstituted the original s outh wall was easily c ut back a long a l ine corresponding to t he n ew orientation . I n t he p rocess t he i rregularly shaped portion to the south of G16 was partial l y des troyed ( Fig . 2 1). At t he e nd of t his wall the p iers P P6 and 8 were situated. They would serve to mediate the change in ceiling l evel that was t o occur at this point . Arches were thrown over f rom P 6 t o t he extremity o f the ne w north wall, which we have called P5, and from P8 to t he remaining portion of the o ld n orth wall, which we have c alled P 7.

PP6

and

8

The excavations in zone R have l aid bare t he footings of these two brick piers ( Fig. 25). That o f P6, however, can be s een only a long i ts brief eastern f ace since it is embedded between the tufo wall of the l ater cult c enter and P 8, which s eems t o h ave been constructed against it ( Fig. 2 5, upper r ight h and corner). T hus i ts

2 61

by

t he

The upper reaches p laster covering.

o f

the

1 56

wall

itself

are h idden

concrete s hape i s a matter of speculation . I t i s not c lear, for i nstance, how f ar i t extends behind P 8. 262 The only thing that c an be s aid about t he e xact s hape of these piers and their relationship to one another is that both must be of sufficient s ize and s trength to bear the weight of the arches which l ink them to P P5 a nd 7 on t he north s ide of t he c ult c enter, o ne i n r elationship to t he higher western portion of the ceiling ( P6) a nd t he other in r elationship to t he l ower eastern one ( P8), a crucial point calling for added support, marked not only by a change in ceiling and f loor levels but by a noticeable change of axis in the f loor p lan. There seems to be l ittle doubt that they date from the t ime of the construction o f the new cult c enter . 263 P8 i s not s et on a l evel tufo s urface but i s s upported by two d ifferent s tructures: the western port ion, which can be l ittle more than 2 5 cm. l ong, s its on the bottom of G16 while the eastern portion rests on top of t he shoulder of an arch in the wall of the new cult c enter. This i s certainly a very unstable foundation for ap ier which must bear the weight of an important arch in t he ceiling system o f the new cult center . The importance of p lacing it in this exact position must have been very great for the builders to adopt such a solution . 264

2 62 T his l atter could not be excavated s ave on its western f ace because of i ts precarious c ondition. I ts SW extremity s eems rather well defined by P 6 against which it i s built, but the modern work on the side east of G27 makes it impossible to determine whether its SE extremity a lso rested against P6 or extended a s f ar as t he tufo wall in evidence at the rear of G 27. 2 6 46 c learly disturbs the continuity of the o ld c ult c enter's s outh wall, while P 8 f ills about 2 5 cm. o f t he f loor of G 16. Furthermore, it r ests partially on an a rch in t he wall o f t he l ater c ult c enter ( Fig. 3 4). The p laster on its west face reaches down to a level of q .-0.40, which i s not only below t he l evel of t he n ew c ult c enter but a lso that of the o ld one. S ince it obviously r eaches down b elow t he l evel o f t he f orma's upper l edge i t i s impossible to attach any special s ignificance to i t . Probably t he p lastering was applied immediately a fter the construction o f the pier before the footings were buried and t he paving s tones l aid . Consequently n o c are was taken with the exact point it r eached. The f eature in question c an be s een on F igure 2 5.

I t hardly s eems l ikely that the builders would have r isked such a dangerous arrangement s imply in o rder to make room for a grave designed along with the new cult c enter. One s upposes that they were f orced to i nsert t he arch at this point either to avoid a dangerous weak spot 2 64

1 57

The improvised quality of this whole system o f adjacent twin arches is seen as well on the north wall where a s egment of the o ld north wall ( P7) is used t o s upport the arch coming over from P8 despite the fact that the f aces of the two p iers are not at a ll parallel, and the construction of t he arch consequently h ighly i rregular . F inally i t should be noted that the upper reaches of P P6 and 8 each terminate in a s lab of marble wider than the a rches which rest on top of them . Ceiling A portion of the original vaulting between arches P P3-4 and PP5-6 has been preserved ( Fig. 3 2). L ike t he vaulting of zone Q it too consists of masonry and was built a fter arch P P4-5 h ad a lready been c onstructed. I n s ection it does not have an evenly a rched shape, and this perhaps i s l inked to previous s tructures or weaknesses i n the tufo with which the builders had to b e content.

Area

o f

D ivision Between

Z ones

R a nd

S

The western extremity of zone S is marked by an i nteresting f ragment of masonry, which c ertainly p ertains to the phase of the new cult c enter . We have a lready a lluded to this in c onnection with o ur d iscussion of t he o ld cult center . I t consists o f a mass o f rubble masonry of d iminishing width resting on a tufo s urface s ituated at q .-0.62 ( Fig. 1 3). A l arge portion of its upper surface i s c overed with a s lab o f marble at q .-0.12, p art o f which i s broken away . 265 Y et immediately b eyond the western edge of t his marble l ies a n arrow row o f small tufo b locks, that formed part o f a structure which has been preserved f or a h eight of 8 cm. This r an i n a l ine across the crypt, and two cuts i n the north and s outh walls show that i t was t ied i nto t hem, t hus dividing z one R f rom z one S . I t perhaps supported a s creen s eparating this part of t he n ew c ult c enter f rom t he rest . The marble slab adjacent to it on the east must have been part of the paving of t he n ew c ult c enter at t his point . Masonry

U sed

The derably .

i n

Z ones

Q and R

masonry u sed in these two z ones varies consiWhere s pecial s trength was n eeded ( PP1, 2 , 3 ,

in the tufo bank or else to keep open a pre-existing tomb s ituated h ere . I t i s p ossible but not l ikely t hat t he present arrangement is the result of a repair i n the course of t he n ew c ult c enter's h istory. 2 65

n .

For the

f ragment of

the

2 0226.

1 58

i nscription

see

I CUR

7 ,

and 4 ) slabs of marble and travertine were laid in cours es cemented t ogether. Tufo b locks were u sed f or t he footings of the north wall of zone R between PP3 and 5 ; i ts upper r eaches, however, a re h idden b ehind t he p last ering that covers them. Opus vittatum s eems to have been used in t he a rea above t he s outh s ide of arch PP1-2, while brick was used for PP5, 6 , 7 , and 8 .

4 .Zone

S

C reation As we have seen at the time of the creation of the n ew cult c enter g allery a l6 r an a long a c ourse c orresp onding to the n orth wall o f the present s tructure . The area to the south of this gallery w ,-I s trimmed down to a l evel of about q .-0.65 m . to serve as the f loor of the n ew crypt, destroying a ny t races o f earlier s tructures s ituated further to the south, s ave for one. I f indeed G 31 was a f orma, it was f illed and partially covered by P P12 and 1 4, and consequently testifies to s ome space in e xistence at t his p oint at an earlier period . The p res ent arrangement, however, might be s imply the r esult o f ar evision carried out during the history of the new cult c enter i tself occasioned by a s tructural defect which r equired a more solid pier at the SE corner of the new c ult center . J udging f rom the f airly constant l evel of t he cut in the tufo bank for the f loor of the ne w cult c enter and the f airly regular l ayout o f GG29, 3 0, 3 5, and 3 6, one h as t he impression that t he builders encountered l ittle as they set to work removing the south wall of g allery a l6. What i s unmistakable i s that t he c reation o f zone S in the new cult center consisted essentially in a widening o f this gallery i tself. I ts orientation c learly dictated that of the new cult center in this z one.

N orth

Wall

( Fig.

3 3)

We have a lready shown that this wall pertains in g reat measure t o g allery a l6. Y et even t hough e xtensive p ortions o f the original tufo wall o f the gallery were i ncorporated i nto t he n ew c ult c enter, they were extended u pwards to meet the height of the new s tructure, by means o f masonry that b egins at about q .+0.50. This r ests upon t he tufo bank, which i s accordingly cut back to p rovide a p latform f or i t .

S outh

Wall

( Fig.

3 4) •

The h igh percentage o f tufo banks f ound a long the s urface of the north wall is in striking contrast to what

1 59

we find on the south one. Apart f rom a small portion of t he e ast s houlder of G 27 t he o nly o ther tufo s urfaces we encounter are those visible to the rear of GG27 and 2 8 a nd on t he r ecessed wall s urface b etween PP12 a nd 1 4. Everything e lse i s of masonry . F urthermore unlike the north wall, which i s s traight a nd p resents a f airly cont inuous s urface, the s outh one i s broken up by a l ine o f p iers, which p rotrude i nto t he c rypt. As a whole this wall curves s lightly towards the n orth. These i rregulari ties were p robably d ictated by s tructural weaknesses, which the builders encountered a long the l ine o f this n ew wall. The stretch of wall between PP12 a nd 1 4 a nd the forma G31, which l ies near it, might pertain to one of these, a s we have a lready shown . P lOa unlike the other piers, which l ine t he cult c enter, does not s upport an arch s pringing from i t to t he other s ide of the s tructure. I n f act there is n o pier corresponding to it on t he n orth s i de . I t rises to t he considerable height of q .+3.20 where i t i s interrupted by t he modern vault . P erhaps i t was r elated to t he s ystem of support for the nearby 1ucernar i um , or it may have f unctioned a s a k ind of b uttress f or a p articularly weak s pot in the tufo s urface, which apparently runs behind it. 2 66

Masonry With the exception of the arches of the ceiling and t he p ier P 8, which a re c onstructed o f brick, t he predominant form of masonry i n this z one i s opus vittatum, which is used both f or the piers and f or the s tretches of wall between them . An important exception i s the small area between PP7 and 8 and PP9 and 1 0 where brick i s u sed a lmost exclusively for the walls. 267

2 66 T he south wall between PP8 and 1 0 shows the t races of t he s pringing of s till a nother a rch, which o nce s panned the crypt . There i s no t race of a corresponding arrival point on t he opposite wall b etween PP7 a nd 9 since the upper reaches of this portion of the wall have been totally r eplaced by t he modern masonry of D e Rossi who apparently d id not s ee f it t o r ebuild this a rch . ( See Figs. 3 and 4 ).

Even here the arch over G 27 and a bit o f the early masonry p reserved above i t i s i n vittatum . The tufo visible to the rear of a breach in the brick wall between G 24 and P9 shows the masonry to be about 25 cm. thick at this point. . 2 67

1 60

F loor

Level

The original f loor l evel o f z one S i s d ifficult t o d etermine because of t he l ack o f s ufficient r emains o f t he paving e lements. The one p iece s till i n p lace i s the f ragment o f marble n ear G 25, which we have a lready c ons idered . I t i s s ituated at q .-0.12, s lightly under the l evel e stablished f or z one R . Trial excavations a t various points i n z one S h ave r evealed that t he tufo b ank to t he s outh o f a l6 a long with any earlier s tructures contained i n i t was t rimmed d own to about q .-0.65 m . 268 No d oubt s ome s ort o f s urface c overing ( such a s marble s labs) b rought t his l evel even h igher . L ittle further help i s o ffered by the p lastering o f t he walls. U nfortunately t his i s l ess well p reserved t han in z ones Q a nd R , and there a re no t races o f t he p oint where t he p laster met t he p aving s labs. F urthermore much o f the p lastering o f the north wall's l ower l evel pertains to gallery a l 6 rather than to the new c ult c enter . P 13, however, i s a s afe g uide, s ince i t c onsists of a masonry pier c ons + . ructed to b lock o ff the course o f a l4. Enough o f i ts original masonry i s i n evidence to s how that it was made o f opus v ittatum s ave f or i ts f oundations, which were o f rubble masonry . A l arge s tretch o f t he p lastering i s a lso p reserved, a nd t his t erminates i n a h orizontal l ine near the point where the masonry change o ccurs, n amely a t q .-1.01. I t would s eem s afe to a ssume that t he rubble masonry f oundations were b elow ground l evel and that the p laster l ine is a r easona ble guide to f loor l evel at this point . Y et t he t ermin ation p oint o f t he p laster on P 14 j ust o pposite P 13 i s a t q .-0.85, which s hows that n either o f t hese f igures c an b e t aken as an e xact i ndication o f t he f loor l evel a t t his point i n z one S . We have s een that i n the c ase o f P 6 t he t ermination l ine o f t he p laster c annot a lways b e t aken as an absolute c riterion o f ground l evel, s ince t here the workmen c ertainly c arried t he p laster f urther d own than was necessary . In the l ight of this it seems safe to s ay that the l evel o f z one S in t he a rea i nspected ( between t he e ast end of the cult center and G 25) was somewhat higher than q .-0.65, which i s t he h ighest p oint p reserved i n t his s tretch . I t could h ave been a s h igh a s q .-0.45 i f p aving s labs were u sed .

2 68 T he area excavated a round GG29, 3 0, 3 5, and 3 6 h as been worn down in some spots as much as 1 0 cm., but a p ortion near t he eastern e dge o f G 26 i s p reserved a t q 0 .65. A s we h ave s een, this l evel s eems t o have b een a t l east partially i n u se before t he early c ult c enter .

1 61

At sometime during the h istory of the new c ult c enter a passageway was opened i n t he r ear wall o f a rcosolium G25. A new coat of plaster was applied a fter this operation . Nonetheless the upper s urface of the a rcosol ium's f acade was preserved to a h eight o f q .-0.45. Consequently the l evel o f t he p assageway u nder t he a rch was at l east this high . This f igure tallies well with those we have a lready c onsidered. Further to the west a series of points were c leared a long the base of the south wall between t he east face of P lOa and the front of G27. These r evealed what were probably the foundations of the wall in the form of a r ather f lat surface of rubble masonry . The levels o f these points were as f ollows: Adjacent to P lOa Near P 1 0 I n front of G27

q .-0.52 q .-0.84 q 0.89

S ince these are no probably the offsets of a wall cons tructed in a space that was conditioned by earlier s tructures, we need not be s urprised that the l evels a re not the same. What is important is that once again they a ll l ie beneath, but not f ar f rom, t he l evel o f q .-0.45 mentioned above . Furthermore a s tone sealed in p lace beneath the arch o f G 28 i s s ituated at q .-0.48. S ince this l ies o utside o f the useable f loor space of the crypt it i s not a sure c riterion of i ts f loor l evel, but i t s hould be n oted t hat the f igure corresponds approximately with those we have s tudied s o f ar. The only fragment of the paving slabs of zone S still in place is situated at t he extre mity of t he zone at the point where it meets z one R . I t i s situated at q .-0.12, more than 3 0 cm. h igher t han the l evel r egist ered near G25. Unfortunately between these two points there i s no other visible i ndication of t he l evel of t he c rypt. I t s eems to u s that the most reasonable i nterpretation of this evidence taken as a whole is that the l evel of zone S was not constant but rather was l ower at i ts eastern e nd than it was at the western one. F urthermore there is no reason to believe that there was any great d ivergence of l evel b etween t he western e xtremity o f the c rypt and G 28. The present f loor consists of e arth f ill. Though it s lopes d own g radually f rom t he western end of zone S to the eastern one, there i s nothing to suggest that this was a feature of the c ult center at the time it was in use. Where then did the change i n l evel o ccur? I n order to a nswer this q uestion we must first consider one of the most crucial areas of t he n ew c rypt .

1 62

Area

B etween P P7

and

8 and PP9

and

1 0

The area in zone S between the arches PP7-8 and PP91 0 is the most irregular of the entire zone s ince it is h ere that we f ind t he point of articulation b etween the o ld cult center-retrosanctos and gallery a l6, each with i ts different o rientation . The s tructure i n t his area must consequently mediate the change i n axis between the two. The northern s ide of t he a rea s eems to have suff ered l ittle and consists of what i s probably the l ast s egment o f the o ld north wall o f gallery a l6. The s outh wall, however, where the change o f orientation has prov oked a c urve i n t he surface i s more c omplex . This imbalance of the two sides is seen in the fact that the d istance b etween P 8 a nd P 10 i s 3 .65 m ., whereas that between P7 and P9 is only 2 .90 m . As we have a lready seen, GG27 and 2 8 are two arched recessions in the south wall, which may be a rcosolia dating f rom an e arlier period in the history of the monument, but this i s by no means c ertain . 2 b9 The s egment of wall in which G 27 i s s ituated was o riginally a tufo bank . A lthough much repaired with masonry two surf aces o f tufo a re s till visible . The s ame bank may be s een to the r ear of both GG27 and 28 . 27 ° T his whole area was a crucial one in the articul ation o f the n ew cult center . I t was here that the axis of gallery a l6 met the axis of t he o ld cult center and i ts retrosanctos, which though somewhat adjusted s till d id not t ie i n p erfectly with that o f t he g allery. I t was here also that the ceiling level of the cult center dropped s harply . F urthermore i t was p robably marked by a screen running from the north to the south wall of the c rypt, as we have s een. G iven t he f act that there i s a s harp f all o ff i n the l evel of the tufo bank j ust beyond the l ine of t he probable s creen ( at l east a long i ts northern portion) it seems to us that it was near this spot that t he l evel change occurred i n z one S . There were probably steps which led up from zone S into zone R . In the l ight of this emphatic caesura between zones R and S one s uspects that the true cult c enter l ay beyond this chancel and what preceded it ( zone S ) was something of a widened extension o f the i ter.

2 69

S ee

pp.

1 30-32.

2 7 ° It s hould be noted that the masonry between the arches of GG27 and 28 is covered with a l ayer of p laster later than that which covered the arch of G27 and perhaps conceals a patch o f . masonry l ikewise more r ecent.

1 63

This possibility perhaps offers the reason why the ceiling is lower in zone S than it is in zones Q and R . S ince it participates of the nature o f an entranceway its c eiling need not be so h igh . I ndeed the d ifference only s erves to heighten the e ffect on one passing through the c hancel i nto z one R f inding h imself i n a s tructure which i s not only wider and more elevated but which has a p roportionately h igher ceiling .2 71 Among t he artefacts d iscovered by De Rossi during h is excavations the following might have f ormed part o f t he f urnishings of t he n ew c ult c enter: 1 . a small p illar o f white marble 0 .67 m . i n height . I ts upper portion i s in t he s hape o f p ine comb . A c hannel cut in one of its sides suggests that it might have formed part of one of the screens s et up in t he new cult c enter . I t has been proposed that i t dates f rom the time o f Pope Vigilius. 272 2 . a small p illar of white marble 0 .94 m . i n height with a Latin c ross in r elief at i ts upper extremity. T his a lso seems to date from around the time of Vigilius and was probably a decorative e lement i n t he n ew c ult center .273 3 . a f ragment of a fresco ( no l on2er t he head o f Christ with a n imbus. 274

in p lace)

depicting

2 71 A nother practical consideration i s the fact o f t he s harp i nclination of t he tufo s trata in t he a rea o f the cult center. ( See Stations 7 , 8 , and 9 on Fig 9 .) I t will be r emembered that t he f all-off towards the depression at the tip of the tufo spur in which the c atacomb i s l ocated would have meant that a s o ne p roc eeded towards this the tufo overhead would become even thinner a nd t he danger of cave-in g reater, p articularly s ince the upper reaches of the cult c enter a re s ituated in the weak s trata h , i , d , k, and possibly even in 1 , m ,

and

n .

Corpus della s cultura a ltomedievale, vol 7 : La d iocesi d i Roma, 5 : Umberto B roccoli, I l s uburbio, ( Spoleto, 1 981), pp. 268, no. 2 89. 2 72

2 73

as

ibid .,

pp .

2 68-69,

n .

2 90.

B roccoli

describes

1 .

i t

a mensola.

2 74 P . Nestori, Repertorio topografico d elle p itture delle c atacombe r omane, ( Vatican C ity, 1 975), p . 4 0.

1 64

These are now on display in the crypt, the f irst two a long the north wall of zone S a nd the third near t he s outhern extremity o f the apse .

1 65

CHAPTER S IXTEEN

THE ENTRANCE TO THE NEW CULT CENTER

We have a lready had occasion to c onsider the early s tructures i ncorporated i nto this monumental entranceway to the new cult c enter. We must now consider the sequence of three e lements which it c ontains that p ertain to the f inal phase in the history o f the monument: zones T , U , a nd V .

Z one V , a s we have s een, i s t oday totally c overed by t he modern entrance a nd s tairway o f Fornari. Z ones U a nd T , however, a lthough much repaired s ince the time of their d iscovery a re r elatively well p reserved. A lthough they contain some surfaces cut directly i nto the natural tufo banks, they a re l argely masonry c onstructions. B rick i s used in certain cases, particularly for the arches a nd in t he c ase o f U f or t he c orner p iers, but the over-all work i s in opus v ittatum. There seems t o be l ittle doubt that both were c onstructed together, and, g iven the presence of the same type o f masonry i n zone S of t he c ult c enter, there i s a good chance that t his too was part of the s ame program.

1 .

Zone V

This zone i s today l argely covered by the modern s teps of Fornari, and our knowledge of its shape at the t ime o f d iscovery depends a lmost e ntirely on earlier a ccounts. A ll that i s visible today i s the tufo s urface ( 6.50 x 2 m .) at t he bottom of t he modern steps. I t l ies only one step above the present l evel of zone U . According to De R ossi t he main f eatures of t he space w ere i ts c onsiderable s ize and the presence o f numerous f ormae i n i ts f loor ( which was d iscovered without i ts paving). I ts l evel was s ituated three or four s teps above zone U but in h is v iew s till was still in use.

below ground

l evel

even at

t he t ime

i t

2 75

2 75 " La scala che immetteva n el s otterraneo v estibolo ( zone U ) e ra di soli t re o quattro g radini; sopra i quali, c ioe a l ivello poco s uperiore a quello della grande c ripta e c ertamente i nferiore a quello dell'antico s uolo a ll'aperto c ielo, comincia a d apparire un'ampia a rea occupata da a rche s epolcrali t erragne: 1 1 p avimento,

1 66

De Rossi's b rief account i s supplemented by import ant i nformation p rovided on t he map of Fornari. As c an b e s een from F igure 1 ( which f or zone V reproduces the F ornari map) i n a ddition to t he modern s tairs two groups o f f ormae are shown, one in the northwestern s ection o f t he area ( including two formae) a nd another to t he s outhe ast consisting o f seven more. None of these are visible a ny l onger, having been covered over by t he s tairs and w alls of Fornari's new entranceway. 2 76 Judging f rom h is map the a rea must have measured a t l east 8 .5 x 5 m . assuming it to have been roughly r ectang ular in s hape; i t could, however, have been c onsiderably l arger. I ts position with respect to the aboveground i s n ot perfectly c lear. De Rossi i ndicated that it w as c ertainly below ground, whereas Fornari's remark i ndic ated the the f ormae he s aw were part of t he aboveground c emetery. This d iscrepancy i s perhaps to be explained by t he fact that De Rossi's excavations s eem to have been l imited to the area near z one U while those o f Fornari were s ituated f urther to t he s outh. Certainly the l evel o f the present Via dei Canneti i s h igher than that of a ny e arlier r oad which r an this w ay. I t l ies about 4 m . above the l evel o f the tufo s urface at t he bottom of t he modern s teps. Even t oday

e he l e copriva, e tutto demolito e devastato. La l arg hezza dell ' area e t roppa p er un c ubicolo od u na c ripta • • • s embra appartenere ad a lcuna parte della basilica di s . I ppolito. La prosecuzione dello s terro c i r ivelerä a lmeno l a pianta dell'edificio; ed a llora ne s arä manif esta la destinazione." De Rossi, Continuazione, p . 1 76. I t s eems that De Rossi was not able to f inish c learing t he area by t he time of publication, a nd it i s doubtful whether he ever f inished doing s o, despite the f act that he s uspected at the t ime o f writing that t he s tructure might in some way be related to the basilica o f the martyr. 2 76 The area was f irst covered in 1 902 by the stairs o f Marucchi, who l eft no n ote o f what h ad been c overed over. The new ones o f Fornari were constructed in 1 932. I t is not certain i f F ornari a ctually s aw t he graves to the northwest, but t hose to the southeast were d iscovered by h im a nd described briefly in h is G iornale d i s cavo a s . . . . a lcune forme del c imitero a ll'aperto." F ornari, G iornale d i s cavo 4 :37. The graves to t he n orthwest of the area are copied onto his map directly f rom t he o lder P lan I I T IB 4 , which was drawn up very p robably shortly after De Rossi's excavation. An unadorned s arcophagus with a f lat c over p laced to t he west o f the modern s teps was presumably f ound somewhere near-

y .

1 67

the yard of the property immediately opposite the present entrance to t he c atacomb i s about 2 m . l ower than the l evel o f the road. S ince at this point there i s a gradual s lope of t he l and down t owards the valley, i t is possible that z one U was cut back into the s lope and was consequently b elow t he l evel o f t he s lope at i ts n orthwest end, whereas further to the s outheast it was act ually a boveground. Thus t he z one a s a whole c ould not have been totally underground. 277 Even i ts northwest end must have h ad l ittle tufo overhead a nd t hat of t oo poor a quality to p ermit a vault c ut into i t designed t o cover so wide a space. I t s eems more n atural to a ssume e ither that the area was surrounded by walls and roofed over ( although a portion o f it might have b urrowed s omewhat i nto the hillside) or that i t was s imply an area s ub d ivo f rom which o ne entered d irectly i nto z one U through the arch which i s still partially preserved. T he over-all s hape of t he a rea s eems to i mply that i t covered at l east part of the space now traversed by t he V ia d ei Canneti. This o pens t he question a s t o whether the road ( at l east a long i ts present course) was in existence at the t ime t he c atacomb was functioning. As we have seen, a lthough i t was considered doubtfully ancient by Ashby, t he manner i n which it l inks t he basil ica of S . Lorenzo with the general area near z one U ( which c ertainly constituted t he m ajor e ntrance t o the new cult center o f the martyr) suggests the possibility that it was a lready in existence d uring t he period the catacomb was s till in use. 278 P erhaps i t might have t erminated at some p oint n ear z one V a nd d id not c ontinue beyond it.

2 .

Z one

U

The entrance i nto z one U was originally through a l arge archway still visible at the f oot o f the modern s tairs in z one V . At some l ater p eriod when t he monument was s till in use the arch was f illed i n and a smaller doorway created in n ew masonry. This h as been much r estored in modern t imes.

2 77 I t should be noted, of course, that the p resent V iale delle P rovincie h as been c ut down below t he orig inal l evel of the terrain. D espite this fact, h owever, there i s a gradual s lope in t he over-all a rea, w hich i s even reflected in the bedding of the tufo strata. S ee Ventriglia, Geologia, p . 8 2.

2 78s ee

pp.

8 3-84.

1 68

The northern wall, which faces the visitor upon e ntering t he z one, c ontains another smaller archway l eading into z one T ( Fig. 3 7). This i s more o rnate and i s f lanked by e ngaged half c olumns a nd s urmounted by a s implified pediment. The whole central portion of this wall is constructed of bricks whereas t he s ide p ortions a re in opus vittatum. On the l eft s ide there i s a small masonry bench. O n various p arts of t he wall t he p last ering has been p reserved and even some traces o f painted d ecoration c an be s een a longside t he e astern e ngaged c olumn. Much of the other masonry visible in the zone i s part of t he modern r estoration of t he monument, i ncluding t he entire groin vault that covers the space and a consid erable portion o f t he f our p iers which s upport t he a rches on which i t rests. Three o f the p iers, however, i n t heir l ower r eaches c onsist o f tufo b anks that h ave b een cut to the d esired shape, whil a f ourth i s made of b rick, though l argely r epaired with l ater masonry. G iven t he considerable dimensions of the structure ( about 5 m . s quare) a nd t he p oor quality of t he tufo s trata at c eiling l evel i t seems reasonable to s uppose that this c eiling was a masonry s tructure. S ince t wo of t he p iers s erve to s upport the great arch i n the south wall, it s eems to us that Marucchi's reconstruction i s correct in i ts essential l ines. Four corner piers supported as many a rches, o ne on e ach s ide of t he z one. This over-all s tructure in turn served a s support for what was probably a g roin vault, a lthough nothing of t he o riginal work i s p reserved at this l evel ( at l east in i ts visible port ions). The two s ide walls ( to the east and west) though o nly partially p reserved s how that t he z one p assed t hrough several phases in the course of i ts history. I n t he f inal phase o f t he monument both of these walls were c losed surfaces. E arlier, however, there were two openi ngs s ituated i mmediately to t he l eft a nd r ight upon e ntering from z one V . On the eastern s ide the passageway w as through a doorway partially p reserved a nd i ncorpor ated into the p resent wall, which i s o f l ater date. I ts s ill is s ituated a s tep or two a bove t he p resent d ay l evel of earth f ill in the zone. 279 S ituated a lmost e xactly opposite it t he p assageway on t he western s ide c onsisted of a s pace between the SW p ier and the opus v ittatum masonry of t he western wall i tself. This d oorw ay seems to h ave had its s ill approximately on the

2 79 The wall i n which the doorway was s ituated has b een l argely r eplaced by t he l ater o ne i n opus vittatum. O nly the lower p art of the door f rame was preserved and i ncorporated i nto t he n ew wall. P erhaps t his r eplacement w as occasioned by a cave-in.

1 69

present day f loor l evel. however, were b locked in

Both of these passageways, l ater times. 28 °

The preserved portion of t he western wall s hows that during a s till earlier phase the z one was occupied ( part ially at l east) by a very d ifferent s tructure. At a point a lmost adjacent to the NW p ier o f the zone t he core of an earlier transverse wall h as been i ncorporated into the l ater wall. The earlier wall was sheared off presumably when t he z one was l aid out i n i ts present s hape. This earlier wall had been built u p against a tufo bank, a nd i ts s urface was covered with p laster. Both o f these f eatures are preserved in section. A further point of i nterest i s that i ts b ase i s s ituated c . 1 .20 m . h igher than that of the l evel o f the zone i n l ater times. I t i s impossible to determine h ow f ar t he wall p roceeded beyond the point where it i s cut off or t o define the n ature o f t he space onto which it f aced. 281 F urthermore i mmediately in f ront of t he east wall i t i s c lear that a s eries o f tombs ( perhaps formae) have been l argely demolished t o bring the z one to i ts present l evel. I n its l ater phases the area c learly served a s a kind of vestibule to t he e ntire c atacomb. A bench i s preserved on the NW s ide o f the entrance into z one V , and perhaps there were others that have not survived. Given the presence of a small water reservoir in the north wall of z one T j ust beyond t he archway, i t i s p ossibly that z one U a lso s erved as an area for f uneral banquets.

3 .

Z one T - the

I ter

T o the rear o f the archway through which one enters t he i ter, there a re visible two t ravertine f ixtures that apparently s erved as hinges for the doors which o riginally c losed t he i ter a nd t he c atacomb i tself. The threshold of the door i s a re-used grave cover c ontaining an inscription dated A . D . 5 28. 282 S ince the entire s tructure of t he archway r ests upon it, it provides a t erminus post quem f or the creation of this structure and

2 8 ° The eastern one was f illed predominately w ith s labs of marble l aid in courses a nd cemented together, and the one on the west by a wall made of irregular p ieces o f tufo. 2 81 The l evel here c ould be misleading. I f t he surf ace i n question corresponded to t he f loor of a g allery or cubicle, the difference in l evel would be of g reat s ignificance, but not so i f it was s imply t he b ottom o f a n iche s ituated at a certain height f rom f loor l evel.

2 82

S ee

p .

4 8.

1 70

i ndeed probably f or i s a ll o f a p iece.

the

entire masonry o f

the

i ter,

which

The i ter i tself c onsists o f a c orridor a lmost 1 0 meters l ong. I t i s c onstructed p rincipally o f opus v itt atum, a lthough b rick has a lso been u sed, particularly f or t he a rches over t ombs a nd entranceways i nto s ide a reas. O n t he west s ide o f T i t here i s an opening t hrough a l arge a rchway i nto T 2. 283 O n t he e ast t here a re openings i nto T 3, T 4, a nd T 5. I t i s i mpossible t o i nspect these areas s ince today they a re t otally c losed o ff. I n addition to t he masonry o f the walls, f ive t ransverse arches s pan T i i n a ddition to t he entrance a rch i tself. O ne o f these ( near T 5) i s totally modern, but t he others c ontain s ome e lements o f a ncient masonry. They l end support to t he tufo c eiling, which i s visible b etween them . T his l ies i n tufo s tratum J .284 G iven t he h igh p ercentage of masonry u sed i n t he w alls of z one T a nd the improvised way i n which i t l inks t ogether b its a nd p ieces o f e arlier s tructures, i t s eems t o be a typical i ter designed to l ead pilgrims o f a l ater d ay directly to t he g rave o f t he martyr. F urthermore, i n c onsideration o f the f act that t he masonry u sed f or the majority o f t he s tructures i s t he s ame a s that u sed i n t he construction o f z one S o f the l ate c ult c enter, it i s l ikely that b oth were part o f o ne a nd the same b uilding p rogram. T 2 was c learly an entranceway o f s ome importance g iven t he s ize o f t he o pening i nto i t w ith i ts masonry a rch overhead. W e have a lready s een i n our treatment o f t he general a rea during t he earlier p eriod o f i ts h istory t hat i t could conceivably c orrespond to one o f the g all eries o f a rea d , p erhaps even o ne which e ntered t he a rea f rom the hill s ide. Approximately equal i n width t o T l, w hich l ed d irectly to t he c rypt o f t he m artyr, i t must h ave seemed an important a lternative t o o ne entering f rom z one U ( Fig. 3 7). I t i s t oday f illed w ith t he debris o f a m assive cave-in and c annot b e i nspected. The builders o f t he i ter k ept i t open p erhaps to r egulate t he traffic o f v isitors to t he tomb o f the martyr or even c onceivably t o p rovide a ccess t o t he v eneration a rea o f o ne o f t he other m artyrs o f the c atacomb.

2 83 I t c annot be determined today whether or not the o pening near t he s outh o f T 2 w as a p assageway or whether i t was caused by a cave-in. T oday i t i s f illed with marble s labs d iscovered no d oubt i n t he early excavat ions.

2 84

t ially

Near the entrance i nto T 5 the ceiling has parf allen away r evealing a b ed o f s tratum k .

1 71

The present f loor o f the entire a rea has no marble p aving s ave f or t he i nscribed s tone u sed a s the t hresho ld. I ts l evel corresponds rather well with the tufo s urface r evealed d uring t he e xcavations i n T l. T his w as a t about q .-1.30, s uggesting t hat t he present l evel of e arth f ill which c onstitutes t he f loor o f t he z one corr esponds to t he original one. A t the end o f T l a l arger a rea ( T6) p rovides a point o f a rticulation b etween t he i ter a nd t he n ew c ult center i tself. I n the c eiling a l ucernarium once provided a p oint o f i llumination t owards which o ne c oming d own zone T c ould head. The f ragment o f a n arrow, s loping c eiling i ncorporated i nto t he l ater c eiling o f T l ( visible at t he t op o f F ig. 3 8) might been t he end o f a l ight s haft a ttached to this l ucernarium. This would have b rought l ight even further i nto T l. S ome portions o f the walls o f this area preserve t he o riginal opus v ittatum work, b ut most o f t he masonry p articularly i n the h igher r eaches i s modern opus v ittatum p resumably f rom t he t ime o f De Rossi. T his s eems to h ave been n ecessary i n o rder to p rovide adequate s upport f or t he n ew masonry l ucernarium which h e cons tructed i n the spot where he d iscovered traces o f the o riginal one. 285 A tufo bank visible i n the f loor of the southeast c orner o f T 6 e stablishes t he l evel h ere at q .-1.04. This i s c . 2 5 cm. higher t han that noted i n T l, thus s howing that t here w as a s light r ise i n t he f loor l evel o f the i ter between these two points. The arched r ecess i n the s outhwest part of T 6 alt hough t oday l argely r ebuilt i n m odern v ittatum h as suff icient traces o f tufo ( its rear w all and part o f its r ight s houlder) to s uggest t hat i t w as a s tructure origin ally cut into t he tufo bank i tself. P erhaps i t was a n iche f or a s arcophagus. A s urprising f eature o f the i ter i n the catacomb o f H ippolytus i s t he e laborate s ystem o f p assageways l eading o ff both s ides o f z ones T and U . I n most c atacombs the

2 85 A p assage l eft open i n De R ossi's eastern wall o f t he z one g ives a ccess t o T 7, a c ubicle which i s t oday s o f illed with debris t hat i t i s impossible t o tell where i ts o riginal e ntrance was. I t s eems to h ave been s itu ated at a h igher l evel than that o f the adjacent T6 and p robably w as e ntered f rom a g allery which today l ies b uried. There i s no i ndication t hat i t c ommunicated with T 6 d uring t he t ime t he c atacomb w as i n u se. A s mall a rea o f p laster which has b een preserved on the east w all o f T 6 h as t races o f p ainted d ecoration.

1 72

iter is designed t o guide pilgrims s afely to t he venerated tomb through t he maze of g alleries which o ften surround i t. With this end in view various galleries are walled o ff to p reclude t he d anger of ' visitors getting l ost. Here, instead, the visitor i s f aced with a great variety of passageways. Not only a re there opening po ff to t he right and l eft, but soon after entering z one T one is f aced with t he choice o f two l arge a rched e ntrances o f s imilar s ize. What was the function o f a ll of these galleries? The iter w as c ertainly built a fter t he y ear 5 28, s ince an i nscription dated to that year i s s ealed in p lace as the threshold of t he entranceway. We a re thus in a period when burial in the catacombs has begun to wane. Y et these galleries a re here to prove that l ater v isitors made some use o f them. Do we have here a testimony to the fact that t he c atacomb continued to s erve as a b urial area even a fter the creation o f the new cult c enter? O r at l east that t he practice o f burial in t he c atacomb was sufficiently recent that i t was deemed proper to maintain access to areas where tombs were s till b eing v isited? I n the case o f the l ateral openings in z one U it i s possible that they were i n some way d irectly l inked to t he aboveground cemetery and for this reason s erved a s additional entrances to t he c atacomb as a whole. I t i s a lso poss ible that one or other of these galleries l ed to the shrine o f other martyrs. The s eventh c entury a uthor o f the Notitia visited the tomb o f Concordia " ante fores," a t erm which c ould f it well with o ne of t he galleries l eading off of this entrance s equence into t he crypt. By t he time of the l ate 5 th c entury Passio Polyc hronii, the l ist of martyrs o f the catacomb had come to i nclude Cyrilla, Triphonia, and i ndeed H ippolytus' whole f amilia. Amore believes that both Cyrilla and Triphonia a re inventions o f t he author of t he Passio P olychron ii.286 The f amilia i s no doubt a lso a creation of l ater t imes. Might not this f airly well d eveloped a rea near t he entrance to the catacomb been instrumental i n the e laboration of t hese s tories o f additional martyrs? I nd eed the growing acceptance of them a s true martyrs might h ave p layed a role in c ausing t he builders of t he n ew c ult center to maintain access to these areas when they r estructured t he s anctuary.

2 86

p .

9 5;

Passio P olychronii, 3 1 Amore, Martin , p . 1 02.

1 73

i n Delehaye, S ee p . 4 7.

Recherches,

4 .

Relative C hronology

o f E lements and I ter

i n

t he

New C ult

Center

We have thus s een that in its f inal phase t he cult c enter of t he c atacomb of H ippolytus c onsisted o f a s equence o f s tructures organically united: zone V , vestibule ( zone U ), i ter ( zone T ), and f inally z ones S , R , a nd Q of the cult c enter i tself. A f inal question which we must ask i s whether this s equence was r ealized in o ne s ingle operation at t he t ime when i t was decided to abandon the o ld cult center under zone R of t he present s tructure, o r whether it i s poss ible to detect a f urther series o f phases. P ractically s peaking there a re two points a t which one might suspect a diversity of phase: ( 1) between zones R and S , a nd ( 2) b etween z one S a nd t he vestibule-iter s equence of z ones T and U . I n what measure i s the new c ult center a long with i ts monumental a ccess corridor t he r esult of a s ingle p lan? The predominance of opus v ittatum masonry in zones V , U , T , a nd S i s in s triking contrast to z ones Q and R where it i s not found. Furthermore there is an important change of c eiling a nd perhaps f loor l evel at the j unction o f zones S and R . Are there traces here o f a gradually evolving s tructure? I t s eems to u s i nstead that the whole p lan was the result o f one unified p lan. The system of t ransverse c eiling a rches runs a long t he entire s tructure f rom z ones Q to S and i s even continued on a minor s cale throughout t he i ter. F urthermore at a cruc ial point i n this system where the l evel change occurs t he transverse a rches a re doubled a nd t he second o ne r ests on the north in zone R but on the s outh in zone S on d ifferent s ides of t he s creen w hich p robably d ivided these zones! As regards the difference in masonry between t he z ones, t he r eason f or t he p redominance o f a heavier type o f masonry in zone Q ( marble s labs l aid i n courses and c emented together) m ight l ie in the n eed to f ill i n the many openings of earlier s tructures that were potentially dangerous f or t he n ew c ult c enter. Z one S was l ess challenging at l east a long its north wall, which l argely made u se of t he o ld gallery wall.

1 74

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY OF THE CULT CENTER

Our study of the l iterary a nd e pigraphical s ources has s hown that three points in t ime s tand out as s ignificant in the history of the monument: ( 1) the reign o f Damasus during which at l east two monumental i nscriptions were set up in the cemetery, one o f Damasus h imself and another of L eo p resbyter, ( 2) t he reign of Vigilius, during which the i nscription o f the presbyter Andreas testifies to t he work of r enovation carried out probably a fter an attack o n the monument during the Gothic wars, and f inally ( 3) t he reign o f Hadrian I , who according to the account of the L iber P ontificalis, devoted his attention to t he c atacomb of H ippolytus among h is many other works in the crypts o f the martyrs. The most s ignificant archeological evidence f or t he dating of the phases in the development of the monument consist of i nscriptions re-used in t he c onstruction of the later cult c enter. S ince, a s we have s een, this s tructure a long with t he i ter that l eads to it p robably constitutes a s ingle project carried out at the same t ime, these i nscriptions s erve to d istinguish b etween the o ld and new cult c enters. They consist of the following i tems from t he s eventh volume o f I CUR: n .

1 9957

dated A .D. 3 73 used as paving stone near t he s outh s houlder of t he apse

n .

1 9938

Philocalian inscription from the time o f Damasus u sed in t he c onstruction o f one o f the walls of the crypt

n .

2 0178

Philocalian inscription used i n the c onstruction of t he north s tep l eading to t he presbytery

n .

1 9961

d ated A .D. 4 07 u sed in t he c onstr uction of a niche in the south wall o f z one R

n .

1 9983

dated A .D. 4 10 used in the conc onstruction of a portion of t he wall o f the crypt

n .

1 9994

r ight

dated A .D. 5 28 u sed in t he cons truction of a s ill f or the entranceway into t he i ter

1 75

Two important c onclusions f low f rom a consideration o f t hese i nscriptions. F irst o f a ll, t he re-use of t hree i nscriptions f rom the t ime o f D amasus a s building mater ial f or t he n ew c ult c enter makes i t c lear that t he w ork o f the pope took p lace r ather i n t he ambitus o f t he o ld one. S econdly, t he d ate which e stablishes a t erminus a quo f or the d emolition o f the o ld s tructure a nd the c reation o f t he n ew i s n . 1 9994 u sed in t he entranceway t o the i ter. S ince the c reation o f the new cult center a nd t he i ter s eem to h ave b een part o f o ne a nd t he s ame operation, this s tone s ets t he year 5 28 a s a probable t erminus a q uo f or this a ctivity. Unfortunately n o concrete data i s available to e st ablish a s ecure a ttribution o f t he n ew s tructure to t he r eign o f any s pecific pope. B oth Vigilius and H adrian c ould have b een r esponsible f or t he work, s ince t heir r eigns were s ituated a fter the year 5 28. However, it c annot be excluded that t he work \ A r c7 s c arried o ut during t he r eign o f a pope, whose a ctivity was not recorded i n a ny o f t he s ource material that h as come d own t o u s. Y et i t s eems to u s that V igilius was p robably the p ope resp onsible f or t he n ew c ult c enter. T he i mportant n eed o f r ebuilding a fter the destruction o f the G othic wars o ff ers an e xplanation f or t he s cale at which t he w ork was c arried out. The work o f H adrian coming s o l ate i n the h istory o f t he c atacombs i s more l ikely t o have b een s omething o f a l ast hour r epair. T he c ase o f t he e arly c ult c enter i s more d ifficult. I f we consider that i t i s l ikely that t he martyr was buried s ometime during t he t hird c entury i t i s r eas onable to s uppose that the f inal s tage i n the s low evolution o f t he a rea a round h is t omb must not h ave t aken p lace until considerably l ater i n the history o f the monument. O nce a gain w ithout b eing able to define s ec urely t he exact period when t his f inal work i n t he o ld c ult c enter w as c arried o ut, i t s eems probable t hat i t t ook p lace in the r eign o f D amasus. I n addition to two s eparate monumental i nscriptions t estifying to w ork i n t he catacomb c arried out during h is r eign, the v arious e pigraphical materials d iscovered i n t he masonry of t he n ew s tructure a ssure u s that t he r econstruction p rogram i nitiated by t he pope w as an i mportant o ne. We f eel t hat i t i s probably t o b e i dentified w ith the f inal s tage o f t he o ld c ult c enter ( save p erhaps f or minor adjustments).

1 76

CHAPTER E IGHTEEN

THE

IMPORTANCE AND IN THE CONTEXT

P OSITION OF THE NEW CULT CENTER OF THE ROMAN MARTYR CRYPTS

The great n umbers of v isitors to the tombs o f t he martyrs in the early centuries of the church c reated a basic need f or p hysical s pace near t he venerated a reas. P articularly i ntense after the peace of the church, this need to enlarge what in many c ases were extremely s mall s paces was more easily met i n those instances where the martyr was buried in an aboveground cemetery. However, in cases where the s acred tomb was l ocated i n a hypogeum, t he problem was much more complex. Two important factors in enlarging s uch a space by further excavation were t he c onsistency of t he t ufo in which t he c emetery was s ituated and the nature . and s ize of areas a lready carved o ut in t he immediate vicinity of t he tomb. O ften the enlargement was very modest, and the emphasis was on the decoration of t he a rea, a rchitectural or otherwise. S ometimes additional space was gained by the annexation of an adjacent area a lready c arved o ut, s uch a s i n the case o f the crypt of the popes in Callixtus. I n t his l atter i nstance t he enlargement was carried out i n s uch a way that the resultant area maintained a f air amount of s ymmetry. In many more cases, however, the enlarged version of t he primitive c rypt p roduced a s tructure h ighly i rregular i n f loor p lan. I n these cases the relationship between t he tomb, t he a ltar, a nd t he s pace ' for t he c lergy was variable, seldom reflecting the ordered arrangement which in t he f ourth c entury was becoming more a nd more t ypical i n aboveground basilicas. Most of these underground cult c enters of t he martyrs r emained r ather modest in s ize, even at the end o f an evolution which in each case was more or l ess complex, t he a rea o ccupied s eldom exceeding 5 0 s quare meters. I n the case o f certain more important cult c enters, however, t he evolution was c arried f urther, in s ome c ases up t o the point where the entire tufo ceiling above the venerated area w as r emoved with t he r esult that t he a rchitect had a f reer hand i n creating a space which was n ot only much l arger but a lso potentially more r egular ized in shape than would have been otherwise possible. Masonry walls l ined t he s ides of t he s pace c leared o ut, a nd these rose above ground l evel permitting the cons truction of a t rue r oof. T he c onsiderable s ize a nd r elative regularity of the new buildings permitted a

1 77

somewhat harmonious arrangement o f various l iturgical e lements in a way that t ended to r eflect t he p attern o f aboveground basilicas, namely, an apse o f sufficient s ize to r eceive t he throne of t he b ishop, an a rea s et a side f or the c lergy near the a ltar, and a distinct s pace for t he l aity. The a ltar t ended to o ccupy a c entral l ocation a long the main axis of the building and was sometimes l inked to the martyr's tomb i tself. Thus we h ave in s ome cases a relatively small and often i rregular s pace and i n others a l arger, r egularized s tructure modeled more o r l ess on the aboveground basilica. In b etween these extremes there e xist a l imited number o f cases in which, though t he f inal evolution o f t he c ult c enter d id n ot l ead to t he c reation o f a roof above ground l evel, nonetheless the resultant s tructure reached c onsiderable s ize y et r emained t otally u nderground. I n the case o f H ippolytus and Commodilla the crypt in i ts f inal phase w as t he r esult of a gradual e volution, and the same i s probable i n the c ase o f Thecla, a lthough in t he present s tate of t he monument t he i ntermediate s tages between the original small Christian burial area a nd t he c rypt as we s ee i t today a re d ifficult to disc ern. 287

2 87 For the crypt of Thecla s ee Fasola, La b asilica s otterranea. I n t he c ase o f F elix a nd Adauctus i t h as been suggested that the structure probably extended aboveground a nd thus h ad a r oof. B agatti, Cimitero d i Commodilla, p . 1 12. The principal reason for t his affirmation, however, s eems to be t he n ote of the L P conc erning Leo I II ( 795-816): " . . . renovavit s arta tecta B eati F elicis et Adaucti martyrum, i uxta S anctum Paulum apostolum." LP 2 :2,11. No real archeological evidence f or t he aboveground s tructure h as been adduced, however. The stray masses of opus v ittatum noted by Kanzler in h is excavation a re c ertainly not s ufficient, as they might well be interpreted as pertaining to the masonry repairs o f t he walls of t he c rypt i tself o f which there a re s till c onsiderable traces. S ee R . K anzler, " Relazione degli s cavi della commissione d 'archeologia s acra 1 903-04" i n Nuovo B ulletino d i a rcheologia c ristiana 1 0 ( 1904):2384 8. Another s erious objection to this o pinion i s the f act that the walls of the crypt consist largely of natural tufo b eds, whereas masonry was u sed only sporadic ally for purposes o f reinforcement. Marucchi s peaks o f " . . . . parete r inforzate quä e l ä da muri d i c attiva c ostruzione . . . . " 0 . Marucchi, " Il c imitero di Commod illa e l a basilica c imiteriale d ei SS. Felice ed Adautto

i vi

recentemente

s coperta"

in Nuovo Bolletino d i

1 78

archeo-

In many ways the f inal s hape o f the s tructure i n C ommodilla r eflects what o ne w ould e xpect f rom a l ong p eriod o f evolution i n an area where t he l imitations i mposed by p re-existing s tructures d id n ot p ermit t he c reation o f a t otally harmonious over-all s tructure. The martyrs s eem t o h ave b een buried a t t wo d ifferent points a long an arm o f an abandoned a renarium. T he gradual e nlargement o f t he a rea p robably b egan by a w idening o f t he original g allery towards i t s outhern end. O nly l ater w as the a rea w idened on i ts n orthern e nd by t he d estruct ion of the original s tairs o f access t o t he Christian h ypogeum. T hese were r eplaced by a more m onumental s tairway to t he s outhwest of the c rypt. At the s ame t ime p rovision was made f or t he c lergy i n an apse c reated a long the east w all o f the s tructure. S till a nother apse w as created n earby i n t he n orth wall. The resultant s tructure i s rather i rregular i n p lan d espite i ts t endentially r ectangular s hape. N either t he t ombs of the martyrs nor the p lace s eemingly designated f or the c lergy w ere g iven t he prominence o f a s pace a long t he central axis o f the s tructure. The grave of F elix, s et back i n i ts r ecess, w as n ot r eadily v isible to t he c ongregation. T hat o f Adauctus was l ittle better, s ituated a s i t w as n ear t he entrance, f ar away f rom the a pse where the c lergy s at. The s ituation at Thecla was c onsiderably d ifferent. A s mall Christian h ypogeum c reated t owards t he e nd o f t he t hird century n ear an earlier underground s pace ( probably l inked to c ommercial v entures) w as t he s ite of t he b urial o f the martyr. According to F asola's analysis t he p lan o f t he s mall c emetery p robably c onsisted o f a s mall g roup o f galleries a nd cubicles at the bottom o f a s tairway c reated i n c onnection with t hem. T he c reation o f the c ult center a s we s ee i t today s eems to h ave t aken p lace t owards t he b eginning o f t he p eriod o f t he p eace o f the c hurch. This was brought about by the destruction o f the p artition walls b etween g alleries a nd c ubicles, c entering t he entire s tructure on the rear wall o f t he cubicle w hich contained t he v enerated t omb. I n t he l unette o f t his arcosolium a s mall apse-like n iche was carved. M asonry completed t he c ourse of t he n ew p erimeter walls

l ogia c ristiana 1 0 ( 1904):55. This absence of a cont inuous masonry c urtain makes it e xtremely u nlikely that t here would have been s ufficient s upport f or an aboveg round p rolongation o f t he s tructure. Another i mportant f act which militates against this hypothesis i s the cons iderable i rregularity o f t he g eneral p lan a nd o f t he l iturgical z ones, a s ituation which could have b een e asily r egularized h ad t he b uilders r esorted to t he ext reme solution o f c learing away the original t ufo c eiling.

1 79

where necessary, and the new vault c ut directly i n the f ine tufo of t he area was g iven added support at t hree points by masonry structures consisting of three p iers l inked by arches. At each s pot two of t he piers w ere p laced against the perimeter walls while a third occupied a position r oughly a long t he c entral a xis of t he c rypt. This curious arrangement had the obvious disadvantage o f masking t he tomb f rom worshippers at c ertain points in the crypt. Yet a considerable regularity of p lan was achieved, a nd t he martyr's tomb was g iven a symmetrical position in the newly created structure. S ubsequent to this a l arge r etrosanctos area was d eveloped f rom two points a longside the b lock of tufo i n which the martyr's g rave w as s ituated. In t he c ourse o f time this w as extensively developed by the creation of tombe a pozzo. I t i s c lear that of these two t he crypt of T hecla b ears more s triking s imilarities t o t hat o f Hippolytus than does t he c rypt o f F elix a nd A üauctus. Most i mportant, in both cases the general l ayout i s more s ymmetrical, a nd the tomb of t he martyr i s p laced a long a central axis. The manner of supporting the barrel vault cut i n t he natural tufo beds i s a lso s trikingly s imilar, a lthough i n the case of Thecla the s upport system i s devel oped with t he a id o f three p iers a nd two arches i nstead o f the s impler f ormula used at Hippolytus. Also s imilar i s t he p attern o f development of t he r etrosanctos area t o t he rear of the tomb o f the martyr. I n both cases we have galleries which stem o ff e ither s ide of t he s acred tomb. I n the case of Hippolytus the further development was much c onditioned by t he pre-existence of t he g aller ies of area d . Yet at the immediate point of departure of the two galleries we have t he s ame tendency t o i solate the b lock in which the martyr's tomb i s s ituated ( in H ippolytus, the tufo b lock Z ) by means of t he c reation o f a small gallery immediately behind i t ( in H ippolytus area b ; i n Thecla gallery 3 ). F inally i n b oth of these retros anctos systems we find the presence of a lucernarium s hortly a fter t he point where t he i nitial galleries l eave the crypt ( in H ippolytus at the crosspoint of galleries a 2, a 4, and a 5; in Thecla at t he c rosspoint of A a nd 1 and e lsewhere). Notwithstanding these important s imilarities the c rypt o f H ippolytus d iffers i n two i mportant points. F irst of a ll, the cumbersome l ine o f piers, which impede visibility a re n ot present h ere, a nd we have an unhindered view of the sanctuary area. S econdly, of even greater importance, a true apse h as been c reated to the r ear of the new s tructure. Not only does this p rovide f or the s eating of t he c lergy, but i t s erves as a f ocus point for the entire s tructure. F urthermore, the sanct uary a rea as a whole h as been c learly marked o ff by t he e levation of the spade to the rear o f the a ltar, which i s on

t he

c entral

axis of

t he

c rypt.

1 80

What i s important about t hese f eatures i s that we have h ere an a ttempt t o p rovide t he c ult c enter with t he s ame series of l iturgical e lements f ound i n a typical a boveground basilica d esigned f or t he'eucharistic l iturgy. Armellini was quick to s ee that this arrangement w as unique i n the martyr c rypts o f Rome. 288 Thus i t s eems to u s that t he c ult c enter o f t he martyr H ippolytus o ccupied a unique p lace among the totally underground c rypts of t he c ity. Among t hose t hat have s urvived u ntil t oday, not only i s i t the l argest one ever a ttempted, but i t i s the only o ne to p rovide f or t he c lergy a c ontext s trikingly s imilar to what was becoming normal i n the a ppointments o f a typical a boveground b asilica, i n which a s trong s ense o f symmetry i s i ntroduced by the p lacement o f t he apse a nd t he t omb-altar a long a c entral axis f lanked by steps o f s imilar design o n e ither s ide. I ndeed o ne c annot h elp b ut n otice t hat despite t he i mprovised quality o f the over-all : tructure we have here a t ruly i nteresting s patial a rrangement. T he p ilgrim l ed i n through the a rched entrance to t he narrow i ter would s ee ahead a pool o f l ight at t he p oint where he would b e f orced to t urn l eft. The vision that l ay ahead o f h im w as o ne that would o nly g radually unfold. At f irst, the p resbytery area c ould only b e partially s een due t o t he c urve of t he c ult c enter a nd t he c hancel s et up f urther o n. As he walked i nto t he ever-widening c ontinuation of t he i ter t he s anctuary a nd t he tomb o f t he martyr would c ome more and more i nto f ocus until he actually passed t hrough t he s creen i nto t he c ult c enter p roper. T his s equence i s marked by a twofold rhythm which l inks each o f t he s tructures to t he n ext. F irst o f a ll there i s t he p attern o f aggrandizement according t o which e ach z one i s l arger than t he p receding one, n ot o nly i n w idth b ut a lso i n proportional c eiling height. S econdly there i s a g radual r ise i n f loor l evel f rom t he i ter up through z one S t o the new l evel o f z one R and f inally up the s teps i nto t he p resbytery ( zone Q ), which e nshrines t he tomb o f t he martyr.

2 88

Armellini,

Antichi

C imiteri,

1 81

p .

3 18.

CONCLUSIONS

The monument which we h ave been s tudying i s t o be i dentified with the catacomb of H ippolytus that i s des cribed by various l iterary s ources as being on a r ise o f l and on the north s ide o f the Via T iburtina. This i s c lear not only f rom i ts geographical p osition but a lso f rom the i nscriptions and graffiti r eferring to t he saint which were d iscovered in t he c atacomb. The structure o f the catacomb a s a whole i s t oday much obscured by t he v icissitudes o f t ime ( Fig. 1 ). The o ldest of the surviving areas i s a rea d , which s urrounds the z one of t he martyr. This l atter h as b een s o m odified that its over a ll shape i s today n ot d iscernible. Area a , though c reated l ater than d , i s o ne of t he o lder ones and i s s ituated at approximately t he s ame l evel. Among t he l ater areas a re e a nd f , which a re two small s ystems s ituated at higher l evels of the c atacomb. Area h i s a portion of a small n etwork d esigned f or water s torage. The walls of its two galleries that are s till accessible a re covered with c alcium d eposits a nd contain no l oculi. P lan I I T IB 1 shows other galleries nearby, which seem t o be part of t he s ame n etwork but a re no l onger a ccessible. At l east two other l evels l ower than areas a and d were s een by De Rossi but a re today accessible with o nly great difficulty. The principal importance of t he present work has been t he d iscovery in t he c atacomb o f the remains of an earlier crypt of modest dimensions b elow the l evel of the l arge one which i s v isible today ( Figs. 1 4, 1 5, a nd 1 6). S ince various epigraphical f ragments f rom the t ime of pope Damasus a re r eused as building materials i n t he l ater structure, it s eems reasonable to s uppose t hat i t was t he earlier one that was in u se during the r eign o f the great pope. This g ives us a f ixed point to w hich we c an r elate not only t he monumental i nscriptions o f Damasus and of Leo presbyter but a lso very probably the l ively d escription which P rudentius h as l eft us o f his v isit to the shrine at the beginning o f the fifth c entury. The small crypt ( corresponding to z one R on F igure 2 ) occupied l ess than a third o f t he s pace of t he one that was to r eplace it ( zones Q , R , S ). At either ext remity of i ts western wall t wo d oors l ed o ff i nto small r etrosanctos areas ( areas b and c t o the l eft a nd area a to t he r ight), a nd by t he time of i ts abandonment it h ad b een l inked with gallery a l6. The tomb o f the martyr was probably a l oculus or t omba a mensa in t he west w all. I ts position might well be the spot where the builders o f t he l ater crypt p laced t heir a ltar, t he tufo s urface

1 82

s till visible corresponding to the bottom surface o f the t omb. The c urious o ff c enter position of t he grave over t o the l eft o f the west wall s uggests that the f inal phase of t his early crypt i s i tself the r esult o f a g radual evolution. Two considerations help to r econstruct the original s hape of t he a rea where the martyr was buried. F irst o f a ll, the relative stability of the west wall i n which the t omb was s ituated a nd that of t he s outh wall n earby s uggest that they correspond roughly with the original s outh and west walls of t he burial area. S econdly, t he t ypology o f the f ormae i n its f loor suggest a relative c hronology a ccording to which t he o ldest were probably G G11 and 1 6. GG6,20, and 2 3 would have been added next. T heir position p oints to a w idening of t he c rypt t owards t he north. At this time or subsequently this added space s erved to c reate l inks with gallery a l6 to t he east and a 2 to the west. The opening into the western portion o f area a t hrough t he newly c reated a l not only gave e asy access to what was no doubt by now a kind o f retrosanctos area but o ffered s ome help in regulating t he traffic of p ilgrims i n the s anctuary. This end was a lso f urthered by the r emoval o f t he wall b etween a l a nd a rea b , an operation t hat totally i solated the tufo bank in which the martyr's t omb was s ituated s o that henceforth t he p ilgrims c ould w alk a ll the way around it. The l ink with a l6 permitted this gallery to f unction a s a new a ccess p ath to t he crypt. Unfortunately t he d rastic changes brought about in z one S by the creation o f t he n ew c ult c enter make it impossible f or u s to u nderstand how this gallery was in turn l inked with the a boveground cemetery. Y et i n two p laces of this z one t here are c lear traces o f modifications carried out b efore t he c reation of t he n ew c ult c enter but s ubsequent t o the early phases of the cemetery's evolution. The most important o f these was t he destruction of t he t ufo b ank between the end of a l6 and the o ld crypt. The r esultant s pace w as u sed precisely as t he l inking z one b etween the two s tructures. Finally G 18, 1 8', 1 9, 2 1, and 2 2 were added at a s till l ater period, when n ew s pace s eems to have b een m ade available by the destruction of a tufo bank at a l ate date in t he history of the monument. This probably t ook place on the occasion of the creation o f the f inal v ersion o f t he e arly c rypt. ater formae we Removing the space occupied by the l rea which contained GG11 a nd 1 6 f ind that t he original a U nfortunately i t i s impossible today to w as L-shaped. he l arger c ontext i n which d etermine t he exact nature of t tructure was s ituated. Neither the f loor t his L-shaped s he a rea near t he tomb l evel nor the orientation of t

1 83

correspond with those of the o ldest i dentifiable a rea of t he cemetery, a rea d . Nor i s it p ossible even t o i dent ify the original access corridor t o t he t omb, a lthough t he presence o f tufo b anks on t he west a nd s outh s ides o f the crypt and of small, i rregular galleries on t he north s ide, s uggest that t he d irection f rom which the s pace was entered was the east. P erhaps the original area i n which t he martyr w as buried was a small one, a nd t he s tairway which gave access to i t was not f ar away. I t is i mpossible to determine w ith a ccuracy w hich phase in the evolution o f the early crypt i s to b e attributed to Damasus. Y et t he two monumental i nscriptions o f Damasus himself and of Leo presbyter a long with f ragments o f o thers datable to this period s uggest t hat h is r enovation program for the c emetery complex was an important one. In t he l ight o f this i t s eems l ikely that h is work was in the ambitus o f the f inal, enlarged phase o f the early c rypt. Y et i t c annot be d efinitively ruled out that this was the work o f s omeone e lse whose activity was never recorded in t he pages of t he L iber P ontificalis. I f this reasoning i s correct, the monument which P rudentius s aw was t he e nlarged version o f this e arly crypt, and h is account s erves to f ill out the picture presented by t he a rcheological r emains. I n addition to his description of the r ich decoration o f the crypt and of t he martyr's shrine i tself, o f g reat importance is h is a ffirmation of the presence of an a ltar into which the tomb was i ncorporated ( or which was at l east adjacent t o i t). This makes i t c lear that the crypt was used on c ertain occasions f or t he Eucharist. A ll o f this decoration has disappeared along with t he a ltar i tself, which was r eplaced by that of t he later c rypt. S ome f urther help i s offered perhaps by t he approximately contemporary s hrines o f J anuarius i n the c emetery o f Praetextatus and that o f P eter and M arcell inus in their c emetery on t he V ia L abicana, where the great Damasan inscriptions were perhaps i ncorporated into the s hrine. This c onsisted in p art o f an arched m asonry s tructure built against the wall i n which the original tombs were s ituated. The presence o f a mensa i n o r near the shrine i n these cases suggests a possible typology f or t he a ltar of t he early c rypt o f H ippolytus. F rom P rudentius's description o f his visit i t i s c lear that he entered t he c atacomb by means of a s tairway and that the underground passage which he f ollowed was i lluminated here a nd there by l ucernaria. This s uggests that he walked some distance underground b efore a rriving at t he t omb. Thus i f t he original s tairway to t he z one of the martyr was near the tomb i tself, i t was n o l onger t he only p oint of a ccess i f indeed i t was s till i n existence at a ll. As we have s een, revisions in zone S had a lready begun during t he p eriod of t he e arly c ult c enter, and it i s possible that the gallery Prudentius f ollowed

1 84

was precisely a l6, which by this t ime would have been l inked to t he c rypt as t he n ew access g allery . No traces r emain of the aboveground basilica des cribed by P rudentius. A lthough h is account i s the only one which we have, there is no solid reason to doubt its a ccuracy concerning e ither t he existence of t he building o r i ts c lose r elationship to the cemetery o f H ippolytus. ( The use o f the word basilica in t he a ccounts o f D e l ocis and Mal mesbury do not refer to an exclusively aboveground b uilding .) De Rossi s uspected that a rea V ( Fig. 1 ), which was beginning to appear at the end of his last e xcavation, might i ndeed have been part o f t he b asilica, b ut unfortunately he discontinued his research on the c atacomb a fter t his t ime a nd never r eturned to i t . The e xpression moenia c rescunt i n the inscription o f L eo c ould conceivably be an i ndication that the work of t he p resbyter took p lace in the ambitus of the aboveground b asilica, but this i s by no means c 9 _rtain. I t i s i ntere sting to note, however, that the i nscription was disc overed by De Rossi p recisely in z one V . The small underground s tructure which P rudentius v isited was r eplaced by a much l arger one which was d ivided into t hree parts and was preceded by a monumental e ntrance s equence beginning with a vestibule which g ave a ccess t o a wide masonry-lined corridor ( Figs. 1 a nd 1 6). T his was constructed after the time of Damasus, but it is d ifficult to d etermine precisely when. S ome help i s o ffered by an i nscription dated A . D . 5 28 r e-used a s the s ill of the entranceway into the i ter. While this i s a v alid terminus a quo only f or t he doorway it s urmounts, n evertheless s ince the new structure s eems to be the r esult o f a s ingle p lan c arried out in l arge measure i n o pus vittatum masonry, it s eems l ikely that the stone a lso provides a f airly s ecure d ating f actor f or the e ntire s tructure . The two popes mentioned in the Liber P ontificalis a s a ctive in the c atacomb a fter this date a re V igilius and H adrian . I t c annot be excluded, o f course, that the work was carried out by s ome other pope whose a ctivity i s n ot r ecorded . Judging, however, f rom the monumental ins cription which c ommemorates h is work, t he p rogram o f V igilius must have been a considerable one, necessitated, a s t he i nscription i ndicates, by t he destruction c aused b y a barbarian a ttack . Therefore i t s eems l ikely that h e i s responsible f or t he general l ay-out of t he new s anctuary. The p lan i nvolved the extension o f the original c rypt to the east and to the west. The west wall of the o ld crypt was trimmed down, and a masonry a ltar was p laced over t he o riginal wall t omb o f the martyr. This beca me the focal point of a new area reserved for the c lergy c reated i n t he f ormer r etrosanctos z one of a reas b , c , and gallery a l. I t was given focus by an apse and

1 85

was probably separated from the rest of the crypt by a chancel s creen . The original c rypt c ontinued to s erve a s a space for the faithful where they could venerate the s acred t omb and a ssist at s ervices . The e xtension i nto zone S was created by destroying the south wall o f al6 a nd widening t he gallery towards t he s outh at t he n ew l evel determined for this eastern part o f the new s tructure . This operation no doubt destrcyed o ther s tructures s ituated in this great tufo bank . O ne surviving e xample is the area near G31. The over-all shape of the new crypt was dictated by the desire to recenter the grave of t he martyr, which in the course of the evolution of the monument over t he c enturies had c ome to o ccupy a p lace over t owards the l eft o f the west wall. This was achieved by reorienting b oth z ones Q a nd R about 1 0 degrees to t he N . T his move had the advantage of siting the new apse in an a lmost i ntact tufc b ed where it c ould be s afely c reated . I t a lso meant that the new axis for zones Q and R would better c orrespond to that o f gallery a l6 whose axis was d eterminative i n the l ayout o f zone S . E ven with this a dj ustment, however, t he c rypt a s a whole s till c urves s omewhat a long its east-west axis . The three parts of t he n ew s tructure were s ituated at different l evels according to a n ascending r hythm f rom east to west, a nd e ach was probably s eparated f rom the preceding one by some sort o f s creen. Not only was the f loor l evel of the new eastern sectcr lower than that o f the others, but the space itself was narrower and its c eiling was proportionately l ower. I t s eems to h ave h ad something of the character of the iter, to which it c onnects. Wherever i t was originally s ituated in the c emeter ial c omplex, the o ld D amasan i nscription continued to b e i n evidence in the restored monument s ince it was copied by t he a uthors of t he S ylloges. P erhaps i t was e ven relocated. What i s most s triking about t he new s tructure i s i ts s ize. I t s eems to have been t he l argest of a ll t hose martyr crypts o f Rome that were s ituated exclusively underground . Might the r eason f or this monumental s cale have been the destruction of the aboveground basilica during the Gothic wars and the decision not to r econs truct i t afterwards? The enlarged underground c ult c enter may well h ave been a s ubstitute f or it. The entrance s equence which p recedes the n ew cult c enter c onsists of three e lements: z one V , a l arge area s ituated at l east p artially above ground l evel, z one U , which c onstitutes s omething o f an entrance vestibule f or the entire c atacomb, and z one T , t he i ter which l eads t o t he n ew c rypt ( Fig. 1 ). The f irst o f these l ies b uried underreath the modern entrance s tairs, and l ittle can b e

1 86

s aid about i ts f unction . D e Rossi a ffirmed having s een n umerous f ormae i n i ts f loor a nd even s uspected t hat i t might be part o f the aboveground basilica o f the s aint . T he i ter awaits c omplete e xcavation b efore i ts s hape in e arlier t imes c an be d etermined . Those portions which were excavated, h owever, s how t hat t here i s l ittle c ontin uity between i ts s uccessive parts, a f act born out a lso by c ertain earlier s tructures embedded i nto t he l ater w alls. What i s s triking about the entrance vestibule a s i t s tands t oday i s i ts c omplexity . While i t was obviously c entered on the e ntrance to t he c orridor which l eads to t he martyr's t omb, i t a lso s erved a s a k ind o f p oint o f c ontact with o ther s urrounding s tructures that a re no l onger a ccessible . O ne e ntering i t f rom a rea V was o riginally f aced with the possibility o f turning l eft or r ight i nto o ther a reas i nstead o f p roceeding t o t he e ntrance o f the c atacomb . F urtherrore a fter entering the i ter one was f aced once again with the choice of passing under either the archway which l ed to the crypt of the martyr or the equally l arge one which l ed off to the l eft . I n addition even i f one chose t o e nter the corr idor l eading to the tomb of the martyr, two or possibly e ven three galleries l ed o ff t o t he r ight i nto a reas no l onger a ccessible t oday . After the G othic wars n ew burials i n the c atacombs b ecame more a nd more r are . I n t he l ight o f t his, t he c omplexity o f t his area a fter the r estructuring o f t he c atacomb c omes a s a s urprise, s ince t he typical i ter u sually s ealed o ff a ll galleries which might l ead the v isitor a stray o n h is way to t he martyr's t omb . I f i ndeed the c reation o f the l ate cult c enter and i ts i ter i s the work of V igilius, it is f easible to a ssume that at t his period no f irm d ecision h ad been taken t o abandon t he age-old p ractice o f b urying o utside t he c ity walls e ven though the precarious condition o f the Roman c ountryside would be more a nd more emphasized by t he e xperience o f the G othic wars. Even a ssuming, however, t hat t he p ractice o f b urying t he d ead i n t he c ity i tself h ad a lready begun, there c ertainly would be need o f maintaining a ccess to t hose t ombs i n t he c atacombs t hat were still visited by the l iving . I t i s not impossible that the p resent s ituation r eflects a d esire t o maintain a ccessibility t o s uch t ombs i n these a reas n ear the e ntrance to t he c atacomb . Y et i t i s a lso possible t hat t hese galleries are in some measure r elated to t he vener ation o f the o ther martyrs, r eal or s upposed, t hat were b uried i n the c atacomb, p erhaps precisely i n this a rea . It i s not p ossible today to identify the work of H adrian i n the c atacomb a s r eported by the L iber P ontic alis. T he c losure o f t he two l ateral doors i n t he v estibule ( zone U ) and the narrowing o f the a rched p ass ageway b etween i t a nd z one V c ould p ossibly h ave t aken p lace at this t ime.

1 87

The removal of the body of the saint to the church o f SS. Quattro Coronati by L eo IV s ignals the e nd o f t he c atacomb's development . No l onger used for burial and n ow deprived of the r elics that brought p ilgrims t o i t over the centuries, the cemetery will l ittle by l ittle f all p rey to t he f orces of n ature a nd to t he depradation of man. Various p lace names i n the area s how that t he memory of the saint l ingered on in the late Middle Ages, however, and the expression " cripta s ancti H ippolyti" used in a notarial document s uggests that s ome f eature o f t he s anctuary remained accessible . The process of t he disp ersal of i ts f urnishings continued a s l ate as a round 1 425 when one of its inscriptions was removed f or use i n t he n ew pavement o f S . G iovanni in L aterano. T he account o f P irro L igorio suggests that s ome ruin l inked with the s aint's name was s till in evidence i n the 1 6th c entury . I t was in this same century that the first recorded explorations o f i ts g alleries in modern t imes t ook p lace.

1 88

APPENDIX ONE

TITULI

1 .

OF THE CHURCHES AND OF

Titulus

o f

the

IN N DNI

OF S .

S . S ILVESTRO P IETRO

Church of

S .

S ilvestro

IN CAPITE

in

c apite

HEC EST NOTITIA NATALICIORVM

SCORVM H IC REQVIESCENTIVM l ist of names follows with dates the Natalicii f or male saints

IN N DNI

HAEC NOT NAT

of

SC[ ARVM]

H IC REQVIESCENT[IVM] l ist of names follows with dates the Natalicii f or f emale s aints

of

This inscription, which is today situated in the p ortico near t he door of the church, does not purport to b e a list of the saints transferred to the church by P aul I . I ts t itle s imply identifies is as " . . . notit ia nataliciorum sanctorum hic requiescentium." Notwiths tanding this f act it has frequently been taken f or g ranted that i t i s contemporary with the pope and thus p rovides a faithful l ist of his translations. 289 This d ating h as been called into question by others, however. D iehl following Marucchi j udges it to date from the b eginning of t he thirteenth century a lthough neither

2 89

De

Rossi,

Inscriptiones

2 ,

n .

2 12,

p .

4 48.

I n Cimitero, p p. 3 8-41 he c ites Acta Sanctorum Octobris 8 :323 for the dating of the inscription to s ometime b etween 7 57 and 7 61. In this he i s followed by Grisar, A nalecta, pp. 1 76-78 and more recently by Grey, Paleog raphy, n . 1 0, p p. 5 2-53. The dates are respectively t hose of the e lection of Paul and the i ssuing of the bull c ommemorating t he translations of Stephen and S ilvester, t he reasoning being that s ince these two saints are not l isted on the i nscription it must have been prepared b efore their translation.

1 89

gives any Gondi opt

reasons for the

for this opinioni S ilvagni ninth century. 29 u

and Grossi

In h is work on S . F abiano Grossi Gondi points o ut t he grave difficulties involved i n attributing t he ins cription to the times of P au1. 291 A lthough he d oes n ot treat directly of it but r ather o f o thers where t he name o f Fabian appears, his approach o f trying to j udge the inscription on t he b asis of i nformation it contains i s one that should be applied here a s well. Dependence on paleography o ffers l ittle help particularly during the period in question, as he points o ut. 292 Both the L iber Pontificalis a nd t he C onstitutum of f oundation of S . S ilvestro l ay considerable emphasis on the fact that t he main r eason f or t he removal o f t he bodies of the martyrs was the state of extreme d isrepair of t he c emeteries in which they h ad been b uried. This p revented the proper veneration o f the saints. F rom this it i s evident that t he bodies removed were taken d irectly from the cemeteries themselves. Y et the l ist o f relics we f ind in t he i nscription i ncludes names of s aints that, according to the L iber P ontificalis and at least one other document, h ad a lready been t ranslated from t heir resting p laces at various periods a fter the reign of P aul 2 3

2 90

Marucchi,

Basiliques,

p .

4 11;

Diehl,

I nscrip-

t iones Latinae, p . XXIX and P late 4 5c; S ilvagni, S . Mart ino, p . 1 15 sees it as a member o f a group: " . . . epigrafi d el s ec. I X a S . Angelo i n P escheria, S . S ilvestro in capite, e nelle grotte Vaticane." S ee G rossi Gondi, Excursus, n . 6 6, p . 1 69 where it appears u nder t he heading " Iscrizioni attribuite a l s ec. IX." 2 91 Grossi Gondi, S . Fabiano, p . 2 3, note 3 where h e mentions De Rossi's great dependence on t he inscription a s being from Paul's time and continues: " Ma a d ir vero anche in questo c atalogo vi sono g ravi d ifficoltä. Per e s. qui si nomina i l corpo di papa S . Lucio cioe di quello s tesso c he abbiamo o ra veduto t rasportato da P asquale I a S . Cecilia in Trastevere."

2 9 2 i b i d

.,

p .

1 2,

note

2 .

2 93 S ergius I I offered the r elics o f Chrysanthus a nd Dan a from t he c emetery of Trasone to t he monastery o f Münstereifel. S ee " Ex translatione SS. Chrystanthi et Dariae." MGH Scriptores 1 5:374-76. Gregory IV ( 847-55) transferred the remains of Gorgonius ( and Tiburtius) f rom t he c emetery a d duos l auros to S t. P eter's ( LP 2 :74, 1 4). O f interest to u s, Leo IV ( 847-55) b rought the r elics o f H ippolytus to t he church of SS. Q uattro Coronati, which he splendidly rebuilt to r eceive t hem and others ( LP 2 :115, 2 -7; 1 16, 3 -5). Still l ater on, Gregory I V trans-

1 90

These discrepancies are enough to argue against a ccepting the a ttribution of t he i nscription to the t ime o f P aul. The entries in the Liber Pontificalis are s pec ific and c lear i n t he c ase of e ach translation . E ach o f t he relics was r emoved f rom i ts respective catacomb . H ow then can they have still been there if they were a lready removed by Paul? The suggestion that he had taken only a p ortion o f the r elics o f e ach s aint i s absolutely exc luded by the fact that the formal purpose of the transl ations was to s ave the bodies of the saints from the d amaged cemeteries. This i s, however, not the only difficulty involved i n a ttributing t he S . S ilvestro i nscription to P aul I . The Liber Pontificalis a lso notes a number of cases where a fter the t ime o f Paul r epairs were c arried out i n c emet erial areas in which the tombs o f certain martyrs l isted i n t he i nscription were l ocated . Hadrian I was r espons ible for repairs in f ive of the cemeteries containing t he remains of s aints mentioned in the l ist, while pope H onorius rebuilt the church of S . Cyriaco at the cemetery at the seventh mile of the Via Ostiense f rom which the r elics o f Quiricus, Largus, and Smaragdus a lso mentioned i n the l ist were supposedly taken . 294 What was the r eason f or repairing these s anctuaries i f the s aints were n o l onger venerated there? Certainly i t was not f or p urposes o f burial, the c atacombs having l ong c eased to s erve this function . Both of these series of discrepancies are s ufficient t o c ause u s to d oubt t he validity of t he a ttribution o f t he S . S ilvestro inscription to the t ime o f Paul. F urt hermore t he i nscription i tself does not c laim to be a l ist of his translations . I ts title s imply indicates, a s we have pointed o ut, that i ts purpose i s to provide a l ist of the natalitiae of the saints whose relics are k ept in t he monastery . What i s important i s to determine the period in the history of the monastery to which this l ist corresponds . The r elic c ollections o f great chur-

f erred the remains of Gorgone f rom the cemetery of P eter a nd Marcellinus to St. P eter's. 2 94 The Liber Pontificalis r eports repairs o f Hadrian i n t he c emeteries of P eter and Marcellinus ( 1:500, 2 83 0), Gordian and Epimachus ( 1:509, 1 3-14), Trasone ( 1:509, 2 -3), H ilaria ( 1:509, 2 3-24), and H ippolytus ( 1:511, 7 -8). T he basilica of Honorius at the cemetery near the seventh mil e of the Ostiense is mentioned in LP 1 :324. Later s till Benedict I II offered a gift to this c hurch ( LP 2 : 1 45, 2 7). I t apparently was s till i n existence in some shape or other as late as the tenth c entury . S ee Acta Sanctorum Junii 7 :54.

1 91

ches and monasteries were constantly growing, l arly throughout t he n inth c entury.

particu-

I n the l ight of these many anomalies it s eems unreas onable to attribute t he i nscription to t he time o f Paul I . I t i s beyond the s cope o f this work to determine the exact period to which it c orresponds or to identify the possible original nucleus of the r elic collection donated by P aul himself. O ur main c oncern i s that the l ist i ncludes not only the name of Hippolytus but also those of Triphonia a nd Cyrilla, who a re a lso b uried i n t he c atacomb. 2 95 Both types of objection referred to a bove apply i n t he c ase of H ippolytus. F irst of a ll, t he c emetery was the object o f restoration at the t ime of Hadrian a s part of h is extensive program of maintaining t he group o f s anctuaries c lustering around S . L orenzo. 296 S econdly, we have specific mention of t he tra . ,s lation of H ippolytus during the time of Leo IV, when his body i s taken to t he newly reconstructed basilica of SS. Quattro Coronati a long with those of his eighteen f amuli. 297 I t s eems to us in t he l ight o f these observations that it i s difficult to maintain t hat the relics o f H ippolytus were among those removed from t he catacomb during t he reign o f Paul I , at l east on the basis o f this i nscription.

2 .

I nscription

i n

t he Grotte o f

S t.

P eter's

C losely r elated to t he S . S ilivestro i nscription i s one now found in the grotte beneath St. Peter's. 298 I t

2 95 C oncordia, Genesius, and the f amuli of H ippolytus a re n ot i ncluded in t he l ist. These l atter will t urn u p l ater a long with H ippolytus himself in the translation o f L eo I V to t he church of SS. Quattro Coronati, where in turn no mention i s made of the other martyrs of t he catacomb. P erhaps they were c onsidered as i ncluded in the " eighteen." They could, of course, have been g iven to o ne or other of t he i n-town c hurches that were a lso beneficiaries of Paul's translations.

2 96

because f ered

LP 1 :511,8. The p lural form marcuerant i s used t he s entence i ncludes other cemeteries t hat suf-

from neglect. 2 97

LP

2 :115,30

2 98

De Rossi,

- 1 16,1.

I nscriptiones

2 ,

n .

2 11,

p .

4 48;

C imi-

t ero, p . 4 1; D iehl, I nscriptiones, n . 2 9, p late 4 5c; Gondi, Excursus, n .64, p . 1 68; S ilvagni, S . Martino, 1 15; Grey, Paleography, n . 1 1, p . 5 3.

1 92

p .

c ontains t he s ame l ist a s i n the preceding i nscription s ave that t he n atalitiae a re n ot i ncluded. D e Rossi, who j udged the i nscription t o d ate f rom a round t he e ighth c entury, s uggested t hat i t a ttested to t he f act t hat P aul on the occasion o f the t ranslations f rom t he c atacombs k ept part o f e ach r elic f or i nclusion i n the Vatican collection. C ertainly this i s l ittle more t han a v ague hypothesis with n o r eal b asis i n evidence o f a ny k ind. M ost a uthors consider the i nscription t o date f rom the s ame p eriod a s the one f rom S . S ilvestro. 299 T he c lose c orrespondence b etween t he t wo l ists a nd t he s imilar calligraphy s uggest a s imilar date. I f we a ssume that t he i nscription r eally b elongs to t he b asil ica of S t. Peter and that i t r efers to a r elic coll ection i n t he p ossession o f t he c hurch i t s eems to u s t hat i ts great s imilarity to t he S . S ilvestro inscription must postulate a p eriod i n t ime when t he r elics o f i ndiv idual s aints could be divided f or distribution to more than o ne b eneficiary. I t does n ot s eem l ikely that t his would have been t he case during the t ime o f P aul when the g reat R oman c onservatism a bout n ot r emoving t he bodies o f t he martyrs f rom t heir original tombs was f inally breaki ng down. I t s eems r ather more in a ccordance with t he n inth century. I n any case w e are not c ertain concerning the origin al p osition o f t he i nscription, a nd t he d ating i s e ven more uncertain than in the c ase o f the S . S ilvestro i nscription. I n t he l ight o f this we f eel t hat once a gain it i s impossible to u se this i tem a s p roof that the r elics o f H ippolytus were r emoved f rom t he c atacomb during t he t ime o f P aul.

2 99 C uriously D iehl a ssigns the Vatican i nscription to t he e ighth c entury a lthough t he S . S ilvestro o ne i s s aid to b e o f the t welfth. N o explanation i s g iven.

1 93

APPENDIX TWO

GRAPHIC D OCUMENTS

I N THE ARCHIVES OF THE

PONTIFICIA COMMISSIONE D I ARCHEOLOGIA SACRA

T he earliest d ated document r elative to t he c atacomb o f H ippolytus in these archives i s P lan I I T IB 8 dated June 2 , 1 889. I t c onsists of a c alculation of t he extension o f the aboveground area under which the catacomb i s s ituated. 3 ° ° A map of this aboveground area f orms the b asis f or these c alculations, the z ones above known catac omb galleries being shaded in and divided into triangles f or purposes of measurement. Thus this m ap may reasonably be supposed to have been drawn up at the same time, i f n ot earlier. I ndeed t he type of paper used a nd t he l ettering suggest the period in question. 3 °1 This p lan i n turn s eems c learly r elated to another ( Plan I I T IB 2 , s cale 1 :2000, F ig. 8 ) which shows the area between t he V ia Cupa and t he V ia Tiburtina. Both s egments of Vicolo dei Canneti and the Vicolo dell'Oster ia also appear a long with t he p rivate roads passing through the vigna Gori and the vigna Fortunati on either s ide of t he l ower b ranch of t he Vicolo d ei C anneti. A small building i s shown at the end of each o f these roads, t he o ne i n t he v igna Gori s howing t he apse des cribed by Gori. 3 °2 ( Fig. 8 , b ) I n the context of this aboveground p lan, t he galleries of t he c atacomb a re s hown. Two entrances to them are indicated, one a winding f light o f s teps s ituated at t he e nd of t he road t hrough the vigna Gori, another a straight one l eading o ff of the Vicolo d ei Canneti in c orrespondence with the p resent day entrance. The central portion of this p lan appears in this s tudy as F igure 8 . 3 u3

3 00 I t bears no archive number. The s ignature o f the draftsman is n ot l egible, but it i s c ertainly not that o f e ither Fontana o r Michele Stefano De Rossi. 3 01 Throughout our treatment of these early graphic materials in t he a rchives we a re i ndebted to I ng. M . S antamaria for help in determining the period in which various documents were d rawn u p. Most of these unfortunately bear neither the name of the draftsman or the date at which t he d rawing was made.

3

°2 S ee

pp.

8 -9.

3

°3 Both F igure

8 and F igure

1 95

7 ,

which reproduces

part

The area covered by the galleries corresponds c losely with t he s haded a rea on P lan I I T IB 8 . Furthermore the identity of scale and the s imilarity o f l ett ering a nd graphic materials s eem to s uggest very s trongly that the present document was used as a basis f or P lan I I T IB 8 a nd was perhaps drawn up roughly at t he s ame time. I t i s probable that both were made e ither by Michele S tefano De Rossi or Francesco Fontana, w ho were the principal collaborators of De Rossi with r espect t o the technical s ide of h is work. I t i s paradoxical that the p lan shows the s teps o f t he entranceway through zone V , which was opened only i n 1 902. P erhaps p lans for this were a lready underway at this t ime. A lternatively t he present map might be a s lightly l ater copy of an original dating back t o 1 889 with l ater updating of c ertain f eatures. As a m atter o f f act, the drawing technique and the type of paper used a re s imilar to t hose used in d rawings made by P alombi, who was director of the U fficio T ecnico o f the Commission from 1 904 to 1 925. Despite the fact that this p lan was e laborated before P lan I I T IB 8 , which i tself d ates b ack at l east t o 1 889, i t s eems unlikely that s uch a small scale would have been used f or t he mapping of t he n etwork o f the catacomb galleries, which appear h ere as s ingle l ines. This s uggests that a s till e arlier p lan of the g alleries themselves must have been in existence a lready and was u sed a s a basis f or t he present map. Another document l ikewise undated s eems to r elate to t he same period o f t ime ( Plan I I T IB 9 , s cale 1 :8000, partially reproduced in this work a s F igure 7 ). Of a smaller s cale it s hows t he aboveground a rea from t he c ity walls to a point beyond the j unction of the Via Cupa with the Tiburtina. A portion of t he N omentana appears on t he top and P orta S . Lorenzo defines t he l ower limit of the map. S treet, b uildings, a nd n ames a re in black ink. Red i nk i s used for contour l ines of the terrain and for defining t he a rea in which t he g alleries of the c atacomb are s ituated as well a s for some o f the l ettering. The galleries themselves a re s ketched in r oughly i n pencil. ( These are not reproduced on F igure 7 .) The l ine of the projected V iale d ei P arioli i s l ikewise s hown i n pencil. " Pianta N . 1 " appears in b lack ink i n the upper right hand c orner. The tracing paper used for t he drawing is more modern than t he l ettering of t he d ocument would l ead o ne to believe, and it i s not impossible that it i s a copy o f

o f .P lan I I T IB r elettered.

9 ,

were

traced

f rom the

1 96

originals and

an o lder document which has been l ost. I ts main function s eems to b e to t ie in the zone of t he c atacomb with a l arger geographical area than one f inds in P lan I I T IB 2 . F urthermore it o ffers u seful i nformation c oncerning the c ontours o f the l and. The inclusion of the galleries of t he catacomb, however, does not s eem to have been part o f t he original intention of the draftsman s ince these are o nly penciled i n. A lthough both P lans I I T IB 2 and 9 s eem to be based on the same representation of the gener al area, it i s d ifficult to determine t heir e xact r elat ionship to one another, s ince in one case, at l east, we a re probably dealing with a copy i nstead of t he original. I t s eems reasonable to s uppose, however, that the delimit ation of t he a rea of t he c atacomb on P lan I I T IB 9 i s b ased on the more careful and l arger s caled P lan I I T IB 2 . 3" Two more documents relating to this early period must now be considered. P lan I I T IB 4 ( scale 1 :100) c onsists o f a f loor p lan o f the crypt a long with z ones T a nd U . I nscribed in b lack i nk on a paper of r ather heavy s tock, the drawing i s c learly based on more careful m easurement than w ere made of t he area a s it appears on P lan I I T IB 2 . A faint pencil sketch shows a proposed s et of entrance s tairs i n what c orresponds to z one V , and a s ection drawing ( also in pencil) further e laborates t his project. I t s eems, h owever, that t he i nked p ortion o f the document was drawn up before the creation of the modern e ntrance a nd i ndeed b efore a ny concrete p lans had b een made for i t. Only later were preliminary sketches f or this e ntrance added in pencil. This f act i s of i mportance since it s ituates us in the period before 1 902 when the n ew e ntrance was opened by Marucchi. This b eing t he case, it i s l ikely that the map was the work of e ither Michele S tefano De Rossi or Fontana. I ndeed it i s p robable that i t was the f irst careful measurement made o f t he a rea of t he c rypt a fter t he r emoval of t he s caff olding that had been set up to build the new ceiling at t he end of t he 1 881-82 c ampaign of excavations. P lan I I T IB 1 1 ( scale 1 :500) i s c learly based in P lan I I T IB 4 a nd consists of a reduction of t he z one of t he crypt and z one T from which a series of l ines l ead to an o utlying group of galleries. I ts p urpose w as very l ikely to tie in these galleries ( perhaps only d iscovered a t t he t ime the m ap was made) with t he main s ystem of the c rypt. The drawing is executed on the same s tock a s the l ast one, and t he same type of i nk i s u sed. T he p ortion o f the drawing s howing the crypt and zone T was appar-

3 " The road through the Fortunati property i s shown o n P lan I I TIB 9 as continuing beyond t he small building a ll the way to V ia Cupa down the tip of the spur.

1 97

ently u sed by De Angelis d 'Ossat g eology of the catacomb. 3 °5

i n his

work on t he

We come f inally to the most c omplete map o f t he c atacomb in t he archives, P lan I I T IB 1 . The drawing was executed on rather thin paper, and the style of t he graphics i s such that it s eems u nlikely that the d ocument i n its present shape dates back to t he period before the t ime of Fornari, who was d irector o f t he U fficio T ecnico o f the Commission between 1 925 and 1 960. Yet certain f eatures o f t he drawing suggest that it i s based o n ( if not a direct copy of) a much earlier one. D espite t he f act that it shows in great detail not only the crypt and zone T but a lso a l arge network of galleries on various l evels, i t does not s how z ones U , V , or the new entranceway opened in 1 902. G iven the comp leteness of t he map it s eems probable that the r eason f or this i s that the areas in question were not y et fully excavated at the time it w as made. I t will be r emembered t hat P lan I I T IB 4 , which does not i nclude zone V or the l ater s tairs ( save in t he form of a pencil s ketch), does s how zones U and T . Thus one i s tempted to s ee i n the prototype of t he present d rawing a s till e arlier o ne t han P lan I I T IB 4 . This i s further confirmed by the fact that t he crypt a s it appears on t he present p lan i s overly regular, and the drawing does not s eem to have profited from t he careful measurements of P lan I I T IB 4 . I nstead t he representation of the crypt on P lan I I T IB 2 ( which, as we have s een, dates a lmost c ertainly f rom a round 1 889) is s imilar to the present one and i s perhaps a reduction o f i t. F inally, as w as pointed out a bove, i t is highly unlikely that the schematic representation of the n etwork of t he c atacomb galleries themselves as f ound on P lan I I T IB 2 corresponds to the original p lan of these g all eries. The s cale i s too small, a nd galleries a re s imply r epresented as s ingle l ines. One has the distinct impression that t he galleries as they appear on this p lan are based on a reduction o f a l arger and more carefully made map. These considerations seem to p oint to the f act that t he present map ( although a l ater t racing on perhaps even a s light re-elaboration of an earlier one) is based on an original p robably earlier than a ny o f the other g raphic documents which we have described. I n any case a t erminus ante q uem i s p rovided by t he y ear 1 902 when t he new entrance was opened. I t s eem to u s not improbable that this o riginal was t he work of Michele Stefano De R ossi. H e accompanied his brother on the explorations o f 1 862 t o

F ig.

3 °5 S ee X III.

De Angelis d 'Ossat,

1 98

Geologia,

p .

1 61,

F ig.

the southern galleries of the l ower l evel and made a s ketch p lan of the area. 3 " The present p lan might well c onstitute a f urther e laboration of this o riginal sketch d esigned to i nclude a ll of the galleries s een during the c ourse of this f irst exploration a s well a s that of l ater o nes up until the time of the excavation o f z one U . 307 U nfortunately t he plan was n ot d rawn up with great a ccur acy, and the s cale used i s not indicated. 3 °8 This b ecame evident when it was u sed to c orrelate t he b orings made in connection with the building o f the Facoltä di E conomia e Commercio of t he University of Rome. N onethel ess it i s of great value in that i t i s c learly a document drawn up by an e ye witness o f t he c atacomb at the p eriod of its most complete exploration in modern t imes. E ven though t he d istinction of t he v arious l evels of the c emetery i s not a lways accurate the superimposition of g alleries makes t he most i mportant d iversities of l evel c lear. 3 °9

3 06

S ee p .

1 1.

No doubt it was brought up to date at various t imes in l ine with n ew d iscoveries. The g alleries s hown on P lan I I T IB 1 1, for instance, appear here and were p resumably c opied f rom i t, s ince t he p urpose of this d ocument seems to have been precisely to t ie in the small a rea with t he f ixed p oint of t he b asilica. I t i s c urious, however, that areas V and U were never added in t he course of these aggiornamenti. 3 07

The scale seems to be somewhere between 1 :150 and 1 :200. The major defect of the p lan i s a tendency to o ver-regularize topographical features. This i s seen most c learly i n t he c ult c enter. T he exact angles a t which various galleries meet i s l ikewise not precise. T his at t imes i nvolves t he over-all r elation b etween two whole networks. Consider, for instance,the incorrect d rawing of a reas d and e a s evidenced by d 5 and e 2. G iven the ruinous state of the catacomb, however, one can well appreciate t he d ifficulties o f producing a more a ccurate record. 3 08

3 09 P lan I I T IB 5 i s a copy o f a document f rom the S ervizio S trade o f t he Governato d i Roma, Ripartizione V a nd bears the title " Progetto di a llargamentio della via T iburtina. ( 1:1000)" I t a lso s hows the p lan of t he new V iale delle Provincie and was used by Fornari to p encil i n t he d iscoveries made in c onnection with t he c reation o f this street. For the important map of the cult c enter a nd iter drawn up by Fornari ( Plan I I T IB 7 ) a nd f or P lans I I T IB 3 and 6 . S ee notes 4 5 and 4 6, p . 1 9.

1 99

APPENDIX THREE

THE E XCAVATIONS

OF

1 975 AND

THE GRAPHIC MATERIALS USED

1 .

The Excavations of

1 977

I N THIS

1 975

a nd

S TUDY

1 977

During 1 975 excavations were carried out by the author in zone Q o f t he c ult c enter a nd once a gain i n 1 977 in zone R . S ubsequent to this time a s eries of trial diggings were made in zone S a long t he n orth wall o f the cult center and in the southeastern part of the z one. The map o f F ornari makes it c lear that most of z one Q h ad been excavated during h is t ime. F urthermore a f ragment of marble with a graffito made by a workman in 1 889 was f ound i n G3 s uggesting the possibility that t he area had been excavated still earlier by De Rossi. I t i s possible, of course, that t he f ragment h ad s imply f allen i nto the f ill a fter Fornari's excavation. The small area beneath t he paving s labs immediately to t he s outh o f G 5, however, had never been touched. The same i s possibly true of t he area u nderneath t he small paving s tones which l ine the southern part of the apse. S imilarly t he areas i n zone R which h ad l ost t heir marble paving s labs seem to have been previously excavated, j udging f rom modern materials s uch as c eramic f ragments and p ieces o f iron materials f ound in the area, particularly i n G 17. G 16 was c ertainly excavated by De Rossi, s ince the inscription re-used a s the bottom o f the g rave appears in the Giornale d i s cavo. 310 This f ind was probably n ot f ortuitous, a nd t he p resumption i s that De Rossi excavated the crypt down to the bottoms of the f ormae a nd very p robably down to t he natural tufo beds e lsewhere. The area s ituated under the paving s labs still in p lace in z one R , however, s eems never to h ave been touched. A l arge s lab which covered the area of GG12 and 1 3 a nd part of t he n orthern s ides of GG11 a nd 1 5 w as r emoved during t he excavations o f 1 977, and the various s trata which l ay below it showed that the area h ad n ever b een disturbed s ince the l aying o f these s labs. 311 These

3 1

3 11

° De Rossi,

Giornale d i

s cavo

A considerable portion of

2 01

7 ( 1881-82):142.

these

strata were

l eft

s labs were cemented together at their j oints but l ittle cement w as used b elow t hem, s ave, f or the most p art, immediately below these j oints. T hey seemed to r est f or t he most part i mmediately on a s tratum of pozzolana b etween 3 to 8 cm. thick. B elow t his were found the f ollowing: earth

c .

greyish powdery s ubstance

4 - 6 cm.

e arth

b elow other s trata as f ar as t he tufo banks

f ill

1 2

cm.

This same s tratigraphy was f ound l ikewise u nder t he paving s lab immediately to the south of the one r emoved, a lthough this i tself w as not r emoved. F urthermore it w as f ound to extend a lso under the paving s labs immediately to t he s outh o f G5 in z one Q . This s eems to i ndicate that the b urial of both zones was part of one and the s ame operation preparatory to t he l aying o f the p aving s labs in the l ater cult center. The materials f ound u nder these s ealed s labs in z ones Q and R were very l imited. Under the s lab removed in z one R was f ound a mass o f t essere from a mosaic with part of the cement bed in which they had been s et. Traces of a s inopia were a lso visible in t he mass. The paving s labs s ituated a long the s outh s ide of z one R were not r emoved s ince they w ere s till s ealed i n p lace at their edges by the p laster of the south wall a nd s ince it was evident that t he n atural tufo b ed l ay only 1 0 or 1 2 cm. below them and been s eemingly cut d own only enough to r eceive them. Other items turned up e lsewhere in the course of t he excavation, but s ince they were part of t he fill u sed t o c lose up the earlier excavations, they are of l imited topographical s ignificance. Among t hese t he l ower l eft c orner o f the inscription of Athanasius ( ICUR 7 , n . 1 9957) w as d iscovered i n G 1 above which i t had b een u sed a s a sealing s lab in the pavement. 312 Two small l amps were f ound, o ne i n z one Q a nd a nother in z one R . The f ollowing decorative e lements were a lso found:

i n p lace underneath the paving s lab immediately

south step up to z one Q a nd the to t he e ast of i t. S ee F igure

2 4. 3 12 S ee F errua's description o f in question i n I CUR 7 :420.

2 02

the

l oss

o f

t he

piece

( 1) various fragments o f marble s labs, ( 2) i solated p atches of white or painted p laster, ( 3) a m ass o f mosaic paving ( 24 x 1 4 cm .) with l arge tessere o f serpentine ( 11 .5 cm. square on t he visible s urface). Small f ragments of i nscriptions were f ound in G 16, and its bottom was l ined with an i nscription, which i s p artially covered b y 1, 8 .3 13 A good portion of a skeleton was found in G il and does not s eem to have been d isturbed by earlier excavations. Another skeleton of a child was found in a niche above t he n orth portion of G il. Two tiles with stamps were f ound embedded i n the masonry in two s pots: o ne s et i nto t he f ootings of P 1 a nd another used to l ine the northern interior wall o f the f orma Gll. These a re discussed in t he s tudy o f these s tructures in Section Three. 314 The t rial d iggings in z one S were c arried out l argely to determine the f loor l evel of the z one; consequently f ormae w ere not fully excavated. P rincipal a ttention was given to gallery a l6 which runs a long t he north wall of t he c ult c enter. The area b etween P 7 a nd the modern shaft l eading to the l ower galleries was excavated more f ully in an e ffort to determine t he point at which the l ine of the eastern wall of the o ld cult c enter ran. Unfortunately it was impossible to extend the excavation a ll the way over to the southern wall due to t he precarious s tate of P 8, b ut t he eastern t ermination point of GG21 and 2 3 were seen, as well a s the meeting point b etween z one S a nd g allery a le. Nothing was discovered i n the f ill of the areas excavated during this period save f ragments o f white p laster, p ieces o f building materials and marble s labs.

2 .

The Graphic Materials Used i n This

S tudy

The graphic materials presented in conjunction with this s tudy were b ased on measurements t aken by t he writer during and after these excavations and were drawn up by various s tudents of t he F aculty of Architecture of Notre D ame University's Rome Program, some of whom a lso a ss isted in t he measurements. The symbols used to depict different materials are b ased on t hose u sed by I ng. Francesco Tolotti, who k indly p rovided us with a table of these. One additional symbol

3 13

I CUR

3 14

S ee

7 , note

n .

1 9937.

2 04,

p .

1 02

and note

a re grateful to D r. Margareta i n identifying t hese.

S teinby

2 03

2 21,

p .

1 14.

We

f or h er a ssistance

was devised for a type of wall s tructure found p articul arly in z one Q . This consists of l arge s labs o f varying types of material ( marble s labs often predominating) l aid in c ourses a nd c emented together. F igure 2 i s a p lan of the cult c enter and i ncludes topographical f eatures d iscovered b eneath t he f loor o f the present structure during the c ourse of these excavations. The f loor l evel of z one R n ear P 4 was u sed a s z ero l evel not only f or the cult c enter but for a ll depth measurements t aken throughout t he c atacomb. The e levation o f the north wall ( Fig. 3 ) a lso inc ludes S ection A-A ( in darker l ines) f or z ones Q a nd R . I t f urther shows certain f eatures o f the wall of z one S , which today l ie b elow t he f loor of t he monument. These were measured during the excavations of 1 979. O ther major s ections a re p resented in F igures 6 a and 6 b, whereas F igures 6 c, 6 d, and 1 1 show c ertain particular areas in detail. F igure 1 i s a p lan o f the areas currently a ccessible in t he c atacomb. The a rea of t he c ult c enter, z ones T , U , galleries a 2-a7, d 2, d3, d 4, and d 5 with their respect ive c ubicles a re based on p recise m easurements. The present condition of the rest of the catacomb was too precarious to p ermit f ully a ccurate measurements, the g alleries in many cases being f illed with the debris of many c ave-ins. Distances were measured carefully, however, and the angles at which the g alleries meet o ne another were noted with as much accuracy as was p ossible. The l evels o f the different systems are indicated in the t ext o f t he s tudy. T he s uperimposition of o ne g allery o n another i s indicated only where it was actually o bserved. Arrows i ndicate the d irection from which a g allery was was probably created j udging f rom t he pattern of p ick marks on t he tufo surface of i ts walls. The map o f Fornari ( Plan I I T IB 7 ) was used for the drawing o f zone V , which i s today t otally covered by t he modern s tairs. F igure 1 0 is intended to s upplement the plan o f F igure 1 f or t he s tudy of certain a reas no l onger access ible today a lthough s een by De Rossi and noted on Plan I I T IB 1 . I t consists of a tracing f rom t his p lan of t he cult c enter and galleries in immediate proximity t o it. Numbers f or galleries a nd c ubicles h ave been assigned by u s in l ine with the system o f numbering used in F igure 1 . F igure 1 6 s hows t he s ystem of m asonry a rches u sed t o s upport the ceiling of the new cult c enter. Shading r epresents t he areas where t he o riginal masonry i s pres erved. F igures 1 4 and 1 5 are the f loor p lan and an axonometric reconstruction d rawing o f t he early c ult c enter i n its f inal phase.

t ions

F igure 9 , f inally, s et up in various

i s a series o f sections o f stapoints in t he c atacomb ( indicated

2 04

on F igure 1 a s ST 1 , 2 , 3 , etc.) s howing the various strata of tufo d iscussed in Chapter 1 2. T he s olid l ine o f the sections i ndicates the walls and the f loor of the gallery as it i s n ow ( usually f illed with debris). The upper tracing of this solid l ine shows the point at which t he gallery t erminates or t erminated b efore a c ave-in destroyed it. L ines with dashes s how in the l ower prof ile of the s ection the estimated original f loor l evel o f the gallery at i ts l atest stage of development. I n the upper profile o f t he s ection they i ndicate c ave-ins i n the ceiling. These occasionally reveal a change i n the bedding of t he tufo s trata.

2 05

ABBREVIATIONS

USED FOR PERIODICALS

AND CERTAIN REFERENCE WORKS

Acta

S S

Acta

ASRSP

CDAS

Acta

C IL I CUR

LP

Notizie

degli

scavi

PBSR Rendiconti

Sanctorum. ed. Bollandists, 3 rd ed. Paris, 1 863 f f. Archivio della Romana societä di Storia Patria. Rome, 1 878 f f. Atti della Commissione di a rcheol ogia s acra in the Archives of the Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia cristiana. 3 4 vols. R ome, 1 851-1916. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Berlin, i 863 f f. Inscriptiones christianae urbis Romae s eptimo s aeculo antiquiores. Nova series. Rome, 1 921 f f. Le Liber Pontificalis. Edited by L . Duchesne. 2 vols. Paris, 1 886-92. Notizie deqli s cavi di antichitä comunicate a lla R . Accademia del L incei. Rome, 1 902 ff. Papers

PARA

of the British School at Rome. Rome, 1 904 f f. Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia di archeologia. Rome, 1 904 f f.

2 06

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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2 08

Cristiana, Rome, 1 975. F asola, La basilica sotterranea: Fasola, U . " La basilica sotterranea di s . Tecla e l e regioni c imiteriali vicine." RAC 4 6 ( 1970):193-288. ' , Le r ecenti scoperte: . " Le r ecenti scoperte nelle catacombe sotto Villa Savoia. I l Coemeterium I ordanorum ad S . A lexandrum'." Actas del Congresso Internacional de Arqueologia Cristiana ( Barcelona 5 -11 Octubre, 1 969). Vatican C ity, 1 972. F elibien, Histoire: Felibien, Dom M ., 0 .S.B., Histoire de l 'Abbaye royale de s aint-Denis en France. Paris, 1 706. F errua, Attivitä: Ferrua, A ., S .I. "Attivitä della Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia S acra." RAC 2 5 ( 1949):9-21. , Epigrammata: . Epigrammata Damasiana. Vatican City, 1 942. , I l avori: " I l a-ori del Papa Vigilio neu e catacombe." C iviltä Cattolica 1 18,2 ( 1967):142-48. F ornari, Giornale di s cavo: Pontificia Commissione d i archeologia s acra. Giornale di scavo. 4 vols. H andwritten excavation j ournal of F . Fornari in the Archives of t he Pontificia Commissione di a rcheologia cristiana. Rome, 1 925-60. F rutaz, P iante d i Roma: Frutaz, A . Le p iante di Roma. 3 vols. Rome, 1 962. G ori, Della porta: Gori, F ., Della porta e basilica di S . Lorenzo. Rome, 1 862. G ray, Paleography: Gray, N . " The paleography of Latin Inscriptions in the E ighth, N inth, and Tenth Centuries in I taly." PBSR 1 6 ( 1948):118-33. G risar, Analecta: Grisar, H . Analecta Romana. Rome, 1 899. Grossi Gondi, Excursus: Grossi Gondi, F ., S .I. " Excursus sulla paleografia medievale epigrafica del sec. IX." Dissertazioni della Pontificia Accademia, s er. 2 1 3 ( 1918):149-79. , La c elebre i scrizione: . " La celebre i scrizione agiografica della basilica di S . P rassede." Civiltä Cattolica 1 916,1:443-56. , S . Fabiano: . S . Fabbiano, l a sua tomba e l e s ue spoglie attraverso i s ecoli. Rome, 1 916. G uarducci, La statua 1 975: Guarducci, M . " La ' Sant'Ippolito' in Vaticano." Rendiconti

statua di PARA 4 7

( 1974-75):163-90. , La s tatua 1 977: . " La statua di ' Sant' Ippolito'." Ricerche su I ppolito, pp. 1 7-30. G uyon, Recherches: Guyon, J . " Recherches autour de la tombe et de l a basilique constantinienne des saints Pierre et Marcellin sur l a Via Labicana." Atti IX Congresso i nternazionale di archeologia c ristiana ( 1985). Vatican City, 1 979, pp. 3 07-23. H ülsen, Chiese: Hülsen, C . Le chiese d i Roma. F lorence,

1 927.

2 09

I hm,

Epigrammata: I hm, M . Damasi E pigrammata. L eipzig, 1 895. I stituto di Merceologia, Relazione: Universitä degli S tudi di Roma . F acoltä di e conomia e c ommercio . Nuova S ede. Relazione s ulle i ndagini e seguite per a ccertare l a p resenza di gallerie s otto l 'area ove dovrä sorgere l o i stituto di merceologia e p roposta d el t ipo di f ondazione da adottare. With p lan s howing the area of construction, p lan of building, positions o f borings a nd c ertain galleries o f the c atacomb; attached document ( Trivellazioni M erceol ogia) g ives t he r esults of i ndividual borings. Josi, A ltri t re f rammenti: J osi, E . " Altri tre f rammenti d el c arme damasiano in onore d i s . I ppolito." RAC 1 6 ( 1939):320-22. , Cimitero: Enciclopedia c attolica, s .v. " Cimitero di I ppolito" by E . J osi. ,Ii c arme: . " Il c arme di Damaso in onore di s . I ppolito." RAC 1 3 ( 1936):231-36. K irsch, Festkalender: K irsch, J ., S .I. Der s tadtr ömische christliche F estkalender im A ltertum. L iturgiegeschichtliche Quellen, nos. 7 -8. Münster in W ., 1 924. K rautheimer, Corpus: K rautheimer, R . _ Corpus Basilicarum Christianorum Romae. 5 vols. Vatican C ity, 1 9371 976. Mabillon, Annales: Mabillon, J ., O .S.B. Annales O rdinis S . Benedicti. 6 vols. L ucca, 1 739. Mandowsky-Mitchell, Antiquities: Mandowsky, E ., and Mitchell, C . P irro L igorio's R oman Antiquities, the D rawings i n ms. X III.B.7 i n t he National Library i n Naples. London, 1 963. Marchi, Monumenti: Marchi, G ., S .I. Monumenti delle arti c ristiane primitive n ella metropoli del cristian esimo. Architettura. Rome, 1 844. Martinez-Fazio, Un d iscutido testimonio: Martinez-Fazio, L ., S .I. " Un discutido testimonio de P rudencio sobre l a ornementacion de l a basilica O stiense en t iempos de Innocencio I ." Archivium H istoriae P ontificiae 2 ( 1964):45-72. Martyrologium H ieronymianum: "Martyrologium Hieronymianum." Edited by H . Quentin, O .S.B. Acta S anctorum Novembris 2 ,2. Brussels, 1 931. Marucchi, Basiliques: Marucchi, 0 . B asiliques et eglises de Rome. Rome, 1 902. , Catacombe: . Le c atacombe romane. 2 nd ed. Rome, 1 905. , Conferenze: . " Conferenze della s ocietä di c ultori della cristiana archeologia i n Roma." BAC 1 883:85-114. , Roma Sotterranea: . Monumenti d el c imitero d i Domitilla s ulla V ia Ardeatina. Roma s otterranea n .s. 1 . R ome, 1 909. , S cavi: . " Scavi n elle catacombe r omane." Notizie degli s cavi 1 902:359-69. Matthiae, Chiese: Matthiae, G . Le c hiese d i Roma d al IV a l X s ecolo. Roma c ristiana, n o. 3 . R ome, 1 962.

2 10

Mazzolari, Dian a s acro: Mazzolari, G . Dian a sacro. 3 vols. Rome, 1 779-1783. MGH, Concilia I I a : Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Legum s ectio I II, Concilia I I, p ars prior. Hanover, 1 906. MGH, Epistolae Merowingici I : Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistorae Merowingici et Karolini Aevi. Vol. 1 . Berlin, 1 892. MGH, Scriptores: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores. Vol. 1 5. Hanover, 1 887. Muhoz, La basilica: Muhoz, A .La basilica di S . Lorenzo fuori l e mura. Rome, 1 944. Perret, Catacombes: Perret, L . Catacombes de Rome. 6 vols. Paris 1 851-55. P lan I I T IB 1 -11: S ee Appendix Two. Prudence, ed. Lavarenne: Prudence. Edited and transl ated by M . L avarenne, Vol. 4 : Le l ivre des couronnes; D ittochaeon; Epilogue. Paris, 1 963. Prudentius, ed. Cunningham: Prudentius C lemens, Aurelius. Edited by M . P . Cunningham. Corpus Christianorum, s eries l atina 1 26. Turnhout, 1 966. Prudentius, trans. Thomson: Prudentius with an English translation by H . J . Thomson. Vol. 2 . London, 1 953. Ricerche su Ippolito: Ricerche su Ippolito. Studio Ephemeridis " Augustinianum," no. 1 3. Rome, 1 977. Saxer, Note di agiografia: Saxer, V . " Note di agiografia critica: Porto, L 'Isola S acra e I ppolito a proposito di studi recenti." Miscellanea Amato P ietro Frutaz, pp. 9 7-122. Rome, 1 978. S chneider-Graziosi, I Termini: Schneider-Graziosi, G . " I termini dell'architettura c imiteriale storica e l e indicazioni di relazione topografica monumentale negli I tinerari dei Pellegrini." Nuovo Bolletino di archeologia cristiana 1 7 ( 1911):153-82. S chumacher, Prudentius: Schumacher, W . " Prudentius an der Via T iburtina." Spanische Forschungen der Görresqesellschaft, E rste Reihe: Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kulturgeschichte Spaniens 1 6 ( 1960):1-15. S everano, Memorie: Severano, G ., C . Or. Memorie s acre delle sette chiese di Roma e di a ltri l uoghi. 2 vols. Rome, 1 630. S i lvagni, S . Martino: Si lvagni , A .La basilica di S . Martino ai Monti, l 'oratorio di S . S ilvestro, e i l titolo Constantiniano di Equizio. Rome, 1 912. S tyger, Märtyrergrüfte: Styger, P . Die Römische Märtyrergrüfte. 2 vols. Berlin, 1 935. S tyger, Römischen Katakomben: Styger, P . Die Römischen Katakomben. Berlin, 1 933. Testini, Di a lcune testimonianze: Testini, P . " Di alcune testimonianze relative a I ppolito." Ricerche su Ippolito, pp. 4 5-65. T olotti, Ricerca: Tolotti, F . " Ricerca dei l uoghi venerati nella s pelunca magna di Pretestato." RAC ( 1977):7-102. V alentini and Z ucchetti, Codice Topografico: Valentini, R ., and Z ucchetti, G ., Codice topografico della c ittä di Roma, Vol. 2 . Rome, 1 942.

2 11

Ventriglia, Geologia: Ventriglia, c ittä di Roma. Rome, 1 971.

2 12

U .

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Gallery a l ( above); t ufo bank Z and passageway between a l a nd area b ( below) t he s outhwest.

b .

F igure

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G 5 in a rea c f rom t he n orthwest; GG1, 3 , and 4 partially v isible at t he bottom.

n ortheast .

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a .

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Lower l evel: n iche i n t he wall o f G ll ( right) and G 13 ( left); middle l evel: entranceway i nto a rea c covered by the pavement o f the l ate c ult c enter; upper l evel: s outh step o f the l ate cult center f rom the northeast.

b .

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S outhern portion of z one R f rom the west.

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The original c eiling of t he n ew c ult center preserved between PP1 and 3 .

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A portion of the orignal ceiling of t he n ew c ult center p reserved between PP3 and 5 .

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s outh wall

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a .

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A portion of t he pavement o f z one west o f G 24 showing I CUR 7 , n .

b .

F igure

S to t he 2 0226.

3 6.

Area at the foot o f P 7. The masonry s upporting I CUR 7 , n . 2 0226 i s s een a bove; immediately below i t on the r ight, the plaster f ragment " x" i s s hown i n s ection. A lso visible a re the southeast corner o f G 23 ( lower right c orner) a nd t he masonry mass at t he b ase o f P 7 ( right).

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