Derived from the ancient local name of the underground Christian burial complex S. Sebastiano (coemeterium catacumbas from Greek katà kýmbas, ‘near the hollows’) by the via Appia near Rome, the underground necropoleis, rediscovered in Rome since the 16th cent., were also called catacombs instead of coemeterium or crypta. As differentiated from smaller, private hypogaea, catacombs in modern research are understood to be large…
Cite this page
Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) and
Zimmermann, Norbert (Vienna),
“Catacombs”, in:
Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry.
Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e610520>