The City of Death beneath the Eternal City

Joe trying to dry off outside the Ufficio Scavi
Vatican City

The Vatican strictly controls the number of people visiting the Necropolis each day. Like the Sistine Chapel, the area is susceptible to the humidity and bacteria brought in by the visitors. To learn about getting tickets, check out this post here.

When you have your ticket, proceed to the excavations office, or the Ufficio Scavi. To get to the office, head to the left of all the pillars, on the outside, here you will be stopped by Swiss Guards, searched and allowed to pass on toward the Ufficio Scavi. Here you check in and pay for your tickets. There is also the opportunity to purchase literature about the Necropolis, luckily, their books were small enough to fit safely in my purse.

We were met by Laura, an archeologist who would be conducting our tour. We began at the level of the Vatican grottoes; the basement where Popes are buried. From here we passed through a sliding glass door and down some steps into the Necropolis. This area was excavated in 1943 under Pope Pius XII who was in search of the tomb of St. Peter.

How did this area come to be? Before Vatican City was created, and before the church was erected, there was a circus on the site of St. Peter’s. This was Nero’s circus, and chariot races were held here. In 64 AD there were a series of devastating fires throughout the city of Rome. Blame was shifted about, but Nero used the opportunity to crucify many Christians, using them as scapegoats. Among those killed in the circus was St. Peter. He was crucified upside down as he saw himself unfit to be killed in the same manner as Jesus. After his death, the speculation begins. It is likely that someone spoke for the body of Peter, and he was given a proper burial instead of being burnt or tossed in the Tiber. Peter was buried in the nearby Necropolis, or city of death. Some people were buried in the ground, but many were laid to rest inside specially crafted tombs above ground. These were like mausoleums, but they were designed like houses, and used several times a year for celebrations. Many of these buildings had rooftop terraces for such a purpose. Here is where Peter was laid to rest, and here, 300 years later, the newly Christian emperor Constantine decided to build a church, because according to scripture  “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 18-19)

Constantine built his Basilica on top of a small memorial already located above the grave. The resting place of St. Peter was to be the altar of the new church, but the open air Necropolis was built on a double sloping hill. Constantine made the revolutionary decision to fill the buildings and walkways with rubble, raising the ground to make a level surface for the new church. No remains were moved, they were all left in place and the rubble was just filled in around them.

As our guide explained to us, conservation is a modern concept. The Colosseum was mined for marble and the tombs were used as foundations for a new basilica. But, St. Peter’s tomb was protected and revered for centuries. This alone suggested to the first archeologists that the tomb they found was authentic. Their find was also confirmed by ancient texts describing the location and appearance of the tomb. However, when they opened the tomb, it was empty! While they could definitively say they found Pete’s tomb, they were unable to say the same for his remains.

In the church Constantine built, the altar was over two previous memorials. He enclosed these memorials, with the tomb of the apostle inside. Some scholars believe Constantine removed Peter’s remains from his tomb and enclosed them inside a special marble cavity in the new church. They were wrapped in purple cloth with gold thread, the colors of royalty. The bones were found behind the Graffiti wall, a marble way covered in ancient graffiti of the faithful indicating that Peter was inside. Carbon dating on the bones indicated that they were from the same time as Peter’s death, but the archaeologists were unable to conclusively say the bones belonged to Peter. When Constantine built his basilica over top of the previous memorials, he demolished part of the graffiti wall, a crucial part containing a sentence starting with the words Peter i . . . The endings proposed are Peter is within, Peter is here, and Peter in Peace. While they all seem to point out the bones are Peter’s, without knowing for sure, no one is willing to confirm the bones are Peter’s.

 I for one believe they are, and real or not, the tomb was authentic. Like visiting the Forum and the Colosseum, our visit to the Necropolis proved, to me, that the stories were real. The man named Peter lived, and he dies, and was laid to rest in the tomb before me. I can read books, see pictures, and watch documentaries, but nothing confirms existence like witnessing a person or place first hand. I know now, in a way I didn’t before, the truth of St. Peter, the
apostle of Jesus.

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
How to Book Scavi Tickets
Virtual Tour of the Vatican Necropolis
Useful Resource for information about St. Peter's Basilica