St. Paul's Catacombs are some of the most prominent features of
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
's
early Christianity
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...
archeology. The archeological clearing of the site has revealed an extensive system of underground galleries and tombs dating from the third to the eighth centuries CE.
The site was first fully investigated in 1894 by Dr.
Antonio Annetto Caruana. It is now managed by
Heritage Malta
Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju Malta) is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency replaced the former Museums Department.
Or ...
.
There are over 30
hypogea in the entire St. Paul's and St. Agatha's complex,
over 20 of which are open to the public.
History
St. Paul's catacombs are part of a large cemetery once located outside the walls of the ancient Roman city of
Melite, now covered by the smaller
Mdina and Rabat. It also comprises the catacombs of
Saint Agatha
Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Ma ...
,
San Katald, St.
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...
, and many others.
The cemetery probably originated in the
Phoenician-
Punic
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...
period. As in Roman tradition, Phoenician and Punic burials were located outside city walls.
The many tombs discovered in areas outside the known line of the Roman city suggest that the city of Melite was close to equal size.
The early tombs consisted of a deep rectangular shaft with one or two chambers dug from its sides. This type of burial was used well into the Roman occupation of the islands, but the chambers grew larger and more regular in shape over time. It is probable that this enlargement joined neighboring tombs and led to the creation of small catacombs, which became the norm by the fourth century CE.
The catacombs were in use until the seventh, possibly eighth century. Some of the catacombs were used again during the re-Christianization of the Island around the 13th century.
Site
The site is open to the public every day from 09:00 until 17:00. Visitors can access over 20 of the catacombs in the St Paul's cluster. The main complex, covering an area of more than , is so far the largest catacomb ever to be found on the island. It is large enough to have served as a communal burial ground in successive phases of Malta's history. The two halls at the bottom of the entrance stairs show two
agape tables (circular tables hewn out of the
living rock and used for ceremonial meals commemorating dead relatives).
Although the complex contains almost all of the burial types found in the Maltese repertoire, the best represented are so-called
baldacchino tombs. These free-standing, canopied burials dominate the main corridors of the complex; their four elegant arches and supporting pillars are exemplary. Other decorations within this catacomb include illustrations and written messages in red paint.
Another catacomb is much smaller than the first. The surgical tools carved in relief on one of the three blocking stones in the inner chamber suggest that it was the burial place of a particular family or group of surgeons.
The 24 catacombs show evidence of
Christian,
Muslim,
Pagan, and
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
burials side-by-side and no visible divisions.
Excavation and conservation
The excavation of the catacombs began in the late 1800s and, other than the construction of protective rooms, no further conservation was undertaken in the 20th century.
With funds from the European Union's
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...
(Operational Program I—Cohesion Policy 2007–2013), Heritage Malta is performing extensive archeological and environmental research. Various other studies will be conducted in the coming few years, culminating in the development of new visitor facilities as well as the opening to the public of most of the smaller catacombs.
See also
*
Catacombs of Malta
*
Għar Għerduf catacombs
References
External links
{{commons category, St. Paul’s Catacombs, Rabat
Heritage Malta St. Paul’s Catacombs on Euromuse.net
Catacombs of Malta
Rabat, Malta
Sites managed by Heritage Malta