Vatican Unveils Newly Restored Pagan Tomb

CBS News ^ | May 27, 2008

[NYer]

VATICAN CITY, May 27, 2008

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(AP) The Vatican unveiled the largest and most luxurious of the pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday after nearly a year of restoration work.

A family of former slaves built the Valeri Mausoleum during the second half of the second century, when Emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled. It is one of 22 pagan tombs in the grottoes under the basilica.

The newly restored tomb was shown to media Tuesday. Visitors can have a guided tour of the grottoes by appointment.

Emperor Constantine, a convert to Christianity, had the pagan burial grounds covered up in the fourth century so the basilica could be built over the site holding St. Peter's tomb.

The Valeri tomb, made up of several rooms, is several hundred feet from the burial place of the Apostle Peter, venerated by Catholics as the first pope. Peter was martyred in Rome in the area near the Vatican known as Nero's Circus during the first century persecution of Christians by the Romans.

"This restoration takes us straight to the font of the Catholic Church," said Cardinal Angelo Comastri, head of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the office that for 500 years has been in charge of the running and upkeep of St. Peter's Basilica.

The mausoleum is considered a particularly fine example of the stucco work popular from that era, as well as for the bas reliefs and statues that adorn the tombs.

The tomb tells the history of the family, particularly in bas reliefs, of a girl and a boy from the Caius Valerius Herma family. The children died young, possibly from plague. Such stuccoed objects as a quill pen and a skein of yarn tell the tale of daily life in the Valeri family. Reliefs of major gods and other pagan figures attest to their strong religious belief.

Several charcoal "graffiti" of designs and Latin inscriptions were left untouched to allow for further research. Scholars think the inscriptions might indicate Peter's tomb.

Once freed, the family of slaves that built the mausoleum amassed a vast fortune.

[NYer]

Undated photo provided Tuesday May 27, 2008 by the 'Fabbrica di San Pietro in Vaticano,' showing a partial section of the right-half of St. Peter's Basilica with the underlying grottoes where pagan tombs were reopened by the Vatican - part of the largest and most luxurious of the pagan tombs in the necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica -, after nearly a year of restoration work. The Valeri Mausoleum, which was unveiled to media on Tuesday, was built by a family of former slaves at the beginning of the second half of the second century, during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is one of 22 pagan tombs in the grottoes under the basilica. Tourists can have a guided tour of the grottoes by appointment. (AP Photo/Fabbrica di San Pietro in Vaticano, HO) LEGEND FOR SECTION NOT AVAILABLE NO SALES

[NYer]

Catholic Ping
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[PetroniusMaximus]

Ye gods below!

[HappyinAZ]

I think “the Church” has some poor and starving members around the world that they could have fed with the money.

[what's up]

I heard that one can get a special pass to see some of this subterranean stuff under St. Peter's.

I wonder if that's true.

[NYer]

Ping!

[what's up]

Visitors can have a guided tour of the grottoes by appointment

Whoops...I just answered my own question.

But I still wonder if this includes Peter's tomb.

[Pyro7480]

Where does it say that the Church paid for it?

[NYer]

I think “the Church” has some poor and starving members around the world that they could have fed with the money.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is responsible for recognizing and preserving historic landmarks. Are you suggesting that the US should also re-allocate preservation funds towards feeding the poor? The Catholic Church is the largest provider of charitable services in the world. It also has an obligation, like any other institution, to preserve historical monuments.

[WilliamWallace1999]

Yes, you can. Been there and done that. You have to request tickets two weeks in advance and pass basic background checks. We walked several hundred yards through the Necropolis excavations and saw the tomb of Peter. Bones and teeth were found that carbon date to the first century and the teeth suggested and age in the 70’s-80’s. Still it is a matter of faith, but I was very moved despite my questioning nature.

[NYer]

I heard that one can get a special pass to see some of this subterranean stuff under St. Peter's.

Visit of the Excavations below St. Peter's Basilica.

[vladimir998]

Not as many as will be fed using the tour money gathered from pilgrims and tourists from now until the end of time who want to see tombs like this one and are willing to pay to see it.

THINK.

[HappyinAZ]

hope that’s true.

[vladimir998]

You can go on a public tour for not too much money. I did it last February. Fascinating stuff.

All that is really required is a written request for tickets:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20040112_en.html

[vladimir998]

It is. The Church feeds a lot of people and these sorts of things almost always pay for themselves. It’s not like money paid to fix it up for visitors is somehow lost forever to aid the poor.

[Dr. Sivana]

I think “the Church” has some poor and starving members around the world that they could have fed with the money.

I think HappyinAZ has some poor and starving neighbors living in his own state.

But of course, neither has anything to do with archeological finds in Rome.

[Antoninus]

I think “the Church” has some poor and starving members around the world that they could have fed with the money.

Are you presuming to know how much was spent on this or where the resources came from? Or are you just using your ignorance as a stick to beat the Church? I'll wager the latter.

Using your hard-left nonsense logic, nothing would ever get done--from the discovery of America to landing on the moon.

[Romulus]

That’s what Judas said.

[j.havenfarm]

Just so. It seems like there are always “Christians” who’ll take any excuse at hand to hop on their anti-Catholic hobby horse.

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

That’s what Judas said.

Judas Iscariot: the world's first liberal.