Beneath Rome lie roughly 40 Christian catacombs — over 60 miles of underground galleries cut from soft tufa rock between the late 2nd and 5th centuries to bury Christian dead. The walls preserve thousands of inscriptions, frescoes, and symbols (the fish, the Good Shepherd, Jonah, Daniel, the orant) that are among the earliest surviving Christian art and theology.
Why this matters
The most extensive surviving record of pre-Constantinian Christian belief in their own words and pictures. The catacombs document a faith that prized resurrection, named Christ as Lord, and revered the martyrs — long before Christianity had legal status or political power.
Scripture references
1 Corinthians 15:42-58Hebrews 11:13-16Revelation 6:9-11
Location
Rome, Italy