Necropolis Vaticana
About
An open-air cemetery running along the southern slope of the Vatican Hill, next to the ruins of Nero's circus and its Egyptian obelisk. Roman families had begun raising rows of small brick mausolea here by the start of the 2nd century CE, each fronted with a doorway naming the dead inside. A modest grave among these tombs is traditionally linked to the apostle Peter, two centuries before any basilica rose above it. In 117 CE it was still an ordinary pagan burial ground.
What happened here
The dead are outside the walls because the law requires it, so the approach to every town is lined with them. Tombs face the road in rows, grand ones in front and simpler markers behind, all of them addressed to the passer-by. Burial clubs let ordinary people and slaves pay a monthly subscription for a place in a communal vault and a decent funeral; the alternative is a pit. Families come out on anniversaries and at the February festival, eat at the graveside, and pour wine into a pipe set into the ground. Undertakers, stonecutters and letter-cutters work nearby and compete on price. Ground is bought by the foot, and the frontage on the road costs the most.
Sources
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →