Catacombs

Latin - catacumba: Subterranean cemetery composed of galleries or passages with side recesses for tombs. (from Online Encyclopaedia Brittanica)

It is a fallacy to say that the first Maltese Christians hid in Catacombs away from the eyes of the Romans and this is because Malta was a 'Foederata Civitas' enjoying special liberties from Rome and at one time we even had a Roman Governor ordained as our first Bishop, Publius.

Granted that underground Catacombs were their burial places, but so were Jews and Phoenicians buried. The first Christians usually celebrated Mass in houses, but at the death of one of the group, met to celebrate the Holy Supper in an area of the Catacombs with a round raised platform called the Agape or Triclinium, some examples of which we can still find especially in Rabat. This is one of the main things that distinguish a Christian Catacomb from others, at least in Malta. Even in the absence of an Agape, other signs or carvings of crosses sometimes in Byzantine style mark Christian catacombs as such. 

Not all were buried in Catacombs, but the first Christians, even in Malta kept the same style of burial as the Phoenicians and Jews, so we can find remains of this style of tomb or sometimes clusters or even mini Catacombs all over the islands. 

After the breakup of the Roman Empire, Malta seems to have fallen under the jurisdiction of the Eastern or Byzantines. This period between approximately the fourth century A.D. and the Muslim conquest of 870 encompasses what we call Paleo-christian and Byzantine Malta. Of this time we can find a few catacombs or tombs and also remains of a Basilica on the surface.

MALTA

Gudja - Hal-Resqun

A tomb with carving that some have interpreted as a scene from the afterlife with three figures praying. The space above the entrance to a window-tomb is crammed with the deeply cut outlines of animals, birds and fish and three human figures with outstretched arms seemingly in the glory of Heaven. Others interpret this carving as the Biblical account of the creation of the world. The figure of God appears in the upper segment of the arch stretching His hands over everything else. The heads of humans appear barely visible on the sides.

Kirkop - Karwija

There are three chambers characterized by arches, pilasters decorations and headrests.  The tombs are from the fifth century and can be classified as Christian because of the Greek inscription on shards of pottery, that is 'CHI-RHO', an early symbol denoting Christ. This site was cleaned up of rubble and soil in 2006 under the supervision of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. After cleaning, the area was fenced off and the Local Council erected an explanatory plaque.

Luqa - Inghieret


This is a small complex made up of six tombs that can be reached by a flight of four steps to a landing. To the left are two tombs reached through an entrance and in front of the landing a more formal entrance to a small hall with another four graves. All the tombs are single and the complex seems to have been in use before christians enlarged it. The palm frond at the main arched entrance is a christian symbol.

Marsa

Some tombs found around the Marsa area show traces of Christian motifs like simple crosses or simple icons.

Marsaskala

A Byzantine catacomb that is nowadays used as a water reservoir exists near St Thomas tower.

Mgarr - Tar-Raghad

Cleared of debris in 1985-1986 by the members of an amateur archaeological group, the catacomb consists of two narrow corridors reached by a common shaft. There are suggestions of enlargements and recutting of a Romano-Punic tomb being modified and re-utilized by an early Christian community before it was recut into the miniature hypogeum which we see today. There are window-tombs, eight in one corridor and three in the other. A twelfth tomb is formed in the wall of the shaft at the opposite end of the entrance. A Greek cross is carved in bold relief in the conch of the apse shaped head-recess of the chamber of one tomb. This helps us indicate Christian presence and also date the catacomb. One does not find Crosses until 314 A.D. Two of the tombs are dug into the wall at the back of an Agape at the entrance to the smaller corridor. This Triclinium is the only other one cut out of the solid rock like the agape at St.Paul’s catacomb at Rabat. 

Mosta - Ta Bistra

An extensive network of first century early Christian Catacombs in the area known as il-Bisbezija close to Targa Gap with individual entrances from the face of the ridge looking towards St.Paul's Bay. There are 16 groups of chambers with the first one being the largest. The site was first unearthed in 1891, and another part recently during roadworks in 2005. The group includes different types of burial chambers and the typical agape tables, an inseparable feature of these early Christian catacombs. 

Mqabba - Tal-Mintna

Tal-Mintna Catacombs were discovered in 1860 by Dr. A Caruana and Captain Strickland. The complex was a number of detached underground sets of burial chambers grouped collectively next to each other. Originally separate, these three catacombs were at one time connected to form one larger complex. Like similar small clusters found in the vicinity, the interior is made up of small galleries and tombs carved out on both sides of the passageways. We can say it was Christian by the Triclinium table that dominates the complex. The burial chambers are richly decorated and carved scallop-shells can be seen on a number of window tombs many times accompanied by decorated pilasters flanking the entrance of each tomb. Eight triangular recesses for oil lamps are pierced in the wall opposite the agape table. The area round Mintna is full of similar small Christian groups, indicating the presence of an early Christian community in the surrounding area.

Naxxar - Salina Catacombs and Tombs

Salina is full of catacombs and tombs dating back between the second and the fourth Centuries A.D. The site was first opened in 1721 when a tomb was found with many skeletons piled on top of each other. Also found were a niche of ordinary stone with one skeleton, and a similar one dug in the rock with another skeleton, both of which were covered with stone slabs making it seem that they were tombs of persons of distinction. The site is made up of five small catacombs, and several individual tombs. The tombs that remain are mostly in filled with rubble and inaccessible while a number were destroyed during the construction of houses in the 1960s. The entrances to the catacombs are at different levels within a gently sloping hill. In 1937 they were re-discovered by C.G. Zammit, the Curator of Archaeology at the Valletta Museum, and others continued the excavation. The disruption caused by WWII let the site deteriorate, in fact the largest catacomb was badly mutilated and left in a ruined condition. In 1964 after a number of letters and reports in the local press the most noteworthy catacomb was fitted with a wooden gate but the rest of the cluster was still unprotected. The most conspicuous part of the complex is a man-made rectangular opening in the upper part of the hill with entrances to four of the units. There is a theory that this amply spaced entrance area, was at the time of initial excavation also intended to be the place where mourners celebrated. Many of the tombs within the units include resting places for the head carved in stone, and some had been re-opened and adapted so that couples could be buried together. For our purpose it is enough to say that they are definitely Christian from the Greek crosses carved on the walls and also from the setup with the Triclinium table present.

Rabat - Abbatija tad-Dejr

These are four small catacombs and the main burial area of the largest and most important can be reached from a main hallway. This hallway is itself a church with an apse that once contained a representation of Christ crucified, the Virgin Mary, St John and the Archangel Gabriel. The tombs are mainly of the ‘Baldacchino’ type and three of them are lavishly decorated with christian motifs and spirals. There is also a number of floor burial spaces.

Rabat - Hal Pilatu

A good number of lesser catacombs exist under Rabat. One of thes was partly explored in the late 1800 and is located under the Primary School. An ante chamber is first reached from a flight of steps and leading to another chamber lower down on its left surrounded by rock benches. From here, on each wall, there are entrances to unexplored parts containing tombs. From the right of the ante chamber one can descend further to a space with a number of tombs mostly taking two bodies each and one of three.

Rabat - St.Agatha

According to legend, during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Traianus in AD 249-251, Agatha, together with some of her friends fled from Sicily her native land and took refuge in Malta for a short while. She was martyred soon after her return to Sicily. The crypt where she used to pray at Rabat was named after her, as were the nearby Catacombs and later on, the Church, now located over the crypt. At the time of her stay, the crypt was a small natural cave which was later enlarged and decorated. 

The crypt of St.Agatha's leads to the catacombs where we find some tombs also decorated with reliefs and frescoes. Most of the tombs were used for the internment of two or more people at times side by side. The Agape about 60cm above ground level sloping towards the walls of the chamber has a flat top and is encircled by a rim with a small open section for cleaning. The different tombs are: saddleback, canopied or baldacchino, arcosolium and just holes in the walls or Loculi of different sizes. Small niches to hold oil lamps are also interspersed on the walls of the passageways.

Two of the tombs at the St.Agatha Catacombs are decorated with mural paintings. On the wall near the head of one of these is a Greek inscription, which states the name of the person buried and the date.

One of the chambers in these catacombs seems to have been the Sanctuary. It is decorated with a 3rd century fresco in bright colours and carved with pillars and must have been the altar of this primitive chapel.

Rabat - St Augustine

Named after being found on land that used to belong to the Augustinian monks, a cluster of three catacombs in the Rabat centre beneath a set of houses built in the 1920s about which not much was known until recent discovery of documents and new excavations done. The smallest of the three complexes has always kept its original entrance with a room constructed above it for access to the three complexes. The catacomb has an agape table around which are three tombs. More tombs surround a ‘Baldacchino’ tomb and there are also some pillars with fluting decoration. The second catacomb also has an agape table and among its tombs are smaller ones. There is a number of ‘Baldacchino’ tombs here too. The third catacomb is the most interesting and the largest. Here we have not one but two agape tables and a greater number of floor tombs with some for children. Some of the tombs have double headrests. The main area has five ‘Baldacchino’ tombs among others and there is one which still shows traces of painting decoration. Fragments of pottery from oil lamps, lots of decorative beads and an ear ring were also found.

Rabat - St.Cataldus

The small church of St.Cataldus is one rebuilt in 1739 over a crypt and a small catacomb which can be reached from the crypt itself. It has a number of ‘Baldacchino’ type tombs some of which have carvings like doves. Some of the tombs a single and some for multiple bodies. Two of the tombs are breached together. 

Rabat - St. Paul's

The St.Paul Catacombs are the most extensive on the islands. They are located on the outskirts of the old Roman capital Melitae (today Mdina), since Roman law prohibited burials within the city. They represent the earliest evidence of Christianity in Malta and owe their name to the tradition about St.Paul. These catacombs were unearthed and recorded in 1894 by Dr.A.A.Caruana, the pioneer of Christian archaeology in Malta.

An ample hall is the centre of the complex. From here, passages lead off in several directions into a series of tomb galleries. Among the most interesting features of these Catacombs is the circular Agape or Triclinium which is like a low platform with sloping sides for reclining against while the relatives were celebrating the death (new life) of one of their own with a banquet.

RABAT - Ta’ Caghki


The catacombs at Tac-Caqghi were not planned. As a result one finds there is a certain amount of disorganisation. They are outside the old city of the Roman town of Melite. There are 110 funerary rooms dating from the Punic Age. These tombs were not robbed, were not used for other purposes, like animal pens and that these did not suffer erosion because of the unusual climatic condition they are in. A few of these funerary rooms are beautifully decorated. At Tac-Caqghi one finds single, double and triple spaces for internment. They are family tombs. The plug-doors are still in situ.

Rabat - Ta Cawla

A very interesting christian catacomb existed on the way to Boschetto. This was explored in 1892 while it was being destroyed to lay foundations of houses. A shaft with steps led to a landing from which one could find an area for ablutions to the right, an area with an agape and with a number of loculi and on the right another larger area with its own agape and loculi. All the tombs in this complex were just large enough to take a single body each.

Rabat - Wignacourt Museum

Excavation started in 1999 beneath the Museum premises with a Maltese group of archaeologists helped by the local Scout group. The catacomb had its access near the stairs leading to a WWII bomb shelter. On clearing the rubble, two saddle baldacchino tombs, a window tomb and a loculus were found. An exedra (semicircular portico with seats) with a funerary triclinium were also identified. The original entrance of the catacomb leads into one side of a rectangular space. The sides containing the opening of the baldacchino tombs and the Agape border the remaining sides of this space. Light for this area was from lamps placed in six small niches above the exedra. It appears that the catacomb was looted in antiquity. At a later date the catacomb received a soil infill from the original access. Then during WWII it was used as space where to dump the rubble created from the air-raid shelter. Fortunately enough the tombs were spared in the digging of the shelter. Evidence of extensive plastering, finishing and size indicate that the saddle tomb to the left of the entrance was the most important one in the complex. The contents of both tombs were disturbed but still contain human bones. No inscriptions were noted in the catacomb and no pottery was observed inside the chambers. Work on the catacombs continues under the direction of the Museum authorities who are working on the preservation and a more complete excavation of the complex. 

Safi - Tal-Liebru

This two level catacomb was discovered in 1880 and explored with difficulty in 1892, but the exact location is not known nowadays. The authorities are now looking into locating the entry. There must be a narrow flight of four steps in a shaft leading underground somewhere.

Siggiewi - Tal-Maghlaq 

In Siggiewi limits bordering on Qrendi, this Paleo-Christian large family complex dating 4th to 8th century AD is in good preservation. It was first explored in the mid 19th century and later surveyed. The scallop shell is a feature of early Christian burial sites, and it represents Baptism. There is a lovely photograph here of what looks like an incised and painted scallop shell. 

Zabbar - Santa Duminka.

In the early eighties a group of tombs was discovered at Xaghra ta Sta.Duminka near Zabbar. Only one of the tombs was investigated, revealing interesting graffiti of a stylized human figure which was interpreted as a representation of an orante or praying person. Sketches of this praying figure and of the plan of these catacombs can be seen at the Parish Museum. As the other four tombs in the area were full of rubble, further examination could not be undertaken. Residential building had already commenced prior to the discovery, and continued to expand in the years after, covering the area containing the site. Sadly there was no interest or action taken on the part of the authorities to preserve the sites and most likely they are now lost for ever.

Zejtun - Tal-barrani

A Christian catacomb and four rock-cut tombs were discovered in 1915, 1963 and 1993, underneath the present Tal-Barrani road and at least seventeen other tombs unearthed in 1965, 1966 and 2008 were found in fields in an area known as Tal-Ħotba close by.

Zurrieq Xarolla

The Xarolla group of Palaeo Cristian catacombs unearthed in 1994 during the restoration of a windmill, indicate a sizeable community in the area. Unfortunately the tombs have been damaged by ancient quarrying, the building of a windmilland during the laying of drainage systems for the village. Apart from the tombs for adults and children there is an Agape which hints that the complex was Christian.

GOZO

Ghar Gerduf

The catacombs were found at Lunzjata Valley but since then they were extensively damaged by quarrying during the nineteenth century. Originally they were more extensive but by then only one passage was left with tombs on the sides, some taking more than one body and some with headrests. Għar Għerduf is the ony catacomb known in Gozo and what survives is in a poor state, mutilated with almost all the internal wall partitions chiselled down and the floor lowered by several metres. Luckily there is enough left in the ceiling to reconstruct the original configuration. In 2000, the Government designated Għar Għerduf and a 100 metre buffer zone as a Class A Site of Archaeological Importance.