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The Romans begun to build catacombs in the 2nd century AD due to overcrowding which created a shortage of land for burial. It is widely believed that the Christians created catacombs to bury their dead secretly and to hide from the persecutions. Historians disagree because their sites were known and they because they could not be kept secret due to the smell form the dead bodies reaching the surface. Moreover, not all catacombs were Christian and some of them were mixed (both Christians and pagans were buried in these). Lack of land and the nature of the volcanic rock beneath Rome are more satisfactory explanations. This rock is easy for tunnelling. It soft when it is exposed to air and then harden, making the catacombs safe.

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Madisyn Hayes

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2y ago
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14y ago

Because at first the religion was looked down upon. Many Christians were persecuted for their beliefs. Christianity was not accepted, Roman Mythology was. Also, many of the Roman Emperors wished to be worshipped like Gods, these Christians refused to believe that and it was looked at as treason. They practiced their religion in these Catacombs to hide out and so that it remained a secret.

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14y ago
AnswerGenerally speaking, Christians did not build catacombs. Most catacombs were Roman mines, and were acquired by the followers of Mithras, who worshipped him underground. In the third century, Mithraism was in decline; the Christians took over the Mithrais catacombs and demonstrated their contempt for Mithraism by using the former holy sites to bury their dead.
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12y ago

it was built because captain fartypants mcbigmac wanted it to be built for his sweet 16 party and legend has it that every mtd captain mcfartypants rises from the grave and listens to pop and and does the potty dance while stuffing his pants full of bannanas and pineapples because he is a weirdo like You.And then legend has it that he is gay and does gay things with little boys and then does gay things with the bones in the tomb involveing a monkey and tire some mayonaise and the bones and the dictionary and sometimes he would invite Micheal Jackson over and they would have tea partys with little boys.

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14y ago

for a variety of thing other than buriel they were hiding places from persecution, funeral site, and shrines for saints and matrys

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Q: Why did the Romans bury people in the catacombs?
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Continue Learning about General History

Where did Christians hide from the Romans?

In the underground catacombs.


What are roman underground burial places called?

They were called the catacombs. They were the cemeteries of the Romans who converted to Christianity.


What were the catacombs designed to do?

A burial place, to store the deceased. Catacombs were used in ancient times to bury the dead because land was expensive and scarce in the cities in which you find these catacombs. They were also used for services and as shelter for those who were trying to escape persecution. You Tube has some wonderful video clips of various catacombs, most are so large one could easily get lost while exploring them and never make it back out.


Were Catacombs only used for early Christian burials?

The catacombs were originally built by the Romans as mines. When no longer productive, they were taken over by the followers of Mithraism, who worshipped the sun god, Mithras, underground. By the third century, a new sun god, Sol Invictus, was in the ascendant among the Romans, and the worship of Mithras was in decline. The Christians were able to appropriate the catacombs from the Mithraists and used them as burial places, possibly to show their contempt for Mithras.


Did Early Christians in Rome cremated their dead?

It is very likely that many of the early Christians followed the first-century Jewish practice of placing the bones of their dead in ossuaries, or bone boxes. Certainly, by the third century, we find a widespread Christian practice of using the catacombs for storage of the dead, a practice not unlike the use of ossuaries. Romans could bury or burn their dead, but at different times one practice was preferred over another, and family preferences were the deciding factor. The pagan Romans were deeply religious and would have treated their dead with due respect.

Related questions

Where did Christians bury their dead persecutions?

The Christians, like many other Romans, buried their dead in the catacombs.


Where did Roman Christians bury their dead?

Romans buried their dead in the catacombs.


Why Did The Romans begin Using Catacombs Bury People?

The Romans begun to build catacombs in the 2nd century AD due to overcrowding which created a shortage of land for burial. It is widely believed that the Christians created catacombs to bury their dead secretly and to hide from the persecutions. Historians disagree because their sites were known and they because they could not be kept secret due to the smell form the dead bodies reaching the surface. Moreover, not all catacombs were Christian and some of them were mixed (both Christians and pagans were buried in these). Lack of land and the nature of the volcanic rock beneath Rome are more satisfactory explanations. This rock is easy for tunnelling. It soft when it is exposed to air and then harden, making the catacombs safe.


Where did christians bury there dead during persecutions?

In the Catacombs.


Why did the Romans begin using to bury people?

The Romans begun to build catacombs in the 2nd century AD due to overcrowding which created a shortage of land for burial. It is widely believed that the Christians created catacombs to bury their dead secretly and to hide from the persecutions. Historians disagree because their sites were known and they because they could not be kept secret due to the smell form the dead bodies reaching the surface. Moreover, not all catacombs were Christian and some of them were mixed (both Christians and pagans were buried in these). Lack of land and the nature of the volcanic rock beneath Rome are more satisfactory explanations. This rock is easy for tunnelling. It soft when it is exposed to air and then harden, making the catacombs safe.


Why did the Romans begin using catacomb's to bury people?

The Romans begun to build catacombs in the 2nd century AD due to overcrowding which created a shortage of land for burial. It is widely believed that the Christians created catacombs to bury their dead secretly and to hide from the persecutions. Historians disagree because their sites were known and they because they could not be kept secret due to the smell form the dead bodies reaching the surface. Moreover, not all catacombs were Christian and some of them were mixed (both Christians and pagans were buried in these). Lack of land and the nature of the volcanic rock beneath Rome are more satisfactory explanations. This rock is easy for tunnelling. It soft when it is exposed to air and then harden, making the catacombs safe.


Where did Christians hide from the Romans?

In the underground catacombs.


Where would early Christians meet hide out and bury their dead?

These places were the catacombs.


What are places underground called?

They were called the catacombs. They were the cemeteries of the Romans who converted to Christianity.


What were the catacombs and what did the Romans use for them?

Catacombs were large underground tunel systems that were used for keeping bodies if been killed murdered or naturally dead. These catacombs were mostly used for keeping the bodies of whole families.


What are roman underground burial places called?

They were called the catacombs. They were the cemeteries of the Romans who converted to Christianity.


What were the catacombs designed to do?

A burial place, to store the deceased. Catacombs were used in ancient times to bury the dead because land was expensive and scarce in the cities in which you find these catacombs. They were also used for services and as shelter for those who were trying to escape persecution. You Tube has some wonderful video clips of various catacombs, most are so large one could easily get lost while exploring them and never make it back out.