| The catacombs' structure
“Ad Decimum” is located near the town, on via Anagnina,
along the ancient via Latina. It was discovered by chance in 1905
and it is almost intact. It is divided in five tunnels where there
are several tombstones with Latin and Greek inscriptions and it
can be dated back to a period between the 3rd and 5th century
A. C. This little catacomb (200 metres) is very important because
it marks the past presence of a large Christian community who
lived in a village of the ancient Tuscolo, called ‘Vicus
Angusculanus' or ‘Ad Decimum', a name meaning
the distance in miles from the Capena Gate of the Serviane walls
in Rome.
It is also very interesting because it is well preserved. The
catacomb has been discovered recently, thus the burial niches
were almost intact. Reading the tombstones can be useful to
understand how this community was organized: there was an ecclesiastical
hierarchy and according to the inscriptions: one lector, two
exorcists, one deacon and one priest.
There are bout 1000 tombs and some of these are decorated with
murals representing various scenes: an apostolic body, Daniele
among the lions, the Good Shepherd flanked by two animals, and
a ‘Traditio legis', i.e. Jesus giving the Law to
San Pietro.
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