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It was a custom of ancient Rome to bury the dead in catacombs or underground cemeteries outside the city walls.
Visitors to Malta interested in history may like to know that in Malta, the boundary walls of Roman Melita extended to where today is the Rabat Civic Centre and St. Paul's Parish Church. This explains the presence of a number of catacombs beyond this area of Rabat.
The most important catacombs are those of St. Paul, St. Agatha and St. Cataldus. Several smaller ones are to be found in the same area.
The catacombs, probably date from the 2nd and 3rd century AD, and they served only for burial purposes. There is no indication that, in Malta, they were used as hiding places for Christians as in Rome. Most of the tombs were despoiled a long time ago, and there is nothing left except the bare tombs. Earthenware jars and small lamps displayed in museums may have come from these catacombs.
Among the interesting features of the catacombs are the "Agape Tables." These consist of low circular structures cut in the rock, with a bench on the same level and a little niche in the front. These served for the partaking of food by the deceased's relatives after the burial ceremony - a well-established Roman practice. Tombs in the catacombs are of various types.
The most noteworthy are:
i) Loculus - small tombs cut in the wall, mostly used for infant burials.
ii) Floor Pits, rectangular in shape, for single and multiple burial;
iii) Canopied tombs - table-like graves, single or double, beneath an arched structure;
iv) Saddle-back canopied tombs - consist of a carved saddle-like lid with a burial chamber cut beneath it. The chamber is reached through an opening in one side;
v) Arcosolium - an arched structure with steps leading to the tomb.
The tombs are single, double or in groups of four or more. The latter were family tombs and included small pits for children. Head rests for the corpse are carved on the rock-bed of each tomb.
The maze of narrow corridors between the tombs was lit by small earthenware wick-lamps which were placed in recesses carved in the walls.
The craftsmen engaged in digging the tombs were known as Fossores.
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