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Jun 29, 2009 · The pope said archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years...
THE SARCOPHAGUS It is above a massive sarcophagus, measuring 2.55 meters long, 1.25 meters wide and 0.97 high, that the “Altars of Confession” were later placed. During recent work in the Basilica, a large window-like opening was made just below the Papal Altar, in order to allow the faithful to see the Apostle’s tomb.
- Overview
- Saul of Tarsus
- The Excavations
The ancient tomb will now be on display for the first time in centuries.
St. Paul's stone coffin has been found beneath Rome's second largest basilica, but its contents remain a mystery, Vatican archaeologists announced today.
The sarcophagus dates back to about A.D. 390 and was uncovered in Rome's Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, named for its location beyond the ancient wall surrounding Rome's center.
(Related: "Roman Catacomb Find Boosts Early Christian-Jewish Ties, Study Says" [July 20, 2005].)
Long believed to be buried beneath the church's altar, the coffin is now on display for the first time in centuries—its precious cargo, however, is not.
"For now we didn't open the sarcophagus to study the contents. Our aim was to unearth the coffin venerated as St. Paul's tomb, not to authenticate the remains," said Giorgio Filippi, the archaeologist of the Vatican Museum, who directed the excavations.
St. Paul was born Saul in the first decade of the first century A.D. in Tarsus, the capital of the ancient Roman region of Cilicia in what is now Turkey.
Though he never met Jesus Christ, he joined the first Christians after a dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, as told in the Acts of the Apostles, one of the Bible's New Testament books.
Baptized as Paul, he traveled around part of what is now Turkey as well as ancient Greece and Rome, founding a number of religious communities.
Paul's thought largely influenced Christian doctrine by means of 13 or 14 letters, the Pauline epistles, included in the New Testament. Perhaps his most recognizable passage—to modern wedding guests, anyway—is his poetic definition of love ("Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. … ").
According to later reports, in A.D. 65 Paul of Tarsus was imprisoned in Rome, beheaded, and then buried in the family tomb of a devout Roman noblewoman, Matrona Lucilla (Rome map, facts, photos, and more).
"Around A.D. 320 Emperor Constantine built a first small basilica to receive the pilgrims visiting Saint Paul's tomb," Filippi said.
Six years ago the Catholic Church celebrated what it called the Jubilee 2000. Pilgrims from all over the world visited Rome and Saint Paul's Outside-the-Walls.
"They asked to see Saint Paul's tomb and were disappointed to learn that it was buried and not on view," said Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, the archpriest of the basilica.
"So we decided to begin excavations and bring the sarcophagus to light."
Work started in 2002 and just recently wrapped up.
"Archaeologists opened a window 70 centimeters [28 inches] wide and 1 meter [39 inches] deep through the concrete layer under the main altar to reach the side of the sarcophagus," he continued.
Archaeologist Filippi said, "There is a hole in the cover of the sarcophagus, about ten centimeters [four inches] wide.
The sarcophagus below the tombstone measures 2.55 metres (8.4 ft) long, 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) wide and 0.97 metres (3.2 ft) high. Front of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The discovery of the sarcophagus is mentioned in the chronicle of the Benedictine monastery attached to the basilica, in regard to the 19th century rebuilding.
- Catholic Church
- Piazzale San Paolo, Rome
In 2002, an 8-foot (2.4 m)-long marble sarcophagus, inscribed with the words "PAULO APOSTOLO MART", which translates as "Paul apostle martyr", was discovered during excavations around the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on the Via Ostiensis. Vatican archaeologists declared this to be the tomb of Paul the Apostle in 2005.
Jan 1, 2021 · The team first conducted a survey in order to reconstruct the shape of the original basilica built by the Emperor Constantine around A.D. 320. In A.D. 390, the Emperor Theodosius enlarged the structure and encased Paul's remains in a sarcophagus located on view in the middle of the basilica.
Jun 29, 2009 · June 28, 2009. ROME (AP) The first scientific tests on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul, the Roman Catholic saint, “seem to conclude” that they belong to him, Pope...
