Cemeteries built underground for the burial of all those – whether Christians, Jews or pagans – who lived in the heavily urbanised areas of the Mediterranean world. Constructed as a series of galleries lined with loculi (spaces cut into the walls of the galleries to contain the bodies), small chambers were also included which provided spaces for commemoration of the dead by family members, and which in ChristianChristian Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church to designate all members of the church. catacombsCatacombs Cemeteries built underground for the burial of all those - whether Christians, Jews or pagans - who lived in the heavily urbanised areas of the Mediterranean world. Constructed as a series of galleries lined with loculi (spaces cut into the walls of the galleries to contain the bodies), small chambers were also included which provided spaces for commemoration of the dead by family members, and which in Christian catacombs could also be the focus of prestigious burials (such as the 'crypt of the popes' in the catacomb of Callistus, in Rome), and so came to serve as small funerary chapels could also be the focus of prestigious burials (such as the ‘cryptCrypt From the Greek kryptós meaning 'hidden' it formed the lower part of the church, where it was often used for burials. of the popes’ in the catacomb of Callistus, in RomeRome This Italian city was the capital of the Roman Empire and, with the primacy accorded to the bishops of Rome (the popes), the centre of the Western Church from the late-Antique period onwards. Rome was not only the administrative centre, but an important source of innovation, relics and liturgy. Missionaries from Rome played an important role in the conversion of Anglo-Saxon England from late 6th century onward.), and so came to serve as small funerary chapels