. Wanderings in Bible lands: notes of travel in Italy, Greece, Asia-Minor, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Cush, and Palestine. ive a general idea of what isfound in the Catacombs in the way of inscriptions. The early Christians in burying their dead in rock-cuttombs were only following the Bible examples. Abrahambought the cave of Machpelah for a possession of a bury-ing place, and he buried Sarah his wife in the cave ofthe field of Machpelah. Then Abraham gave up the ^5 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ghost and died . . and his sons Isaac and Ishmaelburied him in the cave of Machpelah.* Isaac and Re-becc
. Wanderings in Bible lands: notes of travel in Italy, Greece, Asia-Minor, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Cush, and Palestine. ive a general idea of what isfound in the Catacombs in the way of inscriptions. The early Christians in burying their dead in rock-cuttombs were only following the Bible examples. Abrahambought the cave of Machpelah for a possession of a bury-ing place, and he buried Sarah his wife in the cave ofthe field of Machpelah. Then Abraham gave up the ^5 WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. ghost and died . . and his sons Isaac and Ishmaelburied him in the cave of Machpelah.* Isaac and Re-becca and Jacob and Leah were also buried there. Laza-rus was buried in a cave, or rather, a rock-hewn tomb: Itwas a cave, and a stone lay upon And most impor-tant of all to the early disciples, Christ was laid in a tombhewn out of the living rock. And when Joseph hadtaken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, andlaid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in therock.* It was quite natural, then, for the Christians tofollow these examples in preparing resting-places for thebodies of their Side View of an Ancient Sarcophagus with Sculptured Figures in Bas-relief. There are about sixty of the Catacombs within a radiusof three miles from the Roman Forum. According to DeRossis careful calculation they cover an area of six hun- *: 8, n: 38.|Matt. 27: 60. WANDERINGS IN BIBLE LANDS. 47 dred and fifteen acres. It must not be forgotten that thegalleries run one above another so that in some places asmany as five are thus disposed. It may be said that theCatacombs are five stories high. The deepest level reachedis about fifty feet below the surface, and this is nearly onthe water level of the Tiber. Had they dug deeper thepassages would have been filled with water. If all the un-derground passages, rooms, galleries, and corridors wereplaced in a straight line their total length would be nearlyseven hundred miles. If stretched between Chicago andPhil
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