Monday, 17 June 2013

A journey in time: a visit to St. Paul's Catacombs and the Roman Domus

·         The teacher of History, Ms Maria Zammit, organised an educational outing for her students. Hereunder are the Students reviews about this outing.


 St. Paul’s Catacombs


We had a school outing to the catacombs. They were used to bury people underground in sections dug in walls. These catacombs were once located just outside the walls of the ancient city of Mdina. When you enter the catacombs you immediately see 2 agape tables, which were used to do a feast celebrating that the dead person went to heaven. There are 3 types of catacombs in this complex.
As we continued going in, we saw more tombs which were of higher standards. Most of the tombs we saw were the Canopy tombs which had a space for an adult and a space for a 2-3 year old child on top of the adult. While we were walking out, some people couldn’t help not scaring someone else! To me this was one of the best outings I ever had as a student at San Andrea.
Matthias Bartolo 8.2


St. Paul’s Catacombs were built around the 3rd and 4th century A.D. When we went to the catacombs, we were so overjoyed and some were scared as there were ants and it was very dark inside. Our tour guide was very friendly and answered all questions including some crazy ones. We learnt that people used to be buried there and they used to use a nail and chisel to dig the holes perfectly for the people and they made pillows out of rock, so they would have a fantastic afterlife. We learnt that there were more than 2000 slots and that people at that time used to meet  there. What we saw was amazing especially the place where they buried doctors, surgeons and more, along with their tools made out of clay. I must say that this was an experience that I will never forget even though some students gave frights to everyone and scaring them and me. It was an awesome day and that day did not end as we also went to the Roman Villa.
Emily Abela 8.2

The St. Paul's Catacombs, located in Rabat, was a burial place for the dead that can be entered through four entrances. The Romans respected the dead and when a person died they used to leave meals for the dead, which was an ancient roman custom. This fascinating labyrinth of the 3rd century AD is dedicated to St. Paul because of the church built above it. The style of these catacombs is Paleochristian where we can find 5 types of tombs such as the Lucullus, Canope and the Saddle back. When these structures were built, no space was wasted and the tombs were either double or single. There were also tombs for children because most children at that time used to die before the age of 5. During the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, the Christians that lived in Malta used to pray in secret in the catacombs and gathered around a table called agape. These are a good example of the catacombs that are found around the Mediterranean and are a must see for the historic enthusiast.
Katrina Deidun 8.4

The Roman Domus

On Thursday 2nd May we went to the Roman Domus. We saw many interesting things such as ancient roman coins, statues of emperors and much more. We saw Islamic tombstones and mosaics which are tiles glued on rocks or the floor to make a picture. This Villa was transformed into a museum. It is the only  substantial building found in the city. It is also the richest example of Roman house found in Malta. The statues and mosaics are the finest found in the Mediterranean. This Domus served also as a business place were most business was conducted. It was built in the middle of the 1st century BC. This fascinating museum was open to the public in February 1882 more than 131 years ago. It consists of pottery used in the roman era.  It was mainly used in the republican and early imperial periods.  On this little island there is a lot to learn about roman times.

Krista Spiteri Lucas 8.4













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