Is it really the Tomb of Saint Peter under Saint Peter’s Basilica?
So here’s my final post of this three-part series about the Vatican Necropolis under Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Tomb of Saint Peter.
In the first article we covered some generalities and the historical background for Saint Peter’s Basilica.
In the second article we went one by one through the mausoleums in the Vatican Necropolis tour, explaining each major highlight.
Today we finally reach St Peter’s Tomb!
Who was St Peter?
Peter was one of Twelve Apostles who accompanied Jesus.
After Jesus’ death, Peter led the founding the Christian church and became the first pope.
30 years after Jesus’ death Peter was killed during the persecution of Christians by emperor Nero (as I discussed in the first article).
What we saw last time
Here’s an elevation view of the mausoleums we visited in the last article. We started from right to left of this diagram (east to west) going up the slope of the Vatican Hill.
Photo: Father José Antonio Iñiguez.
You also need to understand the following drawing:
Three levels of St Peter's Basilica. Illustrationn by Fabbrica of Saint Peter's. Click to enlarge.
Saint Peter’s Basilica has three levels.
Level 1: The present Basilica in black.
Level 2: The Papal Grottoes in magenta.
Level 3: The Vatican Necropolis in blue.
The floorplan we used in the second article is the blue portion of this cross-section drawing.
The drawing in the previous paragraph is also the blue portion. Can you see it?
How did the tomb of Saint Peter come to be?
Watch this 4 minute video about how the Tomb of St Peter went from a simple burial on the ground, to a revered shrine just before emperor Constantine I decided to build his huge basilica around it.
It’s very important that you watch this video before moving on, because it explains what we will be seeing and the terminology.
If the video is too small for you, you can watch it here in YouTube.
Let’s resume our tour
I will be using different views of the same place to explain what we are actually seeing.
Last time we were in Mausoleum S and I’d told it was mostly filled by the foundations for Bernini’s Baldaquino
At this point in the tour you’re in a corridor outside of Mausoleum S on its south side, not actually in it:
Here’s what you see:
Composite view of the corridor next to Mausoleum S from the 3D virtual tour of the Vatican Necropolis at www.vatican.va
Here’s a closer look:
Remains of original Tomb of St Peter. Photo: Blanca & Ian's Travels, http://members.rennlist.com/imcarthur/roma.htm
You are seeing the underground tomb as it looks today, from the south side. This area is under the Trophy of Gaius.
Here’s another view:
Side view of the original Tomb of St Peter. Photo: saintpetersbasilica.org
Then you go through the door on your left and encounter the Clivus!
This is what you’ll see:
Composite view of the Clivus (Red Wall on the right) from the 3D virtual tour of the Vatican Necropolis at www.vatican.va
Here’s a reconstruction drawing of the Clivus:
Clivus. Photo: saintpetersbasilica.org
Going upstairs
Next, you go up a flight of stairs. You are now on the second level, the Papal Grottoes level.
Number 20 is the Clivus, see Mausoleum S on its right? Where we are now is not visible because we’re on the south side just above the Clivus, just outside of the Clementine Chapel (number 6) which I’ve highlighted in red here.
We need a floorplan of the second level, the Papal Grottoes level:
But before going any further, let’s see another little bit of history…
The Papal Altars
In the last part of the video above, we saw that Gaius Trophy was protected by two adjacent walls perpendicular to the Red Wall, walls s and g, being g the thickest.
In this model we can see wall g on the right side of the Trophy. The transparent structures above represent the bases of Bernini’s Baldaquino.
Photo: Fabbrica of Saint Peter
Constantine encased the Trophy of Gaius in a marble enclosure to protect it, discarding the top part of the monument.
The marble box had porphyry vertical decorations, with white and blue marble as the main body, like we see in this model:
Model of the marble box of Constantine for the Tomb of St Peter. Photo: http://mcsmith.blogs.com/
Model of the marble box (back) of Constantine for the Tomb of St Peter. Photo: mcsmith.blogs.com
This monument from Constantine was covered by its own canopy called the Memoria.
After Constantine, three different Popes made changes to the altar, the first being Gregory I (590–604) who wanted to perform mass on top of Constantine’s monument and the tomb itself and for that, he raised the floor.
Model of Gregory I's altar on top of the Tomb of St Peter. Photo: mcsmith.blogs.com
He also made it possible to visit Saint Peter’s tomb from behind and so he made a small altar behind it.
Later on Pope Callixtus II (1123) had another altar covering the one from Pope Gregory.
And finally Pope Clement VIII (1594) had the present altar built on top of the others.
Here’s an image from the Virtual 360° tour of the Vatican Necropolis that shows us the different altars and an excavation image that shows us Gregory’s small altar still in place on what is now the Clementine Chapel.
Papal Altars Tomb of St Peter. Photo: vatican.va Click to enlarge
Let’s go back to the tour
And you see:
Composite view of the south side of the Trophy from the Virtual 360° tour of the Vatican Necropolis
Here is the same image, with a montage of the Trophy as it’s positioned from this point of view. Can you see the small marble column? That’s the left column of the Trophy of Gaius.
Composite view of the south side of the Trophy with montage with image from the Rai video Secrets of a Basilica - part 2 - (the grave)and the Virtual 360° tour of the Vatican Necropolis
The marble portion on top of it is part of Constantine’s Memoria, the marble box in which the Trophy was encased. Here’s another view:
Composite image of the south column of the Trophy fom Rai Video Secrets of a Basilica. - part 2 - (the grave).
Next you step into the Clementine Chapel
This is what you’ll see:
Photo: http://mcsmith.blogs.com/
See what’s behind the circles lattice? It’s the back of Constantine’s Memoria (which has been reconstructed) with its central vertical porphyry stripe.
Here’s another look:
Clementine Chapel. Photo: Catholic Eye Candy http://cathcandy.wordpress.com
The bones of Saint Peter
Next you’ll be asked to go across the Chapel through another door on the west side:
Remember wall g? Here’s a rotation of the model:
Rotated model of Gaiu Trophy, Tomb of St Peter. Composite picture from Rai Video Secrets of a Basilica. - part 2 - (the grave)
What you are looking at now is wall g, the graffiti wall, which is named after all the graffiti that people throughout the centuries carved on its surface to let others know that they were there.
Here’s what you see:
North side wall g, Graffiti Wall, Tomb of St Peter. Composite from Virtual 360° tour of the Vatican Necropolis
Here’s another view (see the niche with the bones in the middle left of the image?):
St Peter's bones center left in glass container. Photo: Blanca & Ian's Travels, http://members.rennlist.com/imcarthur/roma.htm
But there’s more… At the time of Constantine a niche was carved inside wall g and some bones were preserved there in royal purple and gold fabric wrappings.
They remained inside the niche until the excavations in 1941 when they were taken to a nearby location up to 1953.
Then Professor Margherita Guarducci had the bones examined. The studies revealed that they belonged to a robust man, approximately 60 to 70 years of age.
Earth incrusted in the bones confirmed that they were previously buried in the ground.
These facts and the expensive wrappings are another indication that these are likely to be the bones of Saint Peter.
In 1968 Pope Paul VI announced that the bones of Saint Peter had been discovered.
The bones were placed in 19 plexiglass containers, ten of which are inside the niche in wall g, as you can see in the image above. Here’s a closer look:
Detail of the Graffiti Wall with the Chi-Ro. Photo: vatican.va
And here’s a couple more views of the graffiti wall g:
Photo: Virtual 360° tour of the Vatican Necropolis
Photo: josemariaescriva.info
Here’s a view of the niche in wall g in a model:
Model of the niche in the graffiti wall g on the Tomb of St Peter. Photo: http://mcsmith.blogs.com/
Another indication that archaeologists believe points to this being the real tomb of the Apostle Peter is an inscription in a tiny piece of stone that fell from the Red Wall, that is believed to have said “Petros eni” which means “Peter is here”.
Photo: http://rsanzcarrera2.wordpress.com
Once you’ve seen the graffiti wall and the bones, you’ll go back to the Clementine Chapel, and this is the tricky part:
If you’ve done your homework beforehand you’ll recognize that behind the altar inside the Clementine Chapel is actually Gaius Trophy partially covered by the monument of Constantine I.
I appreciated that our guide was pretty honest about the certainty with which the church affirms that these are Saint Peter’s bones.
She never said they were. She said, archaeological and circumstantial evidence point to this fact and Christians choose to believe that they are real.
The Confessio and the Niche of the Pallia
Back inside the Clementine Chapel you’ll exit from the back through an iron gate. The guide will close the gate behind you and you can’t go back.
Then you will be escorted towards the Grottoes and you’ll pass in front of the Confessio on the level of Constantine’s Basilica.
Tthis is what you see through glass doors:
Here’s the Confessio seen from the main level of Saint Peter’s Basilica:
Photo: Franco Cossimo Panini
People are not allowed access to the Confessio. The small doors on the front are closed. Notice the columns of Bernini’s Baldaquino on the upper part of the picture.
Here’s a closer view from Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
Close up of the Confessio at Saint Peter's Basilica. Photo: Maxwell College of Syracuse University.
The center piece, with the mosaic is the Niche of the Pallia, “Pallia” being the white stoles priests wear around their necks.
Notice how the niche is a bit off-center?
If you look closely to the two following diagrams (though dimensions do not match between them), you’ll see the Niche of the Pallia is actually part of Gaius Trophy.
Front and side diagrams of the Niche of the Pallia. Photo: saintpetersbasilica.org Click to enlarge.
That’s right, Gaius Trophy is right behind the mosaic veneer and marble covering.
When you look down to the Confessio from the Basilica, you are actually seeing the ancient monument that stood on top of the Apostle’s grave.
Here’s a final ten minute video explaining this in a very easy way:
If you’ve visited the Vatican Necropolis, share your experience!
And if this material was in any way helpful for you and your next cultural travel to the Vatican, please leave me a comment!
Resources:
- Two videos from Father José Antonio Iñíguez, a Spanish priest who explains everything about Saint Peter’s Tomb (in Spanish).
- Clases de Arqueologia Cristiana:”San Pedro” (1ªparte)
- Clases de Arqueologia Cristiana:”San Pedro” (2ªparte)
- Video music: J. S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 by Kevin MacLeod.
- Virtual 360° tour of the Vatican Necropolis
- saintpetersbasilica.org
35 Comments to “Is it really the Tomb of Saint Peter under Saint Peter’s Basilica?”
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I first became interested in what lies beneath St. Peter’s while on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard in the late 1980′s. While there, i was perusing a used bookstore and stumbled upon the book “The Tombs of St Peter & St Paul” by Engelbert Kirschbaum and John Murray S.J.
I was completely captivated. I couldn’t put it down. Since then I’ve re-read it twice! (It can be gotten at Amazon.com and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to explore this subject in-depth. Though published in 1959 it remains the most exhaustive book I’ve ever read on this subject.
I was also able to visit the ‘scavi’ 3 years ago and the experience was unforgettable! It’s essential that you familiarize yourself BEFORE you visit as it can be very confusing. It’s also important when you start looking at maps and diagrams to realize that the Vatican faces WEST (not east as is traditional in Catholic Churches).
Why does the Vatican want to mislead people on something they know is not true.There is no Biblical record of Peter being in Rome. If they are not quite sure of where Apostle Peter’s grave is why not say so rather than want people believe that it is? If Saint Peter was their first Pope how could they not know where their Pope was buried? Do you tell me that maybe in the next 100 years the church would forget where Pope John Paul II was buried? After all the message that the Catholics are preaching or faith being practiced is different from that of Peter. Isn’t Peter who are asked to be crucified upside down? Was it in Rome I wonder? The one we would believe to have been a
Pope is Paul, because is was the one assigned to preach to the Gentiles(Acts22v21….Depart; for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles). and was in Rome writing to the churches e.g Romans, (Romans 1 verse 15 .So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also.) Galatians, Corinthians , Colosians. etc. Talking of Rome, I believe this was going to be the beginning of gospel of Christ in Rome, I stand to be corrected if wrong.. We don’t have the evidence of Peter being in Rome in the Bible but know that Peter was in Jerusalem (Biblically). There is a lot of uncertainty in this issue given the fact that there is no. evidence and there is contradictions between the facts in the Bible and those of the Vatican. In what. year did Peter become the first Pope and when was the church founded and would Pope Peter held Paul a prisoner in Rome when they were preaching the same gospel?. The church must have those. records. If they know the number of Popes who have been on that post and they definitely. would have that all the information. Go to the book of Revelation. in the Bible and read it carefully and you will understand the reasons behind all this misinformation.
Thank you for your comment. Let me invite you to read all the previous comments where the subject has been discussed.
Thanks Carolina for your complete explanation of the Necropolis. I was there in march and cameras & video are prohibited, for that reason your detailed work is great.
A must see tour in the Vatican, specially for Catholics!
Thank you so much for the nice comments, Claudia! I am glad the article was useful for you! What was your favorite part of the tour?
I will be in rome on may 17and have reservations for the Scavi tour – found your web site by accident! So glad I did – will let you know how how it goes! Grazie! (practicing)
Oh, cool, Marian! Yes, please do come back and let me know how it went! It will be an incredible experience, I hope my 3-part series will help you make the most of it! Good luck!
[...] as you will soon see, is part and parcel of their ancient culture of confabulation (see: http://www.culturaltravelguide.com/real-tomb-saint-peter-under-saint-peters-basilica). These dead bones are indeed authentic and were robed in purple and attended by other signs of [...]
Wonderful tour. Is the cloth in which the bones were wrapped still in existence? Where can it be seen? Also, did the bones show any signs of crucifixion? How complete was the skeleton?
Hi, Luke! I have no idea if the cloth is still in existence, they don’t show it to you anywhere. It is my understanding that when we say “bones” we are referring to fragments of bones… what you can actually see are just fragments of bones in small plexiglass boxes.
But if you’d like even more depth of information, I recommend you go to http://saintpetersbasilica.org and then to http://saintpetersbasilica.org/tours.htm, where you can find all the related information.
Specifically you can go to http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/MG/TheTombofStPeter-1.htm to read the classic book by Margherita Guarducci which deals with the excavations and ancient tradition of St. Peter’s tomb under the Vatican basilica. © 1960, Hawthorn Books. Hope that helps!
[...] fully-illustrated guide to St. Peter’s [...]
[...] which may be the most interesting course I have taken in college, our professor brought us to the Vatican Necropolis, which are the excavations under St. Peters Basilica that were discovered in the 1940s when the [...]
A privilege for all the Christians to visit the scene of the sacred tomb of the first pope st. peter
Privileged when visited the scenes of sacred tombs.
This was very helpful in understanding the tour. We will be going in March and hoping to see everything there. Is there usually a long line to see Saint Peters tomb and the Necropolis? There is also another tour of the Vatican which I heard was a really long wait. Where does this tour end and would it lead to a gate out to the Vatican to avoid the long wait?
I’m sorry I took so long to answer! I was away for a few days. There is no line to go into Saint Peter’s tomb and the Necropolis, because you have to book your visit at least one month in advance. More information about this under “Practicalities” in part 2 of this series (http://www.culturaltravelguide.com/roman-mausoleums-saint-peters-basilica). The tour ends at the main entrance of Saint Peter’s Basilica, so as a bonus you don’t have to get in line to enter the Basilica, you avoid the long wait! I hope this helps and do let me know how your visit went!
I toured the Scavi October 25th of this year. not as a pilgrimage, but still with a sense of reverence. I was so excited to see for myself the things your blog educated me about. My only complaint is that they should warn fat people like me how humid and warm it is kept. Oy! :-)
They do say that the tour may not be for you if you’re claustrophobic. But you’re right… it is pretty humid and confined and warm… Spaces are pretty small and it is dimly lit. Something to consider since the tour can go for an hour to an hour and a half. Thanks for your comment!
I will be visiting sept of 1213 and appreciate the info. It will make the tour that much better having read all this. As a catholic I choose to belive that St Peter rests there. Iam sure this added knowledge will only strengthen my faith. thank you for your hard work.
Thank you for your comment Cheryl! Do come back and let us know if the information was helpful or if something changed or needs to be corrected! Have an awesome trip and a fantastic 2013!
I’m sorry for the profusion of evidence taken in your article, but the truth is quite different: St. Peter was never buried in the Vatican.
The first burial took place in the cemetery Ostrianum and then his body was moved several times. Is now buried in the catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter on Casilina.
The thing is for sure but it was always kept secret. Currently you are looking for the grave.
Ugo Bertolami Rome
The story was revealed on the book by Antonio Socci “I giorni della Tempesta “
Thanks so much for your comment, Ugo! Definitely interesting to see new perspectives! As with anything from ancient history, even scientists say there is a margin for error. During the actual tour at the Vatican Necropolis, tour guides don’t ever say that for sure that is the tomb of the apostle. But that some “circumstantial” evidence points to that, which I guess, if this was a crime court trial, wouldn’t hold up.
It is my understanding that there are several theories and any of them can be as true or as false as the “official” proclaimed by the Vatican. I don’t think we will ever know for sure.
The book you mention is a fiction novel, set in 2015, so I would wonder how much it is based on actual Vatican documents and how much is made up by the author. Here’s a link to the book: http://rizzoli.rcslibri.corriere.it/libro/5801_i_giorni_della_tempesta_socci.html
I’ve used Google Translate (Sorry, I don’t speak Italian, though I wish I did!) to translate the synopsis:
“The day of the storm
May 2015. In a church in Rome a man whispers in the confessional a heinous sin and shortly after he was assassinated. The victim is a priest who has stolen a secret file from the Vatican archives. What was in it so precious? They are the letters of an extraordinary twentieth-century mystic, Maria Valtorta, who in 1949, at the request of the Vatican, he pointed to a Roman catacomb as the true location of the tomb of St. Peter, denying the claim of those who are put under the Vatican Basilica. It is a matter of enormous importance: the presence and the martyrdom of the Apostle in Rome is based on the primacy of the Pope and the same hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Don Michele is unofficially in charge of investigating to see if other writings of the mystic reveal the exact location of the burial. Meanwhile, against the Church are locked in a real persecution, and while the world stands on the brink of terrible misfortunes, Pope Boniface X dies. Don Michael, with the help of some friends, he returns to Valtorta’s notebooks: they contain explosive revelations thanks to which it is perhaps possible to trace the location of the tomb of Peter, and even find his body. Thus begins a race against time before the start of the conclave and is perpetrated a coup. The development of this mission can save the Church from suicide and the world from a catastrophic self-destruction … In this exciting novel, based on real documents, Antonio Socci leads us to rediscover the extraordinary figure of Maria Valtorta and trace a common thread between the origins of Christianity and our gloomy present.”
Certainly a motivation to keep researching! Thanks again!
We participated in the tour of the necropolis today and looked at the proclaimed bones of St. Peter. My only question to those who do not believe the
Immediatley and for centuries after the time of his death, why did so many religious leaders chose to build monuments upon monuments over this grave site and not in Jerusalem instead?
I wouldn’t know an accurate and true answer to that. Certainly things are never black and white and there are always a myriad of factors that come into play in the history of a place, many people influencing these decisions. Going to the necropolis is to some people a fantastic archaeological view of what a Roman first century cemetery would have been, and for others, a personal act of catholic faith. Whichever you are, you are free to choose your own interpretation. Scientists are always trying to reveal the secrets of the past, but we all must recognize that these are not exact sciences, that the passing of time and what’s left for us to see and analyze may present a fragmented picture.
I went to Rome,because i loved the history about the Romans.
It was strange when we were getting off the bus i immediately made my way to the Colosseum,and ignored St Peter`s. St Theresa did the same,she went to the Colosseum first. I wasn`t bothered about St Peter`s. I believe the guy up above is right when he says St Peter`s Tomb was found in Jerusalem with “Simon Bar Jonah” written on the side of the Ossuary in Aramaic. He stayed in Jerusalem until he was martyred. No where in the bible does it say St Peter was in Rome. St Paul would have told you so,if he was,all Paul said that Mark was with him. St Peter was supposed to be crucified upside down,again there is not one witness to bear this out in the Bible. The so called bones of St Peter cannot be seen fully by the public.
Thank you for your comment. As I’ve said before, it’s a matter of each person’s faith… in my opinion it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. In the end, the site is a magnificent example of first century Roman burials which is unbelievably interesting!
I believe the real tomb is the one found just outside of Jerusalem. Inside the tomb there is an ossuary with bone`s in it,and on the side of the ossuary written in Aramaic are the words “Simon Bar Jona”. Franciscan priests called Milik,and Bagatti who belong to the Catholic Church said these are the bones of St Peter. They were also examined by experts,and they too concluded that they were the bones of a man at that age fitted the evidence. The pope at that time told them not to say any thing about it. St Peter became the leader of the christian community after the crucifixion of Jesus, made a place just outside of Jerusalem his headquarters of his preaching in Palestine. The bible dos`t say that St Peter was ever in Rome at all. St Paul was,and he said Mark is with me. There is no evidence that he died there,no witnesses at all. Not one word written down.
Hi! Thank you for your comment! As with everything religious, you need to take it with a grain of salt. For example, I’ve read about the hundreds of Buddhist temples that claim to have one of Buddha’s teeth; well, Buddha must have had a pretty big mouth! I did think the Vatican tour guide had integrity in informing everybody that these were the facts that the scientific investigation had discovered and that if this was indeed Saint Peter’s tomb, was to be left for each person’s faith. In my opinion it’s not a matter of who’s wrong or right. It is simply a question of what works for you and brings you peace within your own faith.
Kirsten,
Outstanding work. Thank you.
Can you say anything about the mosaic (pantocrator) in the Niche of the Pallium? I have had a replica of that mosaic made for me and would like to have some history the original image.
Again, thank you for your great accomplishment.
David Kane
davidkane1@comcast.net
Hi, David! Thanks for your comment! I couldn’t find much information about it except:
” A Byzantine mosaic of Christ as “Pantocrator” watches over the case, the only item from the old St. Peter’s that remains in its original location. Directly under this niche is St. Peter’s tomb.” from http://www.adoremus.org/0500-St.Peter's.html
“St. Peter’s sepulchral chamber is located at the bottom of the exedra, in a niche decorated by a mosaic from the ninth century with “Christ in the middle of the Princes of the Apostles,” and closed by a gilded bronze gate flanked on the sides by two metal statues of St. Peter and St. Paul.
The niche is called “dei Palli” (the Stoles niche) because inside there is a bronze urn, donated by Benedict XIV, which contains white stoles embroidered with black crosses and woven with the wool of lambs blessed on St. Agnes’ day.” from http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Confessio/Confessio.htm which is the more thorough resource on this topic online.
Hope that helps! Thank you, Carolina.
Fascinating, wonderful site! Thank you so much for creating this. I tried to see the Necropolis on a previous trip but didn’t know how to make the reservation.
Thank you for your comment, Larry! Do come back and share your experience when you go to the Necropolis!
[...] Here is a website my dad sent me this afternoon. It does a pretty good job of explaining the site. [...]
We just received notification that we will be able to tour the necropolis in May. I am so thankful that I found your web site and very much appreciate your information. It will make our visit so much more meaningful. Than you
Hi, Kirsten! I’m glad you found the three-part articles useful!
I wish I’d done a bit more research before going because really, once you’re there, you don’t know what to expect and the tour goes by so quickly, by the time you reach the end, you’re not quite sure what it was you saw.
Well, please do come back and let me know how it went! Or you can stop by my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CulturalTravelGuide) and let everybody about your experience at the Vatican Necropolis!
Best of luck!