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SarcophagusCatacombs of Rome

Precursors
The Etruscans, who at the time occupied what is now Rome, had placed their dead in early dug-outs, such as the Tomb of the Capitals, and less complex tumuli. The early Roman custom had been cremation, in which burnt remains are placed in a pot, urn, or ash-chest, and then often kept in a columbarium. Around the 2nd century in Rome (during the reign of Hadrian), inhumation had begun to grow in popularity, and for those who could afford it, fashionable graves and sarcophagi were made and used for burial. By the 4th century, burial had surpassed cremation, and the construction of tombs had grown greater and spread throughout the empire. Christians and Jews preferred burial due to the idea of preserving the dead body for resurrection.

List of catacombs in Rome
>Suggest to balance out the sections on the catacombs, either reduce the amount of info on each sections and lead to the link for more, or balance out available information and not have two sentences in some and paragraphs on others on the talk page

Catacombs of San Valentino
These catacombs were dedicated to Saint Valentine. During the Middle Ages, these catacombs served as sites of worships until the 13th century when the martyr's relics were transferred to Basilica of Saint Praxedes under Pope Nicholas IV. .

Jewish catacombs
The Jewish catacombs were discovered in 1918, and archaeological excavations continued for twelve years. The structure has two entrances, one on via Syracuse and the other inside Villa Torlonia. The catacombs extend for more than 13,000 square meters (140,000 sq ft) (from original author), and the brick stampings indicate that they were used between the 1st and 2nd century and possibly remained in use until the 5th century.