Editing Catacombs of Rome (section)

===Jewish catacombs===
There are six known Jewish catacombs in Rome, two of which are open to the public: [[Vigna Randanini]] and [[Villa Torlonia (Rome)|Villa Torlonia]].

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 (Rome)|Villa Torlonia]]. The catacombs extend for more than {{convert|13000|m2}}, and date back to the period between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and possibly remained in use until the 5th century. There are almost a century of epitaphs, but these do not show any examples of a particular belief, beyond some rare frescoes showing the classic Jewish religious symbols. Jewish Catacombs are distinguished from their Christian counterparts by various signs as well as the fact that Jewish people did not visit the dead in the Catacombs. Parts of the Old Testament and the symbol of a [[Temple menorah|candlestick with seven branches]] have been spotted on the walls of Jewish Catacombs.<ref name="Robertson1933"/>

Due to high levels of humidity and temperature, bone preservation has been negatively affected in the catacombs. Scientists are unable to identify the sex of the dead due to the lack of preservation in the bones.<ref name="Rutgers et al 2009"/>

The other catacombs are not open to the public because of the instability of their structure and the presence of [[radon]].