Arcosolium

Medieval arcosolium near the Externsteine

The Arkosolium or Arkosol (from Latin arcus "arch", solium "grave") is a grave shape in rocks or catacombs . It consists of an arched niche, in the bottom of which there is a recess for the corpse. This actual burial chamber was closed with a stone slab, the arch itself remained open. The arcosolium is a typical form of burial used by early Christians in the Roman catacombs during the 3rd and 4th centuries.

Likewise, graves in arched niches in church or cloister walls are called arcosol or niche graves .

literature

• Gerda Stuhlfauth: Arkosol , in: Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte , Vol. 1, Stuttgart 1936, Sp. 1050-1051.
• Arkosol , in: Lexicon of Art. Vol. 1, Leipzig 1987, pp. 258-259.

Web links

Commons : Arcosolia  - collection of images, videos and audio files