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Absis (pl. absidi) - an apse
Aedicula - a small room or niche, which might contain a religious article (relic)
Aedile - a Roman office having civil authority over provisioning public works, street traffic and cleaning, and games
Agape - in a funerary context, a love feast shared with the deceased; in Christian rites, often associated with the celebration of the Eucharist
Agger - originally built for fortification, this mound took on the function of a terrace
Amphora (pl. amphorae) - a large clay vase occasionally used as a burial container
Annona - the yearly produce of grain for ancient Rome
Archigerousiarch - possibly an honorific title; also possibly the leader of a centralized communal Roman gerousia comprised of delegates from every Jewish congregation
Archisynagogos (pl. archisynagogi) - Most eminent among the congregational officials of the synagogue, director of the ritual and services and charged with the building and maintenance of the cult building
Archon - in the ancient Jewish community, a chief magistrate, usually a respected elder, whose responsibilities remain unclear
Archon alti ordinis - poss. synonymous with the Greek "archon pases times," this may have been a high-standing and/or much-honored archon of the synagogue
Archon pases times - Archon of All Honor, possibly an honorary title
Arcosolium (pl. arcosolia) - an arched niche (found in the catacombs) that could contain a burial; usually found in a cubiculum
Ascia - a pickax, the main tool used by fossores
Astodans - chestlike ossuaries
Campagna - the environs of Rome
Cassettone - shaped like a chest of drawers, a structure used for inhumation
Cella (pl. cellae) - a chamber tomb
Cella tricora - a trilobed chamber
Cena Pura - the holy meal before the Jewish Sabbath
Christogram - Chi-Rho; a symbol of Christ
Clipeus - a medallion containing relief sculpture or an inscription
Collegia funeraticia - Communal funerary organizations responsible for proper burials and commemorative services
Columbarium (pl. columbaria) - an above- or below-ground compartmented fixture that held burial remains inside each rectangular or apsed niche
tufo compatto - compact tufa
Cremation - the incineration of a corpse prior to burial
Crux commissa - a symbol of salvation; the Hebrew "tav"; the English "T"
Crux gammata - a symbol made up of a combination of four "gammas"; similar to contemporary swastikas
Cubiculum (pl. cubicula) - a room or cell in a catacomb
Decurion - a member of the city council, or senator, of a municipum or colony outside of Rome; lit. a leader of/among ten
Diaspora - the dispersion of Jews
Dipinto (pl. dipinti)- a painting or graffiti
Domus ecclesiae - a private home used as an assembly place for early Christians to hold liturgical services and manage the charitable and other functions of the community
Dromos (pl. dromoi) - an entrance passage to an underground tomb
Eidolon - an idealized idol or image in Greek art
Epigraphy - the study of ancient inscriptions or the inscriptions themselves
Ethrog (etrog) - a citrus fruit; one of the Four Species taken on Sukkot, a Jewish festival
Exarchon - possibly a former archon or the equivalent to an archon
Excarnation - tradition providing that the destruction of the flesh of the deceased allowed for the expiation of earthly sins
Forma (pl. formae) graves cut into the floors of cubicula or galleries
Forno - an oven-like access Fossa semplice - a simple (common) grave; most frequent type of sepolcri a fossa
Fossa doppia - a double-trough tomb with a slightly smaller lower cavity generally holding the body; a type of sepolcri a fossa
Fossores - a guild of excavators which managed the cemeteries in Rome under the auspices of the community or clergy
Fratres - burial clubs (brotherhoods)
Gerousia (gerusia) - the Council of Elders that governed either a congregation or the entire Jewish population in Judea in financial, court, and religious matters from biblical times, through the Hellenistic age (era), into the Roman period; succeeded (at some point?) by the Sanhedrin
Gerousiarch - a member of the gerousia, usually representing a particular synagogue
Grammateus - a scribe; in charge of secretarial duties in the synagogue; probably a life office, possibly a hereditary office
Hecatomb - the sacrifice of a hundred cattle
Hevrah Kadishah - a Jewish " holy brotherhood " or burial society established to perform acts of charity, hew the catacombs, and sell burial places
Hyperetes - lit. servant; person responsible for maintaining the synagogue lamps and announcing the onset of Sabbath; a synagogue caretaker?
Hypogeum (pl. hypogea) - usually found below living quarters, an underground chamber used as a tomb
Impulsore Chresto - lit. instigators for Christ; alleged Jewish rioters expelled from Rome by Claudius
Inhumation - the burial of a body in the ground
Itinerary - written as a guide to the catacombs for pilgrims in the seventh and eighth centuries
Insula - a town block or island
Kline (pl. klinai) - a decorated couch upon which reclined the body of the deceased in some early Jewish burials
Koimeterion - a place of sleep or rest; a cemetery
Kokh (pl. kokhim) - a tunnel-like recess perpendicular to a wall in a tomb; preferred burial form in the Near East
Labarum - a standard or banner
Lapilli - small stones or pebbles; volcanic ash
Larnakes - chest-like clay receptacle (in the bottom of which holes could be drilled)
Libation - wine poured in honor of the deceased for a deity, sometimes consumed, other times left as an offering (in a patera)
Librarius - translator of books
Lithoid tufa - a hard compact stratum of tufa deposits (difficult to dig)
Loculo ad arcosolio - a double grave in which one body is buried beneath the other on ground hollowed out at a level lower than the niche and separated from the second body above by slanted tiles which adhered to each other and the wall with lime mortar; found in the Torlonia Catacombs, often on the lowest level of tiers of loculi
Loculus (pl. loculi) - a sealed slot-like niche containing a burial in the catacombs
Lucernario, Luminaria - a light well providing illumination to the catacombs
Lulav - a palm branch; one of the Four Species taken on Sukkot, a Jewish festival (often inscribed with the epitaph in a Jewish burial)
Lunette - the crescent-shaped part of an arcosolium
Masonry tomb - a built tomb, such as a mausoleum
Mater synagogae - mother of the synagogue
Mausoleum (pl. mausolea) a great sumptuous house-like or temple-like tomb
Mellarchon - an archon-designate; thought to be an honorary title
Menorah - a seven-branched lampstand; regarded as the penultimate symbol of Judaism (often inscribed with the epitaph in a Jewish burial)
Mensa - a bench or shelf
Mensor - a chief fossor or measurer/surveyor who administered and scheduled the work for each catacomb
Minium - a red lead oxide
Mishna(h)- the doctrine of the Jews
Monosome, bisome, trisome, quadrisome...polysome - indicates the number of burials a particular receptacle contains
Olla (pl. ollae) - a clay or marble urn holding the ashes of the deceased
Opistograph - a plaque inscribed on both sides
Opus reticulatum - tufa masonry set in a network or lozenge pattern interspersed every six to eight layers by three narrow bands of brick
Opus vittatum - a form of banded masonry with two rows of small tufa blocks and one row of bricks
Orant - a praying or mourning figure in early Christian art
Ossilegium - a Jewish rite of bone-collecting for a secondary burial
Ossuary - any place set aside for the bones of the dead
Padroni - formerly fossores, property managers of the tombs (in catacombs)
Paleography - ancient writing in the form of inscriptions or documents or the study of ancient writing for the purposes of decipherment or dating
Pater synagogae - father of the synagogue; highly esteemed within and outside of the local Jewish community, the exact responsibilities of this office/title(?) are unknown
Patera - a saucer for libations
Phrontistes - overseer and business manager of all properties belonging to the community including land and buildings
Pile - tiers of superimposed loculi
Pithos (pl. pithoi) - a vase large enough for the inhumation of adults
Plinth - a lower block or base for a column or pedestal; sometimes decorated or inscribed
Pomerium - the hallowed strip of land (in Rome) kept free of buildings on either side of the town walls
Pozzolana - volcanic dust mixed with lime and used in mortar by the Romans
Pozzolanella - a fine quality of tufa
Praedium - any of many country estates owned by affluent Romans; this land was sometimes donated or sold to different groups for burials.
Praefectus urbis - governor of the city of Rome under the emporers
Prefericolo - a bronze bowl used in sacrificial rites
Presbiter titularis - the (Christian) administrator of his own parish or titulis; he could continue his lay profession simultaneously
Proseucha - an ancient synagogue or Jewish house of prayer
Prostates - probably a legal representative of the congregation; dealt with political authorities
Prutah - a Jewish coin
Puticuli - mass burial pits
Quaestor - an important political official in Rome who prosecuted or tried criminal cases in court, and later, was in charge of public monies and/or paymaster of the army
Refrigerium - a meal eaten at the grave at the time of a burial
Rosette - a decorated disk with a leaf or floral design found in the ornamentations and furnishings of tombs
Sanhedrin - the supreme governing body of ancient Israel, which administered religious, political and juridical affairs during the Roman period until 425 C.E.
Sarcophago formato - a burial container consisting of a clay vase or parts of the same
Sarcophago murato - a built tomb
Sarcophagus - a large container for the deceased, often elaborately decorated
Saxa rubra - red stone used in Roman building (a.k.a. Tufo di Monteverde)
Sepulchre - a vault or tomb for burial
Sepolcri a fossa semplici - simple burials without coffins
Sepolcro a fossa - an entrenched burial container
Sestertius - a silver, and later brass, coin of ancient Rome, 1/4 denarius
Shalom - "Jewish" peace, an imperative on Jewish burial insriptions
Shofar - a horn used in Jewish ritual, often inscribed with the epitaph in a Jewish burial
Solium - burial receptacle
Sotterranea - underground; the catacombs
"Sub divo" cemetaries - "under the heavens" or above-ground burial areas in Rome shared by Jews, Christians, and pagans alike
Tabula ansata - a decorative frame surrounding an inscription found on closures; like a cartouche
Terracotta - a fired ceramic material
Thekai (thekan) - literally "boxes," tunnel-like forms found in Hellenistic tombs of Greece
Thermopolium - a place where hot and cold drinks were served
Thymaterion - a device that burns incense
Titulus - 1. an inscription or epitaph; 2. a parish
Tomba a cassone - a tomb made in the form of a coffin with the lower part cut into tufa and the upper part a masonry cover
Tomba a forno - similar to kokh
Tomba a mensa - a table-top tomb found often under an oblong niche
Travertine - Limestone used for building in Rome
Triclia (trichlia)- literally, a large pergola or latticework trellis, but also describes a portico, particularly the one at San Sebastiano
Triclinium - a Roman or Etruscan dining room with couches to recline on while eating, or just the couch itself
Tufa (tuff) - a porous rock formed as deposits in underground streams or springs. Strong and brittle, was preferred for the digging of burial chambers
Tufa terrosa - an earthy form of tufa
Tufo granularè - tufa rock often found in middle stratum of excavations of catacombs
Volute - a spiral or scroll-shaped form
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