Saint Peter's tomb
[1] The complex was partially torn down and filled with earth to provide a foundation for the building of the first St. Peter's Basilica during the reign of Constantine I in about AD 330.
Though many bones have been found at the site of the 2nd-century shrine, as the result of two campaigns of archaeological excavation, Pope Pius XII stated in December 1950 that none could be confirmed to be Saint Peter's with absolute certainty.
[2] Following the discovery of bones that had been transferred from a second tomb under the monument, on June 26, 1968, Pope Paul VI said that the relics of Saint Peter had been identified in a manner considered convincing.
[6] Margherita Guarducci argued that these were the remains of Saint Peter and that they had been moved into a niche in the graffiti wall from the grave under the aedicula "at the time of Constantine, after the peace of the church" (313).
The historian Eusebius, a contemporary of Constantine, wrote that Peter "came to Rome, and was crucified with his head downwards," attributing this information to the much earlier theologian Origen, who died c. 254 AD.
Eusebius supports this account with information from Caius, an early 3rd century Christian writer who lived during the time of Pope Zephyrinus.
In a debate with Proclus, a leader of the Phrygian heresy, Caius claims he can show the burial places of Peter and Paul at the Vatican and the Ostian Way.
The pagan Roman Emperor, Julian the Apostate, mentions in 363 A.D. in his work Three Books Against the Galileans that the tomb of Saint Peter was a place of worship, albeit secretly.
Some have conjectured that the remains of Peter and Paul may have been removed temporarily from their original tombs in order to preserve them from desecration by the Romans.
They may have been removed secretly by night and hidden in the Catacombs of St Sebastian in 258 AD, being returned to their original tombs in 260 when Valerian's reign ended.
[20] Between 320 and 327, Constantine built a five-aisled basilica atop the early Christian necropolis that was purported to be Peter's resting place.
On top of that was laid a gold cross weighing 150 pounds (68 kg) and featuring an inscription, which translates from Latin as "Constantine Augustus and Helena Augusta This House Shining with Like Royal Splendor a Court Surrounds."
[25] Construction of Constantine's Old St. Peter's Basilica and of foundations for Bernini's Baldacchino destroyed most of the vaulting of these semi-subterranean burial chambers.
[26] Over the next ten years, Ludwig Kaas oversaw an archaeological excavation of the pagan mausoleum complex under the foundations of St. Peter's Basilica (the Vatican Necropolis), dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
Being concerned that these presumed relics of a saint would not be accorded the respect they deserved, and having little understanding of correct archeological procedures, he secretly ordered these remains stored elsewhere for safe keeping.
[32] On June 26, 1968, Pope Paul VI announced that the relics of Saint Peter had been discovered,[3] though only circumstantial evidence supports this claim.
"[35] Pope Francis has said his decision was born "out of prayer" and intended as a sign of the ongoing work towards communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
The archaeologists claimed to have discovered the earliest physical evidence of a Christian community in Jerusalem, and that some of the ossuaries were inscribed with names congruent with many commonly found in the Bible; the name inscribed on one ossuary, for instance, was interpreted as reading 'Shimon Bar Yonah' (שמעון בר יונה, "Simon, the Son of Jonah").
[43][44] In April 2017, CNN'S Finding Jesus Faith Fact Forgery show featured the story of St. Peter's bones and tomb in its 5th episode from season 2.
