Santi Giovanni E Paolo, Rome - Excavation

Excavation

At the end of the right aisle is the entrance to the underground sites of the basilica, discovered in 1887 by Father Germano da San Stanislao, who at the time was rector of the Basilica, and was searching for the tombs of the martyrs John and Paul; he found twenty decorated rooms belonging to at least five different buildings dated between the 1st and the 4th century AD. These five buildings comprise one of the best conserved roman era residential building complexes still standing today, and one of the best examples of domus ecclesiae ("house church") (together with Dûra Éuropos): the original frescoes can still be seen, with scenes of the martyrdom.

In one room, which was a nymphaeum courtyard, an elegant 3rd century AD fresco depicting Proserpine and other divinities among cherubs in a boat (3x5 meters) can be found, as can traces of another marine fresco and mosaics in the window arches. Between the 3rd and the 4th century AD some modifications were made to the rooms, and a sort of oratory was made, with Christian-themed frescoes, while in the other rooms the decorations did not specifically have Christian themes (winged genies, garlands, birds, etc.). A confession was also built in the 4th century AD in a passageway behind the Clivus Scauri; the walls of the confession were frescoed with Christian themes (Beheading of Crispo, Crispiniano and Benedetta, feminine figures and an "orante" or "person in prayer").