The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Diogenes the Gravedigger
d. fourth century · Fossor of the catacomb of Domitilla · the catacomb of Domitilla, Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Diogenes the Gravedigger was
A gravedigger painted on the wall of the cemetery he dug, with his pick over his shoulder, his sack and his lamp, and his name and trade written beside him. He is unattested in any text. The fresco is largely lost — only a fragment of the face survived the nineteenth century, and the version often reproduced is a modern copy — but the inscription was recorded before the loss. With the six fossores of Cirta he is the archive’s evidence that gravedigging was a recognised office of the church and not merely a job.
Named once, on a contemporary inscription, fresco or object. No text of any period mentions him.
Common questions
When did Diogenes die?
Diogenes the Gravedigger is dated d. fourth century in the archive, which places Diogenes in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Diogenes?
Diogenes the Gravedigger is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Epigraphic. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Diogenes from?
The archive associates Diogenes the Gravedigger with the catacomb of Domitilla, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Diogenes’ contemporaries?
The archive links Diogenes the Gravedigger to 3 other figures, including Quintus the Gravedigger, Victor of Samsuricum and Meraclus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The painted loculus of Diogenes fossor, catacomb of Domitilla
c. AD 340DIOGENES FOSSOR IN PACE DEPOSITVS OCTABV KALENDAS OCTOBRIS — ‘Diogenes the gravedigger, laid to rest in peace on 24 September.’Epigraphic · ICVR III 8735; de Rossi, Roma Sotterranea
A grave inscription from the Roman catacombs. Published in Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae septimo saeculo antiquiores (ICVR), the standard corpus begun by Giovanni Battista de Rossi, whose Roma Sotterranea Cristiana (1864–77) is the founding study of the catacombs.
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Diogenes.
- 1Rome