Peter-Paul Burial Chamber

In the exhibition space, the remains of Burial Chamber Number I, or the Peter and Paul Burial Chamber, are displayed behind a glass wall. It is the first known, surviving painted burial edifice of the late Roman, early Christian cemetery. In was discovered in 1782 during the demolition of the Szathmári palace, which used to form the eastern wing of the bishop’s castle. The Antique memorial, built at the end of the 4th century, consists of two parts, a subterranean burial chamber and a monumental building above the ground. Currently, not much of the upper level is visible as it was largely destroyed. If you walk on, the mural paintings of the barrel vault of the burial chamber can be seen in the exhibition space, two levels down. On the northern wall can be seen a represen- tation of the apostle Peter on the right and the apostle Paul on the left, pointing to a Christogram in the centre, the symbol of Christ sitting on his “throne” in Paradise.