page_title: Abbatija Tad-Dejr
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Abbatija Tad-Dejr / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The outside view of Abbatija Tad-Dejr catacombs in Rabat, Malta.
context_page_description: The Abbatija Tad-Dejr hypogeal complex is a paleochristian burial site in Rabat, Malta.
  Although much smaller in size than those of Rome, the catacombs in Malta, especially the ones in Rabat, are among the most important early Christian burial sites south of Rome.
  The site is managed by Heritage Malta and is currently closed for conservation.
context_section_description: The early catacombs comprised a singular shaft and chamber tombs dug from the vertical face of a quarry. Between the fourth and the ninth centuries AD, four larger complexes were added.
  The most important of the four small catacombs is the largest one; with its rows of carefully placed baldacchino tombs, it is possibly one of the few catacombs that saw some sort of pre-planning during excavations. Baldacchino tombs are often considered to be the richest out of the array of tomb types found in Maltese catacombs; at least three of such tombs in this complex are heavily decorated with reliefs.
  In the post-Roman period, the largest catacomb was enlarged and turned into a small church.
caption: An outside view of Abbatija Tad-Dejr catacombs
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