The Catacomb of Pontian is one of the catacombs of Rome

Catacombs of Rome

The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places under or near Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, they began in the 2nd century, much...

 on the Via Portuensis

Via Portuensis

Via Portuensis was an ancient Roman road, leading to the Portus constructed by Claudius on the right bank of the Tiber, at its mouth. It started from the Pons Aemilius, and the first part of its course is identical with that of the Via Campana...

, notable for containing the original tombs of Pope Anastasius I

Pope Anastasius I

Pope Saint Anastasius I, born in Rome the son of Maximus, was pope from November 27, 399 to 401.He condemned the writings of the Alexandrian theologian Origen shortly after their translation into Latin. He fought against these writings throughout his papacy and in 400 he called a council to discuss...

 (399–401) and his son Pope Innocent I

Pope Innocent I

-Biography:He was, according to his biographer in the Liber Pontificalis, the son of a man called Innocens of Albano; but according to his contemporary Jerome, his father was Pope Anastasius I , whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy and laity to succeed -Biography:He was,...

 (401–417). The Catacomb was discovered by famed Italian explorer Antonio Bosio

Antonio Bosio

Antonio Bosio was an Italian scholar, the first systematic explorer of subterranean Rome , author of Roma Sotterranea and first urban spelunker.-Biography:Bosio was born in Malta....

 in 1618.

Both Anastasius I and Innocent I were traditionally regarded as martyrs, but this is now regarded as dubious, due to the lack of a contemporaneous persecution

Persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire

The Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire is the religious persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith. It began during the Ministry of Jesus and continued intermittently over a period of about three centuries until the time of Constantine when Christianity was...

. In the ninth century, Pope Sergius II

Pope Sergius II

Pope Sergius II was Pope from January 844 – January 24, 847.On the death of Gregory IV the archdeacon John was proclaimed pope by popular acclamation, while the nobility elected Sergius, a Roman of noble birth. The opposition was suppressed, with Sergius intervening to save John's life...

 moved both popes to San Martino ai Monti

San Martino ai Monti

San Martino ai Monti, also known as Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti - Titolo Equizio, is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, in the Rione Monti neighbourhood.-History:...

 in an effort to save them from destruction during the Lombard invasion. The catacomb does not contain the tomb of Pope Pontian

Pope Pontian

Pope Pontian or Pontianus was Pope from 21 July 230 to 29 September 235.A little more is known of Pontian than his predecessors, apparently from a lost papal chronicle that was available to the compiler of the Liberian Catalogue of bishops of Rome, made in the fourth century.During his pontificate...

, who was interred in the Catacomb of Callixtus

Catacomb of Callixtus

The Catacomb of Callixtus was one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes , which contained the tombs of several popes from the 2nd to 4th centuries...

, nor is it named after him; rather it is named after an unknown third century Christian martyr.

Other notable remains in the Catacomb include: Saints Abdon and Sennen, martyrs Milix and Vincent, Saint Pollio

Saint Pollio

Saint Pollio of Cybalae is venerated as a Christian martyr who was executed for his faith during the persecutions of Diocletian. He was a lector in the city of Cybalae in the Roman province of Pannonia....

, Saint Candida, Saint Pigmenius, and Saint Quirinus of Rome

Saint Quirinus of Rome

Saint Quirinus of Tegernsee, or Quirinus of Rome , is venerated as a martyr and saint of the third century....

. The Catacomb contains a fifth/sixth century fresco of Saints Marcellinus and Peter

Marcellinus and Peter

Saints Marcellinus and Peter were two 4th century Christian martyrs in the city of Rome.-Life:Very little is known about the two martyrs' lives. Marcellinus, a priest, and Peter, an exorcist, died in the year 304, during the persecution of Diocletian...

along with Saint Pollio, as well as an ancient baptistry containing a painting of the crowning of Abdon and Sennen.