Although burials are intrinsically connected with an individual, the tombs themselves are normally associated with a family or a group. Being buried as part of a group is not a modern concept and being buried as part of a group, whether familiar, religious or associated with trade, was something that has been carried out since time immemorial. Although Roman and Late Roman tombs in Malta seem to have been predominantly familiar, you could also choose to be buried within a group, called Collegia Funeraticia. These colleges were of two types: one that offered burial to people who did not have their own tomb; the second connected to a particular trade. Carved with a set of surgical tools, this stone that once closed a burial chamber within the St Paul’s Catacombs is an indication that this tomb belonged to a surgeon and his family or to a Collegium Funeraticium set up by a group of surgeons.
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