same level. This tomb is located under the seventh step in front of the middle door of the church. I am told that the sarcophagus now used as a fountain, in the court of the Swiss Guards, was discovered at the time of Gregory XIII in the same place, and that it contained the body of a pagan. Place of martyrdom The circus was the site of the first organized, state-sponsored martyrdoms of Christians in 65 AD. Tradition holds that two years later, Saint Peter and many other Christians shared their fate. The circumstances were described in detail by Tacitus in a well-known passage of the Annals (xv.44). The site for crucifixions in the Circus would have been along the spina ("spine"), as suggested by the 2nd century Acts of Peter describing the spot of his martyrdom as inter duas metas ("between the two metae or turning-posts", which would have been equidistant between the two ends of the circus). However, the existing Latin manuscript of the Acts of Peter belongs to the 6th-7th century and is believed to be a 4th-5th century translation of the original Greek. The Greek text has survived in 9th century and later manuscripts only, which does not allow to determine the exact date of this description precisely. The obelisk at the centre of this circus's spina always remained standing, until it was re-erected in Saint Peter's Square in the 16th century by the architect Domenico Fontana. The obelisk was originally brought to Rome by Caligula. The traditional location of Saint Peter's tomb is in this area, in the cemetery mentioned above and on a site suggested by the basilica (see below). Constantine's basilica A basilica (Old St. Peter's) was erected by Constantine over the site, using some of the existing structure of the Circus of Nero. The basilica was sited so that its apse was centered on Peter's tomb (now beneath the high altar of the current St Peter's Basilica). The circus itself was already abandoned by the middle of the second century AD, when the area was partitioned and given in concession to private individuals for the construction of tombs belonging to the necropolis. However it seems most of the ruins of the Circus survived until 1450, when they were finally destroyed by the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica. See also Circus Maximus Index of Vatican City-related articles References External links stpetersbasilica.info