adornments that Constantine apparently added to Saint Peter's tomb at this time. The sarcophagus itself is said to have been enclosed on all sides with bronze, measuring 5 feet in each dimension. On top of that was laid a gold cross weighing and featuring an inscription, which translates from Latin as "Constantine Augustus and Helena Augusta This House Shining with Like Royal Splendor a Court Surrounds." However, any treasures that may have been present at the tomb are presumed to have been taken by the Saracens during their Sack of the church in 846. The skull of Saint Peter is claimed to reside in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran since at least the ninth century, alongside the skull of Saint Paul. Modern excavation A tomb had been discovered at the beginning of the 16th century, when the foundations were being laid for the four twisted columns of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's "Confessio". Construction of Constantine's Old St. Peter's Basilica and of foundations for Bernini's Baldacchino destroyed most of the vaulting of these semi-subterranean burial chambers. Among them was the so-called "Tomb of the Julii" with mosaics that appeared to be Christian. The burial chambers were uncovered again in 1939 as workmen dug a tomb for Pope Pius XI. Over the next ten years, Monsignor Ludwig Kaas oversaw an archaeological excavation of the pagan mausoleum complex under the foundations of St. Peter's Basilica (the Vatican Necropolis), dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. No mausoleum had ever been built directly beneath the present high altar of St Peter's, which did however contain shallow burials, one dated by an impressed tile to the reign of Vespasian; subsequently they had been attended with care, as later burials clustered round but did not encroach upon the space. There was a small niched monument built into a wall ca. 160. The discoveries made the pages of Life magazine. Saint Peter's relics allegedly discovered in 1942 In 1942, the Administrator of St. Peter's, Ludwig Kaas, found remains in a second tomb in the monument. Being concerned that these presumed relics of a saint would not be accorded the respect they deserved, and having little understanding of correct archeological procedures, he secretly ordered these remains stored elsewhere for safe keeping. After Kaas's death, Margherita Guarducci discovered these relics by chance. She informed Pope Paul VI of her belief that these remains were those of Saint Peter. The