In the Lateran Museum at Rome perhaps the largest and most interesting collection of ancient Christian sarcophagi in the world has been gathered together. It is hard to say just how many different specimens are represented. At least thirty-eight are more or less complete; and there are, besides, numerous fragments of others, some of which have doubtless been reckoned in the larger estimates sometimes given. A few were found in the various catacombs which like the encampments of a besieging army encircle the walls of Rome. The majority came from the early basilicas, which sprang up so rapidly after Constantine's Edict had proclaimed that the victory of these Christian hosts had indeed been won. It would be difficult to assign an exact date to many of these sarcophagi; but in general it may be said that they represent the fourth and fifth centuries, with a few specimens from still earlier generations, and a few others which reach forward into the sixth century.