table tomb (tabltom)

In the Roman catacombs, a rectangular rece in a gallery, parallel with the pa ageway, containing a burial chest of stone or masonry with a flat cover. The name is also given to other tombs, of any age or people, which bear some resemblance to a table. Compare altar - tomb. In the table - tomb the rece above, e ential for the introduction of the corpse, is square, while in the arcosolium, a form of later date, it is semi-circular. Encyc . Brit ., V. 209.