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{{Short description|Subterranean chamber for burials}}
{{about|the stone chambers called "crypts"||Crypt (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Crypt of Saint Antoninus, Cathedral of Palencia 031.jpg|thumb|[[Visigoths|Visigothic]] crypt of Saint Antoninus [[Palencia Cathedral]] in Spain]]
[[File:Wola Gułowska-trumna.jpg|thumb|A crypt in [[Wola Gułowska]] in [[Lublin Province]], Poland]]
A '''crypt''' ({{ety|grc|''κρύπτη'' (kryptē) [[wikt:crypta#Latin|crypta]]|[[Burial vault (tomb)|vault]]}}) is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains [[coffin]]s, [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], or [[Relic|religious relics]].

Originally, crypts were typically found below the main [[apse]] of a church, such as at the [[Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre]], but were later located beneath [[chancel]], [[nave]]s and [[transept]]s as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the ground level, such as [[St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim|St Michael's Church]] in [[Hildesheim]], [[Germany]].

==Etymology==
The word "crypt" developed as an alternative form of the [[Latin]] "vault" as it was carried over into [[Late Latin]], and came to refer to the ritual rooms found underneath church buildings. It also served as a [[Bank vault|vault]] for storing important and/or sacred items.

The word "crypta", however, is also the female form of ''crypto'' "hidden". The earliest known origin of both is in the [[Ancient Greek]] ''[[wikt:κρύπτω#Ancient Greek|κρύπτω]]'', the first person singular indicative of the verb "to conceal, to hide".

==Development==
[[File:Pori crypt 2.jpg|thumb|The 17th century crypt found in 1911 in the city of [[Pori]], Finland]]
First known in the early Christian period, in particular North Africa at [[Chlef]] and [[Djemila]] in [[Algeria]], and [[Byzantium]] at [[Monastery of Stoudios|Saint John Studio]] in [[Constantinople]] where Christian churches have been built over [[Mithraeum|mithraea]], the mithraeum has often been adapted to serve as a crypt.

The famous crypt at [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]], Rome, developed about the year 600, as a means of affording [[pilgrim]]s a view of [[Saint Peter]]'s tomb, which lay according to the Roman fashion, directly below the [[high altar]]. The [[tomb]] was made accessible through an underground passageway beneath the [[sanctuary]] from where pilgrims could enter at one stair, pass by the tomb and exit without interrupting the clerical community's service at the altar directly above.<ref>Apollonj Ghetti, ''et al.'' eds. ''Esplorazioni sotto la confessione di San Pietro. Eseguite negli anni 1940-1949'' (Città del Vaticano, 1951) 1:173-93, noted in Werner Jacobsen, "Saints' Tombs in Frankish Church Architecture" ''Speculum'' '''72'''.4 (October 1997:1107-1143) p. 1134 note 70.</ref>

The [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] crypt (the Crypt of San Antolín) in [[Palencia Cathedral]] (Spain), was built during the reign of [[Wamba (king)|Wamba]] to preserve the remains of the martyr [[Antoninus of Pamiers|Saint Antoninus of Pamiers]], a Visigothic-Gallic nobleman brought from Narbonne to Visigothic Hispania in 672 or 673 by Wamba himself. These are the only remains of the Visigothic cathedral of Palencia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rutasconhistoria.es/loc/cripta-visigoda-de-san-antolin|title=Cripta visigoda de San Antolín|last=Salvador Conejo|first=Diego|website=Rutas con historia|access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref>

Crypts were introduced into [[Franks|Frankish]] church building in the mid-8th century, as a feature of its Romanization. Their popularity then spread more widely in western Europe under [[Charlemagne]]. Examples from this period are most common in the early medieval West, for example in [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]] at [[Dijon]] and [[Tournus]].

After the 10th century, the early medieval requirements of a crypt faded, as church officials permitted relics to be held in the main level of the church. By the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] period crypts were rarely built, however [[Burial vault (tomb)|burial vaults]] continued to be constructed beneath churches and referred to as crypts.

==Burial vaults==
{{main|Burial vault (tomb)}}
In more modern terms, a crypt is most often a stone chambered [[burial vault (tomb)|burial vault]] used to store the deceased. Placing a corpse into a crypt can be called ''immurement'', and is a method of [[Disposal of human corpses|final disposition]], as an alternative to, for example, [[cremation]]. Crypts are usually found in [[cemetery|cemeteries]] and under public religious buildings, such as [[Church (building)|churches]] or [[cathedral]]s, but are also occasionally found beneath [[mausoleum]]s or [[chapel]]s on personal estates. Wealthy or prestigious families will often have a 'family crypt' or 'vault,' in which all members of the family are interred. Many [[royal family|royal families]], for example, have vast crypts containing the bodies of dozens of former royalty. In some localities, an above ground crypt is more commonly called a [[mausoleum]], which also refers to any elaborate building intended as a burial place, for any number of [[people]].

There was a trend in the 19th century of building crypts on medium to large size family estates, usually subtly placed on the edge of the grounds or more commonly incorporated into the cellar. After a change of owner, these are often blocked up and the house deeds will not allow this area to be re-developed {{citation needed|date=March 2022}}.

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
Image:Canterbury Cathedral Crypt.jpg|Crypt of [[Canterbury Cathedral]], England
Image:Worcester cathedral 031.JPG|Crypt of [[Worcester Cathedral]], England
Image:Rolduc Krypta.jpg|Crypt of [[Rolduc|Rolduc Abbey]], [[Kerkrade]] Netherlands
Image:Gent, Sint-Baafskathedraal crypte B STB 149.jpg|Crypt of [[St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent]], Belgium
Image:Inside the Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral.jpg|Crypt of [[Helsinki Cathedral]], Finland
Image:Notre Dame de Bayeux couloirs.jpg|Crypt of [[Bayeux Cathedral]], France
Image:Crypte de St Sernin Toulouse.jpg|Crypt [[Saint-Sernin Basilica]] [[Toulouse]]
Image:Zürich - Wasserkirche - Märtyrerstein - Krypta IMG 1189.jpg|[[Wasserkirche]], [[Zürich]], with '[[Martyr]] stone' of [[Felix and Regula]]
Image:St.Matthias Trier Sarkophage in der Krypta.jpg|[[St. Matthias' Abbey]], [[Trier]], Germany
Image:Dresden-Hofkirche-Gruft.jpg|[[Wettin (dynasty)|Wettin]] crypt in [[Katholische Hofkirche]], [[Dresden]]
Image:BerlinerDomFotoThalerTamas4.jpg|[[Hohenzollern]] crypt in [[Berlin Cathedral]], Germany
Image:Bernadotte Family crypt Riddarholm Church 2013 Stockholm.jpg|Crypt of [[Sweden|Swedish]] royal dynasty ([[House of Bernadotte|Bernadotte]])
Image:Kripta spomen Hram svetog Save 1.JPG|Crypt of [[Church of Saint Sava]], Serbia
Image: Olhares sobre o Museu do Ipiranga 2017 041.jpg|The Imperial Crypt and Chapel in the [[Monument to the Independence of Brazil]], [[São Paulo]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Burial vault (tomb)]]
* [[Catacomb]]
* [[Ossuary]]
* [[Sarcophagus]]
* [[Tumulus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Crypt|volume=7|pages=562–564|first=Edmund|last=Venables|author-link=Edmund Venables}} This contains a description of various specific crypts in Europe.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Building engineering]]
[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]
[[Category:Christianity and death]]
[[Category:Church architecture]]
[[Category:Rooms]]
[[Category:Semi-subterranean structures]]