The Centocelle Necropolis is associated with the large imperial property Ad Duas Lauros - a sprawling Roman imperial villa in which Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine I had lived. The Mausoleum of Helena, part of the Ad Duas Lauros complex, was originally designed by Constantine I to be his own personal tomb - but later became the tomb of his mother. The building is on a circular plan with two cylinders and an original height of 25.42 meters. The lower cylinder has an octagonal shape with eight arcaded windows designed to allow in light. After the death of Helena, the Ad Duas Lauros was assigned to the Roman popes. The Sarcophagus of Helena was moved to the Lateran (currently in the Vatican) in the 11th century where it can be seen today.

Previously the cemetery of the equites singulares Augusti (the personal cavalry of the emperor) was housed where the mausoleum was built. However the cavalry sided with Roman Emperor Maxentius against Constantine during the famous Battle of the Milvian bridge in 312 AD. This was the famous battle where Constantine had a vision of Christ and had his armies paint their shields with a Chi-Rho emblem. His inspired soldiers annihilated the army of Maxentius who while escaping drowned in the Tiber River. His body was later fished from the river and decapitated - his head paraded through Rome before being sent to Africa. As a result of the actions of the equites singulares, Constantine had their cemetery destroyed and replaced by his newly built Mausoleum.

Below the Mausoleum lies the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter which pre-date the Mausoleum, being constructed around 200 AD (located today below the modern church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro ad Duas Lauros). These catacombs have a mixture of pagan and Christian imagery - surprisingly very mixed - one room even depicts Peter striking water from a rock next to Orpheus playing a lyre. In another room containing one of the most famous frescoes of Christian art, the Cuble of the Saints Eponymous, is adorned with Christ sitting on a throne dressed in a purple tunic - like a Roman emperor. Skeletons buried within the catacombs appear to have undergone complex burial rites consisting of being covered in plaster or amber and wrapped in textiles.

The area of the Centocelle Archaeological Park is a vast green area of 136 hectares in the Rome V Municipality. The Villa ad Duas Lauros is the most famous villa in this region of Ancient Rome. The complex began construction during the Roman Republic and this continued until the end of the Western Roman Empire. The garden was originally decorated with sculptures such as the two-faced Eros of Centocelle. There was a theatrical section with a large room and a square courtyard with surrounding porch. A total of 61 human remains were found in the necropolis for the villa from which we have collected our ancient samples. The identities of these individuals is not clear, other than their ties to the villa.