 This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of St. Peter, though the tomb was "smashed" in 846 AD.It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of the popes from St. Peter to the 15th century.Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building.