[If] one sells a place to another to make a catacomb for him [on it], and similarly, [if] one accepts [a contract] from another to dig a catacomb for him, he makes the inside of the crypt four cubits by six, and he opens eight recesses into it: three on each side, and two on the opposite [side]. The recesses [must be] four cubits long, seven [handbreadths] high, and six [hand-breadths] wide. R' Shimon says: He makes the inside of the crypt six cubits by eight, and opens thirteen recesses into it: four on each side, three on the opposite [side], one to the right of the entrance and one to the left. He makes a courtyard at the en-trance to the crypt, six by six, sufficient space for the bier and those who bury it. He opens two crypts into it: one on each side. R' Shimon says: Four, [one] on each of its four sides. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: All according to the [nature of the] rock.