We have certainly been taking advantage of our time in Paris.  We have been walking all over the city to take in all that it has to offer!  A few days ago, we hopped on the metro and headed to the southern part of the city to explore the Catacombs of Paris.  The Catacombs of Paris is an underground ossuary that holds the remains of about 6 million people and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of Paris' stone mines.  Originally the site of a mass grave for those who could not afford a cemetery burial at a church, the graves soon were overflowing and the deterioration of so many bodies led to unsanitary conditions for the residents whose primary water source was wells.  It wasn't until the late 18th century that it was decided to create three new large-scale suburban burial grounds, and condemn the existing site.  The catacombs in their first years were mainly a bone repository, but in the early 1800's, the arrangement of skulls and femurs into the configuration seen in the catacombs today transformed it into a visitable sepulture.

As we arrived at the Catacombs entrance, we stood in line and watched the guard at the entrance add to the count of people in the tunnels below.  Because the tunnels are so far below ground, and because there are only a few (narrow) staircases to get out, only 200 people are allowed underground at one time.  After purchasing our tickets, we began the trek down into the ground, taking a narrow spiral staircase over 130 steps to reach the bottom.  Once underground, we spent some time walking through the dimly-lit tunnels as the limestone above us dripped water from the earth.

 Once we reached the end of the stone tunnels, we saw a sign requesting that we respect the site we were about to enter; over 6 million people have found their final resting place in these tunnels.  We entered the tunnels, and took in everything around us: we were surrounded by the bones of those who had passed hundreds of years ago.  We immediately recognized the stacking of the bones we had read about; femurs and skulls created the walls of the tunnels, while the rest of the bones seemed to be stacked on top.  (Laura had to suppress her urge to recall her anatomy courses and start naming all of the bones.)

If Laura's French is still decent, this reads "Stop! This is the empire of death."

Femurs and skulls line the walls of the tunnels.

The whole experience was creepy, but very interesting.  We were certainly grateful to see sunlight after our  2 kilometer trek in the depths of the city!

Laura and Bryan

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