THE ROMAN CATACOMBS

BY JACOB SWIDORSKY

THE CATACOMBS
The catacombs are long, large burial grounds of ancient Rome
Catacombs were usually created for massive wipes outs of population by disease or other
forms of death
They are several kilometers long and pitch black
The deeper you get, the more of a chance of getting lost
Claimed to be the place where the Holy Grail is hidden

No one has been able to excavate the whole catacombs because of their length

THE EARLIEST CATACOMBS

Earliest catacombs rank back to the first century where they were used by the Jewish
population
A century later, the Christians used the catacombs due to Roman law restrictions
Tombs were built with a soft volcanic rock called tufo
Christians figured that the Romans wouldnt find out that they were using the catacombs for
burials
Jews and Christians wanted a proper burial for each body instead of burning their bodies

Christians would ask to be buried near saints

No one has been able to excavate the catacombs

THE PARIS CATACOMBS : CEMETERY OF THE

INNOCENTS
Built during the eighteenth century

Ancient cemetery that spread infections and released a putrid odor

People said that if you would walk by the cemetery you would contract a disease
At night, thieves and necromancers would go to the cemetery
Grave-robbers as they called them were people who would steal corpses and sell them to
medical students for research

The Paris Catacombs

Cemetery of Innocents

THE CEMETERY OF INNOCENTS

The cemeterys size eventually began overflowing

People would arise in their homes only to find their house was invaded by the dead
The people of Paris held a riot

Thus this caused the removal of the bones which were to be moved to the newly made
catacombs
The church was angered by this defeat, but King Louis XVI was able to demolish the cemetery

CONSTRUCTION AND HISTORY OF THE CATACOMBS

They were able to build the catacombs with immense quantities of stone
They were able to transfer the bones to the bottom with a well
During WWII, French Resistance fighters would hide in the quarries as well as Germans would
build bunkers in them
People who become obsessed with the catacombs are called cataphiles
They will spend a large period of time in the underground tunnels exploring

LOST

The Roman catacombs and Paris catacombs are very similar, it is easy to become intrigued to
find out more secrets deeper in the catacombs and it is easy to become lost
It is recommended to anyone who explores the catacombs to never go alone and to always
have someone who knows where they are going
An explorer found a video recorder in the Paris catacombs

The footage showed a man, alone, recording his discoveries in the catacombs such as tombs
and paintings until he becomes frightened by something and begins running, eventually
dropping his camera where the explorer found it

PICTURES

WORKS CITED

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/rome-catacombs/
http://www.crystalinks.com/romecatacombs.html
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/paris-underground/shea-text
http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/homepage-catacombs-official-website

http://cultureandstuff.com/2011/06/08/lost-paris-the-cimetiere-des-innocents/