The History of the Catacombs

What are the origins of the Catacombs? The history of the catacombs begins in the first century. Christians in Rome were persecuted – not free to outwardly worship and certainly not free to bury their dead in the name of religion. At the time, the practice was for anyone that owned land to simply bury their dead on their property. However, most people ended up in cemeteries that were shared by all, including those considered pagans.

It wasn’t until the second century that the Christians began burying their dead underground – but in exclusivity to Christianity. If you were practicing something else, you weren’t allowed there. Over time, the religion came to the forefront, if you will, and burials began to happen above ground in Christian cemeteries.

Between looting, attacks, natural disasters and the change in burial customs, many of the catacombs were simply abandoned over time. For hundreds of years, no one knew of their existence. It was only centuries later, beginning in 1575, that the discovery and examination of the catacombs began.

The catacombs consist of miles and miles of connected underground tunnels. Within the walls of these tunnels are shallow graves and the corpses and bones of millions of people. In Paris alone, the count underground is between three and six million dead bodies. In 1786, Paris no longer had room to bury the dead above ground, so once again, the catacombs served a very useful purpose. All the bodies from the Cemetary of the Innocents were taken to the catacombs. Bones were grouped together and arranged, as you can see in the picture.

There are no longer any burials there and no remains have been transferred since the late 1800s. Today, there are as many people visiting the Catacombs as those eternally sleeping below. Many claim to hear voices and feel the chill as they are surrounded by the city of the dead. After all, there is a warning outside of the Catacombs. It says in French “Stop! This is the empire of death.”

Just so you know, this was socreepy’s abbreviated version. There is much more to learn about the history of the catacombs.

(Photos courtesy of Mike & Trish Pflantz)