Six million images of death

Published August 7, 2014
A skull peeks out at the Catacombs of Paris, which hold over six million skulls and bones from over two hundred years ago. — Photo by AFP
A skull peeks out at the Catacombs of Paris, which hold over six million skulls and bones from over two hundred years ago. — Photo by AFP
These underground quarries were used to store the remains of generations of Parisians to cope with the overcrowding of Paris' cemeteries at the end of the 18th century. — Photo by AFP
These underground quarries were used to store the remains of generations of Parisians to cope with the overcrowding of Paris' cemeteries at the end of the 18th century. — Photo by AFP
The cemetery has been open to the public and is a popular tourist attraction since 1874. — Photo by AFP
The cemetery has been open to the public and is a popular tourist attraction since 1874. — Photo by AFP
Here, people inspect a passageway inside one of these three suburban burial grounds near Paris. — Photo by AFP
Here, people inspect a passageway inside one of these three suburban burial grounds near Paris. — Photo by AFP
A woman takes a picture of one of the skulls. — Photo by AFP
A woman takes a picture of one of the skulls. — Photo by AFP
Some of the arrangements are almost artistic in nature, such as a heart-shaped outline in one wall formed with skulls embedded in surrounding tibias; another is a round room whose central pillar is also a carefully created 'keg' bone arrangement. — Photo by AFP
Some of the arrangements are almost artistic in nature, such as a heart-shaped outline in one wall formed with skulls embedded in surrounding tibias; another is a round room whose central pillar is also a carefully created 'keg' bone arrangement. — Photo by AFP

The Catacombs of Paris are a group of underground burial tunnels which hold the remains of about six million people from the late 18th and 19th centuries.

These ossuaries were originally stone mines, before they were renovated and prepared to host dead bodies in the late 18th centuries. Today, people flock to the site and descend 19 metres down a spiral stairwell to look at six million images of death.

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