France · 1789Catacombs of ParisA whole population, unnamed, arranged as decoration. Who decided that, and when?The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people. The ossuary was created as part of the effort to eliminate the effects of the city's overflowing cemeteries. In addition to directing the stacking of skulls, femurs and tibias into the patterns seen in the catacombs today he used the cemetery decorations he could find (formerly stored on the Tombe-Issoire property; many had disappeared after the 1789 Revolution) to complement the walls of bones.Catacombs & Underground · Poland
Skull Chapel
The open question
Bones of thousands, or millions, moved and stacked. Where did all these people come from, and why are the names gone?
On the record
The Skull Chapel is an ossuary chapel located in the Czermna district of Kudowa-Zdrój, in southwestern Poland. Built in Baroque style in the last quarter of the 18th century, the temple serves as a mass grave with thousands of skulls and human skeletal remains adorning its interior walls, floor, ceiling, and foundations.
- Year
- 1776
- Kind
- ossuary
Sources
More from Catacombs & Underground
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Italy · 1822Catacomb of PriscillaWho dug all this, and where did all the rock go?The Catacomb of Priscilla is a large archaeological site on the Via Salaria in Rome, Italy, situated in what was a quarry in Roman times. The catacombs extend underground for over seven miles, making them one of Rome's most extensive catacombs. it was used for thousands of Christian burials from the late 2nd century through the 4th century.
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