Arrête! C’est ici l’empire de la mort! Stop! This is the empire of the dead!
These are the words carved into the entrance of the ossuary in the Catacombs of Paris. An unsettling warning, informing those who may proceed that they are about to witness 6 million people buried in this maze-like system. The first section of the path through the Catacombs is just carved limestone stone and rock tunnels, sometimes tapering off to other pathways blocked by iron gates. Halfway through, however, my class and I came upon stacks and stacks of human skulls and femurs, carefully placed in patterns. This pile of bones was even made to look like a heart. Cute… I think?
Walking through the belly of Paris was a cool feeling, both literally and figuratively, as the Catacombs stay around 64 degrees Ferenheit year-round. The path felt like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, and I was prepared to shove my classmates out of the way if a skeleton started chasing me. The way the skulls were stacked gave the feeling that you were being watched as you traversed into the bowels of Paris, deep below the traffic and beautiful Haussmanian architecture.
At first, it was hard for me to grasp the fact that these are real human remains, especially because there is no identification for each person like there is in a traditional cemetery. Honestly, there are just far too many bones to even try to identify them individually. However, there are markers along the way stating where the bodies were exhumed from and the date. Many of these bones came from already established graves dating as far back as the Medieval era. This was to combat the major health issues linked to cemeteries in the late 18th century because a lot of dead people + improper burial = disease.
One aspect of this trip to the Catacombs that I particularly enjoyed was reading the quotes on stone plaques throughout the tunnels. Both French and Latin words decorate the space, each discussing death in some way. It allowed for contemplation and space to understand the gravity of death, especially in a space where so many people are buried. The quotes range from being calmer about dying, accepting it as an inevitable fate, to being quite frightened. I think this reflects how people view this aspect of humanity on a spectrum and invites people to consider their own feelings towards death and the afterlife.
Here are some of my favorites.
So all things pass upon the earth
Spirit, beauty, grace, talent
Ephemeral as a flower
Tossed by the slightest breeze
What enclosures are open! What narrow spaces
Between these walls hold the dust of races!
It is in these places of oblivion, it is among these tombs
That time and death come to cross their scythes.
So many dead piled and pressed under the Earth!
Numbers here mean nothing; the crowd is lonely.
But the sting of death is sin
Wherever you go, death follows (as) a body’s shadow