Name: Areeba Aftab

Week #1

Article #2

Date: 1 March, 2018.

Catacombs of Paris: A labyrinth of dead under the city of lights

Paris, the capital of France, is often regarded as the city of lights. It is

one of the most popular cities of the world. But beneath this dazzling
city of France, lies a 200 meter long tunnel holding remains of 6 million
of its former inhabitants. Back in 17th century, a sudden increase was
observed in the city’s population, giving rise to open graves, unearthed
corpses and improper burials. Those who lived near the graveyard of
the city, Les Innocents, claimed that a strong disgusting smell was
executed from the graves. This smell was unbearable and started
spreading many diseases among the citizens. Later in 1780, Paris
experienced some major rainfall. The heavy rains caused the dead
bodies to come out of the graves. Skulls and human bones could be
seen lying around the city.

To overcome this arduous situation, the lime stone mines that lied
under the city were turned into a burial place. All, the corpse from Les
Innocents, were transferred into these mines. It took two years for the
transfer of human carcasses to the underground catacombs. But it was
after the French Revolution, when the newly dead were directly buried
in these catacombs. These tunnels are open for the general public even
today and are regarded as a popular tourist attraction for those visiting
Paris.