Chloe Cashman

Paris on Foot
The Catacombs: Death and Burial in Paris
Documentary Script
The city of Paris is nearly 2,000 years old. 2,000 years of death, plagues, and invasions have left
the city overcrowded with both life and death. It is a city that lives in history. There are
monuments all over the city that tell the story of Pariss history of both life and of death. Some
are harder to find than others.
For centuries people have been fascinated with the idea of death and the afterlife. The
city of Paris has a unique way of living around death and its history. It is a place where history
can be seen on every corner. There are monuments and memorials located around the city to
remember French history by memorializing those who have died. Some of these memorials are
easy to find, such as Pere Lachaise, the Holocaust Memorial and the Pantheon. Other memorials
are hidden like the inconspicuous plaques and memorials located throughout the city. One of the
most famous hidden memorials is the Catacombs of Paris, buried deep under the streets of Paris
where centuries of human remains reside.
Parisian memorials are used to remember French heroes as well as family members and
victims of great tragedies. If memorials and tombs are used to remember those who have been
lost, then the question is how an estimated six million human remains could be thrown nameless,
into a place such as the catacombs.
In the 12th and 13th century, as a way to make money, the Christian church decided to start
practicing burial rituals.1 People were trying to understand what happens to their souls after death
and the church used this confusion to create burial ceremonies as revenue for the church. It
became the churches job to bury the bodies after these ceremonies.2 Burial in church cemeteries
became the most common practice among Parisian Christians until the 18th century.
After years of plagues and death the cemeteries were becoming extremely over crowded.
It was common for cemeteries to be anonymous. After a funeral service the bodies were normally
left by the family to be disposed of by the church. The amount of care taking after a death was
decided by how much a family could pay. The poor rarely even had funeral services.3

1 Philippe Aries, The Hour of Our Death: The Classic History of Western Attitudes Toward
Death Over the Last one Thousand Years,(New York: Vintage Books, 2008), 162.

2 Ibid.

3 Gordon, Bruce, and Peter Marshall. The place of the dead: Death and Remembrance in late
Medieval and Early Modern Europe, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 67-
69.
 By the 18th century Les Innocents church cemetery became one of the largest and most
popular burial grounds. It was located right in the heart of Paris around many market places and
homes. Bodies eventually had to be layered on top of each other; they even lined the walls of the
surrounding court yard. The smell from the rotting bodies was so bad it was said that one could
catch diseases by walking by it. 4 Sanitation became a huge issue. After numerous complaints,
the Council of State decided, on November 9th 1785, to prohibit further use of the Cemetery of
the Innocents and to remove its contents.5
During this same period the city had also been dealing with a series of cave-ins starting in
1774. The limestone quarries under Paris were beginning to collapse and needed reinforcement,
several columns and walls were built to help but more needed to be done. To fix both of these
problems the Parisian government under rule of King Louis XV and his successor Louis XVI,
decided to close the city cemeteries, and transport the overcrowded remains to the quarries as a
way to reinforce the walls. At the same time they would to move cemeteries outside of the city.6
At first this act was not accepted by all, the church even tried to fight the idea of moving
the remains. It wasnt until one of the walls of Les Innocents church collapsed due to rain,
exposing rotting corpses that it was apparent something needed to be done. The cemetery
officially closed in 1780. According to historian Philippe Aries, The families of those who were
buried accepted it as the destruction of the cemetery of their fathers with total indifference.7
Les Innocents was among the most troublesome of city cemeteries since it was located in
such a populated area. Moving the bodies from Les Innocents, took time since moving the
remains took place at night in respect of the families of the deceased. It took 2 and half years
from 1785-1787 to remove all of the remains. Aries wrote They dug up graves that were ten feet
deep and opened about 80 vaults. 8 Throughout Paris, cemeteries were being exhumed, the
entire process took about 12 years until all remains were placed in the quarries.
With the closing of church cemeteries new burial grounds needed to be opened outside of
the city, the most notable being Pere Lachaise, Montmarte, and La Chapelle Expiatoire. Pere
Lachaise is known for being the biggest cemetery in Paris. It opened in 1804 and now it is the
resting place of over a million people.9 There is even a waiting list to be buried there along with a
check list of items that make you eligible. Head stones there can consist of a simple head stone
4 V. Mller-Christensen, and W. H. Jopling, "An Examination of the Skulls in the Catacombs of
Paris." Medical History 8, no. 02 (1964): 187-88.

5 Ibid.

6 Audio tour of the Catacombs March 7, 2017

7 Philippe Aries, The hour of our death: the classic history of western attitudes toward death
over the last one thousand years, (New York: Vintage Books, 2008). 499.

8 Ibid.
or a small church the size of a telephone booth where family members can come to visit and
pray.
There are memorials throughout Paris. The catacombs stand out because its history is so
unique. Honestly I couldnt find a sure reason why everyone was alright with the removal of
bodies. Perhaps they were just sick of the smell or the families had even forgotten about their
deceased family members. Perhaps the families were satisfied that they still had somewhere to
visit their loved ones, as the original cemeteries were anonymous as well.

Despite its grizzly history, the catacombs attract visitors year round. It opened as an
attraction in 1874. People are fascinated by its purpose and history. Underneath the city of Paris
you can stand face to face with the dead. A first It is dank and dark and extremely unsettling but
after the initial shock, the catacombs give a humbling reminder that we all will one day be
nothing but bones. Not everyone can be great heroes of history. Not everyone can have a
monument built for them. But as long as you leave a lasting impression on the people you leave
behind you will not be forgotten. And the catacombs leave one lasting impression. Although
many of the inhabitants of the Paris catacombs are anonymous, as long as they are still open they
will not completely be forgotten.

9 Office du Tourisme et des Congres de Paris. "Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise - Office de

tourisme Paris." Www.parisinfo.com. Accessed April 11, 2017.
http://cultureandstuff.com/2011/06/08/lost-paris-the-cimetiere-des-innocents/
Bibliography
Aries, Philippe. The hour of our death: the classic history of western attitudes toward death over
the last one thousand years. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.

Gordon, Bruce, and Peter Marshall. The place of the dead: death and remembrance in late
medieval and early modern Europe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

"Homepage The Catacombs: Official website." Catacombes de Paris - Muse Carnavalet

 Histoire de la ville de Paris. November 22, 2016. Accessed April 11, 2017.
http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en/homepage-catacombs-official-website.

Korpiola, Mia, and Anu Lahtinen. "Cultures of Death and Dying in Medieval and Early Modern
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Mller-Christensen, V., and W. H. Jopling. "An Examination of the Skulls in the Catacombs of
Paris." Medical History 8, no. 02 (1964): 187-88. doi:10.1017/s0025727300029434.

Office du Tourisme et des Congres de Paris. "Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise - Office de tourisme
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