Catacombs

For other uses, see Catacombs (disambiguation).

A procession in the San Callistus catacombs in Rome.

Catacombs are ancient, human-made underground passageways or subterranean cemeteries composed thereof. Many are under cities and have served during historic times as a refuge for safety during wars or as a meeting place for cults. The first burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. The derivation of the word itself is disputed and it remains unclear if it ultimately derives from the cemetery itself or from the locality in which it is found. There is no doubt however that the San Sebastiano catacombs are the first to be referred to as such.

The word now refers to any network of caves, grottos, or subterranean galleries that were used in medieval times as refuges during wars, as worship places, or for burial of the dead.

Catacombs around the world

Rome Catacombs - entrance.

Rome Catacombs - entrance (detail).

Paris Catacombs.

Famous examples include:

• Catacombs of Rome in Italy.
• Catacombs of Paris in France.
• Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (or Kom al Sukkfa, Shuqafa, etc.), in Alexandria, Egypt.
• Maltese Catacomb Complexes in Rabat, Malta.
• Catacombs of Sacromonte in Granada, Spain.
• Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, in Italy.
• Catacombs of the Convento de San Francisco in Lima, Peru.
• Catacombs of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria.
• Catacombs of St. Mary's Knockbeg College in Carlow, Ireland.
• Catacombs of Edinburgh in Scotland.
• Catacombs of London in England.

There are also catacomb-like burial chambers in Anatolia, Turkey; in Sousse, North Africa; in Naples, Italy; in Syracuse, Italy; Trier, Germany; Kiev. Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Sicily were used as late as 1920s. Catacombs were popular in England in the 19th Century, and can be seen in many of the grand cemeteries of the time, such as Sheffield General Cemetery. There are catacombs in Bulgaria near Aladzha Monastery and in Romania as medieval underground galleries in Bucharest.

In Ukraine and Russia, catacomb (used in the local languages' plural katakomby) also refers to the network of abandoned caves and tunnels earlier used to mine stone, especially limestone. Such catacombs are situated in Crimea and the Black Sea coast of these two countries. The most famous are Odessa Catacombs and Ajimushkay, Crimea, Ukraine. In the early days of Christianity, believers conducted secret worship services in these burial caves for safety and reverence for the dead. Later, they served as bases for Soviet World War II guerrillas (see also Great Patriotic War). Ajimushkay catacombs hosted about 10,000 fighters and refugee. Many of them died and were buried there, and memorials and museums were later established (it is now a territory of Kerch city).

See also

• Cemetery
• Crypt
• Necropolis
• Urban Exploration
• Cask of Amontillado

External links

• The Catacombs of Paris
• The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian
• Catacombs
• The Catacombs of Saint Callist
• Subterranean Britannica