The Empire of the Dead Beneath Paris

These shots were taken with a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX on a Nikon D3200.

The year was 1780, and the cemeteries of Paris were overflowing.

A basement wall near the Cimetière des Saints-Innocents collapsed due to the sheer weight of the interred bodies. It was said that milk soured within seconds. It was then decreed that no more burials were allowed within the city walls.

A particularly mossy skull

The issue of what to do with the existing, overcrowded cemeteries coincided with another dilemma facing the city: the reinforcement of old mining tunnels beneath the streets. Officials realized they could consolidate their efforts by repurposing the mines as a subterranean tomb. For two years, beginning in 1786, nightly wagon processions transported the human remains below.

In the early 19th century, Louis-Étienne Héricart de Thury, the director of the mine inspection service, began renovations to transform the catacombs into the macabre spectacle it is today. This included the decorative stacking and arrangement of bones, as well as inscriptions of quotes dealing with death and mortality.

The graffiti in Paris is often pervasive

Life and death coinciding