Rome's Catacombs

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The Paris catacombs are just like a solution to a problem. The limestone used to build these cities came from oceanic sediment that was deposited from little dead shelly creatures around 45 million years ago. When parts of Europe, news to me, was underneath a tropical sea full of mollusks making limestone slowly over millions of years and in Paris because of this high demand for limestone and gypsum to make stuff about 20% of the city was left susceptible to gaping hellish sinkholes.

Let’s get spooky. Venture below Parisian streets and into the catacombs: hundreds of miles of subterranean tunnels housing millions of human skeletons, some fashioned into sculpture. Alie tracked down Dr. Erin-Marie Legacey – author of “Making Space for the Dead,” professor of French history and one of the world’s foremost experts on this eerie place. We chat about everything from miasmas to sinkholes, boggling cemetery history, smells, skulls, hidden chambers, (very) underground parties, and how we view our bodies post-life. Also: Alie takes a trip to see them herself.

Dr. Legacy’s book, “Making Space for the Dead: Catacombs, Cemeteries, and the Reimagining of Paris, 1780-1830” on Bookshop.org and Amazon

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A donation went to: Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas