The Catacombs in Paris

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The catacombs under Paris are always being maintained and renovated. Is there any way to identify the dead or would DNA testing tell us anything about the Parisian population? Does bio archaeology on it continue to be a kind of a research area that's still in use today?" The big question asked by Patrons Courtney Peterson AP Felix wolves the lucky honey Montana Flynn Sonya bird sleepy John Laura Lemon Don and Eric Easton Kate Menkar Lindsay James Ali Meyer Sarah Meaden Dana B Mackenzie King and Benjamin eventually wanted to know about the identities of the people who had been buried beneath them.

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