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Why were the Catacombs in Paris, France built?

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It took the city 12 years to move all the bones—from bodies numbering between 6 and 7 million—into the catacombs. Some of the oldest date back as far as the Merovingian era, more than 1,200 years ago. Beginning during the French Revolution, the dead were buried directly in the catacomb's ossuaries. read more

The Catacombs of Paris (French: Catacombes de Paris, (help · info)) are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of a tunnel network built to consolidate Paris' ancient stone mines. read more

As Paris grew into its a role as a major European hub, it eventually ran into a major problem: by the 17th century, enough people had lived and died in Paris that its cemeteries were overflowing, overstuffed with graves to the point when corpses, at times became uncovered. read more

Paris has only 2-3 million people, currently and the construction/ relocation took place over the span of 12 years not two, and people were buried in the catacombs during the revolution. The latter was not exclusive to post revolutionary burials. read more

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Further Research

Catacombs of Paris
www.smithsonianmag.com

More than 2000 years of history
www.catacombes.paris.fr