Your creepy photo of the day: my wife standing next to the centuries-old bones of a few hundred long deceased Parisians. This was taken in Les Catacombes, under Paris, just a couple weeks ago. The story is, back in the 1800s (I think that’s when it was), Paris cemeteries were filling up too fast and Paris was growing too quickly so they decided to evict the dead and re-bury them in the miles and miles of old, underground quarries outside the city. Of course, Paris kept growing and these quarries are no longer outside the city, but under it. Sadly, authorities didn’t spend too much time respecting the bodies of the dead so they ended up being piled up and even turned into works of art and architectural choices for the catacombes, themselves. Being down there is depressing, humbling and somehow uplifting, too. Seeing all those bones in one place really gave me a perspective on history I didn’t have before. Seeing all of those lives represented so bluntly and so openly (via their deaths) reminded me of the “Pale Blue Dot” speech Carl Sagan once told. I felt both insignificant and incredibly important at the same time. If you’re ever in France, I highly recommend doing this. It’s incredible.
via thepete.com http://thepete.com/shot-of-sierrarein-underneath-paris-surrounded-by-a-few-thousand-or-more-former-parisians-creepy-amazing-paris-catacombes-catacombs-france-skeletons-skulls-bones/
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