Catacombs

The word catacomb comes from Greek kata kumbas, “near the low place” and originally it meant a certain burial district in Rome. It can refer to any network of caves, grottos, or subterranean place that is used for the burial of the dead, or it can refer to a specific underground burial place.

Famous examples are:

• Catacombs of Aleksandria, in Alexandria, Egypt
• Catacombs of Malta in the island of Malta.
• Catacombs of Paris, in Paris, France
• Catacombs of Rome, in Rome, Italy
• Catacombs of Salzburg

There are also catacomb-like burial chambers in Anatolia, Turkey; in Susa, North Africa; in Naples, Italy; in Syracuse, Italy; and Trier, Germany. Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Sicily were used as late as 1920s.

See also: Burial mounds, Cemetery and Necropolis

External link

• About the Roman Catacombs