Unusual Materials

  

The Catacombs of Paris

The thought of bones made into wall designs sounds disgusting at first. But, once given the chance to explore the Catacombs in Paris, France many people begin to find it fascinating. Dating back to medieval times, the catacombs are a system of underground tunnels that run beneath the city of Paris. The bones of thousands of bodies line the walls to form interesting, yet morbid, decorations.

I was very lucky to have the opportunity a few years ago to visit these catacombs. Upon entering all visitors have to receive an introduction. During this introduction, I learned a lot about the history of the catacombs. I was also told not to steal any of the bones. Apparently they have had many situations in the past with missing bones. They had even caught people stealing the bones in their backpacks and purses to take home as a souvenir. Just being in the catacombs made me feel uncomfortable. I could not even imagine taking a piece home with me!

As my family and I entered into the underground tunnels at around two in the afternoon, the sunlight disappeared and artificial light lit the way down into the tunnel system. Thousands of leg and arm bones had been stacked upon one another to form the walls of the tunnel. As we got deeper into the system we came across many of the designs we had been told about during our introduction. Skulls were a decorative piece on many of the walls. Different types of bones had been laid in many directions to form patterns. It was the strangest form of decoration I had ever seen.

We were told that it was not uncommon in centuries past for people to get stuck or abandoned in the tunnels. About half of the way through the tour we came across a carving that had been made into the rock side of a tunnel. A man who had been trapped in the tunnels had carved a small castle model into the stone siding. This was also the place that he died after creating his masterpiece. This was only one of the creepy stories that we were told during the tour. Although I was extremely interested in the tunnels I could not stop thinking about how creepy the experience had become.

The wall designs and tunnel systems were very fascinating and beautiful. Although it took me a while to get used to looking at so many human bones, the tour became a good experience that I will never forget. It is interesting to see how unusual materials can be applied in different types of places.  This is the most interesting use of an unusual material that I have ever experienced.