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Catacombs Paris

Catacombs Rome - entrance

Catacombs Rome - entrance (detail)

Catacombs Lima. Convento de San Fransisco

The original catacombs are a network of underground burial galleries beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome. The derivation of the word itself is disputed and it remains unclear if it ultimately derives from the cemetery itself or from the locality in which it is found. There is no doubt however that the San Sebastiano catacombs are the first to be referred to as such.

The word now refers 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 include:

• Catacombs of Rome in Italy
• Catacombs of Paris in France
• Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa (or Kom al Sukkfa) in Alexandria, Egypt^{[citation needed]}
• Catacombs of Malta on the Mediterranean island of Malta^{[citation needed]}
• Catacombs of Sacromonte in Granada, Spain.
• Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Italy.
• Catacombs of Lima in Peru.^{[citation needed]}
• Catacombs under St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna.
• Catacombs under Knockbeg College in Carlow, Ireland.

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

In Ukraine and Russia, catacomb (used in the local languages' plural katakomby) also refers to the network of abandoned caves and tunnels earlier used to mine stone, especially limestone. Such catacombs are situated in Crimea and the Black Sea coast of these two countries. The most famous are catacombs beneath Odessa and Ajimushkay, Crimea, Ukraine. In the early days of Christianity, believers conducted secret worship services in these burial caves for safety and reverence for the dead. Later, they served as bases for Soviet World War II guerrillas (see also Great Patriotic War). Ajimushkay catacombs hosted about 10,000 fighters and refugees.^{[citation needed]} Many of them died and were buried there, and memorials and museums were later established (it is now a territory of Kerch city).

Catacombs (2007 film) is the name of a film starring Alecia Moore (aka Pink) due to release in 2007, which takes place in the Parisian catacombs.^{[citation needed]}

• Cemetery
• Crypts
• Necropolis
• Urban Exploration

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Catacombs

• Catacombs
• The Christian Catacombs of Rome