catacomb JUST WRITTEN FOR YOU
/ˈkatəkuːm/ · cat·a·comb
noun
- An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used historically as a cemetery. Tourists descended into the Paris catacomb to see the walls lined with skulls.
- A subterranean passageway used for burying the dead, especially in ancient cities such as Rome. Archaeologists uncovered a Roman catacomb beneath the city’s old forum.
Did you know? The Paris catacombs contain the skeletal remains of an estimated six million people and were opened to the public in 1786 as a solution to the city’s overflowing cemeteries.