Beneath the streets of Paris, a network of tunnels shelters the remains of millions of individuals: these are the famous catacombs. Problem: we don’t know much about these millions of people, whose bones have been piled up there for centuries. A unique new study could reveal many secrets.
The catacombs of Paris are a huge underground ossuary created at the end of the 18the century to resolve the problems of overpopulation of Parisian cemeteries, particularly that of the Innocents. At that time, municipal authorities decided to transfer the remains of millions of bodies to the city’s former underground quarries for health reasons.
Today, between 5 and 6 million people rest theretheir bones arranged in a decorative manner along the tunnels, to the delight of tourists. Bones that a team of anthropologists, archaeologists, doctors and biologists are now trying to make speak through the very first study carried out on the skeletons of the Paris catacombs. The objective? Understand how these individuals lived, what killed them and what diseases marked their time.
Diseases and surgical operations
The study was able to be initiated after the collapse in 2022 of a wall of bones, called “hague”. This unexpected event gave scientists unique access to new areas of the catacombs, and therefore to new bones. Multiple illnesses actually leave visible marks on the bonessuch as rickets, syphilis or even leprosy. Thanks to modern DNA analysis techniques, it is also possible to identify faster infections, such as plague, which do not directly affect bones, rapporte The Guardian.
In addition to diseases, the bones reveal clues about the medical and surgical practices of the time. The research team notably discovered traces of trepanationsamputations and autopsies, highlighting the efforts of doctors and surgeons of yesteryear to treat the ailments of their patients.
This study opens a window on the evolution of infectious diseases over the centuries, even making it possible to compare ancient strains with those that still exist today. And that’s without counting the radiocarbon dating, which should be carried out soon to precisely determine the age of the bones and establish correlations with the periods of health crises that Paris has gone through. Mysteries (very) soon revealed.
Source: www.slate.fr
