Catacombs
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{{three other uses||the Bronze Age culture|Catacomb culture|the computer game series|Catacomb 3D|the 2007 horror film|Catacombs (2007 film)}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}
{{wiktionary|catacomb}}
[[Image:Paris catacombes.jpg|thumb|Catacombs Paris]]
[[Image:Catacombe 1.jpg|thumb|Catacombs [[Rome]] - entrance]]
[[Image:Catacombe 2.jpg|thumb|Catacombs [[Rome]] - entrance (detail)]]
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 [[cave]]s, 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 [[Rome]], Italy.
* [[Catacombs of Paris]] in [[Paris]], France.
* [[Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa]] (or ''Kom al Sukkfa'', ''Shuqafa'', etc.), in [[Alexandria]], Egypt.
* [[Rabat, Malta#Catacombs|Maltese Catacomb Complexes]] in [[Rabat, Malta|Rabat]], Malta.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1113/ |title=Maltese Catacomb Complexes |publisher=[[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Centre]] |accessdate=2008-04-17 }}</ref>
* Catacombs of [[Sacromonte]] in [[Granada]], Spain.
* [[Capuchin catacombs of Palermo]], in [[Palermo]], Italy.
* Catacombs of the [[Convento de San Francisco]] in [[Lima]], Peru.
* Catacombs of [[St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna|St. Stephen's Cathedral]] in [[Vienna]], Austria.
* Catacombs of [[St. Mary's Knockbeg College]] in [[Carlow]], Ireland.
There are also catacomb-like burial chambers in [[Anatolia]], [[Turkey]]; in [[Sousse]], North Africa; in [[Naples, Italy]]; in [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]], [[Italy]]; [[Trier]], [[Germany]]; [[Kiev]], [[Ukraine]]. [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin]] catacombs of [[Palermo, Sicily]] were used as late as 1920s. Catacombs were popular in England in the 19th Century, and can be seen in many of the
grand cemeteries of the time, such as Sheffield General Cemetery.
In [[Ukraine]] and [[Russia]], catacomb (used in the local languages' plural '''''katakomby''''') also refers to the network of abandoned caves and [[tunnel]]s 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 Union|Soviet]] [[World War II]] [[guerrilla warfare|guerrillas]] (see also [[Great Patriotic War]]). Ajimushkay catacombs hosted about 10,000 fighters and [[refugee]]s. {{Fact|date=October 2007}} Many of them died and were buried there, and memorials and museums were later established (it is now a territory of [[Kerch]] city).
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== See also ==
*[[Cemetery]]
*[[Crypt]]s
*[[Necropolis]]
*[[Urban Exploration]]
== External links ==
{{commons|Catacombs|Catacombs}}
*[http://www.catacombe.org The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian]
*[http://www.showcaves.com/english/explain/Subterranea/Catacombs.html Catacombs]
*[http://www.catacombe.roma.it/index.html The Catacombs of Saint Callist]
*[http://www.yorkshire-guide.co.uk/sheffieldgeneralcemetery.aspx Catacombs in Sheffield General Cemetery]
[[Category:Catacombs| ]]
[[Category:Subterranea]]
[[Category:Cemeteries]]
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