la mort

As we walked down the spiral staircase, I could feel myself descending further into the bowels of Paris. We step onto the wet murk of the cavern floor, making our way toward the entrance marked by a plaque:

A moment later, I find myself surrounded by the remains of thousands of dead bodies. An expansive collection of skulls, femurs, arms, with smaller bones shoved toward the back. I imagine the process of arranging these bones in such a fashion. I imagine the person who thought to make a heart design out of a dozen fragile skulls. 

As we walked along theses halls, I noticed the recurring plaques printed "Les Innocents". Initially, this had creeped me out. Why was it that they referred to these bones as those of the innocent? 

Upon my return home, I began to dig into this question. The term had not been referring to the bodies, but rather to the cemetery they had initially occupied. Due to an influx of bodies in the cemetery "Saint Innocence"(amongst others), the streets of Paris began to reek of dead bodies. To prevent further hygenic dilemas, the city of Paris began to remove old bodies, and transfer them into this underground mausoleum. 

Though I'm glad the streets of Paris no longer reek of decaying flesh, I find this mass body storage somewhat impersonal. Though it is incredible to walk though this immense pile of historic bones, I couldnt help but feel this his means of storage somewhat impersonal. Thousands of nameless bodies perfectly alligned, for toursits to photograph and observe. For me, there is something haunting about this image.