Famous examples are:

• Catacombs of Rome in Italy
• Catacombs of Paris in France
• Kom al Sukkfa, Catacombs of Alexandria, Egypt
• Catacombs of Malta on the Mediterranean island of Malta
• Catacombs of Sacromonte in Granada, Spain.
• Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Italy.
• Catacombs of Lima in Peru.

The word itself comes from Late Latin plural catacumbæ, from the phrase cata tumbas (among the tombs), through metathesis and with attraction of -cumbere (to lie), from Greek κατα (down) and ultimately from Greek τυμβος (tomb) (1).

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. They served as bases for Soviet World War II guerrillas (see also Great Patriotic War). Ajimushkay catacombs hosted about 10.000 fighters and refugees. Many of them died and were buried there, and memorials and museums were later established (it is now a territory of Kerch city).

See also

• Burial mounds
• Cemetery
• Crypts
• Necropolis
• Urban Exploration

References

1. “Chambers Dictionary of Etymology”, Chambers (New York), 1988, ISBN 0-550-14230-4, see catacomb and tomb

External links

• Catacombs

Subterranea | Cemeteries

Katakombe | Katakombe | Catacumbas | Catacombes | Catacombe | Katakomba | Catacombe | カタコンブ | Katakombe | Katakumby | Katakomb