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- entrance]] - entrance (detail)]] The original catacombs are a network of underground burial galleries near San Sebastiano Fuori Le Mura , in Rome . 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 are:
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 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. They served as bases for Soviet World War II Guerrillas (see also Great Patriotic War ). Ajimushkay catacombs hosted about 10.000 fighters and Refugee s. 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 REFERENCES #“Chambers Dictionary of Etymology”, Chambers (New York), 1988, ISBN 0-550-14230-4, see ''catacomb'' and ''tomb'' EXTERNAL LINKS |