2023-12-17 15:40:41
Headlamp on his hat, Martin Muriot is carefully arranging a row of femurs. Around him are boxes from which he picks bones sorted by size and shape, like a gigantic puzzle. Its goal: to combine the different pieces in such a way as to leave as little empty space as possible and to restore the wall of bones, called « hague »its original appearance, as shaped by the quarrymen at the beginning of the 19th century.
This professional wall worker has a trained eye: he usually repairs the dry stone walls of Romanesque churches, bread ovens and other vestiges of the built heritage in Saône-et-Loire. To reach his new workplace, 20 meters underground, he must descend the 130 steps of the spiral staircase, then take a labyrinth of underground galleries to a wrought iron gate. Behind is the Hague of the September Martyrs where the remains of a thousand prisoners executed by the sans-culottes in 1792 are piled up.
“At first, we are impressed, a little uncomfortable”
Transposing his know-how from Burgundy limestone to human bones was not without apprehension for Martin Muriot: “At first, we are impressed, a little uncomfortable, especially when we come across teeth. Putting on gloves and a mask allows us to create a certain distance and respect these human remains even if, very quickly, we focus solely on our mission: building the most solid and durable structure possible.» Already in the 1950s, restorations had been carried out but the weight of the mortar used to seal the breaches and consolidate the wall ended up precipitating its collapse.
Started on Monday December 11, this new “pilot” project therefore aims to develop a new methodology to preserve in the long term the entire site, weakened by the passage of time, the humid atmosphere and the intense attendance (600,000 visitors per year, 85% of whom are foreigners).
The archaeologist-restorer Clotilde Proust, who for twelve years was responsible for the conservation laboratory of the National Archeology Museum, examined in detail the 216 walls of bones and diagnosed around twenty to be monitored closely. In addition to that of the September Martyrs, two other hagues will be restored in 2024 and 2025, thanks to the sponsorship of the Roc Eclerc Foundation for a total amount of €218,000.
“We don’t visit this place as if we were going to Disneyland”
A vast renovation program will then begin, from September 2025, mainly financed by Paris City Hall to the tune of 9 million euros, including 5.4 million for the work. Paris Musée hopes to find patrons to complete the city’s contribution and carry out all of the planned developments.
The projects that will continue until 2026 are numerous as the current installations are dilapidated: repair of lights, improvement of fire safety and air recycling, installation of video surveillance to prevent theft and acts of vandalism , numerous in the past.
A new scenography should also see the light of day, even if the reception room and the information panels have already experienced a “surge” in September. “You don’t visit this place like you would go to Disneyland. The mediation must give pride of place to the history, the fragility of the site but also to the mysterious and spiritual dimension of the visit», explains Isabelle Knafou, administrator of the Catacombs, who has relied on a scientific council since October 19.
Unhealthy curiosity?
The slightly kitsch decor created at the beginning of the 19th century, by the general inspector of quarries Héricart de Thury, will remain unchanged, with its antique obelisks painted on the pillars, its verses by Virgil or Lamartine engraved in the marble.
“None of his installations are obscene. None implicate individuals or communities», specifies Michel Van Praët, professor emeritus at the Natural History Museum. For this specialist, author of several reports on human remains in public collections, this staging made it possible to restore the form of an ossuary, and therefore a dignity, to what, previously, was only a pile of remains. bone.
Despite the precautions taken, does the exhibition of human remains not encourage a form of unhealthy curiosity, at a time when tourism is developing which focuses on the macabre? Isabelle Knafou specifies that this reality only concerns a small part of the public and that “the best way to guard against this remains to diversify audiences and bring in heritage lovers.”
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A place of memory
Considered the largest underground ossuary in the world, the Paris Catacombs house the remains of several million Parisians, dating from the 10th to the 18th century. It was from 1785 that the authorities decided to empty certain intramural cemeteries towards the disused quarries of Tombe-Issoire, located at the time outside the capital. Until 1860, bones were regularly thrown from the wells into this “temple of equality”, where Molière, La Fontaine and Colbert rub shoulders with anonymous people. In 1809, to open it to visitors at the request of Parisians, the general inspector of quarries set up a philosophical and meditative walk which still fascinates visitors today, particularly Americans, and regularly hosts the filming of films and series (Lupin, The Walking Dead…).
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