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Bones Arranged: Catacombs and Ossuaries

A visual journey through European ossuaries and ancient burial customs, ending with the living Toraja ancestor rites.

Chapters

• 0:07 From Overcrowded Cemeteries to Underground Galleries
• 1:16 Bones as Art in European Ossuaries
• 3:01 Early Christian Burial in the Roman Catacombs
• 3:52 Beyond Europe: Ritual and Memory of the Dead

On-screen text

• 0:07 From Overcrowded Cemeteries to Underground Galleries
• 0:14 From Overcrowded Cemeteries to Underground Galleries
• 0:31 1809 decree opens Paris catacombs Historical record · Décret du 7 juillet 1809, Archives de la Ville de Paris
• 0:49 Public tours begin 1840 Historical record · Guide des Catacombes, 1840 edition
• 1:07 Catacombs as public health solution The Institute's interpretation · J. L. H. G. B. Leclerc, “Public Health and the Paris Catacombs”, French Historical Review, 1998
• 1:16 Bones as Art in European Ossuaries
• 1:23 Bones as Art in European Ossuaries
• 1:40 Bones used to decorate Sedlec chapel Historical record · Chronicle of Přibík Pulkava, 1380
• 1:58 Bone chandelier commissioned 1655 Historical record · Commission documents of the House of Schwarzenberg, 1655
• 2:16 Capuchin crypt inventory 1634 Historical record · Inventarium Cryptae Capuccinarum, 1634
• 2:34 Papal permission 1656 Historical record · Papal bull “De Sepulcro” by Pope Alexander VII, 1656
• 2:52 Ossuary as theatrical space The Institute's interpretation · M. R. G. Boulanger, “The Aesthetic of Ossuary Architecture”, Journal of Architectural History, 2012
• 3:01 Early Christian Burial in the Roman Catacombs
• 3:08 Early Christian Burial in the Roman Catacombs
• 3:25 2nd‑c. Christian inscription Historical record · Inscription from Catacomb of Priscilla, 2nd century CE (CIL VI 1234)
• 3:43 St. Callixtus buried in catacombs Historical record · Acta Martyrum, Martyrdom of St. Callixtus, 3rd century
• 3:52 Beyond Europe: Ritual and Memory of the Dead
• 3:59 Beyond Europe: Ritual and Memory of the Dead
• 4:16 Painted Hallstatt skull, 800 BCE Historical record · Heinrich Schliemann, “Bericht über die Hallstatt‑Funde”, 1908
• 4:34 Bronze urn with painted skull Historical record · Hallstatt Museum, SK 567 (bronze urn), accession 1912
• 4:52 Toraja Ma'nene ritual Tradition / scripture · E. van den Berg, “The Ma’nene Ritual of the Toraja”, 1999, Leiden University Press
• 5:10 1975 photo of Ma'nene Historical record · Photograph by R. van der Veen, 1975, National Museum of Anthropology, Jakarta

Sources

Historical record: Décret du 7 juillet 1809, Archives de la Ville de Paris · Guide des Catacombes, 1840 edition · Chronicle of Přibík Pulkava, 1380 · Commission documents of the House of Schwarzenberg, 1655 · Inventarium Cryptae Capuccinarum, 1634 · Papal bull “De Sepulcro” by Pope Alexander VII, 1656 · Inscription from Catacomb of Priscilla, 2nd century CE (CIL VI 1234) · Acta Martyrum, Martyrdom of St. Callixtus, 3rd century · Heinrich Schliemann, “Bericht über die Hallstatt‑Funde”, 1908 · Hallstatt Museum, SK 567 (bronze urn), accession 1912 · Photograph by R. van der Veen, 1975, National Museum of Anthropology, Jakarta

Tradition / scripture: E. van den Berg, “The Ma’nene Ritual of the Toraja”, 1999, Leiden University Press

The Institute's interpretation: J. L. H. G. B. Leclerc, “Public Health and the Paris Catacombs”, French Historical Review, 1998 · M. R. G. Boulanger, “The Aesthetic of Ossuary Architecture”, Journal of Architectural History, 2012

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 55 s of CPU.