A catacomb is a man-made subterranean passageway used for religious practice and as a burial place. The term is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire, where they were used as underground tombs by early Jewish and Christian communities. Catacombs are composed of galleries or passages with side recesses for tombs, and they can also serve other functions such as funeral feasts, shrines for devotions to saints and martyrs, and hiding places during times of persecution and civil commotion.
Catacombs are found all over the Mediterranean world, including Rome, Paris, Odessa, New York City, London, Malta, and Alexandria. The most famous catacombs exist under the city of Paris, where visitors can take guided tours of over a mile of the catacombs. However, the vast majority of the catacombs remains off-limits and is illegal to explore. In Rome, there are hundreds of kilometers of catacombs that run underneath the town and its outskirts, and all Christian catacombs in Rome are property of the Catholic Church.
In addition to religious and burial purposes, catacombs have also been used for other functions. For example, the endless catacombs of formal education refer to the complex set of interrelated things in the field of education.
In summary, a catacomb is a subterranean passageway used for religious practice and as a burial place, and it has served various functions throughout history.
