Wiki : Paris Mines

I find the dates intriguing. Why so many dead bodies at the end of the 18th century?

 

“Growth of the faubourgs continued along the main routes from the city, but began to expand at a faster rate with the increase of traffic along the routes to the palaces of Fontainebleau and Versailles. The route de Fontainebleau (extending to the south of the present Place Denfert-Rochereau), then called Rue d’Enfer and now named Avenue Denfert-Rochereau, would be the site of one of Paris’ first major mine collapses during December 1774,when about 100 feet of the street collapsed to a depth of about a hundred feet.”

 

“Towards the end of the 18th century, it was decided to create three new large cemeteries and to relocate the existing cemeteries within the city limits. Human remains were progressively moved to a renovated section of the abandoned mines that would eventually become a full-fledged ossuary. The entrance is located on present day Place Denfert-Rochereau.”