Everybody knows about
the Parisian catacombs, but the sprawling lesser-known maze beneath Odessa harbours a
notoriety which continues to this day.
Urban exploration is a burgeoning pastime among young people
and archaeologists who fancy themselves as Howard Carter types. E&G staff
have been known to dabble in it during work hours, counting a Victorian swimming baths in Bristol as one of our favourite haunts.
Catacombs, however, are a different animal entirely. The
Odessa tunnels in Ukraine span three levels, cover a staggering distance of
2,500 kilometres and have 1,000 (known) entrances.
So large are the catacombs, in fact, that they haven’t even
been fully mapped.
Starting out as an isolated series of limestone mines in the
19th-century, local smugglers began connecting them in a macabre
game of dot-to-dot that would eventually claim lives.
It is very difficult to convey in words just how dauntingly
expansive a 2,500 kilometre network of tunnels is, especially when they often
lead nowhere or double-back on themselves. Resembling enormous black bronchi
(see map at top), the tunnels are arid and stifling; they provide no bearings or
signposts for the lost.
Which compounds the tragedy of the case of a 19 year old
girl who wandered, perhaps while intoxicated, into one of the entrances after
having been to a New Year party in 2005. She was only discovered four months
later by urban explorer hobbyists after police, having been informed that the
girl was missing, refused to enter the catacombs should they suffer the same
fate. One story has it that she was initially with a group of friends when she
entered the tunnels and ran ahead to scare them. It was said that they went a
different direction, and never saw her again.
Despite the government having attempted to seal the known
entrances in 1980, others are frequently being discovered. Along with
explorers, the catacombs have become popular with derring-do teenagers and
archaeologists who are intrigued by its history as a hiding place for civilians
and officials in WWII.
The body of the lost girl, named Masha, was recovered two
years after her disappearance, in 2007. Based on where her body lay it is
believed she spent three days wandering the catacombs, trying to find her way
out, before perishing of dehydration. Her case serves as a reminder of the
dangers the catacombs of Odessa continue to pose to the carefree or
ill-prepared.
For competitive bespoke archaeology insurance click here.
For competitive bespoke travel insurance click here.
