"WE BONES HERE, FOR YOURS AWAIT" read the grim words above the entrance to the Chapel of Bones. The intention is to cause the viewer to reflect on the transitory nature of the human condition and thereby bring about repentance during our wait for what might lay beyond the grave.
This ossuary is one of several that we have discovered and while the tradition of preserving and decorating a chapel with human remains may leave many squeamish, this is more due to the differences between our own cultural practices and those of that we have encountered on our travels.
In the setting of the convent of San Franscico, Portugal this dim and gruesome place lays in stark contrast to the church alongside which is notable for the recently completed restoration. Both the exterior and interior are presented in all their dust free and splendidly detailed magnificence.
Not as well presented and yet as equally macabre and fascinating is another ossuary hidden away in Elvas, a few kilometres from the Spanish border. For the entry price of 2 Euros you can enter the small chapel and wonder at the sight of countless human bones entirely covering the walls and ceiling in decorative patterns. Another sombre reminder of our mortality.
In these deeply religious countries we are currently in the approach to Easter and traditions and rituals abound. It's the time of year to polish the Saintly statuary and dress the processional figures for the annual round of community festivities.
Wood and paper mache figures from 1740 await their costumes before being taken to the streets.
Everywhere we travel preparations are in progress for this important Christian celebration of the final days in the earthly life of Jesus, the crucifixion and the resurrection. Representations of these biblical events are to be found in every church and have historically been the subject for artworks in every media, by the greatest of the masters.
The ancient lands of Europe have seen the rise and fall of numerous civilisations and their popular belief systems. The aspirational architectural of the religious and ritualistic is often all that remains of these once powerful societies and we delight in hunting down what has been preserved of this record. Often these structures exude an air of the magical or spiritual and their attraction is much to do with the unanswerable questions they pose.
Much of what remains intact represents the cultural beliefs surrounding death and remembrance. The following examples explore some of these practices beginning with places so ancient they remain beyond our understanding.
Throughout Spain and Portugal we have driven dusty roads between cork and olive trees and cursed inaccurate GPS coordinates in search of the primitive stone assemblages called Dolmen. Thought to be ceremonial sites and probably burial chambers, these structures date from between 3000 & 5000 BC and are remarkably well preserved. They stand as a testament to the ingenuity of a lost race
Some of these stone buildings which have stood for around five thousand years have been repurposed by subsequent communities such as this tiny chapel in Pavia, Portugal:
Sometime prior to 200,000 years ago hominids wandered this landscape and there is evidence of Neanderthals coexisting with humans as recently as 10,000 years ago in Iberia. They were followed by the Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians and eventually the Romans.
Empires continued to rise and fall and what is now Portugal had previously fallen to the Vandals, Alans, Visigoths, Suevi, and the Moors before they in turn were overcome by the christians who began their surge south from Porto in 868.
We have visited some fine examples of Romanesque churches, aqueducts & bridges but it is the Christians who now dominate the architectural and ideological landscape.
Monumental gothic cathedrals, ornate chapels and the ever present influence of Catholicism adds an enduring richness to the built landscape. Even the smallest of towns retains it's calendar of festivals and local traditions. Inhabitants long past are interred in cluttered cemeteries with crumbling caskets inside lichen covered tombs.
The management of mortal remains is governed by local tradition and current religious practice.
In the museum of the damaged cathedral of Lisbon we found Egyptian and Peruvian mummies amongst other relics which now stand testament to the former wealth and influence of the Portuguese empire.
Amongst the strangest of experiences was when we visited the church just outside Viana do Alentejo. A modest but attractive building from the exterior the corridors we wandered into beyond the alter were covered in a weird collection of memorabilia to lost relatives and prayers for the living.
Countless photographs, locks of hair, toys, uniforms and just about everything you could imaging including a stuffed python with dentures created and erie but fascinating visit.
Of course such things are a matter of taste and we are constantly surprised by the experiences we are privileged to have. It seems that every decent sized town immortalises an historic figure in the bronze form of a mounted nobleman or a robed monk.
If you are looking for the off the scale unusual is can be found at the Catacombe dei Cappuccini in Palermo, Sicily. Here the mummified remains of some 8000 distinguished persons have rested since the 17th to 19th centuries. Preserved in a what now seems a bizarre local tradition the bodies are presented fully clothed. In this vast crypt many of the deceased are affixed upright to the walls of the crypt and arranged in sections such as Children or Virgins. The remains were tended to by the relatives who would periodically change the clothing. This is not one for the fainthearted and it is difficult to reconcile with our current Western practices.
Returning to the more modern and conventional there are some fascinating spaces crafted by great architects to pay homage to fallen heroes and martyrs. One of the most memorable was a crypt we visited under the Cadiz cathedral. Recognised for it's outstanding acoustics and the massive domed ceiling that supports the main alter, the ambience and design of the tomb is unsurpassed.
Of the many deeply moving sites we have come across one of the most memorable would have to be the Ossuaries de Douaumont. Located at the site of the battlefield of Verdun, France, this massive structure is in fact a 137 m long ossuary that contains the bones of the 130,000 unidentified French and German soldiers who were buried in mass graves and later relocated. The solemn atmosphere of the memorial is intensified by the cemetery below that contains 15,000 crosses and speaks of the terrible atrocities that fraternally united some 800,000 men who lost their lives in this area.
Those of us who meet a humble end may eventually rest in a more contemporary style and we should remember that our survivors choose the decorations. These glass fronted cabinets contain the casket and a collection of items representative of the deceased. We found many of the displays quite moving and it was apparent that they had been arranged with much affection.
As we walk the cemetery grounds we can't help but wonder about the events that filled the lives of the faces that look out from fading photographs. The rituals, trials and tribulations of more ordinary people who inhabited these lands for a short time and who now rest amongst their companions, family and community.
All cultures have their traditions and beliefs and our journey through these countries is an exploration of rich history and local customs. The practices involved in death and remembrance leave us with only one certain conclusion......
"WE BONES HERE, FOR YOURS AWAIT"
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