An entry under the altar leads to the large
vaults, which are
labyrinthine, with many rooms and crypts. The dungeons house remains of hundreds of Vilnius residents, some of them naturally
mummified, and are surrounded by
urban legends. While the existence of the dungeons was known, the first efforts to explore and organize the abandoned dungeons were carried out by students of
Vilnius University in the 1930s. The students, however, did not observe proper archaeological procedures and did a lot of damage. Their practices included sorting the bones, such as putting all skulls on shelves and removing
grave goods. Since then, the remains were moved many times leaving them in a haphazard and disorganized state.
Urban legends claim that these remains are of French soldiers from the 1812
French invasion of Russia or of victims of the
Inquisition or
plague. More romantic are claims that these dungeons were once part of a larger
tunnel network that allowed legendary lovers
Barbara Radziwiłł and
Sigismund II Augustus to meet in secret. In 2011, anthropologists from Vilnius University, led by , began a study of the mummified bodies. They estimated that the vaults hold remains of about 600 people including many women and children from the mid-18th century to the early 19th century. The team selected the best preserved mummies and performed their
tomography. The results show that several people were overweight and had
bunions, which led to the conclusion that these were wealthier people. ==References==