American soldiers pose on top of nearly two hundred thousand skeletons at Colon Cemetery, Havana, Cuba.
Instead, the dead were laid to rest in the crypts of local church catacombs.
Cemeteries throughout the world were flooded with dead bodies, and Espada Cemetery too began to feel the pressure.
When cholera outbreaks intensified in 1868, Havana locals realized that they would need a larger cemetery.
Less than a decade later, the Colon Cemetery was opened and the Espada Cemetery was closed.
Two hundred thousand skeletons - Cemetery Colon, Havana, Cuba.
Photo credit: Library of Congress
But the relief from congestion that the new cemetery brought was short lived.
According tosome sources, the price of a grave at the cemetery was $10 for five years.
Photo credit:Byron Howes/Flickr
The remains are stored in boxes.
Photo credit:jenni t/Flickr
