In 1793, the National Convention voted to destroy the tombs in the crypt of the Saint-Denis Basilica. The tombs of medieval and Renaissance kings and the Bourbon vault were desecrated. Two mass graves were dug outside in the monks’ cemetery. The bones of the sovereigns were thrown in a jumble and covered with lime. On 19 January 1817, the remains found in the pits were transferred by order of Louis XVIII to the former Turenne vault. The ossuary was sealed with black marble slabs on which were inscribed the names of the desecrated dead – twenty-five kings and seventeen queens.