Crypt

A crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics. Originally crypts were typically found below the main apse of a church, such as at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre, but were later located beneath chancel, naves and transepts as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the ground level, such as St Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany.