In the heart of Limoges, during preventive excavations as part of the redevelopment of Place de la République, Inrap researchers have just updated a medieval cemetery.
It is located between the great Saint-Martial abbey, destroyed in the 18th century, and the Courtine chapel.
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This research will certainly make it possible to better understand the architectural evolution of the city of Limoges, whose history dates back to the 5th century AD, that is to say at the end of the Roman Empire.
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Recent discoveries by archaeologists have therefore made it possible to uncover tombs buried at a shallow depth.
According to scientists from Inrap, the skeletons will be subjected to carbon-14 analysis in order to specify their dating.
For the moment, we do not yet know if they are monks or other lambda inhabitants of Limoges who would have been buried in this necropolis.
However, three glass vials seem particularly intrigued by researchers.
According to Erwan Nivez, the archaeologist responsible for analyzing the skeletons, the answer to this question could be crucial.
Asked by our colleagues from France Bleu Limousin, he has already opened up some avenues of investigation: “
For the moment we have three glass vials, very fragile, which have been discovered.
There is no other example on the burial grounds around, it had never been found.
We will still have to see exactly where they are positioned in the tomb, if they really belong to these tombs or if they were deposited subsequently, and possibly try to understand what they correspond to. and why they were deposited there.
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A report from France 3 on the works in Limoges around the remains of the Saint-Martial abbey
