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The first secrets of the sarcophagus of Notre-Dame revealed thanks to a camera

2022-03-15T15:31:37.711Z


The archaeologists explained to Roselyne Bachelot, visiting the site, that it contained a body in a very good state of preservation.


Over 100 square meters, the old black and white pavement of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral has disappeared, giving way to an excavation scene.

Since February 2, archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) have been bent over the bowels of the cathedral, at the very place where the future scaffolding for the reconstruction of the spire will stand.

This part of the ground had remained intact after the fire and the vision of an archaeological excavation field is almost disconcerting.

Yet the two are linked, since Inrap digs when there is a potential risk to heritage – which building scaffolding 100 meters high is, unquestionably.

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Read alsoDiscovery of a mysterious lead sarcophagus at Notre-Dame de Paris

Tuesday morning, two discoveries described as "exceptional", that of a lead sarcophagus and that of a piece of the old rood screen that disappeared, managed to attract the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, to the spot.

Dressed in her protective gear against lead fumes and wearing a construction helmet, she in turn bent over the underside of Notre-Dame, demanding explanations on this famous sarcophagus.

In the small delegation following her, no one was looking for him, among the fragments of stone and the long heating pipes installed in the 19th century by Eugène Violet-le-Duc.

The basement of the cathedral hides elements of the old rood screen but also the heating system installed in the 19th century.

CB/Le Figaro

Now protected by a plastic bag, the coffin looks like a small human form (it's an anthropomorphic sarcophagus, the archaeologists said).

In the absence of a plaque indicating name and date, we actually know very little about this sarcophagus today.

“We were able to get a small camera into the sarcophagus, which was perforated.

We saw a body in a very good state of preservation, but also elements of tissue, or plant remains, ”

said archaeologist Christophe Besnier to Roselyne Bachelot.

The first analysis of the furniture contained in the level of embankment surmounting it could lead to dating this burial at the latest from the 14th century.

As for the plant remains, it could be boxwood, a practice reserved for a "

social elite

".

Notre-Dame de Paris mainly houses bishops, archbishops and canons, buried there since the 13th century, the last to be buried there being Cardinal Lustiger, in 2007. Chapels, whose construction was financed by large families , including the Harcourts, are also home to some of their members.

In all, 400 bodies rest in the cathedral.

"We saw a body in a very good state of preservation, but also elements of tissue, or plant remains", explains archaeologist Christophe Besnier to Roselyne Bachelot.

JULIAN DE ROSA / AFP

For the one that fate has brought out of the ground these days, only extensive laboratory analyzes will be able to provide more details.

“Then, it will still be necessary to let this person rest in peace”,

suggested Mgr Chauvet, rector of the cathedral, to the minister.

The latter expressed her "

great emotion"

at this testimony to the history of Paris and France.

Incidentally, she pleaded for

"a balance"

between excavations and works.

Around her, everyone understood this somewhat cryptic message: these excavations must be done seriously and with the necessary time, without compromising the proper conduct of the restoration.

A five-year time frame is a challenge.

We could have decided to dig more widely, but the works must take precedence

Jean-Louis Georgelin, president of the public establishment for the reconstruction and restoration of Notre-Dame

The day after the fire, the President of the Republic had indicated that Notre-Dame would be straightened out in five years.

As a good soldier, General Georgelin, president of the public establishment for reconstruction and restoration, has long promised a reopening for worship on April 15, 2024. This date has now disappeared from public speeches, in favor of a reopening in 2024. , or even at the end of 2024.

“A five-year deadline is a challenge”,

admitted the general, indicating that

“we could have decided to dig more widely, but the works must take precedence”

.

On March 25, that is to say all the same a month after the scheduled date, the archaeologists of Inrap will therefore have to pack up and leave the premises.

It will then be up to the chief architect, Philippe Villeneuve, to consolidate the ground with sand or clay balls, so that it can support the 600 tonnes of metal tubes necessary for the fabulous construction site of the spire.

In the long history of the monument, the location of the burials has already been changed.

The major reorganization took place at the time of the work undertaken at the end of the reign of Louis XIV, under the direction of the architect Robert de Cotte.

They gave rise in particular to the digging of a vault intended for the archbishops of Paris, under the choir.

Today, the 2019 fire has all eyes on Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's restoration, carried out in the 19th century.

The recent archaeological discovery will remind the general public that under the Gothic cathedral hide layers of history.

SEE ALSO -

A 14th century lead sarcophagus discovered on the construction site of Notre-Dame de Paris

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-03-15

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