Sensational find under Notre Dame astonishes France - researchers find ancient graves
Created: 03/30/2022, 16:58
By: Kathrin Reikowski
Notre Dame: Researchers found old building remains and tombs under the floor slabs.
© imago/Robert Schmiegelt
During the reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, researchers encountered a sensation: graves appear - and ancient foundations.
Paris (France) - Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is being rebuilt after the catastrophic fire in 2019.
Now researchers have come across graves that were previously completely unknown.
As reported by
National Geographic
, the finds probably date from the 14th century.
"The finds are incredibly important for our understanding of the history of Notre-Dame de Paris," says the French Ministry of Culture.
For France's history, the finds would have a "remarkable scientific importance".
It had long been discussed how the cathedral would be rebuilt: but Notre Dame would not have a glass tower.
Damaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris © picture alliance/dpa/AFP |
Martin Bureau
Sensational find in Paris: graves found under Notre Dame with corpse
The first sensation for the researchers: a "completely preserved anthropomorphic lead coffin, in which the remains of the person buried in it are still preserved," as reported by
National Geographic
.
According to initial findings, it could be a dignitary from the 14th century.
So far, the finds have only been filmed with an endoscopic camera.
Introduced to the interior of the coffin, she revealed "plant remains beneath the deceased's head, hair, textile fragments and organic material".
The Ministry of Culture assumes that the body could be very well preserved.
Emanuel Macron, France's President, praised the work on rebuilding the cathedral during a visit in 2021:
Exciting find in Paris: Researchers find old walls under Notre Dame Cathedral
Second sensation for the researchers: fragments of old walls and sculptures under the floor slabs.
The remains of sculptures apparently belonged to a kind of room divider that separated the clergy from the rest of the church space.
The excavations had been arranged as a precautionary measure during the reconstruction of Notre Dame - but apparently nobody had expected the great success.
The regional archeology authority had ordered the excavations at the level of the crossing, i.e. the area where the nave and transept of the building cross, in the hope of finding old parts of the vault or skeletons.
The cathedral burned on April 15, 2019 - the causes of the fire in Notre Dame were long discussed.
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