The tombs, 3 meters deep, are located at the site of the Gallo-Roman city of Lutetia. According to the French Ministry of Culture, in its heyday it occupied 4 hectares on the banks of the Seine, where the Notre-Dame Cathedral is located today.

What has been learned about the find?

Known as the “necropolis of St James”, the site was located south of Lutetia and was spread along one of its main streets built by the Romans. According to archaeologists, this land was used as a cemetery. Between the first and third centuries ADbefore it was abandoned in the fourth century.

In general, the ancient history of Paris has not been adequately studied. Thanks to the bones we can find, we will be able to do a DNA study, so we are getting closer to better understanding the population of Paris in ancient times.
– says Dominique García, head of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP).

Archaeologists excavated the remains of men, women, and children they think belonged to the Gallic tribe Parisii (Parisii), in whose honor the French capital was named. Among the bones, archaeologists discovered various glass and ceramic artifacts, as well as jewelery and scattered coins, which date the burial to the second century.

At least one skeleton had a coin in its mouth, an ancient ritual in Greek mythology / Nicolas Warmé, Inrap

• Excavations that began in March uncovered at least one skeleton with a coin in its mouth, suggesting an ancient burial practice known as “obol Charon”. In Greek mythology, Charon transported the souls of the dead across the river Styx to the underworld for a fee, so people buried coins next to the corpses.
• Not all burials contained human skeletons: a pit appears to have been reserved for funeral victims and contained the remains of a pig and another smaller animal. Researchers removed all remains and artifacts from the site for analysis.
• The researchers found no evidence that corpses were cremated before burial, which was common practice at the time.
• Traces of wood and nails were found indicating the use of coffins that have since decayed. The presence of the remains of shoes on the feet or sides of the dead indicates that the dead were buried in their clothes.

Excavation process / Photograph: Camille Colonna, Inrap

Part of this necropolis had already been found before, in the 1800s, when the city was undergoing major construction work, but scientists of that time did not explore it further. Railroad construction projects in the 1970s destroyed parts of this structure. The newly discovered 200 square meter area shows that the necropolis is expanding further west than previously thought.