Archaeologists Unearth Mysterious Seated Burials in Ancient French Cemetery

Archaeologists working on the site of an old convent’s garden in Dijon, France, have discovered a strange group of Gallic graves and a children’s necropolis dating back over 2,000 years.

The Gallic burials are odd because of the position of the buried individuals, all of whom are seated upright and facing west. The seating arrangement is atypical for the time period (between 450 and 25 BCE, approximately) and one of just nine such sites in France, according to France’s National Institute for Preventative Archaeological Research (INRAP).

In total, only one dozen seated Gallic graves are known—the other three being in Switzerland. The intriguing burials are yet another compelling find by INRAP, whose archaeologists discovered a stunning gold ring in a Bronze Age settlement in Brittany that was excavated late last year. According to INRAP, the funerary treatment raises questions about the status of the Gallic people buried there, and may indicate the individuals were politically or religiously important, or kin.

The necropolis dates to the 1st century CE, INRAP explained in a press release, and contains the remains of 22 children—though it may have contained more, as modern agricultural work destroyed several of the graves on the site. The children probably died before they were a year old and were laid to rest on their backs or sides—conventional positions for the time.

Stone casings and nails found on the site indicate that some of the children were once contained in wooden coffins which have long since rotted away. Some of the childrens’ graves also contained grave goods, including coins and ceramics (as shown below).

Besides the graves, the archaeological team also found ancient planting pits dating to the Gallo-Roman period, indicating a shift from use of the site as a burial ground towards agricultural uses.

The team also found bovine skulls dating to the 16th or 17th century CE, suggesting the space was later used as a butchery.

INRAP’s work is never done. The Gallic graves are just the most recent burials unearthed by the institute’s archaeologists; in the devastating aftermath of the fire that seriously damaged Paris’ Notre Dame, an INRAP team found two lead sarcophagi buried beneath the cathedral floor. Last year, INRAP revealed that one of the sarcophagi holds the remains of Joachim du Bellay, a horseman and poet who died in 1560. The other sarcophagus contains Antoine de la Porte, a church authority who died in 1710.

Suffice to say, we’re keeping an eye on the institute’s work. And be sure to check back in with us in December, when we review the most groundbreaking archaeology of the year—INRAP’s name is almost sure to feature.