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After a disastrous 1970s renovation, archaeologists tasked with assessing decades of damage have stumbled upon unexpected layers of history in France’s Saint-Philibert Church.
The 12th-century church is the only structure in the city of Dijon built ‘in the manner of the Romans‘. It was decommissioned following the French revolution, and was used as a storehouse for salt in the mid-20th century, which wrought damage on the stone structure.
As part of a misguided attempt to restore the church in 1974, a heated concrete slab was installed, which drew up further water and salt into the groaning structure, splitting stones apart.
The concrete slab has since been removed, and in what started as a new restoration effort, archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) have found quite a trove.
Beneath the slab, they found a long-forgotten staircase that led to a burial vault that’s been sealed for at least 400 years. This is the final resting place of dozens of individuals, possible casualties of a catastrophic event like a pandemic or famine.
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“In the transept, a vault, probably dating from the 15th to 16th centuries, has been identified,” INRAP researchers state in a translated press release. “In it, the deceased, both children and adults, are buried in coffins, the bones of each individual being pushed to the sides to make room for the last deceased.”
The excavation has revealed further layers of history, including slab tombs from the 11th to 13th centuries and sarcophagi that date back to the 6th century.
“Planned to extend to a depth of three meters, the excavation has revealed remains dating from Late Antiquity to the modern era,” the team states.