Notre Dame Reconstruction Uncovers Historical Tombs and Sarcophagus

Archaeological excavation on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has unearthed a number of tombs and a leaden sarcophagus thought thus far from the 14th century, France’s Tradition Minister Roselyne Bachelot introduced in an announcement on Monday. Excavation work is happening forward of the reconstruction of the church’s spire after a 2019 hearth threatened to engulf the cathedral complete. The discoveries had been made proper beneath the intersection of the church’s transept and its major physique.

Bachelot laid out in her assertion that the stays had been present in “exceptional scientific high quality.” Archaeologists speculate that the coffin — which visibly seems to have been dented by the burden of centuries of compression by earth and stones — incorporates the stays of an vital church dignitary. A miniature endoscopic digital camera was used to look contained in the sarcophagus, which allowed researchers to detect items of material, hair, and a pile of leaves resting on the top of the deceased — a typical funerary follow for spiritual figures. 

“The truth that these plant parts are nonetheless inside means the physique is in an excellent state of conservation,” Christophe Besnier, lead archaeologist on the crew, advised the Guardian. 

Along with the tombs and coffin, archaeologists have additionally recognized components of painted sculptures similar to items from an authentic Thirteenth-century rood display screen, an ornamental partition between the altar and the remainder of the nave that may be a widespread characteristic of late medieval church structure. Agence France-Presse reported in a go to to the positioning of the excavation that archaeologists might be seen eradicating a bust of a bearded man and “sculpted greens” from the earth. Additionally uncovered within the excavation was a subterranean heating system serviced by brick pipes courting from the nineteenth century.

The conclusion of the excavation challenge, set for March 25, heralds the resumption of reconstruction work on the spire, which is to be accomplished in 2024, in time for the Summer season Olympics in Paris.