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Ancient necropolis from 2,000 years ago unearthed next to Paris train station
France 24 ^ | April 19, 2023 | news wires

Posted on 04/20/2023 11:29:46 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

...in the heart of Paris, scientists have uncovered 50 graves in an ancient necropolis which offer a rare glimpse of life in the French capital's precursor Lutetia nearly 2,000 years ago.

Somehow the buried necropolis was never stumbled upon during multiple road works over the years, as well as the construction of the Port-Royal station on the historic Left Bank in the 1970s.

However, plans for a new exit for the train station prompted an archaeological excavation...

The "Saint Jacques" necropolis, the largest burial site in the Gallo–Roman town of Lutetia, was previously partially excavated in the 1800s.

However, only objects considered precious were taken from the graves, with the many skeletons, burial offerings and other artifacts abandoned.

The necropolis was then covered over and again lost to time.

The INRAP team discovered one section that had never before been excavated...

The excavation, which began in March, has uncovered 50 graves, all of which were used for burial -- not cremation, which was also common at the time.

The remains of the men, women and children are believed to be Parisii, a Gallic people who lived in Lutetia, from when the town on the banks of the Seine river was under the control of the Roman Empire.

The skeletons were buried in wooden coffins, which were now only identifiable by their nails.

More than half were buried alongside offerings such as ceramic jugs and goblets.

Sometimes a coin was placed in the coffin, or even in the mouth of the dead, a common practice at the time called Charon's obol...

The archaeologists also found shoes inside the graves, identifying them by the small nails that would be been in the soles...

Jewellery, hairpins, belts were also discovered.

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; charon; coins; france; gaul; godsgravesglyphs; inhumation; lutetia; necropolis; paris; parisii; romanempire
One of the skeletons unearthed in an ancient necropolis found metres from a busy Paris train station.
© Thomas Samson/AFP/File
One of the skeletons unearthed in an ancient necropolis found metres from a busy Paris train station © Thomas Samson/AFP/File

1 posted on 04/20/2023 11:29:46 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 04/20/2023 11:30:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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Why 1/3rd of France is Almost Empty
11:01
RealLifeLore
6.76M subscribers
4.9M views
1 year ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTgwv6Ic3fA


3 posted on 04/20/2023 11:33:33 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

4 posted on 04/20/2023 11:33:45 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: SunkenCiv

STILL WAITING FOR THE TRAIN TO ARRIVE ON TIME..............


5 posted on 04/20/2023 11:35:15 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: SunkenCiv
Maybe they will try to get DNA from the bones, could get some interesting information.

Were they victims of the Romans? Maybe France could demand reparations from Italy.

6 posted on 04/20/2023 11:46:28 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus
Maybe France could demand reparations from Italy

Georgia Meloni: 'Shirley, you jest'.

7 posted on 04/20/2023 11:53:29 AM PDT by GaltMeister (All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.)
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To: SunkenCiv

They probably died waiting for public transportation.


8 posted on 04/20/2023 12:07:07 PM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard (When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Wow, they had ziploc bags, way back then!


9 posted on 04/20/2023 12:33:02 PM PDT by Eagles6 (Welcome to the Matrix . Orwell's "1984" was a warning, not an instruction manual.)
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To: Eagles6

Ancient high tech civilization hypothesis confirmed!


10 posted on 04/20/2023 1:42:44 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
LOL!! Or it was the Gaulois... or the odor from someone else's Gaulois... or the odor from someone else's undeodorized armpits... or the odor from some francais having a peepee on the nearby granite bank wall...


11 posted on 04/20/2023 11:44:20 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (“There is no good government at all & none possible.”--Mark Twain)
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