Hidden tunnel network found at abandoned 800-year-old home in France. See inside
If you stood in the center of an archaeological excavation site in Distré, France, you might not notice much. The 800-year-old site has a few ditches here and there, but you’d mostly see a lot of dull grayish brown soil.
That’s because the most intriguing ruins — a network of tunnels — are hidden under the surface.
Archaeologists excavated the roughly 215,000-square-foot site in Distré and found the ruins of an agricultural community from the Middle Ages, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said in a March 21 news release.
The site was occupied from the 10th to 12th centuries and likely abandoned when an epidemic hit its cattle, archaeologists said. The 800-year-old ruins included a home, evidence of agricultural and cattle farming and 30 silos used for storage.
The home was near the center of the site and linked to a network of underground tunnels, archaeologists said. The hidden tunnel network extended for about 160 feet and had five different rooms.
Photos show the rock-hewn tunnels. Some sections of the tunnel were narrow, likely allowing sections to be blocked off, while others were tall enough to stand in, the institute said.
The hidden tunnels were likely used to store food, but one trough-like spot suggested the tunnels might have been used for holding small livestock on occasion, archaeologists said. The network could also have served a defensive purpose.
Archaeologists also uncovered a water well with a depth of about 40 feet. A photo shows the view into the well. Inside, the dried-out well had ceramics, parts of two buckets and some seed and fruit remains.
The 800-year-old site only had one home, but archaeologists said that the extensive storage facilities suggest the site served as a collection point for larger agricultural operations.
Excavations and analysis of the site are ongoing.
Distré is in western France and about 200 miles southwest from Paris.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release and article from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap).
This story was originally published March 22, 2024 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Hidden tunnel network found at abandoned 800-year-old home in France. See inside."
