Staircase leading into forgotten 400-year-old vault unearthed at church in France
Archaeologists restoring a medieval church in France uncovered a forgotten staircase. They followed it and found themselves in a 400-year-old vault surrounded by coffins.
A team of archaeologists began excavating Saint Philibert’s Church in Dijon to evaluate the stability of its foundational pillars, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said in a Dec. 19 news release. The 800-year-old church has suffered significant damage due to salt erosion, and the bases of its stone pillars are at risk of cracking.
To check the foundations, workers dug about 10 feet down at several spots in the sanctuary. The restoration project morphed into an archaeological one as old structures reemerged.
In one area, excavations uncovered a staircase leading into a forgotten cellar. The underground vault dated back at least 400 years, but its entrance had been covered in the 1970s, the institute said.
Photos show the old vault as seen from above and up close. Inside, archaeologists found several coffins with the bones of children and adults.
Excavations also unearthed the ruins of an earlier church building, likely dating to the 10th or 11th century. A photo shows these partial stone walls.
At the deepest layers, archaeologists found four stone sarcophagi dating back at least 1,500 years, the institute said and a photo shows. The ancient graves were likely inside a building when they were first buried, but researchers don’t know any details about that structure.
Restoration work at Saint Philibert’s Church is ongoing.
Dijon is a regional capital city in eastern France and a roughly 200-mile drive southeast from Paris.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap).
This story was originally published December 26, 2024 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Staircase leading into forgotten 400-year-old vault unearthed at church in France."
