Saint-Philibert Church in Dijon, France, is revealing centuries of history as archaeologists excavate up to three metres below its floor to assess the health of its foundations.
The work, led by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research Inrap , has uncovered layers of burials, architectural remains, and sarcophagi that span from late antiquity to the modern era.
This investigation offers fresh insights into the history and evolution of this medieval site. These include the construction of a 15th-century porch, later rebuilt in the 17th century, and the addition of a 16th-century bell tower and 18th-century side chapels. In the 18th and 19th centuries, salt storage weakened its foundations, a problem exacerbated in the s by the installation of a heated concrete slab.
As part of the excavation, archaeologists have uncovered burial sites within the church. In the nave, they found wooden coffins dating from the 14th to 18th centuries, arranged in east-west alignments. These graves primarily contained adults wrapped in shrouds, accompanied by minimal grave goods such as coins and rosaries.
In the transept, a vaulted burial site from the 15thβ16th centuries was discovered, containing the remains of children and adults whose bones had been moved aside over time to make room for new burials. Beneath this vault, earlier stone slab tombs dating to the 11thβ13th centuries were uncovered, adding another layer of history to the site. The excavation has also revealed traces of churches that predate the current structure. Walls built in the opus spicatum fishbone style suggest the northwest corner of a church that may have been constructed in the 10th century, making it the earliest documented phase of construction at Saint-Philibert.
