In 2024, restoration work carried out in the famous Saint-Philibert church in Dijon upset the understanding of the medieval and ancient past of the city. This project, initially intended to repair the damage caused by a heating slab placed in the 1970s, allowed the uncovered a forgotten vault. According to the magazine Popular Mechanics, it contained burials ranging from VIe in the 13the century.
The Saint-Philibert church, a jewel of Romanesque art in Burgundy, had undergone in the 1970s the installation of a heated concrete slab. This decision, far from trivial, trapped the salt contained in the soil (the building used to deposit salt in the 18the and XIXe centuries), causing cracks in the foundations. During the repair work, the workers dug in several places, quickly transforming the site into a large archaeological excavation.
The archaeologists of the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), led by Clarisse Couderc and Carole Fossurier, discovered under the transept of the church a staircase leading to a vault containing coffins of children and adults, wrapped in shrouds. Some old coins as well as rosaries accompanied the deceased, testifying to modest funeral practices.
Traces of previous buildings
The excavation has also uncovered graves under dates from the XIe in the 13the centuries, as well as six sarcophagi dating back to late antiquity and the Merovingian era (VIe-Viie centuries). One of them had a sculpted cover, proof of the particular status of certain deceased.
Beyond the burials, archaeologists have found vestiges of walls built according to the technique of the Spicatum (or EPI), typical of the Xe century. These discoveries confirm the existence of an older church on the site, already expected during excavations carried out in 1923.
The discovery of burials covering nearly 800 years of history makes Saint-Philibert church an exceptional witness to the evolution of funeral practices in Dijon. Archaeologists believe that the oldest sarcophagi were probably initially placed in another disappeared building, stressing the importance of the site from late Antiquity.
This unexpected excavation in Saint-Philibert de Dijon recalls how much the basements of our historic monuments still conceal many secrets, places of worship having been often built on each other over the years. The in progress research promises to enrich knowledge of Dijon history and funeral rites in Burgundy.
