Thirteen rare burials of Gauls in a seated position, dating from between 300 and 200 BCE, were discovered during preventive excavations conducted between October and December of last year in downtown Dijon, Côte-d'Or, according to BFMTV. These burials were found in circular pits forming a straight band 25 meters long, oriented from south to north, and are located near aristocratic habitats or sanctuaries or places of worship, away from necropolises, reports Ouest-France.
The site presents rare characteristics: the deceased were buried in a seated posture, with their arms resting along the torso, hands placed near the pelvis, and legs folded asymmetrically. The pits are approximately one meter in diameter and two meters deep, regularly spaced from one another, reports 20 Minutes. The National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) described these burials as "atypical," and the explanation for these burials is not known.
Inrap posed the question: "Do these burials evoke a practice presumably intended for particular subjects: are they members from dominant families, warriors, ancestors, individuals linked to the political or religious sphere?"
"It is undeniable that we are facing individuals of particular social rank," excavation manager Hervé Laganier confided, as reported by Le Point.
"It's a major discovery, since there are only about fifty individuals buried in this way in France and Switzerland," across only a dozen sites, Inrap stated. Despite the distance between the sites, there are recurring similarities in the burial structures, which are installed at the limits of occupations, and the individuals concerned are adults, whose sex, when determined, is male. This distance could reflect a desire for social or spiritual distinction, as noted by 20 Minutes.
The uniformity of the positions, with the same orientation and the careful arrangement of the corpse, recalls the stone or metal figurines of crouching or cross-legged seated characters from that era, notes Ouest-France. This type of burial is known from the entire Protohistory, the intermediate period between Prehistory and History, but remains rare, according to Le Point. Previous excavations conducted in the 1990s on Turgot Street in downtown Dijon had already revealed occupations dated to the end of the Gallic period and Antiquity. "During excavations carried out 30 years ago, about a hundred meters away, two similar burials had been uncovered," indicated Laganier.
Except for a black stone armband dated between 300 and 200 BCE, no personal items or adornments are associated with the remains, as reported by Mediapart. This armlet, worn above the elbow, was found on the only skeleton that shows a trace of violence on the skull, reports Le Point. Regarding this skeleton, Laganier estimated: "This injury was healed, so this individual did not die from this blow."
23 baby skeletons were also exhumed at the same location. In these tombs, ceramics characteristic of the 1st century CE were found. "At this stage, we cannot establish links between these two series of burials," The archaeologists concluded.
The state of preservation of the remains offers researchers the opportunity to explore this practice, according to SciencePost. "We will soon begin DNA and isotopic analyses that will allow us to learn a little more about each of them, starting with the date of their death using carbon-14," said Annamaria Latron, an archaeological anthropologist who participated in the excavations. The study of bones helps identify the age, sex, and possible pathologies of the deceased. Isotopic analysis will help determine the geographical origin and diet of the individuals.
Several hypotheses are advanced regarding why these individuals were buried in this manner. Some associate the westward orientation with a mythical place or the afterlife, although these interpretations remain subject to discussion. Another hypothesis is that the posture could have a ritual significance, evoking a posture of meditation or eternal rest. A third hypothesis is that the Gauls believed in the transmigration of souls, and this posture could symbolize preparation for a spiritual journey.
"In a study published in 2017, archaeologists Valérie Delattre and Laure Pecqueur hypothesized that these seated men could have dedicated all or part of their lives to the divine, opening new perspectives on Gallic society," reports SciencePost.
"If it is premature to see them as representatives of the Celtic priesthood—the term 'druid' is delicately used—the history of this position, the precise codification it expresses, undoubtedly isolates these men from the common mortals, from whom they are distanced both geographically and symbolically and who must remain so in death, immobile and seated forever," according to the study.
"If mummies have been found in the same position in Peru or Mali, in Dogon country, these contexts are so distant from ours that we cannot establish a parallel with the situation we observed in Dijon," said Annamaria Latron. "The burial without furnishings, without artifice or viaticum of these individuals... argues in favor of a form of humility, of renunciation of the personification of the deceased, who remains eternal by his only role, his function, and not for his personal attributes and his possible wealth," the study notes.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq