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Recent excavations in Dijon have revealed a wealth of archaeological features under a yard at the Joséphine Baker school. This fieldwork was undertaken by Inrap after an archaeological assessment indicated the presence of occupation traces ranging from the 1st century AD to the present day. The site itself lies in the southern part of central Dijon, within the circuit of the medieval city wall. Even so, there was reason to believe that, despite this urban setting, the site had avoided being densely built up. Prior to it becoming a schoolyard, the area had belonged to the nearby convent of the Cordeliers. Since the medieval period, they had mainly used the plot as a garden. Before then, during the era of the Roman Empire, the site was situated outside and to the south of the settlement, in a vast plain. Vestiges of all these periods were encountered during the excavations, but the most remarkable discovery dated back even further in time to the Gallic period of the Iron Age, and more specifically around 300-200 BC. It was then that a series of 13 pits was dug, arranged in a straight line that ran north–south for a distance of at least 25m. Each of these pits contained an individual burial arranged in a seated position. This treatment of the deceased is extremely rare for the period, with only 50 examples previously known. None of them lay within a formal cemetery, raising questions about what this distinctive burial rite signifies.
The Inrap excavations were carried out over two successive phases in October and December 2024, covering an area of approximately 1,000m². Initial stripping of the site revealed layers belonging to the gardens associated with the convent of the Cordeliers. The second phase of work went deeper, reaching the natural substrata (in this case, alluvial gravels from the Suzon river) and revealing a range of features along the way. These included rows of pits from an apparent Gallo-Roman plantation, a necropolis dating to the first half of the 1st century AD, and finally the row of Iron Age pits. These last lay towards the western edge of the area available for investigation, and while the southern end of the pit alignment could be securely identified, the northern terminus was not. Instead, the alignment stretched towards the limit of the excavated area, which was marked by buildings belonging to the school. The burials also lay adjacent to a modern right-of-way running near the school boundary wall, which meant that special care had to be taken in order to ensure that the foundations were not destabilised.
Sitting out eternity
The individual burial pits were circular in plan and approximately 1m in diameter. They were neatly laid out, with intervals of 0.8m to a little over 1m between them. Care had also been taken to arrange the individuals within the pits so that they shared several common features. All of the deceased had been placed with their backs against the eastern wall of their pit, while their faces looked to the west. Their arms were extended, so that they ran alongside the torso, with their hands positioned near the pelvis or thigh bones. By contrast, their legs are sharply bent, and often asymmetrically so. As most of the bones remain articulated, it seems that the graves were rapidly sealed after burial, before the organic material holding them in place had decayed. In general, the preservation of the skeletons was good, too, although in some cases the shallowest bones had been displaced or destroyed by subsequent activity.
Study of these individuals is still in its preliminary stages, but a couple of initial observations can be made. In particular, while specific age ranges are not yet available, it is certain that no children were present, instead all of the individuals had reached maturity. Similarly, the sex of these skeletons has yet to be determined. Even so, it is worth noting that every other known example of this burial rite dating to the Iron Age, and where the bones have been sufficiently well preserved for a judgement to be made, has involved males. Detailed information about injuries must await full osteological analysis as well, but one injury has been recorded so far. It was detected on the top of a skull, and had been caused by a sharp object. This injury had healed, implying that it was not the cause of death.
The individual who received this injury is also distinguished by being buried wearing a black stone armband on the left upper arm. This artefact is important for being not only the sole artefact found in one of the 13 pits – and therefore the source of the 300-200 BC date range for them – but also the only object ever encountered in association with a seated burial. Such black stone armbands are quite common in the period, and regularly encountered in typical burials in the Sénonais and Champagne regions. This particular example is perhaps made from lignite. It is 3cm wide, with an internal diameter of 7.6cm, and does not feature any decoration on its surface.
While finds associated with these bodies are in short supply, earlier digging nearby suggests that there may have been further intriguing activity in the vicinity. Once again, this would match the established pattern for seated burials. In a study of all of the examples known in 2017, Valérie Delattre and Laure Pecqueur catalogued their presence at just nine sites in France and three in Switzerland. None of these occur in the classic necropolises of the era. Instead, they were placed near structures that appear to be either aristocratic residences or places of worship. In the case of the Dijon burials, two rescue excavations that were carried out by Laurent Pelletier in 1992 seem to furnish additional pieces of the puzzle. The areas that were investigated back then lay less than 100m to the north of the Joséphine Baker school site. One, carried out at the Fyot residence, revealed two further burials of seated individuals that were attributed to the Gallic period, although radiocarbon dating to confirm this was not carried out. The second area lay further to the west, at the St-Anne car park. There, excavation revealed a group of animal burials comprising 28 dogs – mainly young males – five sheep, and two pigs. The skeletons had been deposited on a north–south axis, with their heads pointing north. Study of these remains was led by Patrice Méniel, an archaeozoologist, who compared them to another group that had been unearthed at the Burgundian site of Vertault. This was interpreted as a place of cult activity at the end of the Gallic period. Once again, though, the absence of radiocarbon dates for the Dijon animal bones means that they cannot be securely linked to the 13 burials from the school.
The sparsity of finds from the seated burials might be taken as a sign that these individuals were low status, but this possibility seems to be excluded by a wider consideration of their treatment. The orderly and strikingly similar arrangement of the burials, the care taken to position the bodies, their proximity to religious areas or aristocratic residences, the probable demographic selection, and the very limited number of these burials seem rather to speak of a specific social status for these individuals. Although we cannot say for certain what this was, possibilities include the deceased serving as warriors, revered ancestors, or individuals linked to the political or religious spheres. That these people enjoyed an elevated status is supported by comparing the posture of the burials to that exhibited by statuary of the so-called ‘Celtic tradition’, or Gallo-Roman compositions in the Celtic style, which feature seated individuals with extended arms. In their article, Valérie Delattre and Laure Pecqueur state that the burials ‘evoke in an indisputable and disturbing manner’ the positions adopted by such statuary. They add that ‘for many authors, the seated position corresponds to a codified attitude attached to the representation of important characters, whether heroes or warriors, ancestors, elites or wise men, or even gods… It is nevertheless necessary to note certain differences between the representations within Gallic statuary and the characteristics specific to the individuals found in the graves, whether in terms of the position of the lower limbs… [or] the elements associated with the individuals.’ There are grounds, then, to believe that the posture adopted by the seated burials could have a wider social significance.
Under the empire
Following the filling of the pits, the next activity apparent at the site was also funerary in nature, but very different in character. During the 1st century AD, a Gallo-Roman necropolis was established at the site. This was concentrated towards the western end of the excavated area, and produced 22 burials of very young children, who were aged less than one year at the time of their death. The absence of older individuals seems to indicate that this space was reserved for infant burials. These follow the common funerary practices for the period, with individuals placed lying on either their backs or their sides. Nails attesting to the presence of long-since decayed wooden coffins were encountered at several of the burials, while some were accompanied by offerings, in the form of coins or pots.
In the eastern portion of the site, another series of pits was discovered. These were laid out in regularly spaced parallel rows, following a north-west/south-east orientation. The ceramic material found in the filling of these pits could be dated to the Gallo-Roman period, although it is not impossible that this is residual material coming from earlier layers that were disturbed by the digging. What is certain, is that these pits encroached on the space that was previously dedicated to infant burials, suggesting that these two different types of use were not contemporary. Instead, the pits are more likely to mark a change in the use of this space. It seems most likely that the pits were dug for plants, and the general arrangement is reminiscent of that revealed during 2008 at a place called Au-Dessus-de-Bergis in Gevrey-Chambertin. In that case, the pits were attributed to ancient viticultural practices. Further study will be necessary to establish the type of plantation established at our site.
All told, then, the excavations in the Joséphine Baker schoolyard offer a remarkable glimpse of activity on this plot over many centuries, while also yielding evidence that promises fresh insights into the important discoveries made there.
Further Reading:
Discussion of the seated burials found up to 2017 can be found (in French) in V Delattre and L Pecqueur (2017) ‘Entrer dans l’immobilité: les défunts en position assise du second âge du Fer’, Gallia 74(2): 1-17.
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