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The Île de la Cité lies in the centre of the river Seine, at the heart of the bustling metropolis that is modern-day Paris. The small island is packed with history. Here, Roman governors established a fortified settlement and early French kings built palaces; later, monumental buildings were constructed, most famously the Notre-Dame cathedral. However, opportunities to investigate the physical remains of this rich past are rare. ‘The last excavation was a small site, around 130m2 – we haven’t had a large-scale excavation since the start of the 20th century’, says Julien Avinain, Head of the History of Architecture and Archaeology Department in Paris. This year, though, the Île de la Cité is a hub of archaeological activity. Julien and his team (in collaboration with Inrap) are involved in excavations at three different sites connected to various renovation and construction projects.
In the forecourt of Notre-Dame, excavations have just been completed as part of a project revamping the area in front of the cathedral. Next door, work continues in the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital. Meanwhile, an ongoing operation at the Palais de Justice is connected to the consolidation of the building’s medieval foundations. The simultaneous excavation of these three sites, located within a few hundred metres of each other, offers an unprecedented opportunity to improve our understanding of this historic area, from the origins of Gallic and Roman occupation to the development of medieval Paris and the creation of the modern city.
A new urban centre
We know that the Île de la Cité was an important crossing point on the Seine from the early 1st century AD, but it was not until the 3rd century that the island began to be urbanised. Then, in the 4th century AD, Roman governors moved their centre away from the settlement established during Augustus’ reign on the Left Bank of the Seine and onto the Île de la Cité. This was a tumultuous period: doubtless an island in the middle of the river seemed like a safer position. As an additional defence, a fortified wall was built around the settlement.
Evidence of these fortifications and other Roman constructions on the Île de la Cité were uncovered by the ‘father of Parisian archaeology’, Théodore Vacquer, in the late 19th century, enabling him to start building up a picture of the Roman town based – for the first time – on archaeological findings. One of the main goals of the current excavations, Julien explains, is to reveal new information about these early phases of Roman habitation on the island, exploring the origins and layout of its streets, houses, public buildings, and fortifications.
Already, the archaeologists have rediscovered Roman walls at the Palais de Justice, which had not been seen for decades. This offered the first opportunity to date these fortifications and confirmed that they were probably built by Constantine in the first half of the 4th century. Elsewhere, they have uncovered the remains of Roman houses and streets, including evidence that constructions on the island reused stones from earlier structures on the Left Bank, such as a Roman doorstep, clearly from a much larger building, which had been inverted and laid as road paving. The Roman levels have also yielded many of the expected types of artefact, including pottery, oil lamps, glass fragments, coins, and animal remains.
Another discovery in the Palais de Justice is more mysterious. While searching for the Roman governor’s palace, archaeologists instead came across six or seven burials dating to between the 3rd and 8th centuries. ‘This is very odd because they weren’t supposed to be here: it’s not a known cemetery’, Julien says. ‘The discovery raises more questions than it answers… But they are currently being studied, so we hope we’ll have more information soon.’
A developing metropolis
Atop the Roman layers sits a wealth of medieval and post-medieval material. At the Hôtel-Dieu, archaeologists found the remains of no fewer than three churches destroyed during the construction of the hospital. In front of Notre-Dame, they revealed several Merovingian and Carolingian grain pits, dating to the 6th-10th centuries. Above this were the foundations of many medieval buildings. When construction began on the cathedral in the mid-12th century, the square in front of it was filled with houses, with a single street running through the middle. Archaeological work has revealed the remains of these residences, as well as shops and a church. On one particularly memorable day, as the team dug in the forecourt of Notre-Dame, they came across a hole. Julien explains, ‘They put a camera in and found a complete, intact medieval cellar. Work on the whole site had to be paused while they consolidated it, then they dug down where they thought the entrance might be, and found it. Just recently, they’ve been able to go inside and start mapping this remarkably preserved space.’
Other finds are amazingly well preserved, too, thanks to the waterlogged conditions in many of the excavated areas. Surviving organic material includes wood, leather, and even ivory. In addition, there are huge amounts of ceramics, some remarkably intact, as well as glass, animal bones, and worked bone objects. Among the highlights are a finely crafted deer-antler comb from the Early Middle Ages and a number of decorated floor-tiles. Some of the richest finds come from pits beneath the medieval houses, which served as latrines and rubbish dumps.
Now post-excavation work is under way, processing the vast assemblage of finds. A new X-ray machine recently acquired by the conservation lab makes it possible to investigate metal finds systematically, while a freeze-drier plays an essential role in keeping organic finds stable. ‘We have some objects coming out already’, says conservator Lucie Altenburg, ‘lots of pretty coins, a little bit of ivory, including a particularly pretty ivory doll hand, which might be about 17th century… The most fragile objects are currently metal and organics, so that’s what we’ve been focusing on so far’.
Meanwhile, excavations are not over yet. Work in the Notre-Dame forecourt has now concluded, but archaeologists may return for a second phase. At the Hôtel-Dieu, excavations are due to be completed by the end of the year, but the team has not even reached all of the Roman levels yet, so more important discoveries are expected in the coming months. And, at the Palais de Justice, work will continue for several years and is expected to reveal huge quantities of archaeological material.
