French archaeologists have discovered the place of the “birth of Paris”

During excavations on the island of Cité, near Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, archaeologists found at a depth of 4 m a fragment of an ancient 20-meter wall of stone and wood, typical fortifications of the Gauls. Scientists say that this place is the historical heart of Paris and that the city was born here. French Culture Minister Catherine Pegar called the discovery “a major breakthrough.” Le Monde writes about it.

The wall, as well as the spearhead, coins and charred seeds found next to it, archaeologists called traces of the ancient Gallic settlement of Lutetia, where the Parisian tribe lived, which gave the name to Paris. According to scientists, this is the first material evidence of the existence of Lutetia. Up to now, only written sources have confirmed it, particularly Julius Caesar’s Notes on the Gallic War. They say that the settlement was located on an island in the middle of the Seine. Radiocarbon analysis of the burned wood of the wall shows that the structure dates from the period between 200 and 10 BC. This confirms the connection with the time of the Battle of Lutetia, which occurred in 52 BC. According to ancient chronicles, then the Gauls burned their fortified city, so that it did not go to the advancing Roman legions.

Previously, no traces of Gallic settlements on the island of Cite were found. Scientists assumed that the first traces of the future of Paris are in Nanterre, a suburb where a large Gallic settlement was discovered during excavations in the 1990s, and that the island of Cite was later built up by the Romans themselves. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire, who visited the site, said: “My head goes around knowing that you are standing at the place where the city of Paris was born.”.

Alena Miklashevskaya