11 January 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient necropolis of stillborn babies and very young children found in Auxerre, France

A team from INRAP, France’s national archaeology and preservation agency, unearthed a necropolis dedicated to stillborn and very young children during excavations in the historic center of the city Auxerre.

Since February 2024, as prescribed by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Bourgogne–Franche-Comté, Inrap archaeologists have been conducting research on Place du Maréchal Leclerc in Auxerre before its landscaping redevelopment.

The Gallic Senones people established the fortified town of Autessiodurum on the banks of the Yonne River in 30 B.C. Although it was situated at the crossroads of several crucial roads during Roman rule, it wasn’t until the Roman Empire designated it as a provincial capital in the third century that it attained any real political prominence. In the fourth century, new fortifications surrounded the town. The necropolis was located beneath those ramparts. If this necropolis is part of the Gallo-Roman traditions, it has many characteristics that distinguish it from its contemporaries.

According to ancient rules, the necropolis are located outside the cities. On the periphery of these funeral areas, spaces can be dedicated to very young children (stillbirths and individuals aged a few months) whose mortality rate is high at this time. The excavation carried out in Auxerre explores one of these specific areas. Its very good state of conservation offers archaeologists the opportunity to observe the gestures intended for this very singular population.

Excavation of Early Empire burials at the foot of the 4th-century castrum. Photo: © Christophe Fouquin, Inrap
Excavation of Early Empire burials at the foot of the 4th-century castrum. Photo: © Christophe Fouquin, Inrap

Ceramic tableware is broken near burials on circulation levels, their contents being intended for the dead and the gods. In order to protect these young deceased, objects intended for protection in the afterlife (called «apotropaic» or «prophylactic») accompany them, like a pearl, a currency, a rouelle. A miniature ceramic cup was also placed at the head of a young child.

Various funeral practices

This necropolis testifies to a wide variety of practices on the same funerary space. The majority of the burials are in fetal position although some are on the back. It is the containers of toddlers that show the most diversity: they are arranged in tiles (imbrex), ceramics, wooden coffins, tree bark, stone formwork, textiles and other flexible envelopes. Sometimes the bodies are simply covered with fragments of amphora to protect them.

Grave of a very young child in tile (imbrex). Photo: © Corentin Dujancourt, Inrap
Grave of a very young child in tile (imbrex). Photo: © Corentin Dujancourt, Inrap

In one case, a stone engraved with a rosette is reused to mark the tomb. In addition, up to eight stages were observed during the burial of these very young children, proof of the complexity of funeral gestures. These were therefore not rejected, some burials testifying on the contrary to significant attention.

The very high density of graves and their superimposition make it possible to study a very large number of burials and other funeral practices associated with toddlers during the I-III centuries.

Tile (imbrex) and ceramic burials. Photo: © Carole Fossurier, Inrap
Tile (imbrex) and ceramic burials. Photo: © Carole Fossurier, Inrap

 Up to five levels of tombs have been observed, which, in the state of research, is unique in the Gallo-Roman world where the integrity of the tomb must be preserved. In Auxerre, however, some tombs destroy others, which may be related to a problem of available space but also to the very status of these very young children, not always perceived as individuals in their own right.  The excavation of Auxerre, as recently, that of Narbonne and others, brings a lot of new knowledge and questions about funeral practices associated with very young children and stillborn in Antiquity.

INRAP

Cover Photo: General view of the excavation site at Place du Maréchal Leclerc in Auxerre. Photo: © Christophe Fouquin, Inrap

Related Articles

Morocco team announces 1.3 million years major Stone Age find

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

A multinational team of archaeologists announced the discovery of North Africa’s oldest Stone Age hand-ax manufacturing site, going back 1.3...

Isles of Scilly Iron Age warrior buried with a mirror and sword was probably a woman

27 July 2023

27 July 2023

Archaeologists conducted a DNA analysis of the tooth enamel of a person who died more than two millennia ago on...

The earliest Buddha statues in China found in northwestern Shaanxi

10 December 2021

10 December 2021

The two copper-tin-lead alloy Buddha statues discovered in northwestern Shaanxi Province became the earliest Buddha statues of this kind unearthed...

According to new research, medieval warhorses were shockingly diminutive in height

12 January 2022

12 January 2022

Medieval warhorses are often depicted as massive and powerful beasts, but in reality, many were no more than pony-sized by...

The Ancient City of Kilistra, Cappadocia of Konya’s

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

When we talk about fairy chimneys, churches and underground cities, the first place that comes to mind is Cappadocia between...

The free online course from the Colchester Museums and University of Reading Department of Archeology

12 July 2021

12 July 2021

The opportunity to be among the first to examine 2,000-year-old cremated remains from Roman Britain and learn about the origins...

Scientists identified a unique engraving that could be the oldest three-dimensional (3D) map in the world

4 January 2025

4 January 2025

Scientists working in the Ségognole 3 cave, located in the famous sandstone massif south of Paris have identified a unique...

Mysterious ruins discovered at the bottom of Lake Van, Türkiye’s largest lake

16 August 2023

16 August 2023

At the bottom of Lake Van, Türkiye’s largest salty soda lake with 3,712 square kilometers, divers discovered a cemetery and...

Viking Family identified using New DNA Technology

9 June 2021

9 June 2021

Researchers were able to confirm the connection between two Viking remains discovered in Denmark and England thanks to new DNA...

Marmore, the Highest and Oldest Artificial Waterfall in Europe, Created by the Romans

4 March 2024

4 March 2024

Approximately eight kilometers away from the town of Terni in Umbria, Italy, there is a waterfall that is one of...

A new Indo-European Language discovered in the Hittite capital Hattusa

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism announced in a written statement that a new Indo-European language was discovered...

46 Eagles in vivid color revealed on Ancient Egyptian temple ceiling

15 May 2022

15 May 2022

A joint German/Egyptian archaeological mission at the Temple of Esna on the west bank of the Nile, 35 miles south...

Archaeologists discovered 22 mummies wrapped in bundles, mainly children and newborns in Peru

7 December 2023

7 December 2023 1

The mummified burials of 22 people, mostly young children and newborn babies, were found in the Peruvian town of Barranca...

Hunter-Gatherers Kept an ‘Orderly Home’ in the Earliest Known British Dwelling

25 July 2024

25 July 2024

Based on archaeological evidence from a Yorkshire site, new research suggests that hunter-gatherers probably kept an organized home with designated...

Genetic Analysis Reveals A Woman As The Highest-Ranking Individual In Copper Age Spain: ‘Ivory Lady’

6 July 2023

6 July 2023

According to a study published Thursday (July 6) in the journal Scientific Reports, the highest-status individual in ancient Copper Age...