Beneath a bustling train station, archaeologists have found ancient graves loaded with artifacts that date back nearly 2,000 years. The burials belong to a lost necropolis of the Gallo-Roman town of Lutetia, the predecessor of modern-day Paris.
A Vast Ancient Necropolis, Overlooked
In March, nearly 1.3 million enraged French people demonstrated Emmanuel Macron's unpopular plan to raise France’s minimum pension age from 62 to 64. Battling police amidst 10,000 tonnes of rubbish that piled up after bin collectors went on strike, the rioters were unwittingly protesting on top of hundreds of graves buried in an ancient cemetery.
The site was overlooked when the construction of Port-Royal station, on the historic Left Bank, began in 2014. Named after the nearby 17th century Port-Royal abbey, this project involved the building of a new station and extensive renovations to the surrounding area, but somehow, the lost necropolis was overlooked.
Saint Jacques Necropolis
It was only when plans were announced for a new station exit that France's National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) opened a series of test trenches over 200 square metres (2152.78 sq ft) of land around the station.
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