Press release
May 17, 2011

Contacts

Mahaut Tyrrell
chargée de communication médias
Inrap, pôle partenariats et relations avec les médias
01 40 08 80 24
mahaut.tyrrell@inrap.fr

Laure Ferry
Chargée du développement culturel et de la communication
Inrap, direction interrégionale Centre – Île-de-France
01 41 83 75 51
laurre.ferry@inrap.fr

Claude Héron
Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
06 24 15 36 59
cheron@cg93.fr

Excavations in the centre of Bondy : vestiges from almost two thousand years ago

On line since June 23, 2011 · Updated June 23, 2011
code opération : AB10187102
For more than six years, several operations of preventive archaeology have been carried out in the centre of Bondy. The successive excavations have revealed, between the Church and the Hôtel de Ville, traces of ancient and medieval occupations, dating from the 3rd to the 11th centuries AD. This quarter is at present the object of a new urban planning project by Bondy Habitat. Inrap and the Office of Archaeology of Seine-Saint-Denis have associated in order to excavate this site, curated by the State (Drac, Île-de-France).

Successive funerary spaces

Between the 3rd and the 5th centuries AD, a vast necropolis was established on the site. With more than 400 graves, it has now been partially excavated. The deceased were placed in coffins of which archaeologists have sometimes found traces of wood and some nails. Brought to light in 2007, seven stone sarcophagi, aligned on a north-south axis, marked the limit of the necropolis. An eighth sarcophagus is at present being excavated.
During the Merovingian epoch (6th-8th centuries), funeral practices evolved and the necropolis moved towards the south-west. Early in the 7th century, one of the most ancient textual sources, the Testament of Ermentrude, relates the presence of a Church in Bondy, around which the cemetery was created. Previous excavations revealed the presence of plaster sarcophagi, sometimes decorated. The deceased were buried in them dressed, and adorned with belt plates and pins to fasten the clothes.
In 2007, the excavation at the foot of the church revealed graves of plague victims. The deceased, sometimes in groups of five, were placed in multiple graves. This discovery of victims of the terrible 1348 plague is exceptional in the Île-de-France region. Genetic and carbon 14 dating have confirmed this discovery.

A Carolingian village

Today, archaeologists are discovering an important Carolingian village of the 9th-11th century. Searchers have cleared numerous pole holes indicating imposing buildings and outline Bondy’s urban organization, of more than a thousand years ago. Also present are « hut bases », small structures excavated sometimes housing weaving looms. Ovens, grain silos, ditches for evacuating rainwater and structuring the space complete the ensemble.

Developer

Bondy Habitat

Scientific control

Regional Archaeological Service (Drac Île-de-France)

Site director

Cyrille Le Forestier, Inrap

Photos album

  • Site map. May 2011
    Site map. May 2011
    © Cyrille Le Forestier, Marie-José Duprez/ Inrap
  • Excavation of a zone revealing Gallo-Roman and Ealy Medieval vestiges.
    Excavation of a zone revealing Gallo-Roman and Ealy Medieval vestiges.
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a zone revealing Gallo-Roman and Ealy Medieval vestiges.
    Excavation of a zone revealing Gallo-Roman and Ealy Medieval vestiges.
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of two Gallo-Roman graves.
    Excavation of two Gallo-Roman graves.
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a Gallo-Roman grave containing two individuals.
    Excavation of a Gallo-Roman grave containing two individuals.
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Mapping a Gallo-Roman grave  
    Mapping a Gallo-Roman grave  
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Clearing a Gallo-Roman grave  
    Clearing a Gallo-Roman grave  
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a zone which revealed a limestone sarcophagus from the Late Gallo-Roman period
    Excavation of a zone which revealed a limestone sarcophagus from the Late Gallo-Roman period
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a zone which revealed a limestone sarcophagus from the Late Gallo-Roman period
    Excavation of a zone which revealed a limestone sarcophagus from the Late Gallo-Roman period
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a Gallo-Roman grave
    Excavation of a Gallo-Roman grave
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Mapping of a Gallo-Roman grave in progress
    Mapping of a Gallo-Roman grave in progress
    © Isabelle GAULON / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a domestic oven from the Early Middle Ages
    Excavation of a domestic oven from the Early Middle Ages
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a series of ovens from the Early Middle Ages
    Excavation of a series of ovens from the Early Middle Ages
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of a series of ovens from the Early Middle Ages
    Excavation of a series of ovens from the Early Middle Ages
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Excavation of grain silos from the Early Middle Ages
    Excavation of grain silos from the Early Middle Ages
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Knife handle from the Early Middle Ages
    Knife handle from the Early Middle Ages
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Line of a series of poles(fence ? building ?)
    Line of a series of poles(fence ? building ?)
    © Emmanuelle JACQUOT / Département de la Seine-Saint-Denis