Archaeologists have uncovered 13 skeletons sitting upright in an ancient burial ground in France.
The location is in the previous garden of the Cordeliers convent in Dijon and is believed so far from the second Iron Age (400BC to 100BC).
Horrifyingly, investigators also identified a Gallo-Roman necropolis from the first Century AD, containing the stays of around 20 infants who’re thought to have died before reaching their first birthday.
The upright skeletons were placed in 13 circular burial pits, each about one metre in diameter, arranged in a straight north–south line over a distance of 25 metres.
An extra 5 – 6 burials uncovered in a later phase of excavation appear to follow an identical pattern. Despite erosion, lots of the stays are well preserved.
Initial evaluation of the 13 seated individuals suggests they were all men aged between 40 and 60, standing between 1.62m and 1.82m tall.
Researchers say they seem to have been in relatively good health, showing signs of physical activity and powerful teeth.
Nonetheless, several skeletons bear evidence of violence. 5 or 6 show unhealed injuries, including cuts to the upper arm bone, suggesting they might have been deliberately killed.
One individual appears to have died after receiving two blows to the skull from a pointy weapon.
The bodies were buried in a consistent manner: seated at the bottom of the pit, backs against the eastern wall and facing west. Their arms were placed alongside their bodies, with hands near the pelvis or thighs, and their legs tightly bent.
Except for a single black stone armband dated between 300 and 200 BC, no personal objects were found.
Experts say the findings contribute to growing evidence of a structured Gallic settlement in the world prior to the Roman era.
The invention on Rue Turgot is taken into account particularly significant as a consequence of each the variety of burials uncovered and the condition by which they’ve been preserved.
Further evaluation is anticipated to offer deeper insight into the lives and deaths of those buried at the location.
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