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As prescribed by the State (Drac Île-de-France, regional archaeological service) in close collaboration with the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, building owner of the site, the Inrap teams have been working for 3 years now on a program of diagnosesprospecting and archaeological excavations, to support the restoration project of the cathedral.
With regard to the crossing of the transept, a search operation was prescribed by the Drac upstream of the assembly of thescaffolding necessary for the work of spire reconstruction, consistent with the planning of the restoration works. Financed by the contracting authority, the public institution responsible for the conservation and restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Parisit was conducted by Inrap from February 2 to April 8, 2022 and provided important data on the construction and evolution of the cathedral, graves as well as many elements of the medieval rood screen (destroyed during the reign of Louis XIV) in an exceptional state of conservation.
Notre-Dame de Paris, an archaeological emergency
Faced with the urgency of securing the site the day after the fire of April 15, 2019, archaeologists immediately intervened inside Notre-Dame to locate, sort and save, on the ground and on the vaults. , the set of collapsed materials (drinkstones, metal), using robotic machines on the ground, rope access technicians on the vaults, and photogrammetric surveys. In order to preserve these fundamental vestiges for research, studies and the restoration of the building, the sampling methods were implemented within the framework of a protocol scientific study developed jointly by the Drac regional archeology service and the Historical Monuments Research Laboratory.
Inrap archaeologists also worked on the exterior of the building in 2019, to the south-east of the apse of the cathedral, before the installation of the large tower crane intended for the removal of the charred scaffolding from the arrow.
At the same time, non-invasive archaeological interventions have been favored in the cathedral in order to detect unknown cavities and masonry. A geophysical prospecting campaign thus revealed anomalies structural in the choir, the apse and the aisles.
The crossing of the transept
The construction of the cathedral began in 1163. The construction of the transept, this part cutting perpendicularly to the nave with which it forms a cross, follows that of the apse and the choir. The scientific specifications annexed to the excavation prescription for the window provided for a earthwork about 35 cm below the current paving level. The excavation revealed from this level of stripping a slab dated between the XIVand and the XVIIand century, resting on a stratigraphy made up of several levels of soil built in a mortar of sand and of lime and some of which show traces of reddening that may indicate a fire (that of 1218?).
The lost rood screen of Notre-Dame de Paris
Built around 1230, the monumental enclosure which separated the choir (reserved for the clergy) from the nave (space open to the faithful), was destroyed at the beginning of the 18th century to respond to new liturgical uses. During the reign of Louis XIV, the section of rood screen separating the transept and the choir was demolished. Only the sections of the rood screen remain today along the side walls of the choir, to the north (dated from the 13thand century) and to the south (dated from the XIVand century), now known as the “enclosure of the choir”.
From this wall decorated and sculpted, only a few elements remain uncovered during the work of Viollet-le-Duc (kept in the Louvre) and a few blocks in the lapidary reserves of the cathedral. Thanks to the excavation, several hundred lapidary elements ranging from several hundred grams to nearly 400 kg were found, buried in the eastern area of the transept.
They come in the form of sculpted and polychrome fragments, figures and religious architectural elements. A first stylistic analysis of the plant decorations, of the way of representing the faces, the hair, the drapes… allows us to consider a dating to the 13th century.and century. Unlike those preserved in the Louvre, these fragments are striking in their polychromy, the colors sometimes overlapping with additions, repairs, the application of gold leaf…
Their arrangement in the pit is of interest to archaeologists, because although they were no doubt left in the cathedral for practical reasons, they were nevertheless “buried” there with care: the layers are very well organized and agglomerated by a binder.
Discovery of many graves
Burials in churches and cathedrals are practiced throughout the medieval and modern period, the places closest to the choir being the most sought after. Queen Isabelle, wife of Philippe-Auguste, was thus buried in the choir of the cathedral and, during the work of Viollet-le-Duc, the lead coffins discovered in the nave and in the choir mostly belonged to archbishops.
During the excavation of the crossing, the archaeologists identified and exhumed several burials. They are organized and do not overlap, which is rare in such a popular space. If their study remains to be carried out, their dating is for the moment estimated between the XIVand and the XVIIIand century. To date, archaeologists have identified around ten sarcophagi in plaster, most of them very disturbed by the flues. In one of them, however, remains of fabric embroidered with gold thread and some bones were found. At least four graves in the ground have also been identified.
An anthropomorphic lead sarcophagus was also unearthed in the western part of the right-of-way. It was moved (according to a chronology yet to be determined) to a plaster vault. In good condition despite a few holes, it measures 1.95 centimeters and 48 centimeters wide. An endoscopic camera made it possible to identify the presence of plant remains under the head of the deceased, perhaps hair, textiles, as well as dry organic matter. Its dating and its identification remain to be carried out, but it is probably about an important character, appearing perhaps in the register of the burials of the diocese.
The excavation also yielded furniture ceramic very uniformly dated to the XIVand century. The embankments of the 19th century flue trenchesand century contain, them, antique furniture which testifies to the piercings of older archaeological layers by the calorifers (ceramic sigillata and marble). Finally, archaeologists are wondering about an older wall that does not correspond with the Gothic building.
The excavation which has just been completed gives way to a long period of analysis and study of the furniture, the organic remains, theDNAmaterials, stylistics, polychromy, iconographic repertoire…
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