Children at a primary school in eastern France have discovered a remarkably well-preserved skeleton sitting upright in a circular pit, the latest in a series of such burials in Dijon. The skeleton, found next to the Josephine Baker primary school, is seated with its back against the eastern wall of a one-metre-wide pit, facing west, with hands resting in its lap.
This discovery follows four similar skeletons unearthed nearby earlier this month, and 13 others found last year about 20 metres away at the same construction site. The bodies are believed to date from around 300BC to 200BC, and are thought to be Gauls, a Celtic group that once inhabited much of modern-day France.
Archaeologists are puzzled by the seated burial position, which is rare and little understood. Including earlier finds in 1992, about 20 such tombs have been found in Dijon's city centre, representing more than a quarter of the 75 identified worldwide. Other sites exist in France, Switzerland and the UK.
Regis Labeaune, a researcher at the French archaeological institute Inrap, described the discoveries as 'particularly impressive', indicating a significant Gallic settlement in Dijon. However, the reasons for the burial practice remain unknown. Five of the bodies show signs of violence, including one with a fatal skull wound, but no personal belongings were found except for one armband.
All the skeletons are male, measuring between 1.62 and 1.82 metres tall, except for a child discovered in 1992. Their teeth are well preserved, likely due to a lack of sugar, and their bones show signs of osteoarthritis from intense physical activity. 'We do not have a preferred hypothesis,' said Inrap archaeo-anthropologist Annamaria Latron. 'Being an archaeologist can be a very frustrating profession.'
