Archaeologists excavating in Auxerre in 2024 uncovered 235 burials containing human remains of perinatal origin across an area of just 45 square metres. The discoveries offer new evidence about funerary practices in the Gallo-Roman period. The findings were presented at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris on November 3, according to the source report.
The excavation also revealed around 30 other funerary features, including offerings, markers and apparently empty ceramic vessels. Carole Fossurier, an archaeologist and anthropologist at France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), carried out much of the analysis of the human remains.
The report notes that infant mortality was high in antiquity and that, in the Gallo-Roman world, it was customary to wait until a newborn had lived for more than a week before naming them, reflecting the risks of the perinatal period.
Sources: Le Monde Sciences.