Archaeological exhibition shows the interaction between humans and the Seine River – 2024-02-14 16:38:38

Up to 150 pieces found in the bed or banks of the Sena that represent the interaction between humans and the river are the instrument for the public to rediscover centuries of history of the French capital in an exhibition that opens its doors this Wednesday.

«There are more objects from medieval and modern times because they have been better preserved»explains the curator of the exhibition ‘In the Seine’ (in the Sena), Sylvie Robin.

However, Robin points out that those from archaeological, prehistoric or ancient excavations are “less numerous in quantity”, but “very important in quality”, since they provide information about much less known periods.

Among the objects on display, there are utilitarian ones, such as tools and artifacts for interacting with nature or for hunting, but also spiritual ones, which appeal to the benevolence of the Seine as divinity.

From the medieval and modern era, weapons, votive offerings and rubbish predominate, although today it is still common to come across chance finds such as remains of architectural works.

Part of a marble statue

One of the most recent finds is a marble statue head found by the police river brigade, which Robin as an archaeologist considers “moving.”

All of them are witnesses of the history of the Seine, its first human settlements, successive populations and ways of life.

In chronological order, the exhibition organized in the archaeological crypt of Parisin front of the cathedral Our Ladybegins with evidence of human settlements on the banks of the river in prehistory.

It continues with Antiquity (the river was conditioned for the first time by the Romans), with six vestiges from that time.

Among them, the first fortification of Lutetia -ancient name for Paris-, dating from the 4th century, the port of which only a wall of the lower quay remains and which was built after colonization by the Romans and the ancient baths.

This part of the exhibition also takes a tour of the entire river basin, from its source in the Burgundy region to an ancient fishery in the Aube department and a Paleolithic site in Clichy-la Garenne, a few kilometers from Paris.

A second, more interactive part seeks to captivate visitors with screens and audiovisual interfaces.

It also uses the contemporary vision of artists such as Yan Tomaszewskiauthor of a sculpture that has been submerged inside the Seine so that the river contributes with its action of decomposition of its materials.

The Franco-Lebanese Joana Hadjithomas y Khalil Joreigeto show his interest in “the underground of cities”, after having worked in Athens, Beirut y Parishave decided for the creation they present to recover elements of drilling made during the works at Notre Dame and at the crypt site.

The result, hung from the ceiling in an experimental resin, stands vertically, “as if we were passing through time and history,” according to Hadjithomas.

«There is something magical in thinking that I am going to see what is under my feet again, and I am going to show it and share it»details the artist.

The possibility of explaining the scientific methods used to interpret and date the remains and archaeological pieces of the river that shapes Paris was raised only a decade ago.

At that moment, two pieces were presented to the curator of the exhibition, the figurehead of the New Bridge and a fishing pot, which caught their attention.

It was in 2020 that the “varied, easy to understand and, at the same time, scientifically based” exhibition finally took shape, Robin emphasizes. That now allows for an examination of the city’s past from a river perspective. EFE (I)