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PARIS, KOMPAS.com – Sarcophagus or the ancient coffin found inside the cathedral Our Lady Paris after the big fire will open, French archaeologists said Thursday.
It was announced a day before the third anniversary of the cathedral fire of Notre Dame, a 12th-century Gothic icon, which shocked the world and led to a massive reconstruction project.
During preparations to rebuild the church’s ancient tower last month, workers discovered sarcophagus The mysterious, well-preserved lead is buried more than a meter underground, lying between the brick pipes of a 19th-century heating system.
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However, the ancient coffin is believed to be much older, possibly from the 14th century.
Scientists have peered inside the sarcophagus using an endoscopic camera, revealing the top of the skeleton, leaf cushions, cloth and other unidentified objects.
The sarcophagus was removed from the cathedral on Tuesday (12/4/2022), France’s national archaeological research institute INRAP said at a press conference quoted by Reuters. AFP.
Forensic experts and scientists will then open the sarcophagus and study its contents, to identify the skeleton’s gender and previous health conditions, said chief archaeologist Christophe Besnier, adding that carbon dating technology could be used.
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“If it turns out to be a sarcophagus from the Middle Ages, we are dealing with a very rare burial practice,” he said.
They also hope to determine the social status of the corpse, given the place and style of its burial which may have belonged to the elite at the time.
However, INRAP chairman Dominique Garcia stressed that the body in the coffin would be examined according to French law regarding human remains.
“The human body is not an archaeological object,” he said. “As human remains, civil law applies and archaeologists will study it that way.”
After they finish studying the sarcophagus, the coffin will be returned not as an archaeological object, but as an anthropological asset, Garcia added.
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