US EditionFive More Ancient Skeletons Found Sitting Upright in French Schoolyard
About 20 seated Gallic tombs have been found in Dijon, representing over a quarter of such sites worldwide and possibly linked to ritual sacrifices, researchers say.
- On Tuesday, researchers unearthed an ancient seated Gallic skeleton at Josephine Baker primary school in Dijon, France. The remarkably well-preserved remains were found sitting upright in a circular pit, peeking from the ground.
- Over the past three decades, preventive excavations in Dijon have revealed heavy Gallic occupation. Last year, 13 skeletons were found 20 metres away; approximately 20 tombs containing seated Gauls have been identified in this small area.
- Each grave contains men aged 40 to 60, ranging 1.62 to 1.82 metres tall. INRAP archaeo-anthropologist Annamaria Latron noted their teeth were well-preserved, though bones display osteoarthritis and intentional violence, including fatal skull wounds.
- "This seated position is atypical," Latron said, as researchers struggle to explain the lack of funerary objects. Scientists are investigating whether individuals were intentionally killed or buried alive, though the team has no preferred hypothesis.
- The Dijon site represents over a quarter of 75 such tombs recorded globally, with others in France, Switzerland, and Great Britain. Historians note knowledge remains limited to potentially biased Roman accounts of Gallic culture.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Under the courtyard of a primary school, Gallic burials dated between 300 and 200 B.C. have resurfaced. As part of a new phase of excavations, launched at the beginning of March in the playground of the Joséphine Baker school in Dijon, archaeologists from INRAP have discovered five Gallic skeletons placed in sitting pits, reports Infos Dijon. According to Dominique Garcia, archaeologist, historian and president of INRAP, this discovery particula…
Celtic Warriors Buried 'Sitting Upright' Discovered in France
Burial of a seated individual. Credit: Hervé Laganier / Inrap Archaeologists in Dijon, France, have uncovered graves of Celtic men—possibly warriors— buried ‘sitting upright’, adding to a rare group of Iron Age burials first announced in January 2025. France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) said the latest dig at the Joséphine Baker school site found at least five more seated burials. At least three form a seco…
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Five enigmatic graves dating from 400 to 200 B.C. are the subject of archaeological excavations, after thirteen graves of the same type opened in 2025, and two in 1992.
The Dijon five: 'Remarkable' Gallic burial site found at French school
French archaeologists have discovered five new Gallic 'seated' burials at an excavation site in Dijon town centre. While barely 75 skeletons in this position have been found anywhere in the world, the latest discovery brings to 20 the number found in the city famed for its mustard.
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