Ancient skeleton unearthed in France is latest to be found sitting upright

Children at a primary school in eastern France found a strange attraction next to their playground this week: a skeleton sitting upright, peeking out of a circular pit.It is the latest in a series of bodies discovered in the city of Dijon that were buried in a seated position facing west.Scientists are trying to work out why the ancient and little-understood Gauls chose to bury some of their dead in this manner – and whether the people were buried alive.The latest skeleton, which is remarkably well preserved, was found next to the Josephine Baker primary school.Five tombs of Gauls buried in a seated position have been discovered in central Dijon. Photograph: Frederic Bourigault/AFP/Getty ImagesSimilar to four others unearthed nearby earlier this month, it is sitting upright at the bottom of a one-metre-wide pit.The skeleton’s hands are resting in its lap. Like the others, its back is against the eastern wall, its gaze directed westward.Last year, 13 other skeletons were discovered about 20 metres away at the same construction site. The bodies are believed to date from about 300BC to 200BC.Over the last 30 years, archaeological digs have revealed that Dijon was once a special place for the Gauls, a Celtic group of people perhaps best known from the French comic Asterix and Obelix.The Gauls first emerged in roughly the fifth century BC, spreading over swathes of modern-day France, Belgium, Switzerland and farther east.Little is known about their culture beyond the writings of others – and these can be biased, such as those recorded by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, who conquered the Gauls in 50BC.Except for one armband, which dates the settlement to the Gallic period, no personal belongings or ornaments were found among the Dijon bodies. Photograph: Frederic Bourigault/AFP/Getty ImagesIncluding earlier discoveries in 1992, about 20 tombs with sitting Gauls have been discovered in a small area of Dijon’s city centre.That is more than a quarter of the 75 tombs featuring sitting Gauls identified worldwide. Other sites have been found in France, Switzerland and the UK.Regis Labeaune, a researcher at the French archaeological institute, Inrap, said the latest bodies were “particularly impressive discoveries”.“Given the number and quality of these discoveries, we can say there was a significant Gallic settlement in Dijon,” he told AFP.However, there is much that remains unknown. Was this bizarre burial a punishment for people who had done wrong – or a prize for the powerful?Five of the bodies show signs of violence, including one which has a fatal wound to its skull.Except for one armband, which dates the settlement to the Gallic period, no personal belongings or ornaments were found among the Dijon bodies.There were all men, measuring between 1.62-1.82 metres tall, except for a child discovered in 1992.Their teeth were very well preserved over the years, “probably because they did not know about sugar,” Inrap archaeo-anthropologist Annamaria Latron said.“Their bones display traces of osteoarthritis, suggesting intense physical activity,” particularly in their legs, she said.So why were they buried in this bizarre way? “We do not have a preferred hypothesis,” said Latron. “We’re missing the surface layer, which was above the tombs.”“Being an archaeologist can be a very frustrating profession,” she added.