Does this ancient wall prove the origin of Paris???

In case you missed it, the French government recently announced a major archaeological discovery in Paris. As they put it in a press release: They unearthed a “rampart of Gallic Lutetia”.

But I’m afraid that headline does no justice to this incredible discovery. This isn’t just “a rampart of Gallic Lutetia”.

This is, quite possibly, proof of where Paris began. The origin of the city we all know and love.

This is extraordinarily exciting.

And all about 4 metres (13 feet) beneath one of the oldest hospitals in the world, just a stone’s throw from Notre Dame.

In more practical terms, archaeologists discovered remnants of a wall that was most likely built over 2,000 years ago. Maybe even 2,200 years ago. It was built to protect an ancient tribe – the Parisii – from the invading Romans. Built to defend something worth defending.

And the location of it is quite possibly the key that unlocks the mystery of the origin of Paris. It matches the ancient descriptions of Lutetia by Julius Caesar himself! (There’s a simplified history lesson towards the end of this post).

As a huge fan of Paris and its old city walls, this story intrigued me enough to head to the dig site, knock on the door, and convince the team to talk to me about it… and to maybe, just maybe, show me the site.

And would you believe it – they did!

So this week on the podcast, you’ll hear me talking to Julien Avinain, the chief of archaeological city council department, who surprised even me by saying, halfway through the interview, that he’d take me to see the old wall if we did it right there and then.

I donned a hard hat, steel-capped boots, and a high-vis vest, and he whisked me through to the excavation site. He promised me only 15 minutes with him, so we were already on borrowed time after the interview. We raced through the building and out into the muddy site – where I saw a huge pit with long sheets of black tarpaulins protecting the wall from the rain.

Julien went down the ladder and lifted the tarp, revealing the base of a 2,200 year-old wall. It took my breath away. To think of the sheer age of the thing, but also that it had been covered up by a hospital for at the very least 1400 years. And there I was seeing it with my own eyes.

How surreal to get such a look at ancient history that’s so freshly uncovered.

I mean, I really think you should listen to the episode for the full story. It’s on Spotify below, and here’s the link to iTunes.

I added a one-minute version of the story with some videos to social media. You can see it below. I was happy to see that over 150,000 people have seen it. I’m glad it’s not just me who enjoys this stuff.

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In the picture above, you can see Notre Dame peeking out to the left of the hospital, behind archaeologist Julien Avinain (left).

Quick History Lesson on Paris

Still here? You really should listen to the interview for full dramatic story. But while I have you, here are some facts to help put this find into perspective.

I think many people know that Paris was once a Roman city, and it was known as Lutetia. The Romans arrived here around 2000 years ago, essentially replacing the Gallic tribe known as the Parisii (which is where the name Paris comes from).

However: there has LONG been a debate about where the Parisii tribe was actually based, and given it was over 2,000 years ago, it’s near impossible to find some proof.

But we have clues. We know it was an island.

Julius Caesar himself described the city as being on an island, linked by bridges, and many people suspected this must have been Ile de la Cité, which is where you’ll find the Notre Dame cathedral today. But others have argued it was somewhere further down river, at another island (in a place called Nanterre). The point is, nobody had any proof either way.

Until now. These stones may well be the fortification of the old city, which was torched by the Parisii themselves in the battle of Lutetia. They torched it rather than let the Romans take it. And it’s from the charred remains of the wood in the wall that the researchers were able to carbon date it to such an exact time that matches the story perfectly.

And that will do for now. For the interview and more, listen to the episode. Then listen to some of the other 500 episodes I’ve made over 10 years at The Earful Tower. I think you’ll like them.

And if you’re new to my work, and you’re into old city walls, my goodness, you’ve come to the right place. I might even declare myself an expert on the Great Philippe Auguste Wall that circled Paris 800 years ago. Have a look at this.

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And if indeed you like this kind of story sharing, you’d LOVE our walking tours of Paris. You can catch me on Monday’s in the Marais, and our team can show you Montmartre and the Latin Quarter too. We’ve even started to dip our feet into Saint Germain. Explore more here or simply email and ask! These are some of the highest rated tours in all of Paris, look.

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Keep exploring

Oliver

PS: A quick shout out to the teams running the excavation under the Hotel Dieu: David Couturier, head of the project for the Département d’histoire de l’architecture et d’archéologie de Paris (DHAAP) – and to the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap). Also to the Drac (Direction régionale des affaires culturelles (DRAC) – Île-de-France), from which I used two of photos above, taken by Anastasia Choquet.