Wall found beneath Paris hospital may reveal location of ancient Lutetia
French archaeologists have uncovered a roughly 20-metre Gallo-Roman era wall beneath the Hotel-Dieu hospital on Ile de la Cité, which could belong to the fortifications of ancient Lutetia. The culture ministry has called the find a major step toward understanding the city's origins.
An excavation beneath the Hotel-Dieu hospital on Paris's Ile de la Cité, close to Notre-Dame Cathedral, has uncovered a roughly 20-metre stone-and-wood wall dating from the Gallo-Roman period. French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard has described the discovery as a potentially major breakthrough for understanding the ancient settlement of Lutetia, the predecessor of modern Paris.
A possible link to ancient fortifications
Experts believe the wall may be a fragment of the ramparts built by the Parisii, the Gallic tribe that lived along the Seine during the Iron Age. Ile de la Cité has long been considered the heart of Lutetia, though some archaeologists argue the settlement was actually located in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris.
In a statement sent to AFP, Pegard said the find could be one of the most significant remains ever uncovered for understanding Gallic Lutetia, while cautioning that scientists still need to confirm the wall's exact function and timeframe.
Echoes of Caesar's account
Lutetia was first mentioned in book seven of Julius Caesar's "Gallic Wars," which placed it on an island in the Seine — a vague description that has fueled long-running debate over its true location. The newly found wall shows traces of fire, which may correspond to Caesar's account that the Gauls burned their own town before the Battle of Lutetia against the Romans.
Carbon dating of the charred remains points to a period between 10 and 200 BC, a range that encompasses the Battle of Lutetia in 52 BC. Ile de la Cité, home to Notre-Dame Cathedral, is the largest island on the Seine in the Paris region and later became the centre of the Roman settlement of Lutetia.
