At the heart of Bordeaux, under a place soon transformed into a vegetated space, archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery. A Merovingian necropolis, which remained intact more than a millennium, slept there, out of sight. Between the walls of an old cloister, only a few centimeters from the roadway, rested around fifty stone sarcophagi. Together, they draw the contours of a funeral place used from life to the 8th century. Led around the Renaudel square, these preventive excavations reveal a forgotten part of the religious and urban history of Bordeaux.
According to Sud Ouest, this operation is one of the largest urban archaeological projects ever undertaken in Bordeaux. The site, long on the sidelines of the medieval city, today reveals an unsuspected wealth. The soil, leveled in the 19th century, allowed archaeologists to directly access old layers, sometimes located less than a meter deep. For Laurent Guyard, head of the Archaeological Service of Bordeaux Métropole, this accessibility makes the excavation “exceptional” in more than one title.
A Merovingian necropolis revealed under the cobblestones
The flagship discovery of this campaign remains a Merovingian necropolis, dated from life to the 8th century, made up of around fifty stone sarcophagi. According to Le Figaro, these tombs rested only 30 cm under the road. Archaeologists have exhumed structures that testify to an evolving funeral practice. Each tomb housed between one and five individuals, belonging to different generations.
According to 20 minutes, these burials were visible directly on the road. Their trapezoidal shape contrasts with classic coffins. The burials in the ground date from the low Middle Ages or the modern era. This shows that the site has been used for several centuries. A paleoanthropological study is planned to analyze bones. It will determine age, sex and possible pathologies. It can also give clues to the diet. These data will make it possible to better understand the lives of former Bordeaux.
What the vestiges say of monastic life in the Middle Ages
Beyond the necropolis, archaeologists have uncovered the white stone walls of the old Sainte-Croix abbey, founded in the Merovingian era. These walls, “surprisingly well preserved”, according to France Info, suggest the structure of the monastery which extended around. Decorative tiles, ceramics, metal fragments and shellfish testify to the daily life of the monks. Archaeologists also report having discovered 11th century soils decorated with lilies, eagles or griffins, perhaps placed in the refectory.
All the exhumed elements reveal a site rich in history, which has evolved with the city. The Benedictine community installed in the Middle Ages would then have been replaced by Maurists in the 17th century, before being dissolved during the French Revolution. The excavations, which must continue until the summer of 2026, should still deliver new clues to the architectural organization and the spiritual life of this place.
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