Intertwined bodies found in ancient grain silo in Dijon

The intertwined skeletons of two individuals have been discovered in a grain silo from the early 5th century B.C. in Dijon, France. It is the first discovery of its kind of the Dijon area.

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) excavated the site in the Saint-Apollinaire neighborhood last summer, unearthing the remains of a small rural settlement from the 5th century B.C. The settlement contained several storage silos and a water well.

Human remains were found in only one of the silos, and their deposition was intentional and complex. The first individual was placed on their back with the lower limbs crossed, knees out, like they were sitting cross-legged. The right forearm was on the ribs; the left arm extended away from the body. The second individual was placed against the curved edge of the silo against their back and right side. The skeleton is tightly curled up, with the arms in front of the chest and hands. The right leg is raised, knee against the left elbow, and the left leg is sharply bent under the thigh.

These two individuals are interlocked at the lower limbs and feet. The absence of disturbances in the position of the lower skeleton and of sedimentary deposition between the individuals indicates a deliberate organization of the body assembly, the deposition of which was necessarily synchronous.

This clearly demonstrates an intention to link them. The silo was not sealed immediately after the burial of the bodies. It remained accessible for at least two operations: the removal of the second individual’s skull and the subsequent deposition, at a shallower depth than the skeletons, of a skull without a mandible.

The skeletons were placed on a layer of charred grains, legumes and nuts. Analysis of the remains identified the ingredients as barley, wheat, einkorn, lentils, vetch, acorns and hazelnuts. The cereals were typical of what would have been kept in the silo. The legumes would have been collected from the surrounding area. They were accompanied by more exotic produce — grape seeds, wild apple seeds, sloe berries — that suggest there was an offering left, rather than just the random remains of the content of the silo.

* This article was originally published here