An excursion down a forgotten staircase in a 12th century French church resulted not only in a lost burial vault, but in a trip back in time to the sixth century.
The discovery was part of a restoration project at the Church of Saint Philibert in Dijon, France, which was necessary because of an ill-advised decision made in the 1970s. The installation of a heated concrete slab trapped the salt-filled ground under it—the 800-year-old church was used for salt storage in the 18th and 19th centuries—and when heated, the salt caused cracking and damage to the stone church’s foundation.
Better (less click-baity) article also featuring photos:
https://www.medievalists.net/2025/01/archaeologists-explore-medieval-french-church/Thanks. The photo in the original article is, as best I can tell, a staircase in the Kozhinsky family tomb in or near the church grounds in Veshalovka, Lipetsk, Russia – it’s totally unrelated.
“Forgotten staircase” uses a photo of a “12th century” electric lamp.
Reminds me, I should really go clean out the basement.
