Experts Unearthed A Strange Sarcophagus Beneath Notre-Dame That Is Casting A New Light On History

April 15, 2019, was a grim day for the people of Paris. Their beloved Notre-Dame, the imposing cathedral that had stood tall their whole lives, was burning to the ground — and it seemed, in that moment, like it would never recover. A few years later, of course, we’ve seen repair works instigated to restore the medieval monument to its former glory. But nobody could have predicted the secret that this project would reveal beneath this centuries-old building.

Targets

It didn’t take long for plans to be drawn up for the repair works. Within days of the inferno, French president Emmanuel Macron had promised his people that Notre-Dame would be restored within five years. It was a challenging target to set out, but it was a testament to how much the cathedral meant to the French.

Grinding to a halt

The restoration works duly got under way, but then 2020 happened. The lockdowns obviously interfered with the project, with works unable to take place as planned. And later, even when restrictions were eased, another delay emerged. The construction workers found something unexpected on the site — and the discovery brought everything to a halt.

Something odd

The laborers were setting up some scaffolding to afford them access while reconstructing a spire that had collapsed in the fire. But as they were doing that, they spotted something odd hidden beneath the ground. Whatever it was down there, they knew it was important, so they called in expert help.

Secrets

A group of archaeologists from the Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) were summoned to Notre-Dame, where they got to work investigating what the workers had uncovered. And sure enough, these experts quickly confirmed the workers’ inkling that this was an important find. The world-famous Notre-Dame, it became clear, had its secrets.