French archaeologists have praised the “exceptional” discovery of the 2,000-year-old remains of a child buried with animal sacrifices and who was apparently a pet dog.
The child, who was presumably about a year old, was buried at the beginning of the first century, during Roman rule, in an 80 cm long coffin, made with nails and marked with a decorative iron plate.
The coffin was placed in a tomb 2 meters by 1 meter and surrounded by about 20 objects, including a number of miniature terracotta vases and glass pots presumably containing oils and medicines, half a pig, three hams and other cuts of pork, and two headless chickens.
The grave was discovered during an excavation at a site at Clermont-Ferrand Airport, in central France, to allow a development project to continue.
Archaeologists said they also found a decorative copper pin used to attach a garment, and a 30 cm iron ring attached to a bent metal rod, which was thought to be a toy. The tip of the stick slipped between the legs of a puppy placed at the feet of the deceased outside the coffin. The young animal is wearing a collar with bronze ornaments and a small bell.
The persons at the grave said that they were especially moved to find a baby tooth of an older child, who was possibly a brother or sister of the baby, on a broken shell.
Adults were usually cremated in Roman Gaul, which includes present-day France, Belgium, and parts of neighboring countries, but children were often buried at the family property, indicating that there was a large villa in the area.
“The items that accompany this deceased are absolutely exceptional in terms of quantity and quality,” the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) said. ” Such an abundance of crockery and slaughtered objects, as well as the personal belongings that the child followed to his grave, underline the privileged rank to which his family belongs. A canine association with a young child is well documented in a funeral home, but here it is the collar and bell that is unusual. ”
It is said to be the oldest and most important find of the grave of a child in France. An older tomb, presumably dating from the Roman conquest of Gaul a few decades earlier, contains a number of weapons indicating that the occupant was a soldier.
Laurence Lautier, who is in charge of the Clermont-Ferrand grave, said the find was “unusual because of the abundance of vases and offerings. In this type of grave we often find one or two pots placed at the foot. Here is there are about 20 as well as many food offerings. ”
She told AFP that the number of objects in the grave indicates a certain social status … a family that is clearly very rich ‘and that the vases and pots’ the child’s share of the food and drink from the funeral bench ‘would contain.
The excavations of more than 3.5 hectares (7.4 hectares) threw up a variety of objects from the Iron Age to antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as more modern works of art.
Tests are done on the containers found in the grave to determine what they had. The excavation is expected to continue until February.