20-metre Gaulish rampart found under Paris hospital courtyard
A stone and timber wall 20 metres long, bearing the scorch marks of a violent fire, has been dug up beneath the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris's 4th arrondissement. The structure shows carbonised facing, burnt seeds and the remains of a wooden building destroyed by fire directly in front of it. The dig has been running since February 2026, led by David Couturier of the Département d'histoire de l'architecture et d'archéologie de Paris. Dorothée Chaoui-Derieux, heritage curator and Paris territorial lead at the Service régional de l'archéologie, said the large blocks and interlocking beam system pointed to Gaulish construction tradition from the outset.
If the wall's function and dating are confirmed, it would settle a long-running debate about where ancient Gaulish Lutetia stood, giving Paris a concrete physical anchor to its earliest Celtic past.
Source: Découverte archéologique majeure à Paris : le rempart de la Lutèce gauloise mis au jour | Ministère de la Culture (culture.gouv.fr).
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