About 2,400 years ago, more than a dozen Celtic men – possibly warriors – were buried in unusual upright positions in what is now Dijon, France, according to a recent discovery of their graves next to an elementary school.
The grim discovery was made by experts at France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) in 2025 and 2026, the institute announced in a translated statement Wednesday (March 18).
The burials date to the Late Iron Age (450 to 25 BC), when the Gauls – a loose association of Celtic tribes – lived in France. Each of the 18 graves had a circular pit about 3.3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, and the graves were evenly spaced in two straight lines. The deceased were buried sitting at the bottom of the pits, facing west, with their arms resting at their sides and their legs akimbo.
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The archaeologists’ first analysis of the Celtic burials revealed that all the skeletons were from physically active, healthy men who died between the ages of 40 and 60. But unhealed cut marks on several of the skeletons pointed to violent deaths.
One male skeleton was found wearing a black stone bracelet around his left elbow. The style of the accessories helped archaeologists place the date of his death between 300 and 200 BC. His skull revealed that he had received two blows from a sharp object, like a sword. At least five other skeletons had cut marks on their arm bones, possibly meaning they died in some kind of ancient battle.
Sitting skeletons are an unusual discovery, according to Inrap. Only about 50 similar burials have been found from a dozen archaeological sites in France and Switzerland, all dated to the Late Iron Age. These burials are often discovered on the outskirts of settlements and always contain seated or crouching male skeletons, suggesting that only certain people were buried in this way – possibly warriors, important ancestors or other political or religious elites.
During the same excavation, archaeologists also uncovered one Roman times cemetery containing 22 infant burials dated to the first century AD. The children were buried lying on their backs or sides in stone or wooden coffins. Some received coins or ceramics as grave offerings.
After the Celtic and Roman cemeteries were abandoned, the farmers used the land for grape growing, and in 1243 the Cordeliers monastery was founded there by Franciscan friars. Today, the archaeological site is located next to a primary school.
