the European Archeology Days, to discover the value of excavations in search of the past

History enthusiasts or simply curious people are invited this weekend to discover behind the scenes of archaeological research on the occasion of the European Archeology Days.

Become an archaeologist during a visit, on the occasion of the European Archeology Days. From Friday June 14 to Sunday June 16, events are organized throughout France. Excavation sites open their doors to the general public.

In Nanterre, near Paris, the more the subsoil is revealed under the delicate strokes of trowels and brushes, the more questions arise among the CM2 students who have come to try their hand at the fascinating profession of archaeologist. “Madam, the walls you showed us, what were they before ? It was the well ? And besides, what is it?” or “The college students, they prayed in the church or in the college ?”

Students carry out excavations at the Royal College of Nanterre. A religious complex destroyed in 1797, the foundations of which are located in a public park. The children are fascinated. “We learn lots of things, how Nanterre was before and it’s incredible,” one of them marvels. “There were lots of churches, lots of priests”. “I would really like to search, see what was in the college, If there are dead bodies!” “Yes, skeletons”adds his neighbor.

Obviously, no skeleton at Nanterre College, but ceramics and above all architectural elements well preserved and brought to light by Master of Archeology students. Zoé and Auriane have “discovered a start of a vault”they explain. “It was really at the very end of the construction site, around 5 p.m., just before leaving” continues Zoé before conceding that “this departure from the vault still surprised us a little”.

Kneeling in the earth, the students, who carefully scrape the old stones, say that the clichés about their future profession have the hard life. “When we say that we do archaeology, people are quite surprised. We tell them that it allows us to understand what we have under our feet, that it’s not just for amuse and make holes that it goes a little beyond that, that there is a scientific purpose behind it..

This is confirmed by Nicolas Samuelian, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation site at the royal college of Nanterre. “The real surprise is to discover the habitat prior to the college since when this royal college was built in 1642, it was necessary to buy land in the center of the village. And so at the end of this excavation, we we discovered two buildings predating 1642”, rejoices the scientist.

“People always have this image of Epinal that you have to go to the other side of the world to search for beautiful things.”

Nicolas Samuelian, archaeologist

at franceinfo

Thanks to the European Archeology Days, “people have this pleasant surprise to see that their town also has an ancient past”, continues Nicolas Samuelian. An ancient past which is revealed all weekend in other excavation sites, from Mâcon to Font-Romeu via Marseille or Château-Thierry.

The European Archeology Days are also celebrated in many museums and at conferences across Europe.