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Chronological information : Fifth millennium BCE to the second century CE
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A single tomb
dating from the early Neolithic


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Fouille de la sépulture néolithique.
Excavation of the Neolithic grave. © UASD / E. Jacquot
Four large pits that may have been used as silos to store excess grain from the harvest, a flint knapping area, and a single grave-these are the oldest traces of a human presence at the site of the future basilica.

The grave is a triangular-shaped pit, in which the body lays on its right side, knees bent, with the head turned toward south facing the east. The arms were brought up to the chest, with the hands touching the neck. All of the anatomical connections remained intact, which indicates that the pit was filled in directly after the body was placed in it. An anthropological analysis shows that the skeleton was that of an older woman. In the region, this type of tomb is characteristic of the early Neolithicearly Neolithic
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period between 4700 and 4000 BCE..

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