Remains found beneath Notre Dame after devastating fire may belong to Renaissance poet Joachim du Bellay, who died in 1560: scientists

The mystery behind one of the bodies found buried beneath Notre Dame in Paris in the aftermath of the devastating April 2019 fire may finally be solved.

The remains found in a lead sarcophagus unearthed in April 2022 likely belong to the Renaissance poet Joachim du Bellay, scientists announced this week, according to the AFP.

Du Bellay was a founder of the literary group La Pléiade. He died around age 37 on Jan. 1, 1560, and was believed to have been buried near a relative in a chapel at Notre Dame, though his actual grave was never found.

His bones possibly came to light two years ago, when excavators with the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) dug up two sarcophagi beneath the transept crossing at the heart of the cathedral, Le Monde explained .

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A team of about 50 archaeologists has been working at Notre Dame since the 2019 fire that devastated the medieval structure, La Croix International noted .

Fourteen different projects at the site have examined just 10% of the sprawling cathedral’s floor — but have unearthed pieces of history dating back over 2,000 years, the outlet said.

One of the sarcophagi had an epitaph, and its occupant was quickly identified as Antoine de La Porte, a canon of the cathedral who died in 1710.

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While the identity of the second body remained unknown, scientists determined that the bones belonged to an adult male with a unique femur structure indicating he had been riding horses from a young age.

The examination at the Forensic Institute of the University Hospital of Toulouse also revealed that the man suffered from bone tuberculosis and chronic meningitis.

Du Bellay hinted at both rare conditions in his poems “The Complaint of the Despairing,” Éric Crubézy, a professor of biological anthropology at Toulouse, suggested.

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“He matches all the criteria of the portrait: he is an accomplished horseman, suffers from both conditions mentioned in some of his poems, like in ‘The Complaint of the Despairing,’ where he describes ‘this storm that blurs [his] mind,’ and his family belonged to the royal court and the pope’s close entourage,” he claimed.

Some experts, however, said the official identity of the mystery man was still up for debate.

“Certain elements do not support this hypothesis: isotope analysis of the teeth indicates that the individual lived in the Paris region or Rhône-Alpes until he was 10 years old. However, we know that Joachim du Bellay grew up in Anjou,” said INRAP archaeologist and excavation leader Christophe Besnier.

“Additionally, just because his grave wasn’t found during the 1758 excavations of the Saint-Crépin chapel doesn’t mean his remains weren’t there,” he added.

The remains will undergo additional testing, including analysis to further determine the decedent’s exact age.

Without comparative DNA, however, formal identification is impossible, and scientist and historians alike will have to be content with best guesses.

Over five years after it was almost destroyed by flames, the restoration projects at Notre Dame are said to be in their final stages as the cathedral prepares to reopen on Dec. 8.

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