Archaeologists have revealed that they have found out who the mystery person buried in a lead coffin discovered under Notre Dame is.
Back in 2019, a devastating fire engulfed one of France's most iconic landmarks, ravaging the cathedral's wooden spire and roof.
Following the blaze, workers tasked with the post-fire restoration discovered two mysterious lead tombs buried under the 850-year-old Gothic building, leaving archaeologists puzzled over who was inside the coffins.
Scientists working for the National Institute for Preventative Archaeology confirmed in 2022 that the first tomb was linked to Antoine de la Porte, a high priest who died in 1710 at the age of 83.
However, they could not figure out who was buried in the other one, dubbing the second individual as "The Horseman" as his distorted skeleton showed indications that he was a horse rider, per The Sun.
After years of restoration, it has now been discovered that the tomb most likely belonged to Joachim du Bellay, one of the country's beloved poets.
The prominent French Renaissance writer, who was the founder of a circle of poets known as La Pleiade, died in the French capital in 1560 aged 37.
According to BBC, researchers believed that du Bellay was buried in the medieval cathedral, where he had served as a minor clerical official, but his coffin has never been found.
Numerous clues led the investigators to link the horseman to du Bellay, with one of those being his well-documented equestrian abilities.
Eric Crubézy, a biological anthropologist at France’s University of Toulouse III, reported that the poet "rode from Paris to Rome, which is no mean feat when you have tuberculosis like he did," per Euro News. "In fact, he almost died from it," he added.
The analysis also showed that du Bellay suffered from poor health, such as showing signs of chronic meningitis caused by bone tuberculosis, per Smithsonian Magazine.
“He matches all the criteria of the portrait,” Crubézy told reporters, per La Croix International’s Cécile Jaurès. “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.”
Many people are questioning why the well-known poet's tomb was found where it was, and not in the side chapel where it was documented.
Researchers believe that it was repositioned to the new site after Du Bellay's name became recognized due to the publication of his work after his death.
Notre Dame is slated to reopen on December 8, more than five years after the fire.
