Did the Vikings pass through the Isle of Ré? Archaeologists investigate after the discovery of "unexpected" tombs

The discovery had remained secret until now. From October to December last year, in the village of La Flotte on the island of Ré (Charente-Maritime), archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) excavated the subsoil of a building plot. The scientists dispatched to the site discovered five so-called 'atypical' tombs, which could correspond to Viking burials, reports Sud Ouest .

Transmitted to an analysis laboratory in Nantes, the exhumed human skeletons attracted the attention of archaeologists because of their original positioning and the various additional objects found. These "unexpected medieval tombs bear witness to vast networks of exchanges between the Nordic world and the Atlantic coast", explains Inrap.

" Charlemagne 's writings already mentioned Viking raids in his empire, and yet, even in Normandy, few traces have been found," explains historian and Scandinavian specialist Lucie Malbos to Sud Ouest. A totally surprising discovery, therefore, in this region.

For Annie Bolle, head of the Inrap archaeologist team at the excavation site, what is most striking are the jewelry and small tools discovered (copper belt buckles, metal clasps and hair combs).

"The investigation is only just beginning, and for the moment it raises more questions than answers (...)", Annie Bolle told the local media. "The first comparisons evoke Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, but also the Frisian and Danish peoples", she added.

"Today, two hypotheses are being considered," Inrap specifies. "A population of foreign origin within a local cemetery or a few privileged locals displaying their special status even in death." The analyses now launched should make it possible to resolve this historical enigma.