Original subtitles

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: A devastating fire

nearly destroys an iconic cathedral

in the heart of Paris.

But then, beneath the damaged floor,

archaeologists make a startling discovery:

human-shaped sarcophagi,

made of lead, centuries-old.

(translated): I never, ever thought I would excavate in Notre-Dame.

NARRATOR: And, among the bodies,

a thousand shattered fragments

of a once-immense stone sculpture

dating from the Middle Ages.

(translated): It's like finding the Mona Lisa in several pieces.

NARRATOR: A cloud of questions surrounds these subterranean secrets.

Whose bodies are these?

ÉRIC CRUBÉZY (translated): He is between 30 and 40 years old.

NARRATOR: And what was the massive sculpture that was destroyed

and then hidden,

buried inside the most famous cathedral on Earth?

(translated): Wow, it's really impressive.

NARRATOR: Can science and history solve the puzzle

and rediscover a lost age

in the life of the iconic cathedral?

"Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame," right now, on "NOVA."

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Paris, April 15, 2019.

Fire breaks out in Notre-Dame Cathedral.

It engulfs the roof,

bringing the iconic spire crashing to the ground.

Witnesses are in shock.

For over 800 years,

the cathedral has stood in the heart of Paris.

A sacred place.

A witness to centuries of history.

Luckily, firefighters quench the blaze in time

to save Notre-Dame from total collapse.

♪ ♪

Yet the extent of the damage is staggering.

When the spire collapsed,

it crashed through the center of the roof,

landing at the intersection of the nave and the transept,

the very center of the architectural cross

that defines the cathedral's layout.

(translated): Nobody wished for this fire,

for this tragedy.

But today we must find the good side of it.

We have access to data that was inaccessible before.

NARRATOR: The collapse leaves a huge hole in the heart of the building.

But it also sets the stage for surprising discoveries

that might shed new light on the history of Notre-Dame.

♪ ♪

After the initial shock of the fire has passed

and structural engineers have inspected

and stabilized what remains,

work on the monumental task of restoring the cathedral begins,

beginning with a massive network of interlocking scaffolding

on the inside of the building.

But before they build on top of the transept crossing,

they need to see what's under the floor

to make sure it can take the weight.

The investigation is led

by archaeologist Christophe Besnier.

(translated): It's exceptional in the life of an archaeologist,

in the life of a team of archaeologists.

There have been very few archaeological

interventions in Notre-Dame.

We're going to do some major work here.

So we take great responsibility for our discoveries,

their understanding, and preservation.

It's going to be huge and exciting work

for the team.

NARRATOR: This excavation is expected

to be brief.

But a trove of surprising discoveries

will mean otherwise.

♪ ♪

As they clear away the floor,

first, they uncover a network

of brick tunnels dating back to the 19th century.

♪ ♪

(translated): In fact, it was the first underfloor heating system

installed in Notre-Dame in the 19th century.

It was made of large brick ducts,

sometimes on one level, sometimes on two,

which were connected to a boiler

located behind the apse of Notre-Dame.

NARRATOR: The ductwork had been installed

during an earlier renovation in the 19th century,

and it doesn't require special handling.

But what archaeologists see next does:

human remains.

A sealed lead sarcophagus of unknown age.

Finding bodies is not completely unexpected.

Burials in and around the cathedral

are part of its history.

But a sarcophagus like this one

is very rare, and immediately begs the questions

whose remains are these and why are they here?

BESNIER (translated): Archaeologically,

we can see that it's surrounded by fill

containing 14th-century ceramics.

So this could mean it was buried in the 14th century.

But he is buried in a lead coffin.

This was extremely rare in the 14th century,

but it's much more common

from the late 15th-16th century onwards.

NARRATOR: And there's another surprise.

The coffin looks out of place.

Christophe has a possible explanation.

(translated): The main hypothesis is that the coffin was moved.

They moved this coffin and buried it.

They put him in a vault that was not his.

NARRATOR: Not knowing where it was originally buried

may make it harder to determine the person's identity.

Multiple burials and renovations over the centuries

make the archaeologists' job much more challenging.

But before they can solve that mystery,

they spot another coffin,

amazingly intact and protected in a hollow among the debris.

(laughing)

NARRATOR: After clearing a path, they can see

that this one has a plaque and an epitaph.

(translated): So, "Here lies the body

"of Messire Antoine de la Porte,

"canon of the Church of Paris,

died December 24, 1710, in his 83rd year."

NARRATOR: According to the inscription, he is a canon,

meaning he was part of an elite group of priests

that helped manage the religious

and administrative life of the cathedral.

(translated): They were often intellectuals.

They come from noble or military backgrounds.

Such was the case of Canon de la Porte.

The canons, when all gathered together,

they formed the chapter of the cathedral.

The assembled canons took the big decisions.

NARRATOR: Canons were a fixture in Catholic churches

until the end of the 18th century.

Antoine de la Porte is actually a well-known historical figure,

one of the most famous canons of Notre-Dame de Paris.

During the 17th century,

he served for over 50 years in the cathedral.

At the Louvre Museum,

a large painting even depicts him in action.

LOURS (translated): So, here is Canon de la Porte

in all his splendor, celebrating mass at Notre-Dame.

It was his coffin which was found

during the recent archaeological digs.

(people talking in background)

NARRATOR: Antoine de la Porte's coffin

seems newer than the unmarked coffin,

yet they are similar.

Could there be a link between them?

For now, it seems their best hope for more clues

are sealed inside.

To avoid their destruction during renovation,

it is decided to temporarily exhume both.

♪ ♪

CAMILLE COLONNA (translated): For me,

one of the most emotional moments of my life

was when the coffins were removed from the site,

because these maneuvers were very complex

from a logistical point of view.

We were really afraid of damaging them,

dropping them, or breaking them.

You have to carry something that weighs 660 pounds,

leaving it flat, so as not to move what's inside.

(chuckling): It was a bit stressful!

NARRATOR: They hope to open the coffins and study the remains

to preserve what they can and try to discover

the identity of the mystery body,

all to gain a better understanding of the people

and the history of this place.

(birds chirping)

Here, at Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse,

a team of anthropologists, forensic doctors,

and radiologists will analyze the contents of the coffins.

(talking in background)

(translated): Hello!

NARRATOR: Canon Antoine de la Porte's sarcophagus,

as well as that of the John Doe, are first carefully cleaned.

Professor Éric Crubézy,

an anthropologist at the University of Toulouse,

examines the two sarcophagi with archaeologist Christophe Besnier

before opening them.

CRUBÉZY (translated): A few teeth remain.

The canines are in place.

NARRATOR: He's looking for any clue or detail

on the surface of the coffins.

(translated): The enlargement for the buttocks here.

Have you ever seen this before or not?

I don't recall.

(translated): No.

NARRATOR: Unlike Antoine de la Porte's sarcophagus,

this unknown coffin has a unique hourglass shape.

These lead coffins were usually custom-made.

Lead, being a particularly soft and malleable metal,

it was the perfect material

to make an airtight human-shaped capsule.

It also explains why the top of the sarcophagus sagged.

Lead weakens and deforms more quickly than more sturdy metals.

Before opening the coffins, they put on respirator masks.

The excavation protocol they follow is very strict

to safeguard them from lead poisoning, as well as to avoid

any contamination of the remains.

(grinding)

Armed with an angle grinder,

they start with Antoine de la Porte's sarcophagus.

The bottom of the coffin

is very badly eroded.

What will this mean for the condition

of the remains inside?

COLONNA (translated): Is everyone holding it?

MAN (translated): Everyone's got it, yes.

COLONNA (translated): Okay. Let's do this!

HÉLÈNE CIVALLERI (translated): All right, Camille?

COLONNA (translated): Yeah, I have, you can give it to me, it's okay.

It's okay, I've got it.

All right, let go-- let, let go, boys.

(all speaking French)

NARRATOR: If the coffin had remained completely sealed,

de la Porte's body would likely have been better preserved.

Next, the mystery sarcophagus.

(angle grinder buzzing)

It is a bit harder to open,

because its lead walls are much thicker.

(grinding)

It is also less damaged, with fewer holes.

So archaeologists hope the body inside

will be better preserved than Antoine de la Porte.

(all speaking French)

NARRATOR: The lid is also much heavier to lift up.

COLONNA (translated): Okay, hold on.

(exhales): You can let it go now.

You can let it go now.

It's good.

It's sawed off!

NARRATOR: An immediate surprise for the archaeologists:

John Doe's skull is sawed open.

COLONNA (translated): Oh, beautiful, there's a leaf-- there's lots of them.

There's lots of leaves! Oh, wow, that's beautiful.

There are spikes of plants.

That, that's beautiful-- it's great. (laughs)

NARRATOR: This coffin is full of unexpected discoveries.

The body has been buried with plants.

But what kind and why?

And what possible reason had there been

to saw open the skull?

So many questions.

Over the next three days,

a dozen specialists take turns

attending to these two sets of remains.

(people talking in background)

NARRATOR: Patiently,

they collect hundreds of samples of plants and textiles

to be analyzed and interpreted.

♪ ♪

Next, the anthropologists make their first observations

of the two bodies, starting with the canon.

The skeleton clearly shows the signs of advanced age.

Antoine de la Porte died at age 83.

COLONNA (translated): Normally, a spinal disc

is smooth and flat,

but here you see lots of little, little spikes,

little bony spikes everywhere.

So that's arthritis.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: After a first round of sampling,

the skeleton is methodically taken apart.

(talking in background)

NARRATOR: The scientists are amazed

by the canon's healthy dental condition--

surprising for such an elderly person

who lived at a time when toothpaste didn't exist.

CRUBÉZY (translated): And look at this first molar,

which is in place.

It's very well preserved-- see? It is polished.

That's why I think he was cleaning his teeth.

(speaking French)

NARRATOR: Antoine de la Porte lived a long life

and took care of his health.

As a member of a prestigious elite

which ran the affairs of Notre-Dame,

he had the right to be buried in the cathedral,

like many of his peers.

But how many people were buried in this special way?

And why did they choose this as a last resting place?

(translated): Almost 400 burials

were documented in Notre-Dame,

not to mention all those

for which there is no record in the archives.

At Notre-Dame, we knew we were treading on a huge graveyard.

In cathedrals, it's mainly the clergy buried here,

along with bishops.

In Catholic faith,

there's the idea that the living can pray for the dead

to reduce time spent in Purgatory,

the time spent atoning, after death,

the harm caused during one's life.

So it was very important

to be close to this place of celebration.

NARRATOR: From the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century,

bishops and archbishops were buried under the choir,

the most sacred place in the cathedral.

Depending on their status,

canons could find a last resting place

under the nave,

in the chapels around the choir,

or the transept crossing.

This central location was especially prized by canons

because it is just in front of the choir.

The unknown body must have been someone important

to have been buried there.

Is he a canon also?

His remains will be the subject

of a much more detailed analysis.

Anthropologists and forensic doctors

will try to make this skeleton speak

to find clues that might help identify him.

Or at least get close.

(translated): The age indicator is this surface here,

as well as this surface.

And here, look-- they look almost immature.

So the subject, at first estimate,

might be between 30 and 40 years old,

perhaps closer to the first value than the second.

NARRATOR: This age is surprising.

Most of the canons buried inside the cathedral

died at an old age.

After removing the entire skeleton,

a new round of sampling begins.

John Doe's sarcophagus has more plants and textiles

than Antoine de la Porte's.

WOMAN (translated): It's all sage.

There are tiny twigs.

It's probably a Lamiaceae.

(translated): At first look,

at this stage of the investigations,

the body appears to have been wrapped in a shroud,

since this fabric can be found in several places on the body,

almost everywhere.

NARRATOR: Tomorrow, the two skeletons

will be scanned.

Can the forensic investigation discover

who this mysterious character is

and why his skull was sawed open?

♪ ♪

Meanwhile, in Notre-Dame,

at the transept crossing,

archaeologists make another major discovery

in and around Antoine de la Porte's tomb.

Bit by bit,

they uncover a few sculpted stone fragments,

followed by dozens more,

then hundreds of pieces,

many extremely well preserved.

Some still bear traces of their original painted colors.

Buried faces unexpectedly looking up at the sky.

Hands and feet emerging from the ground.

Astounded, the archaeologists uncover

over a thousand fragments.

Some weigh only an ounce.

Others up to half a ton.

But why were these

magnificent medieval statues destroyed and buried here?

Were they fragments from some kind of renovation,

buried here simply for convenience?

Or is this location evidence

that they were prized relics?

On closer inspection,

many of the pieces seem to be thematically related.

BESNIER (translated): We didn't expect to find

so many sculpted elements,

so here is a real discovery

that was totally unexpected for us.

Now we're guessing that this is

the medieval choir screen of Notre-Dame.

The choir screen was a partition separating

the nave and the choir.

In the Middle Ages, cathedrals were built

using this partition wall.

These choir screens were richly decorated.

These are real works of art.

We were lucky to discover it like a puzzle.

It's like finding the Mona Lisa

in several pieces.

NARRATOR: Most of the medieval choir screens were totally destroyed

by the end of the 18th century.

There is no illustration,

no image of the medieval choir screen

that once stood in Notre-Dame.

But in the South of France,

at the Cathedral of St. Cecilia in Albi,

a rare example has been preserved,

giving a sense of how intricate and impressive

Notre-Dame's sculpted screen might have been.

In the Middle Ages, the choir, its stone enclosure,

and the choir screen marked the geography

of a sacred heart inside the cathedral.

♪ ♪

It was an area reserved for canons and bishops.

The exclusive space of a religious elite,

under a soaring vaulted ceiling

covered in gold and blue lapis lazuli--

extremely opulent for the time.

Axelle Janiak is an art historian

studying the history of choir screens.

♪ ♪

Today, she is meeting Ariane Dor,

the heritage conservator of Albi Cathedral,

for a special tour.

At Notre-Dame, too,

there was once a staircase in a similar location.

(translated): Welcome to the choir screen platform.

(translated): Thank you.

So impressive.

I'm happy to let you discover it,

since it's now off-limits to the public.

You know, for me, who works on fragments,

it's quite exceptional to be on a choir screen.

It's quite nice.

Yes, it's good to have things well preserved

from time to time.

NARRATOR: From here, Axelle can see clearly how the stone sculpture

forms a screen between the nave and the choir area.

Each choir screen was known

to have its own unique characteristics.

The screen at Notre-Dame was built two centuries earlier.

So what might that have looked like?

(translated): Wow, it's really impressive!

NARRATOR: In the 19th century,

while he was renovating Notre-Dame de Paris,

architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc dreamt

of reconstructing the choir screen.

Based on his study of other French Gothic monuments

from the same period,

he made a drawing of what it might have looked like.

He imagined the sculptures depicting the Passion of Christ:

his trial, flogging, crucifixion, and burial.

The fragments discovered at Notre-Dame

could be part of scenes like these.

This immense puzzle is an exceptional discovery.

But at the same time,

the archaeological team thinks they may have found

a surprising link between the fragments

and Canon Antoine de la Porte.

Archaeologist Hélène Civalleri shows Axelle

the clues she has gathered so far.

(translated): In this plaster tomb,

there were painted fragments that could also belong

to the choir screen.

And inside that masonry tomb,

we found a well-known figure: Canon Antoine de la Porte.

NARRATOR: So Antoine de la Porte

was buried with fragments of the choir screen.

Since he died in December 1710,

that means the choir screen was probably destroyed

not long before.

But why destroy something of such beauty?

To answer this question,

it is important to understand the function of choir screens.

In the Middle Ages,

when canons gathered for the High Mass,

the doors of the choir screen closed.

♪ ♪

Inside the choir, isolated from the public,

the priests and the canons celebrated High Mass,

including the sacred rite of the Eucharist.

(translated): All this is strictly invisible

to the laity in the nave.

This part of the Mass, it really is the most

important mystery in Catholicism.

That is, the fact that Jesus makes himself present

in the bread and wine not only spiritually,

but also physically.

NARRATOR: But during the 16th century,

leaders of the Protestant Reformation rose up

and criticized Catholic practices and rituals.

♪ ♪

(translated): First, they consider Catholics to be idolaters.

And if the Eucharist is the true body and blood of Christ,

Protestants even described Catholics as cannibals.

And so, there really is this idea

that it's theophagy, it's eating God.

And therefore that it's something

that's not at all, they say, enshrined in the Gospel.

NARRATOR: The Vatican responded by organizing a great council

for Catholic bishops to plan a counter-reformation.

They decided to make a number of rituals,

like the Eucharistic liturgy, more visible to the faithful.

This marks the beginning of the gradual dismantling

of the monumental stone choir screens.

(translated): From now on, we'll have an open choir.

Very often, the choir screen is completely demolished.

But sometimes, and this is what happened at Notre-Dame,

they built a new choir screen

with a central section with a large grid

that lets you see what's happening at the altar.

But the faithful must remain at a distance.

They can't enter the choir.

You can see, but you can't approach.

NARRATOR: Historical records suggest

that at the beginning of the 18th century,

this architectural compromise was partly paid for

by Antoine de la Porte.

In his religious fervor, he invested his own money

and lent King Louis XIV

the enormous sum of 10,000 French livres

to fully renovate the choir of Notre-Dame de Paris.

The destruction of the medieval choir screen

started a few years before he died,

and some fragments were even used to build

the enclosure where his sarcophagus was placed.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(people talking in background)

NARRATOR: In Toulouse, the bones of the mystery man are scanned,

X-rayed, and then analyzed

by radiologist Fabrice Dedouit,

anthropologist Éric Crubézy,

and forensic pathologist Norbert Telmon.

They present their conclusions to the archaeologists,

starting with analysis of the skull.

(translated): The person who cut it probably tried

several times.

It may raise the question

of the kind of instrument

they used for the skull.

You might have a kind of hook

that allows the skullcap

to be separated from the rest of the skull,

which could perhaps explain why we have this flaw here,

where the person may have pulled a little too hard,

and so part of the bone has been broken away.

NARRATOR: Opening the skull in this way

would have allowed the entire brain

to be removed intact, as in an autopsy.

But why would such a thing be done?

CRUBÉZY (translated): When you look at the bones,

you see the base of the skull.

That is something you only see

when the brain has been removed.

We have what specialists call

a periosteal reaction.

NARRATOR: They see evidence in the bone

that the outer part of John Doe's brain,

called the meninges,

had been inflamed when he was still alive,

leaving a mark on the skull.

(translated): So, there was what we call chronic meningitis.

This means it's a subject who had violent headaches

for several months.

And this is probably one of the reasons

which contributed to, or even caused, his death.

NARRATOR: Éric Crubézy thinks these symptoms

were the reason why the body was autopsied.

Doctors of the time wanted to understand

what caused this terrible suffering inside his head.

Meningitis would have weakened John Doe's immune system,

which could have also caused him to lose almost all of his teeth.

In fact, only four remain in his jaw.

They also find a specific pattern of wear

inside the hip joint

that could point to John Doe's identity.

Apparently, he was a horse rider.

(translated): When someone rides

and does it for a long time, and regularly,

in fact, the femurs

that enter the hip joint in the pelvis,

they push upward.

We can imagine him as a cavalier, as a nobleman.

NARRATOR: Based on the skeleton,

the scientists believe that John Doe probably died young,

around the age of 30.

Because he was a horseman,

the experts think it is more likely

that he was a layman and not part of the clergy.

♪ ♪

(talking in background)

NARRATOR: Back in Paris,

the archaeologists review the data they've collected

to try to identify this mysterious man.

♪ ♪

Camille Colonna has the results of carbon-14 dating,

a technique that can pinpoint the amount of time

that has passed since a once-living organism died.

(translated): For the unknown,

we did C-14 tests.

To be safe, we took three samples

and sent them to three different labs.

They all gave us the same answer.

It's definitely 16th century.

NARRATOR: In France, the 16th century began

with a period of renewal.

It was the end of the Middle Ages

and the beginning of the Renaissance:

a time of artistic and scientific flourishing,

the beginning of modern surgery,

which could explain why John Doe's skull was sawed open

as part of an autopsy.

With the carbon-14 dating,

archaeologists can focus their search

through Notre-Dame's record books,

particularly the lists of tomb inscriptions

that were once visible on the floor of the cathedral.

(Colonna murmuring)

NARRATOR: There are 400 people listed in this book.

Can they identify some suspects

that match the forensic data they gathered so far?

(Colonna murmuring)

BESNIER (translated): Super.

It's really a beautiful book.

Jean de Saint-Vérin, Pierre Cardonelle,

Jean des Landes.

Ah! Antoine de la Porte!

Black marble tomb at the bottom of the small gate

as you leave the choir through the main door into the nave.

NARRATOR: Antoine de la Porte is indeed referenced

in the book of inscriptions.

Could there also be a lead for the mystery man?

(translated): Go ahead, turn.

And then, take your time.

(translated): Édouard de la Madeleine,

tomb at the entrance on the right

in the transept crossing.

"Here lies Édouard de la Madeleine, squire,

"lord of Saint-Denis, Saint-Didier,

"Valdemont, Marsilly,

"and Sauge,

"who died on April 15 after Vespers

"in the year of our Lord 1587.

Pray God for him."

NARRATOR: This Édouard de la Madeleine

matches the suspected profile on three major points:

he lived in the 16th century,

he's buried at the transept crossing,

and he was a squire,

meaning he was a nobleman in the service of the king

or an influential lord,

spending a lot of time riding horses.

But Édouard de la Madeleine is not a well-known nobleman,

which only adds to the mystery of his high-status burial.

♪ ♪

Christophe Besnier heads to the National Archives of Paris.

♪ ♪

It houses a great part

of the medieval and royal archives,

which were assembled here after the French Revolution.

Curator Sébastien Nadiras

welcomes Christophe to this unique place.

♪ ♪

On the upper level, there is a special collection

that includes hundreds of volumes,

including all the records

of meetings the canons of Notre-Dame

held over the centuries.

♪ ♪

(translated): This is the chapter register.

This is the register in which

decisions are recorded by the canons

at their three weekly meetings

on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

What we can already find out

is whether his death was announced to the canons.

NARRATOR: Each meeting report begins

with the date and the list of canons present.

To go faster,

we look in the margins

of the registers for key words.

(both speaking French)

BESNIER (translated): I can't read at all.

My Latin is not good enough.

Saint-Fargeau and Épône.

These are estates and farms belonging to the chapter.

BESNIER: All right.

So this date...

So at first look, I don't see anything.

BESNIER: And then we move on to...

NADIRAS: And then it's April 17.

I can't see a thing.

Châtenay, chapter estate.

Nothing on Édouard de la Madeleine.

So, at first glance,

I don't see anything.

NARRATOR: They search up to a month

after Édouard de la Madeleine's presumed death

without seeing any mention of him.

Finding information on Édouard de la Madeleine

turns out to be harder than expected.

♪ ♪

He lived in the second part of the 16th century,

when religious wars were raging

between Catholics and Protestants.

(swords clashing, people yelling)

Was this squire close to the king?

That might explain his funeral at Notre-Dame

and also why his name is not in the registry.

King Henry III,

caught in the middle of religious wars,

was assassinated by a fanatic monk in 1589,

barely two years after the death of Édouard de la Madeleine.

♪ ♪

(Nadiras speaking French)

NARRATOR: Given the violence of the times, if Édouard had been

a particularly loyal servant of the king,

there's a chance his story could have been expunged

from the records after his death.

♪ ♪

Meanwhile, in the suburbs of Paris,

in a secret location,

fragments of the choir screen are cleaned inch by inch.

♪ ♪

Systematically digitizing each stone fragment

will eventually allow

for a virtual reconstruction of this immense puzzle.

♪ ♪

The findings here are so numerous

and the puzzle so complex

that this process

will likely keep the archaeologists busy for years.

For art specialists

like chemical engineer Stéphanie Duchêne,

this discovery is an amazing treasure trove.

♪ ♪

In her quest to decipher the secrets

of this choir screen,

Stéphanie teamed up

with art historian Jennifer Feltman.

♪ ♪

(speaking softly)

NARRATOR: Jennifer is particularly interested

in the sculpted busts and heads.

She's eager to work on the huge challenge

of re-assembling the fragments of this unique choir screen,

known in French as a "jubé."

She spotted these two elements and had an idea.

♪ ♪

(both speaking French)

(translated): It works very well.

And the mortar barely prevents them

from sticking together. FELTMAN (speaking English): It's perfect.

(translated): That's perfect.

(both speaking softly)

FELTMAN (speaking English): It's just wonderful to see

the head and body together.

Uh, when we have them together,

already the, the jubé is coming

more alive for us.

Uh, this is probably an apostle

who would have been a part of the scenes

of the Passion of Christ.

NARRATOR: It is the beginning of the reconstruction

of this immense puzzle.

But there is another challenge.

The puzzle is incomplete.

An unknown number of fragments are missing,

lost during the 19th century,

when architect Viollet-le-Duc renovated the cathedral.

A few of these fragments are now in the Louvre Museum,

but others were sold to antique dealers

around the turn of the 20th century.

(speaks indistinctly) (in English): I would be very curious to see

what the ear looks like here once this is...

(in English): Yeah.

NARRATOR: Now Jennifer thinks

she may have located a missing head

in the United States.

♪ ♪

To confirm, she asked Stéphanie to join her in North Carolina,

on the campus of Duke University.

There, at the Nasher Museum,

a severed head, purchased in Paris in 1930

by a wealthy American collector,

is made available for inspection.

♪ ♪

FELTMAN (speaking English): This figure, uh, really

is striking, because its style

is, is very consonant with

around the year 1230.

Uh, and what's fascinating about it,

it's also the same size

as the other heads that have been found

in the recent excavations at Notre-Dame.

...Nasher head.

NARRATOR: The way the eyes and hairstyle are sculpted

suggests that this head was carved around the same time

as the statues of the choir screen of Notre-Dame.

♪ ♪

To be sure, Jennifer asks Stéphanie to take a tiny sample

to compare its chemical composition

with the fragments from the French cathedral.

It's that white thing?

Yeah. Is that...

It's the tiny, light white thing.

Wow. Yeah. (chuckles)

NARRATOR: Could this be a lost piece of the medieval screen?

♪ ♪

In the archaeologists' laboratories,

the search for John Doe continues.

Plant samples taken from this human-shaped sarcophagus

have been analyzed by Frédérique Durand.

Her specialty is archaeobotany,

the study of plant remains,

including pollen, leaves, flowers,

buds, and micro plant remains.

She's found a lot of sage and hyssop,

two plants with well-known medicinal properties.

♪ ♪

(translated): Both have medicinal values

that are quite similar.

Like, to fight chronic infections,

asthma, and chronic bronchitis.

(speaking French)

When I started seeing all this,

I wondered whether we weren't dealing

with a tuberculosis patient.

NARRATOR: Tuberculosis is known in some cases

to lead to meningitis, so this diagnosis

would be consistent with the evidence of inflammation

found in John Doe's skull.

♪ ♪

Then there are the textile fragments

from his coffin.

Fabienne Médard,

archaeologist and specialist in ancient textile,

analyzed and catalogued these extremely fragile samples.

♪ ♪

She shared some samples

with chemical engineer Mohamed Dallel

to examine the substance of these fibers.

♪ ♪

(translated): This image shows

the weaving structure.

You can clearly see the constituent threads,

but if you take a closer look

and we get into the material,

we'll realize what we're seeing on the screen,

they're not the fibers,

but rather traces, imprints of the fibers.

As soon as we start to touch or handle these fibers,

we realize that we only have sediments

and that it is only dust, in fact.

But I still managed to find some intact fibers

that have preserved the morphological properties

of the textile fibers

that will help us determine their nature.

(translated): So, under the skull and on the face,

it seems to be the same tissue,

which leads us to think

that there was a shroud

covering the head, uh, the entire face.

(all speaking French)

(translated): We are in the presence of fibers,

flax or hemp,

but I think flax, given the geometry of the sections

that you were able to observe. Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: It is possible to imagine the preparations

that preceded the burial.

The corpse was wrapped in a linen shroud.

Someone placed a wreath

and a bunch of leaves on him.

♪ ♪

Then,

a mixture of tin and lead was applied

to the edges of the sarcophagus,

making this coffin completely airtight.

♪ ♪

But these clues still don't shed light

on his identity.

To support the case that this is indeed

the nobleman Édouard de la Madeleine,

they want to know Édouard's birth year

and confirm that he died young.

♪ ♪

Meanwhile,

Édouard is not the only potential candidate.

Anthropologist Éric Crubézy

thinks the unknown mystery man

is a famous French poet

who suffered from tuberculosis:

Joachim du Bellay.

♪ ♪

He also lived in the 16th century,

was a nobleman,

and was an experienced horse rider.

Joachim died in 1560, when he was in his 30s,

and some of his poems

describe sufferings that match the symptoms of meningitis.

♪ ♪

He is not in the book of epitaphs,

but there are records of his burial in Notre-Dame,

in a chapel behind the choir.

But in the 18th century,

during some renovation works in this chapel,

his coffin could not be found.

Could he have been moved

and reburied at the transept crossing?

There are no written records to confirm this.

♪ ♪

In-depth historical research into the candidates

and Notre-Dame burials could take years.

♪ ♪

In the meantime,

what else can science tell us about the mystery man's bones?

By collecting enamel from the teeth

and a few grams of bone from a fingertip,

it is possible to find clues to where he grew up.

♪ ♪

It's called isotopic analysis.

Our bodies are made from the carbon

and other chemical elements

we take in when we eat and breathe.

Among the atoms of those elements,

there are variations called isotopes.

The isotopes of strontium, oxygen, and sulfur can point

to the geographical location

where someone grew up.

And nitrogen and carbon

can help determine

if he ate mostly fish or meat

throughout his life.

♪ ♪

Anthropologist Rozenn Colleter

and geochemistry researcher Klervia Jaouen

process the samples of enamel and bone

collected from the remains.

♪ ♪

In order to extract the chemical isotopes

that will tell the story of where he lived,

they first soak the samples in an acid bath

to break down the material.

♪ ♪

The acid causes the bone samples

to become soft,

allowing researchers to extract a protein--

collagen.

♪ ♪

Once concentrated,

these collagen molecules are placed

in small tin capsules

to be analyzed by a mass spectrometer.

♪ ♪

A few months later,

they receive the first results.

(translated): So this is a map

showing the probabilities for oxygen.

(translated): Ah, it's much more pronounced.

Once again, Paris, here,

and in terms of probability,

we can see that the higher values

are further east in France.

NARRATOR: This discovery seems to point away

from the poet Joachim du Bellay.

He grew up in the west of France,

and this is well documented,

especially in his own writings.

The analysis says the mystery man

grew up in the east of France.

This result matches with the little information

the archaeologists gathered so far

about Édouard de la Madeleine,

who belonged to a noble family based in Burgundy.

♪ ♪

But the two genealogical sources they dug up from the archives

are a bit contradictory.

One source, dating from 1711,

says that Édouard de la Madeleine died young

and was a page of King Henry II.

Another genealogical tree,

made later on in the 18th century,

mentions a date of birth

based on family memories:

the third of February 1536.

This would mean that he died at 51 years old.

(translated): For the time being,

I think he's too old,

because everything we've observed on the skeleton

is a younger skeleton.

Um, he's more like 35, 40.

NARRATOR: Both records were written

more than 100 years after Édouard's death.

So, it is certainly possible

that one or more details are inaccurate,

including the dates of his birth and death.

That could explain why no mention of him was found

in the canons' registers.

And there are even examples of errors

in the book of epitaphs itself.

♪ ♪

Even if Édouard de la Madeleine

is not the occupant of this sarcophagus,

his presence as a squire at the transept crossing,

a canon's territory, remains mysterious.

To understand why he ended up here

will require a more thorough investigation

in the archives.

♪ ♪

Despite the contradictions,

they cannot rule out Édouard de la Madeleine,

and he is, in the opinion of Christophe Besnier

and Camille Colonna,

the most likely occupant of the mystery tomb.

In the meantime,

the archaeologists have continued their work

at the cathedral.

And since the discovery of the two sarcophagi,

they have found more than 100 other, simpler burials

in the sides of the nave--

a less prestigious location.

(translated): They are placed in a wooden coffin

or in plaster tombs.

But in the 100 burials found inside,

there are no lead coffins.

This means it is still extremely rare.

Only two out of 100-- it's not a lot.

NARRATOR: The study of all these skeletons

will help build a large anthropological

and isotopic database,

a tool for analyzing discoveries to come.

And once this research is complete,

the human remains

will be reburied at the direction

of the clergy of Notre-Dame.

♪ ♪

At the cathedral site,

work has progressed rapidly.

A new spire has now been successfully installed.

♪ ♪

But Philippe Jost,

the manager of the reconstruction of Notre-Dame,

is especially grateful for the incredible

archaeological discoveries made after the fire

caused so much destruction.

(translated): When the fragments of the choir screen,

the remains emerged at the transept crossing,

there were extraordinary moments,

unique moments of emotion, which reminded me of stories

told by the great archaeologists

of the 19th century

who were digging in Egypt or Mesopotamia.

♪ ♪

We really felt this emotion when the faces appeared,

fragments of architecture with their color.

And along with the emotion, we saw and understood

the exceptional artistic quality of these remains.

So, from every point of view,

it was one of the highlights of this five-year adventure

of the restoration of the cathedral.

NARRATOR: For researchers and archaeologists,

Notre-Dame de Paris

has been a fabulous open-air laboratory.

This great monument of French history

surely holds more secrets waiting to be discovered.

♪ ♪

And with the cathedral now restored,

the world can look forward to the next chapter

in the incredible story of Notre-Dame de Paris.

♪ ♪

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