Dozens of medieval and ancient skeletons have been discovered in the basement of a home in Corbeil-Essonnes, a suburb of Paris, during an excavation by the preventive archaeology firm Archeodunum.

The excavation began after a homeowner accidentally found a skeleton while renovating. A total of 38 graves were uncovered, indicating the site was used as a cemetery from the 3rd to the 10th century.

Previous assumptions linked these burials to a 7th-century chapel, but evidence now suggests the cemetery predates it, with practices evolving from wooden casket burials in the late Roman Empire to plaster sarcophagi in the early medieval period.

Ten sarcophagi were found arranged in a fan shape, each containing a single individual, Newsweek has reported.

The remains will undergo laboratory analysis to determine sex, age at death, and burial context.

Written by B.C. Begley