All language subtitles for NOVA.S51E18.Lost.Tombs.of.Notre.Dame.1080p.WEB.h264-BAE_track3_[eng]

♪ ♪

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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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