A National Institute for Preventive Archeological Research (INRAP) spokesman called it “the most significant archeological find in Paris in the past 14 years, both for its size and its singularity.”

The discovery was made by accident when the Société du Grand Paris unearthed a wheel while conducting preliminary soil analysis for a new suburban rail line that would follow the ancient canal routes out to the northeast suburbs as part of the long-term Paris Métropole project.

The canal site, according to INRAP, was the resting place for 182 bicycles, 55 chairs, 51 caddies and 23 motorcycles and scooters. Urban biologists are also excited by the opportunity to drain the canal to conduct the dig since in the process it was discovered that 17 species of fish thrived in the murky water, including a carp weighing over 35 pounds (16 kilos) and a catfish measuring nearly 4 feet (1.2 meters).

Historians are hoping that the new find will provide clues to understanding the presence of a series of bicycle-related monuments unearthed in 1990 two miles further along the canal route in what is now Parc de la Villette. After 25 years of study, those monuments, collectively known as The Buried Bicycle (La Bicyclette Ensevelie), have retained much of their mystery.

Theories vary as to the meaning of the Scandinavian-sounding inscription “Claes Oldenburg Coosje Van Bruggen” found on the artefacts. While some surmise a link with the Viking invasions of the 9th century, others believe the site to be the work of a cult dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria who was to be executed on a spiked wheel that miraculously broke when she was placed on it. Joan of Arc claimed that Catherine told her to rid France of invaders.

The fact that the newly discovered bicycle cemetery is quite removed from The Buried Bicycle “raises more questions than it answers,” said INRAP’s chief cycle archeologist Dominique De Roue in an interview over coffee at the café and restaurant Hôtel du Nord. “But due to the scope of this extraordinary find some of those answers may now be within reach.”

Asked how the discovery of the bicycle cemetery compares with the well-arranged mass grave unearthed last winter under the Monoprix grocery store in the second arrondissement, De Roue said, “We were previously well aware that the Trinity Hospital had been on that site in the Middle Ages. So while the density of skeletons was unexpected, we were not surprised to find a burial site in the area. In this case, however, while we were aware of The Buried Bicycle and of anecdotal evidence of missing bicycles throughout the history of Paris, we had no conclusive evidence until now that Parisians had specifically designated a site for the burial of their two wheelers. We’re all very excited by the discovery.”

Unlike the medieval Trinity Hospital cemetery beneath the grocery store, which was visible only to specialists, the St Martin bicycle graveyard is an open excavation visible from the canal’s cobblestone sidewalk and metal bridges.

Adding to the macabre nature of the find, some of the bicycle cadavers have been so well preserved in the sediment that vultures, rarely seen in Pairs since the Franco-Prussian War, have appeared at the site.

Standing on the edge of the vast excavation site as a team of forensic archeologists worked below, Jean-Pierre Durcel, a professor at the Sorbonne and renowned expert on the 16th-century War of Locomotion, who is member of the dig’s scientific committee, said, “While it’s too early to speak definitively of any relation between this site and the War of Locomotion, there is a certain logic to it, given the location near Saint Louis Hospital, which was built soon after the end of the war period. The presence of a bicycle cemetery here would appear to confirm the hypothesis explored in my essay ‘Circular Lives: The Wheels of Monarchy, 1570-1610.’”

In that essay, Ducel seeks to explain why Henri III, unable to sooth tensions between velopedists and quadropedists, was assassinated in 1589, an event that brought an end to the Valois dynasty and temporarily halting dual-wheel development in France. His successor, Henri IV, was a 4-wheeler who eventually converted to bi-wheelism but was nevertheless assassinated in turn by a radical velopedist in 1610 while riding in a horse-drawn four-wheel “voiture” or vector.

Monique Guidon, a specialist on medieval executions, said over tea and cake at La Chambre aux Oiseaux, that the gravesite should rather be seen in relation with the presence nearby of the Gallows or Gibet of Montfaucon, once one of the most chilling sites in the countryside of Paris. The gallows were in use for some 350 years beginning in the late 12th century.

“They were just up the road from here,” she said. “It would have been reasonable to pass this way when wheeling criminals to the site of their execution. People have been calling this a ‘bicycle cemetery’ but it’s quite possible that the site contains a variety of wheeled vehicles and carts.”

A relationship between the cemetery and an as-yet-undated sign that was discovered in November during restoration of a piece of the city’s old ramparts is also being studied.

On a visit to the site before going to lunch at Les Enfants Perdus, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, declared the site “further evidence that bicycles have long been a part of the life of the city.” Noting that some of the bicycles appear to have been “tortured,” the mayor said, “We must honor those that came before us and continue to fight for the rights of non-motorized Parisians.”

She was referring to the twisted cadavers of some of the bicycles. Several firearms have also been discovered in the upper strata of the excavation, though archeologists warn that it is too early to draw conclusions as to their relationship with the bicycles, tortured or not.

Opposition leader Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet denounced Mayor Hidalgo’s “politicization of an archeological discovery.” “Parisians feel a lack of security,” she said before going to lunch at Philou, “and the mayor is only interested in re-interpreting history in such a way as to convince citizens that the fight against terrorism requires that bicycle lanes be extended.”

Radical leftist and extreme rightist parties both accused the government of timing the find to draw attention away from “the real problems confronting France” so as to promote a series of conference that will mark the Ile-de-France (Paris Region) Archeology Day on January 16. While some on the left said that the 9.5 million euros earmarked for the excavation would be better used to help house Syrian refugees fleeing the Israeli occupation, some on the right called for it to be used for better controls at the border between France and Turkey.

A forensic archeologist familiar with the dig, who requested anonymity due to the political nature of the discussion, acknowledged that some of the bicycles show signs of torture that may be related to political or cultural tensions of the time. He said that it was too early to know whether those tensions were local in nature or national or perhaps even international given that the site lies on a Roman trade route connecting Paris with what are now Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Interpretation of the exact nature of the vast gravesite is further complicated by the presence in various strata of hundreds, perhaps thousands of recipients of what Georgio Manubrio, an Italian specialist on beverages from antiquity who is part of the INRAP team, said likely contained beer and wine.

Over coffee at Canaletto Caffè, Manubrio said, “Given the provenance of the amphorae and other recipients I’ve seen at the site Parisians at the time favored very poor quality beverages. I dare say that what they consumed at the time would be considered undrinkable today.”

“A bit like French coffee today,” he added.

Vélorution, an association militating against motorized vehicles (“Turn off your engines! Breath happiness!”) has begun daily demonstrations on the bridges overlooking the excavation site and as called for a massive demonstration on Sunday afternoon, when portions of Quai de Valmy and Quai de Jemmapes, the roads along the ancient canal, are closed to motorized traffic. To support their efforts, Vélorution will be holding a fundraising event at Le Comptoir Général following the demonstration.

A spokeswoman for district mayor of the 10th arrondissement said that an exploratory committee was being formed to study the possibility of obtaining UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the bicycle cemetery, either in its own right or by requesting the extension of the listing of the banks of the Seine to the banks of the canal.

“The beauty and historical value of the site deserves protection,” she said.

The effort of district mayors to spearhead World Heritage recognition is not unprecedented as Delphine Bükli, district mayor of the 9th arrondissement, has recently sought UNESCO World Heritage status for the rooftops of Paris.

Asked if UNESCO listing of the bicycle cemetery might adversely affect future evolution of the area, the spokeswoman said, “We will not allow terrorists to affect the quality of life in the 10th arrondissement,” presumably referring not to UNESCO but to the November 2015 terrorist attacks which took place at Le Petit Cambodge and Le Carillon just 100 yards from bicycle cemetery excavation site.

District Mayor Rémi Féraud declared “The canal area will be ready for picnickers in the spring” before headed to have lunch at Haï Kaï.

Archeologist have been working at the dig for several days now and are currently in the process of removing the bicycle cadavers and remnants so that they can be studied under appropriate conditions using the latest scientific equipment. The company JCDecaux, a specialist in Jurrasic velopedes, has obtained the contract for doing DNA testing on the bicycles from that era.

It is as yet unclear as to where all of the bicycle cadavers would go after analysis, but Jean-Francois Decaux, co-CEO of the namesake group, said that by agreement with the City of Paris his company the remains of those showing no signs of torture from the era of its speciality will be placed on display at various locations in the city.

As to those showing signs of torture or from other periods in history, the City of Paris in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture would decide where they would be placed.

Reached by phone prior to her appearance on the Channel 2 8pm news, Fleur Pellerin, Minister of Culture and Communication, said, “Unfortunately my schedule as minister hasn’t allowed me to visit the excavation site. Nevertheless, I’m well aware that the bicycle cemetery is an important part not only of the history of Paris but of our national heritage and therefore I will do everything in my power to ensure that it is preserved digitally.”

The association Friends of the Carnavelet Museum is pleading in favor of bringing some of the remnants—tortured bicycles, beverage containers, possibly a firearm or two—to that museum, which is concerned with the history of Paris. However, the museum’s director, Valérie Guillaume, who also oversees the Catacombs, said over an early-evening pint at The Cork and Cavan that the Catacombs may be a more appropriate location to place the bicycle cadavers.

Archeologists were initially unable to identify an oddly shaped seat-like object at the gravesite.

But fresco specialists soon uncovered the words “Homme,” “Femme” and “Toile” on a supporting wall leading to the conclusion that the object is a toilet for cemetery workers, which apparently included women.

The owners of Le Polidor, Le Baron Rouge and other historical-minded eating and drinking establishments in Paris have offered to remove and restore the curious object at their own expense and to place on display in their own WC.

Said one business owner, who requested anonymity while negotiations are ongoing, “Though the modern technology of the hole in the ground is most practical and hygienic, we like the idea of adding a historical and retro element from a time, unimaginable as it may seem to us today, when woman actually dared to sit down to pee in a public water closet. Since I’m not a historian myself I don’t yet know how to properly clean it, but I’ve reached out to toilet specialists at the University of Nantes and will be working with them to develop instructions to ensure both proper use and proper maintenance. Some of our regular clients may resist using it, so we’ll continue to provide the modern alternative of the hole in the ground. Our international visitors will certainly get a kick out of it.”

While the excavation has been drawing numerous curiosity seekers and Instagrammers, some visitors to the neighborhood are clearly moved by the sight.

Sitting at a café table outside Chez Prune, 24-year-old Emilie Cuissard said, “To think that bicycles have died and even been tortured so close to the three bicycle shops in the neighborhood…”

Her eyes tearing as she rolled a cigarette, she said “It makes me proud to be a Parisian.”

* * *

Further information about the bicycle cemetery and the archeological dig see here.

Photos and text © 2016, Gary Lee Kraut

The post Macabre Bicycle Cemetery Discovered in Paris appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

There’s a certain kind of cyclist who thinks of himself as such an independent urbanite that he doesn’t have to pay attention to traffic regulations. He breezes through red lights with a ting-ting of his bell to let pedestrians know that he’s too free, too green and too self-sufficient to have to have to stop for them.

And the haphazard way in which he locks up his two-wheels to posts and fences is reminiscent of how car owners parked on the sidewalk before the crackdown (and posts) circa 1990. Except that the car owners would eventually move their rusting vehicles, whereas cyclists will leave their bikes agonizing on the street for all to see. Admittedly, some of those bikes have been vandalized—their seat or a wheel stolen, their wheel run over by a car or twisted by intentional fate, etc.—and are then abandoned by their owners.

Still, fed up with the sight of bicycles that no longer roam, that agonize before our eyes, that clutter the sidewalks, Va-nu-pieds says: “Ras le bol de ces vélos qui ne roulent pas, qui expirent sous nos yeux, qui encombrent tout….” as he lifts his camera and his foot to rant.

All photos © 2013, Va-nu-pieds

Also see The Cranky Parent, The Cranky Host, The Cranky Urbanist and The Cranky Foreign Resident.

The post The Cranky Pedestrian: The Barefoot Photographer Rants Against Bicycle Cadavers appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

It was early August. I rode to the Beaubourg quarter on a public bike and parked at the Velib station on rue Saint Merri. As I turned to walk up the street I was surprised to see that the entire wall of a 5-story building was covered with the image of a face of a man with a finger to its lips.

The man was calling for quiet: Shhhhh. He had Dali eyes.

I’d passed this way, by the Stravinksy Fountain and Saint Merri Church, hundreds of times since first lunching by the fountain over 20 years ago, but never noticed the mural before.

This disturbed me. As much as I enjoy coming upon a good surprise in this increasingly conventional city—an elephant walking down the street, say, or a boy playing Frisbee with a homeless man—I’m disturbed to discover something so clearly a part of the landscape that I’d never noticed before, such as the time that I realized that the trees on my street weren’t lindens after all.

I was headed in the direction of the mural to meet (or not) with Fred, and as I approached I saw that there was writing on the wall, which may or may not have been graffiti.

It wasn’t. It read:

Fresque réalisée / en juin 2011 /par Jef Aérosol [Mural created /in June 2011 / by Jef Aérosol]

So the mural was recent, painted earlier this summer, no reason to be disturbed, simply surprised.

Eh-oh, I heard a voice.

I didn’t see anyone around.

Tu peux me laisser tranquille là? [Would you mind leaving me alone?]

Strange, I couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from.

I continued reading the writing on the wall.

Assisté de [With help from] / Ender, Asfalt,/ Joseph Loughborough / David Amar / Fradelrico, Sevan Ahsan

Eh-oh. Tu peux me laisser tranquille là? The voice, an angry whisper, asked again to be left alone, but still I couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

Merci à l’ircam [With thanks to IRCAM, the Institute for Acoustic/Music Research and Coordination] / Et au Centre Pompidou [And to the Pompidou Center]

Eh-oh, tu peux pas me laisser pisser tranquillement là? It was a woman’s voice, now less of a whisper, more of a hiss.

The voice seemed close, but I still couldn’t see anyone.

I was standing by a rail to read the words on the mural and I now had the reflex to look over it. On the other side a woman was squatting down in the corner in a small dip in the pavement. She was right below me, looking up. Her jeans down to her knees and she was peeing. I could now hear the sound of her stream against the pavement.

Oh, I said.

Arrête de me matter. Je pisse. Dégage. [Stop checking me out. I’m peeing. Go away.]

Je suis venu regarder la fresque de près. Je ne t’ai même pas vu là. [I came for a look at the mural. I didn’t even see you were there.]

Arrête de me regarder alors. Matteur. Merde. Dégage. [Well stop looking at me then. Voyeur. Fuck. Go away.]

She finished peeing and stood up and awkwardly pulled her jeans over her hips. She was clearly drunk.

Ca t’a plu alors? she spat. [Like what you saw?]

Pas très beau, I said.  [Not very nice actually.]

La prochaine fois tu ne regarderas pas. [Then don’t look next time.]

Je voulais voir la fresque de près. C’est tout. Comment savoir qu’il y avait une pisseuse dans le coin.  [I just came to see the mural up close. How was I supposed to know there was a woman pissing over here.]

T’aurais préféré un pisseur? she laughed. [Would you rather it had been a man pissing?]

Peut-être qu’un mec serait plus gracieux. [Maybe a guy would have done it more gracefully.]

PD. [Fag.]

She started to leave her dip in the pavement then stopped to look up at the mural, which destabilized her, so she held onto the railing and looked up.

Pffff, she said. C’est d’la merde. [Bunch of shit.]

She pushed off from the rail and walked away in the direction of the Pompidou Center.

I sat by the fountain to write a draft of this story. I entitled the page “Merry” since I was facing Saint Merri Church, also written Merry. I thought of that as the girl’s name, though the saint was a man. His remains are in the crypt of the church.

I went to meet Fred at the bar. It was 11:45 when I arrived, maybe closer to midnight. He wasn’t there. Or I didn’t see him. Maybe he was in the john. I didn’t go looking.

© 2012, Gary Lee Kraut

The post Paris Street Talk: Merry, the Mural and the Pisser (Merry, la fresque et la pisseuse) appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

The first mile or so of the path progresses with fits and starts as you wind your way outside of the city and into the immediate suburbs of Malakoff then Châtillon. Little by little the path then settles into an easy-going, occasionally rolling, unhurried green (verte) flow (coulée) passing through the relatively tranquil towns of Bagneux, Fontenay-aux-Roses, Sceaux, Châtenay-Malabry, Antony, Verrières-le-Buisson, and into Massy.

Two-thirds along the way is the most well-known greenery to the immediately south of Paris, Parc des Sceaux, a delicious spot for an afternoon loll-about after a genteel ride out and before a satisfied ride home.

Yesterday, I pedaled the path in the company of Va-nu-pieds. Va-nu-pieds is the pseudonym—the lens name, if you will—of a French photographer whose work on France Revisited can be found here. A va-nu-pieds, literally “goes barefoot,” is a vagabond, a tramp, a ragamuffin.

Before going barefoot in the park, however, we spotted from the Coulée Verte the Château de Sceaux.

One glimpse of it and you’re sure to want to approach for a closer view.

Entrance is free. You can walk your bikes through the park, but Va-nu-pieds would have none of that, so we attached them outside and spend a few hours wandering around.

The chateau was mostly constructed under the ownership of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), Louis XIV’s Minister of Finance. It’s a photogenic place in a post-card kind of way, but the main attraction of Sceaux is the park, created by the grandfather of French landscape gardeners André Le Nôtre (1613-1700). Le Nôtre’s work at Versailles was already well underway by the time Colbert purchased Sceaux.  Hired by Colbert then by Colbert’s son the Marquis de Seignelay, Le Nôtre designed what remains one of the pleasing and accessible noble parks of the Paris region.

As with other noble parks in the region it had its 19th-century era of ruin but has since been lovingly restored

Its trademark features are its cascade,

which includes these spouts,

its Grand Canal,

and its perfectly aligned rows of populars, plane trees, horse chestnuts, lindens, and other trees whose names I never remember.

The sculptures are less noteworthy, but I like the image above right.

It’s simply a delightful place for a stroll, a picnic, a lounge on the grass (actually allowed here!), photographic explorations, a jog, prolonged conversations, a nap, romance, and, as far as I’m concerned, a illicit pee in the woods. There are snack stands and cafés in the park.

Other than biking along the Coulée Verte, Parc de Sceaux is easily reachable from the center of Paris by suburban train. Take RER line B, direction Massy-Palaiseau, directly to the Parc de Sceaux stop, a 21-minute ride from Chatelet-Les Halles. The park is then a 3-minute walk from the station.

(c) Gary Lee Kraut

The post Barefoot in the Parc de Sceaux appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.