PARIS (AFP) – Several tombs and a leaden sarcophagus likely dating from the 14th Century have been uncovered by archaeologists at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris following its devastating 2019 fire.

The burial sites “of remarkable scientific quality” were unearthed during preparatory work for rebuilding the ancient church’s spire at the central spot where the transept crosses the nave, the Culture Ministry announced late on Monday.

Among the tombs was the “completely preserved, human-shaped sarcophagus made of lead”.

It is thought the coffin was made for a senior dignitary in the 1300s – the century following the cathedral’s construction.

As well as the tombs, elements of painted sculptures were found just beneath the current floor level of the cathedral, identified as parts of the original 13th-Century rood screen – an architectural element separating the altar area from the nave.

During a visit by AFP on Tuesday, archaeologists were delicately cleaning and excavating the sculptures emerging from the ground, including a pair of carved hands.

The bust of a bearded man and some sculpted vegetables, with traces of paint still visible, had been removed.

The team has already used a mini endoscopic camera to peek inside the sarcophagus, which appeared to be warped by the weight of the earth and stones.

“You can glimpse pieces of fabric, hair and above all a pillow of leaves on top of the head, a well-known phenomenon when religious leaders were buried,” said Christophe Besnier, the lead archaeologist.

“The fact that these plant elements are still inside means the body is in a very good state of conservation,” he added.

Its discovery will help improve our understanding of funeral practices in the Middle Ages, added Dominique Garcia of the National Institute of Archaeological Research.

The discoveries were made as reconstruction teams prepared to install huge scaffolding to rebuild the spire, and needed to check the stability of the ground.

In the process, they discovered an underground heating system from the 19th Century, with the sarcophagus lying among its brick pipes.

Despite the excitement of the find, the clock is ticking for the archaeologists.

They have been given until March 25 to finish their work before the reconstruction project resumes – in order to keep to a planned reopening of the cathedral in 2024.

Jocelyn Noveck

AP – The Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Diébédo Francis Kéré, a Berlin-based architect, educator and social activist, for a craft that is “sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants in lands of extreme scarcity,” especially in Africa and his native Burkina Faso, organisers said on Tuesday.

“He is equally architect and servant, improving upon the lives and experiences of countless citizens in a region of the world that is at times forgotten,” said Tom Pritzker in announcing this year’s prize, seen as the highest honour in the field, to Kéré, a citizen of both Burkina Faso and Germany. Pritzker is chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award.

In comments to The Associated Press (AP), Kéré, 56, said he had always “wanted to create spaces that give people a sense of comfort and can inspire them.

“At a time when the pandemic has made our codependency very clear and we are also facing increasing conflicts around diminishing resources, it humbles me that my approach is spotlighted with such an honour”, he said.

“It gives me great hope to firsthand experience that no matter how seemingly small and remote your start, you can go beyond what you ever thought possible.”

Most of Kéré’s built works are in Africa, in countries including Benin, Burkino Faso, Mali, Kenya, Mozambique, Togo and Sudan. He has also designed pavilions or installations in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, organisers said.

“Over and over, he has, in a sense returned to his roots,” the foundation said. “He has drawn from his European architectural formation and work, combining them with the traditions, needs and customs of his country.”

The architect told the AP that “I started where I was born, and where population growth is a key issue and infrastructure is urgently needed. I had a duty to my people and it was important for me to use materials that are abundant and build with approaches that cause little burden to the environment.

“So my buildings were solution-oriented. And these solutions, I realised, were transferable across locations and time as all human-made crises are needing solutions based in sustainable thinking”.

Kéré has specialised in designs for school institutions, health facilities, civic buildings and housing. “Through his commitment to social justice and engagement, and intelligent use of local materials to connect and respond to the natural climate, he works in marginalised countries laden with constraints and adversity, where architecture and infrastructure are absent,” organisers said.

A 2001 project for the Gando Primary School in Burkina Faso, for example, was a challenge to both “fulfil an essential need and redeem social inequities”.

Organisers said a dual solution was required – “a physical and contemporary design for a facility that could combat extreme heat and poor lighting conditions with limited resources, and a social resoluteness to overcome incertitude from within the community”. They said Kéré raised funds for the project internationally and created work opportunities for local citizens.

As an example of using local materials, the architect used indigenous clay fortified with cement to form bricks that were designed to retain cooler air inside while allowing heat to escape through a brick ceiling and an elevated roof – ventilation without the need for air conditioning. The project enabled the school’s student body to increase from 120 to 700 students.

ROME, ITALY (AP) – A gentle tune from a violin played by a musician who has been dubbed Ukraine’s ‘cellar violinist’ is a lullaby for a child sheltered in the dark basement of an apartment building in the besieged Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Vera Lytovchenko has become an Internet icon of resilience as images of the concert violinist playing in the basement bomb shelter have inspired an international audience via social media.

When heavy Russian bombing of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv started two weeks ago, Lytovchenko, her professor father and neighbours sought safety in their building’s basement.

“Bombs can fall everywhere in our city, so we decided to go down in the cellar,” the 39-year-old violinist told The Associated Press via Skype on Wednesday during a brief respite from the bombing during a temporary ceasefire. “We’re about 12 people now. We have little boys. We have teenagers. We have old women.”

A week into their basement huddle, Lytovchenko decided to try to lift the spirits of her cellar mates by holding small concerts.

“All these people are my brothers and sisters now,” she said. “I was trying to make them think about something and not about the war for some minutes while I’m playing.”

Later she thought to post her recitals, featuring the calming strains of Vivaldi and even Lytovchenko singing a Russian folk song, on social media. The reaction surprised her: more than 40,000 views on Facebook and thousands more on YouTube.

“I didn’t expect that because I was posting just to reach my friends, my relatives. My aunt is near Kyiv and I’m afraid for her,” she said.

“My friends are in different cities all over Ukraine and I’m trying to keep a connection with them, I text them several times a day to know if they’re alive,” Lytovchenko said.

“Many people text me now saying that my videos give them such support and hope. They can see that someone stays here” in Kharkiv. “Someone is alive and someone keeps hope and is optimistic,” she said.

On Wednesday, during the temporary cease-fire in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Lytovchenko was able to return to her apartment for a few hours. She told the AP she was happy to see sunlight after spending two weeks in the dark basement, adding that she and her neighbours are lucky because they have heating in the cellar and food.

Before the war, Lytovchenko played for the Kharkiv City Opera orchestra and taught
music lessons.

“It was another life… a normal life,” she said of the time before the war.

“I’m an orchestra player. I am a teacher in college. I have my students, I have friends, I play concerts, I play operas and ballets. I play Italian operas in the theatre.”

Describing Ukraine before the war, Lytovchenko said, “We had a cultural life in our country, our cities, in spite of the coronavirus. We were vaccinated. It was a normal life… But now we can’t understand what is happening.”

Lytovchenko said she hopes that her posts can help raise funds for Kharkiv’s music community.

“I dream about my little financial fund, because I received messages from all over the world, from all countries. They texted me, they want to help,” she said. She wants “to help musicians and to rebuild our city, our conservatory, our music college, our music school”, she said.

“To help our musicians who lost their houses and help musicians to return to their own cities and not to be refugees.”

Lytovchenko said as frightening as it is, playing in the cellar to lift the spirts of others has given her new encouragement.

“This is why I do these videos, I try to help, I try to do all I can do,” she said.