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All were identified as victims of a massacre that took place on December 12 and 13, 1793, as republican forces repelled royalist Catholic rebels from the city of Le Mans, during the first War of the Vendee.
The first grave contained nine or 10 bodies, some still wearing shirt buttons and boot buckles, or carrying knives, while the second, sealed shut with a thick layer of lime, contained some 20 bodies.
All bore the signs of an extremely violent attack, with broken leg, jaw and shoulder bones, according to INRA.
Between 1793 and 1796, the fervently Catholic Vendee region on France's Atlantic coast was rocked by an drawn-out insurrection aimed at reversing the French Revolution.
At the end of the first uprising, Catholic forces were crushed and repelled from Le Mans on December 12, 1793, and republican forces unleashed bloody reprisals on prisoners and rebels who were left behind.
The graves were discovered during a dig to make way for a new cultural centre.
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Image from cottage.moulin-le-cygne.com.
The first grave contained nine or 10 bodies, some still wearing shirt buttons and boot buckles, or carrying knives, while the second, sealed shut with a thick layer of lime, contained some 20 bodies.
All bore the signs of an extremely violent attack, with broken leg, jaw and shoulder bones, according to INRA.
Between 1793 and 1796, the fervently Catholic Vendee region on France's Atlantic coast was rocked by an drawn-out insurrection aimed at reversing the French Revolution.
At the end of the first uprising, Catholic forces were crushed and repelled from Le Mans on December 12, 1793, and republican forces unleashed bloody reprisals on prisoners and rebels who were left behind.
The graves were discovered during a dig to make way for a new cultural centre.
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Image from cottage.moulin-le-cygne.com.
