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The complete excavation of a large suburban necropolis in Lisieux (Calvados, France) has brought to light two chronologically distinct, apparently unconnected cemeteries. The first was in use for just over one century, from the beginning of the 4th century A.D. to the early 5th century A.D. The second cemetery, covering a smaller area on the same site, lasted from the second half of the 6th century A.D. to the beginning of the 9th century A.D. In four burials, a female adult and an immature skeleton are in direct association (foetus inside the pelvis or newborn lain on the female body) suggesting the probability of maternal deaths. The typology of these graves and their organisation within the burial ground do not distinguish them from most of the other burials. Observation of the positions of both skeletons during excavation, and macroscopic, microscopic and radiological examination of the bones in the laboratory has enabled the reconstitution of each obstetrical event (death occurring before, during or after delivery), the indication of certain maternal or foetal risks, and an argumentation, case by case, for the obstetrical causes which could have led directly or indirectly to these maternal deaths.

The architectural analysis and the complete archaeological survey of the old Saint Pierre parish church in Thaon (Calvados, France), dated to between the 7th and the 18th centuries, are in progress. Within the 12th century choir, fifteen burials have been excavated; all of them revealed mature skeletons. Four of these skeletons present features of hyperostosic disease. Besides hyperostosic disease, three of them display the features of erosive polyarthropathies mainly in the distal extremities. Two of these skeletons present ankylosis of the feet. Erosive lesions and ankyloses are compatible with gout. In the archaeological context of people buried side by side in a church chancel, this palaeopathological observation offers an almost caricatural look at possible genetic links with common overeating within an historical privileged group.