The Paris cultural calendar is unveiling a particularly packed lineup as summer approaches. After Nuit des Musées, Nuit Blanche, and Rendez-Vous aux Jardins, the moment has come for Journées de l'Archéologie, an offbeat event that takes us behind the scenes of a fascinating discipline. Between excavation workshops, demonstrations of scientific methods, and exceptional openings of historical sites, Île-de-France offers plenty of chances to step into the shoes of an explorer.
The event is equally suited for adults and children, with a varied program across the four corners of the greater Paris region. For this edition, scheduled for the weekend of June 12–14, 2026, the Bastille square will host a Village of Archaeology, promising to be a high point of the event. At this site steeped in history, the Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) and the City of Paris Archaeological Department invite you to meet the archaeologists and discover the behind-the-scenes of this field!
As part of European Archaeology Days 2026, held June 12–14, the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) and the City of Paris Archaeological Department installed a genuine, three-day pop-up archaeology village on Place de la Bastille. At the Archaeology Village on Place de la Bastille, come and meet the archaeologists and their disciplines: workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, and more.
The Weapons of the Romans: Fighting in Ancient Rome
The numerous discoveries of offensive and defensive weapons now let us better understand the equipment carried by Roman soldiers and how it evolved throughout the imperial period.
Join us to explore the offensive and defensive armaments of the Roman army, to grasp their functions and how they were used. Relying on posters, weapon reproductions and models, the workshop invites you to delve into the variety and operation of these tools and, for the youngest or the oldest, to participate in activities where you’ll step into the shoes of a Roman fighter to recreate formations and tactical dispositions, as the late-Roman drill would have done.
A coloring area or a station to fashion chain mail is available for the more hands-on visitors.
Children (from 6/7 years old) and adults are invited to participate. They will be able to pick up a spear and a shield and train alongside students, PhD candidates and archaeology researchers.
In the workshop “At the School of Scribes,” both kids and adults discover syllabic cuneiform through the teaching methods used over 4,000 years ago. After a brief introduction to the origins and workings of this script, the participants shape their own clay tablet and try out the scribal techniques. They learn how to inscribe their name in cuneiform on fresh clay using a reed-stylus. They also explore the distinctive Mesopotamian base-60 numeral system and the calculation techniques that go with it, the very methods we still rely on to measure time and angles. Each participant walks away with their own clay tablet.
Open to everyone aged 6 and up.
Dates and Opening Time
From June 12, 2026 to June 14, 2026
Location
Place de la Bastille
75011 Paris 11
