Archaeological excavations on the Ile de Ré, an island off France's Atlantic coast, have unearthed graves and artefacts dating back to the 8th century – findings that confirm trading ties with Northern European and Celtic peoples.
"What is exciting and quite unique is to find various objects from as far as Ireland, England, the Netherlands and Germany buried with the corpses in this part of western France, in the late 8th century," archaeologist Annie Bolle, of France's National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), told RFI.
