Paris not in Paris

March 15, 2004 8:27 PM

Paris is not actually in Paris according to French archaeologists last month. It appears that the ancient capital of Gaul, named after the Celtic tribe Parissi, is not buried under modern-day Paris but under its unremarkable neighbor Nanterre. "It's an unprecedented attack on the French national identity and the greater glory of Paris by a group of dirty-fingernailed parvenus." Spare the dirty archaeologists and blame it on Julius Caesar who gave inaccurate descriptions of the location, returning from the grave causing fresh Parisian identity consternations.
posted by stbalbach (13 comments total)

I've been under the impression that Paris was in Paramus.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:04 PM on March 15, 2004

I've been under the impression that Paris was in Las Vegas.
posted by gatorae at 10:51 PM on March 15, 2004

I'm tempted to comment on the story, but frankly the writing of it absolutely atrocious... I've seen better copy on motherboard manuals.
posted by clevershark at 11:17 PM on March 15, 2004

I've been under the impression that Paris was in bed with Rick Solomon.
posted by CountZero at 11:58 PM on March 15, 2004

I've been under the impression that Paris was in Texas...
posted by GrahamVM at 6:19 AM on March 16, 2004

I've been under the impression that Paris was on the left-handed side of just not giving a damn.

I've seen better copy on motherboard manuals.

Ha ha! That's funny.
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:14 AM on March 16, 2004

Wow, six pointless snarks at the top of a thread on a serious post -- is that a record? Anyway, thanks, stbalbach; that was a fascinating story. I always thought it was odd that there seemed to be nothing left of the supposed Gaulish metropolis on the Ile de la Cite. No wonder Parisians are upset -- as I told my wife, it's as though they just discovered the Dutch didn't found New Amsterdam at the southern tip of Manhattan but somewhere out in Queens!
posted by languagehat at 10:22 AM on March 16, 2004

The NY analogy is a good one. Historical revisionism in Europe isn't popular in general, so this is going to be a real shaker. I think a lot of money is at stake for a lot of people and will be interesting to see if there is a shift of tourism to Nanterre, or if the conservative elite keep it in the realm of those dirty fingered upstart archaeologists mucking with the status quo.
posted by stbalbach at 11:37 AM on March 16, 2004

it's as though they just discovered the Dutch didn't found New Amsterdam at the southern tip of Manhattan but somewhere out in Queens!

that would make jon a real new yorker then.
posted by sgt.serenity at 11:49 AM on March 16, 2004

I find myself completely unable to understand why anyone would be upset over this - and "the NY analogy" is just as confusing. What difference does it make? The city is what the city is, no matter how it got that way.
posted by Mars Saxman at 12:25 PM on March 16, 2004

will be interesting to see if there is a shift of tourism to Nanterre

Why? Do you think they'll move Notre Dame? The Eiffel Tower? I think Paris has enough going for it not to lose too many tourist Euros over an archaeological find. This is a very interesting bit of trivia, but it's not going to change much about Paris today.
posted by briank at 1:23 PM on March 16, 2004

children, children.. gather round for a story..

This is a story. The story of the French, the story of Paris. Stories are why we have monuments. It is why we have history signs on the side of the road. It is why the Eiffel Tower is where it is. Your right, it really doesn't matter, nothing really matters. We tell stories to give meaning and significance to our lives. Some people read science fiction stories. Some people watch movies. The greatest stories are those of history. This finding changes the story of France and Paris and the French people, it changes the story of who the French are. Go on about your business, nothing has changed, nothing but the story.
posted by stbalbach at 5:21 PM on March 16, 2004

stbalbach, that's the greatest comment I've seen in weeks. I will probably wind up quoting it to people. Mes compliments.
posted by languagehat at 6:15 PM on March 16, 2004