Among the traces of prehistoric and Gallo-Roman habitation discovered during the excavation of the Jardins du Carrousel, the most important are the remains of a huge, open-pit loam quarry. Extending over 4 hectares, it occupied a large portion of the alluvial riverbank that once constituted this site. It appears to have been exploited during the first two centuries of the present era.
The material that was extracted-more than 80,000 tons of loam-was probably used to make the daub that was used for the construction of certain 1st century houses (even though this theory is not supported by analyses of wall fragments from left bank houses). Loam-quarrying probably ended with the decline in the use of this building material, and the shift to masonry observed in Gaul in general and Lutetia in particular.
The quarry, which was filled in during the 3rd century, gave way to a farm comprised of two buildings, a granary and a palisade, traces of which were found.