La bataille du Mans, apports archéo anthropologiques à l’étude des guerres de Vendée, 10-13 décembre 1793
The Battle of Le Mans, archaeological and anthropological contributions to the study of the Wars of Vendée, December 10-13, 1793
Elodie Cabot, Pierre Chevet, Sylvie Duchesne

Abstract

The question of the wars of the Vendée territory and the unfolding of those was the subject of an abundant literature written by authors of the two camps. These testimonys are often in favour, sometimes divergent, and their confrontation can leave perplexed.

Opposite to these texts, we can now confront the results of the first archaeological excavation of one of the major episodes of these disorders, the battle of Le Mans, place of defeat of the catholic and royal army.

Nine mass graves comprising the bodies of 159 individuals having perished at the time of this event were the subject of an exhaustive excavation on the place of the Jacobins in Mans (2009-2010). The historical contribution of these bones remainders is important because it is the first time that victims of the wars are examined with an eye of archaeologist and anthropologist.

The collected data are rich of teaching, so much for the course of the battle with the analysis of the traces of blows (knife and firearm) that for the characterization of a population from the end of the XVIIIe century in the west of France through its medical profiles (paleopathologic and paleoepidemiologic study) and paleodemographic.

Traumatology, brings new additional data to the historical knowledge on the nature of the fight in city center and on the question of the place of collecting the bodies. Indeed, profiles take shape in the mass graves and show various faces of the fight (cannonade, cavalry, body with body, escape…) whose traces are observable on the bone.

Unfortunately I can't give you a direct link. Go to the site below, click on search, search under "vendee":

http://www.didac.ehu.es/antropo/