Subsequent excavations turned up wooden canoes (the pirogues de Bercy), bows and arrows, pottery and bone and stone tools.

[3] During the Roman era, the area that is now the 12th arrondissement was a largely uninhabited wetland fed by streams originating in the surrounding hills.

[5]:6 A hunting lodge was built by Louis VII around 1150, which was upgraded to a Manor House by Philippe Auguste, who made it a royal residence that was used over the 1150-1340 period.

Progressive upgrades by subsequent kings led to the construction of the fortifications, the Saint Chapelle de Vincennes and several residences within the fortified walls that were designed to cater to royal tastes and standards of living.

[7] In 1198, Foulques de Neuilly, preacher of the 4th crusade, built a small hermitage for reformed prostitutes in the marshes of what was to become the 12th arrondissement.

Over several centuries, the Abbey benefited from the fact that these women were well integrated into the reigning economic and political power structures of Paris.

[9]:277 With the urban redevelopment of the 1980s, the plan was to use the repurposed arches under the railway viaduc of the defunct Paris-Vincennes line to house artisans' workshops.

Nevertheless, most traces of the furniture-making activity in the Faubourg have disappeared, though the École Boule, a famous school for furniture design founded in 1886[4]:51 and located in the 12th arrondissement, continues to bear witness to this ancient artisanal tradition.

The property was further developed by Madame de la Sablière (1636–1693), who received prominent non-Catholic ambassadors there prior to their formal entry into Paris.

[4]:16-17,[12] Located at about the current placement of the Gare de Lyon, the estate had been completely dismantled by 1737, as shown by a map of this area dated that year.

[4]:17 Another major estate was the 17th and 18th century Château de Bercy, which straddled the village of Charenton and the eastern part of the 12th arrondissement.

Built on a promontory overlooking the Seine, the Chateau offered broad views over formal French gardens and the river.

Starting in 1804, the rapid development of the wine trade in the vicinity of the castle brought heavy river and road traffic and initiated what was to become a progressive abandonment of the property.

[12] The artisans and workers of the Faubourg played a key role in the French Revolution and the violent political turmoil of the 19th century.

There were only seven prisoners left in the Bastille at that point and the action cost the lives of 98 attackers as well as most of the rather small contingent of soldiers charged with defending it.

Between 1855 and 1866, the Bois de Vincennes was refurbished by order of Napoleon III, who wanted it to become a "vast park for the working populations of eastern Paris".

Prior to that date, it was called the place du Trône, in honour of the entry into Paris of Louis XIV and his new wife, Marie-Thérèse of Austria.

Le columns and associated taxation offices that can still be seen on the eastern portion of the place, were part of a much broader set of some 60 tax barriers surrounding Paris that were designed by the architect, Claude Ledoux.

[9]:284 Farther to the west, the arrondissement also features the Opéra de la Bastille, the second largest opera house in Paris.

They include: The land area of this arrondissement is 16.324 km2 (6.303 sq mi; 4,034 acres), two-thirds of which consists of the Bois de Vincennes park.