What Remains

Cover image © York Osteoarchaeology Ltd.

MAGAZINE STAFF

Lindsay ArmstrongLindsay is a forth year Anthropology major. His field of study comprises osteology, taphonamy, and archaeology.

Jess BartonJess is a third year Anthropology major from the hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.

MAtthew BranaghMatt is a second year student at the University of Victoria majoring in Anthropology.His interests are religious and mythological archaeology.

Hannah JohnsonHannah is a third year International Student from Portland, OR in the USA,. She is pursuing a Medieval Studies major with a Psychology minor.

Branwen MartindaleBranwen Martindale is a 4th year undergraduate student at the University of Victoriamajoring in Anthropology.

TABLE OF CONTENTSKinds of Burial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

by Jess Barton

Grave Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

by Hannah Johnson

Cemeteries and Mass Graves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

by Branwen Martindale

Who Is In The Burial? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

by Lindsay Armstrong

A Viking funeral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 22

by Matthew Branagh

Text References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Image References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

KINDS OF BURIAL

Fig. 1 - Hung from hooks by their necks and feet, the bodies of the Capuchin Catacombs appear to be lunging towards any viewers (Cohen, 2012).

BY JESS BARTON

Inhumations

An inhumation is simply a burial, the

terms are synonymous. An inhumation is defined

by the Oxford English Dictionary as the “action or

practice of burying the dead; the fact of being

buried” (2012). The common North American

practice of burial is where a six foot deep hole is

dug, usually in a cemetery, and then the deceased

is placed within a casket, and the casket is lowered

into the hole in the ground then covered in soil.

Although it is typical in North American burials for

there to only be one person in the grave, that is

not always the case in other places. It is not always

clear if it was done purposefully or not, but there is

a lot of incidences where there have been two or

more people found in a single grave, in a

combination of different sexes and age groups. Not

so common in the current times, but extremely

popular in the medieval times, was the trend to

include inanimate objects in the burial with the

individuals or what anthropologists like to call, grave

goods. It is extremely difficult to define what a true burial

is, as every culture has their own interpretation and

variations of the inhumation process and what it entails.

Fig. 2 - The lowering of a casket into the ground before it is buried

in modern times (Memorial Ecosystems, 2012).

Cremations

To cremate is defined by the Oxford English

Dictionary as the “dispos[al] of (a dead person’s body)

by burning it to ashes, typically after a funeral

ceremony” (2012). After the deceased individual has

been cremated, there are several different ways in which

people deal with the ashes. Some like to place the ashes

in a vase or bottle which can put in display within

peoples homes. Others tend to spread the deceased’s

ashes throughout the land, for example spread half of

the remains in the ocean and the other half over a

bridge, for various symbolic reasons. Cremations are one

of the most popular methods of disposing of the body. In

fact, in modern day Britain, cremation is considered the

“dominant rite” (Parker Pearson, 1999, p. 5). Civilizations

have been using cremations dates back hundreds of

centuries. Each society seems to have their

own perspective and funerary customs that

accompany the process of cremation, and it is

still prevalent and used to this day. And

example of the use of cremation is practiced

in the Hindu religion in India. The people will

take the dead to the city of Varanisi and

cremate them on the terraces of houses that

line the Ganges river, so that their ashes can

then be scattered in the sacred river (Parker

Pearson 1999, p. 50). This is just one way that

cremations can take place, other societies

have been known to burn the deceased on a

pyre while in modern day first world countries,

people will take the deceased to a funeral

parlor to be cremated.

Fig. 3 - This diagram illustrates what happens with a cremation pyre,

how long it takes and what it leaves behind. This experiment was

conducted with a pig, not a human (Parker Pearson, 1999).

Mummification

Fig. 4 - An individual from Grauballe bog, a young man, whose neck

was split from ear to ear (Parker Pearson, 1999).

The Oxford Engl ish Dictionary

defines to mummify as the act of

“preserv[ing] (a body) by embalming and

wrapping it in cloth” (2012). Whenever

people refer to mummification, the most

common thought is to connect this burial

process to the ancient Egyptians. One of

these great examples is the body of

Tutankhamen, who’s process of

mummification was extremely elaborate.

Tutankhamen’s body was wrapped in “f ine

l inen bandages” that contained “items of

glass, cornel ian, lapis lazul i , felspar, iron

and especial ly gold” (Parker Pearson

1999, p. 59). Once the body was wrapped

and preserved, Tutankhamen was placed in

a “sarcophagus [that] lay within four

nested golden shrines and enclosed three

mummiform coff ins. The innermost of

these was of sol id gold while the outer

two were of gi lded wood” (Parker Pearson

1999, p. 59). While they were one society

that predominantly practiced this form of

burial , they were not the only ones. There

is also a natural form of mummification. A

great example of this is with what are

known as bog bodies, more specif ical ly the

Graubal le Man. This corpse was found

“lay[ing] naked on his back, with his body

twisted, legs f lexed and head to the north”

(Parker Pearson 1999, p. 67) . This method

of mummification works so wel l that, as

evident in pictures, you could sti l l see the

hair on his head and stubble on his chin .

Fig. 5 - The corpse of Tutankhamen unwrapped after the bandages

were removed (Parker Pearson, 1999).

Self-Mummification

Fig. 6 - A self-mummified Buddhist monk found at Dainichibō Temple, Japan (Jeremiah, 2012).

Self Mummification requires the

same processes as mummification, as

indicated with the tit le, it is self inf l icted.

This method of preserving a body after

death has not been too common

throughout history. Although, certain

groups of buddhists in Japan have used

this technique for quite some time.

Buddhists who are preparing themselves

for self-mummification use a diet cal led

“mokujikigy ” (Jeremiah 2012, p. 1) . Thisō

meticulous diet where the practit ioners do

not eat any kind of cereal but rather “they

ate nuts, berries, tree bark, pine needles,

an unusual substances for years, gradual ly

reducing the amount as t ime progressed”

(Jeremiah 2012, p. 1) . If the diet had

progressed correctly, as planned, the

individual would “starve to death within

ten years” (Jeremiah 2012, p. 1) . Once the

monk had started their diet , they would go

on a search for an appropriate place that would

act as their burial chamber. After finding their

chamber, they would bury themselves alive in this

chamber. “Bamboo breathing tubes were in place

to provide oxygen, and they sat in meditative

posture, in complete darkness, chanting s tra andū

ringing a bell until their deaths. Once the bell

stopped ringing, the tombs were sealed” (Jeremiah

2012, p. 2). The whole process of self-

mummification is one of exceptional pain and

extensive planning, but it still viewed and practiced

as a religious process with Buddhists of Japan to

this day.

TYPES OF BURIAL

C a i r n s

Fig. 7 - The Grey Cairns of Camster, in Scotland (Electric Scotland, 2012).

A cairn is defined by the Oxford

Engl ish Dictionary as a “mound of rough

stones bui lt as a memorial or landmark,

typical ly on a hi l l top or skyl ine” (2012).

Burial cairns have been found to be used

in previous times in the southeastern part

of Iraq. This particular example from Iraq is a site

that was excavated near Sar-i-Asiab, which is just

north of Kerman in southeastern Iran. At the site, there was

“more than 170 cairns [that] are distributed over a bare,

stony plain which slopes gently down from rocky hills to

the east” (Lamberg-Karlovsky & Humphries 1968, p. 269).

In terms of appearance, the cairns are “as simple piles of

stones, varying form circular to subrectangular in plan”

while the “dimensions of cairns range from those of a

mere half dozen stones to larger ones of 1 m. in height and

5 m. in diameter” (Lamberg-Karlovsky & Humphries 1968,

p. 269). In terms of internal structure within these cairns,

there is “a series of tunnel-like chambers run horizontally

into the interior of these cairns” and then within these

chambers is where the burial remains are found (Lamberg-

Karlovsky & Humphries 1968, p. 271). Cairns, like this

example, can vary in terms of size, location and the

materials they are composed of.

Catacombs

A catacomb is defined by the Oxford English

Dictionary as an “underground cemetery consisting of a

subterranean gallery with recesses for tombs” (2012). A

notable example of a catacomb is present at the

Catacombs of the Capuchin Covent of Palermo in Sicily,

Italy. The people of the area used these catacombs as a

burial place for the privileged and clergy, as well as nobles

and townspeople of high status (Carotenuto, G. et al.

2008). All of the bodies in the catacomb have been

mummified, by either natural or artificial means, there are

even rooms in this catacomb that were designated for the

draining of a corpses fluids before it was wrapped in

bandages and put in either a coffin or wall slot

(Carotenuto, G. et al. 2008). As for the layout of the

catacomb, is has an entire “underground system” that has

several “large rooms and high-vaulted corridors [that]

branch out from the original corpus beneath the Church”

(Carotenuto, G. et al. 2008, p. 156). Catacombs are a very

unique method of storing the dead within societies. It is a

way of preserving history of the area over a long time

period with a practical means of storage that both, holds

large numbers of people, and doesn’t take up any valuable

surface land realty. This is just one case of a catacomb,

although there are many extravagant example that can be

viewed throughout Europe.

Fig. 8 - Within the Paris catacombs, skulls, tibias, and femurs have

been stacked to form spectacular structures (National Geographic,

2012).

Ship Burials

A ship burial is defined by the Oxford English

Dictionary as a “burial in a wooden ship under a mound”

(2012). One of the most famous illustrations of a ship burial

is from the Viking Age in Norway, and is called the Oseberg

ship burial. The actual ship in the burial was “21.44 metres

long and 5.1 metres wide” (Walaker Nordeide 2011, p. 7).

Due to the great size of the ship, the “diameter of the

Oseberg mound was around 40.5 metres, and it was

probably around 6.4 metres high” (Walaker Nordeide 2011,

p. 7). The burial contained “two female bodies, one which

was more than eighty years old at the time of her death,

the other who was in her early fifties” (Walaker Nordeide

2011, p. 7). Accompanying the bodies in this grave, there

was an abundance of other artifacts. Besides traces of

food, personal belongings, precious metals, paintings, and

other inanimate objects, the grave also contained animals.

The excavators found “a couple of oxen, four dogs and

thirteen horses” to be exact (Walaker Nordeide 2011, p. 7).

Although this is a case of an elaborate ship burial, there are

many different examples that vary in size, contents, and use

throughout the globe.

Fig. 9 - Image of the excavation of the Oseberg ship burial in 1904

(Rubio, 2007).

Burial Mounds

The term burial mound is as self

explanatory as it sounds. It is simply a burial

underneath a mound, which is defined by the

Oxford English Dictionary as a “rounded mass

projecting about a surface” (2012). The use of

burial mounds is a burial ritual that varies

greatly across time and regions. Burial

mounds can contain one individual or large

quantities of people. Thus, the overall size of

the mound is usually correlated with the

number of individuals inside. With the Anglo

Saxons, they used burial mounds as the

common practice for independent people, as

North Americans today use inhumations in a

cemetery, where each person had their own

small mound in a cemetery (Ellis Davidson,

1950). Therefore, when it came to a burial

mound for someone of great importance,

there was a large mound raised for them (Ellis

Davidson, 1950). One elaborate example of

one of the Anglo Saxon’s burial mounds is the

Taplow Barrow mound in Buckinghamshire.

This mound is “80 ft. in diameter and still 15

ft high in 1883, stood in the churchyard,

towering over the later graves” (Ellis Davidson

1950, p. 170). The Taplow Barrow mound was

quite ornate burial as it consisted of a

“rectangular grave chamber lined with stout

planks, who was richly dressed, with a cloak

decorated with gold braid caught by a clasp at

his shoulder” (Ellis Davidson 1950, p. 170).

Fig. 10 - Taplow is a Saxon burial mound of the 7th century in Berkshire, England (The Megalithic Portal, 2012).

In terms of what was included in the grave, the

man was accompanied by “a sword and knife, a

long spear placed above the chamber, two shields

and possible other weapons, while in the centre

was a large bronze pan holding two glass beakers,

two wooden cups and two drinking horns” (Ellis

Davidson 1950, p. 170). e

GRAVE GOODS

Fig. 11 - Closeup on am Anglo-Saxon female wearing gold medallion and beads, found in Buckland cemetery. Dover, UK.

(Canterbury Archaeological Trust).

BY HANNAH JOHNSON

What are grave goods,

why are they given,

and why are they useful?

Goods deposited in the graves of the

departed are a fascinating and invaluable resource

to the field of archaeology, helping us to learn more

about the lives, deaths and burial rituals, practices,

and religious or cosmological ideologies of the

people they were buried with, as well as of those

left behind to mourn them. Several theories as to

why grave goods were given have been proposed,

including as supplies for a journey into the afterlife

(Crawford, 2004, pg. 89), as a sort of dowry for

the gods (Oliver, 2000, cited in Crawford, 2004),

gifts from neighbouring groups or families to show

goodwill and secure political alliances (King, 2004),

or a display of wealth by the family of the

deceased . To exemplify these differences, it must

be noted that some objects belong to a category of

grave offerings, while others are clearly integral to

the burial costume (Lucy, 2000, pg. 63) which

indicates a ceremonial aspect to the occasion,

particularly when an object too delicate to have

been worn in life seems to have been made

specifically to sew into the clothes of the deceased

(Effros, 2002, pg. 48). Though each theory has

supporting arguments like these, no single purpose

to grave goods has been conceded, and it is

entirely probable that the ideas behind grave goods

have adapted and fluctuated over time within

cultures. To modern scholars, they help to match

written mentions of items to a physical example; to

assign an approximate date to the burial (Lucy,

2000, pg. 63); to discover the level and technique

of a culture's craftsmanship; to identify trade

between peoples; or even to identify religious

symbolism and conversion.

What are common goods,

what materials are they made

out of, and are they

practical or symbolic?

Fig. 12 - (Canterbury Archaeological Trust)

Studies done on the artifacts recovered in

Anglo-Saxon cemeteries show that both the

quantity and value of mortuary deposits increases

with age, with personal items predominantly found

with remains estimated to be aged fifteen years or

older, and the rarer and more valuable items

belonging almost exclusively to Adult and Mature

age groups (Stoodley, 2000, pg. 457). Common

items found include weapons such as spears,

shields, and swords; personal items such as

weaving tools, toiletries, and occasionally

instruments; grave furnishing such as pots, coins,

and vessels made of glass or bronze; as well as

personal adornments like brooches, belt buckles

and fittings, as other beads and jewelry (Stoodley,

2000, pg. 460). Observing the similarities in style,

aesthetic, and function across cultures, such as

with these photographs of Anglo-Saxon (fig. 12) and

Merovingian (fig. 13) brooches and other jewelry,

helps us to make inferences about ways of dress

and what impressed and was found to be beautiful

by the people in this time period.

Fig. 13 - (British Museum)

Stoodley's study of these cemeteries also

showed that goods made from semi-precious and

precious metals and stones are found primarily

among older adults (2000, pg. 460). This suggests

that more valuable materials were saved for those

in the community with more life experience and

most likely therefore more funds available to be

expended upon their death, while pottery, wood,

and less precious metals were more widely

available within a culture and not as highly valued.

These same types and divisions of goods

are found in inhumations as well as in cremations,

meaning pyre funerals do not appear to have been

reserved specifically for those of any one social

status, high or low. Cremation grave goods appear

to have been given one of two ways – those placed

on the funerary pyre with the body, resulting in the

melting and warping of glass beads and vessels,

and those added unburnt to the urn or the

surrounding area after the fact (Lucy, 2000, pg.

108). Whether cremations or inhumations, the

items found with the dead can range from having

very practical function and purpose within that

person's lifetime, to being purely symbolic or made

especially to be included in the burial ritual, as with

items such as deliberately broken weapons

representing the “death” of the item within the

community (Crawford, 2004, pg. 91) as well as with

items made in miniature or without functioning

features (2004, pg. 108).

Fig. 14 - (British Museum)

Just as important as the presence of grave

goods, their absence can also tell us something.

Many graves in various medieval barbarian

cemeteries are found without items, which in some

cases could be the result of looting but in many

cases seems to just be the grave of a socially lower

ranking individual who received a simplier burial.

Graves without grave goods also do show

any indication of being those of criminals or

outsiders, which points toward a definite social

stratification among the culture. Interestingly,

however, this fact also seems to indicate that there

might not have been any ideological conflict or

injustice presumed when some people were given

grave gifts and others were not, which perhaps calls

into question if these items were seen as necessary

to gain entry into the afterlife or to be looked

fondly on by the god or gods they worshipped. All

in all, these variations in if, how many, and what

kinds of grave goods were included show that

medieval barbarian cultures did not follow a strict

set of rules for what must be included in a a proper

burial, which makes the items they chose to bury

along with the departed seem like a deliberate and

thoughtful selection by the family and the

community at large (Lucy, 2000, pg. 103).

Fig. 15 - (University of Minnesota)

What are some LIMITATIONS, and

what is important for future

excavations?

One of the most crippling shortcomings

of using grave goods as evidence in interpretation

is that these analyses are by nature interdisciplinary

(Effros, 2003, pg 119). Specialists of many fields

must team together to evaluate all of the available

data one item can offer, otherwise it is easy for

historians as well as archaeologists to not fully

respect the limitations the items have in painting a

full picture by themselves, to make assertions in

areas in which they have no expertise, or to

attribute items to known historical figures without

proof that that is in fact accurate. In that vein, there

has been a longstanding tendency to assume rich

graves must belong to rich people (King, 2004, pg.

216). This is particularly presumptuous when it

comes to deeming a grave to be royal, such as with

the grave of a woman found beneath the cathedral

of Cologne which was assumed to be Wisigarde,

one of the wives of Merovingian king Theudebert.

There is no textual or archaeological evidence to

attribute Wisigarde's identity to this body (Effros,

2003, pg. 124), but the obsession with attaching a

specific owner to an object is a compulsion we

fight to reign in.

Perhaps less presumptuous but just as liable to

produce inaccuracies is that assumptions about gender,

not just identity, are made based on what is found in a

grave. This is particularly a problem when looking at

findings on graves that were excavated before DNA

testing on the skeletal remains became possible,

and this overconfident sexing technique is only

recently being combined with scientific testing in

order to get a more accurate idea of the sex and

gender role of the individual. Thanks to modern

biases, graves with weapons are automatically

assumed to be male, and those with jewelry or

traditionally feminine items like weaving tools to be

female. Using grave goods alone may cause us to

miss evidence about alternative gender binaries

and occupations unless they are backed up and

paired with biological evidence.

A final thing both archaeological experts and

the layman are guilty of when it comes to grave goods

is failing to pay the same attention to graves that are

found without them. Graves with grave goods,

particularly those with very fine, valuable, or odd ones,

naturally capture our interest more, but focusing

entirely on those kinds of finds may skew our

perspective of the division of wealth, power, and the

overall cultural practices and population demographics

present in these societies. We wouldn't know half as

much as we do now about medieval society without

the discovery and interpretation of grave goods, and

with new technology and understanding they could

shed light on many new aspects of the history of

human life and death. e

Fig. 16 - (Ministry of Defence)

Cemeteries and Mass Graves

Fig. 17 - Aerial view of Sutton Hoo (Atlantis Online, 2008)

BY BRANWEN MARTINDALE

CEMETERIES

There are over 1200 Anglo-Saxon

cemeteries that are known today in the continent

of Europe. These cemeteries are comprised of both

inhumation and cremation graves (Bond, 1996);

the ratio varies, dependent on the characteristics

of the cemetery, such as time period of use,

location of cemetery and the funerary practices of

the graves creators. Some burials were made with

extreme care and were lavished with grave goods

and animal offerings, while others were very simple

and only contained a body with no artifacts. The

number of graves in a cemetery can range greatly

from as few as twenty at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk,

England (Carver, 1999) through to 128 at Lechlade

in the Upper Thames Valley, England (Sayer &

Wienhold, 2012), to as many as over 2000 burials

at Spong Hill, Norfolk, England (Bond, 1996). The

cemeteries may be used for centuries and used by

many people while others such as Sutton Hoo

have been used a relatively short time period.

Cemeteries contain both male and female

occupants and they can represent a great range of

ages and classes of wealth and status (Carver,

1999). Some graves will contain an excess of grave

goods and animal remains while others contain

very little to nothing at all (Bond, 1996). Some

cemeteries are well marked, such as the use of

grave mounds, and have been susceptible to

robbery, either soon after the burial took place, or

more recently by people looking for wealthy

objects to sell.

Fig. 18 - Sutton Hoo cemetery site plan. A plan of the royal

cemetery site and the 18 burial mounds of Sutton Hoo (Woodbridge,

Suffolk) (Sheshen-eceni graphics).

Some cemeteries’ graves are very orderly

and in alignment with each other while others are

in disarray. A grave from earlier times that is

unmarked might not even be known and be

intercut by newer graves. As disturbing as this can

be to archaeologists because the older burials can

be disturbed or damaged, it can also be crucial to

telling us about the chronology of the graves when

means of dating the remains are unavailable

(Sheehan, 2009). But when we do have the

methods available, radiocarbon dating can be very

important to telling us what time period the people

and grave goods come from, when the burials

were made and provides us with chronology of

graves in a cemetery. There is strong evidence of

cemeteries and burials being reused where there

are multiple use periods over time at a cemetery,

and at gravesites there is sometimes evidence of a

grave being reopened and someone being buried

on top of the previous grave. At Walkington Wold,

East Yorkshire, England three people were found in

a grave but the radiocarbon dates indicated it was

reopened at least once and a new body put onto

an existing grave (Buckberry & Hadley, 2007).

There may have even been some cases where the

first burial was deep enough that the makers of

the newer grave were unaware they were creating

a burial over top of another.

Some cemeteries will be near to a

settlement, some may be next to their settlement

while others are a distance away and sometimes,

small hamlets would even share one communal

cemetery. The cemetery of Petersdal, Denmark was

two kilometers away from the coastal settlement in

the Dragor area, but the incentive to reuse the

graves of this site made the distance worthwhile

(Kastholm, 2012). The relation of graves to each

other is an indicator that can tell us of the past. If

the graves are orderly it could mean that the

creators were aware of a previous graves’ presence,

which may indicate that there was a marker of some

kind, while graves that are randomly placed and

intercut others suggest they didn’t know where

previous graves were or if they knew, they contained

no grave markers (Humphreys et al., 1924). Orderly

graves can also be evidence of them being buried in

relation to an object, such as at Caherlehillan, Ireland

where graves are buried along the long axis of the

church present there, while three are not; it is

suggested that these where aligned with a new

church or the shrine built at a later date, which may

indicate these were later burials, something that

bone analysis couldn’t tell us (Sheehan, 2009).

Fig. 19 - Example of graves that are not in alignment with each other or a

particular direction. (Archaeology South-East, 2012)

Graves in cemeteries can either have some

sort of orientation with a cardinal direction, to an

object or site as mentioned earlier, or it can be

completely random, as at Walkington Wold (Buckberry

& Hadley, 2007). The difference in orientation can also

divide groups within the cemetery; at Berinsfield, South

Oxfordshire, England two groups were distinguished,

those who with east-west orientation buried in the

southern half and those with south-north orientation

buried in the northern half. This could possibly be

separating the different periods of burial or different

statuses of people within them (Sayer & Wienhold,

2012). At Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England only

a small portion have any distinguishable orientation

with 18 of them being carefully buried in a row with

their feet placed to the east or north-east and of all

the burials the southern direction seems to be heavily

avoided (Humphreys et al., 1924).

Fig. 20 - Some of the many Anglo-Saxon graves excavated at Burgh

Castle. Example of graves in alignment with each other. (Norwich Castle

Museum & Art Gallery, 2012).

Mass graves

Fig. 21 - Grave with two bodies (Sutton Hoo). (Macbeth, 2012).

Mass gravesites are graves that contain

two or more people within them. Usually the grave

that contains two or three will be people who have

a connection with each other. They may have

familial relations such as sibling or parent and

child, or relations of love such as a spouse or lover,

which may be evident of graves where one is

buried on top of the other, or a hierarchy relation

such as a person of status and their slave. They

can be in the grave together because they died at

the same time or one can be buried at a later

date or the other person is a sacrifice at the time

of the burial, voluntarily or not. The grave can also

be filled with many people, which may indicate

multiple deaths at one time such as a disease,

famine, or most likely from war or execution. A

man who died at war may be a possible cause as

to why there are mass graves at one site and a

lavish grave full of grave goods and food offering

with no evidence of a body at another. Most

evident are mass graves of execution victims. We find

evidence of beheading from bone analysis and find blow

or cut marks to the back of the head or neck as well

as evidence of broken necks from hanging. We

Fig. 22 -: These men, barely into their twenties, were ambushed by the local

Anglo-Saxon villagers. Their remains were discovered in 2009. Example of a

mass grave of execution victims with their heads buried separate from their

bodies (Daily Mail)

find an execution burial at Sutton Hoo where

16 individuals have been hanged or beheaded

with their head placed on their chest or at

their knees; some were buried kneeling while

others lay face down with their hands hands

tied behind them (Carver, 1999).

All of these attributes were found at

Walkington Wold with a few individuals out of

the 11 found as well, but there was also

evidence of the heads being removed and put

on stakes as a warning to other criminals,

evident by the weathering on the skull; these

were buried later (Buckberry & Hadley, 2007).

Fig. 23 - The remains of an ancient Anglo-Saxon warrior and his

horse were unearthed at RAF Lakenheath in 1997. The base must

work with British archaeology officials for every base construction

because of the area’s dense concentration of buried artifacts.

(Suffolk County Council Archeological Service, 2008)

Some single and multiple person graves contain

evidence of wild and domestic animals within them such

as horses, dogs, cattle, sheep, pigs, deer, bear and hare.

Their presence can tell us about their relationship with

the animal, their wealth and status, what kind of goods

they used and traded for, and their ritual practices.

Evidence of a whole animal such as a horse or dog is

often thought to signify its importance for the afterlife,

while parts of an animal such as a joint could signify a

ritual, sacrifice or feasting. Evidence of cut mark can

indicate if the animal was cut up to be eaten or if it was

cut into parts for easier transport to the grave and so

that it would be easier to cremate (Bond, 1996). e

Fig. 24 - Woman and Cow. Archaeologists described the find as

"unique in Europe". (BBC, 2012)

Who is in the burial?

Fig. 25 - Depiction of Anglo-Saxon prepared for cremation (Williams, 2012).

BY LINDSAY ARMSTRONG

A quick summation of what has been written

so far will help to lead into the remains left in the burials

and how archaeologist may try and determine some

inferences as to who this person may have been. The

burial itself in conjunction with the surrounding

stratigraphic indicators as well as artifact association

within a burial may very well determine the inferences

made as to who is in the burial. Associated symbolic

markers would include such artifacts as carved stone

markers which are large stone monoliths that have been

interpreted as showing kinship ties as well as family

legends and myths (Williams, 2007). To start,

archaeologists look at the physical burial themselves

and the inferences that can be made from comparative

research of previous identifiable burials. This area of

deduction could lead to assumptions of early social

complexities and communal burial rites and practices

(Williams, 2007) or biostratinomy. Burials of this time

period include large mound/barrow/cairn burials

(Williams, 2007) in which some include the burial of a

full size ship, as seen in Sutton Hoo (Kendrick et al,

1939) as well as cremation burials in which a person

was placed in a cremation burial urn (Williams, 2004).

Cremation burials where of the pagan tradition and not

done by the people of Christian faith of this time so

burials of this nature show a close relationship to the

pagan faith of those cremated (Williams, 2004).

THANATIC factor

determination

In the context of the thanatic factor

determination, or how living entities where removed

from the living assemblage and entered the death

assemblage, is of suitable significance and something

that may be of interest to archaeologists as inferences

to the potential sex of the individual, status , occupation

and age at death. Archaeologists look to cemeteries for

clues as to the thanatic variables and cause of death.

This would entail looking at attritional or catastrophic

mortality of the deceased population. Attritional

mortality could be indicated by large mound type burials

with evidence of expendable energy and man power to

inter a single person whereas catastrophic burials may

infer a massacre or battle/raid and be evident in mass

burials or so called ”deviant graves”. If there was no

cremation preformed the next area of examination

would entail a stratigraphic view of the grave in situ of

the body itself.

Fig. 26 - Anglo-Saxon cemetery. (Midgley Web Pages, 1999).

OSTEOLOGICAL DETERMINATEs

Fig. 27 - Labelled human skeleton. (Wikipedia, 2007)

Body position is a possible determiner of

who may be buried within the site but

archaeologist must have comparative sites in

association to represent the positions as

meaning more than just incidental burial

positioning. This brings the focus to the

remains in the grave and the osteological

determination of the skeletal remains. There

are set variables and measurements that can

be used to determine a few possible

determinates as to who the deceased person

may have been in life. These are referred to as

osteological markers and entails an in-depth

look at the morphology of the bones for

indications of occupational markers such as

tiny bone spurs on the heal bone that would

indicate a possible occupation that involved

squatting for long periods of time (White &

Folkens, 2005) or larger amounts of bone

density on the long bone of just one arm as

indicators of possible long term weaving, the

use of a grinding stone or an archer. These

occupational markers look for the possible

social status of the individual and infer the

social complexities of the population form

which the individual originated. Ante and post

mortem bone damage is another very

important area to look at for this can tell a lot

of what happened to the individual prior to

death or shortly after.

There are tell tale signs that

archaeologists look for that can tell them if a

person’s bones where broken before they died

and healed or if the break occurred just

before or soon after death (White & Folkens,

2005). There are indicators for different types

of fractures and breaks to human bones and

definitive markers to tell archaeologists what

happened to a person’s bone to cause the

damage that they observe (White & Folkens,

2005). This information could indicate the life

lead by the individual who was possibly in

physically demanding situations for part of

their life such as a warrior or farmer or a

person who lead a sedentary existence with

no such damage seen. There are also set

measurement parameters that archaeologists

would take to help determine the height of

the individual as they were in their living

state. These measurements are taken from the

long bones of the individual’s leg (the femur

and tibia) (White & Folkens, 2005).

Fig. 28 - The Human femur can be used to determine the height of

an individual as well as possible age using bone ossification centres

indicated in blue. (Wikipedia, 2004).

Using the skull and pelvis, if they are

undamaged, archaeologists can again use a

set standard of measurements to make an

inference as to the sex of the individual. The

skull can also be used to make an inference

as to the ethnic background of the individual

although this is very difficult to do (White &

Folkens, 2005).

Fig. 29 - Comparative Male (above) and Female

Pelvis. (below)

(Wikipedia, 2005).

There is one more set of parameters

that archaeologists would be very interested

in looking at that could determine the age of

the individual at the time of their death. These

parameters follow a set growth pattern of

bone and teeth that all human development

follows. This growth pattern starts in the

womb as a fetus develops and ceases at

about the age of 25. One last osteological

marker to mention that archaeologists look

for from the bone material recovered would

be the indication of any pathological diseases

such as arthritis and some forms of cancer

(White & Folkens, 2005) to help formulate a

picture of the heath of the individual

throughout their life time. A little side note,

DNA- analysis has become cheaper and

readily available to archaeologists and is used

frequently to substantiate and collaborate

many of these findings as well as to

distinguish individuals in mass burials. Having

gathered all the skeletal information coupled

with the topics mentioned in the rest of the

magazine archaeologists can begin to piece

together a picture of the people who lived and

died at various times in history. e

A VIKING FUNERAL

Fig. 30 - Popular belief of the Viking Funeral

(Dicksee, 1893).

BY MATT BRANAGH

Many funeral acts are based on

rel igious ideologies and bel iefs and are

performed as a ritual ist ic act of “ lett ing

go” of our dead. Every society and culture

throughout history has or have had their

own bel iefs and practices of how this

should be performed. Some of these

tradit ions are a l itt le more common in our

mainstream society and while others have

turned into urban legends. I decided to

explore one of these urban legends, the

Viking burial . I picked this because it

seems everybody has an assumption of

what the Viking l ifestyle and burial r ites

were l ike or at least claim they know a

Viking and wil l simply ask that person

what they do with their dead.

I interviewed a group of ten random

people, asking them, what their thoughts

were of a pre-Christian Viking funeral. From

these answers the most common belief was

summarized that the funeral was a

celebration honouring a fallen warrior

(seems to be a popular thought that all

Vikings were warriors). The body of this

warrior was cremated on a burning boat

while the boat sailed to out to sea. While on

shore, the mourners, dressed in their finest

battle armour and horned helmets. The men

would partake in drinking, feasting and

merriment all night on behalf of their

departed brethren.

Sounds fun, maybe not for the

person on the boat, but over all a good time

would be had by all, unless you were a

woman. There was no discussion of gender

inclusion or equality at a funeral. As well

there was no discussion of grave goods or

personal possessions that would accompany

the body. Kinship ties were not addressed,

but the most notable omission was; why the

funeral was conducted in such a manner?

Most interviewees answered; “because it

was” or with a shrug of bemusement. Viking

beliefs were never called into question for

funerals.

“. . .the descriptions varied, but the

annals repeatedly stress that the men from

the North were pagans ( Andres, 2005).”

Viking burial practices are believed, like

most cultures, to have been dictated by

religious dogma. In this case these dogmas

were created by the Viking’s all father Odin

and referred to as Odin’s laws.

“Thus he ordered that all

dead be burned on a pyre

together with their

possessions, saying that

everyone would arrive in

Valhalla with such wealth as

he had with him on his pyre

and that he would also enjoy

the use of what he himself

had hidden in the ground. His

ashes were to be carried out

to sea or buried in the ground.

For notable men burial

mounds were to be thrown up

as memorials. But for all men

who had shown great manly

qualities memorial stones

were to be erected; and this

custom continued for a long

time there after.

Snorri Sturluson, ynglingasaga 8.

(Price, 2008: 257).”

Despite the laws that are mentioned

there are still no consistent patterns of burial

or funeral practices in the Viking world.

Evidence of both cremation and inhumation

have been found with patterns linking to

specific regions. For example the burial urns in

Aland island’s which were found with

miniature clay beaver and bear paws

accompanying them. Odin’s laws appear at

this point to be a set of guidelines (Price,

2008). The evidence we do have of the

funeral is little textual evidence and theories.

When their ideas were combined, the group I

interviewed, were fairly close to what is

believed to have consisted of a pre-christian

Viking funeral. Using an extract from the work

of Ibn Falan’s Risala I’m going to fill in events

from a Viking funeral apart from the actual

cremation and feasting.

Fig. 31 - Gods ascending with the deceased to Valhalla.

Finale du Rheingold.

(The British Museum, 1877).

A boat would be constructed to serve

as a funeral pyre. The individuals status in

society would determine the size of boat used.

As the construction of the boat took place, the

body of the deceased would be exhumed from

the frozen ground and dressed in their finest

linens. After the completion of the boat, the

deceased and their belongs would be gathered

and placed upon the boat by the family. Goods

that would accompany the deceased would be

dependent on their societal status. In the case

of Fadlan’s Risala, the Funeral that was

described was for a wealthy man of higher

standing in society. In this case his possessions

included slaves, only one slave was required to

volunteer for the journey to the afterlife.

Alcohol, fruit, bread, and animals (horses, cows,

hens, and a dog) were all placed on the boat.

The slave who had volunteered (in

this case a young girl) was prepared; cleaned

and dressed, and was lead on to the boat

followed by an entourage of men and a female

priestess or shaman. The slave was given

alcohol to drink and would engage in a

ritualistic act of calling to her master. The men

who had accompanied her on to the boat

individually had intercourse with her as a way

of thanking her master. Upon completion of

this ritual the female priestess, with the help of

two of the men, sacrificed the slave and placed

her with the deceased.

The family of the deceased would

be the f irst to set fire to the boat pyre

fol lowed by the rest of the mourners

continuing to l ight the pyre. Once the

boat, laden with the deceased and their

possessions, had burnt down to ashes or

at least the deceased’s body had been

consumed by f ire, the ashes would be

gathered and placed into a burial urn. The

type of urn, l ike the ship and grave goods,

would depend on your social status in

society; ceramic, bronze were the most

common, while s i lver was reserved for

either chiefs or upper gentry (Carver,

2005).

The urn and any grave goods that

did not burn to ash would be placed in a

grave and a covered with a mound.

Depending, again on the status of the

person, a marker of either wood or stone

would be placed on the top. Placement of

these stone monuments ranged from a

singular stone to different shapes created

from multiple stones. Some markers were

designed l ike ships, recent explanations

suggest that these stones represent the

roots of Yggdrasi l l , the world tree. A tree

that connects Midgard, the earthly realm,

to Valhal la , a perceived paradise for the

afterl ife (Price, 2008).

Fig. 32 - A Viking burial plot at Lindolm Hoje.

(Aistrup Lind).

This concludes what is to be believed

to have been the rituals of a Viking funeral. I

informed the group of interviewees what was

thought to have actually taken place. It seemed

that half the group was shocked and disgusted,

one person was even outraged over these

rituals, The other half of the group found this to

be fascinating and wanted to know more on the

topic. These acts might shock you, the reader, or

they might intrigue you to learn more about

different cultural funeral practices but as I

mentioned earlier these were performed as

religious acts of the final letting go in the Viking

society. Although, having vastly different

practices of what we as a modern society

believe in for the final farewell of our deceased,

the importance and significance of the rites of a

Viking funeral is not really that different then

what we practice today. e

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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Viking_funeral.jpg> [Accessed: 1 December 2012].

Fig. 31 - The British Museum (1877) Finale du Rheingold [image online] Available at:

<http://www.britishmuseum.org/system_pages/beta_collection_introduction/beta_collection_

object_details.aspx?objectId=1646606&partId=1&searchText=Finale%20du%20Rheingold>

[Accessed: 1 December 2012].

Fig. 32 - Aistrup Lind, I. (n.d.) The Viking burial ground at Lindholm Høje, near Ålborg, Denmark [image online]

Available at: <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/21475/The-Viking-burial- ground-

at-Lindholm-Hojenear-Alborg-Denmark> [Accessed: 1 December 2012].

Back cover image - Hunterian Museum Archaeology & Ethnography Collections

(2012) Human skull without mandible [Image Online] Available at:

<http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/DetailedResults.

fwx?collection=archaeology&searchTerm=B.1922.15> [Accessed 2 December

2012].

Back c image © Hunterian Museum Archaeology & Ethnography Collections