Archaeological evidence from 5th-8th century Europe is dominated by cemeteries of up to hundreds of graves where the dead were generally interred in single graves, often together with lavish objects. As evidence for habitation and written sources are rare, these graves offer the main evidence for this period, allowing inferences to be made on many aspects of early medieval life.
Many graves show evidence for human intrusion whilst the cemeteries were still in use, sometimes within just years or decades of burial. Graves were reopened for a variety of reasons frequently with the removal of grave goods. This was commonly characterised as materialistically motivated and unlawful ‘grave robbery’, contrary to contemporary customs and disrespectful to the dead.
In the last 15 years, regional studies of reopened graves in England, Bavaria, France and the Netherlands found similar patterns of selective removal of, particularly, swords, seaxes and brooches, while the cemeteries were still in use and, often, with the corpse already disarticulated but the organic burial containers still intact. This suggests practices of selective object removal, following cultural rules, within the realm of practices relating to the dead (Klevnäs et al 2021). However, proving this hypothesis is hindered by:
- The complexity, and lack of documentation, for disturbed inhumation graves
- Previous research is limited to western and northern Europe
- Reading of ‘Germanic’ laws as only condemning grave re-entry
- Lack of social anthropological models and knowledge
The ERC PresentDead project tackles these research challenges through analysis of cemeteries and and out-of-cemetery contexts in four central- and eastern European regions; investigating practical, conceptual and emotional dimensions of diverse human interactions with the materials of the dead. We identify in archaeological and written records the range of practices and contexts in which contact between the living and graves, human remains and artefacts from graves took place, to understand the underlying motivations and beliefs, and provide different perspectives on relationships between the living and the dead.
Research objectives: 1. Investigate the range of practices and contexts in the archaeological records. 2. Analyse textual perspectives in diverse genres. 3. Synthesise material and textual perspectives via an innovative technical solution for semantic integration of data. The methodological objectives for achieving the archaeological goals are: 1. Consolidation of methods and development of research protocols. 2. Development of strategies to mitigate deficiencies of archaeological data. The development of digital tools will be key to a novel approach that moves from high- to low resolution evidence. The working hypothesis for this project is that culturally accepted post-burial practices follow the structure of rites of passage accompanying the transition of immaterial and material remains of the dead, and that practices and beliefs will differ according to the diverse ritual stages.
References:
Klevnäs A, Aspöck E, Noterman AA, van Haperen MC, Zintl S. Reopening graves in the early Middle Ages: from local practice to European phenomenon. Antiquity. 2021, 95(382):1005-1026. doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.217
