SESSION I: Christians in the Early Middle Ages: The Good, the Bad and the Confused
Regarding the Water: Landscapes of Conversion in Early Medieval England
Austin Mason (Boston College)
Regarding the Water: Landscapes of Conversion in Early Medieval England
Austin Mason (Boston College)
This paper focused on Christian influences and viewsheds for burials near water and conversion period monuments. Archaeologists demonstrated how central rivers and coasts were important to Christian/Pagan burials during the early middle ages. This paper focused on three burial placements – Tranmer House cemetery, which contained barrows and underground burials, plus two additional phases. The later burials had the greatest visual affect. The burials in these mounds were the top of the social strata; they could be seen from the river thus signifying their importance. Flamboyant burials served as a statement of lordly powers. The earliest burials, from Tranmer House, didn’t have the same view as later burials. The earliest southern mounds were large enough to be seen from partly up the river. The symbolic importance of rivers could be seen in other burials throughout England as well.
Early Christian foundations were more influenced by Irish and Scottish models of Christianity – i.e., Iona. Viewshed analysis can be applied to these early monastic foundations.
8km to the south of Lindisfarne lies Bamburgh Castle and Bowl Hole cemetery. There are over 100 well preserved graves of people buried in the seventh century. This area commanded an expansive coastal view. This area also served as a key navigation point for commerce and trade, however, it was also built with religious motivations in mind. Religion and secular power were inextricably linked in this region.
It was a remote location and was equated with the desert retreats of St. Anthony, i.e., ‘isolated island monasticism’. Lindisfarne’s viewshed is interesting because it can be seen from a large stretch of the coast, however, there is an outcropping that blocks the view Bamburgh Castle. The outcropping hid the secular power centre from view of the monastery.
At the Bowl Hole site, excavations prove that the people buried there were taller, more robust, had fewer skeletal markers of disease. However, the graves had higher levels of tooth decay showing these people had access to high status foods like honey. These were high status burials. Animals also played an important role in burials – there were a high number of fish and animal bones found here. This site was a combination of old and new traditions.
Several other cemetery sites were briefly discussed: Gladstone street cemetery, Churchwalk cemetery (which held a high concentration of elderly robust males – most likely the monastery’s occupants) and Cross Close (where a number of women are buried). Close Cross was possibly a double monastery and the burials contained the religious women. This paper demonstrated that rivers and coasts were liminal spaces for transitions to the afterlife used by both late pagans and early Christians.
SESSION I: Christians in the Early Middle Ages: The Good, the Bad and the Confused
Regarding the Water: Landscapes of Conversion in Early Medieval England
Austin Mason (Boston College)
Regarding the Water: Landscapes of Conversion in Early Medieval England
Austin Mason (Boston College)
This paper focused on Christian influences and viewsheds for burials near water and conversion period monuments. Archaeologists demonstrated how central rivers and coasts were important to Christian/Pagan burials during the early middle ages. This paper focused on three burial placements – Tranmer House cemetery, which contained barrows and underground burials, plus two additional phases. The later burials had the greatest visual affect. The burials in these mounds were the top of the social strata; they could be seen from the river thus signifying their importance. Flamboyant burials served as a statement of lordly powers. The earliest burials, from Tranmer House, didn’t have the same view as later burials. The earliest southern mounds were large enough to be seen from partly up the river. The symbolic importance of rivers could be seen in other burials throughout England as well.
Early Christian foundations were more influenced by Irish and Scottish models of Christianity – i.e., Iona. Viewshed analysis can be applied to these early monastic foundations.
8km to the south of Lindisfarne lies Bamburgh Castle and Bowl Hole cemetery. There are over 100 well preserved graves of people buried in the seventh century. This area commanded an expansive coastal view. This area also served as a key navigation point for commerce and trade, however, it was also built with religious motivations in mind. Religion and secular power were inextricably linked in this region.
It was a remote location and was equated with the desert retreats of St. Anthony, i.e., ‘isolated island monasticism’. Lindisfarne’s viewshed is interesting because it can be seen from a large stretch of the coast, however, there is an outcropping that blocks the view Bamburgh Castle. The outcropping hid the secular power centre from view of the monastery.
At the Bowl Hole site, excavations prove that the people buried there were taller, more robust, had fewer skeletal markers of disease. However, the graves had higher levels of tooth decay showing these people had access to high status foods like honey. These were high status burials. Animals also played an important role in burials – there were a high number of fish and
animal bones found here. This site was a combination of old and new traditions.
Several other cemetery sites were briefly discussed: Gladstone street cemetery, Churchwalk cemetery (which held a high concentration of elderly robust males – most likely the monastery’s occupants) and Cross Close (where a number of women are buried). Close Cross was possibly a double monastery and the burials contained the religious women. This paper demonstrated that rivers and coasts were liminal spaces for transitions to the afterlife used by both late pagans and early Christians.
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