Three individuals, three stories, three burials from medieval Trondheim, Norway
This article presents the life stories of three individuals who lived in Trondheim, Norway, during the 13th century. Based on skeletal examinations, facial reconstructions, genetic analyses, and stable oxygen isotope analyses, the birthplace, mobility, ancestry, pathology, and physical appearance of these people are presented.
The Viking Great Army in England: new dates from the Repton charnel
The size and nature of Great Army winter camps has been used as a proxy to estimate the size of the invading forces, but with divergent results. An accurate understanding of the chronology at Repton is therefore essential for improving our knowledge in these areas.
Research into Anglo-Saxon burials uncover new insights
Christine Cave, a PhD candidate at the Austrialian National University, has developed a new method for determining the age-of-death for skeletal remains based on how worn the teeth are.
Communities of Death in Medieval Iceland
In Iceland, the introduction of Christianity around 1000 AD was associated with fundamental chnges in burial customs.
Medieval priest buried 700 years ago may have been a victim of the Great Famine, archaeologists report
The remains of Richard de W’Peton, a medieval priest who died 700 years ago – on 17 April 1317 – have been uncovered in an elaborate grave.
Leprosy victim buried 900 years ago offers insights into how the disease spread through medieval Europe
Medieval leprosy victim in English cemetery was likely a religious pilgrim, possibly from overseas
He was murdered 1,400 years ago
Scottish researchers have reconstructed the face of a Pictish man they showed to have been brutally murdered 1,400 years ago.
The geography of a cemetery – the early Christian cemeteries of Skagafjördur, North Iceland
In the last decade early Christian churches and cemeteries in the region of Skagafjördur, North Iceland, have been the object of extensive archaeological research.
13th century skeleton discovered with oldest known form of maternal infection
By Michelle Donovan The 800-year-old skeleton of a young woman buried in a graveyard on the outskirts of the fabled city of Troy…
Mass Burial of Black Death victims discovered in England
A mass burial of 48 bodies, known to be victims of the Black Death, has been discovered at the site of a 14th-century monastery hospital at Thornton Abbey in England.
Vampire Burials in Medieval Poland: An Overview of Past Controversies and Recent Reevaluations
Recently, the sensationalist interpretations of deviant burials have also permeated into (inter)national media, leading the general public to misinformation about Poland’s past and the mentalities of its medieval societies.
Art as data: Studying corpses by drawing them
This paper addresses the potentials of treating art as data, drawing examples from my current research on corpse positioning in early Anglo-Saxon England.
Worshipping the Dead: Viking Age Cemeteries as Cult Sites?
The examined saga accounts demonstrate that when the dead are venerated by the living and when sacrifices are made to them, these acts of worship usually occur at the graveside and not elsewhere in the landscape or within buildings.
The Dead in 3D: The Rothwell Charnel Chapel Project Online!
In the past seven months, the Rothwell Charnel Chapel Project has evolved to become more than just a research and preservation project, but has morphed into a virtual exhibit, and fascinating online learning resource that will be available globally.
The Funeral of Queen Elizabeth of York, the First Tudor Queen of England
Elizabeth of York, Queen to King Henry VII of England, died in the Tower of London on February 11, 1503. She had given birth to a daughter Katherine on February 2 and never recovered. The death was a shock to her husband, her children and to the nation.
Early Medieval Muslim Graves in France: First Archaeological, Anthropological and Palaeogenomic Evidence
Given all of these data, we propose that the skeletons from the Nimes burials belonged to Berbers integrated into the Umayyad army during the Arab expansion in North Africa.
Concerning Mass Graves: The use, development and identities within mass graves during the Scandinavian Iron Age and Middle Ages
In this Master thesis, my aim is to investigate, compare and discuss the practice of dealing with the dead and their war gear during the aftermath of a battle or an armed engagement.
Making the Medieval Relevant: Crossing Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Studies on Disease and Disability
A summary of a paper given by Professor Christina Lee at the University of Nottingham’s “Making the Medieval Relevant” Conference.
Fallen tree reveals medieval skeleton in Ireland
Last May a storm in northwest Ireland blew over a 215-year old tree. It also unearth an unusual find – the skeletal remains of a young man who lived nearly a thousand years ago.
A note on the regional distribution of pagan burials in Iceland
Comparison of the distribution of pagan burials in Iceland with medieval information about the number of farmers in different parts of the country allows a division of the country into three zones of low, medium and high frequency of pagan burials relative to the number of settlements.
The Afterlife of the Dead: Reform in Attitude Towards Medieval Burials, Corpses and Bones
The International Medieval Congress is taking place at the University of Leeds, I’m on hand this week to report on the conference. This blog post reports on my first session.
Chest burial: a middle Anglo-Saxon funerary rite from northern England
Chest burials, in which the body is interred in a wooden chest with a hinged lid, are one of the most characteristic funerary practices of the middle Anglo-Saxon period in northern England.
Having no Power to Return? Suicide and Posthumous Restlessness in Medieval Iceland
The purpose of this study is to examine cultural conceptions of the possible afterlives of suicides in medieval (ca. 1200– 1400) Iceland.
Deviant Burials: Societal Exclusion of Dead Outlaws in Medieval Norway
Deviant Burials: Societal Exclusion of Dead Outlaws in Medieval Norway By Anne Irene Riisøy COLLeGIUM: Studies across Disciplines in the Humanities and Social…
‘The Halved Heads’: Osteological Evidence for Decapitation in Medieval Ireland
This paper examines the osteological evidence for decapitation from 30 skeletal assemblages dated to the medieval period (6th to 16th century) from Ireland.