Bright Beginnings: Jewish Christian Relations in the Holy Land, AD 400-700
This paper shows that Christian and Jewish relations in the Holy Land between the fourth and seventh centuries, according to the archaeological evidence, were characterized by peaceful co-existence.
Remains of Blanche Mortimer discovered in lead coffin
The discovery of a body inside a church memorial has caused amazement in the world of archaeology and surprised experts.
‘Royal’ pediculosis in Renaissance Italy: lice in the mummy of the King of Naples Ferdinand II of Aragon (1467-1496)
Pediculosis seems to have afflicted humans since the most ancient times and lice have been found in several ancient human remains. Examination of the head hair and pubic hair of the artificial mummy of Ferdinand II of Aragon (1467-1496), King of Naples, revealed a double infestation with two different species of lice…
A Reburial fit for a King
An Oxford University academic has put together an authentic order of service for the planned reburial of Richard III.
Viking slaves were beheaded and buried as grave gifts, archaeological find suggests
An archaeological research project on the northern Norwegian island of Flakstad has revealed new details about the lives and deaths of people who live during the Viking era
Medieval Mass Grave discovered in England
An archaeological dig near Durham Cathedral in England has uncovered at least 18 bodies ‘piled one top of another’ in what appears to be a mass grave dating back to the Middle Ages.
Danse Macabre’ Around the Tomb and Bones of Margaret of York
Over 500 years ago on 23 November 1503, at Malines, in present day Belgium, died Margaret of York, sister to Edward IV and Richard III of England and third and last wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, whom she survived by a quarter of a century.
Viking Age Queens: The example of Oseberg
The Oseberg ship burial is a Viking Age burial mound containing a double female inhumation, which is located in the Oslofjord area in Norway.
The diagnosis and context of a facial deformity from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Spofforth, North Yorkshire
Osteological analysis of the complete skeletal population identified one individual, Skeleton 177, who presented an abnormal and pathological swelling to the left facial bones. The following discussion describes these pathological lesions and presents a differential diagnosis based on visual, radiographic and histological examination.
Research uncovers how Christianity changed Anglo-Saxon burial practices
During the 670s and 680s there was a dramatic change in how people were buried in Anglo-Saxon England, according to a new study released by English Heritage.
Post-mortem Ablation of the Heart: a Medieval Funerary Practice
In the Middle Ages the heart represented the whole body. Unlike modern man for whom the brain is the centre of higher function, medieval Christians saw the heart as the moral and intel- lectual centre. Saint Augustine contributed much to this attitude by describing the heart not only as the seat of intelligence, will power, memory, emotion, and other feelings but also as the authentic and indivisible source of life.
Infant Burials and Christianization: The View from East Central Europe
This was the second paper in the Early Medieval Europe I series given at KZOO and another fabulous archaeology paper. It contrasted infant grave sites in early converted medieval Poland and Anglo Saxon England.
Magic for the dead? The archaeology of magic in later medieval burials
Was this magic healing or protective? Did it aim to safeguard the living or conjure the dead? Who were the recipients of such magical rites — and who was responsible for performing them?
Unusual Life, Unusual Death and the Fate of the Corpse: A Case Study from Dynastic Europe
This article explores how deviant behaviour in life, deviant circumstances of death, and young age at death affected mortuary treatment among historically documented individuals from Medieval and Post-Medieval European dynasties.
What remains: Improper burials tell a story of social change in medieval Britain
The vast majority of people in eighth-century Britain were buried with their kith and kin, in well-dug graves, and they were placed in the ground with care.
The embalmed heart of Richard the Lionheart (1199 A.D.): a biological and anthropological analysis
We performed a full biomedical analysis of the mummified heart of the English King Richard I (1199 A.D.). Here we show among other aspects, that the organ has been embalmed using substances inspired by Biblical texts and practical necessities of desiccation
The Dangerous Dead: The Early Medieval deviant burial at Southwell, Nottinghamshire in a wider context
This was the deviant burial, which had been buried (or reburied) intact along with a further leg and lower arm bone…Without speculating wildly on the implications of the iron studs, it is known that treatment of this sort was accorded to bodies which had died unnaturally or when there was some reason to fear the supernatural’.
Immortal Maidens: The Visual Significance of the Colour White in Girls’ Graves on Viking-Age Gotland
The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the colour white of cowry shell-beads in burials from the Viking Age on Gotland, considering aspects of gendered age identities as well as fertility and status.
What actually is a deviant burial? Comparing German-language and Anglophone research on deviant burials
‘Deviant burials’ are generally associated with bizarre practices like decapitations and strange body positions.