Locals or Migrants? Strontium Isotope Analysis of Two North-South Oriented Great Moravian Graves

Abstract

Migration has been used as one explanation for graves that deviate from the prevailing orientation and structure. Graves oriented in the north-south direction (i.e., deviating from the customary contemporary west-east orientation) at the Great Moravian and early medieval burial grounds of Přemyslid Bohemia and Moravia have attracted the attention of archaeologists for more than 100 years. These are most often interpreted as the graves of foreigners, based on the assumption that different burial rites indicate immigrants, but this has not been confirmed or refuted with empirical evidence. With this study, we have taken the first step towards testing the validity of this hypothesis. Samples from the dental enamel of the permanent molars of two individuals (H 16/2018 and H 18/2018) from the burial site “Na Valách”, located at the Great Moravian central site in Staré Město, were subjected to stable strontium isotope analysis. This analysis can help to assess the likelihood of mobility for these individuals. From the results obtained, it is not possible to confirm the non-local origin of either of the individuals, although in the case of H 16/2018 we may theoretically consider it. However, to definitively reject or confirm the hypothesis of a non-local origin of the people buried along the north-south azimuths, future analysis of a much larger sample size will be necessary.