Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages

Past ‘Disturbances’ of Graves as a Source: Taphonomy and Interpretation of Reopened Early Medieval Inhumation Graves at Brunn Am Gebirge (Austria) and Winnall Ii (England)

“…Early medieval archaeology has, however, so far paid little attention to post-burial practices. This is primarily because research was focused on the way the body and grave furnishings were deposited, from which inferences were drawn about, for example, social organization and hierarchy, ethnic identity, and gender roles and religious beliefs of the burying communities (for a recent overview see Effros 2003). In reopened graves, information about the original burial will be limited and therefore not conducive to traditional cemetery analyses.…”

“…4 The process of decay starts immediately after death with the fresh body being gradually transformed into skeletonized remains (Henderson 1987;Garland and Janaway 1989;Janaway 1996;Forbes 2008;Hopkins 2008). In Merovingian-period inhumation cemeteries, skeletons in undisturbed graves are found in anatomical position (Ament 2001;Steuer 1982;Effros 2003). The following analysis is therefore based on the assumption that at Brunn am Gebirge, the 3 The graves were dug into loam that, like loess, tends to preserve shapes well.…”

Rethinking early medieval mortuary archaeology

“…sarcophagi), 82 and the gradual development of church burial out of a desire to be interred ad sanctos. 83 Meanwhile, in Body and Soul Effros addresses traditions of stone monuments and the reuse of graves and grave-goods in Merovingian cemeteries.…”

“…sarcophagi), 82 and the gradual development of church burial out of a desire to be interred ad sanctos. 83 Meanwhile, in Body and Soul Effros addresses traditions of stone monuments and the reuse of graves and grave-goods in Merovingian cemeteries. 84 Although some topics such as barrow burial are notable by their limited coverage, 85 Effros's focus on space and landscape, incorporating both the potentials and the limitations of the evidence, develops a debate that has tended to be under investigated.…”

“…Once again rejecting ethnic and religious interpretations, 86 Effros draws on cross-cultural theories of cemetery organization and location developed by the 'New Archaeology' of the 1960s and 1970s, such as those by Lewis Binford and Arthur Saxe. 87 From this perspective, she argues that formal disposal areas functioned to articulate group identity.…”