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)

Abstract

Early medieval graves that were reopened in the past are usually considered 'disturbed' and hence an unreliable source for traditional cemetery analysis. This paper aims to highlight how the analysis of these 'disturbances' can contribute to our understanding of early medieval mortuary rites and attitudes towards the buried human body. Two case studies of cemeteries with high proportions of reopened graves are presented. Thorough archaeological analysis, with careful consideration of the taphonomy of reopened graves, is the key to an understanding of the reopening practices. At Brunn am Gebirge (Austria) most graves were reopened for 'grave-robbery' -to remove grave goods -at a time when the bodies were already fully disarticulated. The graves at Winnall II (England) were reopened very soon after burial to manipulate the still largely intact corpses.

Vampires, criminals or slaves? Reinterpreting ‘deviant burials’ in early medieval Poland

“…These may bear witness to reopening or 'grave robbery' -a theme which has recently been given significant scholarly attention in Western European archaeology (e.g. Aspöck 2011;Klevnäs 2010). A range of graves from early medieval Poland appear to have been reopened or disturbed.…”

The Dead and their Possessions: The Declining Agency of the Cadaver in Early Medieval Europe

“…The interpretation of this activity varies. Grave re-opening may be interpreted as an act of violence against the deceased and their kin (Klevnäs, 2013: 90), but it could also have been an acceptable part of mortuary rituals to retrieve objects that had served their purpose in the initial funerary rite (Aspöck, 2011: 313) or that could act as something like relics, as a way of incorporating the deceased into the realm of the living (van Haperen, 2013: 91).…”

Connectedness with things. Animated objects of Viking Age Scandinavia and early medieval Europe

“…Objects of specific types were removed, whilst others were left in the graves. In the male graves, the removed objects were mainly swords, seaxes and belts (Roth 1978), whereas brooches, parts of girdle hangers and necklaces appear to have been removed from the female graves, as indicated by a study of the Langobard cemetery Bruun am Gebirge, Austria, by Edeltraud Aspöck (2011, 310; see also Naji 2005, 178). In other cemeteries, necklaces and one of four brooches were left behind (Roth 1978; Aspöck 2011).…”

“…Across a vast area, from southern Germany and Austria to present-day France, the Netherlands, and southern England (though with clear regional variations), a practice of reopening graves and removing grave goods can be identified, particularly in the 7th century. These actions have traditionally been interpreted as mere looting for valuables, but have in recent years been re-evaluated by a number of scholars (Kümmel 2009; Van Haperen 2010; Aspöck 2011; Klevnäs 2013). Reopening of graves is also referred to, directly and indirectly, in a number of written sources from the same period (Krüger 1978).…”