Rethinking early medieval mortuary archaeology

Williams, Howard

doi:10.1111/j.1468-0254.2005.00155.x

Cited by 50 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…However, detailed and contextual explorations of how the mnemonic agency of art was integrated in strategies of mortuary commemoration have not taken place. Certainly, this author's recent call for the explicit theorizing and systematic investigation of the roles of the senses in early medieval mortuary archaeology (including among others the roles of embodied experiences, touch, taste, smell, sound and vision) remains largely unanswered (Williams, 2005).…”

Section: The Senses In Early Medieval Mortuary Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The sense of being seen: Ocular effects at Sutton Hoo

Williams

2011

Journal of Social Archaeology

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I consider the mnemonic agency of the art adorning a diverse range of artefacts interred in one of Europe’s most famous archaeological discoveries. The early seventh-century AD burial chamber constructed within a ship beneath Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, UK, was uncovered in 1939. I identify a theme linking the prestige artefacts placed within this ‘princely’ grave: many are covered with eyes or eye-like forms. I argue that this ocular quality to the art — not simply visually striking but affording the sense of animated, watching presences — was integral to the selection of artefacts for burial. I argue that the beastly, monstrous and humanoid eyes commemorated the dead person as all-seeing. Those witnessing the staged wrapping and consignment of the artefacts were afforded the sense of being all-seen. By exploring art in this elite mortuary context, the article presents a case study in the early medieval archaeology of the senses.

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Section: The Senses In Early Medieval Mortuary Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The sense of being seen: Ocular effects at Sutton Hoo

Williams

2011

Journal of Social Archaeology

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“…Emotions can be an important force in mortuary practices ( Klevnäs 2015 :204 ). As Howard Williams ( 2007 ) has declared, we cannot dig up emotions, but we can detect emotive forces of practical actions. The practical actions of Middle Neolithic mortuary rituals on Gotland are to be seen as a process.…”

Section: Governed By Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A lot of care was emphasized, as for instance when children were laid down close to adults. The burials might have been orchestrated to create shared social identities and memories ( Williams 2007 ), but if death was seen as a process, the dead person was at this stage presumably still assumed to be embedded in the corpse, and the initial treatment of the body would be acts associated with a way to take a last farewell. It is easy to become normative, projecting emotions on past people, but it does seem reasonable that emotional responses to bereavement, such as sorrow, were strong emotive forces behind these acts.…”

Section: Governed By Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governed by Grief, Fear and Reverence: Dealing with the Dead and the Buried during the Middle Neolithic on Gotland

Andersson¹

2023

INSI

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The Middle Neolithic sites on Gotland are characterized by variety in the handling of human remains. In addition to burials with complete and intact skeletons and package-burials, some contexts contain mutilated bodies, or they contain a few human bones or none. These practices have previously been interpreted as resulting from modern disturbances such as ploughing or pre-depositional treatment of dead bodies. Based on re-examination of the field documentation and C14-dates, I argue that the diverse ways of treating human skeletal remains represent post-depositional practices, and I propose that part of the mortuary practices was to reopen graves and exhume bones. During the Middle Neolithic, death might have been conceptualized as a process, and treatment of the dead and the buried could have been governed by a variety of emotions like grief, fear and reverence.

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“…My early archaeological research involved critiquing the history and popular misconceptions of the Early Middle Ages via its burial data and presenting a new interpretation of early Anglo-Saxon cremation practices in particular (e.g. Williams 2005;2006;2007). Subsequently, whilst directing fieldwork on a medieval manorial site adjacent to a contemporary churchyard at Stokenham, Devon, I learned why a community supported archaeological fieldwork near their burial ground.…”

Section: My Public Mortuary Archaeology Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction: Public Archaeologies of Death and Memory

Williams

2018

AP Journal

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This Introduction to AP’s third special issue seeks to provide context and rationale to the study of ‘public mortuary archaeology’ before reviewing the development of the volume. Building on the presentations of the first Public Archaeology Twitter Conference of April 2017, these articles comprise a wide range of original analyses reflecting on the public archaeology of death, including evaluations of fieldwork contexts, churches and museums. These articles are joined by discussions of the digital dimensions to public mortuary archaeology, an appraisal of ancient and modern DNA research as public mortuary archaeology, and the relationship between mortuary archaeology and palliative care. Together, the articles constitute the state of current thinking on the public archaeology of death, burial and commemoration.

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Rethinking early medieval mortuary archaeology

Cited by 50 publications

References 28 publications

The sense of being seen: Ocular effects at Sutton Hoo

The sense of being seen: Ocular effects at Sutton Hoo

Governed by Grief, Fear and Reverence: Dealing with the Dead and the Buried during the Middle Neolithic on Gotland

Introduction: Public Archaeologies of Death and Memory

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