Wealth of Inhabitants of Sandomierz and Neighbouring Settlements in the 11th–12th Centuries in the Light of Cemetery Materials

Abstract

It is debatable to what extent so-called grave goods (items intentionally deposited in burials) reflect the actual level of prosperity of people inhumed in early mediaeval graves. The same applies to the types of the burial features in which they were inhumed. Whether the deceased were supplied with particular items or not – and if so, what kind of goods they were – might have resulted, for example, from the extent to which Christianity (having a unifying influence on funerary rituals) was accepted, as well as from local customs or even family traditions, the actual wealth of the buried people and individual decisions as to whether their opulence should be manifested or not. In Sandomierz, between the end of the 10th and the middle of the 12th century, there were at least three non churchyard row cemeteries. We know 20 other burial sites of this type located in the radius of 20 km from the town. An analysis of materials found in them (grave goods) indicated that in the discussed time the wealth of Sandomierz residents was similar to that of people living in the neighbouring settlements dated to the same period. This assumption, however, is not necessarily correct, because the lack of considerable differences between grave inventories might have resulted from local burial customs followed at that time. Another question is whether such customs were a continuation of earlier local traditions or whether they were shaped by the embracing of elements of Christian funerary rituals. Finally, it is also possible that they resulted from both factors.