Early Medieval Burials

Negli ultimi anni, anche in Italia ha finalmente iniziato ad emergere l'interesse per lo studio e l'interpretazione delle sepolture anomale; l'argomento è ampiamente conosciuto e trattato in altri paesi, primo tra tutti l'Inghilterra che garantisce un confronto con numerosi casi particolari, tendenze, statistiche. Tuttavia non è facile interpretare queste realtà e risalire ai processi e alle volontà che hanno portato alla determinazione delle situazioni inusuali, oltretutto lo stato di conservazione spesso non consente neppure di poter affermare con certezza la collocazione peri o post mortem delle azioni effettuate sul cadavere o sulla tomba. Le motivazioni che possono giustificare le anomalie nelle sepolture sono potenzialmente infinite, a partire da cause naturali (come l'azione degli animali, spostamenti del terreno), fortuite (furto di corredo o vestiario, manomissione involontaria per ragioni spaziali, sepoltura frettolosa, epidemie e morti contagiosi) o volontarie (pratiche apotropaiche, neutralizzazione di revenants, punizione post mortem, vandalismo, accanimento contro un nemico, omicidio, pratiche magico-religiose, recupero di parti ossee). Con il termine sepolture anomale, si fa riferimento infatti ad una serie di tipologie anche molto differenti tra loro, comprendendo sotto la stessa definizione casi di legamento, mutilazione, asportazione delle parti anatomiche, posizionamento insolito del corpo all'interno della sepoltura o nel cimitero, chiodature, inserimento di oggetti particolari e simbolici nella tomba, trattamento anomalo del cadavere, recisione e spostamento di parti corporee all'interno della tomba stessa. Vi è riflessa nella varietà di queste pratiche tutta l'ambiguità del rapporto col morente e con il morto, soggetto della trasformazione da vivo in cadavere, vissuta come un passaggio anziché un evento e divenuto per i vivi oggetto di venerazione e avversione 1. Prendiamo ad esempio i casi di mutilazione e asportazione di membra dalla tomba; è possibile che ci si trovi davanti a tentativi di neutralizzazione di defunti inquieti, per " ucciderli " definitivamente o renderli innocui, ipotesi cui si è fatto spesso ricorso, ma anche altre motivazioni, più o meno soprannaturali, potrebbero celarsi dietro queste manifestazioni. La necromanzia e l'uso dei cadaveri, o parti di tali, in ambito magico La sepoltura 13 della necropoli tardo antica di Baggiovara (MO) presenta un caso di individuo femminile con piedi, avambraccio destro e testa recise e non presenti nella tomba 2. La particolarità della sepoltura è che, sebbene non vi siano apparentemente segni di riapertura e manipolazione della tomba 3 , sono stati ritrovati in situ alcuni frammenti delle dita di un piede, una falange distale e l'astragalo sinistro. Queste rimanenze potrebbero spiegarsi con l'asportazione delle parti corporee già in avanzato stato di decomposizione, tuttavia i segni di amputazione non possono aiutare molto nella comprensione degli eventi a causa del cattivo stato di conservazione, motivo per cui non è possibile stabilire se la decapitazione sia stata la causa del decesso o sia stata operata post mortem 4. Interpretare le motivazioni che stanno dietro questo trattamento non è semplice. Potrebbe trattarsi di esecuzione pubblica e di successivi rituali apotropaici oppure di interventi post mortem atti a de-funzionalizzare il defunto e privarlo della forza necessaria a nuocere. In effetti le amputazioni riguardano parti anatomiche fortemente simboliche: i piedi, che permettono la deambulazione e lo

Visegrád ókori és középkori műemlék-együttesének fontos részét képezik a Sibrik-dombon és az azt övező Várkert-völgyben feltárt római- és középkori lelőhelyek. A tanulmány a 2013–2015-ben végzett ásatások eredményeit ismerteti. Az új ásatások során derült fény arra, hogy az elhagyott római falak között már az államalapítás korát megelőzően, a 8. század végétől és a 9. században folyt élet, majd a késő Árpád-korig bizonyítható a központi hely használata.
The Roman-period and medieval sites investigated on Sibrik Hill and in the Várkert Valley enclosing it are an important part of the antique and medieval monuments of Visegrád. Discussed here are the findings of
the 2013–2015 excavation campaigns, which revealed that the  abandoned Roman fort had been occupied from the late 8th century and during the 9th century, well before the foundation of the medieval Hungarian state, and that the occupation of this central place can be traced up to the late Árpádian Age.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, early medieval burials from the Late Avar period have repeatedly come to light in Mistelbach in the area of the hospital. These were published together in 1996. In 2018, another grave was discovered during construction work there. It was a woman’s grave, in which beads, earrings, a bronze ring (belt pendant), a belt buckle, a spindle whorl, a needle box and a ceramic vessel were found. The grave can be dated to the Late Avar period (8th/beginning 9th century) and fits  very well into the previous record of the cemetery.

This dissertation focuses on Early Medieval and Medieval (c. AD 900–1400) inhumation burial customs in Upper Satakunta and Häme regions in Finland. The aim is to clarify the find contexts of Early Medieval inhumation burials in Finland, and to explore the research potential of studying the variations in burial customs. The methodology is based on archaeothanatological analysis which aims at distinguishing the human and natural taphonomic processes in burials. Although some of the burials have been considered atypical in previous research, the studies on the contexts of all the graves in the area reveal that there has been significant variation in Early Medieval inhumation burial customs. This variation is likely explained by individual choices at different stages of the burial ritual. These choices may have been influenced by different social motives, beliefs, and local events. Therefore, the variations in burial practices emphasize the impact of individual agency. In addition to general variation, a possible slight increase in double and multiple burials around AD 1200 was observed. This is also a period when “antique” spearheads were occasionally struck into the coffin structures – a habit previously considered dramatic and unusual. Based on environmental studies and recent molecular studies in the Baltic countries and Scandinavia, it is possible that crop failure and epidemic outbreaks caused a mortality crisis at the time, leading to an increase in double and multiple burials. However, the political instability of the
period could also have also provoked local power struggles, which could have emphasized the ritual meaning of ancestors. This could explain the various usage of “antique” objects and older cremated bones in the inhumation burials. When the graves are studied in detail, it will become possible to raise new questions on gender roles and identities, local rituals, commemoration, and the meanings of objects and sites. In general, the contextualization of graves widens the possibilities to study and interpret Finnish archaeological material and help integrate this material in wider geographical, temporal, and theoretical discussion.

La muerte en el Madrid andalusí no entiende de políticas ni credos, aunque si de rituales y costumbres. Su condición secular de tierra de frontera hace que haya estado sometida a múltiples influencias durante los primeros siglos de la Edad Media. En esa época, la tradición indígena anterior se ve alterada por la llegada de un nuevo invasor que, con el tiempo, acaba imponiendo sus costumbres. Así, las aldeas madrileñas experimentan un proceso de aculturación que, en muchos casos, hace que convivan diferentes prácticas funerarias durante los primeros años de la conquista. En otros, la fundación de nuevos enclaves tanto rurales como urbanos, en los que la población es enteramente foránea, representa una inmediata adopción de las nuevas tendencias.

La identificación de estos procesos de aculturación es clave para comprender el patrón de enterramiento de las diferentes comunidades involucradas. Las prácticas funerarias pueden no diferir en exceso de épocas precedentes. Sin embargo, la introducción en la península del rito musulmán en el año 711 representa una innovación en cuanto al tratamiento del difunto con respecto a la tradición tardo antigua.

During the 7th and 8th century the valley of the river Altmühl was borderland as well as traffic corridor for Eastern Francia and the Duchy of Bavaria. Therefore, both Franks and Baiuvarians tried to use the region for their strategic purpose and to develop the valley for settlement. While the Baiuvarians founded manorial structured settlements and aristocratic courts relying on iron production as the predominant economic basis mainly in the 7th century, these settlements came under Frankish control by the middle of the 8th century. As a result, the economic basis and settlement structures changed fundamentally. With the establishment of monasteries and fortifications the Carolingians strengthened the function of the Altmühl valley as an important traffic and trade route which connected the rivers Rhine and Danube.

Contents
10TH AND 11TH CENTURY BURIAL SITES, STRAY FINDS AND TREASURES IN THE TRANSYLVANIAN BASIN, THE PARTIUM AND THE BANAT
IX.1. The geography of the Transylvanian Basin, the Partium and the Banat
IX.2. List of the 10th–11th century cemeteries, stray fi nds and treasures in the Transylvanian Basin, the Partium
and the Banat
IX.3. A historical review of the research of the cemeteries, stray finds and treasures of the 10th–11th centuries in the regions of the Transylvanian Basin, the Partium and the Banat
IX.4. The evaluation of the archaeological research of the 10th–11th centuries in archaeology IX.4.1. The evaluation of the Hungarian Conquest and its directions in Transylvania in the archaeological publications. The Hungarian Conquest and the concept of Hungarians in the archaeological publications
IX.4.2. Cemeteries: the remains of the Hungarian Conquest, opinions on the burial places in literature
IX.5. Analysis of the burial customs
IX.5.1. On the general characteristics of burial customs
IX.5.2. On the sizes of cemeteries
IX.5.3. The topographical location of the cemeteries
IX.5.4. Graves
IX.5.5. The problem of the continuation of 10th century burial rites into the 11th century
IX.5.6. Conclusions
IX.6. The analysis of the material culture of the 10th–11th century cemeteries, stray finds and treasures. The relative chronological system of the 10th–11th century cemeteries
IX.6.1. Elements of dress and/or of fashion
IX.6.2. Weapons
IX.6.3. Articles of personal use
IX.6.4. Horse equipment
IX.6.5. Pottery
IX.6.6. Coins
IX.7. The material culture of the 10th–11th century and the issues connected to continuity and discontinuity .
IX.8. The chronological system of the cemeteries, stray fi nds and treasures of the 10th–11th centuries. The issues connected to the relationship of the 9th–10th century horizons of the finds
IX.9. On the gender characteristics of inventories of the 10th‒11th century burials in short
IX.9.1. On child burials in short
IX.10. Conclusions
IX.10.1. The occupation of the territory. Populations in the 10th century Transylvania, Partium and Banat
IX.10.2. A social model as it is supposed: the 10th century „Hungarian” social model
IX.10.3. Possible military and political centers in the Transylvanian Basin, the Partium and the Banat.
Landscape, topography and hierarchy: the conquerors and the conquered
IX.10.4. ‘Border zones’ and crossroads
IX.10.5. The 10th–11th century cemetery types
IX.10.6. The quantities of (precious) metal in the cemeteries
IX.10.7. The issue of 10th–11th century graves and the spread of Christianity
IX.10.8. Conclusions

X.1. Rövidítés- és irodalomjegyzék
X.2. List of the fi gures and the plates
X.3. Képek és táblák forrásjegyzéke/Bibliography of the sources of the fi gures and the plates

Harold Harefoot is often seen as a usurper, a villain, and an illegitimate interruption to the rightful order of succession. Harold was apparently so distasteful that after his death, his body was exhumed and thrown into the Thames. Harold, known by the nickname "Harefoot," unfortunately remains one of England's most obscure and misunderstood monarchs. While Harold has occasionally been discussed in some formidable scholarship, he is usually only examined as he relates to others. My intention is to put the spotlight on him directly, retracing his life as best as possible and reassessing some of the more distasteful views about him.

Early medieval barrow burials (from the turn of 7th and 8th to the 10th centuries) represent the final stage of Bohemian history when this kind of burial rite is used. Within Bohemia, the phenomenon is widespread in southern Bohemia, lesser concentrations are to be found in north-eastern and western Bohemia. Current archaeological research dates the oldest barrows in western Bohemia back to the 8th century. Burial sites are formed by up to several dozen barrows, sometimes oriented in an east-west direction, however, smaller groups are much more frequent. Barrows are usually rather small (5–6 meters in diameter; 1 meter tall), with exceptional barrows reaching a width of up to 14 metres and a height of 2 metres. Predominantly, they have a circular ground plan, as oval or square shapes are much less frequent. The most characteristic feature of the described period is a shallow ditch around the barrow circumference. In the earlier part of the period, cremation was used (e.g. Bezemín, Lhota u Černošína) with the cremation residue spilled either on top of a barrow right under the embankment, or scattered within the uppermost layer. Grave goods comprise predominantly vessels, iron knives are much less common. From the 9th century, inhumation of one or more individuals began to be practised within a single barrow. The latest evidence of a burial mound can be found Hlohovičky u Rokycan.

U tekstu su analizirani objavljeni rezultati nedavnih iskapanja starokršćanskoga bazilikalnog kompleksa i ranosrednjovjekovnih grobova u tumulima kod Ljupča pored Nina. Originalna interpretacija pripisuje uništenje kompleksa i ranosrednjovjekovne grobove doseljenim Slavenima. Analizirajući postojeće informacije u širem kontekstu, tekst nudi alternativnu interpretaciju nalaza, kojom se ukazuje na metodološke probleme s kojima se često u hrvatskoj arheologiji susreću pokušaji identificiranja ranosrednjovjekovnih Slavena u Dalmaciji.

In this paper are analysed published results of recent excavations of early Christian complex and early medieval graves in burial mounds in the area of Ljubač near Nin. The original interpretation ascribed the destruction of the early Christian basilical complex and the appearance of early medieval graves to recently migrated Slavic groups. By analysing the existing information in a wider context, this paper offers alternative interpretation of the finds, discussing methodological problems encountered by the Croatian archaeologists attempting to identify early medieval Slavs in Dalmatia.

This thesis investigates and compares three cases of female graves, each of which had a sword as a burial gift.
On the basis of this research, it will be examined whether archaeologists have often mis-sexed remains throughout Scandinavian history.
A term is also given to this concept and further demonstrated trough examples and possible reasons.

The paper is about the two-chamber vaults in the territory of the Bosporan Kingdom dating back to the Great Migration period. These are large collective tombs, with similar architecture: they consist of a narrow rectangular entrance shaft (dromos), two chambers on each side, connected by the dromos by small corridors. Entrance to these corridors was closed with a large barrier slab. Irrespective of the fact that most vaults were plundered, they have representative grave items: weapons, horse harnesses, glass vessels, red slip pottery, different types of belt features, casket and many others. Most of them can be dated back to the second half of the 4th–mid-5th centuries. The vaults can be considered to be the tombs of military or civil officials.

This thesis explores the evidence for Early Medieval burial practice in southern Scotland, excluding that for Viking burials. I.e. the period which roughly falls between 400-1100 AD, in the area now defined by the regions of Borders, Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, Strathclyde south of the Clyde, and part of Central Region. The main forms of burial rite are described and catalogued, and the differing circumstances under which they occur are examined. These fall under three main headings: cemetery burials, isolated burials, and barrow and cairn burials. The relationship between burials and associated features, including grave goods and Early Christian Monuments, is then explored. Finally, the evidence for Early Medieval settlement and society is examined in the light of the burial evidence.

Visegrád ókori és középkori műemlék-együttesének fontos részét képezik a Sibrik-dombon és az azt övező Várkert-völgyben feltárt római- és középkori lelőhelyek. A tanulmány a 2013–2015-ben végzett ásatások eredményeit ismerteti. Az új ásatások során derült fény arra, hogy az elhagyott római falak között már az államalapítás korát megelőzően, a 8. század végétől és a 9. században folyt élet, majd a késő Árpád-korig bizonyítható a központi hely használata.

The early medieval barrow cemetery at Kleczanów (Lesser Poland) reflects the oldest episodes of the history of the 9th century rural settlement dating back to the pre-state period. Since years it became the subject of discussion based on the phenomenon of survival, for over 1000 years, dozen burials placed in a small wood, on the deforested loess Uppland. The author believes that the cemetery for a long time became a place of remembrance of ancestors and unknown rituals.  Even in modern times, the grove at Kleczanów, where the burial mounds are placed,  played an important role in celebrations of Pentecost. The author suggests a possible correlation between some abandoned cemeteries and medieval holy groves.

The study presented is composed of three parts:
1) a methodological overview and short research of the hydronymy of northeast Bavaria and the Cheb district;
2) a revision of the current concept of the names of the waterways in the Cheb basin, in the Fichtel Mountains and the adjacent areas (for a great majority of the hydronyms, there a Germanic or early German origin is anticipated, and the whole area is therefore considered by linguists as an inseparable part of the Germanic-Old-German communication area with a long-term linguistic continuity, uninterrupted even by a Slavic intervention);
3) a comparison of the spatial distribution of the Germanic-German and Slavic hydronyms with the expanison of row burial grounds of the Carolingian-Ottonian period.

(more see in the English summary)
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V posledních dvou desetiletích vzrůstá obecná debata o vztahu archeologie a jazykovědy. Při studiu některých období se dokonce ozývají hlasy, že další pokrok v archeologickém poznání se neobejde bez vazby na moderní jazykovědné koncepty. Pro raný středověk je v tomto ohledu živě diskutováno mj. šíření slovanského jazyka, které nebylo zcela totožné se šířením různých forem identit, jež zachycují písemné a archeologické prameny. Předkládaný článek se věnuje dílčímu problému, konkrétně (1) sleduje vzájemné rozšíření hydronym germánsko-časně německého a slovanského původu v severovýchodním Bavorsku a na Chebsku, (2) kriticky diskutuje stávající etymologie, (3) upozorňuje na rozdílnou geografickou distribuci slovanských místních jmen a hydronym, (4) sleduje vztah mezi tzv. kostrovými pohřebišti karolinsko-otonského období a slovanskými hydronymy. Celkový obraz, který současná toponomastika nabízí, lze vysvětlit tím, že slovanský jazyk nebyl realizován rovnoměrně ve všech jazykových doménách, personálních sítích a mluvčími všech sociálních vrstev/ranků. Z toho důvodu lze sice konstatovat souběžnou realizaci slovanského i germánsko-časně německého jazyka v oblasti kostrových pohřebišť v raném středověku, ale určení, jaká konkrétní populace byla v jakém jazyce dominantní, není možné. Nicméně, v rámci aktuálních sociolingvistických konceptů lze považovat za prokázané, že slovanský jazyk se v severovýchodním Bavorsku šířil - alespoň zčásti - migrací slovanských mluvčích do oblastí, kde byla sociálně dominantním jazykem germánština/raná němčina.