Medieval Burials

Russian commemoration book (pomyannik), dated to the early 20th c. discovered in Aceldama, Jerusalem, during the excavations of disturbed burials near the Greek Monastery of St. Onuphrius the Great. The original archaeological context of the find, a Medieval charnel-house, is discussed, together with possible identification of the book owner, a woman pilgrim from Russia.

Abstract: This article examines the royal cemeteries in Leon and Sahagún from an art-historical perspective. This topic demands analysing the documents as well as the architectonic settings. In the royal chronicles, the thread of historical narrative is the lineage of kings. For that reason,
I discuss here the architectural and functional genealogy of the graveyards for the kings of Leon. This analysis explores both the links and the oppositions between these cemeteries. Studying the graves and cemeteries of the Kings facilitates understanding what order maintained the kingdom itself.

Keywords: kingdom of Leon; royal tombs; Palat de Rey; San Isidoro de Leon; Sahagún.

Апстракт: У раду је размотрен проблем првобитних сахрана у западном травеју манастирске цркве на основу нових сазнања после археолошких ископавања 2007. године. Изнета је претпо-ставка да су у време грађења цркве биле предвиђене гробнице само за краља-ктитора у средишњем делу травеја (гроб 5) и краљицу Симониду уз северни зид (гроб 4). Та замисао није оства-рена будући да је краљ Милутин сахрањен у гробници на тради-ционалном месту, уз јужни зид, док је у гробници намењеној за краљицу, како се могло закључити на основу наших новијих истраживања, касније сахрањен краљев млађи син Константин. У том гробу 1915. године нађен је познати златни прстен, који је дуго приписиван краљици Теодори. У западном травеју откри-вена су још два старија гроба из времена пре пустошења цркве крајем XIV века.

Недавние раскопки международной группы археологов в Ушарале-Илибалыке недалеко от Жаркента, Казахстан, выявили обширное кладбище Восточной (сирийской христианской) Церкви. В настоящее время раскопано более 80 могил, а общее количество захоронений в этом районе составляет 500 мест. Все захоронения обладают однородными характеристиками, соответствующими
средневековой христианской погребальной практике, включая небольшой инвентарь. Единственным исключением было женское захоронение с большим количеством украшений на теле. Одним из художественных мотивов, найденных на двух серебряных браслетах и кольце, была четырехле-
пестковая миндалевидная розетка, художественная история которой берет свое начало в Древнем Египте. В этой статье прослеживается развитие этого мотива на всем древнем Ближнем Востоке и его возможное принятие христианами, начиная с поздней античности на протяжении всего средневекового периода христианского мира и ныне – как показали раскопки на Илибалыке и других
археологических памятниках Центральной Азии, найденные вдоль торговых маршрутов так называемого Шелкового пути, что было выявлено на Илибалыке. Похоже, что христиане воспринимали этот рисунок как «двузначный» или «двусмысленный» образ, отображающий как цветочный мо-
тив, так и изображение креста.

More than one century after the initially discovery, Glasinac is still one of the most important archaeological areas in the Balkans. In the last few decades the main focus was on the interpretation of already existing numerous materials from more than thousand prehistoric tumulus. In addition to this, very small quantity of archaeological materials from historical periods have been published. This paper presents results from rescue archaeological excavation from site Crkvine in Bjelosavljevići on Glasinac. Three-year archaeological excavations discovered the remains of medieval church decorated with frescoes, and 48 graves from the necropolis, all dated to the 14–15th century. Some of the graves contained luxurious material that indicate to the high status of the deceased.

Irregular burials show features that are deviating from the majority of burials in their contemporary geographical context. During medieval ages, prone burials are the most distinctive phenomenon of irregular burials, requiring a deliberate decision and fully consciously awareness of the burial party of placing a body in this position. Even though several studies have dealt with prone burials during prehistory, Roman and early medieval times, a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of deviant burials from the Middle Ages and modern times is still lacking for various geographical contexts, a fact that hampers any discussion of these burials on a larger scale.

The aim of this study is:
1) to compile the available evidence from the German-speaking countries Switzerland, Germany and Austria after 1000 AD;
2) to evaluate which interpretations excavators and researchers attributed to those irregular burials and if there are patterns deriving from the geographical location or dating of the grave;
3) to analyze the sample for the following criteria: location of the burial (cemetery, church, settlement), sex, age, pathologies.

The archaeological intervention that took place in 2018 at Rua do Poço do Borratém in Lisbon allowed the identification of a funerary context with chronologies of the 13th and 15th centuries since imported ceramics were registered. This study intends to present the identified context and, later integrate it into the spatiality of the city of Lisbon compiling other funerary contexts of medieval chronology intervened. Therefore, it is intended to present a state of the question regarding these contexts given the importance of the collaboration of various elements

Les fouilles préventives effectuées en 2013/2014 à Saillans ont permis de mettre au jour une partie du cimetière associé à l’église Saint-Géraud, dont l’occupation perdure du XIe s. au XVIIIe s. Ce sont 200 individus en dépôt primaires, souvent incomplets, qui ont été exhumés, ainsi que ne nombreux dépôts secondaires d’ossements déposés dans les sépultures ou découverts dans les remblais du cimetière.

Riding Gear Items from the Jurgionys Cemetery of
the Late Fourteenth–Early Sixteenth Centuries ----- The paper publishes information on the riding gear items (namely, spurs and their fragments, a miniature stirrup, as well as horse teeth) discovered during the archaeological excavations of 2010–2011 and 2013–2014 at the Jurgionys cemetery located in the Aukštadvaris eldership of the Trakai district and dating to the late fourteenth– early fifteenth centuries. The paper aims to introduce the artefacts to the scientific archaeological array establishing their typology and chronology and their place in the context of other finds discovered at Lithuanian medieval inhumation burials.
The Jurgionys Cemetery of the late fourteenth–early fifteenth century (Aukštadvaris eldership, Trakai district) contained numerous items of riding gear. Burials 2 (Fig. 1) and 16 had one spur in each, whereas burial 11 (Fig. 2) had two spurs. Random finds from disturbed burials picked from the ploughed layer added two more fragments of spurs and a piece of a miniature stirrup. The level of preservation of the spurs varied,
some of the finds were highly corroded and surviving only partially. Yet the spurs were typical of Western and Central Europe (although spurs with star-shaped spikes are also found in the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Moscow, there are no close analogues to the ones discovered at the Jurgionys cemetery). Two of the three spur finds came from the burials containing weapons (burial 11 contained an axe and a spearhead and burial 16 contained a sword). The rich array of burial goods found in burial 16 (Fig. 3) implies that the person buried therein enjoyed a high social status. The spur found in burial 16 (Fig. 4) is typologically very similar to the ones
discovered at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of the Lower Castle of Vilnius and in London. It goes without saying that typologically similar spurs can also be found elsewhere. One of the randomly found spurs has survived only partially (Fig. 5). The other randomly found spur bears strap holders decorated with a scallop shell ornament (Fig. 6). Such an ornament could be related to the cult of St James the Great which
used to be rather widespread in medieval Europe. A miniature stirrup (Fig. 7) is similar to the stirrups of the eastern type found in the territory of modern Ukraine and southern Russia; they are related to the nomadic
peoples of the steppe. Materials of the Jurgionys cemetery considerably broaden our knowledge about the riding gear used by medieval Lithuanian horsemen, and horse teeth found in burials 35 and 37 should be perceived as horsemen’s symbols. They are unique finds for the cemetery of the Jurgionys community, which was only barely influenced by Christianity at the time.

В основу статьи легли материалы  археологических раскопок, полученные в ходе работ Дагестано-Грузинской объединенной археологической экспедиции, проводившейся в Центральном Горном Дагестане в  1977–1981 гг.  В  итоге  комплексной  работы  экспедиции,  помимо архитектурных, этнографических и эпиграфических памятников, также были исследованы средневековые могильники: Тад-раал, Ахалчинский, Урадинский, Хунзахский. Хронология исследованный погребений охватывает X–XIV вв., а также одно погребение XIX в. Исследованные средневековые погребения отражают начальный этап проникновения христианства в определенные части Центрального Горного Дагестана.
В целом, данные раскопок позволяют сделать вывод о наличии выразительной и своеобразной местной культуры, сохранившей в себе черты предшествующей эпохи, отразившееся в погребальных сооружениях. Анализ материалов также свидетельствует об активных исторических связях Горного Дагестана со средневековой Грузией, о широком распространении христианства среди местного населения.
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The article is based on the materials of archaeological excavations obtained during the work of the Dagestan-Georgian joint archaeological expedition conducted in Central Mountainous Dagestan in 1977-1981.  As a result of the complex work of the expedition, in addition to architectural, ethnographic and epigraphic monuments, medieval burial grounds were also explored: Tad-raal, Akhalchinsky, Uradinsky, Hunzakhsky. The chronology of the studied burials covers the X–XIV centuries, as well as one burial of the XIX century. The studied medieval burials reflect the initial stage of the penetration of Christianity into certain parts of the Central Mountainous Dagestan.
In General, the data of the excavations allow us to conclude that there is an expressive and peculiar local culture that has preserved the features of the previous era, reflected in the burial structures. The analysis of the materials also testifies to the active historical ties between Mountainous Dagestan and medieval Georgia, as well as to the wide spread of Christianity among the local population.

This is a summary of an article published in: "Queens, Princesses and Mendicants - Close relations in a European perspective" ('Vita Regularis Abhandlungen' 75), eds. Nikolaus Jaspert & Imke Just (Zürich: LIT-Verlag, 2019), 153-174. ISBN: 9783643910929.

Tijekom arheološkoga istraživanja na Poljani Šime Budinića otkriveno je 14 grobova. Prema visinama ukopa i njihovim karakteristikama grobove je moguće podijeliti u dvije skupine. U prvu skupinu spadaju grobovi 8, 9 i 15, ukopani u dublje SJ. Vjerojatno predstavljaju sporadične ukope iz kasnoantičkoga vremena kada popuštaju stroga pravila o ukapanju izvan gradskih bedema. Ostali grobovi ukopani u SJ koje su se formirale nad ostatcima antičke arhitekture čine drugu skupinu. Ovi su grobovi bili dijelom gradskoga groblja koje se u srednjemu vijeku formiralo s južne strane crkve sv. Stjepana, kasnije sv. Šime. U vezu s ovim grobovima moguće je dovesti zid 10, koji je odvajao prostor groblja od glavne gradske ulice. Vrijeme egzistiranja groblja moguće je okvirno odrediti u razdoblje od 12 do 14. stoljeća.

This article presents the recent find of a eucharistic set discovered in a late eleventh cenury bishop's grav in Odense, Denmark. Through a typological analysis the set is compared to similar finds from Northern Europe. With English summary.

The archaeological intervention that took place in 2018 at Rua do Poço do Borratém in Lisbon allowed the identification of a funerary context with chronologies of the 13th and 15th centuries since imported ceramics were registered. This study intends to present the identified context and, later integrate it into the spatiality of the city of Lisbon compiling other funerary contexts of medieval chronology intervened. Therefore, it is intended to present a state of the question regarding these contexts given the importance of the collaboration of various elements

Besprechung von: Jörg Jarnut, Martin Kroker, Stephan Müller, Matthias Wemhoff (Hrsg.): Gräber im Kirchenraum. 6. Archäologisch-historisches Forum (MittelalterStudien 26), Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink 2015, 231 S., zahlr. farb. u. s/w Abb. ISBN 978-3-7705-5263-4

Das Buch erscheint in der Publikationsreihe des Instituts zur Interdisziplinären Erforschung des Mittelalters und seines Nachwirkens an der Universität Paderborn (IEMAN). In ihm werden die im November 2008 gehaltenen Vorträge der gleichnamigen Tagung, die gemeinsam vom IEMAN und dem Museum in der Kaiserpfalz in der seit 2001 stattfindenden Reihe der Archäologisch-historischen Foren veranstaltet wurde, vorgelegt.
Die acht Aufsätze spannen den Bogen von frühgeschichtlichen Grabmonumenten, die in der Auseinandersetzung zwischen christlichen und germanisch-heidnischen Glaubensvorstellungen entstanden sind, bis zum Wandel der Bestattungs- und Gedächtniskultur im reformationszeitlichen Dänemark. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der Bestattung im Kircheninnenraum, der mit seiner Nähe zu den Gräbern der Heiligen besondere Anziehungskraft aufwies und gleichzeitig größeren Restriktionen unterlag.

Altamura F., 2010. Un seppellimento medievale con tesoretto, in Ai confini di Roma. Tesori archeologici dai musei della provincia, Catalogo della mostra 13 maggio-20 giugno 2010 Roma, Gangemi editore, Roma, p. 187. ISBN 978-88-492-1904-3 (Vers. corretta)

In September 2017, a team composed of archaeologists from the Center for Chinese Frontier Archaeology of the Archaeology School of Jilin University and the Cultural Bureau of Lishu District was charged to carry a salvage excavation on the western side of the Pianliancheng city-site in Lishu district, Jilin province. This article presents the Jin Dynasty remains discovered during this excavation, including ditches, roads, pits and brick-chamber tombs. Based on the stratigraphic relations and the date of the excavated artifacts, these remains can be dated from the Jin period, furthermore, it can be deduced that the city wall itself was not built before the Jin Dynasty and that the archaeological evidence are in accordance with the identification of Pianliancheng as the Hanzhou City in the Jin Dynasty historical texts.