An unusual discovery of human remains from the medieval church of Grevenmacher (Luxembourg).

Abstract

The occurrence of burned human remains on a Christian burial ground is very rare in medieval Europe. Therefore, the discovery of a complex consisting of commingled burned and unburned human bones within the church of Grevenmacher (Luxembourg) is from special interest for anthropological as well as archaeological research. In the current paper we present methods for a comprehensive analysis for such an exceptional case connected with the question if this bone accumulation represents a form of funerary custom or if other factors lead to its composition. Thereof, two possible scenarios for the occurrence of this unusual composition were created and discussed.