Islamic funerary archaeology in Córdoba (Spain): state of the art and future paths

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article shows how the multidisciplinary and rigorous study of former cemeteries can reveal important aspects of the societies that produced such evidence not only by focusing on the medieval funerary architecture , but also by considering bones as an historical source of information. These aspects often relate to the social stratification and conditions of the population and the origins and identities of the deceased, burial typologies, religious practices and beliefs, urban organisation and its spatial evolution, and etcetera. Approaching these topics through disciplines such as archaeology, epigraphy or topography can result in methodological problems when analysing medieval Islamic cemeteries in the Iberian Peninsula, which were regulated by the Maliki doctrine, especially when under Umayyad rule (756-1031 CE). According to this doctrine, monumental graves were forbidden and certain types of gravestones were banned as well. Taking Córdoba as a study case and comparing it with other cases in al-Andalus, it will be shown how a better knowledge of Andalusi society should be reached through the study of bones.