Post-medieval burial customs in Germany – an archaeological perspective on materiality and spatiality

Abstract

ABSTRACTPeople generally behave conservatively when dealing with their deceased as very few alterations in the funerary customs are detectable over centuries or even millennia. There were certain periods, however, when this was different and more rapid and radical changes occurred. There is, for example, a marked changeover in mortuary practices in central Europe during the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era following the years around 1500. Another major shift becomes visible in the 18th and 19th centuries. This paper serves as an overview concerning the archaeological research on the changing burial customs from the high medieval period until the early 20th century in Germany. Only a few excursions across the modern state borders into the wider German-speaking area are made. The main focus lies on the later post-medieval times with a special emphasis on the different beliefs in Catholic and Protestant areas and their archaeological manifestation. Of course, explanations for the discovered changes will also be suggested. Graves were used as a means of symbolic communication between this world and the hereafter. Therefore changes in burial custom – such as the location of the cemeteries, the location of the individual graves, and their furnishing with graves goods – always express changes in living culture as well.