Burial Research Articles

Archaeology of Modern Conflict and Heritage Legislation in Lithuania during Thirty Years of Restored Independence

After the Lithuanian National Revival in 1988 and the restoration of independence in 1990, the public on their own initiative searched for the remains of fallen anti-Soviet Lithuanian partisans (1944-1953), excavating the burial sites of partisan remains, their bunkers and dugouts. Such excavations prompted the need to establish regulations and procedures for the exhumation and transfer of the remains of victims of 20th-century conflicts and occupation regimes. Government resolutions adopted in 1992 obliged prosecutors, archaeologists, anthropologists and forensic medical experts to be involved in the exhumation procedure and to carry out the exhumation in accordance with the basic requirements of archaeological research. Owing to the restoration and destruction of authentic partisan bunkers and dugouts, the increase in archaeological investigations at 20th-century conflict sites, as well as the emergence of a distinct field of modern conflict archaeology, the 2022 revision of the Archaeological Heritage Management Regulation stipulated the necessity to carry out archaeological research prior to any excavation works at all 19th- and 20th-century conflict sites. Between 1995 and 2022, a total of 171 permits for archaeological excavations at 20th-century conflict sites were issued. Investigations were mostly carried out at the burial sites of Wehrmacht and Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) soldiers of the Second World War and Lithuanian partisans. Partisan bunkers, dugouts, campsites, battlefields also received considerable attention. Today, more than 1700 20th-century conflict sites have legal protection in Lithuania. These include Lithuanian Partisan War sites (mainly sites of death and burial), burial sites of soldiers from the First and Second World Wars, sites of massacres and burials of Jews, and other sites associated with the Soviet and Nazi occupation regimes. This article focuses on 20th-century conflict sites in Lithuania, examining issues of their protection, heritage conservation and archaeology, as well as current trends in archaeological research methodology.

신라 고분 부장 금속용기의 등장과 전개

The purpose of this study is to focus on the burial of metal containers, which is a features of ancient tombs from the Silla Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, to gather metal containers buried in ancient tombs and graves in and outside of Gyeongju to trace the meaning of burying metal containers with the dead in the Silla society. Metal containers buried in the ancient tombs of Silla range in materials from gold to silver, gilt bronze, bronze, and steel, and also have diverse types such as personal plates for food call gobae, wan, sohap, etc., cooking containers such as sotga and siru, storage containers such as janggyeongho, and even containers used for rituals like jeong, chodu, and choho. Burial of such metal containers are materialistic expressions of burial customs and belief of the afterlife are concentrated in Gyeongju, which was the center of Silla, while being buried in ancient tombs in some other areas outside of Gyeongju. Therefore, this study conducted analysis focusing on two aspects. metal containers buried in ancient tombs were reviewed to examine the types of metal containers, while on the other hand. Results of this showed that in addition to the temporal development mode of ancient tombs in which metal containers were buried, this practice spread to areas outside of Gyeongju as time passed. Based on this, the meaning of burying metal containers in tombs of the Silla society was evaluated. Meanwhile, the burial of metal containers also had social meaning. In the center of Silla, multiple metal containers with various materials and types were buried in the greatest tombs, and this custom of burying metal containers spread to the tombs of people of lower status. It is evident that in the fifth century and latter Silla Dynasty, the burial of metal containers was widely practiced among the upper echelons in central Silla. Burial of metal containers outside of Gyeongju were found after the late 5th century, and among the various regions that shared the ancient tomb culture of Silla, metal containers were found only in the ancient tombs of Gyeongsan, Daegu, Changnyeong, and Yangsan, and therefore, it was judged that this could be interpreted as the relationship between the central and local governments. Just like other artifacts that show hierarchy, the burial of metal containers can also hint to the relationship of the central and local regions, and it can be presumed that areas with ancient tombs that buried metal containers had higher status compared to other regions.

Matrilineal and Patrilineal Genetic Continuity of Two Iron Age Individuals from a Pazyryk Culture Burial

In this study, geographic and linguistic distributions of contemporary and ancient matches with the
 paternal and maternal lineages of two individuals exhumed from the exemplary Pazyryk culture burial site of Ak-Alakha-1 mound 1 were investigated. Using the shared paternal and maternal haplotypes observed in both ancient individuals, extensive database and literature searches were conducted revealing numerous full matches among contemporary Eurasians, majority of whom speak Altaic Languages. Despite the current focus on the two Pazyryk individuals, a rare glimpse into the ancient migrations was gained through the discovery of paternal and maternal haplotype matches across an immense geography that spans from Yakutia to Turkey. In addition to a vast array of archaeological findings in such Scythian “frozen graves” across Central Asia, accumulating archaeogenetic data are expected to shed light on the anthropology of these otherwise mysterious people.

목가구조 고분으로 본 아라가야의 수장들

This article focused on the wooden structure tombs identified in the Ancient Tombs in Marisan Mountain, the central tomb of Aragaya, to understand the space occupancy method of the wooden structure tombs, the meaning of the material culture contained in the prestige, and the burial site, and to find out how the hierarchy of the subject appears. In addition, the newly identified wooden structure tombs around Aragaya were reviewed and the interaction between the heads of the Ancient Tombs in Marisan Mountain and the heads of each site was also examined. Wooden structural tombs can be classified into I and II types, and each type has a difference in hierarchy depending on the size of the burial subject, the prestige, and the properties of the burial subject. It could be presumed that the hierarchy among the heads reflected not only the hierarchy assigned to each head, but also the functions and roles. In addition, depending on the group to which each head belongs, a certain space occupation method within the tomb appears, and through this, the ‘showscape’ of the horse mountain tomb was completed. In particular, the heads and mausoleums involved in the wooden structure tombs in the Ancient Tombs in Marisan Mountain were able to assume interactions with the heads of the burial site who accepted the wooden structure tombs in the area around Haman. The construction technology of high-rise tombs such as high rock, embankment method, and partitioned stonework in the wooden structure tombs around Haman was understood as the result of the direct impact of the interaction between the construction groups beyond simple exchanges between the heads.

Settlement, Climate Crisis and Lordship in Early Medieval Scandinavia

This article examines and describes the nature of lordship in Scandinavia during the Early Medieval period (c.400–1000 CE). It counters the assertions of earlier research, which claim that lordship with estates had already developed at the beginning of the period. Earlier arguments have built on assumptions that the development of estates was propelled by the ‘Dust Veil’ and the subsequent climate crisis of the mid-sixth century. Scholars have argued that a more hierarchical society followed, reflected through the emergence of more lavish burial customs. Through a broad comparison with other north-western European regions and peoples, this article demonstrates that these burial customs can be understood differently, and further, that a more hierarchal society was not necessarily the outcome of the crises of the sixth century. The resulting analysis of Scandinavian lordship is then anchored in a detailed case study of the well-preserved settlements, houses, farms and field-systems on the Baltic Island of Öland. It concludes that incentives to create estates in Scandinavia were not present before the Christianization process.

The Seductive Argumentation of the Adulterous Woman in Prov 7:16–17

The Book of Proverbs abounds in characteristic and often very ambivalent vocabulary. Ambiguity of symbolism can also be found in smaller thematic units, a particular example being the passage of Prov 7:16–17, in which a strange, adulterous woman encourages a young man to engage in fornication. The terms used in the text for the bed and its decoration also referred to funerary practices. Myrrh was known as an aphrodisiac, but was also associated with funeral rites. When mixed with aloe and cinnamon, it made an ointment used to anoint the bodies of the dead, among other things. Cinnamon, the third ingredient in the perfume in Prov 7:17, was used to eliminate the odour of bodies at burial. The term used to refer to the bed was also used in the description of a burial site. A young man, tempted by a harlot woman to commit adultery, is actually being prepared for death (Prov 7:22–23.26–27).

EXPERIENCE OF STUDYING THE MILITARY-MEMORIAL SPHERE OF BELARUS IN SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN KNOWLEDGE

The article analyzes the main tendencies of Belarusian and foreign historiography in the study of historical policy, memory policy, military-memorial sphere in general and burial sites of the Great Patriotic War in Belarus in particular from the point of view of interdisciplinary approach. The research is based on the problem-thematic principle, which allows the author to consider the process of development of historical knowledge in their conceptual unity.

Social strata and oral pathologies: A comparative study in two co-localized, temporally disjunct burial sites of ancient Egypt

Background/purposeOral pathologies in ancient human remains provide a unique glimpse into the lifestyles, health, and societal norms of past civilizations, including ancient Egypt. However, comprehensive paleo-odontological studies accounting for temporal and sociodemographic variations remain scarce. We address this gap by analyzing oral pathologies in the remains of 68 and 57 adult individuals, respectively, unearthed from two adjacent yet temporally and socioeconomically diverse burial sites, representing the XIth dynasty (2160–1985 BCE) and the XXVth-XXVIth dynasties (948–525 BCE), at Luxor's Thutmose III Funerary Temple. Materials and methodsWe examined dental wear, carious and periapical lesions, periodontal disease, and temporomandibular joint alterations, hypothesizing that dental wear correlates with age, lifestyle, and diet. We also postulated a link between higher caries frequency and elevated social status and posited the enhanced efficacy of evaluating interdental septa over measuring the alveolar bone-cementoenamel junction distance for periodontitis assessment. ResultsOur findings confirm pronounced dental wear in both sites, with the XIth dynasty showing more severe wear, indicating differing dietary habits. While similar across the younger age groups, the later dynasties showed a significantly higher caries frequency than the XIth dynasty, in the older age groups. Furthermore, our results underscore the superior accuracy of evaluating interdental septa for periodontal disease assessment. ConclusionVariations in oral health, sociodemographic, and dietary trends across the studied burial sites, deepen our understanding of human health trajectories. Additionally, our methodology emphasizes paleo-odontology's vital role in deciphering the nuanced health-environment relationship in ancient societies, laying a foundation for subsequent investigations.

Site Locations on the Jutland Peninsula across the Late Funnel Beaker – Early Corded Ware Period Transition and Their Implications

Abstract The extent of spatial overlap between late Funnel Beaker (TRB) and early Corded Ware or ‘Single Grave’ finds has figured prominently in discussions of how the latter became established on the Jutland Peninsula after 2850 BCE. Working mainly from regional distribution maps and often framing the issue in terms of ‘territories’, decades of debate have focused not least on the question of whether elements of Corded Ware culture primarily arrived in this region with incoming migrants or whether the late TRB groups that already inhabited the region during the early 3rd millennium BCE played a central role in adopting a new tradition. Recently, the results of aDNA research have shifted the relevant questions from whether migration played a role to which role migration played, how it interacted with other factors and how both processes and outcomes varied. The task of answering these questions calls for local-scale analyses and for comparisons across cases and contexts. This article examines site locations and the more detailed location of burials, ritual structures and funerary monuments at specific sites within a 40 × 40 km large area in northern Jutland across the late TRB – early Corded Ware period transition. The results show a high degree of continuity in the location of cemeteries in the landscape, in some cases down to individual burials superposing one another, and this leads to a discussion of different scenarios that may explain the apparent correspondence across the general shift in burial customs. The results obtained in the selected area in northern Jutland are also compared with site locations in another part of the peninsula, i.e. the Horsens Fjord area in eastern-central Jutland, which has also been studied thoroughly recently and where a very different pattern is found (Madsen 2020). The article concludes by discussing the background of these two different patterns and the presumably rather different cultural processes that took place across the late TRB – early Corded Ware transition in these two areas.

Community, Place, and Identity in Middle Formative Coastal Ecuador: Human Burials at Salango, a Machalilla Phase Fishing Village

Abstract Thirty-one individuals buried at Salango, a Machalilla phase fishing village, constitute the only significant Middle Formative funerary assemblage so far recovered for the coast of Ecuador. Our description and discussion of the burials in the context of the nature, location, and history of the settlement and a comparison with preceding coastal Valdivia and contemporary highland Cotocollao funerary practices show that, although they represent a new general tradition, Machalilla burial rituals at Salango reflected specific social conditions and concern with community identity. In particular, the elaborate burial of an adult female not only points to the continuing authority of women in coastal Ecuadorian Formative communities but also expresses the spiritual and economic importance of the sea for Machalilla phase Salango.

A probable case of an "Hourglass" epidermoid cyst located in the posterior fossa in an individual from Ibi, Alicante, Spain (12th-13th centuries AD).

Epidermoid bone cysts are rare, unilocular, and slow growing. They develop by the accumulation of ectodermal remnants, and they may be congenital or acquired. The most common locations for these bone cysts are the distal phalanges, followed by the skull. This paper documents an adult male from the Islamic (twelfth and thirteen centuries CE) burial site of Ibi in the Province of Alicante, southeast Spain. This individual had a cranial lesion in the form of a roughly elliptical hole in the posterior fossa (left occipital region). The lesion was examined macroscopically and using X-ray photography. Based on the shape of the lesion, the most likely diagnosis would appear to be a benign tumour, a so-called "hourglass" epidermoid cyst. No direct link between this tumour and the cause of death can be established.

Technological researches of metal artefacts excavated from Majiayuan, Zhangjiachuan, Gansu Province, China

The Ma Jiayuan Tomb in Zhangjiachuan County, Gansu Province, stands as the sepulcher of a distinguished leader and nobles from a branch of the ancient Xirong, a collective term encompassing several ethnic groups in northwest ancient China. This archaeological site spans from the late Warring States period to the early Qin era. Among the myriad unearthed metal artefacts, a substantial portion comprises exquisite gold and silver objects, showcasing a diverse and intricate array of production techniques. These findings furnish compelling tangible evidence for the exploration of metalworking methodologies. This study rigorously scrutinizes 18 metal samples extracted from the M16 coffin of the Ma Jiayuan burial site dating to the late Warring States period (264-221BCE) in Zhangjiachuan County, Gansu Province, China. The analyses reveal that two copper artefacts were cast from copper-tin-lead alloys, whereas gold artefacts predominantly consisted of gold-silver alloys, and silver artefacts were chiefly crafted from pure silver and silver-gold alloys. Examination of the bronze artefacts suggests that artisans of this era tailored their technical choices based on the type and function of the artefacts they fashioned. The production techniques employed for gold and silver artefacts encompassed processes such as hammering, engraving, mold processing, stamping, polishing and inlaying. Notably, the distinct production methods and stylistic features of iron artefacts adorned with gold and silver, as well as animal-shaped gold artefacts unearthed from the coffin, probably reflect the influences of diverse cultures including the Southern Chu culture, Northern grassland culture, and Central Asian Altai culture on the vicinity of MaJiayuan. Through the fusion of these external cultural influences with their indigenous traditions, a distinctive civilization revolving around gold and silver objects was forged.

The problem of identifying and classifying post-cemetery soils in urban areas

Death is inseparable from the functioning of the biosphere, including the presence of humans on the World. In 2023, the World population is 8.05 billion, with a global death toll of 150,000 per day. A number of burial sites are associated with the operation of cities, which today have a total population of 4.4 billion people. As settlement forms with a history of thousands of years, cities also have a history of burials implementing. So, the cities are the places for the living and the dead. Nowadays, the burial land includes areas of continuous burial use, such as those converted into parks, green spaces and even built-up areas. In all of these areas, soils have developed as a result of specific cemetery use and subsequent changes in soils caused by a change in a land use form. All of the soils of burial areas could be referred to necrosols, with characteristic features such as: soil profile turbation, burial remains, enrichment of deeper soil horizons with phosphorus and carbon, soil deep mixing, and the presence of various artifacts.In this paper we describe the current state of recognition of the cemeteries of the city of Zielona Góra (Poland) and their soils. In doing so, we draw attention to their spatial variation both concerning the location, relating to the structure of the soil profiles, and the main characteristics of soils. We have described examples of soils of former cemeteries, which, in the course of urban development, found themselves within built-up areas. Using modern classifications, they can unfortunately only be described as “technogenic” or “other soils” without indicating the presence of former burials. The soils remain in relation to the form of organization of burials, the different approaches to the use of these specific areas in the past and the modern location within the urban area and its form of use. We found the presence of diverse soil profiles in post-cemetery areas within the city, which cannot be well described using the WRB and local soil classification systems. The only choices for such a soils are: Terric Anthrosols and Urbic, Spolic, Ekranic Technosols or Regosols, with some supplementary qualifiers. According to the newest Soil Classification of Poland they represent: Anthrosols, Rigosols, Turbisols, Ekranosols, and Urbisols. Soil characteristics correlate strongly with present land use in urban areas. Historical cemeteries often do not show characteristics similar to recent burial sites apart from human remains at various depths. It is useful to indicate the presence of ancient burial sites for planning urban development. However, there is still not enough data to propose a new reference soil group. It is therefore recommended to propose a necric qualifier reflecting this.

Changes in the physiognomy of the archaeological landscape - learning from the past to build the future (with prehistorical burial sites in Poland as an example)

The aims of this research were to identify the key processes that have occurred in the past that have caused changes in the physiognomy of archaeological landscape and to indicate possible future processes, along with their landscape implications. The study was based on cartographic and literature studies, and field visits. It covered an analysis of the land cover, the history of archaeological research, the establishment of forms of legal protection and tourist infrastructure development. The past changes are visualised for each site in theform of a block graph. Possible future scenarios with landscape implications are presented on a tree diagram.

Long-term changes in 90Sr pools of Scots pine biomass in the Chornobyl Red Forest

The trenches of the waste burial site in the Chornobyl Red Forest represent a big reservoir of radionuclides for the artificial plantation of Scots pine established in that area, but the long term dynamics of tree biomass contamination, especially with 90Sr, remains unclear. The present study was conducted between 2005 and 2018 on two groups of trees of the same age. The IN group is represented by trees growing on the trench containing highly radioactive contaminated fertile soil and organic matter, while the OUT group is located outside the trench. Within a little more than one decade, the total aboveground biomass doubled in the trees of the group OUT and increased more than four times in the group IN. In the group OUT, the concentrations of 90Sr have decreased in all biomass compartments compared to 2005, while in the group IN, the concentrations demonstrated a trend to increase. Regression analysis shows that both decrease in the compartment concentrations in the group OUT (slope coefficient 0.55) and increase in the group IN (1.58) were significant. As a result of the changes in the biomass inventories and 90Sr concentrations, in absence of changes in plantation density, the contamination of total aboveground biomass by 90Sr in the group OUT would have increased slightly in 2018 (from approximately 18 GBq ha−1 to 23 GBq ha−1) compared to 2005, while in the group IN it would have increased almost 6-fold, reaching approximately 560 GBq ha−1, or about (19 ± 9) % of the total 90Sr inventory in the trench area. Trenches of the Red Forest were shown to act as long-lasting hot spots of 90Sr bioavailability for forest trees.

Genetic analysis of multiple burials from the medieval churchyard from the St. Peters church of old Cölln/Berlin

This article presents the genetic research results of selected multiple burials from one of the oldest medieval cemeteries in Berlin. Extensive excavations since 2007 have uncovered 3,121 graves containing 3,778 individuals at the former St. Peters churchyard in the city centre of the German capital Berlin. The use of the area as a cemetery started around 1150 and ended in 1717. The parish belonged to the medieval city of Cölln one of the two founding cores of Berlin. Among the found graves was a noticeably high amount (12%) of multiple burials. Eight selected grave complexes, which contained in total 17 individuals, were chosen that indicated some kind of relationship based on the arrangement of the bodies. Our main focus was to investigate the role of biological kinship in these medieval burial customs. Additionally we provide data about the genetic ancestry of all individuals as well as phenotyping predictions.

Earliest known funerary rites in Wallacea after the last glacial maximum

The insular region of Wallacea has become a focal point for studying Pleistocene human ecological and cultural adaptations in island environments, however, little is understood about early burial traditions during the Pleistocene. Here we investigate maritime interactions and burial practices at Ratu Mali 2, an elevated coastal cave site on the small island of Kisar in the Lesser Sunda Islands of eastern Indonesia dated to 15,500–3700 cal. BP. This multidisciplinary study demonstrates extreme marine dietary adaptations, engagement with an extensive exchange network across open seas, and early mortuary practices. A flexed male and a female, interred in a single grave with abundant shellfish and obsidian at Ratu Mali 2 by 14.7 ka are the oldest known human burials in Wallacea with established funerary rites. These findings highlight the impressive flexibility of our species in marginal environments and provide insight into the earliest known ritualised treatment of the dead in Wallacea.

“[B]ury me with my fathers:” Seeking the Pastoral Relevance of Genesis 49:29 in the Nigerian Context

Jacob’s instruction to his children in Genesis 49:29 to bury him in Canaan finds relevance in Nigeria in the context of the importance attached to burial on ancestral land. In Nigeria, when it became unlawful to bury in residential areas, the emphasis shifted away from the ancestral land to burial in one’s country home. Hence, employing narrative analysis and the descriptive approach, the article examines the pastoral relevance of the text in contemporary Nigeria relative to burial on ancestral land. It finds that burial on ancestral land in ancient Israel and Nigeria served some socio-cultural purposes. In both contexts, the practice signifies that the deceased has died a good death. Burial sites are also a basis for asserting land rights, identity and belonging. The existence of the deceased’s tombs on the family land reflects the belief in an existing relationship between a people and their ancestors. The work concludes that while many aspects of the burial customs are no more relevant for contemporary Nigerian Christians, burying on the ancestral land still has socio-cultural values, such as inculcating regard for one’s community of origin, the need for regular reunion with relatives, and the importance of acceptable character. Therefore, in contemporary Nigeria, Genesis 49:29 is an appropriate passage for teaching these precepts during Christian burial services. Keywords: Jacob’s burial, Israelite burial customs, Ancestral veneration, Nigerian Christians and burial in the country home, Burial and character

Пути христианизации Скандинавии. IX–X века

Prior to the baptism of the rulers of Scandinavian countries and introduction of Christianity as an official religion, Scandinavians for several centuries familiarized themselves with Christian ideas and practices, on the one hand, in the course of trade connections, Viking expeditions, service as mercenaries in Western and Eastern Europe and, on the other hand, through missions from Germany and England. Contrary to traditional view that Christian missions, especially those launched from Hamburg-Bremen Archdiocese, played the dominant role in the process of Christianization of Scandinavia, recent studies give them an insignificant place since their results (which are understood as the baptism of rulers and nobles) are ‘negligible’. Representatives of both trends rely mostly on the information of written sources. An important, though yet understudied and ungeneralized source on the problems of ‘Christianization before Christianization’ are archaeological materials that can throw light on the time, intensity, and forms of the penetration of Christianity to the North. The purpose of this article is an attempt to collect at least some of the relevant archaeological materials and suggest their preliminary interpretation in comparison with the information from written sources. The main categories of possible evidence in material culture are burial customs, artifacts, and church construction. However, the interpretation of both single burials and finds like crosses or cruciform pendants as Christian is ambiguous in most cases. In the context of the discussed problem, the materials of large necropolis, first and foremost in Birka, are best studied at the moment, as well as the construction of early churches preceding stone buildings of the 12th an 13th centuries. These materials show that burials that can be interpreted as Christian and churches (built by missionaries or Christian neophytes) concentrate in the areas of intensive missionary activities. It testifies its productiveness in dissemination of Christian ideas in Scandinavia in the 9th and 10th centuries. Along with churches built by missioners in the largest trade centers like Birka, Hedeby, and Ribe, houses intended for divine service, usually rather small in size, were erected by recently baptizes nobles or stórbondir on their farms.

Franklin's "Cemented Tomb": The Jamme Report of 1928 Revisited.

Few details are known about the fate of the Franklin Expedition after it departed England in 1845. What we do know is derived from the archaeological record, Inuit testimony and brief communications written in 1847 and 1848 from the Expedition. During the 1860s, Charles Francis Hall went to the Arctic in search of survivors, papers, and relics. During Hall's second expedition, two Inuit testimonies emerged which reported unusual site(s) on the Westcoast of King William Island which were reputedly build by the Expedition. Hall believed these sites were either a burial site or a cemented document vault(s). The first testimony, recorded by Hall himself, was obtained from a Pelly Bay Inuk, Sŭ-pung-er, in 1866. The second, was collected from Pelly Bay Inuit by members of Hall's support team, including Peter Bayne, in Hall's absence in 1868. Eventually, the second testimony was sold to the Canadian Government in the form of a report written by George Jamme after Bayne's death in 1928. Until now, only extracts of the Jamme Report have been available. This paper describes the background to the Jamme report and presents it in its entirety along with critiques so that scholars in the future may have this tool.