Unusual Burials Research Articles

On the Spread of Christianity in the Fayum Oasis

Abstract One of the most intriguing periods of Egyptian history, associated with the spread of Christianity, is still poorly understood. Recent excavations shed more light on this process. During excavations conducted by the Centre of Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the Deir el-Banat necropolis in the Fayum an unusual burial was discovered. It contained the remains of a young man who had been subjected to a cruel punishment: an arrow had been shot into his body and he was hanged by the neck. According to the tomb’s inventory and the shrouds found in the grave, the man lived in the fourth century AD, when the persecution of Christians by Roman authorities was particularly virulent. Although it is currently impossible to clearly determine the cause of such a severe violent death, some findings suggest that the execution was caused by religious conflicts. If so, this case is a rare illustration of the death penalty on religious grounds imposed on the ordinary inhabitants of the oasis during Roman rule.

Deviant Burials in Medieval Vilnius: Saints or Criminals?

Christian cemeteries are distinguished by certain typical burial rites. Some of the rites are characteristic of this religion, while others are common and have been known since the Stone Age. However, in all the Christian burial sites across Europe, there are always some unusual graves, sometimes called deviant (or atypical) burials; they differ from other graves and their exceptionality can occur in various burial elements. Although the first distinctive features that come to mind when conducting archaeological investigations in Christian burials are decapitation or burial in a prone position, there are many more possible distinctive features to consider. These could be burials in unusual places (isolated areas of a cemetery), burials in unusual positions, decapitations, cut-off limbs, presence of sharp objects within the body, stones or coins inside the mouth, mass graves, stoned burials covered with stones, cremation in an inhumation site (partial cremation), crime, torture, evidence of special rituals on skeletons, and so on. The following elements are to be considered when discussing deviant burials: 1) location of a grave, 2) construction of a grave, 3) spatial orientation, and 4) body treatment. When it comes to the deviant burials in medieval or modern European cemeteries, atypical cases are usually associated with vampires and witches. In Lithuania, unusual graves are sometimes associated with Pagan relics and ethnography. Deviant burials could also be accorded to outcasts of the community: criminals, people who have committed suicide, or those who have not been baptised. In other cases, a possible deep faith of the deceased is emphasised. Recently, a new field of research - 'judicial archaeology' - has emerged, in which it is sought to explain unusual burials as a possible punishment for criminals rather than a magical act. It can be concluded that the number of deviant burials discovered in the analysed medieval cemeteries was not that high. Some cases may indicate a different perception of the assessment of a deceased person, but there are few of them (except for beheading). The other cases can often be simply explained practically. For example, the stones could be related to wooden constructions of the grave, various pathologies determined the distinctive positioning of the body, the outcasts of the community (criminals or suicides) could be buried in a more secluded place, and so on. Of course, one can identify the relics of Paganism in unusual burials, especially in cases when the deceased was interred on the side or in a prone position.

Preliminary Report on the 2019 and 2020 Seasons of the New York University-ISAW Project at the Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos


 
 
 This preliminary report provides a general account of the fieldwork of the New York University-ISAW during the two seasons 2019 and 2020 at the temple of Ramesses II in Abydos. The results include the discovery of a temple palace, ten mud-brick magazines, and foundation deposits, as well as a pair of cartouches of Ramesses II carved on the sub-foundation on each side of the four corners of temple, the unusual burial of a bovine skeleton under the floor of the temple palace, and animal skulls and bones packed inside niches cut in some of the magazines’ walls.
 
 

A BURIAL OF THE 8th–9th CENTURIES AD IN ASTRAKHAN REGION AND A POT WITH A RUNIC INSCRIPTION

On the territory of Astrakhan Region, an unusual burial was investigated containing a molded pot with a runic inscription on the body made in the Don script. This find is unique for the Lower Volga region. The burial is dated to the late 8th–9th century AD and can be correlated with the Bulgarian tribes. In addition to this complex, about 15 more burials with a similar ritual and accompanying goods were found in the Lower Volga region. All of them also correlate with the Bulgarians and date back to the late 8th–9th century AD. These complexes are contemporary with the Sokolovo-type burials under mounds found in the Lower Volga region. The material from those sites suggests that they were synchronous; interethnic and cultural contacts are traceable. Isolation of the Bulgarian component makes it possible to clarify the ethnic and cultural situation in the Lower Volga region in the Khazar period. The found pot with a runic inscription from Kazachiy hillock in Astrakhan Region clearly testifies to its connections with the area of the Saltov-Mayaki culture.

An Elite Middle Bronze IIA Warrior Tomb from Yehud, Central Coastal Plain, Israel

A salvage excavation held at the city of Yehud (Israel) revealed an unusual burial of the Middle Bronze (MB) IIA period. The grave was isolated from other MB burials in the Yehud area and was exceptionally large and rich in terms of the types and diversity of burial offerings, which included pottery vessels, metal objects, and animal bones. An outstanding find among the burial goods was an anthropomorphic jug whose neck was shaped in the form of a seated figure supporting its head with the right hand, evoking the image of Rodin’s “Le Penseur.” This paper presents the grave and offerings uncovered in the excavation and an interpretation of these finds, along with a discussion of the grave within the wider context of Middle Bronze Age burials in Yehud and beyond, suggesting it was associated with an elite warrior, who served most likely as a local leader.

Unusual burial of an adolescent with military equipment from the Rouran time necropolis of Choburak-I (Northern Altai)

In this article we introduce into scientific discourse and provide diverse interpretation of the extraordinary burial of a young man of 13–15 years old, investigated during the excavation of the necropolis of the Bulan-Koby Archaeological Culture within the Choburak-I funeral and memorial complex. This site is located on the right bank of the Katun River, 3.6 km south from the Elanda Village in the Chemal District, Altai Republic. The unique nature of this object (mound no. 29a) is determined by the presence of a full-fledged “male” inventory with the deceased, including long-range weapons (bow and arrows with iron tips) and close combat (knife in a scabbard), items of equipment (belt buckles, distributors, fasteners), whip with a bone handle. In addition, a bone comb was disco-vered in the grave, which is traditionally an attribute of grave goods in female burials of the Altai population of the Xianby-Rouran period. At the same time, there was no riding horse in the burial, which was a mandatory attribute of funeral practice for full-fledged members of society. A comparative study of different categories of weapons, equipment, tools and household utensils, as well as comparison of the obtained results with radiocarbon dates, made it possible to establish the chronology of the published complex within the second half of the 4th — first half of the 5th c. AD. In the context of the funeral rite of adult population who used the Choburak-I burial ground, the grave of an adolescent from mound no. 29a belongs to the Dyalyan tradition, whose representatives were the elite of the society of cattle breeders in the Northern Altai during the Rouran period. The analysis of the obtained materials testifies to the special (“transitional”) individual status of the deceased person in the nomadic society of the Bulan-Koby Culture in the middle of the 1st mil. AD. Probably, the specificity of the deceased's life position was determined, on the one hand, by reaching a certain age and belonging to a fairly wealthy family, and by limi-tations in physical development recorded in the course of anthropological research, on the other hand.

Murder in Mesopotamia? The Case of an Unusual Burial in Tell Mohammed Diyab (Syria)

En 2008 les fouilles d’un espace domestique du chantier 1 de Tell Mohammed Diyab ont révélé une anomalie dans un sol en pierre : l’absence de pierres dans une zone a permis de mettre au jour une fosse à l’intérieur de laquelle ont été trouvés deux corps, visiblement jetés à l’intérieur. Certains éléments détectés sur les corps ont permis, lors de l’étude anthropologique, de déterminer que les deux personnes avaient été assassinées.

An Unusual Roman Fettered Burial from Great Casterton, Rutland

ABSTRACTIn 2015, an unusual burial was uncovered during construction works at Great Casterton, Rutland. A male adult human skeleton, secured at the ankles with a pair of iron fetters and a padlock, was buried in a probable ditch. Iron hobnails were present around the feet of the individual. A radiocarbon date (AMS) from the burial produced a date ofa.d. 226–427 with 95.4 per cent probability. This example appears to be the first definitive archaeologically excavated instance of an individual buried in this manner in Roman Britain. The character of the burial may imply that this was a slave, although other possibilities are also considered, as are the wider social and symbolic implications of the inclusion of shackles in a burial.

A rare case of multilevel spondylolysis—A nineteenth century Chinese immigrant to Peru from Castillo de Huarmey archaeological site

AbstractAn unusual burial was discovered at the site of Castillo de Huarmey, Peru. The individual buried in the area of pre‐Columbian huaca was likely of Chinese origin and came to Peru as a part of a large immigration wave between 1849 and 1874. Over 100 000 Chinese workers were brought to Peru during that timeframe, to replace freed slaves in many branches of the Peruvian economy. The individual's skeleton showed multiple‐level bilateral spondylolysis in the lumbar vertebrae. This kind of bony defect is very rare and often related to intensive and strenuous physical activity. The analysis allows for an insight into historical lifestyles and immigrant experiences as registered in skeletal remains.

An unusual example of beheading in an Old Kingdom burial at Giza (Egypt)

Ten years ago, the Russian archaeological mission at Giza (IOS RAS) excavated the tomb of the metal worker Perinedju (GE 19) at the eastern escarpment of the necropolis and discovered there an unusual burial of a beheaded male individual with the skull lying apart from the skeleton. The burial may be dated to the late 5th or early 6th Old Kingdom Dynasty (24th–23rd cent. BC). A lesion on the skull suggests that the head was separated from the body when the individual had already been dead. While alive, the man did not demonstrate any physical deviations. The authors argue that the decapitation may have been caused due to a magical ritual. The aim of the ritual is still unclear but available Old Kingdom sources and extrapolated later written evidence suggest three main possibilities: to do the dead person some harm, to neutralize the deceased in the world of the living or to involve into the revival of the beheaded dead divine forces. The search for analogies among excavated burials revealed several similar cases. However, none of Old Kingdom burials followed the same pattern of internment of a beheaded body observed in the tomb of Perinedju. The main reason for this is the lack of well documented archaeological contexts from early excavations and the absence of paleopathological studies of associated bioarcheological materials. Postmortem decapitation is a rare Old Kingdom burial practice. The precondition for revealing the nature and meaning of this phenomenon is the careful attention of excavators to irregular Old Kingdom burials in future.

“Investigation of a historical crime scene” - A comprehensive study of an unusual burial in the Calvinist Church of Sóly, Hungary

A rescue excavation in the Chapel of the Presbyterian Church of Sóly, explored a grave of two men in an unusual position among 20 other child burials in 2008–2009. The burial is dated to the early modern (16–17th century CE) Period. The 45–50-year-old males showed signs of poor health condition and both had healed fractures and perimortem sharp force traumas including also injuries due to decapitation. Craniometric and morphological features suggested the two men of non-Hungarian origin but show similar characteristics to incoming populations from South Slavic areas during the Ottoman Period of Hungary (16–17th centuries). Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses were conducted, with O isotope ratios suggested that Skeleton 12 had a non-local childhood, with a ratio consistent with an origin further east in Europe. The ratio of the sample from Skeleton 11 was consistent with a local origin but also with a wide range of other places in Central and Eastern Europe. The two men are inferred to be non-local victims of murder or extra-judicial punishment and exemplify the high level of local conflicts in this troubled Period of Hungarian history.

“Abandoned, Tied, Flexed”: An Anthropological Study of an Unusual Late Sarmatian Burial in the Southeastern Urals

We describe an unusual triple burial in southern Bashkiria, dating to 100–400 AD. Its peculiarity is that the two males had been buried on the step of the entrance pit in unusual postures—prone with their knees pulled to the chins. A woman buried in the undercut lay in a normal (supine) posture. The prone position of the dead is quite rare at Late Sarmatian cemeteries, and flexed burials are exceptional. The anthropological examination revealed that the physical types of the buried persons were different: while all of them were narrow-faced Caucasoids, the features of one male, unlike those of other persons, indicate Mongoloid admixture. All the individuals are similar to those buried at Pokrovka-10, a Late Sarmatian cemetery in the Orenburg Region. Graphical reconstructions of the appearance of one male and the woman were made. The postcranial skeletons of all individuals reveal multiple pathologies. To explain the unusual burial rite, we discuss various possibilities, such as that the bodies of the males had been tied up to counter the evil that they might inflict; that they had been sacrificed; or that they all had died of a fulminant infectious disease. The uniqueness of the burial prevents us from selecting one of these options. The humble status of the males may illustrate the words of Ammianus Marcellinus about the maltreatment of the elderly among the Alans.

An Unusual Burial of a Xiongnu-Sarmatian Era Warrior in the Western Siberian Forest-Steppe: Results of a Paleogenetic Analysis

This article presents the results of a paleogenetic study of skeletal remains of a male from burial 688 at Sopka-2, in the Baraba forest-steppe. The artifacts, the burial rite, and the man’s Central Asian Mongoloid physical type unambiguously indicate a foreigner. We analyzed the uniparental markers, such as mitochondrial DNA (HVRI sequence and informative positions in the coding part of mtDNA) and Y-chromosome (allelic profile of 17 STR-loci). The male’s mtDNA belongs to the East Eurasian haplogroup D4b1, and his Y-chromosome haplogroup Q (Q1a) is likewise East Eurasian. Thus, the individual’s eastern origin has been established, consistent with his physical type. The phylogeographic analysis, using data on ancient and modern populations of Eurasia, revealed the presence of the East Eurasian D4b1-haplogroup both in the eastern and western Eurasian steppes. Importantly, it was present in Scythians of the northern Pontic area. Genetic data, then, do not allow to locate the region whence the individual had migrated to Baraba. We propose a scenario that explains the disagreement between the paleogenetic and the craniometrical evidence, indicating eastern origin, on the one hand, and the predominantly western (Sarmato-Alanian) parallels to the funerary items, on the other. We discuss the possibilities and limitations of the paleogenetic approach to reconstructing the origins of ancient individuals.

PIT-GRAVE (YAMNAYA) AND PIT-GRAVE-MAIKOP BURIALS AT LEVOYEGORLYKSKY-3, STAVROPOL

We describe four unusual burials (No. 4, 8, 13, and 15) displaying features of the Pit-Grave rite under mound 1 at Levoyegorlyksky-3 in the Stavropol Territory, dating to mid-4th millennium BC. The mound had been constructed to mark the main burial (No. 15), which predates others. While the preservation of skeletons is poor, the position of the deceased was determined as fl exed supine. The mound was encircled by a stone curb (cromlech). Inside the mound and the cromlech, fragments of early Maikop vessels were found. The main burial, however, contained pottery typical of the steppe Chalcolithic cultures. In the intrusive burial No. 4, a Maikop-type dagger, a stone pick, a gold pendant, and a fl int fl ake were found. The dagger has early Maikop parallels, whereas the pick is similar to late Maikop (Dolinskoye) ones, found in the central piedmont of northern Caucasus. This burial presents a striking testimony to the impact of the funerary tradition of the Maikop military elite on the Pit-Grave rite. On the other hand, it suggests that Dolinskoye-type stone picks may evidence the infl uence of the Pit-Grave culture at the early stage of Maikop.

Tiwanaku influence and social inequality: A bioarchaeological, biogeochemical, and contextual analysis of the Larache cemetery, San Pedro de Atacama, Northern Chile.

To assess the relationship between the Tiwanaku polity and the individuals buried at the Middle Horizon (∼AD500-1000) cemetery of Larache in northern Chile, a site that has been singled out as a potential elite foreign enclave. We explore this association through the skeletal remains of 48 individuals interred at the cemetery of Larache using bioarchaeological, biogeochemical, and artifactual evidence. Data from cranial modification practices, violent injury, and the mortuary assemblage are used to explore culturally constructed elements of status and identity, radiogenic strontium isotope analyses provide us with a perspective on the geographic origins of these individuals, and stable carbon and nitrogen analyses allow discussion of paleodiet and access to resources. Radiogenic strontium isotope values show the presence of multiple first generation migrants at Larache. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data reveal significant differences among individuals. The mortuary context reveals a standard pattern for the oases but also includes a series of unusual burials with abundant gold and few other objects. Interestingly, both local and nonlocal individuals with different head shapes had access to the differentiated burial context; however nonlocal individuals appear to be the only ones with a heavily maize-based diet. Our evidence shows that Larache served as a burial place for a diverse, yet culturally integrated and potentially elite segment of the Atacameño population, but not a foreign enclave as had been postulated.

Forensic Approach to an Archaeological Casework of “Vampire” Skeletal Remains in Venice: Odontological and Anthropological Prospectus*

During the years 2006-2007, the Archeological Superintendent of Veneto (Italy) promoted a research project on mass graves located on Nuovo Lazzaretto in Venice, where the corpses of plague deaths were buried during the 16th and 17th centuries. The burials were of different stages and are believed to be the remains of plague victims from the numerous outbreaks of pestilence, which occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries. Among the fragmented and commingled human bones, an unusual burial was found. The body was laid supine, with the top half of the thorax intact, arms parallel to the rachis axis, the articulations were anatomically unaltered. Both the skull morphology and the dimensions of the caput omeris suggest the body was a woman. A brick of moderate size was found inside the oral cavity, keeping the mandible wide open. The data collected by the anthropologist were used to generate a taphonomic profile, which precluded the positioning of the brick being accidental. Likewise, the probability of the brick having come from the surrounding burial sediment was rejected, as the only other inclusions found were bone fragments from previous burials in the same area. The data collected by the odontologist were employed for age estimation and radiological dental assessment. The forensic profile was based conceptually on the "circumstances of death" and concluded that the positioning of the brick was intentional, and attributed to a symbolic burial ritual. This ritual confirms the intimate belief held at those times, between the plague and the mythological character of the vampire.

Eccentric or enlightened? Unusual burial and commemoration in England, 1689 – 1823

This article shows how personalized funerals, pre-planned by the deceased, did not first occur in the later twentieth century, but had already appeared in England between 1689 and 1823. Twenty-six interments are surveyed, revealing who had unusual burials, why they did so, and what influenced them in their choices. All but two were male, mainly elderly, and most were professionals with sufficient wealth for their wills, which are a major source in this study, to be proved in the highest of the probate courts. These unusual burials have not previously been analysed collectively and doing so provides insights into a period less studied by historians of death in England. Some key factors emerge. One is the desire to challenge the concept of burial in consecrated ground. Emphasis on earthly memorial is another, though a minority deliberately chose oblivion. Differing views of how identity is embodied appear through choices such as heart burial, dissection, embalming, or destruction with quicklime. The inspirations of these 26 interments reflect some important eighteenth-century themes: a feeling for nature and a sense of place, Biblical references, classical models, and traditional secular customs. That these people faced little opposition reflects the less regulated nature of eighteenth-century English burials, and provides some modern precedents.

Full title page

Carbonate-dominated successions of the Meishucun section document secular variations in the C-isotopic composition of seawater. The stratigraphic trends show a decreasing δ13C value from bed 2 to bed 5 with the transient negative δ13C excursion at its top, followed by a positive rise in the Dahai carbonate. It is likely that the negative excursion from bed 2 to bed 5 might be attributed to phosporite diagenesis. During phosphorite diagenesis, the degradation of organic matter not only liberated soluble phosphate but also influenced the C-isotopic composition of porewaters, causing the decrease of δ13C values. The unusual burial of organic matter may have caused the positive rise of the C-isotopic excursion. We tentatively interpreted that the higher fractional burial of organic C might be correlative with enhanced productivity and high erosion rate. Enhanced primary productivity in the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary interval increased the flux of organic matter to the sediment. Increased erosion rate during the post-Varanger time would have supplied P and/or organic matter, particularly of organic-rich sediments to the oceans. This process may have facilitated the organic matter burial and preservation. The initial study of δ34S values of sulfate in apatite lattice (δ34Sp) of phosphorite and phosphate concretions provides new evidence of the S-isotopic variation pattern around the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary. An increase in δ34Sp values about + 12.7‰ from the terminal Proterozoic to early Cambrian is observed in this study.

Foreign Burials in Late Bronze Age Palestine

Several unusual burials dating to the Late Bronze Age in the Levant have been attributed to foreign elements. These include larnax burials at Gezer and the Persian Garden in Acco and the numerous double-pithos burials at Tell es-Sa'idiyeh in the Jordan Valley. In the case of the two larnakes, the author uses data from the burials to assess the place of these foreigners in their adopted societies. For Sa'idiyeh, the author assesses the conclusions of the excavator concerning both the identity of the foreign group represented by the double-pithos burials, and this group's function in the local community and offers an alternative interpretation-that the burials are those of Hittite refugees who settled at the site after the fall of the Hittite Empire.

The carbon and sulfur isotope signatures in the Precambrian-Cambrian Transition series of the Yangtze Platform

Carbonate-dominated successions of the Meishucun section document secular variations in the C-isotopic composition of seawater. The stratigraphic trends show a decreasing δ 13C value from bed 2 to bed 5 with the transient negative δ 13C excursion at its top, followed by a positive rise in the Dahai carbonate. It is likely that the negative excursion from bed 2 to bed 5 might be attributed to phosporite diagenesis. During phosphorite diagenesis, the degradation of organic matter not only liberated soluble phosphate but also influenced the C-isotopic composition of porewaters, causing the decrease of δ 13C values. The unusual burial of organic matter may have caused the positive rise of the C-isotopic excursion. We tentatively interpreted that the higher fractional burial of organic C might be correlative with enhanced productivity and high erosion rate. Enhanced primary productivity in the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary interval increased the flux of organic matter to the sediment. Increased erosion rate during the post-Varanger time would have supplied P and/or organic matter, particularly of organic-rich sediments to the oceans. This process may have facilitated the organic matter burial and preservation. The initial study of δ 34S values of sulfate in apatite lattice (δ 34S p) of phosphorite and phosphate concretions provides new evidence of the S-isotopic variation pattern around the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary. An increase in δ 34S p values about + 12.7‰ from the terminal Proterozoic to early Cambrian is observed in this study.