I.A.P. Rapporten 2 .'321 DU I.A.P. Rapporten uitgegeven door I edited by Prof Dr. Guy De Boe VIOE bibliotheek 5347 11111111 ~ • 1 l~ a " a l • 1 ' W.T A l V ediled :'-, ppori\-:n 2 Ze11il< 1997 Een uitgave van het Published by the Instituul voor het Archeologisch Patrimonium Institute for the Archaeological Heritage Wetenschappelijke instelling van de Scientific Institution of the Vlaamse Gemeenschap Flemish Community Departement Leefmilieu en Infrastructuur Department of the Environment and Infrastructure Administratie Ruimtelijke Ordening, Huisvesting Administration of Town Planning, Housing en Monumenten en Landschappen and Monuments and Landscapes Doornvcld Industrie Asse 3 nr. 1 1, Bus 30 B -1731 Zcllik- Asse Tcl: (02) 463. LU3 1- 32 2 -163 13 33) fax: (02) 463.19.'1 1-.12 2-163 19 511 DTP: Arpuco. Seer.: !Vi. Lauwaert & S. Van de Voorde. ISSN 13 72-0007 ISBN 90-75230-03-6 D/1997/6024/2 02 DEATH AND BURIAL- DE WERELD VAN DE DOOD-LE MONDE DE LA MORT- TOD UND BEGRA!!NIS was organized by Gisela Grupe werd georganiseerd door Willy Dezuttere fut organisee par wurde veranstaltet von PREFACE Death and some fonn of burial are common to all milians-Universitiit, Munchcn) and Willy Dezuttere humankind and the very nature of the disposal of (City of Bruges). Unfortunately, quite a few contri­ human remains as well as the behavioural patterns - butors to this section did submit a text in time for social, economic, political and even environmental - inclusion in the present volume. In addition, ceme­ linked with this important passage in human life teries played an important part in the development and makes it a subject of direct interest to archaeology. spatwl organization of specific categories of buildings Burials and cemeteries have long been a focal point of such as churches and monasteries as well of settle­ interest of archaeologists specializing in the early ments, be they towns or villages. Similarly, because of Middle Ages. This situation is partly explained by the the fact that burials and cemeteries touch upon so historical development of (medieval) archaeology with many other aspects of spiritual and material life and its attention for those periods which are less well society, they cannot always easily be divorced from documented in the traditional, i.e. written, 'historical' other topics, notably art and symbolism, religion and sources. In a number of cases, the presence of rich and belief, material culture, trade and exchange, and varied grave goods·- as opposed to most later burials environment, not to forget the methodological and -equally played a pmi. This helps to understand why interpretative issues they raise. Some of the contri­ in Europe, the explicitly archaeological study of later butions presented in the context of the other sections medieval burials and cemeteries is a rather recent therefore also have a (mainly indirect) bear on the development. But it can reasonably be argued that theme of death and burial. Section 02, however, because of its very nature and specific potential, brought together those contTibutions which focus very archaeology - including its partner disciplines - explicitly and directly on burials and cemeteries. should not submit to chronological hmitations: the All this explains why the general stnrcture and the whole range of the human material past deserves contents of the present volume do not conforn1 exactly smtable attention precisely because it can mfonn us to the programme of the conference. It has been organ­ about real-life situations and patterns as opposed to ized keepmg m mind both the complexity of the sub­ (and even as a complement of) the specific perceptions ject cmd the gen\'_Tallincs of1he structure of section 02 provided by other sources. This ccrtamly apphcs to the of the conference. This means that the contributions in study of death and burial as well as to all other com­ the present volume have more or less been grouped ponents of medieval and later societies. according to the followmg topics: The present volume offers a collectron of pre­ ·- A special subsession of the conference was devoted printed papers related to the world of medieval and to what is known about the death and burial of children later death and burial. These papers were presented on and the two texts available for the present volume con­ the occasion of the international conference on stitute the first subsection. medieval and later archaeology MEDfEVAL EUROPE - Burials and cemeteries being imbued with all kinds BRUGGE I 997 which took place in Bmgge, Belgium, of social behavioural patterns related not only to reli­ on I through 4 October 1997. A number of them was gion and belief but also to social representation and presented and debated during the sessions of section status - all of these being strongly intertwined and 02, under the general title Death and burial· Le monde generally impossible to dissociate or isolate from one de la mort · Tod und Begriibnis · De wereld van de another - the second subsection groups the papers dood, organized by Gisela Grupe (Ludwig-Maxi- concerned with aspects of religion, ritual, repre- sentation and social status. Some of these address aspects of early medieval populations of the some of the issues in a more general way and others Middle-Elbe-Saale-region; L. Finke, S. Birkenbeil focus on specific sites but pay much attention to the Chr. Hernnann, Traumatic impacts in early medieval topics in question. popu/ations of the Middle-Elbe-Saa/e-region. - Burials and cemeteries offer important information - Finally, a number of papers discussed specific sites related to demography, physical anthropology, and and their significance and/or potential for many of the palaeopathology and the three papers available rele­ above-mentioned topics. These have been grouped in vant to those issues have been brought together under a subsection titled 'Life and death: site-related studies'. the heading archaeometry and pathology. In passing, it may be mentioned that at the conference, a number of Of necessity, the papers are rather short and the posters emphasized the impmiance of the partner volume of course does not do total justice to the many disciplines, particularly of physical anthropology, excavations and the wealth of other types of research pathology and archaeometry (H. Bruchhaus, Chr. work which have been carried out on burials and Hemnann, T. Pfiitzner & K. Vollandt, Dental abra­ cemeteries, particularly in Europe, over the past few sion, dL'I·eases oft he parodontium and caries in medie­ years. Nor does it provide a complete overview of the val populations of the Middle-Elbe-Saale-region; H. results attained and lmowledge acquired. Neverthe­ Bruchhaus, A. Heiland & Chr. Hernnann, Degene­ less, the 17 papers included in the present volume rative diseases in medieval populations ofthe Middle­ provide a good idea of the potential of this particular Elbe-Saale-region; H. Bruchhaus, 0. Pridohl & Chr. field of research, emphasizing at the same time the Herrmann) Traumatic impacts in medieval popu­ complexity and many possible meanings of an inesca­ /ations of the Middle-Elbe-Saale-region; Jacques pable passage m the human life traJectory, a passage Evin, Christine Oberlin & Gabrielle Demians which was much more present in the perceptions, in d' Archimbaud, Application de la merhode de datation the social strategies and in the material world of par le radiocarbone a /'etude des m!cropoles medieval and early modem people than it is in our medil!vales; L. Finke & H. Bruchhaus, Demographic world. Frans Verhaeghe & Guy De Boe 6 Death and Burial in Medieval Europe- Papers of the 'Medieval Europe Brugge 1997' Conference- Volume 2 Susi Ulrich-Bochsler Jenseitsvorstellungen im Mittelalter: die Wiederbelebung von totgeborenen Kindern. Archaologische und anthropologische Untersuchungen im Marienwallfahrtszentrum von Oberbtiren im Kanton Bern/Schweiz !m Spiitmittelalter gab es im westlichen Bereich Aus riimischer Zeit stammen Reste der folgenden des Bistums Konstanz einen Wallfahrtsort besonde­ Besiedlung. Schmale Mauern umreissen den Grund­ rer Art dcr zugleich zu cinem dcr bekanntesten der riss eines Bauwerks, wobei noch zu entscheiden ist, Schweiz ziihlte. In Oberbiiren, einem noch heute liind­ ob es sich um emen Gutshof oder um eine Anlage lichen - abseils des stiidtischen Berns - gelegenen anderer Funktion handelte. Flee ken, konnten niimlich lotgeborene Kinder angeb­ Die riimische Anlage muss mindestens a1s Ruine lich fiir kurze Zeit wieder zum Leben erweckt wer­ noch sichtbar gewesen sein, als in ihrem Umfeld ein den. !m Zuge der Reformation wurden Kirche und Reihengraberfeld angelegt wurde. Seine Anfange lie­ dazugehiirende Bauten dem Erdboden gleichge­ gen vennutlich im spiiteren Friihmittelalter; eine ein­ macht. Es blieben keinerlei oberflachlichcn Zeugnisse deutige Einordnung kann aber crst nach weiteren iibrig; das einst so heilstriichtige Gelande wurde zu Untersuchungen vorgenommen werden. Ebenso unge­ Acker- und Wiesland. Einzig der Flurname ,Chilch­ wiss bleibt vorderhand, ob zu diesem Griiberfeld, auf matt" und der nahe vorbeifiihrende ,Kirchweg" iiber­ dem Manner, Frauen und Kinder verschiedenen Alters dauerten die Jahrhunderte. (jedoch nur wenige Neugeborene) begraben warden waren, auch ein Kirchenbau gehiirte. Als weitere wichtige Entdeckung ist die Existenz Ausgangslage der archaologischen Untersuchnngen eines mittelalterlichen Bauernhofes im siidlichen Be­ reich der Graberfeldes zu werten. Gruben deuten auf Auf der "Chilchmatt", in derem Boden man