Session: #1049

Content:

Double burials (co-buried individuals in the same grave feature) are well attested in the archaeological record and have been interpreted in numerous ways: the ‘mother and child’ from Mesolithic Vedbæk (Denmark), the ‘murdered’ Mesolithic ‘Ladies of Téviec’ (Brittany, France), or the inferred social acceptance of the early medieval ‘same-sex couple’ buried in Grave 96, at Buckland (Dover, Kent, UK). While archaeologists have recognised the inherent ethnocentric and androcentric biases they bring to interpretations of the burial record and have embraced new theoretical frameworks for understanding personhood and identity, this seems not to have been extended frequently or uniformly to co-burials.
Recent methodological advances, such as genome-wide analysis of ancient DNA and the increased application of archaeothanatological principles, are beginning to shed light on the diverse composition of such burials, even in cases where mortuary tableaux superficially suggest rapid and ‘conventional’ deposition. Examination by the COMMIOS Project (https://commiosarchaeology.com/) of the co-burial of a 24-year-old man and his >45-year-old daughter at the Iron Age site of Wattle Syke (West Yorkshire, UK) highlights the complex and protracted nature of engagements with the dead which might have been otherwise overlooked. Even in the absence of aDNA analysis, a combined historical and bioarchaeological study of the ‘St. Bees Lady’, a female buried next to the exceptionally well-preserved late medieval ‘Saint Bees Man’, suggests a brother and his sister.
This session invites papers which apply new and current techniques, methodologies and frameworks to co-buried individuals, to shed light on complex kinship systems, protracted death rituals and, at times, simultaneous deaths. Papers considering burials of more than two individuals, including internal relationships in mass and collective graves, are also encouraged.

Session: #1049

Theme & Session Format

Title & Content

Organisers