Beskrivelse
Between 2008 and 2012, hundreds of burials dating from AD c. 860-1800 were excavated south of the cathedral in the town of Ribe in Denmark. 168 of the graves had been buried in the cathedral’s cloister (ambitus) in the period c. 1600-1738, when Ribe transformed from a major trade- and ecclesiastical center into a small provincial town. The digitized and phased material shows diverse aspects of burial practice and living conditions for people of higher status in an early modern, Danish town.This paper will present the physical aspects of the burial practices used, including coffins and their decoration, the location of the graves in the cloister and the few preserved examples of personal adornment. It will be discussed what this can tell us about the social status of the buried, and in some cases bring us very close to individuals.
Osteological studies of the skeletons have also increased our understanding of the living conditions of a specific social group in a Danish town in the early modern period. Thus, the distribution of age and gender gives an insight into both child mortality and gender-related vulnerability, while the skeletons in general show a variety of diseases. Finally, the material includes a few examples of abortion, stillbirth and death in childbirth.
The few objects found in graves, as well as a single burial with the head in the east, may be examples of superstitious acts that were supposed to help the deceased on their journey into the afterlife. And perhaps especially those who had met death in a tragic way. Similarly, the extensive decoration of the coffins may be a last attempt to shine a light on a life that had still been hard despite relatively high status.
| Periode | aug. 2024 |
|---|---|
| Begivenhedstitel | 30th EAA Annual Meeting in Rome, Italy, 28-31 August 2024 |
| Begivenhedstype | Konference |
| Placering | Rom, ItalienVis på kort |
| Grad af anerkendelse | International |