Volume 14 of the Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History series is dedicated to the archaeology of early medieval death, burial and commemoration. Incorporating studies focusing upon Anglo-Saxon England as well as research encompassing western Britain, Continental Europe and Scandinavia, this volume originated as the proceedings of a two-day conference held at the University of Exeter in February 2004. It comprises of an Introduction that outlines the key debates and new approaches in early medieval mortuary archaeology followed by eighteen innovative research papers offering new interpretations of the material culture, monuments and landscape context of early medieval mortuary practices. Papers contribute to a variety of ongoing debates including the study of ethnicity, religion, ideology and social memory from burial evidence. The volume also contains two cemetery reports of early Anglo-Saxon cemeteries from Cambridgeshire.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Foreword
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Contributors
• Introduction: Themes in the Archaeology of Early Medieval Death and Burial
• Ethnicity, ‘Race’ and Migration in Mortuary Archaeology: an Attempt at a Short Answer
  • ‘Race’ in Archaeology and Physical Anthropology
  • The Archaeological Inference of Ethnic Identity
  • Group Affiliation in Physical Anthropology
  • The Identification of Immigrants and Natives
  • Summary
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Situational Ethnicity and Nested Identities: New Approaches to an Old Problem
  • Objects and Essences
  • Seeds of Change
  • Ethnicity in Action
  • Brooches
  • Local Differences
  • Personal and Social Identities
  • Situational Ethnicity and Nested Identities
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Charting Conversion: Burial as a Barometer of Belief?
  • Introduction
  • Burial and Belief: a Matter of Grave Importance
  • Anglo-Saxon East Anglia: the Body of Evidence
  • Cremation: Gone to Pot
  • Grave Goods: Taking it With You
  • Burial Orientation: Turning in the Grave
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Social Memory, Material Culture and Community Identity in Early Medieval Mortuary Practices
  • Introduction
  • The Concept of Social Memory in the Social Sciences
  • The Concept of Social Memory in Archaeology and History
  • Memory and Objects
  • Memory and Objects in the Past: Grave Goods and Mortuary Ritual
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Early Medieval Burial Studies in Scandinavia 1994–2003
  • Introduction
  • Religion
  • Social Structure: Status, Gender, Age Roles
  • Ethnicity and Territorial Organisation
  • Military Organisation
  • Chronology
  • Fieldwork
  • Fallow Fields
  • Conclusion
  • Appendix
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Beyond Ethnicity: Symbols of Social Identity from the Fourth to Sixth Centuries in England
  • Introduction
  • Skeletal Data and Analysis
  • Comparison of Burial Assemblages
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Transforming Body and Soul: Toilet Implements in Early Anglo-Saxon Graves
  • Introduction–Artefacts in Early Medieval Graves
  • Toilet Implements in Early Anglo-Saxon Inhumation Graves
  • Toilet Implements in Early Anglo-Saxon Cremation Graves
  • Location
  • Theorising Toilet Implements in Early Anglo-Saxon Mortuary Contexts
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
• Early Anglo-Saxon Horse Burial of the Fifth to Seventh Centuries AD
  • Anglo-Saxon Horse Burial
  • Horses and Harness Equipment in Inhumations
  • Horses in Cremations
  • Horse Inhumation and Cremation Compared
  • The Horse
  • European Horse Burial
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Soft Furnished Burial: an Assessment of the Role of Textiles in Early Anglo-Saxon Inhumations, with Particular Reference to East Kent
  • Introduction
  • The Identification of Textiles in Early Anglo-Saxon Burials
  • Problems with Textiles Data
  • Findings from the East Kent Textiles Database
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• On Sacred Ground: Social Identity and Churchyard Burial in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, c. 700–1100 AD
  • Late Anglo-Saxon Burial Practice
  • Osteology and Funerary Practice
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Disturbing the Dead: Urbanisation, the Church and the Post-Burial Treatment of Human Remains in Early Medieval Wessex, c. 600–1100 AD
  • Introduction
  • Evidence for the Post-Burial Disturbance of the Dead in Early Medieval Wessex
  • The Nature of The Post-Burial Disturbance Seen in the Study Area
  • The Role of Church and Town in Changing the Post-Burial Treatment of the Deceased in Early Medieval Wessex
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Walking with Anglo-Saxons: Landscapes of the Dead in Early Anglo-Saxon Kent
  • Landscapes of Movement
  • Movement and Roads in Anglo-Saxon Kent
  • The Pattern of Funerary Monuments
  • A ‘Low-Cost Path’ Test
  • Communications and Settlements: the Evidence from Place-names
  • Visibility
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • Bibliography
• New Perspectives on Cemetery Relocation in the Seventh Century AD: the Example of Portway, Andover
  • Introduction
  • Cemetery Relocation and the Final Phase
  • The Two Portway Cemeteries
  • Cemetery Relocation at Portway
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• De Situ Brecheniauc and Englynion Y Beddau: Writing about Burial in Early Medieval Wales
  • Englynion y Beddau
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • Bibliography
• Separated from the Foaming Maelstrom: Landscapes of Insular ‘Viking’ Burial
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• A Question of Priority: the Re-use of Houses and Barrows for Burials in Scandinavia in the Late Iron Age (AD 600–1000)
  • The Re-Use of Houses in the Late Iron Age in Rogaland (Norway)
  • The Significance of the House in the Archaeological Evidence and Written Sources
  • An Interpretation of Choices: Two Case Studies
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• The Garden Gives up its Secrets: the Developing Relationship between Rural Settlements and Cemeteries, c. 750–1100
  • Rural Cemeteries, c. 750–1100
  • The Relationship between Cemeteries and Settlements in the Later Anglo-Saxon Period
  • Churchyard Burial becomes the Norm
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Rescue Excavation of an Early Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Gunthorpe, Peterborough
  • Introduction
  • Summary Chronology
  • Pathology
  • Iron Artefacts
  • Copper Alloy Artefacts
  • Anglo-Saxon Artefacts
  • Patterns of Age And Sex
  • Evidence for Conspicuous Display in Burials
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Minerva: an Early Anglo-Saxon Mixed-Rite Cemetery in Alwalton, Cambridgeshire
  • PART I INTRODUCTION
  • PART II THE EXCAVATION
  • PART III SPECIALIST REPORTS
  • PART IV DISCUSSION
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
• Appendix 1: Catalogue of Inhumations
• Appendix 2: Catalogue of Grave Goods associated with Inhumations
• Appendix 3: Catalogue of Cremations and Associated Vessels
• Appendix 4: Catalogue of Grave Goods associated with Cremations