Preliminary results on a case study : Ridgeway Mass Grave, Dorset

Proceedings 8th International Meeting on Taphonomy and Fossilization, 14th-17th September 2017, Vienna, Austria. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abh. 289/2, Stuttgart 2018, 203-216, 2018

Organic remains are rare in archaeological sites in Europe due to the prevailing climatic conditions. This paper focuses on prehistoric and early medieval burials in Central Europe that yield textile, leather, skin and insect remains. Forensic taphonomy can help us to understand the "normal" decomposition process of a body (death-decay-skeletonization), the time-frames involved and the variables affecting decay rate, including temperature, climate, and access of insects. Under average Central European conditions, organic material in a prehistoric burial can be reasonably expected to have decomposed completely after a maximum of 10 years. In rare cases, textiles, leather, and human skin and soft tissues can be preserved in graves. This typically happens in the contact zone with metal objects, where corrosion products of the metals penetrate and thus preserve adjacent organic material, both as mineralised replicates as well as organic residue. Thus, under specific chemical conditions, and micro-climatic conditions such as pH-value, moisture and temperature the decay process is slowed down or even stopped. In this paper, the organic remains attached to metal objects are analysed using micro-stratigraphy, and case-studies involving preserved textiles, leather and human skin are presented. Analysis of the timing of the decomposition processes, as well as microstratigraphic succession of the individual organic and inorganic layers facilitate an interpretation of the function of the textiles and leather, even in cases where the original burial context is not preserved (or was not documented) in-situ (e.g., due to grave robbery in ancient time, reopening of graves, excavation by non-experts).

Antiquity

The degree of organic and inorganic chemical micromorphological variation in human grave soils was investigated in relation to factors of grave construction, burial ritual and decomposition, employing a novel sampling strategy and questioning the nature and range of within-site differences between graves and chronological influences, in 31 study sites from the Neolithic to the early twentieth century, from Iceland to Sudan, from Portugal to Turkey on contrasting deposits ranging from volcanic soils to desert sands and bog, and in soils from a series of experimental burials of still-born pigs. The analysed graves revealed considerable variation in chemistry and micromorphology in relation to intra- and inter-site variation, burial decomposition and the infill compaction, including perishable artefacts, components formed in situ, and evidence for mobilisation/depletion, transportation and re-deposition of soil/sediment material displaying preferential spatial patterns in relation to t...

Forensic Science International , 2007

Despite an increasing literature on the decomposition of human remains, whether buried or exposed, it is important to recognise the role of specific microenvironments which can either trigger or delay the rate of decomposition. Recent casework in Northern England involving buried and partially buried human remains has demonstrated a need for a more detailed understanding of the effect of contrasting site conditions on cadaver decomposition and on the microenvironment created within the grave itself. Pigs (Sus scrofa) were used as body analogues in three interrelated taphonomy experiments to examine differential decomposition of buried human remains. They were buried at three contrasting field sites (pasture, moorland, and deciduous woodland) within a 15 km radius of the University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Changes to the buried body and the effect of these changes on hair and associated death-scene textile materials were monitored as was the microenvironment of the grave. At recovery, 6, 12 and 24 months post-burial, the extent of soft tissue decomposition was recorded and samples of fat and soil were collected for gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. The results of these studies demonstrated that (1) soil conditions at these three burial sites has a marked effect on the condition of the buried body but even within a single site variation can occur; (2) the process of soft tissue decomposition modifies the localised burial microenvironment in terms of microbiological load, pH, moisture and changes in redox status. These observations have widespread application for the investigation of clandestine burial and time since deposition, and in understanding changes within the burial microenvironment that may impact on biomaterials such as hair and other associated death scene materials.

This chapter is about the archaeology of mass graves. There are various types of mass grave (for example, plague pits and battlefield burials) but this chapter deals with mass graves that are excavated for forensic and evidential reasons or to identify victims and not just to satisfy a desire for knowledge about the past (for a definition of mass graves see Skinner 1987). These mass graves are likely to be of recent age due to the nature of the legal process and statutes of limitation, and their recency generates problems that are more challenging than those offered by historical mass graves. Among these enhanced problems is the unpleasantness of excavating putrefying soft tissue, coping with grieving relatives, and securing the excavation team from attack by perpetrators or supporters of the killings.

American Journal of Archaeology, 1992

the presentation, which considers disease patterns within the broader context of Medieval society. In general, Burial Archaeology could have been improved by more careful editing. There are numerous misspellings and typographical errors throughout the volume, including errors in references. Despite these detractions, Burial Archaeology contains several worthwhile and informative papers. The volume illustrates the need for closer collaboration among specialists involved in excavating and analyzing human burials. Perhaps this contribution will stimulate other such conferences and volumes outside Great Britain. Obviously, we still have much to learn and much to gain from cooperative efforts.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2016

Recent treatments of burial practices in prehistoric Europe have tended to emphasise the variety of practices that are apparent in any given period; contra previous views which tended to emphasise homogeneity over time. In the spirit of more recent considerations that emphasise a more holistic approach, the current article presents investigations of human remains interred within and around a single monument at Cranborne Chase, Dorset, UK. By taking a synthetic approach giving equal weight to taphonomy, archaeothanatology, histological analysis, scanning electron microscopy, micro-CT scanning, experimentation and contextual dating, a more nuanced picture has been revealed, where the dead were dealt with in ways that were both more complex and considerably more protracted than might otherwise be assumed. In particular, several lines of evidence point to practices aimed at the protracted curation of the dead as articulated bodies with at least some soft tissue persisting. This observat...

Recent treatments of burial practices in prehistoric Europe have tended to emphasise the variety of practices that are apparent in any given period; contra previous views which tended to emphasise homogeneity over time. In the spirit of more recent considerations that emphasise amore holistic approach, the current article presents investigations of human remains interred within and around a single monument at Cranborne Chase, Dorset, UK. By taking a synthetic approach giving equal weight to taphonomy, archaeothanatology, histological analysis, scanning electron microscopy, micro-CT scanning, experimentation and contextual dating, a more nuanced picture has been revealed, where the deadwere dealt with inways that were bothmore complex and considerably more protracted than might otherwise be assumed. In particular, several lines of evidence point to practices aimed at the protracted curation of the dead as articulated bodies with at least some soft tissue persisting. This observation is of particular importance in light of previously published claims for ‘mummification’ in Bronze Age Britain. It suggests that such practices may have been both widespread and persistent over time.

Gathered in Death Archaeological and Ethnological Perspectives on Collective Burial and Social Organisation, 2018