Patterns of Irregular Burials in Western Europe (1st-5th Century A.D.).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Irregular burials (IB--burials showing features that contrast with the majority of others in their geographic and chronological context) have been the focus of archaeological study because of their relative rarity and enigmatic appearance. Interpretations of IB often refer to supposed fear of the dead or to social processes taking place in time-specific contexts. However, a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of IB for various geographical contexts is still lacking, a fact that hampers any discussion of these burials on a larger scale.

Methods

Here, we collected a bibliographic dataset of 375 IB from both Britain and Continental Europe, altogether spanning a time period from the 1st to the 5th century AD. Each burial has been coded according to ten dichotomous

SUBMITTER: Milella M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4482629 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature