The Materiality of the Ancient Dead – Post-burial Practices and Ontologies of Death in Southern Sweden AD 800–1200

Abstract

This text discusses reuse and modifications of older graves in southern Sweden during the Late Iron Age and early medieval period (c. 9th to 12th centu- ries AD). Post-burial practices in the Late Iron Age have in general been interpreted as means to nego- tiate status, identity and rights to land, while in the later part of the period they are comprehended as expressions of religious insecurity and syncretism. In this text, the continuity of post-burial practices during the whole period is stressed and instead of general top-down interpretative models, the onto- logical status and material aspects of death, dead bodies and their graves is emphasized. It is argued that the post-burial actions generally constituted ways of relating to a specific type of materiality, the bones of the ancient dead, which transgress binary categorizations such as living–dead, past–present, heathen–Christian, and human–nonhuman. The argument builds on five recently excavated sites in southern Sweden: Bogla, Broby Bro, Lilla Ullevi, Valsta and Vittene.

Keywords

• reuse
• post-burial practices
• Iron Age
• burials
• materiality
• perspectivism