Archaeological Approaches to Multiple Burials and Mass Graves in Early Medieval Europe

CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL LITERATURE dealing with mass graves and multiple burials in early medieval Europe does not apply a consistent definition of either term. Such features are described according to several factors, including the articulation of the skeletons, the arrangement of the bodies, and the temporality of deposition, but primarily according to the number of people in the feature. Drawing upon examples from Late Antiquity and the early medieval period in Europe and the Mediterranean, this paper argues in favour of a different classificatory approach. It is argued that multiple burials should be understood as continuations of normative burial practices in order to create or maintain social connections with the living community. In contrast, in the case of mass graves this function is overshadowed by the will or necessity to dispose of corpses. Mass graves and multiple burials should be defined not according to the number of bodies in the feature, but rather according to the purpose behind the deposition of the bodies.