“I wish my grave to be dug in the doorway of my fire hall.” : ‘Unusual’ burial practices in Old Germanic traditions
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Übergangswelten - Todesriten. Forschungen zur Bestattungskultur der europäischen Eisenzeit : Beiträge zur internationalen Tagung der AG Eisenzeit in Hallein 2015 und zur Sitzung der AG Eisenzeit während des 8. Deutschen Archäologiekongresses in Berlin 2014 |
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| Citation | |
| Keywords | old Germanic religion; archaeology of religion; cognitive archaeology; Roman Imperial Period; Nordic Iron Age; irregular burials; concepts of afterlife |
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| Description | The present paper deals with 'unusual' phenomena connected with burials of human and animal remains during the Roman Iron Age in Central Europe, with parallels throughout the whole Nordic Iron Age attributable to Germanic tribes. Many of these were previously interpreted and connected with 'religious' or 'ritual' activities (the two often being confused without further explanation or definition). These interpretations however often draw on outdated and oversimplifying models of Old Germanic religion, seeing it as a single integrated system directly reflected by and extractable from contemporary foreign (Greek and Roman) or later native (Old Norse) sources. Therefore a brief overview of our current knowledge of Old Germanic religious traditions and practices, in regards to archaeological (as well as other) evidence, is offered, with more attention paid to views of death, the dead and afterlife. For this purpose, a general approach to archaeology of prehistoric religions, partially inspired by current trends in Cognitive Studies of Religions, is also discussed. 'Old Germanic' religious beliefs and funeral practices are then considered within this framework in an attempt to reinterpret these phenomena in a, hopefully, more comprehensive way. |