Bioarchaeology and funerary practices at the Syriac Orthodox cemetery of Mor Yaqub churchyard, Nusaybin, Turkey

Abstract

The Syriacs have been, until recently, an important part of the socio-cultural life in the Mardin region. This study evaluates the burial customs of the Syriac Orthodox from the human skeletal remains found during excavations at the Mor Yaqub churchyard cemetery in Nusaybin, in south-east Turkey. The excavations were carried out in 2013, directed by the Mardin Archaeological Museum as part of its Culture and Faith Park Project. As part of the project the burial traditions of the Syriac community from the past to the present were investigated. Macroscopic bioarchaeological excavation techniques were followed and 33 graves were unearthed. There appear to be 66 individuals: 43 adults, 23 infants and juveniles. Of the adults: 11 are female; 14 are male; the remaining 18 are unsexed. Multiple burial customs have been observed from the graves examined. This study illustrates that the burial customs of the Syriac Orthodox have passed from generation to generation, surviving even until today.

Keywords:

• Human skeletal remains
• burial customs
• Syriac Orthodox
• south-east Turkey

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the director of Mardin Museum Nihat Erdoğan, who provided me with full support and the permissions to conduct research on the skeletal materials presented in this study. I would also like to thank Şehmus Tekin, an archaeologist in the Mor Yaqub excavation team; and Abdurrahman Oruç, an archaeologist in Nusaybin municipality. I must thank three of my colleagues, Dr Abu B. Siddiq, Çağdaş Erdem and Huri Küçük, for their help in writing up the manuscript and correction of the English. I am thankful to Dr Ergül Kodaş, Dr Elif Keser-Kayaalp and Abdullah Bilen for their support in finding and translating material from French. And finally, I would like to present my sincere gratitude to the referees and the Editor for their valuable guidance and suggestions, which greatly helped improve the manuscript.