The Useful Dead: Bodies as Objects in Iron Age and Norse Atlantic Scotland

Abstract

This paper discusses a group of modified human remains from Iron Age and Norse sites in Atlantic Scotland, several of which have been discovered or rediscovered over the past decade, and all of which have recently been radiocarbon dated. It investigates the ways in which these remains seem to have been recovered, used, modified and deposited by living communities, and what this may reveal about past attitudes towards the bodies of the dead. These practices are placed within a wider European later prehistoric and early historic context, to highlight how this group of evidence may add to current debates surrounding social memory, the ritualization of domestic life, and the place of the dead within the world of the living.

Cet article examine un assortiment de restes humains modifiés provenant de sites de l'Âge du Fer et de l'Âge Viking en Écosse atlantique, dont plusieurs ont été découverts ou redécouverts au courant des dix dernières années et qui tous ont été datés récemment par radiocarbone AMS. L'étude porte sur la façon dont ces restes semblent avoir été récupérés, utilisés, modifiés et déposés par des communautés vivantes, et sur ce que cela peut révéler des attitudes des anciens par rapport aux corps des défunts. Ces pratiques sont placées dans un contexte européen plus large englobant la préhistoire tardive et le début de l'ère historique, afin de souligner l'apport de cet ensemble de preuves aux débats actuels autour de la mémoire sociale, de la ritualisation de la vie domestique et de la place des morts dans le monde des vivants. Translation by Isabelle Gerges

Dieser Beitrag diskutiert eine Gruppe manipulierter menschlicher Überreste von eisenzeitlichen und altnordischen Fundplätzen im atlantischen Schottland, von denen verschiedene im Laufe des letzten Jahrzehntes entdeckt oder wiederentdeckt wurden und die alle unlängst mittels AMS radiokarbondatiert worden sind. Es werden die Wege untersucht, auf denen diese Überreste von lebenden Gesellschaften geborgen, genutzt, modifiziert und deponiert worden sind und was dies über die damaligen Ansichten über die Körper von Verstorbenen aussagen kann. Die Praktiken werden in einen größeren europäischen Kontext der späten Vorgeschichte und der beginnenden Frühgeschichte eingebettet, um zu zeigen, wie diese Artefaktgruppe zu den derzeitigen Debatten über soziales Gedächtnis, die Ritualisierung des häuslichen Lebens und den Platz der Toten in der Welt der Lebenden beitragen kann. Translation by Hiener Schwarzberg

Keywords:

• Iron Age
• human remains
• perforated crania
• funerary practice
• Scotland

Mots clés:

• Âge du Fer
• restes humains
• crânes perforés
• pratique funéraire
• Écosse

Stichworte:

• Eisenzeit
• Menschenreste
• durchlochte Schädel
• Bestattungspraxis
• Schottland

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Historic Scotland in funding the AMS dating programme which provided much of the basis for this research. They would also like to thank Alison Sheridan and the staff of the National Museum of Scotland, Sally-Anne-Coupar and Jeff Liston at the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, and Steven Birch, for their help in accessing, examining, and dating the human remains discussed in this paper. Mandy Jay, Janet Montgomery, and Hannah Bosworth provided helpful discussion of the isotope data. The interpretations advanced remain entirely the responsibility of the authors.

Notes

1. Daesent translates the word ‘dynga’ as ‘bower’ but it is probably better translated as ‘dwelling’ or ‘hut’ (Lothursdotir, 2003). It shares a common root with the English word ‘dungeon’ and (like ‘bower’) probably carries implications of small size and seclusion (Cleasby & Vigfussen, 1874).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fiona Shapland

Fiona Shapland recently completed her PhD, entitled ‘The Treatment of the dead in Iron Age Atlantic Scotland’, at the University of Bradford, and has just taken up the role of Research Fellow at the University of Reading, working on a three year Leverhulme funded project examining ‘Adolescence, Migration and Health in Medieval England’.

Address: Department of Archaeology, Whiteknights Campus, University of Reading, RG6 6AB, UK. [email: [email protected]]

Ian Armit

Ian Armit is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Bradford. He previously taught at Queen's University Belfast (1999–2006) and, before this, worked as an Inspector of Ancient Monuments with Historic Scotland (1992–1999). He has a first degree in Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh (1985), where he also obtained his PhD (1990). His research interests focus on the social archaeology of the European Iron Age and the prehistory of conflict and inter-personal violence.

Address: Division of Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK. [email: [email protected]]