We try not to ignore the news about unusual (or rather, deviant) burials: Vesti. Nauka has already collected a small collection of such materials, never ceasing to be amazed at the ingenuity of our ancestors in dealing with the mortal remains of relatives.
This time, a message from Germany: during the construction of a road in the suburbs of Zeitz (Saxony-Anhalt), workers stumbled upon human bones. First the police were called, then the archaeologists from the regional department for the protection of cultural heritage.
They had to hurry with the rescue excavations - the archaeologists were given time until November 1, the construction of a new road could not be stopped. The first reports about the finds in the local press appeared in mid-October, since then the information has not changed: within the allotted time, the researchers found 15 burials, human and horse, at the site.
One of three horse burials found in the Zeitz suburb. Photo: dpa
The preliminary dating, according to archaeologists, is the Merovingian era, 500-751. It was not by chance that scientists mentioned the first dynasty of Frankish kings - under the Merovingians, the lands around modern Zeitz were located on the eastern border of the Frankish empire, then the possessions of the West Slavic tribes - the Sorbs, or Lusatian Serbs - began.
Knowledge of medieval geography is of great importance for the interpretation of finds - for example, in the summer, settlements and burials of ancient Slavs were found near the site of the current excavation. Since the borderlands are characterized by a mixture of different cultures, this circumstance may help scientists unravel the mystery of the 15 tombs found near Zeitz.
Archaeologists do not like to "testify" to journalists in the early stages of work and are justifiably afraid of excessive public attention (local authorities are already worried about the constant theft of boards from the wooden fence of the site, what can we say about the excavation itself).
The head of the excavation, Susanne Friederich, is still very careful in dealing with the press: she refused to speak of the found burials as sensational, preferring to call them "unusual".
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The most unusual, of course, can be considered the burial of a girl aged 16-18. She was buried face down, her hands tied, and an iron rod stuck in her back, pinning her body to the ground (see cover photo).
The case when journalists begin to demand explanations, and before laboratory studies, archaeologists do not have these explanations, only numerous versions with the "possible" and "probably" reservations.
“Perhaps the girl was buried in such a way that her soul could not leave the grave. Perhaps this girl was disabled, or she had some kind of physical characteristics. Or she possessed special, inexplicable for those times abilities that seemed frightening. Or she was simply considered a witch,”- these are just some of the versions suggested by Susanna Friedrich.
Friedrich does not exclude that the reason for such treatment of the deceased could be her origin - perhaps the girl came to these parts from afar and was considered a "black sheep."
“The girl is buried with her head to the east, not to the west, as was customary. An iron rod piercing the back and chest, nails the body to the ground and does not allow the deceased to rise again. Burial face down pursued the same goal: to divert a dead soul from the living,”added Friedrich.
Further laboratory and other studies will help to identify the most likely among these versions. Archaeologists all over Europe have already come across such burials more than once - nailed to the ground, buried face down, burnt and dismembered bodies of girls and women, whose appearance seemed frightening, otherworldly to their contemporaries, although the reason for this could be a common disease like scurvy. For example, such burials were discovered in 2014 and 2015 in Italy, and in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, the ancient tradition of fighting witches, ghouls and other zombies is still alive in some places.
The origin of the deceased can be revealed after an isotope analysis of the teeth, the presence of physical disabilities will be shown by an osteological examination of the skeleton, the presence of congenital diseases - DNA analysis. The only pity is that the girl's bones are poorly preserved due to the peculiarities of the soil - the local loam passes a lot of water. However, scientists hope to "scrape together" enough material for research.
At the same site, archaeologists found the remains of a very tall man, whose height during his lifetime was almost two meters. At the time of his death, the man was about 30 years old, he was buried with a sword and a spear, and skeletons of three horses were found next to his grave.
The remains of a two-meter warrior found in the suburb of Zeitz. Photo: dpa
“The remains of the giant, obviously, belong to a warrior, possibly a leader. In his left hand he holds an iron sword, on the right side the remains of a spear are preserved. The clothes on the man's body were tied with a belt and fastened with a brooch. But the horse graves found nearby, most likely, have nothing to do with the warrior,”said Friedrich.
Another unusual burial is a grave with a pile of human bones, as if piled in a heap. “We do not yet know how to explain this. The grave thieves hardly had time to visit here - we did not find their traces, besides, jewelry made of glass and bronze lay in the grave untouched,”says Susanna Friedrich.
The study of a mass grave, as well as the remains of a witch and a giant 1500 years old will take time - it may take years, as in the case of the burial of the "Celtic princess" from Heneburg: the first results were published only 7 years after the discovery.
