Frequently found on archaeological sites
According to McKinley (2004, 4), cremation was the main burial practice from the prehistoric periods (Bronze Age or earlier, 2,100 BC) through to the Anglo-Saxon period (410 to 1150 AD). As a result, cremated human remains are frequently discovered on archaeological sites.
Valuable information can be retrieved through the careful recovery and analysis of cremated human bone which enhances our geographic and temporal understanding of the cremation burial rite (ibid). Our understanding of the social and individual variations of the cremation burial rite is also enhanced (ibid).
A large amount of information can be gathered from a cremation burial (urned or un-urned). An urned cremation burial comprises the interment of the individual(s) in a vessel (usually ceramic vessels on British sites) which is then interred in the ground. An un-urned cremation burial comprises the interment of the individual in a pit or circular feature without the ceramic vessel.
Different standards and methods are utilised for the analysis of cremated human bone, which are outlined below, including:
- The type of deposit
- Demographic data
- Degree of fragmentation and total weight of bone
- The efficiency of the cremation – temperature of the pyre (oxidation and reduction)
- The number and type of skeletal elements preserved
- Pathology & trauma
- Pyre goods (artefacts, animal bone and staining on bone)
- Pyre debris – fuel ash, charcoal, stones
With urned cremation burials, the urn is carefully excavated either in-house or on-site by dividing the urn into quadrants and excavating down in 2cm spits. A plan of each spit is drawn and photographed. In post-excavation processing, the larger fragments of human bone are separated and carefully cleaned and the smaller bone fragments and soil are wet-sieved in 4mm, 2mm, 1mm and 0.5mm sieves to ensure maximum artefact and ecofact recovery. With un-urned burials, the soil and bone are washed through the aforementioned sieve fractions.
Primary recording: the total weight of bone from the combined sieve fraction and a measurement of the maximum fragment size are compiled. Every fragment is examined at least once and the identifiable cremated bone is then separated out into four skeletal areas: cranial, axial skeleton, upper limb and lower limb (McKinley 2004, 9). This will allow the osteoarchaeologist to compile a count for the minimum number of individuals (MNI). Age-at-death, sex, ancestry and pathological data can also be recorded.
Presence of animal remains
Animal remains are a frequent occurrence in cremation burial deposits and species included in cremation burials can include horse, cow, pig, sheep/goat, dog and chicken. An example of the presence of faunal remains within cremated burial deposits comprises Wardell Armstrong Archaeology’s excavation of a large Romano-British villa complex at Emerson’s Green, Bristol. Several urned cremation burials were recovered and post-excavation analysis revealed that almost all of the urns contained faunal remains.
Image shows a cremation pot and worked bone with scale.
