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Medieval girl buried face down, ankles possibly tied, to prevent ‘return’ from the grave
Analysis of the remains of a young Medieval girl, who was buried face down with her ankles potentially tied together, suggests extra measures were taken to ensure “she could not ‘return’ from the grave,” archaeologists have said.
The corpse of the 15-year-old was found in a pit at an Early Medieval settlement near the southeastern English village of Conington in the county of Cambridgeshire, according to the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).
The excavation took place between 2016 and 2018 and the girl’s remains have now been studied.
While Early Medieval England did not have set burial traditions, it was common practice at the time for the body of the deceased to be arranged facing upward, MOLA said in a news release on Monday.
“To be buried face-down is thought to have been a social expression of ‘otherness’, a burial practice reserved for people considered outside of Early Medieval society,” MOLA said. “This includes those who looked or acted differently from the rest of the community, those of low social status, as well as individuals who suffered violent or unexpected deaths.”
Osteologists – bone specialists – at MOLA found evidence to suggest the girl was of a low social status. They suspect she died suddenly or unexpectedly, as her bones didn’t show signs of a long, serious illness.
There was evidence that she suffered from childhood malnutrition and analysis of her spine revealed that she had spinal joint disease, which would have been worsened by her carrying out tough manual labor from a young age, according to the release.
‘Almost certainly seen as different’
“This burial provides an interesting, albeit tragic, opportunity to view the realities of life, and death, for those seen as outsiders in the past,” said Don Walker, MOLA senior human osteologist, in the release.
“We will probably never know exactly how this young woman was viewed by the community she grew up in, but the way she was buried tells us she was almost certainly seen as different,” he continued.
“As well as being buried face down on a boundary, the position of her ankles suggests they may have been tied together. This implies that the community took extra measures to ensure she could not ‘return’ from the grave,” he added.
The placement of the child’s body also made the location of her burial seem significant. The girl’s body was put in a pit that had previously held a large wooden post for the entry gate of an enclosure, according to the release.
This had similarities with the burial of a woman, face down, also in a settlement’s boundary ditch, in the late 8th to 9th century, around 30 miles away from where this case occurred. That woman, thought to have been executed, was missing her arms, head, neck, and part of her spine.
While burial in graveyards associated with churches was not standard practice at the time, borders and boundaries seemed to be used for “significant or unusual” burials in England during that period, according to MOLA.
Radiocarbon dating was used to reveal that the child died between 680 AD and 880 AD, and archaeological work at the site suggests activity at the settlement there ended during the 8th and 9th centuries.
注释：
corpse: n
表示" 尸体"，means " dead body (especially of a human being)"，如：The corpse was laid out by the undertaker.承办殡葬者准备埋葬尸体。
excavation: n
表示" 挖掘；发掘"，means "the act of digging;"，如：The excavation exposed some ancient ruins. 这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。
Osteologist: n
表示" 骨(骼)学家"，means "an anatomist who is skilled is osteology"
albeit: conj
表示"虽然(即使)"，means "although"，如：I hate him albeit he helped me. 尽管他帮助过我，可是我还是恨他。
中文简要说明：
英国东南部一具中世纪少女遗骸出土时面朝下，双踝很可能捆绑在一起。考古学家分析这种姿势代表当年先人埋葬遗体时施以额外手段，以防少女「从坟墓爬出来」伤害在世的人们。
综合美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）、科技新闻网站「生活科学」（Live Science）报导，这具女性遗骸年约15岁，出土地点位于英国西南部剑桥郡（Cambridgeshire）的村庄科宁顿（Conington）附近一处先民集居遗址，2016年到2018年发掘期间，考古学家发现这具骨骸，近日展开研究。
英国伦敦考古博物馆（Museum of London Archaeology，MOLA）说明，中世纪前期的英格兰并无殡葬传统，多数人死亡后面朝上安葬，病亡者则以面朝下入土：「学界认为面朝下埋葬是一种针对『异己者』（otherness）的表现方式，不见容于中世纪前期社会的成员常以这种姿势入土，包括形貌举止与社群相异、社会地位低落、死于暴力或意外的人。」当时逝者葬于基督教会墓地并非标准作法，边界似乎用于「重大或非比寻常的」下葬场合。
MOLA骨骼专家认为，少女生前社会地位较低，死因不明，可能是暴毙或意外丧生，骨骼无久病或重病征兆。专家在牙齿发现证据表明少女小时候营养不良，脊椎有关节疾病，从小从事粗重工作很可能导致症状恶化。
碳14测年法显示，少女死于公元680年至880年，该处集居地人类活动在公元8世纪到9世纪之间结束。当地曾是盎格鲁撒克逊时期英格兰七大王国之一麦西亚（Mercia）的行政中心，麦西亚王国失势后，此地落入遗弃下场。
MOLA资深骨骼专家沃克（Don Walker）说，遗骸出土状态让考古学家得以一窥古代「异己者」生死实况，「我们可能永远无法确知社群如何看待少女，但下葬方式几可确定她被视为异类。面朝下葬身边界，双踝位置显示死前绑在一起，这暗示社群采取额外手段，确保她无法从坟墓里『回来』。」
少女身躯置于一处坑洞，坑洞此前立有一根大型木柱，可能用于打造围栏入口，代表集居地边界，集居活动结束，木柱拆除后的坑洞成了现成墓地。若少女入土时恰逢社群舍弃集居地，这可能是整个社群搬家前做的最后一件事。
少女入土姿势与附近另名中世纪女性遗骸类似。距离少女出土地约48公里处另一遗址，专家曾发现一具生存年代介于8世纪到9世纪的女性骸骨，同样面朝下埋葬，葬身处也位于集居地边界，双臂、头颅、颈部与腰椎第4节佚失，生前恐遭处决。
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