A bed burial is a type of burial in which the deceased person is buried in the ground, lying upon a bed. It is a burial custom that is particularly associated with high-status women during the early Anglo-Saxon period (7th century), although excavated examples of bed burials are comparatively rare.
A number of early Anglo-Saxon bed burials, almost all dating to the 7th century, have been found in England, predominantly in the southern counties of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Wiltshire, but single examples have also been found in Derbyshire and North Yorkshire. The beds used in these burials were made of wood, and although none have been fully preserved, their presence can be inferred from the presence of iron fixtures and fittings, such as nails, cleats, grommets, brackets, headboard mounts and railings, that outline the rectangular shape of the bed in the grave.[1][2][3] However, in some cases it is not clear whether the iron fixtures found in a grave come from a bed or a coffin.
The majority of the Anglo-Saxon bed burials are for young women, and many of the burials include items of jewellery and other grave goods that indicate that the dead person must have been wealthy and of high status during life. The high quality of the gold jewellery found in the bed burial at Loftus in Yorkshire suggests that the occupant of the grave may have been a princess.[4] On the other hand, some of the young women buried on their beds have pectoral crosses or other Christian emblems buried with them (Ixworth,[5] Roundway Down, Swallowcliffe Down, Trumpington), which has suggested the possibility that they may have been abbesses, who in the early Anglo-Saxon period were recruited from noble families.[6]
In addition to laying the deceased on a bed, some of the bed burials exhibit other features that mark them out as special, and relate them to ship burials, such as the bed being placed in a chamber (Coddenham, Swallowcliffe Down), or a barrow being raised above the grave (Lapwing Hill, Swallowcliffe Down).[7] In at least two sites (Loftus and Trumpington), a grubenhaus (sunken floored building) has been excavated close to the bed burial, and it is possible that the deceased was laid out in the grubenhaus before burial so that mourners could pay their respects to her.[2][8]
The complex and elaborate funeral practices that must have been associated with a bed burial have been well described by archaeologist Howard Williams:
The artefacts, body and grave would have interacted to create a complex sequences of practices and performances in the funeral. We can imagine the digging of the grave, perhaps the lining of the grave with timber shorings, and perhaps a temporary shelter over the grave in the hours or days until the body is ready for burial. We then have the lowering of a bed into the grave, followed by the clothed body together with a set of discrete deposits. Each would have required persons approaching the grave and passing them down to those in the grave itself with the body. Finally, after the funeral had approached completion, the grave would have been back-filled and the mound raised.[1]
Interring the deceased on a bed suggests that sleep was seen as a metaphor for death.[1] Furthermore, the Old English word leger (modern English lair), literally meaning a "place where one lies", was used to refer to both beds and graves in Old English literature, which emphasizes the symbolic equivalence of the bed and the grave.[9]
List of Anglo-Saxon bed burials
About a dozen Anglo-Saxon bed burials, as well as several possible bed burials, have been excavated from the 19th century onwards, as listed in the table below.
Bed burial of a woman, in a chambered grave, with high status grave goods, including a pendant made from a gold coin with a prominent cross motif issued by the Frankish kingDagobert I (629–634), and three amethyst beads.[11]
Two bed burials. One of a young woman with leprosy aged 17–25, who was buried with a variety of personal effects, including a weaving sword, a knife, two silver rings, a bucket, and a box holding a key, a knife, a spindle whorl, a comb, a sea urchin fossil, and some sheep anklebones.[10][13][14]
Bed burial of a young woman, buried with a gold scutiform pendant, two cabochon garnet pendants, glass beads, pottery, iron knives, belt buckles and various other objects.[2][4][18]
Possibly a bed burial, although the iron mounts found in the grave may be from a coffin rather than a bed. Grave goods include a gold necklace inlaid with cabochon garnets, a veil fastener with two pins and a roundel decorated with a cross, and a wood and bronze bucket.[19][20]
Bed burial of a young woman, constructed within a chamber built into a Bronze Age barrow. In the grave were found a large number of grave goods, including a wood and leather satchel embossed with an ornately decorated bronze and gold roundel with a cruciform design, an iron spindle, an iron pan, a bronze bucket, a silver sprinkler, two glass palm-cups, a bone comb, four silver brooches, 11 pendants from a necklace, and other items of jewellery and personal items in a box with bronze mountings.[21][22]
Bed burial of a young woman, aged about 16, buried with a gold pectoral cross inlaid with garnets, an iron knife, a chatelaine, and some glass beads.[8][9]
In 1910, Morris Lofton was buried in Rose Cemetery of Tarpon Springs, Florida, in his iron bed frame, his only possession.[26] It can still be seen in the cemetery today.
^ abcSherlock, Steve; Simmons, Mark (June 2008). "A seventh-century royal cemetery at Street House, north-east Yorkshire, England". Antiquity. 82 (316). ISSN 0003-598X.
Artist's reconstruction of the bed burial at Collingbourne Ducis
Pictures of the bed burial and associated grave goods at Trumpington
Picture of the pectoral cross from the bed burial at Ixworth
January 06, 2023
burial, burial, type, burial, which, deceased, person, buried, ground, lying, upon, burial, custom, that, particularly, associated, with, high, status, women, during, early, anglo, saxon, period, century, although, excavated, examples, burials, comparatively, . A bed burial is a type of burial in which the deceased person is buried in the ground lying upon a bed It is a burial custom that is particularly associated with high status women during the early Anglo Saxon period 7th century although excavated examples of bed burials are comparatively rare Contents 1 Anglo Saxon bed burials 1 1 List of Anglo Saxon bed burials 2 Viking bed burials 3 Modern instances 4 See also 5 Footnotes 6 References 7 External linksAnglo Saxon bed burials Edit Replica of the Saxon Princess bed burial at the Street House Anglo Saxon cemetery A number of early Anglo Saxon bed burials almost all dating to the 7th century have been found in England predominantly in the southern counties of Cambridgeshire Suffolk and Wiltshire but single examples have also been found in Derbyshire and North Yorkshire The beds used in these burials were made of wood and although none have been fully preserved their presence can be inferred from the presence of iron fixtures and fittings such as nails cleats grommets brackets headboard mounts and railings that outline the rectangular shape of the bed in the grave 1 2 3 However in some cases it is not clear whether the iron fixtures found in a grave come from a bed or a coffin The majority of the Anglo Saxon bed burials are for young women and many of the burials include items of jewellery and other grave goods that indicate that the dead person must have been wealthy and of high status during life The high quality of the gold jewellery found in the bed burial at Loftus in Yorkshire suggests that the occupant of the grave may have been a princess 4 On the other hand some of the young women buried on their beds have pectoral crosses or other Christian emblems buried with them Ixworth 5 Roundway Down Swallowcliffe Down Trumpington which has suggested the possibility that they may have been abbesses who in the early Anglo Saxon period were recruited from noble families 6 In addition to laying the deceased on a bed some of the bed burials exhibit other features that mark them out as special and relate them to ship burials such as the bed being placed in a chamber Coddenham Swallowcliffe Down or a barrow being raised above the grave Lapwing Hill Swallowcliffe Down 7 In at least two sites Loftus and Trumpington a grubenhaus sunken floored building has been excavated close to the bed burial and it is possible that the deceased was laid out in the grubenhaus before burial so that mourners could pay their respects to her 2 8 The complex and elaborate funeral practices that must have been associated with a bed burial have been well described by archaeologist Howard Williams The artefacts body and grave would have interacted to create a complex sequences of practices and performances in the funeral We can imagine the digging of the grave perhaps the lining of the grave with timber shorings and perhaps a temporary shelter over the grave in the hours or days until the body is ready for burial We then have the lowering of a bed into the grave followed by the clothed body together with a set of discrete deposits Each would have required persons approaching the grave and passing them down to those in the grave itself with the body Finally after the funeral had approached completion the grave would have been back filled and the mound raised 1 Interring the deceased on a bed suggests that sleep was seen as a metaphor for death 1 Furthermore the Old English word leger modern English lair literally meaning a place where one lies was used to refer to both beds and graves in Old English literature which emphasizes the symbolic equivalence of the bed and the grave 9 List of Anglo Saxon bed burials Edit About a dozen Anglo Saxon bed burials as well as several possible bed burials have been excavated from the 19th century onwards as listed in the table below Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as KMLLocation County Coordinates Year of discovery Date NotesCherry Hinton Cambridge Cambridgeshire 52 11 06 N 0 10 30 E 52 185 N 0 175 E 52 185 0 175 Cherry Hinton 1949 One bed burial among a group of nine Anglo Saxon graves 10 Shrublands Quarry Smythes Corner Coddenham Suffolk 52 08 24 N 1 06 54 E 52 140 N 1 115 E 52 140 1 115 Coddenham 2005 7th century Bed burial of a woman in a chambered grave with high status grave goods including a pendant made from a gold coin with a prominent cross motif issued by the Frankish king Dagobert I 629 634 and three amethyst beads 11 Collingbourne Ducis Wiltshire 51 17 10 N 1 38 53 W 51 286 N 1 648 W 51 286 1 648 Collingbourne Ducis 2007 Second half of the 7th century Bed burial of a middle aged woman aged about 45 The only object found in the grave was a single earthenware pot 12 Edix Hill Barrington Cambridgeshire 52 07 52 N 0 00 40 E 52 131 N 0 011 E 52 131 0 011 Edix Hill 1989 1991 7th century Two bed burials One of a young woman with leprosy aged 17 25 who was buried with a variety of personal effects including a weaving sword a knife two silver rings a bucket and a box holding a key a knife a spindle whorl a comb a sea urchin fossil and some sheep anklebones 10 13 14 Harpole near Northampton Harpole bed burial Northamptonshire 2022 mid 7th century Bed burial of a high status woman in the early Christian church with significant associated jewelry Stanton near Ixworth Suffolk 52 19 12 N 0 52 30 E 52 320 N 0 875 E 52 320 0 875 Ixworth 1886 Mid 7th century Bed burial with high status grave goods including a gold and garnet pectoral cross and a gold and garnet disc brooch 15 16 Lapwing Hill Brushfield Derbyshire 53 14 24 N 1 45 54 W 53 240 N 1 765 W 53 240 1 765 Lapwing Hill 1850 7th century Bed burial under a barrow of a man buried with his weapons 17 Street House Anglo Saxon cemetery near Loftus North Yorkshire 54 33 46 N 0 51 29 W 54 562869 N 0 858139 W 54 562869 0 858139 Loftus 2005 2007 Mid 7th century Bed burial of a young woman buried with a gold scutiform pendant two cabochon garnet pendants glass beads pottery iron knives belt buckles and various other objects 2 4 18 Roundway Down Wiltshire 51 22 52 N 1 59 31 W 51 381 N 1 992 W 51 381 1 992 Roundway Down 1840 Possibly a bed burial although the iron mounts found in the grave may be from a coffin rather than a bed Grave goods include a gold necklace inlaid with cabochon garnets a veil fastener with two pins and a roundel decorated with a cross and a wood and bronze bucket 19 20 Shudy Camps near Bartlow Cambridgeshire 52 03 00 N 0 21 36 E 52 050 N 0 360 E 52 050 0 360 Shudy Camps 1933 Two possibly three bed burials 10 Swallowcliffe Down Wiltshire 51 01 30 N 2 02 13 W 51 025 N 2 037 W 51 025 2 037 Swallowcliffe Down 1966 Second half of the 7th century Bed burial of a young woman constructed within a chamber built into a Bronze Age barrow In the grave were found a large number of grave goods including a wood and leather satchel embossed with an ornately decorated bronze and gold roundel with a cruciform design an iron spindle an iron pan a bronze bucket a silver sprinkler two glass palm cups a bone comb four silver brooches 11 pendants from a necklace and other items of jewellery and personal items in a box with bronze mountings 21 22 Trumpington Cambridge Trumpington bed burial Cambridgeshire 52 10 19 N 0 06 18 E 52 172 N 0 105 E 52 172 0 105 Trumpington 2011 mid 7th century Bed burial of a young woman aged about 16 buried with a gold pectoral cross inlaid with garnets an iron knife a chatelaine and some glass beads 8 9 Winklebury Hill near Shaftesbury Wiltshire 50 59 42 N 2 04 12 W 50 995 N 2 070 W 50 995 2 070 Winklebury Hill 1881 Possible bed burial 19 Woodyates near Salisbury Dorset 50 57 54 N 1 57 54 W 50 965 N 1 965 W 50 965 1 965 Woodyates 1812 Possible bed burial with grave goods including beads made out of gold glass and jet 23 Viking bed burials EditIn several Viking ship burials from Norway and Sweden including the Oseberg ship burial dated to 834 and Gokstad ship burial dated to the late 9th century the deceased had been laid out on beds However true bed burials in which the bed is buried directly in the ground are not known 24 25 Modern instances EditIn 1910 Morris Lofton was buried in Rose Cemetery of Tarpon Springs Florida in his iron bed frame his only possession 26 It can still be seen in the cemetery today See also EditChamber tombFootnotes Edit a b c Williams 2006 p 31 a b c Sherlock Steve Simmons Mark June 2008 A seventh century royal cemetery at Street House north east Yorkshire England Antiquity 82 316 ISSN 0003 598X Eagles Bruce 1991 Review of G Speake A Saxon bed burial on Swallowcliffe Down Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 84 163 164 ISSN 0262 6608 a b Anglo saxon princess treasure set to go on show Redcar and Cleveland News 4 May 2011 Archived from the original on 23 June 2012 Retrieved 19 March 2012 Historic England Monument No 385467 Research records formerly PastScape Retrieved 2013 01 22 Blair 2005 p 230 Lee 2007 p 82 a b Archaeology at Cambridge 2010 2011 PDF Cambridge University 2011 Archived from the original PDF on 2013 09 25 a b Dickens Alison Lucy Sam 16 March 2012 Mystery of Anglo Saxon teen buried in bed with gold cross Retrieved 2012 03 16 a b c Geake 1997 p 147 Hoggett 2010 pp 111 124 312 The Bed Burial Wessex Archaeology 11 May 2008 Retrieved 2012 03 19 Lee 2007 pp 62 82 Williams 2006 pp 100 103 Green 1968 p 123 Webster amp Backhouse 1991 p 27 Welch 1993 p 89 Street House Loftus Tees Archaeology Archived from the original on 2011 12 19 Retrieved 2012 03 19 a b Williams 2006 p 32 Semple Sarah Williams Howard Excavation on Roundway Down North Wiltshire Trinity College Carmarthen Archived from the original on August 3 2003 Williams 2006 pp 27 32 Yorke 1995 pp 174 175 Geake 1997 p 151 Gjerset 1969 p 34 Scragg 2003 p 40 Rose Hill Cemetery nominated for the National Register of Historic Places Tampa Bay Times Retrieved 2022 06 02 References EditBlair John 2005 The Church in Anglo Saxon Society Oxford University Press Geake Helen 1997 The Use of Grave Goods in Conversion Period England c 600 c 850 British Archaeological Reports ISBN 9780860549178 Gjerset Knut 1969 History of the Norwegian people AMS Press Green Charles 1968 Sutton Hoo The Excavation of a Royal Ship Burial Merlin Press Hoggett Richard 2010 The Archaeology of the East Anglian Conversion Boydell amp Brewer ISBN 9781843835950 Lee Christina 2007 Feasting the Dead Food and Drink in Anglo Saxon Burial Rituals Boydell amp Brewer ISBN 9781843831426 Scragg Donald G 2003 Textual and Material Culture in Anglo Saxon England DS Brewer ISBN 9780859917735 Webster Leslie Backhouse Janet 1991 The Making of England Anglo Saxon Art and Culture AD 600 900 British Museum ISBN 9780802077219 Welch Martin G 1993 Discovering Anglo Saxon England Pennsylvania State University Press ISBN 9780271008943 Williams Howard 2006 Death And Memory in Early Medieval Britain Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521840194 Yorke Barbara 1995 Wessex in the Early Middle Ages Continuum International ISBN 9780718518561External links EditArtist s reconstruction of the bed burial at Collingbourne Ducis Pictures of the bed burial and associated grave goods at Trumpington Picture of the pectoral cross from the bed burial at Ixworth Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bed burial amp oldid 1125985914, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
