Anglo Saxon Burial Discovery May Be Royalty
Monday April 14, 2008
Some neat news from the folks at Discovery. No, not that Deadliest Catch returns tomorrow night (yes, I've already set my DVR). Apparently, a recent excavation of a seventh-century Anglo Saxon tomb has shed some new light on ancient beliefs. Because of the jewelry found with the woman's body, the specially constructed bed in the tomb, and the positioning of the graves surrounding her, scientists believe she may have been a member of royalty, as well as a priestess of a Pagan cult*. This time period was when Christianity was beginning to take hold in the Yorkshire area.
Although the passage of time and the acidic soil have eroded the actual remains, archeologist Stephen Sherlock has some theories on who she might have been, based on the location and age of the cemetery. He says it's possible she was Ethelburga, a wife of King Edwin of Northumbria (who later became a Christian and was made a saint). Other possibilities include King Oswiu's wife Eanflaed, or his daughter, Aelflaed.
British Archeology's Mike Pitts says that when the cemetery was established, around the year 650 c.e., an abbey was built nearby. This, he says, marked a "turning point in the history of Christianity in Britain". He adds that that makes this cemetery dig very interesting. "It seems to revolve, quite literally, around a woman… Her bed burial is stridently pagan, a sort of rare, female equivalent of ship burials, as she is laid out on a vehicle to deliver her to the afterworld."
* Note for clarity: the word "cult" in an archeological sense is not quite the same as the way it is used commonly, to refer to such groups as the FLDS or other newsmaking fringe groups. Academically speaking, the word simply means an organized religious practice among a particular group of followers.
Although the passage of time and the acidic soil have eroded the actual remains, archeologist Stephen Sherlock has some theories on who she might have been, based on the location and age of the cemetery. He says it's possible she was Ethelburga, a wife of King Edwin of Northumbria (who later became a Christian and was made a saint). Other possibilities include King Oswiu's wife Eanflaed, or his daughter, Aelflaed.
British Archeology's Mike Pitts says that when the cemetery was established, around the year 650 c.e., an abbey was built nearby. This, he says, marked a "turning point in the history of Christianity in Britain". He adds that that makes this cemetery dig very interesting. "It seems to revolve, quite literally, around a woman… Her bed burial is stridently pagan, a sort of rare, female equivalent of ship burials, as she is laid out on a vehicle to deliver her to the afterworld."
* Note for clarity: the word "cult" in an archeological sense is not quite the same as the way it is used commonly, to refer to such groups as the FLDS or other newsmaking fringe groups. Academically speaking, the word simply means an organized religious practice among a particular group of followers.
Fascinating. What an incredible find.
I dont’ know, I have read a lot of stuff on archeology and never really saw the word “cult” used quite as it was in this article. It did seem very dismissive, the way they described it; specially since they discussed this find being at the beginning of the Christian era for the area. This use just felt a bit different than them describing a statuette, for instance, as a “cult image”. In fact, I think that is the thing that creeped me out…usually it is used as a modifier talking about items, and not as it was in this story.
I think the word “cult” was used correctly, as Ms. Patti said, there is a language specific to the field. In sociology, creation stories are referred to “myths” which always gets some of the Christians into an uproar….