Re: Merovingian aristocratic burials Saint-Dizier, France

On 31 Jan, 22:30, "Alan Crozier" <name1.na...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Uwe Müller" <uwemuel...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:epqplt$39c$1@xxxxxxxxxxxx







"Peter Alaca" <p.al...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:45c0d3f2$0$25440$dbd41001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This find never appeared in any English language
usenetgroup

_The grave goods of the aristocratic Frankish burials_
_at Saint-Dizier, Haute-Marne, NE-France_

"Merovingian aristocratic burials, excavated at Saint-
Dizier in 2002, yielded a very rich collection of
funerary grave goods. Today these objects have been
restored.
Two men, one aged and one young, a female
adolescent, and a horse were buried at this site
around the middle of the 6th century.

*Aristocratic burials
The two male tombs are funerary chambers (2.8 x 1.6
m) encased on the sides and bottom with oak.
Inside, against the north wall, the body of the older
man lies dressed in its coffin. Weapons and other
personal objects were placed at his sides: sword,
axe, scramasax, shield, purse clasp with a cloisonné
decoration, ring, belt buckles, knife. The funerary
chamber also contained hardware such as a bronze
basin, cauldron and bucket, glass bottles and
drinking glasses, along with large weapons such as a
lance and an ango.

The female adolescent was buried in a coffin placed
in a simple pit. However, the abundant jewellery that
adorns her, along with the dishware that
accompanies her, indicate a high social rank. Two
glass recipients are placed at the head of the coffin.
At her feet, there is a ceramic and a bronze basin
with a pearled rim.
She is wearing a necklace composed of around thirty
amber and glass beads and a silver bracelet on her
left wrist. Four brooches attach her clothing: at her
neck, two disc brooches with a garnet cloisonné
decoration, and at her waist, two t-shaped,
asymmetrical fibulas. Finally, the fifty or so amber,
glass and crystal beads covering the chest of the
young woman probably indicate the presence, at the
time of her burial, of an embroidered purse or other
object.

*A horse burial
To the east of the human burials, a rectangular pit
contains a horse. The animal is oriented in the same
direction as the humans (south-west/north-east), with
its head nonetheless to the east. It was buried in a
flexed, constrained position. This adult male horse, 8-
10 years old, was apparently in good health. It does
not seem to have died a violent death or to have been
sacrificed. Its first premolars show use traces
characteristic of wearing a bit, demonstrating that
this was a mounted horse. However, no harnessing
equipment was identified in the pit, though a bit was
found in one of the male burials. This burial can thus
probably be interpreted as the reuniting of a
horseman and his mount after death.

The Frankish aristocracy of the 6th century
The grave goods in these burials are exceptional in
terms of the materials used and their craftsmanship.
They belong to the elite culture of Franks, who were
probably local representatives of Royal power.
Indeed, to firmly establish their power, Clovis and his
descendants gave newly conquered territories to their
relatives or vassals.
Such tombs have been discovered on the margins of
Frankish territories (notably in Germany and
Switzerland), but in France those discovered and
excavated with modern techniques are rare.

*The archaeological context
This excavation is part of a programme of
archaeological operations conducted over the past
ten years at the Chêne-Amand activity zone. The
archaeological site was on the future route of an
interchange joining a ZAC to the national road 4
(southern detour of Saint-Dizier)."

Source: INRAP, 1 aug 2006
For images see:http://tinyurl.com/2brpfw

Nice stuff.
Do you know if the graves were part of a bigger grave yard or if they
set
apart from other burials?

Have the runes been 'translated'?

The runes read "alu", a word that gave magical protection (or else
beer).

Alan- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Or, if you are a superhyperdiffusionist, "potato" in Hindi.

Pete Stretton

.

Relevant Pages
Quantcast