For the archaeologist and anthropologist, excarnation refers to a specific burial practice. It is the removal of the flesh off the skeleton, leaving only the bones to be buried, which could be allowed to occur naturally (by leaving the body out in the open, for example) or the process could be done physically, which can leave signs of scraping on the bones. So why is there the need to de-flesh bones and then dislocate them from the body in many prehistoric cultures? And which cultures in particular does this occur in? Mind the Fingers and Toes! Let’s pull up a…
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Bones found in Magdenburg Cathedral are those of Saxon Queen Eadgyth. In a fascinating lecture that saw science, archaeology and history working together to create concrete evidence of Queen ‘Edith’s’ legend. I went Indiana Ellie and hitched up to Bristol University to catch the breaking news on camera. They discovered that Edith had been reburied up to five times, and that each time her bones were wrapped in a new and expensive silk. Professor Harald Meller recreated the event from Edith’s final reburial: from the silk and 169 beetles found in the casket, he suggested that the beetles were attracted…
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All done and dusted! The first live lecture is now over (Watch it again here). The pain and the shakiness has subsided and I can relax! Thank you all for logging in: The chat in brief looked at four areas. First we looked at the Renaissance era and the overriding dependancy society had on God and religion as a framework for life. It was considered that other cultures, communities and societies of times gone by had been rudimentary and basic compared with that of pre-1680 Christian Europe. For years people had been fascinated by unusual objects and nature, but until…
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We spend years getting taught how to dress by our parents, but here in the virtual world you are thrown straight in at the deep end: so at the age of 26 I found myself cold, unhappy, completely confused and desperate for a virtual mum or dad to lift up my arms and put a vest on me. It might sound ridiculous but I felt after a week of wearing the same old, it was time for a change, but my God, did that change take forever and a day to make! So Ellie the avatar needed a revamp, but…
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This is the most exciting archaeological story of 2010. Once again the University of Bristol is leading the world in research. And I am lucky enough to be going back to my favorite university today to hear this groundbreaking new evidence of Princess Edith’s legend. Scientists will announce that bones excavated in Magdeburg Cathedral in 2008 are those of SaxonQueen Eadgyth (‘Edith of England’) who died in AD 946. Crucial scientific evidence came from teeth preserved in the upper jaw. The bones are the oldest surviving remains of an English royal burial. The original excavations (view the 2006-2009 excavation here)…
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I think it is important to note that having an interest in archaeology and then working in it are two polar opposed situations. With an interest or a hobby you can choose an area of interest, lets say 2010 is going to be ‘Egypt’. You can read till your heart’s content on these areas of fascination and in the summer take the family on a holiday to look at the sites and breathe in the history. Bish Bash Boom, the Egypt box is ticked. Pompeii will be 2012. For the commercial archaeologist in Britain, these dreams die shortly after graduation.…