Ancient Husband Wife Burial Is Actually of Two Women
New research sheds light on a misinterpreted burial in Austria
In 2004, a double burial was discovered in Wels, Austria. It was extraordinary for two reasons: firstly, one of the individuals had their arm around the other, a loving and heartfelt gesture; secondly, both individuals had been placed on top of a horse during the burial. Initially interpreted as a medieval burial of a husband and wife, new findings reveal how inaccurate that assumption was.
Last year, I visited a wonderful little museum in Herxheim, Germany, aptly named the ‘Herxheim Museum.’ While I didn’t take images of the displays within, I vividly remember one room that reconstructed some of the burials. The ‘skeletal’ remains had been placed on the floor as if they had just been excavated there. My uncle would ask me to tell him the age and, if possible, the sex of the remains. I did this to the best of my ability without being able to pick up anything by looking at the teeth (age estimation) and skull and pelvis bones (sex determination).
For example, an indicator used to determine the sex of a skull can be found on the back of the head. You would feel a little nob if you reached behind your head. This nob is called the nuchal crest. In males, it is more pronounced than in females. How pronounced it is is rated on a scale of one to five, with one being very female and five being very male. Based on the combined average rating, a skeleton can be determined to be male or female.
Some nuance exists; my professor once told me he would love to examine my skull when I die. Why? All my features skew towards the female end of the scale, except for my jaw; my jaw is a 3, perhaps a 3–4. Thanks, Dad.
While such an approach to estimating a skeleton’s age and sex is possible and accurate, sometimes we get things wrong. And in the case of the Wels double burial, these preliminary measures were just a little off, if they were done at all.
The Context
In 2004, constructing an underground car park in Wels necessitated rescue excavation in parts of an ancient Roman cemetery. The cemetery was originally part of the Roman town of Ovilava (founded ca. 100 AD) in the northwestern part of Noricum and formed part of the Limes’ hinterland. It was an economic and administrative hub due to its strategic location at the intersection of various important Roman routes. As such, it was primarily occupied by traders and artisans instead of soldiers and veterans.
The town remained inhabited until shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD; however, it continued to host a post-Roman population until 488 AD, after which it was evaluated by the barbarian king and new ruler of Italy, Odoacer. The town and cemetery remained unused until the early 7th century when Germanic Bavarians reinhabited it.
According to Roman custom, the civilians of Ovilava were buried in the necropoleis (cemeteries) found along roads outside the town. One such cemetery, the Gräberfeld Ost (Eastern Cemetery), is today under Wels. The cemetery has only been excavated partially in the context of rescue excavations before new construction projects occur.
One rescue excavation occurred between 2004 and 2005, during which more than 220 burials (61 inhumations and 150 cremations) were recovered. Initially, the burials were dated based on the artifacts found within them, such as coins, and the depth and orientation of burials, which indicated the dominant cultural practice and, therefore, the era. Most graves were dated to the Roman period, although some were attributed to the early Medieval Bavarian occupation.
The Double Burial
Among the many burials, the remains found in Grave 12 were of particular interest. Not only was this a double burial, meaning two people were intentionally buried together in the same grave, but they had been buried together with a horse.
The remains were documented, given a preliminary analysis, and immediately excavated. However, a proper analysis confirming or refuting those initial claims was not undertaken for almost 15 years.
In 2019, the inhumations from the 2004–2006 excavations were transferred to the University of Vienne, where they were subject to rigorous investigations by experts in the field.
Each individual was examined separately to determine if the original sexing of the bones had been correct. It was initially believed that since one individual was slightly shorter than the other, the burial was likely that of a male and female. However, a new conclusion was made after careful analysis of the skull and pelvis and considering the general robustness of the bones.
Both individuals were female. This was further confirmed when DNA results indicated the remains were both of women. Interestingly, the DNA results also shed light on another matter, something the bones could never have told us. The two females were first-degree relatives. This means they were either sisters or mother and daughter.
This finding was extraordinary because it was the first recorded burial of a mother-daughter from this period to be discovered in Austria.
The age of the two individuals was estimated to be mainly using the teeth and the pelvis (I did not know one could use the pelvis). Individual 1, whose arm was wrapped around the other, was estimated to have died between the ages of 20 and 25. The older female, Individual 2, had died between 40 and 60 years of age. With such a significant age gap, it is more likely that the pair were mother and daughter than sisters.
Neither female showed signs of illness or injury, thus not indicating their cause of death. The same was true for the horse, which was analysed and determined not to have been skinned or processed for meat after death. It seemed to have been perfectly healthy at the time of its death. So why bury it in the grave at all?
Perhaps the answer lies in the bones of Individual 2 and, to a lesser extent, Individual 1, both of whom showed signs of prolonged horse riding (e.g., prolonged horse-riding changes the shape of the hip socket from round to oval and flattens the femur bones from front to back as a result of the rider’s legs gripping the horse). Perhaps this was buried so it may accompany its rider in death.
Medieval or Roman
When the burial was first uncovered, it was believed to date to the medieval period. This assumption was based on the grave’s depth, inhumation, orientation, and associated horse burial, which was more Medieval than Roman. However, subsequent radiocarbon dating (calAD 125–237) indicates the two individuals were buried during the Roman Imperial Period (31 BC—AD 476).
Two pieces of golden jewellery supported the radiocarbon dates. The first piece of jewellery was a wheel-shaped pendant; similar pieces were found in a hoard from the military encampment at Regensburg-Kumpfmühl, which dates to after 166 AD; the camp was destroyed between 171 and 175 AD. Wheel pendants were popular during the Roman period and were often associated with the sun. The second pendant, a crescent-moon-shaped object, was similar to pendants found in Augusta Raurica between 100 and 300 AD. Women usually wore such pendants as apotropaic amulets (to ward off evil and bad luck).
But what about the features that speak against a Roman burial? Why were the remains buried (inhumation) rather than cremated, as was the more popular choice, and why were they buried with a horse, also a less popular albeit not unheard-of practice during the Roman Imperial Period? Furthermore, while family members were often buried within the same marked grave garden enclosure during the Roman Imperial Period, each member was usually buried individually. Perhaps the answer lies in their DNA and location within the Roman Empire. The DNA of the two individuals suggests a Roman and Visigoth ancestry. While the positioning within the hinterland of the Limes meant it was highly likely that local customs and ancestral hangovers led to a burial that, while displaying some Roman features, was heavily influenced by the surrounding traditional Celtic practices, such as burying the dead together with horses.
In 2004, a double burial was misinterpreted as belonging to a medieval husband and wife. New research has indicated that the burial not only dates back to the Roman period but is the first ever Roman mother-daughter burial found in Austria and among the few rare times a horse accompanied a Roman grave. The burial was likely informed by a mix of Roman and local traditions, which led to a unique burial that could only be adequately interpreted after a rigorous and detailed analysis of all grave aspects.
I do not blame the excavators in 2004 for getting the interpretation wrong. So many factors pointed to a medieval husband-wife burial. On top of that, during rescue excavations, only a few short preliminary analyses are usually undertaken since excavations must be completed within a relatively short timeframe so construction can begin. The preservation of bones and detail of analysis will also determine the accuracy of an interpretation.
If I were ever excavated, but only my jaw remained, without any viable DNA, archaeologists would probably determine my skeletal remains to be that of a male. I am still contemplating being buried with some random items to make life harder for future archaeologists; perhaps a penguin skeleton, rifle, baking tray, and Hawaiian dog tooth necklace will do the trick.
Are any of your skeletal features ambiguous, and what would you be buried with to confuse future archaeologist? Let me know your thoughts, and if you’d like to support me further, why not Buy Me A Coffee?
References
- Hagmann, D., Ankerl, B., Kirchengast, N., Cheronet, O., Greisinger, M., Miglbauer, R. and Kirchengast, S., 2024. Double feature: First genetic evidence of a mother-daughter double burial in Roman period Austria. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 55, p.104479.
- Mayne, R. (2014) Quick Tips: How To Estimate The Biological Sex Of A Human Skeleton — Skull Method., All Things AAFS! Available at: https://allthingsaafs.com/tag/nuchal-crest/ (Accessed: 17 May 2024).
