Posted on 01/19/2019 3:07:07 AM PST by SunkenCiv
An archaeological dig in Suffolk, England has yielded up a Roman-era cemetery treasure: 52 beautifully preserved skeletons dating back to the 4th century.
And of those skeletons, many had been decapitated, their disembodied heads placed neatly at their sides or feet for burial, or buried without bodies altogether. Only 17 skeletons had been buried normally...
It's known that Great Whelnetham was a Roman settlement, starting around the mid- to late- first century CE, and occupied for nearly 2,000 years; but, because the ground is fine sand, it was expected that any skeletons would have long disintegrated.
So when the team started excavating skeletons, the remains of men, women and children of all ages, indicating that they had lived in the settlement, it was a surprise.
Generally speaking, the Romans buried their dead much like we do - laying on their backs, neatly arranged, often with significant items. But in every Roman cemetery, there can be found a number of what are called "deviant" burials that break from this norm.
What makes the Great Whelnetham cemetery so unusual is the number of deviant burials, Peachey told the BBC's Lesley Dolphin in an interview.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
Excellent theory! This would add weight to the conjecture that gravediggers were unionized in ancient times.
Who knew islam was that old?
Do you find that complete speech and riddle kind of strange like I do?
Not uncommon at all. In fact, in the 600’s to 800’s, many monasteries buried their dead brother’s heads together. In Eastern Europe, some walls were even made of the decapitated heads..For religious reasons.
I've never heard of that practice. Interesting. Do you have more on it, or a link?
Readers will likely be familiar with the old-fashioned mark on tombstones of a hand with the index finger pointing upwards, as a symbol of salvation. But how about this: two burials, side by side, from the names, dates and nearly identical tombstones, presumably husband and wife; his stone, upward pointing finger; her stone, downward pointing finger. I don't remember which died first.
This is at Mt. Zion Cemetery at Gilbert's Corner, VA, along U.S. 50. We were chasing John Mosby (the church was at an important crossroads and was a notorious gathering spot for Mosby's guerrillas) and we didn't have a cemetery expert with us. Perhaps the family history and the grave story have been investigated but I'm not aware of it.
“venerated the head as part of the soul, removing at burial as part of their religous rites” from the article.
I used to. Then one night I saw Olivier’s version of Hamlet, the movie he did in 1948. Olivier’s performance was an epiphany for me. :-)
Severing of the head after death guaranteed the path to hell instead of heaven. The first 1300 years were not always so compassionate.
—
What?
Maybe with just a little help.
A finger pointing down on a tomb, to my understanding, is a recognition of God’s acknowledgement of the soul of the deceased. Up or down, they’re both good is what I’ve understood.
Ran across it several times a couple years ago when searching for something else. I will try to find it again.
Yes. And by the 4th century the Romans were Christians/Catholics. Timeline is important.
Possibly Christians who were executed and then buried?
I thought about that too.
Result of some sort of skulduggery.
Arkancided...
I’m curious? Has anyone ever actually studied this era around the “4th century” concerning true Roman History? If anything it would be the opposite, and these were “pagans” who were executed by the Romans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_pagans_in_the_late_Roman_Empire
I’m not saying it was aliens. But it was aliens...
That was my thought too. Vampires.
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