Burial Crypts and Vaults in Britain and Ireland: a Biographical Approach

• Authors: Harold Mytum

Title variants

Krypty grobowe i podziemia w Wielkiej Brytanii i Irlandii: podejście biograficzne

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The range of post-medieval burial structures found in Britain and Ireland defined by Julian Litten in 1985 are reviewed in the light of more recent discoveries. The degree of variability within each of these – lined burial shafts, small family vaults, large family vaults, and communal crypts – can now be evaluated. Using the biography of objects approach for the first time on mortuary data, the changing agency of coffins over their use-lives is considered, with varying degree of visibility during the stages between construction and final deposition. The biography of vaults is indicated through a selection of burial structures, revealing patterns of use over time. Issues of space management, in some cases with considerable overcrowding and movement of coffins, is seen to be problem only with communal crypts. Shafts and vaults were predominantly for few generations, apart from some elite family where the same space could be used over several centuries.

PL

Szereg pośredniowiecznych struktur pogrzebowych z terenu Wielkiej Brytanii i Irlandii zdefiniowanych przez Juliana Littena w 1985 r. zostaje poddanych rewizji w świetle późniejszych odkryć. Obecnie można określić stopień różnorodności w ramach każdej z grup: grobów szybowych, niewielkich krypt rodzinnych, dużych krypt rodzinnych oraz krypt wspólnych. Wykorzystując po raz pierwszy podejście oparte na biografii przedmiotów w odniesieniu do danych grobowych, rozważana jest zmieniająca się funkcja trumien przez cały ich okres użytkowy, wraz ze zmieniającym się stopniem widoczności między okresami od powstania do ostatecznego zdeponowania w ziemi. Biografia krypt analizowana jest w oparciu o wybrane struktury grobowe, co pozwala odkryć wzorce użytkowania w czasie. Kwestie gospodarowania przestrzenią, co w niektórych przypadkach obejmuje znaczne przeludnienie i konieczność przenoszenia trumien, zdają się być problemem dotykającym wyłącznie krypty wspólne. Szyby i krypty zasadniczo przeznaczone były dla kilku pokoleń, z wyjątkiem kilku elitarnych rodzin, w przypadku których ta sama przestrzeń mogła być wykorzystywana przez kilka wieków.

Keywords

EN

biography; Britain; burial shaft; coffins; crypt; vault

PL

biografia; Wielka Brytania; groby szybowe; trumny; krypta; podziemia; biografia; Wielka Brytania; groby szybowe; trumny; krypta; podziemia

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Archaeologica
• Year: 2020
• Issue: 35
• Pages: 19-43

Dates

published

2020-12-30

Contributors

author

Harold Mytum

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Identifiers

DOI

10.18778/0208-6034.35.02