Mass burials are reported under different contexts and from all time periods. It represents a method for disposing of human remains when there are too many bodies to contend with at one time. Such graves are typically the result of increased mortality due to epidemic, famine, war, genocide, sacrifice, or natural disaster (Beauchamp, 2012; Fornaciari, 2017). To date, many mass graves have been unearthed throughout Europe both in urban and rural contexts and have mostly been attributed to famines and plague epidemics (
The text presents the results of the excavation of the early medieval burial ground, where more than 60 burials and one circular feature were identified. The find situation, the anthropological condition of remains and archaeological finds are described, and ecofacts are also analysed. Radiocarbon dating and nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis were conducted on selected specimens. The find assemblage corresponds to the location of the burial ground away from an elite centre, thus making it a good example of a common burial ground from the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries. Interesting elements were identified concerning how the deceased were handled as well as an anthropological description of the local population. The key advance is a comparison of the possibilities of dating the burial ground on the basis of traditional methods (based on a typological comparison of artefacts) and dating using the radiocarbon method, which enabled a significant refinement of the existing notion of the succession and age of activities at the studied site. It is reasonable to assume that the application of this approach at other sites would help clarify the data.
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