Behind the veil: an archaeothanatological approach to possible shrouding in a Medieval multi-faith cemetery from Santarém, Portugal

Abstract

Archaeothanatology has helped immensely to better understand complex burial dynamics and funerary treatment. Scholars have employed this approach in attempts to reconstruct possible shrouding of corpses prior to interment, which often degrade entirely. This approach can potentially reveal funerary evidence of burial containers despite their archaeological absence. We employ a similar approach to test the possible employment of burial shrouds at the medieval site of Largo Cândido dos Reis in Santarém, Portugal. Given the multi-faith (Islamic and Christian) nature of the site, the site presents an opportunity to examine multi-faith community funerary patterns within the same geographic space. The shrouding of the corpse with ‘Yemeni cotton’ (kafan) if often cited as traditional to Islamic funerary treatment, yet confirmation of this has been difficult to identify archaeologically. Conversely, Christian funerary treatment variably references the employment of shrouds and burial vestments, ranging from hides and cerecloth to textiles and winding sheets. We present an analysis of 119 adult individuals, 70 Islamic and 49 Christian. The demographic makeup of this subsample is 75 males (60.03%), 36 females (30.25%), one probable female (0.84%) and seven indeterminate individuals (5.88%). Results suggest that while numerous Islamic burials show possible evidence of shrouding, the narrow and shallow construction of Islamic graves at the site likely complicate interpretations. Christian burials were easier to discern possible shrouding, due to the larger grave dimensions accompanied by skeletal evidence of constriction (e.g., verticalization of the clavicle). Altogether, we posit that Islamic funerary rites were highly prescribed and normative, such that consistent burial construction limited archaeothanatological potential for burial containers, while Christian burials were more variable in their architectural dimensions and potential for bodily wrappings.