| Entry: | I have been excavating some interesting Neolithic burials in the North area this season. First an infant in a basket (F.1014) which was buried together with an older individual (F.3629) in space 87. Both were found by the Bach team ten years ago after they had excavated several burials above and ran out of time. The basket burial was disturbed by an animal burrow but the older individual was undisturbed and in good condition. There were bones from other individuals in the grave as well and in addition a skull from a burial below was suddenly emerging. My archaeologial self-confidence was shaken as I started to excavate this beautiful (take a look at the 3D visualization!), well preserved but complicated burial so I was happy that both Burcu and the human bone lab engaged in the excavation.
It has been very informative and interesting to have the human bone lab team working all around the North area where skeletons seems to pop up where ever you put you feet. They never hesitate to crouch in the most anatomically strange positions to demonstrate different kind of burial positions (the osteologists, not the skeletons..). The individual in F.3629 was tightly flexed and we discussed how they managed to put the corpse in such position, if they waited after rigor mortis and/or gave the body a massage or a hot bath or perhaps left the body somewhere until it started to decompose. Another interesting question is if the bones from other individuals that often are found in the burials bear som kind of significance or if they are just cleared away. In burial F.3629 there was for example a large femur tucked to the side of the burial. Both the femur and the flexed individual showed traces of red staining and perhaps they got their colour at the same time, but even if this is the case it is difficult to make a more vivid interpretation.
The infant in the basket was lying directly on top of the feet of the older individual. As the toe bones lay undisturbed in anatomically correct position it is likely that the infant was buried together with the older individual, which is not common. Another unusual thing is the positions of the burials, as space 87 is such a narrow space. After excavation the burials in space 87, I started to excavate a basket burial in building 77. The position of the burial in the northern part of the large space (sp. 336) in the building is more predictable compared to the burials in space 87. The good condition of the burial with well preserved organic material resulted again in the engagement of the specialists. The botany lab collected samples of what is interpreted as a lid (white phytolites and brown fibrous material) and after consulting the human bone lab the decision was made to lift the burial as a preparation and this was successfully executed by the conservation team. After these experiences I hope that I will have the opportunity to excavate a burial soon again! |
