Here is a cheery subject for the day. Not everyone’s idea of a lovely subject but in the modern age we are prone to not discuss death, whereas in history and prehistory they had a different view and/or respect of death. They, in my belief, did not fear death like modern man does but embraced it, respected it, and had some beautiful traditions around it. How many of us consider how we want buried? Today we have several options burial, cremation, a combination of both when our ashes are buried with a tree sapling. We have an array of coffins to choose from including biodegradable/eco friendly ones. You can also still get permission under specific criteria be buried at sea. In Scotland there are two designated areas for sea burials. We have gravestones and markers, some families still have crypts and mausoleums. Some have even taken to carrying a small amount of ash in vials or jewellery of our loved ones. Are we reconnecting with older prehistoric traditions?
In the Early Christian and Medieval eras, we had Log coffins, cists, coffins similar to ours, shroud burials, crypts, Roman mausoleums to mention a few. However, Prehistory had a view of death we did not. They share many similarities but also ways that were not ours and only for a specific amount of time. You could see them as trends if you wanted like the Victorian trend of adding metal grills and bells on burial sites. Or the different themes of carvings on graves to mark out certain people like the Covenanters or any of the Incorporated trades, or masons.
