Vedbaek

Vedbaek

1. 4,800 BC

   • Occupied a coastal settlement - suggests healthy, rich diet
   • Ertebolle Culture - situated in Denmark
   • Close to woodlands and forests - access to boar, read and roe deer and pine martens
   • C.22 bodies in 17 graves - Adult males, females and children
     • Single burials
     • 2 double burials
     • 1 triple burial

2. Excavation took place in 1975 - discovery of cemetery happened during construction of school

3. All sections of community buried with respect, regardless of age and/or sex

   • Layout and position suggests a close knitted community

4. Funerary rituals + repeated patterns are the presence of grave goods and inhumation

5. All single inhumations found in same position - on backs, feet close together and hands by side

   • Different rituals for different individuals based on gender + age
     • Grave goods depended on status, gender and age within community

6. Grave goods

   • Found with racks of red deer antlers - suggests achieved status
   • All males,including children, had flint knives - ascribed status - given for who they were - living in patriarchal society
   • 9 adult male burials contained one or more flint blades, traces of red ochre, pig tooth pendants, antler axes and bone tools
   • Only 2 females had grave goods - seems to relate to age - mature females having rich assemblage of grave goods

7. Symbolism

   • Repeated use of red ochre - found mainly around pelvis, legs and skull
     • All female + children burials contained it
   • Red ochre could reference blood
     • Symbolically represented in preparation for afterlife (meant to mirror real life)

8. Triple burial

   • 1 adult male, 1 adult female and one year old
   • Male found with bone point through throat
   • Buried at same time - suggests they died suddenly + violently
     • No obvious marks of violence on female + child
   • Female found with necklace of deer, pig, aurochs and human teeth, placed around neck
     • Flint knife below jaw - unusual since males were usually found with weapons
       • Possibly symbolise weapon that killed her - would have died due to similar wound as the male

9. Double burials

   • Both consisted of 1 female and child - suggest death in childbirth
   • Most significant was the one that contained rich assemblage of grave goods - over 200 red deer + boar teeth pendants placed around head, 50 pendants found by hips, rows of perforated snail shells and red ochre
     • Child was buried with stone knife - suggest child was male - links back to ascribed status - and child was found on wing of whooper swan
       • Swan possibly killed for this ceremony or already dead and used for ceremony to assist child into afterlife - child wasn't equipped for afterlife

10. Conclusion

    • Shows communitities beginning to settle down in areas permanently - bury dead more formally + respectfully - use of repeated patterns
    • First Mesolithic cemetery found in Denmark
    • Belongs to assortment of Mesolithic cemeteries - contain wide variety of unusual, remarkable burials
    • Evidence throughout shows repeated patterns of ritual behaviour - suggests there was commonality of belief across Europe