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The Body Mine: A Review of Human Remains within Romano-British Well and Shaft Deposits and Evidence for Multi-stage Mortuary Ritual in First-century a.d. Surrey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2025

Ellen Green Open the ORCID record for Ellen Green [Opens in a new window]
Ellen Green*
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University of Reading [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper uses a case study of a shaft in Surrey, England, to illustrate the potential of traditionally overlooked material for increasing understanding of Romano-British minority mortuary rituals. Taphonomic analysis of a substantial assemblage of disarticulated human remains from a first-century a.d. quarry from the Nescot Former Animal Husbandry Centre in Ewell, Surrey, showed evidence of multi-stage post-mortem processing. This included decomposition of the remains within a protected environment followed by removal of certain skeletal elements. The assemblage is then contextualised against the treatment of human remains in other Romano-British shaft and well deposits. Finally, the material is compared to Iron Age examples of post-mortem processing, revealing the Nescot shaft is unlikely to be a direct continuation of pre-conquest practices.

Keywords

Ewellritualmortuary practicetaphonomyhistology
Type
Articles
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Britannia , Volume 55 , November 2024 , pp. 117 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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References

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