Surprising Discovery Reveals Why Medieval Graves Were Re-Opened – Stealing Was Not The Purpose

AncientPages.com - During the Middle Ages, many graves were re-opened. It has previously been assumed that this was because thieves wanted to steal valuable items such as jewellery and weapons that were often buried with the deceased. However, there is now reason to assume the intention was something entirely different.

Martine van Haperen at Leiden University, Netherlands has examined more than 1300 graves from 11 medieval cemeteries in the Netherlands and Belgium. More than 40 percent of the graves had been reopened.

By comparing content the content of the reopened graves with that of intact graves, she discovered that people who re-opened the graves certainly did not take everything. They mainly took the objects with an important symbolic significance, such as swords and shields from the male graves and jewellery from female graves. These were possibly viewed as the carriers of mythical and ancestral powers.

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Her surprising discovery reveals that male graves were re-opened the most even though these contained relatively less valuable materials, such as jewellery made from precious metals.

According to van Haperen the reopening of a grave was possibly often a communal ritual in which people came together at the grave, recalled memories and collected memorabilia or relics.

The re-opening of graves could have been a form of ancestor worship as well. Various historic documents reveal that people in the early Middle Ages considered the lineage via the paternal line to be particularly important.

"This could explain why graves with typically male objects were reopened more often. Then the diggers could strengthen their power position as legitimate heirs," van Haperen said.

The re-opening of graves played an important part in the way people dealt with the dead and the practice resulted in that people felt they came closer to their lost loved-ones.

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