Hall of Mirrors: Death & Identity in Medieval Archaeology.

Abstract

This chapter points to ongoing research that is developing new understandings of mortuary evidence in the investigation of early medieval social identities. It evaluates the implications of both Härke's work and the papers presented in Mortuary Practice and Social Identities in the Middle Ages for the direction of future studies in this field. The starting point must be to regard mortuary practice as neither a mirror nor mirage of past social identities and social structures. Instead, graves need to be viewed as ‘halls of mirrors’ through which the archaeologist can explore past societies, their perceived pasts, future aspirations and social identities.