Treetrunk coffin
Encyclopedia
A treetrunk coffin, hollowed out of a single massive log, is a feature of some prehistoric elite burials over a wide range especially in Northern Europe as far east as the Balts
, who abandoned cremation about the 1st century CE, and in central Lithuania, buried their elite in treetrunk coffins. The practice survived Christianization
into the Middle Ages
. The coffin in which the body of King Arthur
was said to have been discovered, at Glastonbury Abbey
in 1191, was described by the contemporary chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis
as being of a massive oak treetrunk. For Bronze Age
Britain, examples have been recorded at Wydon Eals, near Haltshistle, and at Cartington, Co. Durham, in Scotland, Yorkshire, East Anglia (Liss
, northeast Hampshire, for instance). In Yorkshire, "Gristhorpe Man", a well-preserved human of the second millennium BCE, who was found 10 July 1834 under an ancient burial mound buried in a hollow oak tree trunk, is conserved at the Rotunda Museum, Scarborough: he was wrapped in an animal skin with a whalebone and bronze dagger and food for his journey. At the abbey of Munsterbilzen, Belgium, ten graves with massive treetrunk coffins were discovered in 2006.
Because hollowed trunks suggest dugout boat
s, such burials are sometimes described as boat burials. In Yanjinggou Developing Zone of Chengdu
such a "boat burial' in a hollowed-out treetrunk found in 2006 was dated to the Warring States Era (475 - 221 BCE); it contained copper objects, bronze weapons, pottery and lacquer wares, seeds and peach pits. Its burial was the most recent of eight burials in coffins hollowed out of single tree trunks one and a half meters in diameter, five meters in length, with tapered ends bow and stern.
The phenomenon was not restricted to regions where massive timber was abundant. In Egypt, the conservation of a 1st century cypresswood coffin hollowed from a single log, from a burial at Touna El Gebel has been described.
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
, who abandoned cremation about the 1st century CE, and in central Lithuania, buried their elite in treetrunk coffins. The practice survived Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
into the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The coffin in which the body of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
was said to have been discovered, at Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
in 1191, was described by the contemporary chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis
Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
as being of a massive oak treetrunk. For Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Britain, examples have been recorded at Wydon Eals, near Haltshistle, and at Cartington, Co. Durham, in Scotland, Yorkshire, East Anglia (Liss
Liss
Liss is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 3.3 miles northeast of Petersfield, on the A3 road, on the Hampshire/West Sussex border....
, northeast Hampshire, for instance). In Yorkshire, "Gristhorpe Man", a well-preserved human of the second millennium BCE, who was found 10 July 1834 under an ancient burial mound buried in a hollow oak tree trunk, is conserved at the Rotunda Museum, Scarborough: he was wrapped in an animal skin with a whalebone and bronze dagger and food for his journey. At the abbey of Munsterbilzen, Belgium, ten graves with massive treetrunk coffins were discovered in 2006.
Because hollowed trunks suggest dugout boat
Dugout (boat)
A dugout or dugout canoe is a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon is Greek -- mono- + ξύλον xylon -- and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In Germany they are called einbaum )...
s, such burials are sometimes described as boat burials. In Yanjinggou Developing Zone of Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
such a "boat burial' in a hollowed-out treetrunk found in 2006 was dated to the Warring States Era (475 - 221 BCE); it contained copper objects, bronze weapons, pottery and lacquer wares, seeds and peach pits. Its burial was the most recent of eight burials in coffins hollowed out of single tree trunks one and a half meters in diameter, five meters in length, with tapered ends bow and stern.
The phenomenon was not restricted to regions where massive timber was abundant. In Egypt, the conservation of a 1st century cypresswood coffin hollowed from a single log, from a burial at Touna El Gebel has been described.
External links
- "3000-Year-Old Boat Coffin Contents Suggest Owner of Prominence" 17 December 2006.