The Anglo-Saxon Way of Death: Burial Rites in Early England

An up-to-date and accessible account of death and burial in Anglo-Saxon England. The book offers insights into the society and customs of the Anglo-Saxons and provides clues about their way of life and their understanding of the world. Through a detailed study of cemeteries, gravegoods and human remains, the author seeks to offer a review of this emotive subject. Samantha Lucy looks first at the background to the evidence and at prehistoric and Roman traditions. She then considers the discovery and excavation of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries and at the rites and practices of death, which included cremation and burial. She also describes what we can learn from the layout and siting of the cemeteries themselves, and demonstrates that the surviving evidence - in particular changes in costume and gravegoods - can be used to show how Anglo-Saxon customs of burial developed over 400 years.