Archaeologists find skeleton of eleventh century child
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 30 May, 2007 CET.
Updated: Wed 30 May 2007 08:52 CET
Archaeologists have found the skeleton of a child aged two to four during excavations at Täby kyrkby to the north of Stockholm. The remains found inside a wooden coffin are thought to date back to the eleventh century.
As children's graves from this period are so rare, the archaeologists were enthusiastic about the discovery.
"This is a unique find. We know that children are always the first to perish during bad times so it's a bit strange that we haven't found more," archaeologist MatsVänehem told Dagens Nyheter.
One of the reasons that children are so seldom recovered is that their bones are porous and are quick to disintegrate in the earth.
The site where the remains were found is believed to be one of Sweden's first Christian cemeteries. It may have belonged to the Jarlabanke dynasty, which at the time considered itself the owner of the entire Täby district.
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As children's graves from this period are so rare, the archaeologists were enthusiastic about the discovery.
"This is a unique find. We know that children are always the first to perish during bad times so it's a bit strange that we haven't found more," archaeologist MatsVänehem told Dagens Nyheter.
One of the reasons that children are so seldom recovered is that their bones are porous and are quick to disintegrate in the earth.
The site where the remains were found is believed to be one of Sweden's first Christian cemeteries. It may have belonged to the Jarlabanke dynasty, which at the time considered itself the owner of the entire Täby district.
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