10th May 2005, 04:22 PM
I remember that there was a book on the subject I saw at a conference once, I can't remember what it was called, but I did a quick search on Amazon and got these results "Hide and Seek: The Archaeology of Childhood" ~Julie Wileman; "Invisible People and Processes: Writing Gender and Childhood into European Archaeology" ~Jenny Moore (Editor), Eleanor Scott (Editor). I don't think those are the one I was thinking of though, I think it was about the medieval period...
I was told that children and babies were probably buried quite shallowly and that ploughing etc would have badly damaged the remains. I don't know if that would apply in the post-med, but up until the 1950's in Ireland unbaptised children and strangers were buried elsewhere as they weren't allowed to be buried on consecrated gound and I think there was the same practice in England but it didn't go on as long. However baptised children should still have been interred in the main graveyard.
Lucy
I was told that children and babies were probably buried quite shallowly and that ploughing etc would have badly damaged the remains. I don't know if that would apply in the post-med, but up until the 1950's in Ireland unbaptised children and strangers were buried elsewhere as they weren't allowed to be buried on consecrated gound and I think there was the same practice in England but it didn't go on as long. However baptised children should still have been interred in the main graveyard.
Lucy