In Sweden, early Christian communities often buried children alongside adults. However, recent archaeological findings suggest that these individuals did not share close biological relationships, prompting intriguing questions about medieval burial customs.
In a groundbreaking study, researchers analyzed DNA from 142 human bones found in three Swedish cemeteries dating back to the 10th through the 14th centuries. The focus was on mass burials, where multiple individuals were interred in single graves.
“We typically assume that adults and children sharing graves are parent-child pairs or close relatives,” stated Maya Krzewinska, lead author of the study and a paleogeneticist at Stockholm University. Maya Krzewinska mentioned in a statement. “However, our findings suggest otherwise.”
The research team found that many mass burials featured a mix of adults and children, typically grouped by sex. This indicates that women were often buried with girls and men with boys. Interestingly, further DNA analysis revealed minimal biological kinship among those buried together.
As Christianity spread throughout Scandinavia from the late 10th century, burial practices became increasingly standardized. Graves were primarily oriented east to west, with individuals laid to rest in simple shrouds and without grave goods. Only baptized individuals were permitted in consecrated cemeteries, leaving infants who passed away before baptism outside these sacred grounds.
Krzewińska elaborated, “We have previously studied burials that included adult and fetal remains, which we believe represent unbaptized individuals,” she told Live Science via email.
Photograph of the ruins of Västerhus Church in the parish of Froso in Jämtland, Sweden, before 1951. Archaeologists have unearthed numerous child burials here that lack kinship ties.
(Image credit: Riksantikvarieämbetets arkiv)
These unconventional burial practices might indicate an early Christian custom. Many children buried alongside adults may have not been baptized, leading to burial in this manner to bypass religious regulations. Additionally, some burials might represent unrelated individuals interred together during the spring when winter conditions made it impossible to dig in frozen ground.
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
“Based on broader genetic connections, some mass graves could also signify distant familial ties or even non-biological relationships,” stated Krzewińska.
In early medieval Scandinavia, homes often included a mix of relatives, servants, and slaves, as the study reveals. While biological relationships had a significant role in societal organization, belonging to the local Christian community may also have greatly influenced burial choices.
“Archaeologists have long debated the relationships among those interred together,” commented study co-author Anna Kelström, an archaeologist at Stockholm University. “Ancient DNA analysis finally provides us with the tools to directly evaluate these relationships.”
We Are Family
Alongside unexpected mass burials, archaeologists discovered that some families were buried in the same cemetery for generations. One notable individual, referred to as Lady 56, was a Christian pilgrim who supported three generations of her ancestry.
Photo of a pilgrim’s shell discovered in the Westerhus Cemetery, symbolizing Christian pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.
The 56-year-old woman passed away around 30 years old and was interred with a unique scallop shell, symbolizing the completion of her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, a significant pilgrimage site in northwest Spain.
Researchers were able to identify her kin group, which held particular importance within the community and extended across generations within the Westerhus cemetery, according to Krzewińska. DNA analysis showed that Lady 56’s parents, brother, and daughter were also buried within the same cemetery but at different locations.
Westerhus was associated with a wealthy landowner’s estate from the 11th to the 14th century, with the cemetery containing the remains of numerous biologically related individuals, often buried alongside other kinship groups.
DNA evidence linking the main family of Westerhus to other kin groups within the cemetery underscores their prominent status. These closely interconnected burials highlight the significance of ancient DNA testing, offering insights into varying burial customs from the same historic period and region.
Krzewińska, M., Kjellström, A., Yaka, R., Rodriguez-Varela, R., Pochon, Z., Kempe Lagerholm, V., Hedenstierna-Jonson, C., Zachrisson, T., Kashuba, N., Sobrado, V., Naidoo, T., Başak Vural, K., Jakobsson, M., Merve Kılınç, G., Storå, J., Götherström, A. (2026). Equality in Death: An Ancient Genomic Analysis of Early Christian Burials of Children. Scientific Progress12.
What do you know about Jesus Christ? Test your knowledge with our Biblical Archeology quiz! Take the Quiz!
Source: www.livescience.com