| Patterns in the distribution of graves in the central medieval cemetery of Reusel, the Netherlands |
Figure 2. The phases of the churches and the graves, starting with a timber church, and followed by a Romanesque church and a gothic church. Graves that could not be dated are not displayed
watch this sight( Augenti and Gilchrist 2011, 504; Binski 1996, 56; Daniell 1997, 148; Kok 2005, 67; Parker Pearson 1999, 6). Priests had to watch their followers, and were therefore buried the other way around( Arts 2013a, 30; Arts 2013b, 123; Arts and Nollen 2006, 88).
It is obvious that the location and morphology of burials was important, not only for religious reasons but also for social ones. However, parishes and cemeteries gave their own interpretation to general practices and religious rules, which has resulted in local differences in burial practices. Such local differences complicate interpretation of the meaning of such practices.
Methods: spatial analyses Several analyses related to location were performed. In order to be able to analyse certain parts of the cemetery separately, the cemetery was divided into eleven areas. Each part was chosen according to the boundaries of the foundations of the churches, which had already divided the cemetery into separate parts( fig. 3).
To see which locations were most favourable for burial, the grave density is useful. Therefore, the amount of graves per square metre was determined for all parts of the cemetery. Secondly, the graves were filtered on grave morphology, orientation, and sex and plotted on the map.
Four types of morphologies were distinguished( fig. 4): anthropomorphic, log coffin, timber coffin, and ladder( coffin with open floor or coffin with a bier underneath it). Every grave was assigned to one of these categories, or to the category unknown. The ori-
2016 | INTER-SECTION | VOL II | p. 7