Propylaeum

The analysis of ancient societies beyond the political system, leading actors, and élite groups relies heavily on the archaeological record. Abundantly preserved burial sites present a major part of ancient testimonies. Yet, neither are burials with their grave goods a mirror of past lives nor do non-élite burials necessarily equal poor burials, and we need a mixture of criteria to identify non-élite as well as non-poor burials. The bones of the deceased are, however, first class bio-historical sources. There is a strong correlation between wealth and health in antiquity and human remains reflect the social status via diet and health.

With respect to various methodological approaches to funerary archaeology linking the capacities of material culture studies to social and natural sciences, the contributions in this volume explore the relationship between material culture, health and social status. They evaluate non-élite burials regarding the social persona and life style of the deceased as much as the ideology of the descendants expressing their beliefs through the burial process. Precisely the focus on context analysis – aiming beyond the funerary sphere – constitutes the importance of the case studies united in this volume.

In 1989, the Westfälisches Museum für Archäologie conducted a study of a burial ground in Porta Westfalica-Costedt with 44 graves dating from the early Roman Imperial period. A few urn graves were discovered, but the most common forms of burial were cremation graves, cremation patch and bone nests. Such variants are common in the Rhine-Weser Germanic region.
A relatively large number of garment buckles in the form of 15 fibulas were found at the burial ground, ceramic is the most common category of archaeological finds. Several graves contained Roman import products; a Roman disc fibula, terra sigillata, along with remains of Roman bronze vessels and glasses have been identified. The existence of a local ruling class can be deduced from the burial gifts of Roman import. On viewing these objects together, it is evident that two courts shared the same burial ground, one of which was for three generations recognisably richer than the other.
The site was analysed as part of two exercises at the Seminar for Prehistory and Early History of the Georg-August-University Göttingen from 1992 to 1994.

The historic centre of Constance, with its historic buildings and excellently preserved archaeological remains, has been one of the focal points of archaeological heritage preservation in the state of Baden-Württemberg since the 1980s. Large-scale excavations were carried out in 1986–1987 in the backyard area of the most important north-south axis in the city, the Hussenstraße. Originally settled in the second half of the 11^th century, a higher social class neighbourhood had developed here by the 14^th century. The archeological investigations were evaluated in an interdisciplinary approach, starting with the urbanistic and historical context of the residential area and the evaluation of the findings, continuing with the presentation of the finds made of leather, glass, ceramics and metal, and ending with the scientific analysis of the animal bones and insect remains, which allow conclusions about the diet of the inhabitants and the hygienic conditions.