The Search for “Lost” Royal Graves in Britain and Ireland

PAMPLONA, SPAIN—According to a Live Science report, archaeologist Ken Dark of the University of Reading and the University of Navarra reviewed the records of archaeological excavations of thousands of burial sites dated from the fifth through seventh centuries A.D. in Ireland and the west of Britain in an effort to identify possible British royal graves. Dark suggests that the early British and Christian royals may have had simple burials without grave goods, in an effort to distinguish themselves from the elaborate, pagan funeral practices of the Anglo-Saxon rulers in the east. As an example, Dark offers a gravestone discovered in northwestern Wales inscribed with the name Catamanus, who retired from kingship to become a monk before his death. Grave sites found in early Christian cemeteries, perhaps set apart with outer enclosures, could hold the remains of kings, Dark said. “The enclosed grave tradition comes straight out of late Roman burial practices,” Dark said. “And that’s a good reason why we have them in Britain, but not in Ireland—because Britain was part of the Roman empire, and Ireland wasn’t.” Irish royal graves are usually covered with mounds called “ferta,” he added. To read about efforts to identify the burials of famous historical leaders, go to "In Search of History's Greatest Rulers."