Theses and Dissertations Collection

The years around 1800 were a time of turmoil throughout Europe, as the newly created French Republic attempted to enforce republican ideals through warfare across the continent. This thesis examines articulated ossuary burials (n=17) contemporary to the War of the Pyrenees and the Peninsular War in Roncesvalles, Spain, to discuss how burial practice is affected by the confluence of identity and relationships. The themes of cultural expectations surrounding death, and the conflict between those expectations and necessity during times of instability are specifically examined. Previous scholarship suggests that many social hypotheses can be better understood through bioarchaeological analysis, but few sources have looked at sites from this era with the same patterns of use or historical significance. The ossuary is popularly thought to have been specifically constructed on Charlemagne’s behalf after his military loss, described in the Chanson de Roland, but continues to be used to this day, having been carefully maintained to house the skeletons of pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela since at least the 12th century. To understand how historical context intertwines with an individual’s identity to influence their treatment in death, this research examines skeletons dating from this era [~1790-1820] in a region that hosted several military conflicts. Through the examination of the Silo of Roncesvalles, one can view how the conflict between personal relationships and efficiency affected burial practices. In turn, this examination helps to clarify the effects of political instability on cultural and social structures.