Creating identity in Viking-Age England: archaeological perspectives on funerary practices
This paper explores the messages conveyed by
 funerary rites in the wake of the Scandinavian
settlements in England in the 9th and 10th centuries.
he burials of Scandinavian raiders and settlers have
been identified at around only 30 sites in England
on the basis of evidence for inhumation accompanied
by grave goods and cremation, both practices
that had been long since abandoned in England
(ig. 1) 1. he presence of so few apparently Scandinavian
burials has long been regarded as perplexing,
given the considerable linguistic changes effected by
the settlers, which suggest extensive Scandinavian
settlement 2. Analysis of the limited funerary record
has typically been largely restricted to mapping areas
of Scandinavian settlement, and it has been difficult
to overcome the impression that we have somehow failed to detect 
the bulk of the Scandinavian burials in
England. In this paper I shall argue that even the few
overtly Scandinavian burials that have been identified
did not simply reflect a pre-existing Scandinavian identity
implanted into England. Rather, these burials were selectively
constructed as an important element of the process
by which the Scandinavians established their position in
England, made claims to land and status and constructed
group and individual identities.