Diverse burial practices from a late medieval cemetery in Somerset

It is often assumed that in the late medieval period burial practice was highly standardised. We expect to find individuals who were simply shrouded, laid out supine in separate graves, on a west-east alignment with their heads to the west, and with no evidence for grave inclusions. While this may be seen as the norm, recent research into medieval burial practice has shown that funerary contexts in this period can include a diverse range of rites. This paper will present some of the evidence for diverse burial practice from the excavation of part of the church and lay cemetery of the priory of SS Peter and Paul, Taunton, Somerset, which was excavated in 2005. Interesting practices include the use of ash and charred planks as grave inclusions, the reuse of stone-lined graves within the nave, perhaps by family members, the possible transfer of exhumed remains from one site to another, and the use of graves for more than one individual.