Familiarity breeds remembrance: on the reiterative power of cemeteries

Abstract

Based on mortuary evidence from the Norwegian Viking Age (AD 750–1050), this article seeks to present an argument for cemeteries as key components of social memory and collective experience. Rather than focusing on cemeteries as arenas for ritual and funerary drama, it is proposed that cemeteries can also be seen as lived landscapes that are featured as landmarks in people’s everyday lives. This interpretation does not detract from cemeteries as potent ritual places, but instead recognizes that they can carry multiple levels of meaning. Aspects such as accessibility, opportunities for regular interaction with the sites, and cemeteries as active and regularly used components of a landscape will be addressed.