History

The mystery of the ashes of the Indian nationalist Netaji

Subhas Chandra Bose, known more commonly as just Netaji is a famous figure in the Indian nationalist movement. During the second world war he pursued a number of routes to try and get the British out of Indian, first courting the Germans and then the Japanese however when his military campaign didn’t work, he decided…

Philip II of Macedonia cremated remains confirmed

Most of us have heard of Alexander the Great, well in case you weren’t aware his father was Philip II of Macedonia and scientists now believe they have discovered his cremated remains. The tomb that held them was found a while ago in 1977, but recent excavations revealed that there were were more burial…

The rise and fall of cremation in the ancient world

As far back as 1000BC the ancient Greeks had adopted cremation as measure to deal with their dead. It is likely that it was introduced for military reasons as a way of making sure that soldiers killed abroad could be returned home, the bodies were cremated and their ashes are return home to be placed…

Julius Caesar’s soul was carried to the heaven by an eagle

Julius Caesar arguably one off the most important figures in western history was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. When Caesar died, his body was taken to The Forum to be cremated, the crowd that witnessed this was much larger than had been expected causing mayhem, and his funeral pyre burnt slightly out of control causing…

Baldur the viking god cremated on his longboat

Baldur is an ancient Norse God, in fact the only norse god I have found associated with being cremated in a viking longboat. Baldur was the son of Odin (king of the gods) and his wife Frigg (who gives her name to Friday). Anyway he was a well loved god, famed for his intelligence…

Medieval fashion – ashes launched from a Trebuchet or Catapult

Flung from a mighty medieval war engine, sailing into the sky then boom! The ashes scattered across the the target – what a way to go! Well okay perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, but I would wager there are plenty people out there who would like it! Okay mainly your armour clad battle…

The False Tsar who had his ashes shot out of a cannon!

This is a great little story from northern europe from the early 17th century, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) The incident is set in the conflict or series of conflicts that involved the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth taking an opportunistic swipe at the Russians when the Russian Tsardom was torn into a series of civil wars. As with many civil…

The Orgins of the Ashes cricket contest – a protest for cremation

As one of the world greatest sporting contest draws to a close and England retain the precious little trophy, spare a thought for where this tiddler came from and what was the symbolism. The story starts in 1882, at the Oval cricket ground in London, when England cricketers managed to clutch defeat from the jaws of…

What do these Greeks have in common…

People who commit suicide, untoothed children and persons struck by lightning? The answer: they were not allowed to be cremated. It would appear that in pre christian times cremation was the standard form of funeral and that as christianity took hold, a distinction between the old and the new must be established and previous practises were considered…

Dr William Price the father of modern British cremation?

The Physician, Welsh nationalist and Neo-Druid Dr William Price (1800 –1893) could and perhaps should be considered to be the father of modern British cremation. Dr Price was certainly unusual, even by the standards of the day and on the eccentric-meter firmly in the red zone. However what is even more interesting is his…

Archeologically: can the cremation pyre wood tell about the social status?

I found this interesting site dedicated to Bio archaeology and mortuary archaeology – now there is a niche specialism! Apparently you can learn a lot about the funeral from the bones once they have been burned. The colouring, completeness and the warping of the of the remains – can reveal fire temperature, how the body…

Funeral Rings – an old British Tradition

Memorial jewellery is not a new idea, the tradition appears to date back to the medieval times. I found this little piece in my beloved BBC History magazine, the brief article said that ‘Mourning rings’ popular principally in England became more commonplace in the 16th century and lasted into the early 1900s. This is not…

Bronze Age cremation urn unearthed on Dartmoor

Archaeologists have uncovered a bronze aged cremation urn (known as a Cist) from a site on Whitehouse Hill in Dartmoor. The urn is a stone chest and what was unusual about this find was the contents could be distinguished. Apart from the cremated remains the box contained a woven bag or basket and amber beads.…

Orgins of Cremation Rites and Ashes Part III: The Illiad

Origins of cremation ashes and rites: The Trojan war is coming to it’s final stages Achilles’ friend Patroclus is killed by by the hero Hector. Achilles is devastated he puts on new armor and re-enters the fight eventually killing Hector. For Achilles revenge is not enough, his grief is so extreme he can not…

Origins of scattering cremated ashes Part II: Jat Tribe

The origins of scattering cremated ashes, as one might imagine, are claimed by a number of customs and religions. A few weeks ago I wondered whether Norse Mythology came first, since then I have had a couple of people suggesting different origins and describing where this custom might also have originated. The Jat tribes…

Scattering ashes tradition – Is it Norse?

Many cultures that use cremation instead of burial will scatter the ashes, but cremation is a ‘fairly’ new phenomena in the modern western society and scattering ashes, particularly in the UK, is even more recent. I was wondering where the western origins of the tradition might lie. So far I have come across one…