Nina Crummy Late Roman Infant Burials Summary

Bears and Coins:The Iconography of Protection in Late Roman Infant Burials, written by Nina Crummy analyzes the sites of a small group of infant burials found within Britain. These date to early c.e., during the Roman rule of the region. While the actual archaeological evidence found within these graves is interesting enough, it is in Crummy’s analysis of the items that is of greater significance. Using these uncovered items, Crummy creates two groups to examine, and her theories regarding how the carefully chosen tokens show a parental attachment to the deceased, despite their young age. With the aforementioned archaeological evidence, combined with known beliefs of early Roman-Britain, Crummy is able to accurately display her ideas about the meaning of childhood and parenthood within a society with high infant mortality.
Within Crummy’s article, two groups of infant burials are discussed. Although the specifics of each particular grave is covered, Crummy’s overall argument is one of more widespread pertinence to society within Roman Britain. While the commonly accepted idea is that of high childhood …show more content…
While this is apparent within the article’s many instances of analysis that gives multiple potential explanations for a given item, Crummy negotiates this in a way that does not detract from her own hypothesis. In actuality, Crummy has managed to keep her analysis well within the realm of the tangible. Any speculation made within Bears and Coins is thoroughly explained, including ideas from various cultural influences. Altogether, Crummy’s article is one that gives a fascinating glimpse into an aspect of early British society that is pertinent to the way that the relationships between parents and children in the ancient world is viewed within historical