Birds, Beasts and Burials ─ A Study of the Human-Animal Relationship in Romano-British St. Albans

The human-animal relationship is one that has been pondered by scholars for ages. It has been used to define both what it means to be human and what it means to be animal. Birds, Beasts and Burials examines human-animal relationships as found in the mortuary record within the area of Verulamium that is now situated in the modern town of St. Albans. Once considered a major centre, the mortuary rites given to its people suggest high variabilities in the approach to the personhood of certain classes of both people and animals. While 480 human individuals were examined, only a small percentage was found to have been afforded the rite of a human-animal co-burial. It is this small percentage that is examined in greater detail. Of major concern are the treatments to both the human and animal pre- and post- burial and the point at which the animal enters into the funerary practice.