Beyond the grave: developing new tools for complex cemetery analysis at Villa Magna, Italy

There is much new and exciting theoretical research in funerary archaeology, revealing the potential of archaeological evidence for understanding the responses, attitudes and practices surrounding burial. Yet in practice, there is often a disjunction between archaeological and anthropological data, theories about burial, field methodologies, and post-excavation analysis. Web-based technologies offer a means to integrate a variety of data types and disseminate this information to facilitate a finer-grained analysis of burial and funerary practices. We examine the implications of these new techniques through a detailed case-study of the excavations of the medieval cemetery at Villamagna, Italy (2006-2010). At Villamagna, we used an integrated, reflexive and multivocal approach to manage and record anthropological, osteological, archaeological, and topographical data. Collating plans, images, finds, and specialist data enables a more holistic understanding of individuals from the funerary record by combining evidence of identity as signaled after death with evidence for identity during life. The Villamagna case study illustrates the potential that new technologies, specifically web applications, have for the integration of data from excavations and the production of theoretically nuanced analyses.