For the majority of our sample, there was no evidence of a link between burials, except for the case of two twins. One had died as a child and was buried in the early 1900s. The other twin apparently lived a long life, and was subsequently buried next to his brother. The burial plot is relatively small, and re-digging to put the older twin in must have been planned in advance. Also, the headstone appears to be new. These changes to the grave show a clear and deliberate choice to maintain family ties even after death. What does this say about that particular family's belief in an afterlife? Was this choice a pragmatic one, based on the plots held in the cemetery? Or was it more for the sake of the remaining family, reuniting the brothers to ease the pain of loneliness and grief? Yet the parents or other siblings didn't appear to be buried anywhere nearby, so why are just the brothers together? The photo below is taken from our memorial analysis, and is the headstone of the grave. It shows the names and dates of the brothers, as well as the newness of the tombstone.
Perhaps this piqued my curiosity so much because my own grandparents were buried in a similar way. My grandfather died many years ago, before I was born. When my grandmother passed away, only about 5 years ago, she was laid to rest right on top of his coffin. Despite never having met my grandfather, it was immensely comforting to me to know that grandma wouldn't be alone in death, or even just where her physical body was. I am not a religious person by any standard, and I don't actually really believe in an afterlife. Yet, with this death, the first I had ever experienced, I found myself easing my pain with that exact notion. To this day, years later, I still use the idea that I might somehow "see her again", or that "she is in a better place" to avoid the sadness that comes with remembering her. This fascinates me, as I'm completely aware that I'm doing it, and that I don't believe what I'm convincing myself of. It's quite a complicated train of thought and I avoid digging into it as much as I can!
To get back to the twins in our case study, and with this personal experience in mind, it seems more likely that they were buried together for the family's sake rather than their own. Seeing as one brother died at such a young age, it is unlikely that the older twin remembered much about him or had a strong connection. I do not mean to diminish the grief he and his family must have felt at the loss in any way. I'm quite sure that even the knowledge that he lost his brother so early in life must have had an influence on the older brother's experiences. However, given the circumstances and time gap, it seems reasonable to me to assume that the joint burial was for the sake of the family rather than for the "comfort" of the twins. Perhaps the lack of other kin nearby was an indication of how important the remaining family felt it was for the twins to be reunited - maybe this was for the younger brother, rather than the older. Interestingly, as I discovered in my own experience, it may also have nothing to do with a religious belief or affiliation. There is no way of knowing for sure, but whatever the case may be, I think it is very interesting, and the parallels to my own experience make me very curious about the various ways in which the living bury the dead to comfort themselves.
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