The interment of stillborn infants in later medieval burial grounds stands at odds with Catholic Church Law, which forbade the inclusion of unbaptised children within consecrated ground. When perinatal remains occur within graveyards, their interpretation can be problematic. Did they live to be baptised, or do such examples represent clandestine burials? Historical documents indicate that some parents disobeyed the Church and secretly buried their offspring within consecrated ground. Proving such actions in the archaeological record, however, is another matter. This paper therefore investigates the discovery of a perinatal burial (Sk953) within a rural graveyard at Poulton in Cheshire, England, placed in a small household box. A multifaceted approach was used to interpret the varying strands of evidence. These comprised church law, the birth, container, orientation of the corpse, local topography, date of burial, and status of the graveyard when the infant was interred. The authors interpret the evidence as characteristic of a clandestine burial, and a rare expression of grief and love visible in the archaeological record.

中文翻译：

---

血浓于洗礼水：中世纪晚期围产期埋葬在一个小家庭的箱子里

在中世纪晚期的墓地埋葬死产婴儿与天主教会法律不一致，该法律禁止将未受洗的儿童纳入圣地。当墓地内出现围产期遗骸时，对它们的解释可能会有问题。他们活着是为了受洗，还是这些例子代表了秘密埋葬？历史文件表明，一些父母不服从教会，将他们的后代秘密埋葬在圣地。然而，在考古记录中证明这种行为是另一回事。因此，本文调查了在英格兰柴郡 Poulton 的一个农村墓地中发现的围产期墓葬 (Sk953)，该墓葬放置在一个小型家用盒子中。使用多方面的方法来解释不同的证据链。这些包括教会法、出生、容器、尸体的方向、当地地形、埋葬日期以及婴儿被埋葬时墓地的状况。作者将这些证据解释为秘密埋葬的特征，以及考古记录中罕见的悲伤和爱的表达。