An Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Late Islamic Cemeteries Within the Cathedral (15th–18th Century CE) and the Ruins of Adulis (Mid-19th–Early 20th Century CE), Massawa, Eritrea: Funerary Architecture, Funerary Rituals, Burial Rites, and Bioarcheological Data Identifying Late Islamic Graves in Central Eastern Eritrea

Systematic studies on Late Islamic cemeteries that integrate architectural, ritual, and biological aspects remain relatively rare, particularly in Islamic countries or regions with an active Muslim presence. Typically, available research focuses more on epigraphic and artistic features. Since 2018, excavations at the Cathedral and surveys in the ruins of the city of Adulis (Massawa, Eritrea) have uncovered 326 Muslim graves: six dating to the 15th and 18th centuries CE and 320 attributed to the mid-19th to the early 20th century CE. These discoveries have enabled, for the first time in Eritrea, a detailed scientific study of the biological characteristics of the human remains, the funerary architecture, and the burial rites of Muslim communities from the 15th to the early 20th century. The skeletal remains were analyzed through taphonomic and anthropological studies. The graves were categorized into various typologies based on their structural features, while evidence of funerary ritua...