Challenging the Traditional Chronological Framework of Funerary Rituals in the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region: 14C Results from the Site of Lummen-Meldert (Belgium)

Abstract

Archaeologists tend to use typochronological frameworks to date their sites. These are based on the appearance of certain cultural markers such as grave types or houseplans. In the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, a chronological framework is used for the cremation cemeteries from the Middle Bronze Age until the Late Iron Age based on the size, number, and presence of different types of cremation graves. Radiocarbon dating of cremated bone from the small cemetery at Lummen-Meldert dates this site to the Late Bronze Age. These results challenge the hypothesis that small cremation cemeteries with mostly “unurned” graves date to the Middle Iron Age. The cremation graves without an urn and grave goods are a specific category that has to be dated by absolute dating methods such as 14C. The results also suggest a connection with the funerary traditions in the Atlantic region.