Abstract
The paper sums up the field research carried out at the complex of ceremonial-funerary sites at Malżyce and Zagaje Stradowskie in the northern part of the western Lesser Poland loess upland. The research revealed differences in construction among chamberless Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) tombs in western Lesser Poland. The results obtained at these sites were later confirmed by data from other sites explored in recent years. Typological and chronometric studies point towards a similar age of all the distinguished tomb types: around 3650-3350 BC. In addition, a chronological sequence of transformations in the megalithic burial rite of FBC communities is proposed.
Highlights
The first chamberless tomb in the loess uplands of western Lesser Poland was explored in 1968 in Niedźwiedź, Kraków district (Burchard 1973a)
The number of tombs discovered in the region still remains relatively small. Important information concerning this aspect of the Funnel Beaker culture (FBC) megalithic rite was obtained during research in the Wodzisław Hummock (Garb Wodzisławski) microregion, in Malżyce and Zagaje Stradowskie
Eight Eneolithic funerary structures have so far been identified in the loess hills between Malżyce and Zagaje Stradowskie, of which six have been explored (Fig. 7)
Summary
The first chamberless tomb in the loess uplands of western Lesser Poland was explored in 1968 in Niedźwiedź, Kraków district (Burchard 1973a). The number of tombs discovered in the region still remains relatively small Important information concerning this aspect of the Funnel Beaker culture (FBC) megalithic rite was obtained during research in the Wodzisław Hummock (Garb Wodzisławski) microregion (eastern part of the Nida Basin), in Malżyce and Zagaje Stradowskie (both in Czarnocin commune, Kazimierza Wielka district). Research at the site was resumed by Barbara Burchard in the 1990s, when two tombs were investigated (Burchard 1998; 2006) Apart from these excavations, surface surveys in the vicinity were performed soon after by Krzysztof Tunia, which inspired further fieldwork in the first and early second decade of the 21st century at site nos. Graves linked with the Corded Ware and Mierzanowice cultures were discovered near FBC tombs in Zagaje Stradowskie (“Stradów Tomb”) and Malżyce, site no. Information obtained on the construction types of chamberless tombs is important in the context of studies on the funeral rite in the middle Eneolithic period
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