Bronze Age Burials Research Articles

Characteristics of Soil Carbon Buried for 3300 Years in a Bronze Age Burial Mound

To elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the long‐term retention of soil C, soil samples were retrieved from a paleosolic A h1orizon (Mbur) buried underneath a Bronze Age mound and from waterlogged anaerobic (Man) and aerobic zones (Mae) within the mound. For comparison with a modern soil, samples were taken from the surrounding arable field (Ar). The soils were characterized by cross‐polarization magic angle spinning 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and by CO2 production during incubation. At sampling, the Ar, Man, Mae, and Mbur soils contained 22.6, 17.9, 6.5, and 6.2 g C kg−1 soil, respectively. Compared with the Ar and Man soils, the Mbur and Mae soils were depleted in alkyl C, N‐alkyl C, and O‐alkyl C and enriched in aromatic and carboxylic groups. The content of PLFA in the mound soils was much lower than normally found for arable soils and the ability of the deprived biomass to decompose glucose was retarded and included a 2‐ to 3‐wk lag phase. The lability of C left under aerobic conditions for more than three millennia did not differ significantly from that of C in the contemporary Ar soil. Although the chemical nature of the C in the Ar and Man soils was similar, C that had resided under anaerobic conditions was less labile than C from the arable soil. We consider the persistence of C in the unwaterlogged parts of the burial mound to result from physical restrictions imposed on gas exchange and water availability, and thus restricted microbial activity, rather than from biochemical recalcitrance of the remaining C.

Excavations at Kouphovouno, Laconia: Results from the 2001 and 2002 Seasons

A final report is presented here on the excavation of four Areas at the prehistoric site of Kouphovouno, Sparta, Lakonia. Areas A and D were excavated as trials in 2001 and lie outside the land purchased by the BSA for the main campaigns, so they could not be excavated further, whilst Areas E and F had extensive deposits of historic date and were not further explored as being outside the remit of the main Kouphovouno Project. The excavations have yielded important Neolithic and Early Helladic II deposits, plus Bronze Age burials and later Roman remains. After summarising the aims of the Project and mentioning earlier work at the site, the report gives an account of the stratigraphy and finds and includes specialist reports on the human and animal bones, the ceramics, the chipped and ground stone and other finds. Also discussed is the relationship between the surface remains reported in BSA 99 and the excavated material.

The Bronze Age burials from Cova Dels Blaus (Vall d′Uixó, Castelló, Spain): An approach to palaeodietary reconstruction through dental pathology, occlusal wear and buccal microwear patterns

This paper reports a palaeodietary investigation of the human remains found in the collective Bronze Age burial cave from Vall d′Uixó (Castelló, Spain). Dental pathology, tooth wear as well as buccal dental microwear were analysed. Percentages of dental pathologies were compared with Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites from the same territory. Dental caries, ante-mortem tooth loss, periodontal disease and abscess frequencies indicate a diet rich in carbohydrate foods. However, dental calculus percentages and macroscopic wear patterns suggest a diet not exclusively relying on agricultural resources. In addition, buccal dental microwear density and length by orientation recorded on micrographs using a scanning electron microscope showed inter-group differences with regard to carnivorous hunter-gatherers and farming populations related to the amount of abrasives in the diet that could correspond to a different dependence on agricultural resources or food preparation technology.

ON THE INTENT TO MAKE CRAMP: AN INTERPRETATION OF VITREOUS SEAWEED CREMATION ‘WASTE’ FROM PREHISTORIC BURIAL SITES IN ORKNEY, SCOTLAND

Summary. Vitreous slag‐like material, known as ‘cramp’, from prehistoric cremation burial sites in Orkney is, apart from cremated bone, one of the recurrent remains found within or around Bronze Age burials. Although the suggestion that cramp was formed by the fusing of sand attached to dry seaweed while it was being burnt was first proposed in the 1930s, there has never been a consideration of seaweed's contribution to cremation other than as a potential fuel. Scientific analyses presented in this paper corroborate the use of seaweed. It is suggested that cramp may have been deliberately produced to act as an efficient collector of shattered bone which otherwise could have been lost during the cremation. Far from being a ‘waste’, cramp could well have been another form of ‘human‐remains’ in its own right.

Anglo-Saxon and Earlier Settlement near Drayton Road, Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire

Since E. T. Leeds' excavations of the Anglo-Saxon settlement at Sutton Courtenay in the 1920s and 1930s, aerial photographs revealing large timber buildings, as well as finds of metalwork and coins have suggested that the settlement was more extensive and of higher status than Leeds had imagined. This report reviews this evidence and describes the results of fieldwalking, geophysical survey and small-scale excavation which have provided further details of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, and uncovered one of the timber buildings. It has also revealed features pre-dating the Anglo-Saxon occupation: Neolithic pits and an oval barrow—perhaps related to a nearby cursus—a Late Bronze Age burial, an Early Iron Age settlement and a Roman field system.

Human Remains from Middle Bronze Age Burials at Sidon, Lebanon: the 2001 Season

This report is concerned with fragmented skeletal remains dating to the Middle Bronze Age that were excavated in the 2001 campaign at Sidon, Lebanon. From 19 discrete burial units a total of 31 individuals were identified and assessed as to their biological characteristics. The majority of adults who could be sexed were male, many of them strongly built. The overall age distribution in this sample is characterised by a pattern commonly found in prehistoric assemblages, with high mortality during infancy and early childhood and a peak in adult mortality during early adulthood. There is a conspicuous occurrence of unusual dental traits. Jar burials, all found with remains of sub-adult individuals, represent a burial practice applied to children of a wide age range. Many burials are associated with faunal remains, mostly of sheep or goats, but also of large ungulates.

Sidon (Lebanon): Twenty Middle Bronze Age Burials from the 2001 Season of Excavation

The 2002 season of the British Museum excavations at Sidon uncovered twenty burials of the Middle Bronze Age. These included 'warrior' burials in constructed graves containing bronze weapons, child burials in jars, as well as the more common types of simple burials on plaster floors or sand. More burials have been found in the following season and the total so far has reached thirty-six. The graves and their contents are described in detail in the first article by Doumet-Serhal followed by an article on the scarabs (Taylor). Analysis of skeletal remains was undertaken at the Department of Archaeological Sciences in Bradford University (Ogden and Schutkowski) and the faunal material which includes not only sheep/goat but also fish, pig, tortoise and bovid is described by Vila (CNRS, Lyon).

Scarabs from the Bronze Age Tombs at Sidon (Lebanon)

A study of nine scarabs mostly found in the Middle Bronze Age burials from Sidon, Lebanon.

Survey of the Remains of Mammals Recovered in the Middle Bronze Age Burials at Sidon (Lebanon)

The discovery, during the 2001 season at Sidon, of a group of Middle Bronze Age burials presents a new corpus of funerary offerings and animal sacrifices. The analysis of the animal remains provides archaeozoological data on the practices of burying animals and providing food offerings for the dead, and essential data for the understanding of burials and funerary rites which can be compared with the sparse literary information relating to these practices.

Society and Violence in the Early Bronze Age: An Analysis of Human Skeletons from Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

In 1968, a large collection of human bones was excavated at a site located at Sund, Inderøy, Nord-Trøndelag. Radiocarbon dating showed the find to be from the Early Bronze Age. Between 20 and 30 individuals could be isolated -- half of them children -- and evidence of violent trauma indicated that the find was unusual. The only artefact in the find was a simple bone pin. Close to Sund is the large burial site of Toldnes, which has produced some of the richest Bronze Age finds from Norway. The skeletal materials from Sund and Toldnes have been compared and additional analyses from other Early Bronze Age burials used in order to understand what happened at Sund and its relationship to the Toldnes burials. The osteological analyses indicate a community in distress, ridden by long-term starvation, malnutrition and parasites as well as repeated violent encounters. The osteological evidence, in addition to archaeological analyses of weapons and society from England, Denmark and Sweden, suggests a society with a segment of specialized warriors. The constant possibility of violence and war may have acted like moral glue -- structuring the society and ensuring the power and status of the governing forces.

Excavation of an urned cremation burial of the Bronze Age, Glennan, Argyll and Bute

As part of the Historic Scotland Human Remains Call Off Contract, Glasgow Univ ersity Archaeological Research Division (GUARD)undertook an archaeological excavation of a prehistoric urned cremation deposit within a boulder shelter at Glennan, Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute (NGR NM86220097). Analysis has shown the cremation was of a male probably aged between 25 and 40 years. He had suffered from slight spinal joint disease, and mild iron deficiency anaemia, though neither seems likely to have affected his general health. He was cremated shortly after death, together with a young sheep/goat, and their remains were subsequently picked from the pyre and co-mingled before burial in the urn. An unburnt retouched flint flake was recovered which may have accompanied the burial. The closest parallels for the cremation container are found within the tradition of Enlarged Food Vessel urns, a tradition that is poorly dated but probably has a currency in the first half of the second millennium BC. Radiocarbon dating was problematic: a sample of heather-type charcoal from the fill of the urn was dated and provided a range of cal AD1260-1390 at 2 sigma (OxA-10281). A second date was obtained from a sample of hazel charcoal from the lowest part of the fill of the urn, which provided a range of 3370-2920 cal BC at 2 sigma (GU-9598). There are sufficient examples of animal bone previously found accompanying Bronze Age burials to suggest that animals may have had a role in mortuary rites before burial of human remains, though the role and status of these animal remains is not always clear. Although the sample is small, the evidence suggests that, depending on the burial rite, some species of animals were considered more appropriate than others for inclusion; pigs associated with inhumation and goat/sheep associated with cremation burials. The choice of a domesticated animal to accompany the mortuary rites may have been of significance during a period when agro-pastural farming was being widely practiced, and may reflect the perceived inter-relationship between the cultural landscape of people and their livestock. The context of deposition of an Enlarged Food Vessel urn at Glennan, in a boulder shelter in the uplands, provides an interesting contrast with the known deposition of Food Vessels focused on the valley floor at Kilmartin. It indicates that while many of the more visible ceremonial and funerary sites of the second millennium BC may focus on the floor of the glen, other parts of the landscape were also significant in terms of such activities.POSTSCRIPT The cremated bone from the Glennan urn, that had previously given some problematic dates (Report Section 8) has now (March 2004) produced a result of 3615+/-35BP (GrA-24861). At 2130-1880 calBC (2-sigma), this is well within the range of dates for such Vase Urns. The author of SAIR 8 acknowledges the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for funding this radiocarbon date and the National Museums of Scotland Dating Cremated Bone Project (especially Dr Alison Sheridan) for organising it.

‘The Amesbury Archer’: a well-furnished Early Bronze Age burial in southern England

‘The Amesbury Archer’: a well-furnished Early Bronze Age burial in southern England

Why Are Ground Stone Tools Found in Middle and Late Bronze Age Burials?

Previous articleNext article No AccessArti-FactsWhy Are Ground Stone Tools Found in Middle and Late Bronze Age Burials?Jennie R. EbelingJennie R. Ebeling Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Near Eastern Archaeology Volume 65, Number 2June 2002The Archaeology of Death A journal of ASOR Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/3210876 Views: 28Total views on this site Copyright 2003 American Schools of Oriental ResearchPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Kunji Cave: Early Bronze Age burials in Luristan

Kunji Cave: Early Bronze Age burials in Luristan

Bronze Age Myanmar (Burma): a report on the people from the cemetery of Nyaunggan, Upper Myanmar

Rare information is presented on Bronze Age burials from Burma. Skeletal remains of 43 individuals are placed in a broader southeast Asian context.

Two Traditions of Bronze Age Burial in the Stonehenge Landscape

A study of the size of round barrows in relation to their position in the Stonehenge landscape allows us to define two types of mound, here termed ‘Conspicuous’ and ‘Inconspicuous’. Conspicuous barrows are large and prominently located, whilst inconspicuous barrows are smaller and less strikingly placed. Inconspicuous barrows were associated mainly with funerary urns and were constructed throughout the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. Conspicuous barrows contain a wider range of grave goods and were mainly built in the later part of the Early Bronze Age. The Conspicuous barrows were impressive features of the prehistoric landscape and may have been built there because of the long-established significance of some of the local monuments, including Stonehenge itself. They contain exotic grave goods and could have been the burial places of a wider population. By contrast, the Inconspicuous barrows appear to be associated with settlement areas. They contain a range of ceramic grave goods which extend throughout the Early and Middle Bronze Ages and may have been built by the people who were living in the area. The latter tradition is the longer lived and retained its importance into the Middle Bronze Age when more conspicuous mounds were no longer built.

Palynological Investigations of a Bronze Age Cist Burial from Whitsome, Scottish Borders, Scotland

A palynological study of the floor material of a recently excavated Bronze Age burial cist is presented. This demonstrates a distinctive pollen assemblage rich in a Brassicaceae pollen alongside a more restricted distribution ofFilipendulapollen. The possibility that the pollen is derived from purposeful anthropogenic deposition at the time of inhumation is recognized. It is considered to be of particular significance that this cist falls within a region whereFilipendulatributes have previously been recovered from Bronze Age burials and yet a novel floral taxon is present.

Recent Studies on the Formation of Iron Pans around the Oaken Log Coffins of the Bronze Age Burial Mounds of Denmark

In 1921 a burial mound from the Danish Early Bronze Age was excavated near the village of Egtved, Central Jutland. The mound contained a well-preserved oaken log coffin with remnants of a young woman, the Egtved girl. The central parts of the mound including the coffin were surrounded by a strongly cemented iron pan from which a number of samples were taken. Previous finds of well preserved coffins showed similar iron pan formations and different theories on the development of these pans have been proposed, e.g. podzolization. During the last decade a number of new burial mounds containing iron pans have been excavated, unfortunately without well-preserved oaken log coffins. Chemical analyses have been carried out on soil samples from these newly excavated mounds and compared with similar analyses on samples from the iron pan of the Egtved mound. The results show that the iron pans of the Bronze Age burial mounds were formed by redox processes.

Soil Forming Processes in and below a Bronze Age Burial Mound at Lejrskov, Southern Jutland

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 98: 46–55. In the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century archaeological excavations of Bronze Age burial mounds in Jutland occasionally revealed mounds with water saturated cores, in which the conditions of preservation were extraordinary good. The wet areas were totally encapsulated by thin, strongly cemented iron pans, and until 1942 several different theories on the genesis of these pans were proposed. All of the theories referred to some sort of podzolisation in their explanation of the genesis. In 1995 excavations at a burial mound at Lejrskov, Southern Jutland revealed similar iron pans. This paper describes the results of the chemical and morphological analyses of the burial mound and the buried soil below, It was established that the soil profile development in the top of the barrow was very weak probably as a result of soil erosion, but iron pans had been formed by reduction/oxidation processes (gley-formation) surrounding the core of the mound. The buried soil below the barrow was an acid sandy soil without signs of podzolisation.

The Chinese Northern frontier: reassessment of the Bronze Age burials from Baifu

All across the thousands of kilometres of northern central Asia — from the Baltic Sea to the Yellow Sea — burials have been key to the later prehistoric sequence. The immediate subjects of this article are three late Bronze Age burials from North China; rich and well-preserved with weaponry and horse fittings, with agate and rush matting, they tell also of the world outside China, for into one of the daggers is cast the full-face image of a Caucasian male, complete with handlebar moustache.