Cist Graves Research Articles

Some techniques for producing copper wire in late Classical and Hellenistic Macedonia

This paper discusses different techniques for making copper wire in the fourth and third centuries BCE in ancient Macedonia (Northern Greece). Wire was used to form stems on gilded wreaths, and to support berries, leaves and rosettes. Stems were made in one piece with the leaves, and are likely to have been formed in at least two ways: one involved cutting them out of sheet copper about 0.5 mm thick, which was creased and then hammered into shape; the other involves using copper rods 1mm square. Some of the square copper rods can be seen on the wreaths, and their regularity suggests they may have been formed on a swaging block. Berries were joined to the wreath circlets by round wires, formed in some cases, it is suggested, by hammering sheet metal around a central core; in other cases, these stems may have been formed by rolling a rod between stone slabs. No evidence, such as longitudinal striations, was found of drawing. Some examples of strip-twisted wire were found, but there are fewer cases of this than of wire formed by hammering. The most expensive gilded wreaths at Derveni, cist grave A, Phoinikas cist grave 5 and Sedes, sometimes had special features, such as gilded copper tubes (‘branches’) with smaller stems on either side, or square wires formed into spirals.

“Tomb of the Philosophers” in Pella, Macedonia Revisited: New Findings on Its Iconography


 
 
 This article discusses the new findings on the iconography of the two figural friezes painted in the interior of the “Tomb of the Philosophers”, an early Hellenistic, monumental, built cist grave, situated in the east cemetery of Pella, Macedonia. A new technical investigation of the tomb’s wall paintings has allowed the revision of older readings of the two friezes. In the lower, main figural frieze new observations pertain to figure characterization, through features, dress and attributes, as well as to the scene’s setting. The figures of the frieze offer the earliest preserved gathering of intellectuals whose professional insignia cannot be missed, while the celestial globe shown on the west wall appears to be one of the earliest extant representations of the device and the earliest preserved in a funerary environment. The new identification proposed for the monuments shown in the upper, secondary frieze, which represents a horse race, aligns the frieze’s composition with established iconographic schemes of agonistic events, adds multiple levels of symbolism, and ties the Pella wall-paintings more tightly than previously believed with the “Torre Annunziata philosopher mosaic”, Pompeii, and its twin from Sarsina, Umbria. The bonds of astronomy/cosmology with political theory and with aspects of Macedonian royal ideology, in particular, are set in relief. Finally, it is argued that the physical vicinity of the “Tomb of the Philosophers” with the palace of Pella and the royal court informed the mode of burial of a man of thought with favourable relations to his times’ monarchy, as well as his mode of portrayal as “the astronomer” on the west wall, a figure that presents us with a Macedonian iconographic hybrid of a philosopher, resonating the Platonic concept of the “philosopher king”.
 
 

FIRST RADIOCARBON DATING OF NEOLITHIC STONE CIST GRAVES FROM THE AOSTA VALLEY (ITALY): INSIGHTS INTO THE CHRONOLOGY AND BURIAL RITES OF THE WESTERN ALPINE REGION

ABSTRACTPrevious research on the Neolithic cist graves of the Western Alpine region—also known under the term Chamblandes type graves—mostly focused on sites located in western Switzerland and eastern France. For the adjacent Aosta Valley (Italy), only a little information is available. Within the framework of our research project, it was possible to identify about 120 stone cist graves from 10 sites in the Aosta Valley. Due to the lack of distinctive grave goods and missing absolute dating, however, their chronological position has been unclear until now. Here we present the first extensive series of radiocarbon dates from Neolithic stone cist graves of the Aosta Valley. We analyzed 31 human bone samples from four sites, and most dates indicate an unexpected early chronological position around the first half of the 5th millennium BCE, in particular, the site of Villeneuve, dating to 4800–4550 cal BCE. This identifies these burials from the Aosta Valley as belonging to the oldest known Neolithic cist graves of the Western Alpine region discovered so far. Altogether, our study provides new evidence allowing the first time to clarify the chronology of these sites and trace the evolution of this burial practice in the Western Alps.

Chronology and periodization of the Globular Amphora culture East Lublin Subgroup

The Globular Amphora culture East Lublin subgroup was distinguished in the 1950s by Stefan Nosek. The key argument in favour of the distinction involved stone cist graves, having south-eastern affinities. The newly-distinguished taxonomic unit boasted both western and eastern traits. Since 1996, 13 radiocarbon dates have been obtained for nine features: 1 settlement pit, 5 cist graves and 3 pit graves. The dates helped distinguish three chronological sequences and describe inventories of grave finds from particular development phases. By comparing inventories from graves for which radiocarbon dates were available with grave goods from features without such determinations, it was possible to supplement the sets of cultural elements characteristic of successive time intervals with traits to be found solely in the latter. Ultimately, the proposed periodization of Globular Amphora settlement in the eastern Lublin province is made up of three phases: I (‘general Globular Amphora’ horizon – preceding the formation of the East Lublin subgroup) – 3000/2950–2900/2850 BC; II (‘classical’ phase of the East Lublin subgroup) – 2900/2850–2650/2600 BC; III (‘late’ phase of the East Lublin subgroup) – 2650/2600–ca 2400 BC.

“Eğrekbaşı” Revisited - A Topographic and Contextual Correctum to a Burial Ground from the Southern Necropolis of Parion

Parion, one of the most important port cities of Troad, possesses great importance to Anatolian archaeology with its necropolis. Excavated continuously since 2005, a small portion of the cities southern necropolis, named Tavşandere, became the leading information provider for the understanding of the organisation of the cities burial grounds, funerary customs and grave typology. However, a small rescue excavation conducted nearly a kilometre south of the Tavşandere tends to change this situation. This rescue excavation that took place within a small-scale area revealed two cist graves and one sarcophagus. Especially one of the cist graves attracted attention with its very rich inventory of jewellery. This new burial ground possesses the potential to change our state-of-the-art knowledge on the size, topography and organisation of Parion’s southern necropolis. Evaluated under two publications this new burial ground from the hinterland of Parion still did not find its deserved place within the funerary archaeology of the Troad.This paper aims to re-evaluate this new burial ground, its topography, organisation and finds with some updated knowledge, new points of view and more in-detail comparanda. To do so, the topography, grave typology and most importantly the find repertories of this burial ground will be re-examined, compared with parallels and evaluated with the other burial grounds of the region.

Burials and human osteological remains from the Βronze Αge acropolis of Aghios Ioannis in northeastern Kopais, Boeotia, Greece: Preliminary results of the bioarchaeological analysis

This paper reports on the MH II/III Burial Cluster II excavated at the MH acropolis of Aghios Ioannis in Boeotia, Greece. The burial ground comprises various funerary structures (tumulus, rectangular enclosure, cist graves) and provides evidence on primary and secondary mortuary treatment. The analysis is based on the remains of 22 individuals and explores issues of health and mortuary practices. The contextual approach of the human osteological remains reveals variations in the treatment at death of different age groups and evidence of differences in mortuary practices according to biological sex and everyday life; results add further to the discussion on the renegotiated individual and collective identities in the mortuary sphere at this formative period for the subsequent Mycenaean era in Boeotia and Mainland Greece.

Sacrificial Status and Prestige Burials: Negotiating Life, Death, and Identity Through Personal Adornment at Early Bronze Age I Başur Höyük, Turkey

Başur Höyük in southeast Turkey lies at a critical crossroads linking Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Caucasia. The site was excavated as part of the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) project rescue excavations. During the Early Bronze Age I (3100–2900 BCE), a cemetery was created in an area previously occupied by an Uruk settlement. A stone cist grave and accompanying outer area contained several burials. Bodies interred outside the main stone chamber are thought to be the victims of human sacrifice as part of a retainer burial practice previously documented at Arslantepe and Ur. The grave contexts host an assemblage of personal ornaments that were deposited with those interred both inside and outside the stone chamber. This article considers the more than 30,000 recovered beads in light of social context, material procurement, use and value, technology, and relative differences in status of the occupants of the grave. The data are used to identify both how different identities were structured by the Early Bronze Age I residents of Başur Höyük and how the location of the site at a meeting point of trade routes and regional powers influenced material culture and social behavior in the region.1

Cist graves on Saba: funerary traditions in the colonial Caribbean

Abstract

Excavations at Maisyan (2014)

Due to salvage actions realised in 2014 by the united expedition of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Regional Museum of Shirak in the administrative district of the village Maisyan (Shirak region), six cist graves and one barrow were studied. The barrow has a cromlech of 14 m diameter, which is built of black stones and repeatedly reinforced using white limestone brought from the nearest hills. In one of two pit-graves opened under the barrow, the skeleton of the deceased was found with three vessels; in the other only vessels were present. Surely, both chambers belonged to the same person. Corresponding parallels are known from Lchashen and other sites dated to the first half of the 16th century BC – the transitional period from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. In cist graves the burials were done using the rite of decarnation, or reburying, and date to the developed phase of the Iron Age (9th-8th centuries BC).

People of the times of cist graves and face urns – A study on sceletal remains excavated in 2008–2015 at multicultural cemetery in Czarnówko (site 5), Lębork district (Pomerania, Poland)

People of the times of cist graves and face urns – A study on sceletal remains excavated in 2008–2015 at multicultural cemetery in Czarnówko (site 5), Lębork district (Pomerania, Poland)

Finding Meaning in the Past: Reinterpretation of the Late Roman Artifact, the Golden Ring with a Carnelian Intaglio from the Museum of Georgia

This paper offers a novel interpretation of the luxury golden ring with a carnelian intaglio depicting a woman's profile and an engraved Greek inscription, ΒΑCIΛICCΑ ΟΥΛΠIAΝΑ(Ζ)IA (or AΣIA E.A.), found in cist grave 14, in Mtskheta, Georgia, dated to the Roman period, the 3rd century AD. In consideration of the then contemporary political situation in the Mediterranean and Roman East, through the putting and interpreting sources into broad historical context, the author identifies the female individual as the Roman Empress Ulpia Severina. The very inclusion of royal woman within public propaganda during this period signifies her prominence within, and significance outside of, the imperial metropolis. This deliberate inclusion proved to the public that this empress was not mere figurehead but could have been a very influential person in the Empire.

IRON AGE MORTUARY PRACTICES AND MATERIAL CULTURE AT THE INLAND CEMETERY OF TSIKALARIO ON NAXOS: DIFFERENTIATION AND CONNECTIVITY

Naxos, the largest of the Cycladic islands, offers a nuanced insight into Iron Age funerary behaviour in the Cyclades and relations between social groups as reflected in the archaeological record. The focus of this paper is the cemetery of Tsikalario in the hinterland of the island, with emphasis on two burial contexts which exhibit a range of activities related to funerary ceremonies and the consumption of grave-offerings. The grave-tumuli found in the Tsikalario cemetery comprise a mortuary ‘phenomenon’ not found otherwise on Naxos during the Early Iron Age. Such a differentiation in mortuary practice can be interpreted as a strategy used by the people of inland Naxos to distinguish their funerary habits from the more typical Naxian practices of, for example, the inhabitants of the coastal Naxos harbour town. This distinctive funerary practice can speak in favour of an attempt by the kinship group(s) that buried their deceased in the cemetery of Tsikalario to articulate status and identity. Beyond these tumuli, evidence from a different type of grave context at Tsikalario – Cist Grave 11 and its vicinity (Burial Context 11) – offers an additional example of a well-thought-out staging of funerary beliefs in the inland region of Naxos. Not only does it illustrate the coexistence of other types of burials in the cemetery, but, alongside the tumuli and their finds, it also demonstrates, through the symbolic package of the grave-offerings and the multifaceted network of interactions they reveal, that inland Naxos participated in the intra- and supra-island circulation of wares and ideas.

Skeletal evidence of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) in a collective burial from Byzantine Greece

The paper reports on a collective burial from a 13th c. AD cist grave in Attica, Greece. The grave was located inside a basilica and held the remains of at least ten adults. Bone representation analysis showed secondary manipulation of previous deceased including long bone selection for reburial in the same grave and/or bones transported from a different burial place. Paleopathological analysis used macroscopy and radiology, and revealed several lesions on the axial and appendicular skeleton expressed mainly by spinal ligament ossification and multiple peripheral enthesopathies. Individuation of the remains pointed to a middle-aged male with DISH, a condition often correlated to high social rank. Byzantine period is marked by increasing development and prosperity in Greece including among others the creation of many local monastic centers. Although the precise social and professional profile of these individuals cannot be revealed, the combined investigation of skeletal and archaeological evidence suggests that the grave gathered the remains of individuals belonging to an upper class social group.

Architectural fragments from Callatis. New discoveries of Doric architecture

Eight Doric architectural fragments have been discovered recently in a rescue excavation campaign in Mangalia, re-used in the structure of an Early Christian cist grave. Their stylistic and morphological characteristics suggest a provenance from the same monument or built environment as the other two known fragments of architrave-friezes, incorporated in the permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Callatis. The inventory of fastening cuttings and tool traces indicated several hypothesis regarding their assemblage and preliminary observations on the architectural characteristics of the provenance monument. The discovery of this homogenous group of architectural blocks thus confirms and strengthens the perspective of an important Hellenistic Doric monument or architectural ensemble in Callatis, supporting the older hypothesis regarding a dominant presence of the Doric in the left Pontus cities.

Uwagi na temat obrządku pogrzebowego grupy olsztyńskiej na przykładzie cmentarzyska w Kosewie, pow. mrągowski (dawn. Kossewen, Kreis Sensburg)

The cemetery in Kosewo (former Kossewen, Kr. Sensburg; from 1938, Rechenberg) is one of the largest known necropolises dated to the Roman and Migration Periods found in the Mazurian Lakeland. The site was accidentally discovered during the construction works of the road linking Mrągowo with Mikolajki in 1887. Even though a large numer of features was discovered at the cemetery in Kosewo, only single finds or assemblages from that site have been published. At the cemetery in Kosewo there were pit and urn burials. The pit burials contained, besides the remains of the deceased, also the remains of the pyre. The predominant burial type were urn graves. Among the 728 recorded burials the majority were urn graves, amounting to 611. It seems justifiable to assume that in the Olsztyn group the urn graves were generally predominant, with some local departures from the custom. We may also say that the graves from the late Migration Period were deposited closer to the Surface than the ones from the Roman Period. This phenomenon has been also recorded at the other cemeteries of the Olsztyn Group. In the eastern part of the area settled by the Olsztyn Group, in which the Kosewo cemeteries are located, the burial grounds were usually made in the same places as the necropolises of the Bogaczewo culture. Large cemeteries used only in the Late Migration Period are exceptional. Graves from Phase E usually did not disturb the earlier burials, but at the cemetery in Kosewo this happened quite often. Basing on the research conducted so far it is possible to state that the graves from the Olsztyn Group were usually located in separate clusters located away from the graves from the Roman Period or only slightly overlapping with them. In the urn graves of the Olsztyn Group the urns are sometimes covered with overturned bowl- or plate-shaped vessels, or beakers with hollow stems. No stone linings, pavements, or cist graves have been registered. Also no horse graves, which can be found in Mazuria of the Roman and Migration Periods, have been discovered at the cemetery in Kosewo. The cemetery yielded some finds of weapons in the assemblages dated to Phase E. The decline of the Olsztyn Group is connected with the disappearance of archaeologically recordable burial rites. The change of the form of the burial rite probably did not concern cremation, which is recorded for the Prussian tribes from the Early Middle Ages. The change of the burial rites probably consisted in the introduction of a different form of deposition of the burials. Also at the cemetery in Kosewo no materials later than the 7th century have been recorded. The necropolis may have been abandoned or the way of depositing the burials was changed. The question about the final stages of use of the Olsztyn Group cemeteries may be answered by further investigations.

An Iron Age burial with weapons, on a site with evidence of medieval and post-medieval occupation from Dunbar, East Lothian

In September and October 2005, an archaeological excavation was undertaken on the site of the former Empire Cinema on Dunbar High Street. In addition to late medieval and post-medieval remains, a cist grave of pre-Roman or Roman Iron Age date was excavated and recorded. Two adult males occupied the cist grave, one of whom was equipped with a sword and a spear, representing a rare example of an Iron Age burial with weapons in Scotland. Partial skeletal remains of two further individuals were also present. This paper describes the cist grave and its contents, and places these in the context of similar remains in Scotland and wider afield, as well as considering the medieval and post-medieval remains, which included a north/south-aligned ditch that may have marked a boundary line to the west of Dunbar’s High Street. Rubble walls forming a corner of a structure to the west of this ditch may mark the remains of a building of late medieval date, while a relatively homogeneous deposit of considerable depth, built up over a relatively short period, may represent intentional levelling of the Empire site between the late medieval and early post-medieval periods.

A FOURTH-CENTURY TOMB AT ARGOS: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF LOCAL POTTERY AND BURIAL CUSTOMS

This article deals with the finds from a cist grave which is located in the bed of the River Xerias at Argos. The grave was in use during the fourth centurybcfor multiple burials, a usual practice for Argive cemeteries. The burials are presented in chronological order based on the interpretation of the excavation data and the chronology of the pottery. The finds from the grave reveal hitherto unknown burial practices at Argos; however, our limited knowledge on the cemeteries of the Late Classical period impedes assessment of them. The study of the vases from the tomb illuminates the otherwise unknown makeup of the local workshops in the fourth centurybc, where influences from abroad coexist harmoniously alongside experimentation and novelty.

A Terracotta Treasure at Assos

During the summer of 1995, Turkish archaeologists discovered a unique Late Classical tomb in the Western Necropolis of Assos. A modestly designed cist grave, Tomb 4 surprised excavators with the richest cache of grave goods ever found at the ancient city. The 62 well-preserved artifacts, which date from the 4th century BCE, when Aristotle's school of philosophy was active at Assos, consist of terracotta figurines, gold and bronze jewelry, and vases.

Late antique necropolis in Davidovac-Crkviste

In 2012, in the village Davidovac situated in south Serbia, 9.5 km south-west from Vranje, archaeological investigations were conducted on the site Crkviste. The remains of the smaller bronze-age settlement were discovered, above which a late antique horizon was later formed. Apart from modest remains of a bronze-age house and pits, a late antique necropolis was also excavated, of which two vaulted tombs and nine graves were inspected during this campaign. During the excavation of the northern sector of the site Davidovac-Crkviste the north-eastern periphery of the necropolis is detected. Graves 1-3, 5 and 6 are situated on the north?eastern borderline of necropolis, while the position of the tombs and the remaining four graves (4, 7-9) in their vicinity point that the necropolis was further spreading to the west and to the south?west, occupying the mount on which the church of St. George and modern graveyard are situated nowadays. All graves are oriented in the direction SW-NE, with the deviance between 3? and 17?, in four cases toward the south and in seven cases toward the north, while the largest part of those deviations is between 3? and 8?. Few small finds from the layer above the graves can in some way enable the determination of their dating. Those are two roman coins, one from the reign of emperor Valens (364-378), as well as the fibula of the type Viminacium-Novae which is chronologically tied to a longer period from the middle of the 5th to the middle of the 6th century, although there are some geographically close analogies dated to the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th century. Analogies for the tombs from Davidovac can be found on numerous sites, like in Sirmium as well as in Macvanska Mitrovica, where they are dated to the 4th-5th century. Similar situation was detected in Viminacium, former capital of the roman province of Upper Moesia. In ancient Naissus, on the site of Jagodin Mala, simple rectangular tombs were distributed in rows, while the complex painted tombs with Christian motifs were also found and dated by the coins to the period from the 4th to the 6th century. Also, in Kolovrat near Prijepolje simple vaulted tombs with walled dromos were excavated. During the excavations on the nearby site Davidovac-Gradiste, 39 graves of type Mala Kopasnica-Sase dated to the 2nd-3rd century were found, as well as 67 cist graves, which were dated by the coins of Constantius II, jewellery and buckles to the second half of the 4th or the first half of the 5th century. Based on all above mentioned it can be concluded that during the period from the 2nd to the 6th century in this area existed a roman and late antique settlement and several necropolises, formed along an important ancient road Via militaris, traced at the length of over 130 m in the direction NE-SW. Data gained with the anthropological analyses of 10 skeletons from the site Davidovac-Crkviste don't give enough information for a conclusion about the paleo-demographical structure of the population that lived here during late antiquity. Important results about the paleo-pathological changes, which do not occur often on archaeological sites, as well as the clearer picture about this population in total, will be acquired after the osteological material from the site Davidovac-Gradiste is statistically analysed.

GÜNEYDOĞU TRAKYA'DAN MÖ 4. YÜZYIL ORTASINA AİT BİR "SAVAŞÇI" MEZARI: KIRKLARELİ, YÜNDOLAN C TÜMÜLÜSÜ

Rescue excavations carried out at Yundolan C tumulus, one of the five tumuli located in the vicinity of the Yundolan village, Kirklareli province, have revealed a cist burial carved into the bedrock. The cist grave, showed traces of being subject to fire, possibly due to a primary cremation activity. Even though the metal and terracotta grave goods were considerably damaged due to fire and humidity, it is possible to make certain deductions. The three categories of grave goods, namely symposion vessels, containers for liquids and military gear indicate that there was a single male burial at Yundolan C and the deceased had a military position. The Yundolan C tumulus stands as an example from the southeastern part of the region, of a modest warrior burial, familiar from Thrace during the 4 th century BC.