Inhumation Graves Research Articles

Complexe funerare de la începutul mileniului al II-lea, descoperite recent în judeţul Prahova / Funerary complexes from the beginning of the IInd millennium recently uncovered in Prahova County

In 2011 the Museum for History and Archaeology of Prahova County conducted a series of rescue archaeological works in the area surrounding the city of Ploieşti. As a result, six tumuli (detected prior to this excavation at Ariceştii-Rahtivani (2), Păuleşti (3) and Strejnicu (1) were investigated. Inhumation graves were uncovered (both principal and secondary ones) with the individuals lying crouched on dorsal or lateral decubitus positions, having their legs constricted, fallen or lying laterally. Few grave goods were present. The burials were dated to the Bronze Age, probably the Jamnaja funerary horizon. Two other funerary complexes discovered at Păuleşti and Strejnicu were attributed to horsemen populations from the beginning of the IInd millenium AD. The grave from Păuleşti contained, alongside the human remains remains, parts of a horse skeleton. The human skeleton was lying on the back, head towards the west, arms along the body, legs stretched. The horse parts comprised the skull and the extremities of the legs, found together with a horse bit, two arrowheads, a ring and an iron object (whose functionality could not be determined because of its precarious state of conservation). The tomb from Strejnicu (probably a cenotaph) contained only the skull and leg extremities from a horse, together with a horse bit, an arrowhead and another iron object whose functionality could not be determined for the same reason as above.

Un mormânt sarmatic descoperit la Călăraşi / A Sarmatian grave found in Călăraşi

Publicat în 1952 ca analogie pentru un mormânt din Moldova, complexul funerar de la Călăraşi nu a beneficiat de o discuţie sau de o prezentare detaliată a inventarului şi nici de ilustraţie. Conform datelor publicate iniţial, este vorba de un mormânt de inhumaţie, al unei persoane de sex feminin, descoperit întâmplător în 1948 (în punctul Aeroport). Pe lângă craniul deformat, s-au recuperat „ două căni, câteva perle octogonate şi o oglindă”. Din păcate, nu am putut regăsi decât craniul, conservat parţial, şi cele două vase (cană şi urcior, ambele din pastă cenuşie, cu decor lustruit). Analogiile pentru cele două recipiente ceramice şi prezenţa în inventarul mormântului a mărgelelor poliedrice sugerează o datare a complexului aflat în discuţie în cursul secolului al III-lea p. Chr., fără a putea, cel puţin în actualul stadiu al cercetării, restrânge această datare. Conform analizei antropologice, craniul aparţine unui individ de sex feminin, mai degrabă de vârstă matură.

Dépôts de vases en céramique dans les tombes de la Transylvanie des VIIe-Xe siècles / Pottery off erings in graves from Transylvania during 7th–10th centuries

! e archaeological evidence certifi es that the clay vessel one of the artefacts used in funerary practices by those communities who lived in Transylvania during the 7th–10th centuries. ! e custom to place clay objects in graves varies from one community to other, from the frequency way of speaking, regarding the funerary rituals (cremation or inhumation) at both individual level and each of the necropolises, as well, for diff erent chronological segments of the last centuries of the 1st millennium AD. ! e fact that only some of inhumation and cremation graves from the 7th–10th centuries Transylvanian necropolises had also clay vessels could have a double meaning. On one hand, the presence of pottery – entirely or broken preserved – in some of the graves has religious connections. On the other hand, but of same importance, the presence of pottery in grave is a mirror of social realities within those communities. ! e clay vessels placed near some of the funerary urns, or directly on the ground near the piles of cremated human bones can be framed as funerary off erings. ! e family has placed these vessels inside graves wellaware of the magic-religious meaning of these recipients needed to the dead on his way to the ‘everlasting life’. ! e quantity, variety of shapes, but especially the small sizes of this pottery (in most of the cases they are miniature vessels) found in the necropolises from west Romania and the Transylvanian Plateau dated in the 7th–10th centuries may allow to forward the hypothesis on the presence of potters specialized also on funerary pottery.

Vikingetidens gravskik i Danmark – Spor af begravelsesritualer i jordfæstegrave

Vikingetidens gravskik i Danmark – Spor af begravelsesritualer i jordfæstegrave

Relaţia om-câine în preistorie: resturi scheletice umane și de canide. Practici mortuare, dovezi arheologice și posibile semnificaţii / Human-Dog Relationship in Prehistory: Human and Canids Bone Remains. Mortuary Practices, Archaeological Evidence and Possible Interpretations

The present study concerns a rarely considered subject in the Romanian specialized literature, which is thedocumentation of prehistoric sites with confirmed canid burials; either individually or associated with humanones. The current state of research acknowledges multiple theories about the origin of the dog and the momentof its domestication. The most common and accepted opinion is that Canis familiaris Linnaeus (the domesticdog) is the descendent of Canis lupus Linnaeus (the wolf ). The canids are considered to be the first domesticatedanimals in Europe. Archaeological and zooarchaeological research from Iron Gates area, with Mesolithic sitessuch as Vlasac, Hajdučka Vodenica or Lepenski Vir, have produced valuable information on Canis familiaris(fig. 6). In Siberia, close to Lake Baikal (Russia), these have been found in the Shamanka necropolis (the graveof a Husky, Chow Chow or Samoyed (fig. 7) dog) and in the Lokomotiv necropolis (one of a tundra wolf (Canislupus albus) (fig. 8–10). In Alba Iulia-Lumea Nouă two dog skeletons from the Foeni group were found, one ofthem having a Spondylus shell pendant (fig. 3–5). In the Neolithic necropolis of Ripoli (Italy) a woman’s gravehad her feet placed on a dog skeleton (fig. 12), while in the Parma-via Guidorossi site a dog grave has been found(fig. 13). The Michelsberg culture, specific to Central and Western European Late Neolithic, presents intentionaldog burials at Bretteville-le-Rabet (fig. 11) and Heilbronn-Klingenberg “Schlossberg” (fig. 16). For the BritishNeolithic, a complete dog skeleton has been discovered in one of the ditches of the Windmill Hill settlement,while at Grime’s Graves an intentionally buried dog skeleton (fig. 17–18) has been identified. Research at theVan-Yoncatepe (Eastern Anatolia) Hallstattian necropolis led to identification of 14 dog skulls in one burialchamber (fig. 19-20), and of a female skeleton close to a pot (fig. 21) in another. The presence of dog boneremains in inhumation graves is often considered the result of a particular attitude of the human towards thedog. This special funerary context may represent the unique bond between prehistoric humans and their dogs,reflected in activities such as hunting, guarding, or companionship. The dog protects the domestic space, theflocks and, last but not least, the human that it hunts with. This relationship can explain the dog graves foundnearby the human ones, as the dog follows its master in death as in life.

Voldbækgravpladsen – Yngre jernalder, vikingetid og middelalder ved Brabrand Sø

Voldbækgravpladsen – Yngre jernalder, vikingetid og middelalder ved Brabrand Sø

KIRIKUMÄGI AT SIKSÄLÄ: EVIDENCE OF A NEW GRAVE FORM IN SOUTH-EASTERN ESTONIA?; pp. 40–55

Finding place and context The archaeological complex of Siksala (Laul & Valk 2007) is located in the south-easternmost corner of Estonia, 2-3 km south of Misso village, ca. 7 km west of the present-day Estonian-Russian border and 3-4 km north of the Estonian-Latvian border. The complex consists of several monuments, including two cemeteries called Kalmetemagi (Graves' Hill) and Kirikumagi (Church Hill) which are located at the ends of the same oblong ridge. The cemetery on Kalmetemagi, mainly from the 11th-15th centuries, was investigated in the extent of ca. 80% in 1980-1993, whereby 242 inhumation graves with 253 burials, and 27 cremation burials were studied (Heapost 2007, table 1; Laul & Valk 2007, 29-80). In the further analysis of the scattered material from cremation graves, regarded formerly as stray finds, 11 additional cremations have been distinguished. The first excavations on Kirikumagi, a hill with the height of ca. 6 m between Lake Hino and Lake Mustjarv (Fig. 1) took place in 2003 (Valk 2004), in order to verify or disprove the former presence of the chapel, reflected in oral tradition, and of the suggested medieval cemetery. In the course of these works a 100 m long and 40 cm wide trench was dug along the hilltop (Fig. 2). The trench was divided into 1-metre long units, the numeration of which started from the west. The investigations were continued in 2004 (Valk 2005) with the aim to study and date the discovered chapel site and cemetery. During these excavations a ca. 35 m2 area, cut by the trial trenches, was opened in the southern part of the hill. In both years, especially in 2003, also some fragments of cremated bones were found from three areas, designated as A, B and C--two in the central and one in the southwestern part of the hill (Fig. 2). Between these areas, likewise in the north-eastern part of Kirikumagi, almost no cremation remains were discovered. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] In 2007 additional excavations were made in area A, in order to study the whole bone assemblage which was cut by the trench in 2003 and which was first interpreted as a pit-grave cremation (Valk 2004, 125). For that purpose, the formerly studied 2 m long part of the trench with cremated bones was extended in both directions for 0.5 m (to get more space for digging, also the filled trench was emptied again). Thus, in all, 2.8 [m.sup.2] was studied at the spot. The earth was dug by 10 cm thick layers. In 2003, the area where bones were found in the trench was regarded as one stratigraphic unit which was dug by horizontal layers. In 2007, the bones were collected by squares of 0.25 [m.sup.2] (the system was based on the general squares' system used in 2003) and by 10 cm layers. To find all the bone fragments, the ground was sieved. In total 69 different bone assemblages, based mainly on 1 m long parts of the trench or 1 m2 squares of the excavation plot of 2004, all of 10 cm thickness, were collected for analysis from Kirikumagi. In reality there existed, however, no distinct borders between the separately analysed assemblages: borders are only conventional, conditioned by the methodology of picking up bones. Distribution of cremated bones The first area of cremated bones (Fig. 2, A) where altogether 1184.9 g bone fragments were found (862.9 g in 2003 and 322 g in 2007) formed a 1.7 m long section of the trench. Some dispersed bone fragments which probably belonged together with them were gained also from the neighbouring square in the northeast (C/50; 5.4 g), and from squares located 0.5-1.5 m (G/ 47; 1.5 g) and 3.5-4.5 m (G/44; 0.9 g) to the south-west from the edge of the main concentration area (Fig. 2, A: 3). The second concentration area (Fig. 2, B) was ca. 5-6 m south-east of area A, in the excavation plot added to the main trench in 2003 (squares H/51 and H/52). Here 70.9 g of bones were found. The finds were from the area with the diameter of 1. …

Rosetfiblens »anatomi«

Rosetfiblens »anatomi«

Bronzealderens keramik – En kilde til forståelse af kommunikation og social interaktion i bronzealderen

Bronzealderens keramik – En kilde til forståelse af kommunikation og social interaktion i bronzealderen

A Viking Boat Grave with Amber Gaming Pieces Excavated at Skamby, Östergötland, Sweden

In the Summer of 2005 the authors directed the excavation of a flat stone setting with a boat-shaped central depression at Skamby, Kuddby parish, Östergötland, Sweden. The stone setting covered a small and poorly preserved boat inhumation, dated by the artefacts recovered to the early Viking period (9th century AD). This is the first excavation of a boat inhumation in the province of Östergötland. The paper reports on the excavations including the discovery of an exceptional collection of 23 amber gaming pieces, which provide a new perspective on Viking-period gaming. The data from this boat grave are considered in relation to the rest of the Skamby cemetery, which remains to be investigated. Judging from a topographical survey of the ridge surrounding the excavated area, and from metal-detector finds recovered from the surrounding fields, the Skamby cemetery appears to be a high-status burial ground divided into two zones, one comprised of boat inhumation graves, the other of circular stone settings likely to cover cremation graves. The results of the excavation lead to a revised picture of boat burial as an élite mortuary rite in southern Sweden during the late 1st millennium AD.

Gevninge – leddet til Lejre

Gevninge – leddet til Lejre

Fornemt skrin – i en kvindegrav fra vikingetid

Fornemt skrin – i en kvindegrav fra vikingetid

Offertradition og religion i ældre jernalder i Sydskandinavien – med særlig henblik på bebyggelsesofringer

Offertradition og religion i ældre jernalder i Sydskandinavien – med særlig henblik på bebyggelsesofringer

Keeping the dead at arm’s length

Archaeologists have identified two kinds of furnished graves dating to the late fifth and sixth centuries AD from southern and eastern England: inhumation and cremation. While the ‘weapon burial rite’ is a frequent occurrence for inhumation graves, weapons are rarely found in cinerary urns. This article argues that this divergence may relate to the contrasting roles of cremation and inhumation as mortuary technologies of remembrance linked to alternative strategies for managing the powerful mnemonic agency of weapons.

Matrilineal affinities and prehistoric Siberian mortuary practices: a case study from Neolithic Lake Baikal

The ‘Lokomotiv’ cemetery in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia is considered to be the largest Neolithic cemetery in North Asia. A large degree of mortuary variability has been documented at Lokomotiv including striking differences in grave architecture, body treatment and grave good assemblages. The purpose of this study is to understand whether observed mortuary variability at Lokomotiv was used to indicate differential biological affinity for those buried in this cemetery. To answer this, we compared the distribution of matrilineally-inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers retrieved from Lokomotiv skeletal remains against various lines of archaeological evidence. Using a combined strategy of coding-region SNP and HVI sequence detection, we were able to produce mtDNA profiles for 31 of 37 Lokomotiv individuals. Our results to date suggest that while matrilineal affinities did not overtly shape the spatial organisation of Lokomotiv, they may have influenced the type of grave one was interred in and in certain cases, the type of mortuary treatment given to an individual. The most compelling differences in matrilineal affinity were found between group grave and single grave burials in one cluster of the cemetery and evoke a notion of intra-community power structure shaped by matrilineally-ascribed group membership. The findings from this study will be further explored with future enhancements to the archaeological and biological datasets for Lokomotiv as well as a contemporaneous Baikal region cemetery known as Shamanka II. In doing so, we hope to further illuminate the social complexities governing these prehistoric Siberian communities.

The excavation of a Bronze Age cemetery at Seafield West, near Inverness, Highland

Excavations in 1996 in advance of a major commercial development at Seafield West revealed a Bronze Age cemetery. Inside a ring-ditch were two adjacent graves with wooden coffins, one a boat-shaped hollowed tree-trunk, the other plank-built. Both had probably contained crouched inhumation burials. Grave goods in the former included a bronze dagger of ‘Butterwick’ type whose scabbard of wood and cattle hide produced a date of 3385 ± 45 BP (1870–1520 cal BC at 2s), slightly later than expected; those in the latter included an ‘Irish Bowl’ Food Vessel, believed to date to c 2000 BC. Both items indicate links with Ireland. Also inside the ring-ditch were: a short stone cist; a pit containing cremated human remains accompanied by three burnt barbed-and-tanged arrowheads and a mandible fragment, probably of a dog or fox; and three pits, at least one of which might have been an inhumation grave. Outside, and to the east, was a second short stone cist with a Beaker; to the west, a cluster of truncated pit graves containing cremated human bone and pyre debris, and in one case the remains of an urn and accessory vessel. One of these pit graves, dated to 3360 ± 50 BP (1750–1510 cal BC at 2s), contained the remains of an adult with cut marks on the skull. The cemetery is around 700m from – and on the same gravel ridge as – the multi-phase site at Stoneyfield, Raigmore, whose later phases featured a cist cemetery and a pit with a Cordoned Urn cremation burial. Some residual lithic evidence for Mesolithic activity in the area was also recovered.

Bronzealderens kulthuse i Thy – Anlæg med relation til gravkulten

Bronzealderens kulthuse i Thy – Anlæg med relation til gravkulten

Lustrupholm – Et brandgravfelt fra ældre bronzealder under flad mark

Lustrupholm – Et brandgravfelt fra ældre bronzealder under flad mark

Anglo-Saxon Textiles from Cleatham, Humberside

Excavation of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery of Cleatham, England, which was discovered in 1856, occurred between 1979 and 1989. The site has major significance as a cremation cemetery, with 1,016 cremation burials identified to date. Some of the inhumation graves, which go back to the 5th century, preserve textiles that reflect pre-Christian practices of burying grave goods with the dead. Contact with metal grave goods such as brooches, buckles, and wrist clasps was responsible for the preservation of these textiles. Analysis of these fragments provides such descriptions as dimensions, weave structure, fiber type, thread count, whether the yarn is Z or S twist, the artifact with which the fragment is associated, and whether the inhumation was male or female based on the type of grave goods.

Burial Practices in Roman Britain. A Survey of Grave Treatment and Furnishing A. D. 43-410

Subtitled a survey of grave treatment and furnishing, AD 43-410' this 1990 Birmingham thesis is a study of the layout and the contents of all cremation and inhumation graves. This means that it is firstly an enormous compilation of data, which is presented in catalogue form and in numerous distribution maps. There is also extensive discussion of all types of grave and grave find: cremations in glass or pottery vessels, or amphorae; inhumations in stone cists; prone burials; decapitated burials; burials in boots; burials with jewellery, with weapons ...to name but a few. All extremely useful summaries, with not a few perceptive comments. No one writing on burials in the future will ignore this volume.