Journal articles on the topic 'Barrows cemeteries'

Burials dug into Roman period – Viking age barrows can be distinguished in the context of the cemeteries from Lithuania’s Late Medieval – Early Modern period (late 14th–18th centuries). So far, at least 400 late burials have been found in 26 Lithuanian barrow cemeteries while only fragmentary information is available about another 25 such barrow cemeteries. The earliest historical period burials in old barrows should be dated to the late 14th–15th centuries, but this burial practice began to occur on a mass scale in the 16th–17th centuries. The main incidence range of this custom is Samogitia and North Lithuania. In respect to their construction, orientation, and grave good assemblages, these burials do not differ in any way from the context of the historical period cemeteries. The return of burials to old barrow cemeteries should be connected with the Christianisation of Lithuania. On the one hand, up until the 16th century the evangelisation of Lithuania’s rural population was not intensive and therefore burial in a churchyard and Christian rites were not well established. On the other hand, the compressed church network during the Reformation and especially the ounterReformation, the increased pressure from the Church to observe Christian burial rites and pay the exorbitant fees for them, and the lack of Christianity’s authority could have provoked the population’s hostility, forcing people to look for more remote locations for cemeteries, locations some communities found in old pagan barrow cemeteries. Keywords: barrows, cemetery reuse, Middle ages, Early modern times, christianization.

Although the study of Early Bronze Age round barrows and cemeteries has flourished in recent years, detailed studies of the siting of barrows and cemeteries in relation to local topography and contemporary monuments are rare. This paper analyses the distribution of barrow cemeteries in relation to three major monumental complexes in Wessex: the South Dorset Ridgeway, Avebury, and Stonehenge. The analyses indicate that the location of barrows and cemeteries was strictly regulated. Although the specific pattern in each region is different, and closely related to the local topography of rivers and ridges, an underlying structural principle has been identified. This principle is that of circularity, and it is suggested that the various patterns of cemetery layout, involving curved settings and arcs, reflect the shape of the round barrows contained within them, the stake- and post-circles which lie buried beneath some of them, and the shape of the timber and stone monuments upon which they focus. This tradition of cemetery regulation appears to have continued to effect mortuary behaviour well into the Middle Bronze Age, alongside new systems of settlement and burial patterning which were developing in areas away from the ancient monumental foci. Finally, pointers towards future related research are outlined.

In the vicinity of Yampil (Vinnytsia oblast, Ukraine), there exists a cluster of barrows dating back to the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age. Nestled upon the Podillia Upland, this concentration lies at the crossroads of two cultural spheres: the Eastern European steppe and Central European. The exploration of the Yampil barrows began during the 1980s by archaeologists from Vinnytsia. This endeavor was enriched by a Polish-Ukrainian expedition that conducted fieldwork from 2010 to 2014. Seven barrows were then examined. Today, an abundance of radiocarbon data empowers us to construct a precise chronological framework for the Yampil barrow graves. We can now discern four principal stages in this sequence: (1) late Eneolithic, (2) early Yamna, (3) late Yamna era, and (4) Catacombna. During the first two periods (3350-2800 calBC), these barrows were meticulously constructed, sometimes evolving in multiple phases. In the latter two stages (2800-2400 calBC), cemeteries took shape, marked by graves thoughtfully dug into the fully formed mounds.

AbstractThis paper presents radiocarbon (14C) dating of Scythian period sites discovered in Northern Altai, Russia, in the 1990s, including large, unlooted barrow cemeteries in the Manzherok region. The results indicate that barrows attributed to the Karakoba culture may represent a long time span from the beginning of the 9th century BC until the beginning of 1st century BC, while those linked with the North Pazyryk culture generally keep within the Scythian period: from the beginning of the 5th century BC to the late 1st century AD. 14C analysis has confirmed the viability of traditional archaeological dating and the contemporaneity of barrows belonging to various cultural traditions (North Pazyryk, Karakoba), and also allowed correlating the horizons of burials to the seismic phenomena observed at the site.

The barrow cemetery Milty consists of two groups — Milty I and II. The research of the cemetery was carried out in 1992—1993 by archaeological expedition of the historical faculty of the Belarusian State University under the head of V. N. Rabcevič and A. M. Plavinski. In 1992, 5 barrows in group Milty I were investigated, in 1993 — 2 barrows in group Milty II. An analysis of the grave goods and rituals of the investigated burials suggests that the barrows in groups I and II of Milty cemetery can be dated to the second half of the 10th — first half of the 11th century, or somewhat more broadly, from the 10th to the first half of the 11th century. They belong to the final stage of the existence of the culture of the Smolensk-Polatsk Long Barrows culture on the western border of its area. At this time, glass beads, jewelry and household items of Old Rusian types appeared in noticeable quantities in the burials of the western regions of the settlement of the population of the Smolensk-Polatsk Long Barrows culture. In barrow 10 of group I, an inhumation burial was found. Such a burial in the necropolis of the Smolensk-Polatsk Long Barrows culture could have been performed not earlier than the end of the 10th — early 11th centuries and, obviously, may be associated with the beginning of the spread of the Christian burial tradition in the Belarusian Dzvina and adjacent territories. Accordingly, chronologically, it is one of the latest in the necropolis. Individual inhumations in the cemeteries of the culture of the Smolensk-Polatsk Long Barrows culture were repeatedly revealed in the western microregions of the distribution of monuments of this ethnocultural community and mark the final stage of the functioning of its necropolises.

Basing on the results of the most recent investigations, this article systematizes the materials from excavations of 1879 conducted by students of the Saint Petersburg Archaeological Institute in the urochishche (isolated terrain) of Khotovsky Bor. The complex of burial monuments in Khotovsky Bor comprises several groups of tumuli and separate mounds of the Culture of Pskov Long Barrows, as well as a large mounded and zhalnik-grave (graves bordered with stones) burial ground separated from the cemeteries of the long barrows by a certain chronological gap.

The perception of and interaction with ancient relics in past societies has been intensively debated in the archaeology of north-western Europe. This paper aims to make a contribution to this debate by reconstructing the long-term history of late prehistoric barrows and urnfields in Flanders (Belgium). The period between the Late Bronze Age and High Middle Ages (c. 1100 calbc–ad1300) is centred on. Contrary to Germany, Scandinavia and especially Britain, data from the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands) have so far barely played a role in wider international and theoretical discussions on the role of the past in the past. Previous studies on reuse practices in the Low Countries mainly focused on the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region of the southern Netherlands and north-eastern Belgium, which partly overlaps Flanders. These studies are combined and summarised. Their main outcomes are tested by means of a detailed inventory of reused late prehistoric cemeteries in Flanders. This study differs methodologically from most others in that it both offers an evidence-based overview of regional diachronic trends (documented at 62 barrow cemeteries and 13 urnfields) and discusses the developments at six sites yielding high resolution data. The observed reuse practices and site biographies appear to be remarkably dynamic and more diverse than previously suggested.

AbstractIn various prehistoric periods, the territory of Vojvodina became the target of the migration of steppe communities with eastern origins. The oldest of these movements are dated to the late Eneolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. There are at least two stages among them: I – dated to the end of the fourth millennium BC / beginning of the third millennium BC and II – dated from 3000 to 2600 BC and combined with the communities of the classical phase of the Yamnaya culture. The data documenting these processes have been relatively poor so far – in comparison with the neighboring regions of Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. A big drawback was the small number of systematically excavated mounds, providing comprehensive data on the funeral ritual of steppe communities. This poor database has been slightly enriched as a result of the design of the National Science Centre (Cracow, Poland) entitled “Danubian route of the Yamnaya culture”. Its effect was to examine the first two barrows located on the territory of Bačka – the western region of Vojvodina. Currently, these burial mounds are the westernmost points on the map of the cemeteries of the Yamnaya culture complex. Radiocarbon dates obtained for new finds, as well as for archival materials, allow specifying two stages of use of cemeteries of Yamnaya culture: I – around 3000–2900 BC and II – around 2800–2600 BC. Among the finds from Banat, there were also few materials coming probably from the older period, corresponding to the classical phase of Baden – Coţofeni I–II. The enigmatic nature of these discoveries, however, does not allow to specify their dating as well as cultural dependencies.

Examining the earliest grand mortuary monuments of the Neolithic, the authors question the assumption that they mark the resting place of society's higher ranks. Using the skeletal remains, the grave goods and the burial rites, they find no great differences in commemoration between the monumental cemeteries, with their long barrows, and the flat graves, without structures. In this analysis, the children proved to be the most vivid players: while the very young are largely excluded, some toddlers were selected to carry hunting equipment, a distinction shared with selected adult males. Some children were also laid to rest in the long barrows, with some adults. Thus hunting has a spiritual value for these agriculturalists, and whether inherited or marked at birth, the children signal something more variable and subtle than linear rank.

Excavation at Heatherstone Grange, Bransgore, Hampshire, investigated features identified in a previous evaluation. Area A included ring ditches representing two barrows. Barrow 1.1 held 40 secondary pits, including 34 cremation-related deposits of Middle Bronze Age date, and Barrow 1.2 had five inserted pits, including three cremation graves, one of which dated to the earlier Bronze Age, and was found with an accessory cup. A number of pits, not all associated with cremation burials, contained well-preserved urns of the regional Deverel-Rimbury tradition and occasional sherds from similar vessels, which produced a closely-clustered range of eight radiocarbon dates centred around 1300 BC. Of ten pits in Area C, three were cremation graves, of which one was radiocarbon-dated to the Early Bronze Age and associated with a collared urn, while four contained only pyre debris. Barrow 1.3, in Area E, to the south, enclosed five pits, including one associated with a beaker vessel, and was surrounded by a timber circle. Area F, further to the south-west, included two pits of domestic character with charcoal-rich fills and the remains of pottery vessels, together with the probable remains of a ditched enclosure and two sets of paired postholes. Area H, located to the north-west of Area E, partly revealed a ring ditch (Barrow 1.4), which enclosed two pits with charcoal-rich fills, one with a single Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age potsherd, and the other burnt and worked flint. A further undated pit was situated to the east of Barrow 1.4. The cremation cemetery inserted into Barrow 1.1 represents a substantial addition to the regional record of Middle Bronze Age cremation burials, and demonstrates important affinities with the contemporary cemeteries of the Stour Valley to the west, and sites on Cranborne Chase, to the north-west.

SummaryThe older horizon of the tumuli cemeteries from Transylvania were connected with the Early Bronze Age cultural phenomenon (Livezile/Bedeleu, Șoimuș and Copăceni cultural groups). Some of the discoveries made especially during the second half of the 20th century while searching for the Scythians were considered as belonging to the Ochre Grave Culture (Câmpia Turzii, Cipău, Răscruci). The archaeological research from Silvașu de Jos (Hunedoara county), together with the older and more recent discoveries from Bodo, Bucova Pusta IX and Bucova Pusta IV, prove that the Lower and Middle Mureș valley were used as a path by the Yamnaya Culture, connecting the discoveries from central and western Transylvania to those from the Tisza Plain. This event is contemporary with the earliest manifestation of the Early Bronze Age. Moreover, completing again the observations made on the Tisza Plain and Lower Danube (Trnava, Bulgaria), it is clear that the barrow trend precedes the Yamnaya Culture also in Transylvania, based on the results from Cheile Aiudului and, recently, Silvașu de Jos, showing that the barrows were used by the Coțofeni III communities.

The purpose of this article is to present a complex analysis of recently recognised funeral structures discovered in Trzciniec Cultural Circle barrows. These features are rectangular and stones are typically situated in the corners, in the middle of the sides, or along the walls, creating unique structures with clearly delineated interior spaces. However, the function of these features is not well understood. This feature form is fragile and slight, which makes them difficult to record using traditional excavation methods. The majority of these features have been discovered over the last decade now that new documentation and exploration tools are available to archaeologists. These constructions are only known from barrow cemeteries and the remains of in situ cremation were also documented in their context. Their occurrence confirms the variety and complexity of funeral rites of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle community. To date, eight structures of this type are known. Four (Barrow 1/I/2010 — Feature 3; Barrow 7/I/2014 — Features 6 and 7; Barrow 2/I/2010/2012 — Feature 1) were registered in the Bukivna cemetery during the Polish-Ukrainian expedition realized by scholars from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev, and Vasyl Stephanyk Precarpathian University in Ivano-Frankivsk. The study of archival materials from pre-war excavations conducted by T. Sulimirski and J. Grabowski in Komariv revealed another three features of this type (Barrow 34 — Features A and B; Barrow 45 — Feature 1). One structure of this type (Grave 2) was also excavated in Nieciecz Włościańska in the northeast enclave of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle during recent investment research. Due to radiocarbon analysis, the authors have securely established the chronology of these features. The obtained radiocarbon values indicate that these constructions were erected during the classic stage of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle, attributable to the 18 to 16th centuries BC, which was confirmed by archaeological material found within these features. The discussion of the function and symbolism of these constructions suggest that they could play the role of burials. This is also suggested by geochemical analysis of soil samples from the Bukivna cemetery. However, due to the lack of osteological material in most of these features, this aspect remains shrouded in mystery and requires additional studies. Regardless, the form, location in barrows, and funerary inventory of these features suggest that they played important role in funeral rites of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle society.

The funerary kurgan traditions of the 1st millennium (culture of the Pskov long barrows, a kurgan presumably of the East-Lithuanian type, Mologa-Suda kurgans, sopki) are considered in this paper in comparison with the data on unmounded cemeteries with cremations. Many features of the burial rite of the two groups of cremation burials are similar (scattered deposition of the cremated remains, their incompleteness, the presence of collective burials, the presence of animal bones). The kurgans with inhumations of the Old-Russian period demonstrate a qualitatively dif- fering phenomenon as part of the Old-Russian Christian culture spreading, together with other cultural features, from urban centres to the rural localities.

Early Medieval materials from the complex of sites near the village Horodnytsia, Horodenka district, Ivano-Frankivsk region are analyzed. These sites are represented by hill-fort, cemeteries and numerous finds that are kept in museum collections of Lviv, Krakow, Warsaw, Vienna and in private collections. The hill-fort in Horodnytsia was discovered in 1876 by W. Przybysławski and described in detail by I. Kopernicki. The site is classified as a complex one – it occupies four localities and has a well-preserved system of fortification ramparts and ditches. It is supposed that original settlement was built during Hallstatt period and during Early Middle Ages its ramparts and ditches were additionally strengthened and the largest locality of the hill-fort was divided by a large rampart and ditch into two parts. I. Kopernicki and W. Przybysławski studied the territory of the hill-fort by excavation pits of 5×1 m and found only separate finds. In the late 30th of XX century the hill-fort was studied by Lviv archaeologist M. Smishko. He made a section of the rampart and found two burned buildings of ХІІ–ХІІІ centuries with the skeletons of killed adults and children. Traces of several settlements were recorded around the hill-fort, also barrows and under-plate cemeteries were investigated there. The barrow cemetery, which includes 16 mounds, can be dated to XI–XII centuries. It is related not to the hill-fort, but to earlier settlement in Horodnytsia. Instead, the under-plate cemetery (26 burials), located between the foot of the hill-fort and the right bank of Dnister River, was synchronous with the hill-fort. In addition to ordinary burials, rich female ones, typical for urban centre were found. It is possible that another under-plate cemetery, situated on the left bank of Dnister River in Zhezhava (now Zelenyi Hai, Ternopil region), is related to the hill-fort. All artifacts found in Horodnytsia belong to different categories of archeological sources, most of them are typical for urban settlements. According to its external features, the settlement fully corresponds to cities. Its area of 6,12 hectares, presence of cemeteries and traces of settlements witnessed about existence of the largest and most strategically important point in this part of Upper Dnister region between annalistic Halych and Vasyliv. The name of the modern village also carried urban tradition. Burning of the hill-fort and extermination of its inhabitants probably occurred during the Mongol invasion to Halych land in the end of 1240 – beginning of 1241. Analysis of the results of excavations and finds from Horodnytsia demonstrates that in Halych land, in addition to the cities known from chronicles, there were urban settlements that are not mentioned by written sources. Key words: Horodnytsia, hill-fort, cemeteries, archaeological finds, Mongolian invasion, written sources.

Three groups of the Funnel Beaker culture in the middle Neolithic have been distinguished in Poland: East, Southeast and Silesian-Moravian (Kowalczyk 1970: Jażdżewski 1984), dated to 5250–4450 b.p. (4095–3245 BC) (Wiślański 1979). The earliest research was carried out on the cemeteries of the East Group, and a variant form, the Kujavian grave type, recognized (FIGURE 1A).Kujavian graves are usually considered to be megalithic (Midgley 1985; Hoika 1990). They have stone-bordered barrows of triangular or trapezoid shape, being on average 50–100 m long and 3.5–15 m wide (Chmielewski 1952; Jażdżewski 1969). The majority of the Kujavian graves had a central grave usually located near the base of the construction. The number of burials varies between one and four, comprising extended inhumation, with the body lying on its back in a shallow pit which was sometimes had oval settings of stones round them (Chmielewski 1952).

Wooden constructions of various types were found in the barrow cremation burials of the Raiky culture of the 8th—10th centuries. People of this culture were the Slavic tribes of the Right Bank of the Dnieper, Volynia, and Dniester River regions. The burnt rectangular constructions made of horizontal logs (Mezhyrichky, Velyka Horbasha and Radastst in Polesie) were the most widespread. Burial chambers from the Don River basin (Borshevo culture) or Transylvania are usually cited as parallels. However, in terms of typology, wooden constructions spread over the territory of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and East Germany are much closer. They are considered as models of residential buildings — «houses of the dead». Circular fences made of burnt pillars are less common (Holovne and Mylanovichi in Volynia). It is believed that they were supposed to separate the World of the Living from the World of the Dead. Most of the barrows from the Chornivka (Bukovina) and Dobrostany (Roztocze) cemeteries had the pillar holes on the periphery. This element which has usually been overlooked by researchers is also widely known in West Slavic lands: modern Czech archaeologists even consider the burials of this type to be dominated in the territory of Bohemia. It is believed that burial urns were placed on the pillars because around them on the surface of the mound the burnt bones and fragments of ceramics were often recorded. Thus, the words of the Old Rus chronicler who described the burial of pagan Slavs «on a pillar by the roads» should be understood quite literally. The recording of such burials during archaeological excavations causes understandable difficulties. In general, in the area of the Raiky culture, there can be counted at least one and a half dozen mound burials with the remains of wooden structures. The homogeneity of constructions demonstrates the common worldviews that were widespread in the 8th—10th centuries among the Slavs from the Elba to the Dnieper.

The article aims to present the multifaceted activity of Józef Żurowski (1892–1936), an archaeologist and conservator of prehistoric artefacts in Małopolska. The study relies on extensive archival material and Żurowski’s numerous publications. In the years 1920–1936, he was the conservator of the Krakow region and later the West Małopolska region, acting successively on behalf of the State Group of Prehistoric Monuments Conservators and the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw. Żurowski’s most outstanding achievements include carrying out the first excavations in the banded flint mine in Krzemionki, conducting research on multicultural sites in Złota, supervising the digging of the monumental Krakus Mound, discovering and interpreting the first burials of the Bell Beaker culture in Poland, as well as examining many early medieval cemeteries. As a conservator, he not only inventoried and excavated many archaeological sites – such as numerous strongholds, barrows, and the caves of the Ojców Jura – but also ensured their protection and preservation. Józef Żurowski died prematurely at 45, yet he is one of the most distinguished Polish archaeologists of the Second Polish Republic.

The morphological similarities between the people buried in the cemeteries of Old Rus period from the territory of Ukraine and Balts population of the 12th—13th centuries were found. The samples used in this research are combined series of sculls from Volyn and drevlian’s fields, the group from Vozviagel, the little series from Jagniatyn, the group from Zelenyi Gai (barrows), and the group from Medzybizh. In the population buried in several cemeteries of the period of Old Rus the morphological complex characteristic for Baltic populations could be seen due to the ancient anthropological substrate. At the territory of Ukraine the areas of the big ethnic massifs were overlapped. North regions bordered with Baltic ethnic space or belonged to its periphery in different chronological periods. The inflow of some groups from the Baltic Sea region has been seen also during the Old Rus period. The traces of migrations of the 10th—13th centuries can be observed by the typical Baltic elements in the burial rites of the local cemeteries. The Medzybizh osteological sample turned out to be the most informative for anthropologists. Despite of the fact that all of the individuals belong to the circle of northern European people, the craniological analysis revealed some morphological heterogeneity of the people originating from paired burials. This concerned both male and female groups. For this population is characterized by the strong body structure and the high intravital body stature — 175.6 cm for male. The intergroup analysis was performed by several statistical methods for different numbers of groups (Systat software package). In course of this the skulls sample of Medzybizh paired burials was included to the Baltic massif. It reveals slightly greater statistical closeness to the population from the Zamait lands. The anthropological study showed that in the paired burials of the Medzybizh burial ground the people which had morphological similarity to the populations of the anthropological type spread in the Baltic region were buried. Some male possibly died during the armed conflict. The osteological features posed them as the probable cavalrymen. Presents of the females, who had similar morphological characteristics, in their graves, allows assuming that the wives came with warriors from the Baltic territories.

This article gives a brief review about some of the most characteristic sacred natural places in Karksi parish based on place lore. These are: cemeteries/barrows, sandstone outcrops (so-called “Hells”) and places connected with Pell – a being of folk belief in Karksi parish (Mulgimaa). Vanapagan (“The Old Heathen”, also known as “The Old Devil”) can be seen as very popular supernatural being in Karksi’s oral tradition, which has historically been connected with many places in Karksi. Karksi parish can be seen as a centre of Pell tradition as most accounts of belief and customs that are referring to vernacular cult originate from Karksi. Unfortunately, most of its special sacrificial sites have been destroyed – like many other sacred places in Karksi. Both landscape and folklore can be seen as dynamic phenomenons connected and dependent on each other. Changes in landscape make changes in place lore. Natural sacred places preserve the values of the present and the past. They are essential phenomenons from the perspectives of historical memory, folklore, popular religion, and archaeology. Oral tradition can be significant and, even more, primary prerequisite considering protection of and both – physical and cultural – continuity of these kind of places.

This article is dedicated to famous Lviv archaeologist Markian-Orest Smishko, whose 120-th anniversary is celebrated by the scientific community on November 7, 2020. The life and scientific activity of archaeologists during periods of different political regimes are displayed on the basis of a large source base. Lion’s share of the researcher’s archives is preserved in Lviv. However, most of them, in particular, materials from the family archive, were introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. M. Smishko was born, lived and worked all his life in Lviv. His formation as an archaeologist can be dated back to the interwar period and is associated with the Polish University of Lviv. Till 1939, he discovered, researched, and put into scientific circulation a large number of archaeological sites that made his name well-known. Special place in his scientific research of this time belongs to sites of the Early Roman period. Simultaneously, M. Smishko conducted classes for students, took part on scientific grants, organized archaeological collection of the University and restored archaeological finds. He was one of L. Kozłowski’s favorite pupils. The next stage of M. Smishko’s life is connected with academic archeology of Lviv. From 1940 to 1961, M. Smishko headed the Department of Archeology, which was a leading academic institution in western Ukraine. Initially, it was Lviv Department of the Institute of Archeology of Academy of Sciences of USSR, and since February 1951 – Department of Archeology of the Institute of Social Sciences of Academy of Sciences of USSR. Here M. Smishko showed himself best as a scientist and organizer of academic activity, carried out his most resonant field research, published most important scientific works, including «Карпатські кургани І тисячоліття нашої ери» («Carpathian barrows of the first millennium AD») (1960) in which he distinguished a separate archaeological culture of Carpathian Tumuli, defended his doctoral dissertation (1965), raised a whole constellation of his pupils and followers. Key words: Markian Smishko, barrows, cemeteries, burial sites, Early Slavic archeology, Roman period, Carpathian Tumuli culture, glass workshop, Komariv.

Interest in the palynological study of deposits of the cemeteries on the territory of Southern Cis-Urals was rare. Moreover, the results of such a few works have not been published. The purpose of this study was to restore paleoecological conditions at the time of the functioning of the Bustanai burial mounds and Birsk burial ground based on the results of palynological analysis. Bustanai burial mounds, numbering 63 barrows, is a part of the Bustanai archaeological complex. The settlement included in the complex is a fortified settlement of the Bakhmutino culture of the Early Middle Ages (3–7th centuries AD). The Birsk burial ground, numbering 692 burials, is the most important site of the Early Middle Ages in the study area. In total, 15 samples were analyzed by the palynological method: 5 samples from barrow 45 at the Bustanai burial mounds and 10 samples from excavation 2 of the Birsk burial ground. The territory of the Birsk burial ground was a synanthropized edge of a coniferous-broad-leaved forest, and in the vicinity of the Bustanai burial mounds, floodplain willow forests were probably widespread. Thanks to comprehensive archaeological and palynological studies of two burial grounds and cultural layers that formed in the Early Middle Ages at a number of archaeological sites in the Southern Fore-Urals region, it was possible to establish zoning in the distribution of plant communities in this time. In the more northern regions at this time coniferous (pine) forests with an admixture of broadleaved species (Birsk settlement) and coniferous-deciduous forests (Birsk burial ground) grew. To the south (fortified settlement Ufa 2) broad-leaved and small-leaved broad-leaved forests with an admixture of conifers were widespread. In open areas, grasses, representatives of meadow forbs, and various synanthropic (ruderal and pasqual) plants grew. The climate of the Early Middle Ages was cooler and drier in the northern regions, temperate and more humid in the vicinity of Ufa. The gaps in the accumulation of palynological material discovered by us in the excavations of the Bustanai burial mounds and the Kara-Abyz settlement may also indicate a deterioration in climatic conditions within the study area in the Early Middle Ages.

The Carpathian Basin and its chronologyThe Carpathian Basin (FIGURE 1), irrespective of its peripheral parts, was divided in the Hallstatt period into two major cultural–geographical units, with the river Danube forming the border line. Significant changes occurred in the whole region at the beginning of the 6th century BC. The development of local groups, reaching a climax about the turn of the 7th and 6th centuries BC, was interrupted. In the broader East Alpine region this break is documented by the desertion of the majority of fortified and open settlements, and is marked by the end of burials under barrows and in flat cemeteries (Romsauer in press; Teržan 1990: 120–21). Approximately in the same period objects of Scythian origin come into use in the Great Hungarian Plain, and the Vekerzug group formed with its specific manifestations in material culture, settlement pattern and burial rite. Its traces are distributed practically all over the Plain and reach southwestern Slovakia. The earliest finds are dated to the mid 6th century BC – about 560 BC (Párducz 1974: 330; Dusek 1974: 405). The independent development of the Vekerzug group was terminated by historical Celtic expansion at the beginning of the La Tène B2 phase, dated, in general, to the mid 4th century BC (Bujna 1982: 377f., 397f.). During its 200 years of existence, the Vekerzug group acted as an important cultural link between the regions within the reach of the expanding Classical world.

The pre-Mongolian time materials in the territory of the Irtysh River basin in Kazakhstan are associated with the functioning of the Kimak-Kipchak proto-state federation that existed in the end of the 1st — beginning of the 2nd mil. AD. Due to the nomadic lifestyle of these ethnic groups, the sites are represented by barrow cemeteries, the majority of which consists of «chains» of individual burial structures aligned in meridian direction. The most inter-esting funerary objects are the «long» mounds, usually ending the system of memorial structures in the northern or southern sector of the burial ground. Particular features of these objects include the presence of several attached enclosures under a common mound, which developed in the meridian direction, as well as the burial of children and adolescents, virtually unknown from individual Kimak-Kipchak mounds. Here, we analyse the materials of the «long» barrow of the Menovnoye VI burial ground, located in the Upper Irtysh region 1.5 km southeast from the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky District, East Kazakhstan Oblast. Under the kurgan mound, there was an en-closure with two extensions containing burials of two men, a teenager, and a child. The buried were laid stretched on their backs, with their heads towards the east. The remains of men and the teenager were accompanied by horses, and those of the child — with sheep bones. An adult man, buried within the central enclosure, apart from horse, was accompanied for his afterlife by a dog. The grave goods discovered with the buried represent wea-ponry items, military and horse equipment. The weaponry included fragments of a sword, a bone grip, arrowheads, combat and household knives. Horse harness items included stirrups and a bit made of iron, a bronze figured buckle with flexible iron prong. The child was accompanied by a bronze teardrop-shaped amulet pendant and a small cattle astragalus used for playing dice. The number of «long» mounds in the cemetery ranges from one or two to three or four. The number of individuals in them varies from 2–3 to 8–11, which emphasizes the familial proximity of adults and children buried together. The «long» barrows of the «Menovnoye VI type», which contained burials of male members of the society, reflected the presence of patriarchal family ties within the tribal communities on the one hand, and formation of patriarchal-feudal relations in the context of development of the Kimak-Kipchak nomadic proto-state on the other.

When building up a database of Sarmatian burials in the Great Hungarian Plain (Alfцld), that presently includes the complete material of 3949 burial features, we noticed some cases of the presence of typically «masculine» pieces of grave-goods in burials determined as female ones. The article deals with this phenomenon widely known in different cultures, observed in the burial rite. These are the findings of weapons or their fragments in female graves. It is difficult to determine the precise number of such burials in the case of the Alfцld Sarmatians because of the high number of looted burials and the inaccuracy of anthropological data. In this study, we collected five cases from four sites, among them the two largest published cemeteries (Madaras: arrowhead, Budapest-Pйceli ъt: arrowhead), and one under publication (Nyнregyбza-Felsősima-Gyebrбs-tanya: sword fragments in two graves) and two less-known grave groups (Szeged-Szőreg: sword fragment, Ъjszentivбn: sword fragment). We do not think that — usually with one exception — fragmented weapons found in female graves could have been used in their original function; nor do we connect this element of burial rite with the phenomenon of the armed women, the «Amazons» well-known in the barrows of the Volga-Ural region in the Sauromatian and Middle Sarmatian Age. These cases are very distant in time and space, however, some traces of archaic traditions cannot be completely excluded. Based on the material at our disposal, we would rather suggest the existence of the rite called the «transfer of objects to the otherworld» the analogies for which are known both in the archaeological — including Sarmatian (such a case was published by O. V. Symonenko from the elite burial of Vesnyanoe) — and ethnographical material.

The article is devoted to the publication of materials of several Scythian burials on the Dnipro Pryporyzhya territory in 1927—1932. An archeological expedition was founded under the direction of Academician D. Ya. Yavornytsky, in connection with the construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant. Many Scythian antiquities had been explored in the archaeological sites of other epochs. Its members were actively working well-known archaeologists, beginning specialists and local historians: A. V. Dobrovolskyj, M. Ya. Rudynskyj, S. S. Gamchenko, P. I. Smolichev, M. O. Miller, T. T. Kyraniv, G. G. Martens, V. A. Grinchenko, P. A. Kozar, F. M. Sapyan, L. E. Kistyakivskyj and other. Almost S. Magura conducts his researches in this region. The cemetery at the Gadiucha Balka on the northern right bank of Dnipro river in Zaporoizhya included both barrows and prevailing burials without embankments, and stone laying on the surface. Necropolis was founded in the Vth century BC, and was used in the IVth BC. There is a high percentage of burials with weapons comparing with similar monuments. The most interesting is the burial 3 in group 1. There are two pits without bones under the stone pavement. A set of bronze arrowheads, an iron spear, bits with cheeck-peaces, and also a part of the horn of a deer was founded in this cenotaph. Mound grave predominated over burials without a mound in the necropolis near Dniprozavodbud. Necropolis functioned in the V—IV centuries. BC. Two burials from the grave 36 survived. They belonged to a woman, accompanied by a mirror and a necklace, as well as a warrior with a quiver set. Barrow 4 contained a ruined burial. The skeleton was accompanied by a bronze cheeck-peace. Mound grave burials dominated in the burial groups of the Kichkas while stone pavements were only a quarter. In the grave 6 at the Kichkas railway station, the burial was performed in the pit, where the arrowhead was found. Details of the bridle and bronze knife were founded at the periphery of the complex. The archaeological site refers to the early middlescythian time. Barrow 9 in the village Kushugum was girded with a stone fastener and had 0.79 m height and a diameter — 24 m. Objects of bridle (zoomorphic plates, buckles) was founded in its burial mound. A burial in an oval pit was inside. The skeleton lay stretched out on its back, its head to the west. Arrowheads was in a grave. The burial can be dated the 2nd quarter — the middle of the 5th century BC. It is established that the tradition of the construction of stone piles in the non-kurgan cemeteries on the Lower Dnieper goes back to the Bronze Age and the pre-Scythian period. Perhaps this indicates the residence of a part of the sedentary autochthonous population here for such a long time, which has carried this tradition through the ages.

It is well known that the Trypillia culture in Ukraine was singled out by Vincenc Chvojka (Vikentii Khvoika — in Ukrainian) based on his research in the Dnipro region at the end of the 19th century. However, a little earlier, the same sites were studied in Eastern Galicia, Dnister region, by Polish researchers: Adam Kirkor, Izydor Kopernicki, Władysław Przybysławski, and Gotfryd Ossowski. The territory, where Trypillian settlements were discovered, at that time, belonged to two empires — Russian and Austro-Hungarian, so the culture had different names in the Dnipro region and the Dnister region. In Galicia, they became known under the name of the Painted Pottery culture, whereas the sites in the Dnipro valley were called the Trypillia culture by V. Chvojka. Nowadays it is a cultural and historical community of Cucuteni-Trypillia culture. The first reports of the Trypillian antiquities discovery are dated to the 1820s, but full-fledged research had began in 1876 by the Krakow archaeologist Adam Kirkor. For five seasons (1876—1878, 1881, 1882), the researcher had been studying rocky and cave sites of the Dnister region; he collected fossils and fossil remains of animals. Adam had excavated the burials of the Globular Amphora culture and initiated the excavations of the barrows of the Early Scythian period in the Middle Dnister region. During the exploration, he examined several Trypillian settlements (Vasylkivtsi, Verkhniakivtsi, Horodnytsia, Zhabyntsi, Kozachchyna, Lychkivtsi, Lanivtsi, Sukhostav, Yabluniv) and the Verteba cave near Bilche-Zolote village. The researcher managed to record the positioning of the Trypillian dwellings’ remains in circles and straight lines. A. Kirkor interpreted these settlements as a burnt Pagan burial ground. The first Trypillia sites discovered in the Dnister region were associated with the periphery of ancient civilisation and the squares were interpreted as burnt cemeteries, which was a tribute to the scientific trends of that time. Such opinions are not surprising and are explained by the fact that the researchers encountered the Trypillian antiquities for the first time, and the ideas about their dating and purpose were quite conventional. The scholar had taken the materials he excavated during the trips, to Krakow. Today, these finds are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Krakow.

Introduction. The Nomads of early Sarmatian time is a complex conglomerate of constantly growing groups of new population in the Volga-Don interfluve area. Determining their location is becoming a relevant problem in the current research. The early Sarmatian burials of the Kovalevka burial mound are significantly different from the synchronous array of similar monuments. It makes possible to clarify the historical situation in the final stage of the early Sarmatian culture in the studied region. Methods. The method of cross-dating and comparative-typological analysis of 12 burials of 8 barrows of the Kovalevka burial mound, located in the southern part of the Volga-Don interfluve area, allow clarifying the chronology of materials and identify the specifics of the funeral rite. Analysis. The ceramic complex as a part of the North Caucasian antiquities of the 3rd - 1st centuries BC, can be identified through the presence of iron stemmed arrowheads, common for the period 2nd - 1st centuries BC. The tradition of the ancestral mounds-cemeteries with multiple burials under one mound dominated during this time period. However, the analyzed complexes represented a new tradition of individual burial places, more common in the latter period. Besides, the horse bones, iron bits and a few iron spearheads were found in the burial mound. This is a rarity in the funeral rite of the early Sarmatian culture. All of these innovations are known in the controversial Sarmatian complexes of the turn of eras when the change from early Sarmatian culture to middle Sarmatian culture took place. Another common feature of all the burials under study is a ritual robbery of buried people. The burials were destroyed, mostly for the purpose of their desecration. The bones of the buried were found at the bottom of the grave, and the remaining parts of the skeleton were thrown out of the pit. Results. It can be assumed that at the end of the 1st century BC a group of well-armed nomads entered the territory uder study and was not accepted by the local population. The attempt to settle in the place led migrants to founding their own cemetery in the floodplain of the Esaulovsky Aksai river (local Sarmatians chose watersheds for this). However, this action caused discontent of natives, which led to the desecration of strangers’ graves by the local population.

Abstract The Yampil Region represents a concentration of densely populated barrow cemeteries. Some 156 mounds figure in the available cartographic studies, which are the basis of spatial analysis presented below. The aforementioned therefore shall involve an examination of parameters for the localisation of tumuli in respect to altitude, terrain surface incline, direction of exposition and distance from waterways and watershed ridges as well as an analysis of visibility for selected sites, which shall describe preferences in respect to the chosen place of construction.

Two Bronze Age cremation cemeteries excavated between 1968 and 1975 are reported and discussed. At Coneygre Farm, Notts., fifty-one cremations were excavated, thirty-one in pots, six in cists, and fourteen uncontained. Cremations were deposited in a roughly linear arrangement and no barrow was found. At Pasture Lodge Farm, Lincs., twenty-seven pots were found, of which twenty-five had associated cremations, and fifteen further sherds could represent burials. Vessels in this cemetery form a small cluster. Pottery from these two cemeteries is broadly similar to Deverel-Rimbury ware and with vessels from other sites in the region is considered to form an East Midlands group of Bronze Age pottery. Vessels of this type from Frieston and Grantham, Lincs., are illustrated for the first time. Examination of thin sections of the pottery from the two cemeteries suggests that most, although not all, of the materials used could have been found locally. Organic remains found in thin sections provide environmental information. The effect of soils on durability of pots and their probable function is discussed. A direct relationship is noticed for the first time between the age of the cremated individual and the capacity of the pot in which the cremation was deposited.

Abstract The paper presents excavation results and analytical studies concerning the taxonomic classification of a funerary site identified with the communities of the early ‘barrow cultures’ settling the north-western Black Sea Coast in the 4th/3rd-2nd millennium BC. The study focuses on the ceremonial centres of the Eneolithic, Yamnaya, Catacomb and Babyno cultures.

Abstract The paper presents excavation results and analytical studies concerning the taxonomic classification of a funerary site identified with the communities of the ‘barrow cultures’ settling the north-western Black Sea Coast in the first half of the 3rd and the middle of the 2nd millennia BC. The study focuses on the ceremonial centres of the Eneolithic communities of the Babyno and Noua cultures.

Linearbandkeramik and Lengyel Culture: Barcs-Som-ogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Barcs-Somogytarnóca-Sertésteleptől ÉNy-ra, Hollád, Komlósd-Mogyorós (settlements); Balaton-Las-inja Culture: Gyékényes, Lulla-Büdösalja (settlements); „Furch-enstich” ceramic Culture: Barcs-Somogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Istvándi-Csontai-dűlő (settlements); Baden Culture: Kaposvár-Kisgát, Lulla-Jabapuszta (settlements); Somogyvár-Vinkovci Culture: Hollád, Lulla-Büdösalja, Lulla-Jabapuszta (settlements), Zamárdi-Réti földek (grave), Kaposvár-Kaposfüred 67/13 (set-tlement); Kisapostag Culture: Barcs-Somogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Kaposvár-Kisgát (settlements); Urnfield Culture (earlier and elder period): Vörs-Battyáni disznólegelő (cemetery), Bar-cs-Somogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Gyékényes, Hollád, Siófok (settlements); Hallstatt Culture: Kaposvár-Kaposfüred 67/13, Siófok (settlements); Celtic age: Barcs-Somogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Gyékényes, Lulla-Büdösalja (settlements), Kaposvár-Ka-posfüred 67/13 (graves); Roman age: Barcs-Somogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Balatonszentgyörgy (Vörs-B), Gyékényes-Fehér-dűlő, Kaposvár-Kisgát, Lulla-Büdösalja, Sávoly (settlements), Somogyvár-Bréza-erdő (barrow grave), Lulla-Jabapuszta (settlement, first-third centuries); Avar period: Vörs-Battyáni disznólegelő, Kaposvár-Kertészet, Zamárdi-Réti földek (cem-eteries), Siófok (settlement); 10-11th centuries: Hollád (settle-ment), Kaposvár-Kertészet (cemetery); Arpadian-age: Barcs-Somogytarnóca-Aszalói dűlő, Hollád-Körforgalom, Kaposvár-Kaposfüred 67/12, Komlósd-Mogyorós, Lulla-Büdösalja (set-tlements), Iharos-temető, Kisberény-Helai-dűlő, Szőkedencs-temető (churchs, cemeteries); Late medieval period: Iharos-temető, Kisberény-Helai-dűlő, Szőkedencs-temető (churchs, cemeteries), Lulla-Büdösalja (settlement); Early new ages: Kaposvár-Kisgát (cemetery), Őrtilos-Új Zrinyi vár (fortress)

When Davis and Thurman produced in 1865 their massive volume on aspects of the ancient skeletons excavated from British tombs and cemeteries, they had no interest in Victorian colonialism or establishing which early population was the most ‘primitive’ or ‘savage’ or ‘inferior’, although they did recognise differences in cultural dynamics (with the Romans getting top marks). The term “race” was used for long barrow people, Romans, Saxons and others, simply to refer to populations in a time and cultural frame. I say this to dispatch the idea, common in archaeology and the media, that these early scholars were only interested in establishing hierarchies of inferiority by reference to skeletal material. If anything, Victorian science was disadvantaged by the ever present class consciousness of the times, but these early scientists did try to avoid such influences.

El artículo analiza el proceso organizativo y de movilización que, teniendo como centro la disputa por los panteones vecinales, se desarrolló en la ciudad de México entre 2001 y 2007. De acuerdo con la normatividad en ese entonces vigente, el control sobre los panteones vecinales correspondía a los pueblos originarios de la ciudad, por lo que las iniciativas para traspasar su manejo a la esfera estatal fueron de inmediato interpretadas como una pérdida de derechos comunales y enfrentadas a través de acciones contenciosas acompañadas de recursos legales. Enmarcado en el supuesto de que es posible construir ejercicios ciudadanos alternos a las formas de participación/representación surgidas de las urnas, el texto documenta tales respuestas e interpreta la emergencia de la Unión de Pueblos, Barrios y Colonias del Distrito Federal, upbcdf, como un actor colectivo con capacidad para incidir en la esfera pública. This article analyzes the organization and mobilization process that centered on the dispute for the community cemeteries in Mexico City between 2001 and 2007. According to the regulations of the time, control of these cemeteries was held by the native communities of the city, which is why initiatives to grant their management to the State were immediately seen as a loss of communal rights for indigenous people and were met with contentious actions accompanied with legal recourse. Based on the assumption that it is possible to build citizen actions as alternatives to forms of participation/representation that arise from ballots, this article documents such responses and interprets the emergence of the Union of Native Communities, Neighborhoods, and Districts of Mexico City (Unión de Pueblos, Barrios y Colonias del Distrito Federal, upbcdf), as a collective actor with the capacity to impact the public sphere.

Abstract The paper presents the results of excavations and analytical studies regarding the taxonomic classification of a unique funeral site associated with the societies of early ‘barrow cultures’ of the north-western Black Sea Coast in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. The study discusses the ceremonial centres of the Tripolye culture-Gordineşti group, as well as Yamnaya and Catacomb cultures.

В белорусской археологии Средневековья мало внимания уделяется технологии изготовления и составу металла ювелирных изделий. Такая ситуация не позволяет получить полное понимание особенностей технологии ювелирного ремесла, определение центров ювелирных изделий производство и способы попадания в регион сырья, необходимого для работы ювелиров. В данной публикации представлены предварительные результаты исследования ювелирных изделий с погребальных памятников верхнего Повилья. In Belarusian archeology of the Middle Ages little attention is paid to the technology of manufacturing and composition of metals. Such situation does not allow to get a full understanding of the jewelery handicraft technology features, to determine the centers of jewelry production and the ways of entering the region of raw materials necessary for the work of jewelers. In this publication preliminary results of the study of jewelry from burial cemeteries of the Upper Viliya Region are represented.

Материалы, накопленные за многие годы, и новейшие данные о погребальных памятниках окрестностей Изборска, полученные в ходе реализации программы приграничного сотрудничества, требуют систематизации и тщательного анализа. Собранные в каталоге сведения содержат уточненную краткую информацию о топографии, устройстве, размерах и составе памятников - курганных и грунтовых могильников разных типов. Наряду с этим анализируются отдельные особенности погребального обряда данного региона. Сопоставляются данные о погребальных памятниках округ Изборска и Пскова. Materials accumulated during many years and the newest data about the burial monuments in the surroundings of Izborsk obtained in the process of realization of the program of cross-border cooperation require systematization and detailed analysis. The information collected in the catalog contains the specified brief information about the topography, construction, sizes and composition of the monuments - barrow cemeteries and ground grave fields of different types. At the same time, some peculiarities of the burial rites of the region are analyzed. Data on the burial monuments of Izborsk and Pskov regions are compared.

The paper is devoted to the analysis of a series of Middle Bronze Age burials from the barrow cemeteries of Veselyi I, Chaltyrskiy XI, Glubokaya II and Molokanovskiy III in the Lower Don region. All of them present a hitherto unknown type of demembration which involves a complete of partial displacement of bones “in blocks”, i. e. in anatomical articulation. Judging by both their inventory and ritual details, the burials in question belong to the late stage of the Catacomb culture (late stage of the Donets culture, Bakhmur variant, and the Manych culture). The displacement of bones “in blocks” (and penetration into the grave) took place during the first year after the funeral. There is a number of hypotheses that attempt to explain the appearance of demembration in ritual practices of ancient people. The burial contexts described in this paper support the hypothesis ac- cording to which demembration served as a method of rendering the dear harmless.

Abstract The paper presents the results of excavations and analytical studies regarding the taxonomic classification of a funeral site associated with the societies of ‘barrow cultures’ of the north-western Black Sea Coast in the first half of the 3rd and the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. The study discusses the ceremonial centres of the Eneolithic, Yamnaya and Noua cultures.

В статье рассматриваются каменные могильники второй половины I - начала II тысячелетия, расположенные к востоку от Псковско-Чудского озера в зоне интенсивных культурных контактов между территориями российского Северо-Запада и Эстонии. Выделяется две группы памятников: на западной окраине Ижорского плато и в Псковско-Изборском регионе. Могильники Ижорского плато, аналогично каменным могильникам Северо-Восточной Эстонии, представляют собой так называемые могильники с оградками (таранды), сооруженные в римское время и использовавшиеся для захоронений в середине - третьей четверти I тысячелетия. Могильники Псковско-Изборского региона датируются эпохой викингов (за исключением могильника Выбуты) и представляют собой отдельное культурное явление. Каменные могильники обеих групп часто топографически связаны с позднейшими курганно-жальничными могильниками, в которых встречены аналогичные каменным могильникам кладки. Stone burials of second half of 1st - the beginning of 2nd millenium, located to the east from Lake Peipsi (Pskov-Chudskoe) in the zone of intensive cultural contacts between territories of the Russian North-West and Estonia are considered. Two groups of monuments are distinguished: on the western outskirts of Izhora Plateau and in Pskov-Izborsk region. Graves of Izhora plateau, similarly to stone burials of NorthEastern Estonia, are so called fenced burials (tarands), built in Roman time and used for burials in middle - third quarter of the 1st millennium. Graves of Pskov-Izborsk region date from the Viking Age (with the exception of Vybuty burial ground) and represent a separate cultural phenomenon. Stone burial grounds of both groups are often topographically connected with later barrow-zhalnik cemeteries, in which fences similar to stone burial grounds are found.

The article is devoted to a brief description of the Abashevo culture. This culture emerged in forest areas of Eastern Europe at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Abashevo monuments date back to the 22nd–19th centuries BC. It was the culture of cattle herders and metallurgists. The Abashevo culture is represented by barrow cemeteries, settlements, hoards and random finds. This article analyzes the funeral rites of the Abashevo culture. Several types of vessels are distinguished in the ceramic material, and their ornamentation is described (elements, motifs, composition, style). The article presents a typology of metal, bone and stone artifacts (weapons, tools, adornments, symbols of power). The Abashevo culture is represented by two local variants — in the Middle Volga (two territorial groups are known here — on the right and on the left banks of the Volga) and and in the South Ural. The origin of the Abashevo culture, most likely, had the character of transformation. It was based on cultures with Central European roots and local, Eastern European cultures. The end of the Abashevo culture is associated with the emergence of the Seyma-Turbino cultural group in Eastern Europe. The confrontation between the Abashevo and Seyma-Turbino military units led to the withdrawal of the Abashevo culture from traditional territory. In the new cultural environment, under the influence of the southern Ural variant of the Abashevo culture, Sintashta culture was formed. Pokrovka culture was formed under the influence of the Middle Volga variant of the Abashevo culture. Therefore, a significant role of the Abashevo culture in the formation of the Volga-Ural cultural genesis centre is evident.

The article is dedicated to the publication of the materials of burials from the Early Iron Age, discovered during excavations of a crumbling kurgan which is a part of the cemetery “Bogomolnye Peski-I” close to the village of Nikolskoye, Enotaevsky district, Astrakhan region. In total, 14 burials were investigated during the rescue excavations, two of them relate to the Middle Ages, other seven belong to the Bronze Age. The article describes in detail 5 burials of the Early Iron Age. The dating of the burials is defined based on the materials and details of the burial rite. The earliest burial (No. 2) dates back to the Savromat era. It contained a decapitated rams carcase and a molded pot which is typical of assumed era. The rest of the burials belong to the Middle Sarmatian period (1st – 2nd centuries AD). One of the Middle Sarmatian burials was completely destroyed by robbers in ancient times. It was possible to find a lot of gold stripes of clothes among its containment, as well as a bronze cauldron with a tamga. Plaques and stripes are not typical of either the Savromat or the early Sarmatian cultures. Indeed, they are widely used in prestigious burials of the Middle Sarmatian culture. The burials No. 5 and No. 13, accompanied by a rich inventory, are of the greatest interest. A set of gold decorations for a funeral veil and a belt set of gold with turquoise inserts were found in burial No.5, which belong to the products of the Sarmatian polychrome style, typical of the Middle Sarmatian period. In addition, a gilded bronze dish related to Roman provincial dishes and an alabaster vessel were discovered there – a typical find of the Middle Sarmatian era. In burial No. 12, the most interesting findings, in addition to a large number of various beads, are intaglio gemstones made of red glass with plots of ancient mythology depicted on them, which are unique in their own way. Moreover, an interesting vessel shaped as a bird (duck) was found there as well. The close analogs to the latter are known in cemeteries of the 1st – 2nd centuries AD in the Kuban region. A feature of this kurgan is a large number of inlet burials of the Middle Sarmatian culture, whereas in general, the burials under individual mounds predominate in the Middle Sarmatian epoch. Key words: early Iron Age, barrow, Lower Volga region, Sarmatians, burial rite.

It is noted that some researchers have associated the migration of ancestors of Indo-Europeans to Europe with the Yamna cultural and historical community. It is established that based on a comparison of genomic markers from the remains of the Volga-Ural group of Yamna culture and representatives of European populations from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age, Western geneticists recently proposed their concept of mass migration of bearers of Yamna culture to Central Europe, which led to the emergence of Corded ware culture. It is noted that from the archaeological point of view, neither this large-scale migration nor the origin of the «Corded ware culture people» from the «Yamna culture people» can be traced. It has been suggested that the formation of Corded ware cultures took place along with the formation of Yamna cultural community on a unified genetic substrate. It is noted that the similarity of genetic determinants in YCHC and CWC is not the result of the formation of one culture from another, but indicates a common genetic basis, which arose from complex processes of interaction between agricultural and steppe populations, which later developed according to individual cultural trajectories. The advance of the Yamna population to the west is considered as an intrusion into the local environment, not as its mass migration to Central Europe. It is assumed that there was a «trade colonization» with the formation of enclaves, covering the newcomers and the local population, with a gradual advance to the west. This is supported by the fact that in Central Europe about 20 burials of Yamna culture have been studied, which do not form a unified complex but occur in cemeteries of different cultures. It has been established that the main movement of the population of the Yamna culture to the west was along the Danube and partly through Transylvania, where the sites of CWC are unknown. The initial area from which the intrusion was carried out is the North-Western Black Sea region. It is concluded that such statistical information gives reason to doubt the mass migration of bearers of Yamna culture from the Volga-Ural watershed to Central Europe. It is noted that instead the migration of the Seredniodniprovska culture, which settled on the territory of the Northern Sub-Carpathian region and the Sokal Ridge, is much more clearly expressed. It has been established that the population of this culture joined the local CWC environment, forming syncretic sites with features of two and sometimes three (Yamna/Catacombna) cultures. It is known that after Seredniodniprovska culture the representatives of Catacombna culture penetrated Central Europe in the north-western direction. Their presence is most clearly traced in the environment of Strzyżowska culture. It has been established that the movement of the Babyne culture population to the territory of the Sub-Carpathian region, and especially to the Western Volhynia – to places where flint outcrops are localized, the environment of Horodok-Zdovbytsia and Strzyżowska cultures is increasingly observed. Key words: Yamna culture, Corded ware culture, Catacombna culture, Seredniodniprovska culture, Strzyżowska culture, migration, intercultural contacts, barrow, burial.

Viking Age burial practices in DenmarkTraces of burial rituals in inhumation gravesThe hypothesis examined in this article is that the broad impression of grave forms and burial traditions gained from a comparison of contemporaneous inhumation cemeteries of the Viking Age also includes coincidences in the actions and rituals that can be deduced from the remains present in the graves. A mapping of the traces left by these actions is based on evidence from a number of Viking Age cemeteries in present-day Denmark, Scania and Southern Schleswig, excavated between 1895 and 2007. The resulting record reveals some regional differences but also includes some clear traits that are found repeated at numerous cemetery sites. In the present context, attention is focussed on a number of elements seen in the graves which are then presented, exemplified and discussed. In an attempt to interpret these traces, use is made of Nordic mythology, written sources from the Viking Age and Middle Ages and comparative religious studies relating to the mentality and cosmology of the Viking Age.As a starting point, two recently excavated cemeteries on Zealand are presented, namely Kirke Hyllinge Kirkebakke and Trekroner-Grydehøj near Roskilde (fig. 1). Both contain significant information with respect to burial rituals in the Viking Age.Kirke Hyllinge KirkebakkeKirke Hyllinge Church stands on the highest point in the area, c. 43 m above sea level (fig. 2). The cemetery here had at its core an older barrow and from here the graves extended out over an area measuring 80 m E-W and about 35 m N-S (fig. 3). In all, 28 burials were investigated, of which two were double graves, one contained the remains of three people and yet another the remains of four individuals. Further to these were three presumed inhumation graves and a cremation burial. About 80% of the graves were oriented N-W or NW-SE. Analysis of the human bones revealed that these represented the remains of two males, two females and 13 individuals of indeterminable gender. Of the skeletal remains for which it was possible to determine age, two were of children between the ages of seven and ten, three individuals were less than 20 years old, ten were between 20 and 35 and one person was 35-45 years old (fig. 4). There were artefacts in 17 of the graves and it became apparent that the equipment had been placed in two different locations in the grave (fig. 5). Accompanying the deceased on the floor of the grave lay artefacts such as knife, distaff whorl, whetstone, belt buckle or glass beads. Similar artefacts could also be found distributed through the grave fill above the deceased, often in a more or less damaged state. A particular phenomenon which emerged was the presence of skeletal parts that had been placed in the grave fill. An example of this is grave A590, which was 70 cm deep. On the base of this grave lay the remains of a woman with her equipment. Distributed through the fill above her were teeth from two different adult individuals and three further molars from a c. 8-year-old child. There was also burnt human bone. Another example is grave A569 which, in addition to the deceased at the base of the grave, contained parts of an adult and a c. 10-year-old child.Small pieces of burnt bone were found in 16 of the 31 definite or presumed inhumation graves. The quantity of bone varied from just a few grams to more than 200. Burnt human bone only occurred in two inhumation graves, A590 and A594, and in cremation grave A629.Stones of varying size were found in the fill or at the base of eight graves. The quantity – in terms of both number and weight – varied greatly. Most striking was their presence in A590 and A608. In a couple of cases the stones showed the effects of fire.The distribution of graves across the excavated area showed a tendency towards clustering but no systematic pattern emerged with regard to gender or grave orientation within these groups.Immediately to the south of inhumation grave A583 there were two identical constructions, each comprised of four posts (fig. 6). The two four-poster constructions are so similar, and are situated in such a way, that it seems very likely that one replaced the other. Four-poster constructions can represent a light building, a tent or a frame in, or on, which the deceased was placed for a shorter or longer period prior to actual burial.Trekroner-Grydehøj, RoskildeGrydehøj is a small hill on the eastern periphery of Roskilde. At the beginning of the Viking Age, the west-facing slope of the hill in particular was used as a burial ground (fig. 7). The cemetery had as its core a cluster of earlier burial monuments from the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age located on the top of the hill (fig. 8). Of the 27 inhumation graves detected, 25 lay within an area measuring c. 50 x 33 m running down the west-facing hillside. Most of the graves, c. 80%, were oriented N-S or NW-SE.In addition to single graves there were also double graves in which one body had been placed on top of the other. However, there was also an example where they lay in continuation of one another (fig. 9). Three inhumation graves, of which one was a double grave, had burnt human bone in the grave fill (fig. 10). The results of the analyses of human bone are shown in figures 11 and 12.There were artefacts in 21 graves; these were partly associated with the deceased on the base of the grave and partly found distributed through the overlying fill.A505 differed from the other graves. At the top there were many fieldstones and flint nodules and along its eastern side were three large boulders. The upper part of the grave was found to contain most of the skeleton of a female and parts of a skeleton of a male (fig. 13). At the base of the grave was the skeleton of a female (fig. 14). By her right thigh was an iron point fitted into a solid cast bronze socket which originally had a wooden shaft (fig. 15). This presumably represents a ceremonial object, perhaps a symbol of Odin, master of sorcery. In other words, the artefact could be a völva’s staff. At the foot of the grave, a menhir had been erected over the rear half of a medium-sized dog which had been severed in the middle (fig. 16). Along the eastern side of the grave lay the remains of an old stallion; these partially covered the woman’s left side from the waist downwards.Stones were found in eight graves: in the fill, at the base of the grave or over the skeleton (fig. 18). The most striking of these were the large boulders and the many smaller stones seen in the fill of grave A505. A total of 18 of the 27 inhumation graves were found to contain burnt bone fragments; in the great majority of cases these could not be identified to species. It was, however, possible to establish that there were burnt human remains in graves A2036, A2047 and A2059.The distribution of the graves showed a weak tendency towards grouping. There was no systematic pattern with respect to gender or grave orientation within these groups (see fig. 8).There was a four-poster construction by grave group C and inhumation graves A2030 and A2079, but it is unclear to what degree this was associated with the Viking Age cemetery.Traces of rituals in the Viking Age inhumation gravesThe grave pitThe orientation of the grave pit relative to the points of the compass shows some regional differences. In Northern Zealand and Scania graves orientated N-S are dominant, whereas in Southern and Western Zealand they are more mixed with E-W oriented graves (figs. 20 and 21). The tendency to orientate graves in an E-W direction is more pronounced on Funen (fig. 22), and in Jutland E-W orientated burials are clearly dominant. The orientation of the grave pit appears not to be founded on very fixed perceptions of a religious character. It seems rather to be an expression of local or regional tradition.CoffinsExtensive use was made of the ‘available box’ principle when a coffin was needed for a burial. In general, there appears not to have been any immediate status-related link between coffin form and grave content with respect to simple coffins.Double graves, secondary burials and bone depositionsMost of the graves in which there was a secondary burial above a primary interment reveal clear evidence of the care taken to ensure that the new grave lay within the limits of the original grave pit. We can only speculate as to the background for the double and secondary burials. There could have been a ritual killing, but this is unlikely to have been the case in all instances. The reason for human body parts having been included as grave goods could be an expression of ancestor worship; the graves of particularly important people within or outside the family could have been dug up and the bones and artefacts removed in order for them subsequently to be included in the graves of other deceased members of the family.Burnt bone in the grave fillSmall pieces of white calcined bone are a familiar phenomenon in Viking Age inhumation graves. It seems obvious that the burnt bone represents a ritual. The bones have been crushed before being scattered into the grave as it was back-filled. In fortunate cases the bone can be identified to species and both humans and animals are represented. The unburnt corpse at the base of the grave should be considered as the actual primary occupant of grave, whereas the cremated bone constitutes part of the burial fittings. In ‘Odin’s Law’, which is reproduced in the Ynglinga Saga, cremation is prescribed, but inhumation burial increased in dominance during the course of the Late Germanic Iron Age and Viking Age. The burnt bone in the inhumation graves could, however, be a relic of an older tradition and use – a tribute to Odin.Unburnt animal boneThe unburnt animal bones in the inhumation graves represent a broad spectrum of domestic animals such as pigs, cattle, poultry and sheep/goats. It seems obvious to perceive these bones as representing offerings of food, but the animals could have had further symbolic meaning than food alone. The pig has a role in Nordic mythology, including in the form of the hog Gyldenbørste, Frey’s attribute. Similarly, a hog is sacrificed to Frey. Cattle also had a role as offering in the sacrifice (blot), which is reflected in the term blótnaut, i.e. cattle intended for blot.Dogs do not occupy a prominent role in Nordic mythology but occur commonly in Viking Age graves, both in a cremated and an unburnt state. It is possible that the dog performed the role of spiritual guardian on the journey to the Kingdom of the Dead, or that it symbolised the transition from life to death.The horse encompasses symbolic elements which it is important to note. Sleipner was Odin’s eight-legged horse, and it carried him to and from the Underworld. The horse is, accordingly, perceived as an important auxiliary spirit for those skilled in sorcery in their contacts with the afterlife. The horse was also an important animal in the blot and formed part of ritual meals in connection with this.The presence of animals in the graves is equivocal. There is an explanation which immediately springs to the mind of a modern person but the significance can be accentuated and expanded both mythologi­cally and ritually. It seems clear that there is an embedded symbolism in at least some of the animals placed in the graves and in the treatment of these animals prior to burial. An example of a grave containing several animal offerings is A505 at Trekroner-Grydehøj (see figs. 13, 14 and 16).Stones in the grave pitThe purpose of covering or filling graves with stone packings and the placing of boulders of various sizes in the fill, on the base of the grave or directly on the corpse, does not appear immediately evident on the basis of the archaeological evidence. There are descriptions from the saga litera­ture in which burials and stones belong together, for example in Gisli Sursson’s Saga. It seems obvious that the stones are intended to prevent the corpse returning from the dead.In grave A505 at Trekroner-Grydehøj a small square ‘menhir’ had been set on edge on top of the dog’s corpse (see fig. 16). Similarly, a stone was placed on top of the animal bones at the foot of grave A590 at Kirke Hyllinge Kirkebakke. On the face of it, the menhir on the floor of the grave makes most sense if the grave had stood open, or was only partially back-filled, for a period during which the stone was, as a consequence, fully visible.Artefacts in the grave fillThe deposition of artefacts, whether intact, damaged or unfinished, in the grave fill, reflects burial rituals in which the actual back-filling process was important. The significance of the damaged artefacts is not immediately clear. A situation worthy of note is that, in several instances, damaged distaff whorls and brooches, i.e. female-related artefacts, are found in graves where the deceased interred on the base of the grave was a man. It seems entirely possible that the destruction of feminine artefacts and their deposition high up in the grave fill should be seen in a gender-related context. Spinning and weaving were very strongly linked to the female sphere and the tools associated with these activities can be perceived as a metaphor for performance of magic. Accordingly, the fact that the artefacts are damaged could have been linked with the perception of magic as being strongly effeminate and, in reality, a taboo for men.ConclusionAn interesting aspect of Viking Age burial practices is that it can be shown that rituals and ceremonies took place over longer periods – days, weeks, months and years. This is apparent partly from the presence of artefacts, evenly distributed burnt bone fragments and remains of animals and humans in the grave fill, and partly from the traces of the careful re-opening of a grave in order to inter a further corpse precisely within the limits of the original grave pit. Another thought-provoking aspect relates to the human and animal body parts, both burnt and unburnt, which were added to the grave fill during the back-filling pro­cess. It is obvious that there must have been a well-defined difference between whether bones were cremated or unburnt.Another practice, for which the background does not seem immediately clear, is that stones in various amounts and of various sizes were added to some graves. It must be presumed that the purpose of a packing of fist- to head-sized stones differed from that of a heavy boulder placed directly on the body.Stones erected on the base of a grave did not arrive there by chance. They apparently occur particularly at the head and feet of the deceased and, in some instances, in association with animal bones.Artefacts do not occur exclusively on the base of the grave together with the deceased, but can also be present up in the grave fill. Often the artefacts are fragmented and all the evidence suggests that this destruction took place intentionally prior to deposition. It is difficult to say anything about the powers which may have been ­ascribed to these everyday artefacts, and perhaps it is not the object in its usual surroundings which constitutes a problem. It could, to a greater degree, be the object in association with something unusual which constituted a potential risk. Examples include artefacts such as ornaments and distaff whorls which are associated with women and, as such, could have been more or less taboo for men.Despite these variations, the perception of behaviour and customs was uniform over great distances, both in time and space. The common denominator is not always the most conspicuous aspect but can be deduced from the details which are revealed by archaeological excavations of the cemeteries of the period. What these traces as a consequence actually represent with respect to this world and the next is something, as children of the 20th century, we can only attempt to understand and argue the case for. But it could very well turn out that it all remains a question of belief.Jens UlriksenNæstved