Settlement burials

LIVING WITH THE DEAD.
BURIALS IN EIA SETTLEMENTS BETWEEN THE BALKANS, TISZA AND DNESTR

- ABSTRACT -

PROBLEMATICS
Burials in settlements are a particular funerary phenomenon, documented worldwide, in different eras and contexts. Archaeologically speaking, burials consist of skeletons or parts of human skeletons, in or not anatomical position, deposited in disused habitat structures (pits, dwellings). Often labelled as “macabre” findings, “atypical” or “irregular” burials, this is undoubtedly a type of treatment of the human body after death.
As this practice is often documented at the same time with the existence of actual cemeteries, the hypotheses regarding the status of the individuals deposited in the settlements are numerous. Setting aside some of the exceptional findings – such as A and B grave circles from Mycenae, which prove the special social position of the buried individuals – the human bones found in domestic context were most of the times considered to be the result of human sacrifices or burials of persons of special status: slaves, war prisoners, heretics, pariahs, convicts, etc. On the other hand, we need to take into account the ethnographic sources indicating that human societies practised numerous and complex funerary rituals, some of them involving manipulations and treatments of the body starting from the time of death until final deposition.
In this context, we can ponder upon the nature of the social and ritual mechanisms that led to the separation or dissolution of the usual limits between the living and the dead.
Within this problematic, our project sets out to draw up a list of the cases of burials in early Hallstattan settlements spread between the Balkans, Dnestr and Tisza Rivers, to analyze the respective inventory and the identified ritual gestures, compare them with similar situations from other areas and eras and confront them, in the end, with historical documentation.
SPACE AND AGE
Early Iron Age (ca. 1200/1100 – 800/700 BC) is characterized by the emergence and dissemination of iron metallurgy. This technology that was born in eastern Anatolia and neighbouring areas (Armenia and Cilicia) spread rapidly from the end of 2nd millennium BC, but especially during the so-called Dark Ages in Greece. This period was much tormented in the Aegean-Anatolian area, as the Sea People rose while the Hittite Empire and the Mycenaean civilization fell.
In the northern Balkans, at the end of the 2nd millennium and beginning of the 1st millennium BC, classic cultural manifestations of the Middle and Late Bronze Age (Monteoru, Noua, Coslogeni, Suciu de Sus, Žuto-Brdo–Gârla Mare, Cruceni-Belegiš, Zimnicea-Plovdiv etc.) come to an end and new ones take shape. Despite the emergence of the first iron artefacts, this is the peak of bronze metallurgy and of the deposition of bronze artefacts in ritual contexts.
The area we’ve selected for the study of this category of findings corresponds to the dissemination of several early Hallstattan archaeological cultures with grooved pottery (Bistreţ-Işalniţa, Gáva-Holidrady, Chişinău-Corlăteni etc.), but also with stamped and incised pottery (Pšeničevo, Babadag, Insula Banului, Gornea-Kalakača, Belozerka, Cozia, Saharna-Solonceni), which are a variation of the funerary ritual . Nevertheles, in the entire area, in various proportions, probably due to the level of the investigations in the settlements, intramuros graves were also found.
STATE OF RESEARCH
Though the first such finds were uncovered since the 50’s, an analysis thereof is rather new archaeological endeavour in southern and Eastern Europe. The known publications so far mostly approach individual finds (e.g. Gomolava, Babadag, Niculiţel, Jurilovca–Orgame, Svilengrad, Saharna, Pusztataskony etc.). Syntheses on this topic are scarce and incomplete regarding the number of finds, area and method of investigation . Therefore an interdisciplinary approach over an extended area of various contemporaneous cultural manifestations may lead to the formation of a solid documentary base for an objective interpretation of this funerary practice.
CATALOGUE OF THE FINDS
We have catalogued the finds in the area between the Balkans, Dnestr and Tisza from 53 EIA sites (broadly 12th c.-8th c. BC) with 226 contexts for human bones from at least 512 individuals.
From the 53 catalogued sites, most of them (cat. no. 1, 3-6, 10, 14, 19, 21-22, 28-30, 33-35, 37, 45-46, 51-53) were ascribed to Gáva culture, most of the information concerning burials in settlements coming from rather recent finds in the intra-Carpathian region, up to Tisza River. Other such finds are concentrated at the Lower Danube, mostly ascribed to Babadag culture (cat. no. 2, 7-9, 11-12, 16-17, 24, 27, 31, 36, 38, 41, 43); in our opinion, the site at Tămăoani can be ascribed to Belozerka culture  (cat. no. 48).  The finds from Upper and Middle Dnestr were ascribed both to Saharna-Solonceni culture (cat. no. 15, 39-40) and Černoles culture (cat. no. 20, 23, 50); the finds at Ostrovul Corbului, Gomolava and Novi Sad were included in the areal of Kalakača culture, and the finds from Sava, Karanovo and Svilengrad are probably part of Pšeničevo culture. A special place among these finds is held by the settlement from Tărtăria, characterized by Basarabi-style decorated pottery.
Most human bones contexts in settlements were found in the area of Saharna-Solonceni culture, where the site at Hligeni alone provides 86 such contexts. However, this site can now be deemed an exception. More homogenous distribution is encountered at the Lower Danube in the sites ascribed to Babadag culture and in the intra-Carpathian region (Graphic 2).

Data on Early Iron Age at Lower Danube have substantially grown richer following the numerous researches in Babadag culture sites, especially after the ’90s. Identified in Dobrudja, eastern Walachia and south-eastern Moldavia, Babadag culture has ascribed so far over 100 settlements that probably functioned from the end of 11th c. to the first part of 8th c. B.C. One of the problems raised since the beginning of investigations at Babadag was the lack of information regarding the existence of necropolises. From the ’90s, but especially in the past decade, data regarding the treatment of the dead was completed with several outstanding finds, results of complicated deposition/decomposition and manipulation of human bodies in settlements. Thus, numerous habitat structures (pits, huts, ditches) containing human bones were found in settlements such as Babadag, Niculiţel, Suceveni, Garvăn, Jurilovca – Orgame or Bucu. Though several synthetic studies have already been published concerning these finds that many researchers consider atypical, unusual, bizarre or macabre burials, the recent discoveries continue to bring to light new pieces of information confirming the complexity of this special funerary conduct.
Such is the case of the site at Satu Nou-Valea lui Voicu (Oltina, Constanta County), located on a greatly eroded promontory in the immediate proximity of the Danube. Archaeological research in 1982-2002 documented the existence of an important fortified Getae settlement (3rd-1st c. BC). Archaeological deposits exceeded 5 m in depth in the northern plateau and encompassed 9 layers. The remains of a possible EIA sanctuary ascribed to Babadag culture (9th–early 8th c. BC) were partially investigated beneath the Late Iron Age settlement. The complex consisted of several pits and one ditch that followed the western limit of the promontory. Skeletons or parts of human and animal skeletons, along with stones, pottery, etc. were deposited there. Such practices of exposure-decomposition-manipulation or inhumation-exhumation applied to the human body after death are often encountered in EIA in the Carpathians-Balkans areal and beyond.

The paper presents the Early Iron Age discoveries resulted in the archaeological excavations carried out in the year 2000 at the Niculiţel–Cornet site. During this campaign, 126 archaeological complexes were researched (most of them being deposit pits) and a considerably large quantity of pottery, clay objects, a bronze bracelet, animal and stone hard materials were discovered, which are here analyzed. Lacking the proper objects that could give us a more precise chronology, the settlement from Niculiţel–Cornet can be largely dated between the 10th-9th c. BC. Until now we have only one carbon dating extracted from the Cas-7 complex, which indicates a dating of 2730± 35 BP.

Between 2009 and 2011, three Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age settlement pits, containing large amounts of human remains in different states of decomposition, were unearthed at the site Pusztataskony-Ledence 1 (Eastern Hungary). The deposits contained both single bones and clear crania, complete skel-
etons and body parts in approximate anatomical order. Associated finds – with a potsherd of the Kalakača culture amongst them – were sporadic and fragmented. In the first part of the paper the authors summarize stratigraphical observations, giving a description of the deposit structure, while in the second part methods, problems and the possibilities of interpretation are examined. The results of the anthropological survey and the soil micromorphological analysis, placed in context with contemporaneous mass deposits of human remains from South-Eastern Europe raise the possibility of an emerging multi-stage funerary practice in the area.

Zwischen 2009 und 2011 wurden in Pusztataskony-Ledence 1 (Ostungarn) drei spätbronze- / früheisenzeitliche Siedlungsgruben ausgegraben, die große Mengen menschlicher Knochen in verschiedenen Stadien der Dekomposition erbrachten. Die Komplexe enthielten sowohl einzelne Knochen,
Schädel wie auch Teil- und komplette Skelette in annähernd anatomischem Verband. Zugehörige Funde – u. a. eine der Kalakačakultur zuzuordnende Keramikscherbe – waren selten und fragmentiert. Im ersten Teil des Beitrags geben die Autoren einen Überblick über die stratigraphischen Beobachtungen und die Struktur der Befunde. Im zweiten werden die Methoden, Probleme und Möglichkeiten der Interpretation ausgelotet. Die Ergebnisse der anthropologischen Untersuchung und der mikromorphologischen Analysen, gestellt in den Kontext gleichzeitiger Massenfunde menschlicher Skelettreste aus Südosteuropa, eröffnet die Möglichkeit, die Entstehung einer mehrstufigen Bestattungspraxis zu diskutieren.

Although the research on the Early Iron Age sites has become more ample since the 60s, the study of the funerary practice of the Hallstatt communities in the area of Lower Danube represents a relatively new concern for the Romanian archaeologists. But it should be emphasized that such manifestations are rarely observed during the archaeological research in the SE Europe. The cemeteries and isolated burials found outside the Urnfield area are rare and rather atypical for the communities from this area and present a varied repertory.
The image of the funerary practice was partially improved lately, through the publishing of another category of finds, namely the complexes with human remains found in the settlements. These finds seem to concentrate inside the limits of the Babadag culture, but some can be met also outside this area.
In our opinion, the research of this phenomenon is made more difficult by the incorrect publication or even the lack of published information. Quite a lot of such finds come from the Early Iron Age settlement from Babadag, but unfortunately they are not mentioned in the articles dedicated to this site. In this study we try to present a catalogue as complete as possible for the finds from the Babadag settlement, based on the already published information, the recent finds, and also a series of documents from the Sebastian Morintz archive at the Institute of Archaeology “Vasile Pârvan” Bucharest. These information, the majority of which unpublished, bring a new and more complete image of the disposal of the dead inside the settlement.
Analyzing the total amount of the funerary finds from the Lower Danube area, a first conclusion would be that there are at least two ways of disposing the dead. The first could be represented by the complexes with human remains found inside the settlements, and the second could refer to the organization of a extra-mural funerary space, like is the case with the necropoleis from Folteşti and Sboryanovo.
An overlook on the complexes with human remains from settlements brings to the conclusion that can’t be observes rules concerning the number of individuals placed in one complex, the degree of anatomical connection, the position, the deposition, the orientation and alignment, the sex and age, or the existence of special characteristics (like for example malformations or physical anomalies).
In the Lower Danube area, this phenomenon can be noticed starting with the 11th century B.C., and reaching a special intensity during the 10th-8th centuries B.C., period that coincides, at least in the above mentioned area, with a clear drawback of the funerary complexes organized in cemeteries. For some zones, it looks like the two modalities used in the disposal of the dead are used at the same time, a case being noticed for the Saharna-Solonceni culture.
If the ritual observed for the necropolis from Folteşti presents similarities with what is known about the complexes found inside settlements, the necropolis from Sboryanovo detaches itself, being more closely related to the tumulus from Meri and the graves from the Saharna-Solonceni culture. Further more, the presence in this case of some cremation burials and grooved pottery sends rather to the funerary practices from the western part of Romania, the area of Banat and Oltenia.
At the same time, we need to notice that, while the majority of the excavated settlements produced such finds, namely complexes with human remains, the “normal” graves are represented by two sites, with a rather eccentric position, and two isolated finds (Capidava and Izvoarele), with uncertain chronological and cultural determination. In such a situation, one question arises: which of the two manifestations reflects the funerary conception of the Early Iron Age communities from the Lower Danube area? The data at our hand at this moment clearly represent only a small part of what is needed in order to answer to this question. This leaves us with the hope that the future finds will finally enable us to throw some light to this essential part of the life of past societies.

Archaeological investigations at the site from Bucu – Pochină carried out in 1989-2010 have highlighted the existence of an Early Iron Age settlement that can be ascribed to Babadag culture (end of 9th c. – beginning of 8th c. BC). A series of four habitat structures containing the bones of five individuals was found here. In this article we have endeavoured to explore these situations as indepth as possible, presenting the archaeological materials and documentation and completing the anthropological analysis of three of the individuals buried in this site.
The study of the burials from Bucu adds to the data known so far about the dead deposited in settlements in the Early Iron Age in the northern Balkans, especially in the Lower Danube region. The finds in this site consolidate the idea that these practices existed all over the area ascribed to Babadag culture, as well as the diversity of archaeological contexts, considering the various types of set-up, number and state of representation of the dead, deposition practices and association with certain objects (pottery vessels and fragments, animal bones, construction remains).

Archaeological research in 1968-1977 at Suceveni-Stoborăni site, Galati County (southern Moldavia), led to the identification of an Early Iron Age settlement that can be ascribed to Babadag culture. Three pits contained human bones: a collective burial with the bones of four individuals
deposited in unnatural positions; one pit with the skeleton of a child in flexed position; and another complex with disturbed human remains. After studying the available documentation, we analyzed these finds, discussing the chronology and cultural ascription, state of representation of the bodies, number of
individuals, anthropological observations, data on the position and orientation of the dead, observations on the assumed rituals, as well as on the place of deposition.

This paper presents the EIA finds of the archaeological survey conducted in 1988 at Niculiţel–Cornet. On this occasion, 67 archaeological structures were investigated (mostly pits) and a rather large quantity of pottery was recovered, along with artifacts made of clay, hard animal materials or stone, which are analyzed below. In the absence of artifacts indicatory of precise dating as well as of possible 14C data, the settlement at Niculiţel–Cornet could be broadly dated to 10th-9th century BC, more likely in the first half of this period, considering the high incidence of decoration on vessels.

This paper argues for a change in how the concept of culture is perceived in prehistoric European archaeology. Rather than as a set of prescriptive and fixed norms, culture should be related back to the daily practice of actual communities, its prime context of reproduction. In this view, culture is an enabling medium, not a restrictive codex. We illustrate this point by comparing burial practices in settlements of the Neolithic LBK culture (ca. 5600-4900 cal BC) in Lower Bavaria and the Paris Basin. Instead of evaluating these burial episodes by how well or poorly they correspond to long-established research expectations, which were focused on defining LBK-wide ‘cultural norms’, we foreground the performative aspects of burial and trace the establishment of micro-traditions at specific sites. This shows that the most challenging questions connected with using the concept of culture in prehistory lie in the way in which it is enmeshed in and lends a basic framework to action at a variety of social scales, without ultimately determining its outcome.