WHAT HOLDS A (CREMATION) GRAVE? EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-03-04

Cremation graves in all their variations are the most numerous type of burials in late prehistoric north-eastern Slovenia. They have a long history of research, which dates back to the 19th century, but it was not until recently, when major changes in research strategies appeared. New technological advances opened doors into a series of new directions. With novel approaches, we can go beyond studying the types of vessels and the selection of jewellery, and begin to search for traces of preparation of the contents, look for possible additional (perishable) grave goods, analyse the composition of objects, take into consideration also post-depositional processes etc. However, the study of a cremation burial is not a straightforward and self-evident process. We have to acknowledge that we are documenting traces of events and/or processes that we do not understand completely. The analysis of a grave begins with the analysis of the sites and their surroundings. That includes airborne laser scanning and the analysis of its broader landscape, followed by ground truthing campaigns and geophysical prospections. Ideally, these should precede excavation of the cemetery, when all the possible details have to be observed and documented. However, we can go further in our quest for more detailed and reliable data. An important step forward, when dealing with cremation/urn graves, is the use of computed tomography indivisibly connected with micro-excavations of vessels/urns. Additionally, we can conduct petrography of ceramic vessels, analysis of (possible) organic remains within them, metallography of metal artefacts, as well as the thorough study of cremated human (and animal) remains, which add significantly to the interpretation of the individual graves and their broader (cultural) environment.


Author(s): Leskovar, Tamara - Črešnar, Matija (Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana) - Cavalli, Fabio (Research Unit of Paleoradiology and Allied Sciences, Universitary Integrated Health Care, Trieste) - Vinazza, Manca (Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana) - Armit, Ian (Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester) - Bastos, Beatriz (School of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford) - Žibrat Gašparič, Andreja (Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana) - Innocenti, Dario (Research Unit of Paleoradiology and Allied Sciences, Universitary Integrated Health Care, Trieste)