Vessels from Late Medieval cemeteries in the Central Balkans
Authors: Bikic Vesna 
Published: April 2013

Although a rare occurrence in late medieval cemeteries, vessels have been
found on almost all major sites of the period, such as Novo Brdo, Trgoviste,
Reljina Gradina and the churchyard of St Peter?s near Novi Pazar, the
churchyard of St Nicholas? at Kursumlija, the churchyard of St Stephen?s at
Milentija near Brus, Mali Zvecan, Mirijevo, Vinca. Vessels occur in different
places, both on top of and in graves. Fragments of pottery and glass vessels
are relatively abundant in layers of earth filling burial pits and chambers,
and in those immediately overlaying burial pits or gravestones. The available
data make it possible to recognize almost all functional types. The most
frequently found pottery shapes are larger liquid containers - jugs and
pitchers, and apparently there have also been many pots, both hearth cooking
and glazed (figs. 1-3; 5-9). Recognizable among the glass vessels are
bottles, usually those with long fluted necks and biconical, as well as
infrequent icon lamps. The data about the vessels found buried with the
deceased is much more detailed. Such finds are recorded at Macvanska
Mitrovica (fig. 10/3), Brestovik (fig. 13/3), Mirijevo (fig. 4/1), Vinca
(figs. 4/2; 10/4), Stragari near Kragujevac, Milentija near Brus, round the
church of St Peter near Novi Pazar, at the monastery of Konculic (fig. 13/2)
and the monastery of Gradac. The relatively plentiful and diverse vessels
discovered at the cemeteries of medieval Trgoviste are especially
illustrative (fig. 10/2, 7). The available descriptions of vessels and
archaeological contexts provide a general impression about the types of
vessels recorded in the cemeteries of a late medieval and early modern date
in the central Balkans. Glass bottles as a rule were laid in graves, while
earth-fill layers, apart from bottles, contained plentiful shards of drinking
vessels. As for the bottles, two types were registered: biconical and those
with long fluted necks (figs. 10; 12/1). Among the glass fragments there were
parts of bottles with a ring around the neck and a ribbed body
(Rippenflaschen), generally known in domestic scholarship under the term
Panik type bottle (fig. 10/8). Also identifiable among the recovered glass
fragments are drinking vessels of several types, beakers with small or large
prunts (Nuppenbecher and Krautstrunk) and ribbed (Rippenbecher), common
especially in the 15th and 16th centuries (figs. 12/1, 3, 5, 6). There are
also pieces with a blue thread applied around the rim and body, similar to
the examples from Stalac reproduced herein (fig. 12/3). Quite rarely found
are drinking vessels of cobalt blue glass, which are mostly small, except for
a few examples of up to 14 cm in height, which is also the height of the
abovementioned bottles. Apart from Venice and Dubrovnik (Ragusa), glassware
was imported from Hungary. The discovered pottery vessels show a greater
diversity, mostly in terms of shape. In addition to liquid containers - jugs,
pitchers and beakers, there occur bowls, pots and even apothecary vessels. A
vast majority belong to the Serbian ware of the 14th and 15th centuries. Most
are glazed, and frequently painted with spirals, bands and blotches in white,
green and dark brown or decorated with simple sgrafitto patterns, such as the
finds from Novo Brdo (fig. 1), St Peter?s (figs 9; 13/1, 4) and the monastery
of Gradac. By far the most interesting of them is the beaker from Konculic
with an openwork edge around the base (fig. 12/2), which is commonly found in
glass beakers of the same period. Deserving of particular attention are three
cylindrical ceramic bottles from Novo Brdo (fig. 2). The presented material
allows us to recognize the central issues surrounding the occurrence of
vessels in the cemeteries of the 14th to 17th century in Serbia. Given the
small number of recorded cases, the presence of vessels in graves as grave
goods appears to have been utterly sporadic. Being based on the processed and
published results, and given the small number of systematically investigated
and analyzed cemeteries, however, such a conclusion should be taken with
caution. In most cases, the vessels were laid beside the head of the
deceased, usually on its left, rarely on the right side, and only
exceptionally next to the legs or the upper body area. On the other hand, the
amount of fragments discovered in cemeteries is generally large, as shown,
for example, by a cursory insight into the excavation records for the site of
Novo Brdo. This discrepancy is surprising and makes us think over the
character of the finds, but we shall not get closer to an answer until we
have detailed context analyses done and the material systematized and
statistically processed. When it comes to shapes, liquid containers obviously
predominated - glass bottles and ceramic pitchers, followed by glass and
ceramic drinking vessels, while ceramic pots and bowls occurred in graves
only rarely. The vessels are mostly small. The glass bottles are between 14
and 15 cm in height on average, except the specimen from Mali Zvecan, which
is more than twice as high (36 cm). The cups show similar heights, between 10
and 16 cm. The ceramic pitchers and pots are also small, with a height
usually not exceeding 16 cm. Judging by the available data, it appears that
shards of larger vessels were found on top of graves (bowls, pitchers, jugs,
pots), apparently brought for the memorial ceremony held at the grave, while
graves usually contained small vessels, usually bottles. Apart from Serbia,
the occurrence of vessels in cemeteries has also been recorded in the
surrounding areas. Given their very distinctive context and character, the
finds from Bosnia draw particular attention, as well as those from Croatia,
where they are concentrated in the broader area of Split. This overview makes
it plain that the vessels laid in graves differ little from ordinary
household utensils. Moreover, all can be classified as typical of the 14th to
17th century - Venetian, Dubrovnik and Hungarian glass, and the ceramic
kitchen and tableware produced locally, in Serbia. For the sake of
comparison, we draw attention to similar vessels discovered on fortress,
settlement and monastery sites, such as Stalac, Belgrade (fig. 14),
Studenica, Mileseva, Trgoviste, Trnava near Cacak. The presented examples,
combined with all previously gained insights, clearly demonstrate and
corroborate the assumption that the custom of laying vessels in graves in the
central Balkans was an uncommon but long-standing phenomenon. Unlike earlier
periods, when it was pottery vessels that were almost exclusively placed in
graves, from the 14th century on the ratio of glass to ceramic vessels,
mostly bottles, pitchers and beakers, becomes virtually equal. Judging by the
find-spots and other known information, in the late medieval period the
custom of laying vessels in graves was confined to a few areas along the
Danube, Morava, Ibar, Drina and Neretva rivers. These areas, in the
hinterland of Dubrovnik, in Herzegovina, Bosnia and Serbia, are associated
with major caravan routes, which is relevant in our considerations of the
glass finds. As it appears from the examples from all aforementioned areas,
the only difference of some significance concerns the type of glass vessels
used in funeral rituals - bottles in Serbia and Croatia, and drinking vessels
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though this seems to give grounds to assume
certain regional variation in the custom of making offerings to the dead, at
this point any conclusion would be highly conjectural, especially if based
only on the available archaeological data. As shown by ethnological research,
the custom, also sporadic, survived in Serbia and Bulgaria until the late
19th century. The analysis of the vessels from late medieval and early modern
cemeteries has revealed a number of features common to the central-Balkan
region, but also some regional variation. However, given the proportion of
processed specimens in the entire recovered material, the assumptions and
results presented here should only be taken as preliminary. The fact that
some manifestations of the custom are still obscure reduces some of the
previously proposed interpretations to little more than unfounded
speculation, which is fertile ground for manipulation. Apart from analyzing
the archaeological material, what is needed therefore is a thorough study of
other aspects of the issue, above all the phenomenon of burials topped by
slabs and stecci, and funerary practices at large.