engleski

Bronze Age cremation burial beyond the shadow of urn

This article presents development and progress in research of Bronze Age cremated burials in the Northern Croatia through the last decades. For a long time, cremation burial research was focused, almost exclusively, on urns and, sometimes on furnishing goods around urn. Fragmented and damaged finds from the backfill of grave were usually only catalogued, without further analysis. This method was proven inadequate and insufficient, especially since there is a great uniformity of urn types in the Bronze Age communities of northern Croatia, and attempts to conduct in-depth analysis forced the researchers to turn their attention to other finds and details inside the grave and urn. Different approach to excavation also yielded new information and scientific knowledge. At the site Mačkovac-Crišnjevi urns were excavated together with infill. Systematic use of computed tomography (CT) and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was introduced prior to excavation and opening of every grave urn resulting in a previously unknown insights into the manipulation of cremated bones inside the urns. CT also enabled success in preserving of bronze objects damaged on a funeral pyre. Using other different methods we gained relevant new information and knowledge. For example, by improving our excavation methodology we noticed an interesting interaction between older and younger burials and the existence of grave marks visible on the surface of cemetery. This research revealed the complexity of life in the Bronze Age communities and open the way for further research.

bronze age, microexcavation

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