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Results of the Excavations of the La Tène Culture Cemetery at Zvonimirovo-Veliko polje in 2009
Marko Dizdar
orcid.org/0000-0003-3964-9002
; Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Rescue archaeological excavations of the La Tène Culture at Zvonimirovo-Veliko Polje cemetery continued in 2009 in the northern part of the elevation, where eight incineration graves (LT 75 – LT 82) were found. In some graves, sunk more deeply into the layers of clay, changes in colour and sorts of fills were documented. The same is the case also at the bottom of grave pits suggesting the existence of wooden grave architecture.
The number of finds of a richly equipped warrior grave LT 75 stands out, with grave goods on two levels. On the top of the wooden casket weapons (a sword in a sheath, a spear, a shield boss) and toilet accessories (scissors, razor) were laid, while on its bottom the incinerated remains of the deceased person with attire accessories and provisions for the last journey were found. In women’s graves attire accessories (belts, fibulae) and jewellery (incinerated glass armlets) were found. Part of the provisions for the last journey are also grave goods in the form of ceramic vessels produced on a potter’s wheel, among which pots with a biconical body and a staired shoulder, and S-profiled bowls stand out. In woman’s grave LT 77 a biconical whorl (Fig. 3) was found. Extraordinarily well preserved is the woman’s grave LT 79 (Fig. 4) in which, on top of incinerated bones, a smaller, round bronze artefact was found, which might be a coin, and this is the first such occurrence in La Tène culture cemeteries in northern Croatia. The excavated graves can be dated in Mokronog IIb stage, i.e. the end of the 3rd and the first half of the 2nd centuries BC, which corresponds to the facts known so far about burial rites in this part of the cemetery. Half of the graves were partly destroyed by intensive soil cultivation, which points to the need of further excavations on the top of the elevation, particularly its southern part, where a large number of graves were documented, some of which stand out with numerous grave goods – weapons and attire accessories. The excavations were made possible thanks to the financial support granted by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports within the Research Project “The Development and Mobility of Protohistoric Communities Dwelling in the Territory of Continental Croatia”, 197-1970685-0711.
Keywords
Zvonimirovo; cemetery; Mokronog group; Podravina; Mokronog IIb; weapons; attire; jewellery; wooden grave architecture
Hrčak ID:
64736
URI
Publication date:
3.3.2011.
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