“homines, funera, astra”
TRANSCRIPT
1
“1 DECEMBRIE 1918“
UNIVERSITY OF ALBA IULIA
History, Archaeology and Museology Department
“ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA”
UNIVERSITY OF IAŞI
History Department
International Symposium on Funerary Anthropology
“Homines, Funera, Astra” Fourth edition
Time and Cause of Death from Prehistory to Middle Ages
“1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia 21 – 23 September 2014
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This conference is funded by grants from the Romanian
National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS–
UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2012-3-0461 and
project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2012-4-0490.
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PROGRAM
Sunday, September 21st
Arrival of participants
20.30 Dinner at the University Restaurant
Monday, September 22nd
8.30 – 9.30
Breakfast at the University Restaurant
9.30-9.40
Opening ceremony - Main building, Aula, 1st
floor
9.40 – 10.00
Sanda BĂCUEŢ-CRIŞAN
The red line – funeral inventory
10.00 – 10.20
Alexandra ANDERS
The times of their death – burials from a Late Neolithic settlement in Polgár-
Csőszhalom (NE-Hungary)
10.20 – 10.40
Katalin SEBŐK
Layers of formality: social, cultural and cognitive relations of funerary practices
in the Late Neolithic of the Great Hungarian Plain
10.40 – 11.00
Mihai GLIGOR, Kirsty McLEOD, Lynsey TOASE, Călin ŞUTEU, Doru BOGDAN
‘A Ditch in Time’: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of the Human Skeletal Remains
Discovered at Alba Iulia-Lumea Nouă (Romania)
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11.00 – 11.20
Susan STRATTON, Seren GRIFFITHS, Raluca KOGĂLNICEANU, Angela SIMALCSIK,
Cristian-Eduard ŞTEFAN, Valentin DUMITRAŞCU, Alexandru MORINTZ, Tom
HIGHAM, Dušan BORID and Alasdair WHITTLE
The earliest Neolithic cemetery in south-east Europe? A formally modelled
chronology for Cernica, Romania
11.20 – 11.40
Cătălin LAZĂR, Mihai FLOREA, Gabriel VASILE, Ionela CRĂCIUNESCU, Theodor
IGNAT
One cemetery, two moments in time. The case of Sultana-Malu Roșu cemetery
11.40 – 12.00
Coffee break
12.00 – 12.20
Bianca PREDA
Pit-Grave burials in the plains of Northern Wallachia: burial rite, grave goods
and relative and absolute chronologies
12.20 – 12.40
Tatjana TKALČEC
Coin finds at Crkvari-St. Lawrence church site (Northern Croatia) as terminus
ante quem non for funerary features
12.40 – 13.00
Siniša KRZNAR
Can the position of the forearms serve as a dating determinant in medieval and
early modern cemeteries on the territory of the northern Croatia?
13.30 – 14.30
Lunch at the University restaurant
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15.00 – 15.20
Natalie MURTON, Ellenor MILLICAN
Analysis of trauma to determine cause of death in human skeletal remains. Case
studies from Great Britain
15.20 – 15.40
Claudia RADU, Norbert SZEREDAI, Cătălin DOBRINESCU, Octavian POPESCU
Applying a biocultural approach in the reconstruction of the formation of a
funerary assemblage from a Bronze Age barrow from Constanța County,
Romania
15.40 – 16.00
Norbert SZEREDAI, Claudia RADU, Cătălin DOBRINESCU
Mortality and morbidiy profiles for a non-adult sample from the Early Medieval
necropolis of Mireasa (Constanța County, Romania)
16.00 – 16.20
Luminiţa ANDREICA
Meeting a medieval community of Bizere Monastery (Romania): lifestyle,
occupation and nutritional status
16.20 – 16.40
Coffee break
16.40 – 17.00
Monica DRAGOSTIN
Unwilling to survive freedom: the historical representation of Decebalus' suicide
17.00 – 17.20
Alexander RUBEL
Mors praematura. The causes of death in inscriptions from the Roman Empire
17.20 – 17.40
Lucrețiu MIHAILESCU-BÎRLIBA
La mortalité des légionnaires en Mésie Inférieure
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17.40 – 18.00
Kai BRODERSEN
The Critical Years of Life: Censorinus on the Right Time of Death
18.00 – 18.20
Irina Adriana ACHIM
Mort violente "pro Christi nomine": considérations sur le dossier des martyrs de
la Scythie
20.00 Dinner at Restaurant YES
Tuesday, September 23rd
8.30 – 9.00
Breakfast at the University Restaurant
09.20 – 09.40
George BODI, Loredana SOLCAN, Luminița BEJENARU
Is there such a time as a time of death? Thoughts on a possible reconstruction of
the attitude towards death of the Cucuteni population
9.40 – 10.00
Sorin-Cristian AILINCĂI, Mihai CONSTANTINESCU
Living with the dead. Burials in Early Iron Age settlement at Enisala–Palanca,
Tulcea County (Southeastern Romania)
10.00 – 10.20
Corina BORȘ, Luciana RUMEGA-IRIMUȘ, Gabriel VASILE, Marius ILIE
New evidence on the funerary phenomena of the Middle Hallstatt period in
Transylvania. The collective grave from Tărtăria – Podu Tărtăriei vest
10.20 – 10.40
Gabriel BĂLAN
First Iron Age burials at Gelmar (Hunedoara County, Romania)
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POSTER
Juraj BELAJ, Filomena SIROVICA
Disappearance of grave goods: Changes in Burial Practices in 14th century
Ivanec, Croatia
11.30
Departure for excursion to The ASTRA Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization,
Sibiu
20.00
Dinner at the University Restaurant
Wednesday, September 24th
Departure of participants.
Organizing Committee:
Mihai Gligor (“1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia, Romania)
Raluca Kogălniceanu (Giurgiu County Museum, Romania)
Roxana-Gabriela Curcă (“Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Romania)
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ABSTRACTS
The red line - funeral inventory
Sanda BĂCUEŢ-CRIŞAN
Site from Porţ/Corău, is the only Neolithic settlement from Romania, were
the communities choose to use both burial rites. So far, 18 cremation graves and
11 inhumation graves were excavated, spread across the entire area of the site.
Unfortunately the soil from Port do not preserve de humans bones, so only the
graves goods, some teeth or traces of bones indicate the presence of
inhumations graves. In these conditions, only funeral inventory can give as
chronological information and chronological relations between cremations graves
and inhumations graves.
This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS –
UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2012-3-0461.
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The times of their death – burials from a Late Neolithic settlement
in Polgár-Csőszhalom (NE-Hungary)
Alexandra ANDERS
Polgár-Csőszhalom is one of the most significant Late Neolithic settlements
in Northeastern Hungary. The settlement complex is composed of two structural
units, a horizontal settlement and a tell surrounded by a multiple palisaded
enclosure. Among the settlement features (houses, pits, ovens and wells) totally
145 burials could be verified in the two settlement loci and from these now we
have 45 radiocarbon dates (AMS).
In my presentation analyzing the mortuary practices, grave goods and 14
C
data I focus on two topics, the time (1) and the occurrence of wealth (2) of the
site. 1: The single AMS data refers the ‘moment’ of the death of the deceased but
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using the Bayesian method it is possible to study the dynamics of the different
settlement phases, the use of space. Most of the graves of the horizontal
settlement were identified in the immediate vicinity of the buildings so they are
able to determine the time of the houses and the households as well. 2: The
prestige items and artefacts (jewellery made from Spondylus, deer tooth beads,
polished stone implements, wild boar tusk plates and boar mandibles) reflecting
wealth and status were recovered from burials. Scoring the value of prestige
items and plotting them on the plan of the excavated section of the horizontal
settlement, it is assumed that the prestige embodied by the burials would also
reflect on the prestige of the households.
The project was funded by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA Grant 101024).
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Layers of formality: social, cultural and cognitive relations
of funerary practices in the Late Neolithic
of the Great Hungarian Plain
Katalin SEBŐK
The Late Neolithic of the Carpathian Basin represents an unique period in
Europe's funerary history. This is an era with sweeping cultural and economic
changes, followed by constant adjustments in social structures, thus in settlement
patterns, material culture and also in funerary rites which had served as a
reflection of the communities' relation to both its members and to death. These
shifts result in an exceedingly patchy overall picture of funerary customs, with
emerging burial rites and elements that may have been practiced either only in a
smaller area for some decades, or by whole cultures' populations for centuries.
These particular "answers" to the question of transition are very well connectable
with diverse communities, thus allowing the archaeologist not only to observe the
process where the area of the living and of the dead became separated, but to
detect and describe, by elements of the burial rite, how, when and sometimes
why communities of the Carpathian Basin interacted. As comparative stylistic
analyses alone had proven contradictory in the reconstruction of the timescale
marking the lifespan of a particular phenomenon, the archaeological observations
are set against a backbone compiled by AMS radiocarbon data sets.
In the last decades, both the quantity and the average quality of the data
available on Late Neolithic burials in the Carpathian Basin increased significantly.
The new discoveries, mostly results of extended rescue excavations including
independent cemeteries from the Lengyel Culture (Alsónyék-Bátaszék) and
settlement find complexes from Late Neolithic cultures of the Great Hungarian
Plain (Polgár–Csőszhalom–dűlő, Pusztataskony–Ledence site no. 1), and a number
of newly published evaluations on find complexes excavated earlier (e.g. Aszód-
Papi-földek, Mórágy-Tűzkődomb) created a situation where it became possible to
survey the funerary practices of the era from a different perspective.
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The starting point for the recent analysis was provided by the find complex
unearthed at Pusztataskony–Ledence 1. The particulars of the funerary rite
observed there in the burials of the Late Neolithic Tisza Culture settlement
connect the two main cultural blocks of the Late Neolithic Carpathian Basin,
offering a unique opportunity for a comparative evaluation of their customs.
In the first part of the presentation the spatial, social, economic and
cognitive relations of the funerary rite of Pusztataskony will be examined in a
broader context, including a description of the burials' positions in relation to
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each other and to diverse settlement phenomena, the demographic profile of the
anthropological series in relation to the standard demographic curve and
estimated size of the population, the presence of grave goods referring to wealth
and/or social status, and the objects and phenomena that may suggest the
presence of a particular idea amongst the cognitive elements of the burial rite. In
the second part an attempt will be made to show how each burial may be
interpreted as a reflection of an unique composition of occasional, lineage-
related, local, regional and supraregional layers of practices and background ideas
that may amalgamated in their making.
The project is subsidized by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (ID NK101024).
15
‘A Ditch in Time’: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of the
Human Skeletal Remains Discovered at Alba Iulia-Lumea Nouă
(Romania).
Mihai GLIGOR, Kirsty McLEOD, Lynsey TOASE,
Călin ŞUTEU, Doru BOGDAN
In archaeology, the discovery of human skeletal remains and the way in
which they have been deposited has prompted copious studies into the burial
customs and practices of our ancestors. Social investigations into late
Neolithic/early Eneolithic Transylvanian funerary practices have revealed a
distinction between cultures and in the methods used for the disposing of the
dead, these include: secondary burial deposits, cremations and individual
inhumations. These cultural differences play an essential role in the interpretation
and analysis of archaeological burial sites.
Recent excavations (2013-2014) at the archaeological site of Lumea Nouă
(Alba County) has exposed a ditch containing a unique number of contemporary
human bodies dating to the timeframe 4450-4330 calBC. A multi-disciplinary
approach in the form of archaeological, anthropological and palaeopathological
evidence was employed to establish cultural affinity of the ditch and to determine
the time and cause of death for each individual discovered within. Archaeological
analysis included: grave architecture and the examination of all material
discovered during the excavations. Analysis of each skeleton included: body
positioning and orientation, sex determination, age estimation and a full
pathological examination.
16
This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS –
UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2012-3-0461.
17
The earliest Neolithic cemetery in south-east Europe? A formally
modelled chronology for Cernica, Romania
Susan STRATTON, Seren GRIFFITHS, Raluca KOGĂLNICEANU, Angela
SIMALCSIK, Cristian-Eduard ŞTEFAN, Valentin DUMITRAŞCU,
Alexandru MORINTZ, Tom HIGHAM, Dušan BORID
and Alasdair WHITTLE
The Late Neolithic/Early Copper Age cemetery at Cernica was found during
the excavation of a Medieval monastery located on the shores of Lake Cernica.
The lake was formed by the damming of the River Coletina in the 1960s and the
cemetery is located on what was formerly a terrace of the Colentina and which
now forms a projection into the lake.
The Late Neolithic/Early Copper Age cemetery and settlement were
excavated by Gh. Cantacuzino and Sebastian Morintz from 1961–1974. During this
time a minimum of 378 burials were excavated. Two phases of settlement were
identified, one belonging to the late Dudeşti (known as the Cernica phase) and
one to the first phase of the Boian culture, Boian-Bolintineanu. A single burial was
also found at the margin of the settlement, possibly dating to the Dudeşti culture
(Schuster et al. 2008).
The cultural phasing of the cemetery has been controversial, not aided by
the archival issues. The almost complete lack of ceramic finds makes the usual
cultural historical assignations difficult. Initial interpretation by the excavators
placed the majority of the burials in the first phase of the Late Neolithic Boian, the
Boian-Bolintineanu, due to the majority of the settlement remains being assigned
to that period (Cantacuzino and Morintz 1963, Comşa 1975). The hypothesis was
that the bodies buried in an extended position belonged to this phase, while the
smaller number of crouched burials were from the later Boian-Giuleşti.
However, in the 2001 publication of the site this argument was retracted.
The Dudeşti settlement remains were now considered to be far greater and richer
than those of the Boian. It was therefore suggested that the use of the cemetery
should be shifted back, with the extended burials belonging to a first phase from
the Middle Neolithic Dudeşti period and the crouched burials being from the
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Boian-Bolintineanu (Comşa and Cantacuzino 2001). This wholesale shifting of the
cemetery’s use is controversial; it would make Cernica the oldest extramural
cemetery in the region by a significant margin.
In this paper we will present the preliminary results of a recent
radiocarbon dating project, funded by NRFC-Oxford, which was designed to clarify
the chronological position of Cernica cemetery in the regional chronology despite
the absence of pottery. There are 23 successful AMS measurements dating 20
individual burials from different zones of the cemetery, as well as four additional
samples dating animal bones from the nearby settlement to help establish the
relationship between the cemetery and the settlement. In the light of these
results we discuss the chronological place of the cemetery in its regional context.
19
One cemetery, two moments in time.
The case of Sultana-Malu Roșu cemetery
Catalin LAZAR, Mihai FLOREA, Gabriel VASILE,
Ionela CRĂCIUNESCU, Theodor IGNAT
The Sultana-Malu Roşu Eneolithic cemetery is located in the northern area of
the Balkan region, in the southeast of Romania, on the right bank of the old Mostiştea
River, at about 7 km distance from the Danube river, near the border with Bulgaria.
Regarding the cultural framework, the cemetery was used by two communities
belonging to Eneolithic period (Boian and Gumelnița cultures), who lived in two
different settlements. The cemetery is located on the high terrace of the Mostiştea
Lake, at 150 m (±1 m) west from the Gumelnita̧ tell settlement (from Sultana-Malu
Roşu) and 320 m (±1 m) east from the Boian flat settlement (Sultana-Gheţărie).
The aim of this paper is to explore the issue of the two different
communities that used the same cemetery, in terms of burial ritual, grave goods,
spatial location of the graves, anthropological data, and radiocarbon dates, in
order to identify specific patterns and particular elements about funerary
behaviors of past people.
This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific
Research, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project numbers PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-1015.
20
Pit-Grave burials in the plains of Northern Wallachia: burial
rite, grave goods and relative and absolute chronologies
Bianca PREDA
The chronology of Pit-Grave burials in both the eastern and western
regions was largely debated over the past decades and several questions
regarding the emergence of this funerary archaeological phenomenon over such a
large area remain still unanswered today, even though modern methods such as
radiocarbon dating rendered a more accurate picture of the chronological time
frame in which kurgan burials were performed in the steppe zones of Europe.
These burials are defined by several characteristics: earthen mounds built over
rectangular pits, ochre deposition in the grave, the contracted or dorsal position
of the deceased, a small number of grave goods consisting of precious metals,
bone and shell ornaments, pots, weapons, rarely wheeled vehicles, etc. If in the
eastern area the chronology is supported by hundreds of absolute dates, this was
not the case of the western area and especially of Romania. Here, given the lack
of radiocarbon age definitions, some scholars tried to assign a chronological value
to ritual elements such as the position and orientation of the deceased, using
them in the construction of relative chronologies that are nowadays strongly
called into question. Other ritual elements such as ochre or hair rings are not
helpful because they cover wide areas and large chronological time frames. Only
very few of the discovered grave goods have chronological relevance as is the
case of pottery, that can be attributed to different ceramic traditions, and of
some of the bronze ornaments. The results of recent rescue archaeological
research carried out in northern Wallachia along with older discoveries from this
area provided the basis for a reconsideration of the relative and absolute
chronology of Pit-Grave burials.
21
Research funded by the "MINERVA - Cooperare pentru cariera de elită în cercetarea doctorală
şi post-doctorală" Project, Contract Code: POSDRU/159/1.5/S/137832, project financed from the
European Social Fund through the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development
2007-2013.
22
Coin finds at Crkvari-St. Lawrence church site (Northern Croatia)
as terminus ante quem non for funerary features
Tatjana TKALČEC
The Institute of Archaeology conducted rescue archaeological
investigations at the Church of St Lawrence site in Crkvari near Orahovica
(northern Croatia).
Prior to archaeological excavations only the name of the village - Crkvari
(crkva = church) could suggest that beneath a small baroque-styled Gothic chapel
on an isolated hill above the village, which today has only about fifty households,
an important medieval sacral complex is to be found. The cemetery was probably
established as early as the end of the Early Middle Ages and during the High
Middle Ages it formed itself around a Romanesque church. Further phases of this
sacral complex evolved during the late Middle Ages in monumental Gothic
structures and a deep fortifying moat. At the very close of the Late Middle Ages
and at the dawn of the Modern Age, the sacral structure is reduced while the
chapel assumes its present appearance during the Baroque.
Throughout that time, the location was used as a burial site by the
population of the surrounding area. The research included 599 graves. Dating of
the grave units is extremely difficult at such sites with long-term continuity of
burial on which the younger burials damaged the older ones. Findings of money in
medieval and early modern graves greatly facilitate the chronological
stratification of grave units.
23
Can the position of the forearms serve as a dating determinant
in medieval and early modern cemeteries
on the territory of the northern Croatia?
Siniša KRZNAR
The archaeological literature often raises the question of the association
between the position of the forearms and its affiliation with a particular
chronological period. Thus, the graves where the deceased were buried with
outstretched forearms placed along the body were considered older compared to
those where the deceased had the arms laid on their stomachs or crossed on the
chests. However, already in 1954 Zdenek Vaňa observed that in certain
cemeteries a completely opposite situation occurs and that the position of the
forearms cannot be the sole chronological determinant of dating of these graves.
The forearms resting on the stomach, crossed on the chest or bent toward the
shoulders were recorded in cemeteries simultaneously with the cases where the
forearms were extended along the body or placed on the pelvis.
A large number of different positions of the arms recorded at the Lijeva
Bara site, cemetery attributed to the Bijelo Brdo cultural complex, dated to the
10th and 11th century AD, some authors associate with a strong influence of the
Eastern Christianity. Different positions of the forearms can be found in other
cemeteries of the same period, such as Bijelo Brdo and Ðakovo. A number of
different positions of the forearms can also be observed in late medieval
cemeteries. The simultaneous occurrence of different positions of the forearms is
also present in medieval cemeteries throughout Central Europe. Based on their
analysis of eleven late medieval cemeteries located in the canton of Bern
(Switzerland) Ulrich-Bochsler and Schäublin concluded that there is no position of
the forearms typical exclusively for this chronological period. In cases where in
the same deceased individual the left and the right forearms were laid out
differently, we have to pay attention to the likely possibility that the bones were
moved post-mortem, i.e. during the burial or during the decomposition of the
body.
24
Causes of different positions of the forearms in deceased individuals are
not fully understood at the moment, but there is an interesting data found in
ethnological literature from the region of Hrvatsko prigorje where it is stated that
if the deceased was the best man then his arms were put onto the chest, and if
not, then they were placed along the body. Schneeweis also mentions the
information that in the region of Croatia and Slavonia the forearms of the
deceased were crossed in cases when the deceased was a godfather, and if not,
the arms were placed along the body. In the villages belonging to coastal Bunjevci
around the town of Senj informants, however, point out that „the position of the
arms of the deceased at the funeral depended on whether that person was
married or not. Specifically, when it comes to a person who was married, his/her
arms were crossed at the chest. In other cases, the arms were stretched along the
body“.
Although all positions of the forearms occur throughout the whole
medieval period, it is possible that some data about a higher frequency of a
particular position within a certain period and its more accurate chronological
determination could be achieved on a statistical level of a cemetery analysis
through certain periods. But, in the region of the northern Croatia for this
purpose we need more studied medieval and early modern cemeteries.
25
Analysis of trauma to determine cause of death in human skeletal
remains; case studies from Great Britain.
Natalie MURTON and Ellenor MILLICAN
A Forensic Anthropologist will usually provide evidence into how a person
lived rather than died and sometimes this can offer up clues and ideas about a
person’s lifestyle. Without the presence of an obvious weapon or an object
embedded into a human skeleton, determining the cause of death for an
individual is an improbable task.
Medieval sharp force trauma from a mass grave
in Towton, courtesy of Bradford University.
26
Part of determining cause of death can include the analysis and
interpretation of trauma. Due to the lack of soft tissue present, a forensic
anthropologists role is to distinguish between antemortem, perimortem and post-
mortem trauma. Incorrect interpretation of skeletal trauma can lead to a
miscalculated cause of death. Such inaccuracy in this analysis may include
mistaking post-mortem trauma for trauma occurring close to or at the time of
death (for example, damage caused during excavation). Specific characteristics of
the trauma site can indicate the type and severity of traumatic event experienced
and this evidence along with any signs of healing can support ideas of cause of
death. However, it should be noted that even when skeletal trauma is correctly
analysed, cause of death can never be fully determined.
This presentation will highlight the complexities of trauma analysis and
provide case studies from Great Britain (prehistory, roman antiquity and medieval
periods) where cause of death has been identified by the analysis of skeletal
trauma. In addition, case studies where cause of death has been misidentified due
to incorrect interpretation of trauma will be discussed.
27
Applying a biocultural approach in the reconstruction
of the formation of a funerary assemblage from a Bronze Age
barrow from Constanța County, Romania.
Claudia RADU, Norbert SZEREDAI,
Cătălin DOBRINESCU, Octavian POPESCU
Salvage excavations from the year 2012 conducted on the surface of a
barrow and its proximity (known as barrow 38, situated near the village of
Mireasa, Constanța County, Romania) revealed the presence of 162 inhumation
graves. Of these, 14 were dated in the Bronze Age period based on grave
architecture, the position of the skeletons, and the presence of ochre. This
relative chronology was consistent with the results from C14 dating (4030 +/-
30BP). The osteological material was analysed in what regards the standard
biological profile (including age-at-death, sex, and stature), along with
paleopathological observations and the identification of indicators for functional
and nutritional stress (metabolic and developmental deficiencies, osteoarthrosis,
trauma etc.). Furthermore, the differential grave architecture, the display of the
burials around the barrow, and the presence of multiple inhumation graves
containing both adult and non-adult remains, determined us to focus on the
reconstruction of the formation of this funerary assemblage by correlating the
osteobiographic profiles of the individuals with archaeological data. Probable
cause of death and the issue of kinship relations were also taken into
consideration in relation to the age-at-death of the individuals.
This study was supported by funding from the project Genetic Evolution: New Evidences for the Study
of Interconnected Structures (GENESIS). A Biomolecular Journey around the Carpathians from Ancient
to Medieval Times.(CNCSIS UEFISCDI_PNII_PCCA_1153/2011).
SZ.N. ackowledges the support from the Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources
Development (SOP HRD), financed from the European Social Fund and by the Romanian Government
under the contract number SOP HRD/159/1.5/S/136077.
28
General plan of the excavation of barrow 38
with the Bronze Age inhumation burials.
29
Mortality and morbidiy profiles for a non-adult sample from the
Early Medieval necropolis of Mireasa (Constanța County, Romania).
Norbert SZEREDAI, Claudia RADU, Cătălin DOBRINESCU
The subject of our paper is represented by the human osteological material
retrieved from an Early Medieval necropolis unearthed during salvage excavations
conducted near the village of Mireasa (Constanța county, Romania). We focused
our research on the non-adult sample (n=72) with the aim of producing an image
of the health and survival of children in this community as expressed by mortality
and morbidity profiles. Age-at-death was determined using crown development
and dental eruption, diaphyseal length, and maturational development. These
data were further correlated with the presence of skeletal indicators for
functional and nutritional stressors (dental pathology and linear enamel
hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, developmental deficiencies, periostitis,
musculoskeletal stress markers) and pathological findings (endocranial lesions,
Schmorl's nodes, osteochondritis dissecans, spina bifida, sinusitis etc.). The results
allowed us to make inferences regarding the exposure of children to various
environmental and cultural insults at different ages, like weaning, infection and
other diseases, trauma or child labour, which eventually could have lead to their
death.
This study was supported by funding from the project Genetic Evolution: New Evidences for the Study
of Interconnected Structures (GENESIS). A Biomolecular Journey around the Carpathians from Ancient
to Medieval Times.(CNCSIS UEFISCDI_PNII_PCCA_1153/2011).
SZ.N. ackowledges the support from the Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources
Development (SOP HRD), financed from the European Social Fund and by the Romanian Government
under the contract number SOP HRD/159/1.5/S/136077.
30
”Hair-on-end” endocranial lesion on the parietal of a non-adult invidual
(left-the parietal bone; right-detail of the lesion).
31
Meeting a medieval community of Bizere Monastery (Romania):
lifestyle, occupation and nutritional status
Luminiţa ANDREICA
The community from Bizere was characterized by high increased childhood
mortality and a low lifespam and from this point of view being similar to other
medieval populations. Regarding the changes observed on the bones a few
conclusions can be drawn on the individuals´ diet, nutritional status as well as on
their lifestyle (main activities, sex differences in labour demands).
Diet, as it is shown by the high frequency of anemies (cribra orbitalia,
hyperostosa porotica) especially children´s diet was scanty, poor in proteins, iron
and vitamins. The high incidence of anemies in the case of subadults may suggest
a worsening of life conditions, more over a worsening of alimentation.
An incomplete surgical trepanation.
32
As a result of the analysis of the degenerative processes on their articulary
surfaces and the occupational stress markers it has been concluded that physical
activities were more demanding for the male group. On the other hand women
used to unfold easier work.
Life in the Middle Ages era is often regarded as an unpleasant and brutal
one; thus it is very easy to neglect the social implications between the members
of a community. There is a possibility that this monastic settlement had a system
of nursing and treatment of the sick. The proof that fundaments this statement is
given by the presence of some cases of trepanation as well as other medical
interventions (the majority of fractures being healed without complications or
other significant deviations of the bones, completely or partially healed injuries).
33
Unwilling to survive freedom:
the historical representation of Decebalus' suicide
Monica DRAGOSTIN
Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.
Seneca
In this article I intend to capture the representations that turned Decebalus
suicide from an ambiguous account in Dio Cassius’ into a mythical tale of patriotic
devotion. Told by Romanian historiography, the story of this suicide has the
ingredients of a stoic act: Decebalus took his life in order to defend his dignity and
freedom. Even recent deconstructivist approaches reached the same kind of
conclusion: the ambiguity of sources that reports Decebalus death (no text
explicitly mentions that the king took his own life would) would show the fear
Romans had not to confer any grandeur to an enemy that they were trying to
present as perjury and criminal. The ancient legend of the Getae’s indifference
towards death is frequently recalled when dealing with this episode, although
Getae didn’t see suicide as a guaranty of freedom and dignity. Instead, stoic
doctrine recognized to the good man the right to take his life. Emblematic figure
of Stoic wisdom, Cato of Utica committed suicide because he didn’t want to
survive freedom. A number of Roman generals, being on the point of losing a
battle, committed suicide on the battlefield. Even during the war with the
Dacians, the commander of the Roman forces, Longinus committed suicide, lest
Decebal take advantage of his capture, to obtain peace from the emperor. On the
other hand, a number of Rome famous adversaries, barbarian kings, ended up by
taking their life after losing a war: Hannibal, Mithridates, Cleopatra, Boudicca are
the most famous of them.
34
The questions I intend to answer are: how did perceptions of Decebalus
suicide evolved from Renaissance writings till modern day historiography? Can we
stay faithful to scientific history while praising the death of an historical
character? From a comparative perspective, how did other historiography faced
the challenge of “heroic deaths”?
35
Mors praematura.
The causes of death in inscriptions from the Roman Empire
Alexander RUBEL
This paper deals with the causes of death mentioned on Roman
gravestones, mainly from the imperial period. With the help of the very useful
online data-bases (like Clauss-Slaby) certain aspects can be statistically quantified.
Interestingly mainly extraordinary death in uncommon circumstances is
mentioned explicitly in epitaphs (for ex. violent death), as well as the “mors
praematura” or “immatura”, the untimely or early death, especially the death of
children. But also rare diseases with spectacular symptoms as causes of death are
mentioned in these inscriptions. The paper tries to establish certain patterns of
these causes of death and tries to investigate their statistical relevance.
This work was supported by a grant of the Ministery of National Education, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project
number PN-II-ID-PCE-2012-4-0490.
La mortalité des légionnaires en Mésie Inférieure
Lucrețiu MIHĂILESCU-BÎRLIBA
L’auteur réalise une étude démographique concernant la mortalité des
légionnaires en Mésie Inférieure. Les légionnaires sont plus actifs du point de vue
de l’«epigraphic habit»; ils forment par conséquent un échantillonnage plus
raisonnable pour une enquête démographique. L’analyse concerne le nombre des
défunts par catégorie d’âge; par rapport aux données fournies par les sources,
l’auteur essaye de reconstituer les causes de la mortalité et de faire une
comparaison entre les mortalités des soldats par légion.
36
The Critical Years of Life: Censorinus on the Right Time of Death
Kai BRODERSEN
In AD 238 Censorinus dedicated his work "De die natali" ("On the
Birthday") to a friend. He presents a complete theory on Life, The Universe, And
Everything, focusing especially on the critical years of life, which are more likely
than others to be your last. What years are they? Where does this theory come
from? And what can learn about ancient attitudes to the conference's topic "Time
and Cause of Death" in Antiquity?
37
Mort violente "pro Christi nomine" :
considérations sur le dossier des martyrs de la Scythie
Irina Adriana ACHIM
Par leur destinée distincte et par leur mis à mort violente, pro Christi
nomine, les martyrs chrétiens jouissent d’un statut particulier au sein de la société
tardo-antique. Une sensibilité religieuse nouvelle permet à ces athlètes de la fois
de trouver, le plus souvent, un lieu de repos intra ecclesiam et/ou intra urbem,
malgré le fait que cette règle ne s’applique qu’exceptionnellement aux morts sans
statut privilégié dans la communauté. En utilisant un tel raisonnement de départ,
l’intention de l’auteur est de se pencher sur des aspects assez précis du dossier
archéologique des martyrs de la province de Scythie : le temps et la cause de la
mort. De cette perspective, trois cas ont été retenus : Murighiol (Halmyris),
Niculițel et Tropaeum Traiani, A. Trois basiliques dont les datations s’avèrent
difficile à établir, trois monuments dotés des dispositifs pour la conservation des
corps entiers des martyrs qui ont livré du matériel ostéologique in situ.
Le recours aux données fournies par les sources écrites (y compris
épigraphiques) et par les analyses anthropologiques disponibles permettra des
considérations sur la chronologie des dépositions de corps saintes, sur la cause
possible du décès de ces martyrs, mais invite également à une relecture des
mécanismes qui mènent à la naissance d’un culte de martyrs dans un territoire
marginal de l’Empire romain.
38
Living with the dead.
Burials in Early Iron Age settlement at Enisala – Palanca,
Tulcea County (southeastern Romania)
Sorin-Cristian AILINCĂI, Mihai CONSTANTINESCU
Preventive archaeological research in 2003-2013 at Enisala–Palanca,
Sarichioi, Tulcea County brought to light a settlement dated to the Early Iron Age,
ascribed to Babadag culture. The 15 archaeological complexes (pits and dwellings)
containing human skeletons in various stages of representation hold an important
place in the overall finds. The human bones belong to 26 individuals of both sexes
and of various age categories. The anthropological analysis of the human remains
from Enisala–Palanca site provided the opportunity to discuss problems related to
taphonomy, demography, pathology, the proportion of skeletal segments in
different samples etc. The identification of human remains with traces of violence
that were the cause of death for some individuals was an opportunity to study the
frequency, characteristics and the significance of these traumas.
Research financed through "MINERVA - Cooperation for elite career in doctoral and
postdoctoral research" project, contract code: POSDRU/159/1.5/S/137832, project co-financed from
the Social European Fund through the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources
Development 2007-2013.
39
40
New evidence on the funerary phenomena
of the Middle Hallstatt period in Transylvania.
The collective grave from Tărtăria – Podu Tărtăriei vest
Corina BORȘ, Luciana RUMEGA-IRIMUȘ, Gabriel VASILE, Marius ILIE
The First Iron Age (Hallstatt period) in Transylvania, as well as for
nowadays territory of Romania is less understood from the perspective of the
funerary phenomena. The main reason is determined by the rarity, even the
lacking of the investigated graves from about the 12th
c. to the 7th
c. BC. The
necropolises of this period are located mainly to the periphery of the geographic
space bordered by the Carpathians and Lower Danube. A new funerary find made
in 2012 at Tărtăria – Podu Tărtăriei vest brought new evidence in regard to this
topic. Within a very particular type of site, it was uncovered a collective grave –
six skeletons laid in various positions and orientation, as well as a human skull.
Other parts of human skeletons were uncovered
41
The grave goods related to the six skeletons and the skull consisted of
three small cups characteristic to the Basarabi ceramic style, as well as certain
small (adornment) objects made of bronze and iron. Although the skeletons
found in this collective grave were in a poor stage of preservation, the paper will
present the preliminary results of the anthropological analysis. In the current
stage of the research is rather difficult to conclude upon the purpose and
meaning of such burial, yet there are a series of analogies to be taken into
consideration.
Nevertheless, this discovery provides new elements for analysing and
understanding the funerary phenomena along the First Iron Age in Transylvania,
especially for the so-called middle Hallstatt period.
42
First Iron Age burials at Gelmar (Hunedoara County, Romania)
Gabriel BĂLAN
The rescue excavations on the Deva - Sibiu motorway brought to light a
site which belongs to Late Bronze Age, First Iron Age and post-Roman period. It is
placed on the territory of Gelmar village (Geoagiu City, Hunedoara County).
Geographically, this village is situated in Orăştie Depression, limited to North by
the Metaliferi Mountains and to South by Şureanu Mountains and is crossed from
East to West by Mureş river. The site is located on the left side of Mureş, on the
first terrace.
The discoveries from the First Iron Age belong to Basarabi culture, which is
dated in the Danube-Carpathian region between 850/800 and 600 B.C. At Gelmar
there were discovered features which are specific to a settlement (dwellings and
pits) and to a cemetery (two inhumation burials). The stratigraphic observations,
together with the analysis of the archaeological materials discovered in these
features show the presence of two chronological phases from the First Iron Age
(Basarabi culture). On the basis of the ceramics, the settlement can be
chronologically included in the early phase of the Basarabi culture, dated in the
first part of the 8th century B.C. The burials overlap the settlement which was
abandoned at the time the cemetery functioned.
The funerary features are represented by two inhumation burials (Cx. 20
and Cx. 22) as well as by several human bones scattered in the proximity of burial
Cx. 20. The two burials discovered in situ were placed at 48 m one from another.
In burial Cx. 20, the skeleton was discovered in lateral decubitus position,
crouched on the left side, oriented SSW-NNE. There were found two stones and
potsherds belonging to a vessel which was probably part of the funerary
inventory. In Cx. 22, the skeleton was discovered in dorsal decubitus position,
oriented SE-NW. The funerary inventory consisted of 22 bronze and iron objects,
among which there were four bracelets, a fibula, buttons, a collar made of
saltaleoni and beads, four hair rings and a buckle. In both burials, the human
bones were in a poor preservation state.
43
I consider that at Gelmar - Barcsi there is a mound necropolis. The burial
mounds became completely plane, making them impossible to be observed
neither on the field nor in the stratigraphic sections. The stones found in the
proximity of the skeleton in Cx. 20 could belong to the mantle of the mound. The
human bones from that area could be part of other burials scattered by
agriculture workings. In the Basarabi cemeteries, the mounds were of a small
height and could include from one to five burials. The skeletons were deposed on
the Iron Age ground level. It is possible that the intensive agriculture practiced
recently in the area brought to a change in the exterior appearance of these
tumuli, making them look completely plane.
For the inventory of the burial Cx. 22 there are good analogies in other
Basarabi burials, as in the cemeteries at Balta Verde, Basarabi, Gogoşu, Iaz, Sviniţa
and Moldova Veche, but also in the bronze deposits from Ghidici and Hunia. The
ceramic vessel from Cx. 20 is also specific to Basarabi culture. On the basis of the
fibula in Cx. 22 (fibula with triangular plate, double resort, and spring made from
twisted wire) the cemetery at Gelmar can be dated in the 7th century B.C.
44
Is There Such A Time As A Time Of Death?
Thoughts on a possible reconstruction of the attitude towards
death of the Cucuteni population.
George BODI, Loredana SOLCAN, Luminița BEJENARU
When tackling the difficult problem of understanding the attitude towards
death of the Cucuteni population, the major problem that the archaeologist faces
is self-decontextualization. Paradoxically enough, such an attempt to strip down
ones intellectual mindset requires plenty of „intellectual prosthetics”. After
placing the Cucuteni funerary finds into a wider contemporary context, we will try
to understand the rituals accompanying the moment of death enrolling the help
of concepts borrowed from philosophy, analytical psychology, sociobiology,
neurology and anthropology.
This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific
Research, CNCS –UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0885.
The DNA of human thought. Past and future references
entangled in the shaping of present.
45
Disappearance of grave goods: Changes in Burial Practices
in 14th century Ivanec, Croatia
Juraj BELAJ and Filomena SIROVICA
A stratified archaeological site at Old Town in Ivanec yielded evidence of
continuous human use from antiquity to the 20th century.
Standing out from the abundant remains are parts of a cemetery formed
from the end of the 11th century until the beginning of the 17th century, yielding
elements of burial rite (animal teeth, knives…) attributable to vestiges of pre-
Christian beliefs. At the beginning of the 14th century the burial rite changed,
with a total disappearance of grave goods and the distinctive way the grave pits
were lined with stones.
The authors will observe the change in the burial rite in the context of
historical sources and other archaeological data from the site, bearing testimony
to the enhanced presence of the Knights Hospitaller in Ivanec in the period under
study.
46
47
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Irina Adriana ACHIM
„Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Bucharest, Romania
Sorin-Cristian AILINCĂI
Eco-Museal Research Institute (ICEM), Tulcea, Romania
Alexandra ANDERS
Eötvös Loránd University
Institute of Archaeological Sciences
Budapest, Hungary
Luminiţa ANDREICA
"Fr. I. Rainer" Institute of Anthropology, Bucharest, Romania
Sanda BĂCUEŢ-CRIŞAN
History and Art Museum of Zalău, Romania
Gabriel BĂLAN
National Union Museum, Alba Iulia, Romania
Luminița BEJENARU
Faculty of Biology, Al. I. Cuza University of Iași, Romania
Juraj BELAJ
Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
48
George BODI
Institute of Archaeology, Iasi, Romania
Doru BOGDAN
“1 Decembrie 1918” University, Alba Iulia, Romania
Dušan BORID
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Corina BORȘ
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Kai BRODERSEN
Historia, Universitaet, Nordhaeuser, Erfurt, Germany
Mihai CONSTANTINESCU
Laboratory of Paleoantropology, „Francisc J. Rainer” Institute of Anthropology, Bucharest,
Romania
Ionela CRĂCIUNESCU
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Cătălin DOBRINESCU
Museum of National History and Archaeology, Constanța, Romania
Monica DRAGOSTIN
CEREFREA, University of Bucharest, Romania
49
Valentin DUMITRAŞCU
“Vasile Pârvan” Institute of archaeology, Bucharest, Romania
Mihai FLOREA
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Mihai GLIGOR
“1 Decembrie 1918” University, Alba Iulia, Romania
Seren GRIFFITHS
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Tom HIGHAM
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, RLAHA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Theodor IGNAT
Museum of Bucharest, Romania
Marius ILIE
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Raluca KOGĂLNICEANU
„Teohari Antonescu” Giurgiu County Museum, Romania
Siniša KRZNAR
Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
50
Cătălin LAZĂR
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Kirsty McLEOD
John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
Lucrețiu MIHAILESCU-BÎRLIBA
“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi, Romania
Ellenor MILLICAN
John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
Alexandru MORINTZ
„Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Bucharest, Romania
Natalie MURTON
John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
Octavian POPESCU
Biology Institute, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
Bianca PREDA
Prahova County History and Archaeology Museum, Ploieşti, Romania
„Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Bucharest, Romania
Claudia RADU
Molecular Biology Center, Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Bio-Nano Sciences, Babeș-
Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
51
Alexander RUBEL
Institute of Archaeology, Iaşi, Romania
Luciana RUMEGA-IRIMUȘ
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Katalin SEBŐK
Eötvös Loránd University
Institute of Archaeological Sciences
Budapest, Hungary
Angela SIMALCSIK
Department of Anthropology, Iaşi branch of the Romanian Academy, Romania
Filomena SIROVICA
Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia
Loredana SOLCAN
Institute of Archaeology, Iaşi, Romania
Cristian-Eduard ŞTEFAN
„Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, bucharest, Romania
Susan STRATTON
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Călin ŞUTEU
“1 Decembrie 1918” University, Alba Iulia, Romania
52
Norbert SZEREDAI
Molecular Biology Center, Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Bio-Nano Sciences, Babeș-
Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Faculty of History and Philosophy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Tatjana TKALČEC
Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Lynsey TOASE
University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Gabriel VASILE
National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, Romania
Alasdair WHITTLE
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK