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Chronological transformation of prehistoric burial mounds in South-Western

Balkans

Poster · June 2019

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Nevenka Atanasoska Ondřej Chvojka

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
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Chronological transformation of prehistoric burial mounds in South -Western Balkans

Nevenka Atanasoska1- Ondřej Chvojka1
1- Archaeology Department, Faculty of Philosophy, University of South Bohemia.

• Pazhok, Vajzë- Middle Bronze Age (XVI-XIV century

B.C):
- Beginning of the Middle Bronze Age was a continuation of the values
practiced in the previous period. Referring to the mounds, again, there
are these small mounds with central grave. The older ones are with
cremation (Pazhok, Vodhinë) and the later ones are with inhumation
mostly in crouched position (Vajzë, some of the central graves at Pazhok
necropolis). There is a wide variety of finds from the graves. Ceramic
material is represented mostly with local variants resembling the ones
➢ Some of the grave goods found in Gruda Boljevica. The violin found on the several layer settlements at Maliq (Maliq III C1- relevant).
idol is from Apolonia
In more southern examples the ceramic material shows similarities with
Greek mainland pottery. In Dukat, we have the oldest dated mat painted
pottery in Albania found in the central grave.
- The metal artefacts are even more indicative, especially the weapons. In
Vajzë, in one of the central graves, the Mycenaean rapier was found,
dated in M.H. III- L.H. I. This dating is confirmed also with an example of
Italian dagger and two spearheads that were also testifying the close
relations going on by the Adriatic coastline.
- In Pazhok, form the same period origins another sword, shorter than the
standard ones found in the South and with a different solution of the
handle. Some of the scholars are pointing out that this is maybe a local
variant of the previously mentioned ones. In the grave, another shorter
➢ Vajzë and Pazhok sword was found.
(shorter one) variants
• Gruda Boljevića –End of Eneolithic/Early Bronze of Mycenaen rapir
(M.H. III – L.H. I)
- At the final stages of the period, certain movement of the communities
started to happen due to the bigger scale migrations which are
Age (middle of the 3ed millennium B.C- XVI century announcing the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. It is possible that due
B.C.) to these occasions the phenomenon is spreading to the east following
the main communications used much earlier in the prehistory
-Gruda Boljevića together with Apolonia are one of the most recent
excavated mounds in which newer methods were conducted. Small
mound with central pit- grave dug into the subsoil, typical for the Pit-
grave culture. Even though the mound belongs to the group of princely
mounds found in the southern Adriatic, part of today's Montenegro, it is
unique example considering the grave construction and it could be more
related to the mounds on the territory of today's Albania( Shtoj, Pazhok, 3. ➢ Dagger with Italian

Cerujë, Piskovë), respectively the central graves. .

! .!
1,.
! 7.
origin from Vajzë

-The deceased was laid on his back with his fit in a crouched position and
2.
.
!
.
!
6.
.
!
*
# 8.
%
X
covered with ochre (another feature of Pit-grave culture). There are also * 10.
#
4..
! 9.%
X
examples of incineration, mostly made outside of the initial mound. But
.
! X 11.
5.
traces of burning were found also on the subsoil, probably “ritual„ ➢ Middle Bronze Age ceramic material from Pazhok (left) and Dukat (right) –
cleaning and preparing the space for burial. There are no cases of using % 12. earliest example of mat painted pottery in this part of Balkans.

an urn. Artefacts are placed outside the grave, but they are related to it. *
#
X
X
-The first group are artefacts described as personal adornment which
X • Visoi”Beranci- “Lofkënd” Malakastra– -Iron Age (X-V
13.
consisted of a bronze dagger (similar at Meduna and Ivankovaci), golden .
!
*
#
%
X
33. X 42. century B.C.):
X
rings (type ”Leukas” and ”Mala Gruda”) battle-axe with a golden 14. 34. %
X XXX
X35-41
X
X
.
!
*
#
%
X - The biggest percentage of excavated mounds are dated in the Iron Age when
covering on the top (same golden covering at Mala Gruda) and porphyry
.
!
15.
X43. they had the biggest expansion on Balkans. It was a period of quick transition
pendent. Most of them with analogies at the other central graves X 16.
.
!
17.
and because of that, we have chosen three different represents, of three
especially the princely ones in Montenegro and more distant analogies X
X
% categories of tumuli noticed on Balkans in this period.
with central and eastern Balkans and central and Eastern Europe. X 18. %
X - The first one is “Visoi”, of which we already mentioned. Rest of the burials (43
-The other group of artefacts is pottery set for libation found in the *
#
% 19.
X 21.
%
X
%
X graves) made in the mound are belonging to all three phases of Iron Age. It can
covering of the grave. The pottery is of a “more local” character .
!
*
#
X 20. .
!
%
X
be concluded that the mound was used by the very stable structured
(southern periphery of Cetina culture) although it could be related also % 27.
X community, which respected the founder- father of the clan.
with distant cultures like Somogyvár-Vinkovci and Ljubljana culture. * 22. X
# *
#
% %
X
% 26.
X -That can be seen also by the position of these graves which is radially
Precise dating was made with radiocarbon analyses which are placing 25.
surrounding the central one separated with ring and Its own mound( usually
the burial at the end of the 4th and beginning of the 3rd millennium B.C.
made with bigger percentage of stones: Barç, Kamenicë, Stragata, Rehovë, Shtoj
which is not corresponding with the relative chronology when referring
etc.), but so far this precise orientation it is not found in the tumuli east of
to the artefacts. Another grave with precise AMS dating is the central % 23.
X
Pelagonia. Grave goods are consisting of standard iron age ceramic production
grave 74 of Mound 10 in Apollonia with dates 2528 ± 53 and 2679 ±
and metal objects as spectacle fibulae, “Peiono- Macedonian bronzes”,
174 cal and fully corresponding with the finds of the violin idols. It should
spearheads, needles etc.
be considered that Gruda Boljevića could be a case of “reservoir effect.
.
! 24. -Lofkënd, on the other hand, belongs to the mounds without central grave and
exclusively used in the Iron Age. Alongside it is one of the most profoundly
excavated mounds on Balkans. Here also, inhumation was practiced. Flexed and
➢ Swords from Liatovouni, thought to be local production crocked positions were used equally (around 100 graves were found) in the
period from the end of XI by the end of VII century B.C which was verified with
➢ Examples of double axes from
AMS and C14 analyzes.

©
Macedonia ( the right one is from
Beranci) and the skyphos in granary
style from the central grave in Beranci
- At the end of the Middle Iron Age new type of tumuli started to develop. They
Kilometers
0 35 70 140 210 280 had smaller dimensions and few graves usually in parallel order. They are known
1.Rakića Kuće 2. Velika i Mala Gruda 3. Gruda Boljevića 4.Shtoj 5. Gajtan 6. Skrell 7. Bujan 8. Krumë 9. as “family” mounds and are testifying the collapse of the clan organization at
Myc Has 10. Bardhoc 11. Çinamak 12. Burial mounds in Mat valley 13. Kenete 14. Pazhok 15.Ceruje the expense of highlighting certain individuals in the community. Examples are
16. Grabove 17.Appolonia 18. Lofkend 19.Vajze 20. Dukat21. Piskove 22.Bajkaj 23. Ephyra 24.R- found in Mariovo, but the material is not yet published. Also, some of them are
cemetery, Lefkas 25. Vodhine/ Bodrishte 26.Pogoni 27.Liatovouni 28.Rehove 29.Prodan 30. Kamenice
31. Barc 32.Kuc I Zi 33.Konopista 34. Visoi, Beranci 35- 41.Burial mound in region of Mariovo found in Albania. Even closer analogies are the tumuli necropolises at Sopot,
42.Slamite, Veprcani 43. Zivojno Veles, Central Macedonia. This class differentiation can also be seen by the
inventory of the graves. Some of them consisted of luxury imports (red figural
Lekythos aryballos- Apollonia, bronze “Illyrian” helmet- Perlat).
➢ Typical Early Iron Age jewelry
• “Visoi” Beranci – the central grave, Late Bronze Age and from excavated mound at
Beranci.
Transitional period (XIV-X century B.C):
- In this period the use of this buriasl spreads in the interior of the Balkans,
namely Southeastern Albania, Pelagonia and Epirus. Again, most of the
mounds are small, with a central grave, but also there are examples with
several graves organized around the central one in form of double mound
(Braç, Kamenicë, Pazhok, Vodhinë, Vajzë, Rehovë etc.).
- One of the best represents is the central grave in Visoi which was a cist
grave. The mound was letter transformed into a double one and indicated
the beginning of mound usage in Pelagonia (biggest plain in southcentral
(North) Macedonia). It is one of the best pictures of the social organization
of the early Iron Age communities.
- - The deceased was laid in crocked position, a costume known from the
previous periods and noticed in some of the central graves of the
simultaneous mounds (Braç, Rehovë, Kamenicë etc.). In some cases,
incineration was found probably under influence of the Urnfield culture.
- The dating of the mound was based on the artefacts found in the grave,
primary the imported skyphos in “granary style” dated in the Sub-Mycenean
period, or 12 century B.C. This is not a unique case of mat painted pottery.
As we mentioned, in these regions it appeared somehow at the end of the ➢ Plan of the excavated burial mound in Beranci
Middle Bronze Age. We have several examples found (Barç, Rehovë,
Pazhok), some of them thought to be local production made by an example
imported from the Greek mainland. Another example of mat painted
pottery is coming again from Mariovo- a hilly region closing Pelagonia from
the eastern side. There, in the oldest graves of “Slamite” and also “Stragata” ➢ Ealry Iron Age
jewelry from
mat painted pottery was found along with other pottery decorated with Lofkend
engravings, resembling the Brnjica pottery. ➢ Golden mask and bronze krater- some of the most representative finds in the princely graves from Trebenište
- The mixture of influences can be seen even in the other grave goods. In
“Visoi” together with the pottery, a bronze pendant with shape of a labrys
Background plans:
was found (the closest analogy is from flat Urnfield necropolis near Skopje- 1. Early Bronze Age- Shtoj, central grave
Klučka, Hipodrom, and also the central grave of tumulus “Stranovec” near 2. Middle Bronze Age- Tri Dabici, Krusevica- one of the few mounds with dromos and without graves.
3. Late Bronze Age- cental grave at Barc ➢ Lekythos from Late Iron Age grave from mound 9 in Appolonia, and Illyrian
Kumanovo). In other graves from the same period many other 4. Iron Age- “Barata” one of the excavated mounds at Caniste, Mariovo helmet from Perlat (one of the mounds in the valley of Mat river).
representative artefacts were found. For example, a few swords from Barç, References:
Kamenicë, Liatovuni. They all belong to the types Erbenheim IIa, Naue II, -
-
Atanasoska N. Prehistoric burial mounds west of Vardar valley (master thesis), Skopje, 2018
Guštin M., Preložnik A., Gruda Boljevića. Kneževska humka kasnog bakarnog doba. – In: Saveljić-Bulatović L., Guštin M., Hincak Z.,
also some Mycenean knives even in the far northern part of Albania (Myç Podgorica. Praistorijske humke i srednjovjekovne nekropole. Gruda Boljevića. Podgorica 2015, 15-47.
Filozofická fakulta
- Iliria- periodical scientific journal published by Archeological Institute of Albania, 1971-2015 (full
Has). database:www.persee.fr/collection/iliri) Jihočeské univerzity v Českých Budějovicích
- Миткоски А. Мариово во праисторијата, Maced. acta archaeol. 19, Skopje 2011
- Mitrevski D, Protohistoric comunities in Macedonia, Skopje, 1997 Branišovská 31a, 370 05 České Budějovice
- Petrova E, Brygians, Skopje,1996
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