Burrial Rite of Únětice Culture in Brandýs nad Labem (Middle Bohemia): "Settlement burrials" - a Normal Part of Burrial Rite?
Abstract
Summary: During an archaeological rescue excavation in Brandýs nad Labem a large site from the beginning of the Bronze Age was investigated. Abundant evidence of the funeral rites of this period was documented – beside standard burials, the excavation identified several ‘settlement burials’ from the classical and late phases of the Únětice culture.
Three of the features with human remains can be classified as being on the verge between ‘normal’ and ‘settlement burials’. Using the findings from Brandýs and other similar graves of Bohemia and Moravia, we focus on the similarities and differences within the Early Bronze Age settlement burials.
In terms of the motivation for such graves, various hypotheses exist. However, it turns out that the deposition of deceased individuals in settlement pits occurs so often that they – at least in some versions – probably should be regarded as a ‘normal’ part of Early Bronze Age burial rites.