Cremation graves from the late Bronze Age

possibilities and perspectives

Abstract

Cremation graves from the late Bronze Age

-possibilities and perspectives

The graves and grave sites from the late Bronze Age reflect different aspects of the rituals and social structures of the society. However, they may also supplement our knowledge of the settlements, as they tell of living conditions and occupations. The burnt bones from the graves are the main source of such information. The article presents the results of an investigation of three grave sites with burial mounds from the northern part of the Ringkøbing district and the subsequent anthropological analysis of the bones (fig. 1). The investigated mounds were severely damaged by many years of cultivation. However, between thirteen and eighteen graves were preserved in each mound. Mound sb 71 Ny Sognstrup contained eighteen graves from the late Bronze Age, as well as graves from the early Bronze Age and from the early Roman Iron Age (fig. 2). Of the eighteen graves first mentioned, fifteen were urn graves, whereas the grave form of the rest of the graves could not be established with any certainty. The graves were concentrated in two areas: a southern group from the end of the late Bronze Age and the beginning of the early Iron Age and an eastern group dating from the middle of the late Bronze Age. A mound nearby, sb 70, was also excavated. It had a central grave from the Single Grave Period, a few graves from the late Bronze Age and one grave from the early Roman Iron Age.

Mound sb 105 Krunderup contained graves from the Bronze Age, fourteen of which were from the late Bronze Age. Of these, eleven were urn graves and two were ashpit graves (fig. 3). The graves were distributed in two groups, both from the first half of the late Bronze Age. N19, N37 and N38 are presumed ritual constructions. In the nearby mound sb 104, several graves from the late Bronze Age were excavated. In mound sb 26 Nr. Dalgaard Syd, two graves were from the Single Grave Period and thirteen were from the late Bronze Age (fig. 4). Most graves were severely damaged, but seven urn graves and one ashpit grave could be separated. Most of the graves were from the middle of the late Bronze Age, but grave N48 was from the transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. N31 -32 and the adjoining stone-paved area of N41, and also N25, N26-28 and N34 are interpreted as ritual constructions.

From these three sites in the Holstebro area were made thirty-four anthropological analyses of burnt bones. It was possible to decide the age of twenty-nine individuals: 76% were adults, 20% were children and one person was a juvenile (fig. 5). The question remains whether the same age distribution is found elsewhere. The material from Lusehøj on Funen, Gedebjerg on Sealand and four grave sites in Scania was chosen for comparison, as well as the material from Slesvig-Holstein (fig. 6). Results were sorted according to age category and region (fig. 7). From this it appears that the results from Denmark agree with those from Scania, as children make a total of 20-23%, youngsters 3-14%, and adults 64-76%. Slesvig-Holstein, on the other hand, has a very different distribution, as children and adults form two equally large groups of 44%, whereas youngsters are represented by 12%.

The differences between Scania/Denmark and Slesvig-Holstein are so marked that the explanation must be either different funeral customs or bad economic conditions in Slesvig-Holstein . As a rule, the death rate of children in the low-technological pre-industrial society was at least 50%. The results from Slesvig-Holstein correspond to these figures, whereas a different grave custom of only burying chosen children on the common gravesites might explain the low Danish and Scanian figures.

However, Southern Scandinavia and Slesvig-Holstein also have similarities. For instance, infants (0-1 year) were rarely buried in these grave fields, and the group of young children (1-7 years) is nearly twice as large as the group of older children (7-14 years) .Also, the size of the last group corresponds to the size of the group of juveniles. Most adults died between the age of twenty and forty, and only a few reached the age of sixty or more. Sex determination using burnt bones is often subjective, as bones indicating the sex are only rarely preserved. From the Holstebro material it was possible to determine the sex of five men and two women. The results are compared with those from Scania and other Danish burial grounds (figs. 8-9). Men and women could be expected to make up two equally large groups, as in Slesvig-Holstein. However, most investigations from Scandinavia show a majority of men. According to a preliminary hypothesis, almost everyone in Slesvig-Holstein was buried in the burial grounds, whereas mainly men, some women and perhaps only half of the children were buried on the Danish and Scanian grave sites.

Analysis of burnt bones may sometimes contribute information on famine and diseases. However, the material from Holstebro has shown only one well-known disease: osteoarthrosis. The cremation graves from the late Bronze Age in Northern Europe often contain animal bones. Here, animal bone fragments were found in 40% of the graves. However, the fragments are so small that it is difficult to determine the species. One grave contained pig or sheep bones, in another were the bones from some young animal. Animal bones are rare in the material from Slesvig-Holstein, Lusehøj and Gedebjerg, but they often occur in Scania.

The occurrence of animal bones at the three sites of Simris II , Löderup, and Ingelstorp in Scania are listed in fig. 10. It appears that sheep/goat -usually young animals- are by far the most common. Not all parts of the animals are represented, as most fragments stem from heads or limbs. In Scania, we see a distinct selectivity regarding species, as analysis of bones found in the contemporary settlements show cattle to be the most important animal type almost everywhere. During the Bronze Age, the grave customs changed radically. In the early Bronze Age, the dead were interred in large coffins, often with a distinguished outfit consisting of weapons or ornaments. The ritual was concentrated on the grave site, and the grave goods showed the sex and prestige of the deceased. Concurrently with the introduction of the cremation practice, the graves became smaller. During the late Bronze Age, the burnt bones were placed in a small grave, usually in an urn, with simple grave goods such as small tools or dress accessories. The cremation had presumably become the most important part of the ritual, which is stressed by the fact that the cremation often took place at the burial ground. As for the background to the idea of cremation, Anders Kaliff has emphasised the fact that fire is often a symbol of life, and the cremation thus marks the beginning of a new life. We can consequently understand cremation as a transition that separates the soul from its old existence and brings it to another place, or perhaps to a new life.

The late Bronze Age graves in the Holstebro area were placed in burial mounds from the late Stone Age or the early Bronze Age, as is the norm in Northwest Jutland. The published cremation pits in Denmark are characterised by the grave being often made on top of or near the cremation layer. However, in Northern Europe we also know of cremation sites that were used several times. Two structures from the grave site at Nr. Dalgaard Syd may be interpreted as such cremation places of a more permanent nature. The cremation grave N35 was rather large, i.e. more than one metre long. The filling contained burnt bones and charcoal, and added sand. In the oval stone-paved area of N25, the filling of the pit under the stones consisted of brown, rich humus without burnt bones or charcoal. A few ashpit graves with and without urns were found at the three grave sites. However, most of the graves were urn graves, which corresponds to the situation in the area as a whole. Anthropological analysis of the graves showed that only one person was interred in each grave.

Around one third of the graves from the Holstebro area contained grave goods. Apart from an oath ring and two razors, the grave goods consisted of simple items such as amber, bronze spirals, awls, and buttons (fig.11). A woman's grave was fitted with an awl and a piece of amber, and a man's grave contained nothing but amber. The remainder of the adult graves contained amber, bronze spirals, awls, small fragments of bone pins, and a small oath ring. Children were also given grave goods. One infant, 1-1½ years of age, was buried with a bar-shaped stud and a bronze spiral, and a double button was found in the grave of a child aged 9-11 (fig. 12). Generally, there are no great differences between the grave goods from children's and adult's graves. However, razors and tweezers are reserved for adult men and should perhaps be interpreted as the outfit of the local leader. The clear indications of sex and status known from graves from the early Bronze Age were less distinct in the late Bronze Age. Many graves contained small pieces of flint, and one grave contain ed a small hammer stone (fig. 19). A crushing stone and a whetstone were found in connection with graves at Nr. Dalgaard Syd. We may interpret these items as evidence of a more superior fertility cult connected to the agrarian way of life. Most urns are secondhand pots from the settlements, as the handles are often missing, the rims are frequently broken, and the bottom of a broken vessel is often reused as a lid. However, there are certain rules as to the size and design of the urn.

At the grave site of Ny Sognstrup was found an ornamented face urn with a lid. The urn contained the bones of a child, four to twelve years of age. Two small vessels with handles, 14 and 15 centimetres high, had also been used for children. Sometimes, larger urns were used for children, whereas adults were only buried in urns that were 20 to more than 30 centimetres high. One woman was buried in a barrel-shaped vessel, and an urn with two handles and a narrow foot also contained the remains of a woman. A man was buried in an ornamented vessel with a cone-shaped neck. All things considered, the burial customs resemble those of Slesvig-Holstein (figs. 13-15).

Usually, animal bones in graves are interpreted as grave goods. However, they should rather be regarded as the remains of sacrificed animals. In the graves from the Holstebro area and Scania, animal bones are found in all grave types, men's, women's, and children's graves alike, as well as in graves with or without bronze grave goods. In Scania, bones from young sheep or goats -especially head and limb fragments- were used. Perhaps an animal was slaughtered and the best parts roasted and eaten at the gravesite as part of the cremation ritual, whereas the head and limbs were placed in the pyre to accompany the deceased as a "pars pro toto" (part representing the whole)? Anthropological analysis from the Holstebro area show that children's graves are distributed among the different groups of graves in the mounds, and the mound burials from the Ringkøbing area might therefore be considered family gravesites (fig. 16). The uniform character of the graves and the grave goods indicate that the people interred here came from the same social level, perhaps from a nearby farm, the leader of which is represented by the razors. The presence of flint and other stone tools at the gravesite indicate rituals connected to the society's terms of existence, the agrarian production. The periodic movement of the farms within a limited area may explain why the graves in some mounds belong to separate chronological phases. A particular farm might have used the same mound at different phases. Bronze Age rituals are often connected to the depositing of bronze vessels, figurines, lurs, and large bronze ornaments. A fragment of a lur was once deposited at Hove in the Ringkøbing district. The possibility of a connection to cult is suggested by the name, as "Hove" according to place name scholars means "a place of worship" or "a pagan cult place". However, many rituals are in principle everyday actions, which are at certain times transferred to the religious sphere -for instance eating, slaughtering, and harvesting- often the very first act of one or the other type, such as slaughtering the first lamb or sowing the first field. Anders Kaliff has already suggested that the grave sites from the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age should be considered cult places.

At Nr. Dalgaard Syd, a semicircular ditch appeared outside the mound, with the opening turned towards the centre of the mound. The ends of the semicircle were dug into the filling of the mound (fig. 17). The diameter of the circle was around seven metres, and an outer opening was around half a metre wide. The width of the ditch varied between 0.2 and 0.4 metres, and the filling, which was a few centimetres deep, consisted of homogenous, dark grey, clayey sand and some stones. In the northern part of the ditch, most Stones were fragmented, whereas the southern part of the structure contained whole stones. In continuation of the southern part of the structure, the remains of a stone-paved area occurred. A fragment of a late Bronze Age pot with handles was found under a stone in the paved area, and a stone with cup-marks was found at the same level as the potsherds inside the area (figs. 18- 19). Several similar structures have been excavated in Northwest Jutland (figs. 20-21). As a rule, these structures are of a semicircular or horseshoe shape with a diameter varying from 4.5 up to 10 metres. Only the larger ones of these, such as the one at Kobberup, have an internal structure. Most of them have graves from the late Bronze Age nearby, which makes a dating from this period the most likely one.

Besides this, other structures of a ritual character, such as pits with pottery sherds and cooking pits, should be mentioned. The mounds and their close surroundings were in continuous use as grave sites from the late Stone Age until the beginning of the early Iron Age. We may interpret this as evidence of a prevalent ancestor cult. During the same period, stones with cup sculpture appear in or near the graves. Perhaps we should explain these as fertility symbols. However, the grave custom changes in many ways during this period. The early Bronze Age has a grave custom based on the individual, with an emphasis on a monumental grave construction and grave goods such as weapons and ornaments that mark the status of the deceased. This changes during the late Bronze Age, as the symbolic function becomes more conspicuous and the individual and the social differences are given a lower priority. The cremation becomes the most important feature of the interment, and the grave site is also used for different local rituals whereas the cult place at Hove acted as the ritual centre of a larger area. 

Karen Margrethe Hornstrup