A Cruel Fate?

The Unique Bronze Age Burial from Ivanovice na Hané (okr. Vyškov / CZ)

Abstract

Remains of inhumed human bodies from a period in which cremation was the strict burial rite norm are a rare yet well-known phenomenon. In unusual find environments such as caves and swamps, they are commonly linked to symbolic and non-profane aspects of human activities, and the possibility of sacrifices has also been raised. On the other hand, in the environment of common settlements, it is possible to consider a much broader range of interpretational possibilities, including emergency burials, the consequences of legal acts or as a reflection of the social or ethnic status of individuals buried in this manner. The unique find of a woman with a luxurious set of ornaments from Ivanovice na Hané combines both aspects. Thanks to its specific spatial context and the evidence of the intentional destruction of artefacts, the burial in a common settlement pit can be interpreted with a high degree of certainty as a remarkable event, probably a specific type of sacrifice. As a whole, the assemblage of ornaments with demonstrable imports has no parallel in local contexts and points to the elite status of the individual of local origin. The individual artefacts have good parallels in the hoards of the Gyermely horizon, and thanks to a radiocarbon date from a bone this find provides us with an important contribution to the absolute dating of this find horizon.