ANTHRACOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE REMAINS FROM SEVERAL EARLY BRONZE AGE GRAVES AT THE SITE OF RANUTOVAC-MEANIŠTE, SOUTHEAST SERBIA

Abstract

The Early Bronze Age cemetery in Ranutovac was excavated as part of the development-led investigations and has been dated to the end of the third/ beginning of the second millennium BC. Cremation was the sole burial ritual practiced here. Following cremation, the remains of the deceased were placed in shallow pits or simply deposited in a small heap on the ground surface. They were, in most cases, covered by a whole ceramic pot or a larger potsherd and then overlain or encircled by a stone construction. An area of scorched earth was discovered in the vicinity of two of the graves, which most probably marks the location where the remains removed from the funeral pyres were laid to cool prior to the final deposition.

Several graves yielded small amounts of large fragments of charred wood directly associated with the remains of burnt bone and, in some instances, grave goods. Additionally, flotation samples from few graves contained small quantities of wood. The charcoal, in all likelihood, derived from the wood that had been used to build and fuel the funeral pyres. The anthracological analysis showed that wood of oak and perhaps also of ash and elm were selected for use in the funerary context. These three tree species would have been easily obtainable in the forested zones near the site, on the river banks and terraces. Remains of oak are prominent in the charcoal assemblage, possibly because of its wide availability but also owing to its suitable combustion properties. Furthermore, oak tree potentially carried cultural/symbolic meaning for the community that buried their dead in this location.