Communities of the dead, societies of the living: 

Late Bronze Age of

Eastern Slovenia

On a relatively small and in appearance geographically homogeneous territory of north-eastern Slovenia, were excavated numerous settlements, cemeteries and hoards demonstrating in the same period different material culture and different practices of ritual manipulation of items. Today are in the regional (Slovenian, Croatian, Austrian, Hungarian…) archaeological literature definitions of burial rites in the Urnfield Culture quite inaccurate and generalizing – similar as the descriptions of depositions of items in hoards.

Modern studies of Late Bronze Age brings forward the great variability of relations to items and the variability of manipulations with material culture. Consequently, will the project address questions why was in the Late Bronze Age of north-eastern Slovenia documented so much variability in material culture, the organization of landscape/space use and in the structural compositions of hoards. ​

The project will focus on: 

• analyzes of cemeteries and manipulations with the ancestors and material culture in the graves,

• spatial organization of settlements and manipulations with the material culture within buildings and sites,

• analyses of material culture illustrating long-distance trade and mobility of individuals between societies, a question of continuity and abandonment of settlement complexes and burials on cemeteries,

• questions regarding the adequacy of suggested and enforced cultural periodization and absolute chronologies.