Burial mound from the early Bronze period in Šodvrgje

Abstract

This article is the report of the excavation and work on the material of a burial mound from the early Bronze period. The mound is called Mala glavica situated on the slopes of Mata'k's hill in the village of PodvrAje, north-east of Zadar near the wall called Mali Šibenik tarn the Bronze period. The mound has been investigaited as part of the field wonk done by tile students in the archeology department at the Philosophical faculty in Zadar in 1986, The diameter of the mound is 14 x 15 m, its height is 0,70 m and it is quite damaged since many stones were removed. It consisted of soil and stones. It was built in the following manner: a circle of about 10 m was circled by the stones and it was then filled with clean red soil thick 20—30 cm and this was the base on which the remains of burned bodies were placed then covered with a layer of stones and sail 1,5 to 2 m high. The mound contained 4 damaged tombs with the burned bodies, three of them without the tomb shrine and one with the shrine made of rough stone. One grave contained only a tooth of a dog, A great amount of material was dispresed on the mound mainly in the upper layer of stone and soil. These were 22 flint knives, 22 graters and triangular arrows, a great number of flint round stones probably brought in here during the building of the mound. Then 1 stone rectangular pendant and a ring-like pendant make of bones and such likes, IB hall-mound stones, 3 grindstones, 1 ball, then about 4300 pieces of about hundred earthen bowls, two bird bones, some coal and some kinds of seeds of grape. Judging from the manner of building and the qualities of material, the mound is from the late period of the early Bronze or from I he 3rd degree of Cetina cultural group. This is one of the most Interesting and richest mounds of this culture. If contains the things inherited partly from the copper period spread about by the Indoeuropean migrations or carried over from Baden, Vučedol, Ljubljana and Vinkovci culture and the culture of bell-like cups and from Italy. The authors discuss basic and wide problems of the sources and development and the characteristics of culture in copper and early bronze period in Cetina culture and on the northwestern parts of the Balkans.