Page 25 - Kavur, Boris. Everything counts (in small amounts) … Koper: University of Primorska Press, 2015.
P. 25
First lady 25
The grave of a wealthy lady
from Srednica
Migrations and military conquests of Eastern Celts, praised in texts of ancient writers, were always ob-
served through the perspective of looking for graves of those which presumably led these expedi-
tions – warriors armed with long swords. But the exact reading of the texts as well as observations of
oldest small cemeteries, which are a reflection of a mosaic-like occupation of the territory by a small numbered
military elite, demonstrate, that females had their place in the first ranks of Celtic migrations. Grave goods
demonstrate their high social status and their role as keepers of cultural traditions.
Such a “story” is also demonstrated by the discovery of a female grave designated as number 4 from Srednica.
The deceased was buried in an elongated grave pit wearing her full attire with all the jewelry reflecting her so-
cial status. Near the head, surrounded by larger stones, were placed two ceramic vessels forming a service simi-
lar to those known from contemporary male graves. Discovered were a vessel with a round belly and a thin very
narrow neck still reflecting the traditions of Early La Tène style pottery and a smaller bowl. Both are among the
oldest finds of pottery shaped on a fast spinning potter’s wheel from the territory of today’s Slovenia dated in to
the middle of 4th century BC.
The deceased was adorned with female jewelry typical of the Eastern Celts, marked especially by the combina-
tion of ankle rings and bracelets. She also had an extremely rare grave good – a torc. Her ribbed hollow ankle
rings were made from bronze metal sheet and are a typical element of the period of the end of Early La Tène on
the territory stretching from central Europe towards the east. They were worn in combination with bracelets –
in the grave were discovered three different examples. First one was made from thick iron wire, the second one
was massively cast from bronze and had a thickening while the third one was a fragile bracelet made from in-
terlaced thing bronze wire. It is a rare find occurring mostly in graves of Eastern Celts. A similar special distri-
bution is demonstrated also by the finds of amber rings which were worn as pendants on necklaces by the most
The grave of a wealthy lady
from Srednica
Migrations and military conquests of Eastern Celts, praised in texts of ancient writers, were always ob-
served through the perspective of looking for graves of those which presumably led these expedi-
tions – warriors armed with long swords. But the exact reading of the texts as well as observations of
oldest small cemeteries, which are a reflection of a mosaic-like occupation of the territory by a small numbered
military elite, demonstrate, that females had their place in the first ranks of Celtic migrations. Grave goods
demonstrate their high social status and their role as keepers of cultural traditions.
Such a “story” is also demonstrated by the discovery of a female grave designated as number 4 from Srednica.
The deceased was buried in an elongated grave pit wearing her full attire with all the jewelry reflecting her so-
cial status. Near the head, surrounded by larger stones, were placed two ceramic vessels forming a service simi-
lar to those known from contemporary male graves. Discovered were a vessel with a round belly and a thin very
narrow neck still reflecting the traditions of Early La Tène style pottery and a smaller bowl. Both are among the
oldest finds of pottery shaped on a fast spinning potter’s wheel from the territory of today’s Slovenia dated in to
the middle of 4th century BC.
The deceased was adorned with female jewelry typical of the Eastern Celts, marked especially by the combina-
tion of ankle rings and bracelets. She also had an extremely rare grave good – a torc. Her ribbed hollow ankle
rings were made from bronze metal sheet and are a typical element of the period of the end of Early La Tène on
the territory stretching from central Europe towards the east. They were worn in combination with bracelets –
in the grave were discovered three different examples. First one was made from thick iron wire, the second one
was massively cast from bronze and had a thickening while the third one was a fragile bracelet made from in-
terlaced thing bronze wire. It is a rare find occurring mostly in graves of Eastern Celts. A similar special distri-
bution is demonstrated also by the finds of amber rings which were worn as pendants on necklaces by the most
