Page 29 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(1) (2024)

most two generations. This was a place of fam- Age (Blečić Kavur 2014b; 2015, 179–211; 2020;
ily burial, where graves were regularly revisited 2021, 541–542).
and maintained, and possibly, given the crema- Lastly, it seems that the graves at Sv. Katri-
tion site and existing architecture, a place of an- na, Sv. Petar, and Sv. Marija represent the earliest
cestor worship. The wealthiest graves from this phase of burial from the Bronze and Early Iron
period, with one example each at Sv. Marija, Sv. Age, which were, evidently within the urban
Petar, and Mala Prepoved, further testify that space, all covered by medieval sacred and memo-
the aristocracy of the Early Iron Age was bur- rial monuments. This same time frame includes
ied in a structured and specifically designated the graves at Mala Prepoved and, most likely,
manner, likely in separate funeral ceremonies Konopičje (fig. 1). The graves at Kavanela, on the
and at precisely determined locations. All this other hand, are linked to the later phase of the
data indirectly points to the social community Early and Late Iron Age, where continuous bur-
and clans that performed such rituals, their sta- ial practices persisted even with the transition to 29
tuses and positions within it, their beliefs and the new socio-political regime of Roman rule.
customs, and even possible kinships and hierar- Although burial practices evolved or were sup-
chies within the broader community. This soci- plemented by new protocols over time, in certain
etal and ideological concept, as well as the prac- examples, the funerary archaeology of Osor re-
tice of burial protocols, will fit fully into the flects consistency and a long tradition, and thus
newly investigated grave in Osor, as well as the indirectly the collective memory of the inhabit-
older grave from Mala Prepoved. A total of 17 ants of that area.
graves classify and confirm that the most accept- The current analyses and interpretations of
ed burial method was in stone chests, with some items recovered from these contexts also reflect
evidence of urn burials (fig. 1). The transition and directly confirm the status of Iron Age in-
to higher ontological spheres was carried out habitants of Osor. One can read many complex
through skeletal and cremation burial rituals, socio-economic relations, a remarkable range Death in Osor: Rituals and Practices of Prehistoric Burials
which may have reflected cultural or even reli- of cultural contacts, and their active participa-
gious significance, as well as a chronological dis- tion in cultural processes occurring in the Caput
tance. In skeletal burials, the prevalent position Adriae area and this part of Europe can be dis-
was the so-called crouched or, considering the cerned, which is why they deservedly earned
arrangement of bones, more precisely the seat- their recognizable position in literary sources,
ed and bound, position, which was the only one whether in connection with mythological tra-
possible in such small rectangular chests. For ditions or with the inevitably important metals.
now, it is impossible to discuss pre-burial ritu-
als, although they undoubtedly existed. Howev- Acknowledgements
er, the rituals that took place during and after We would like to express our deepest grati-
burial are certain, as evidenced by the position tude to Zrinka Ettinger Starčić, Director of the
and architecture of the graves, and the grave Lošinj Museum and Archaeological Collection
goods themselves, including post-mortem cere- of Osor, and Katarina Zenzerović, Head of the
monies such as the breaking of ceramic vessels Documentation Department of the Archaeo-
at Sv. Marija, sacrificial acts, and the intentional logical Museum of Istria in Pula. Their invalu-
destruction or ritualization of objects at sacrifi- able help in providing archival documentation
cial sites, which were likely accompanied by cer- was of great importance to our research. We
emonial feasts, most clearly evidenced by luxuri- would also like to thank our colleagues Mora-
ous bronze vessels such as cists or situlae and lids na Čaušević-Bully (University of Bourgogne
decorated in the Situla art, as well as many im- Franche-Comté, Besançon) and Sébastien Bully
ported prestigious ceramics from the entire Iron (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,