Page 47 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(1) (2024)

Individual black, brown, and grey-fired near Bela Cerkev and date to the end of the third
urns are also known from Drnovo (Petru and century (Križ 2003; Udovč 2022).
Petru 1978, 70), while grey and grey-black-fired The burial architecture of the graves, par-
urns have been found in Grave 10 in Rosalnice ticularly those housing urns, serves as a signifi-
(Dular 1976, 192). cant indicator of the social status of the deceased.
Given the recently discovered house urns, This architectural aspect suggests that the indi-
their number, diverse shapes/forms, produc- viduals were part of a wealthier social class, capa-
tion technology, decoration, and their long-last- ble of commissioning or constructing masonry
ing use, we can assume that they were made in tombs with square or circular floor plans, or lin-
different workshops. For this reason, Petru's hy- ing grave pits with stones or stone slabs. A nota-
pothesis about a centre for house urns produc- ble exception is a single case from Ribnica, where
tion in Roman Neviodunum (Petru 1971) no urns were placed in a simple grave pit (Grave
longer seems justified. Instead, it appears they 30), a rare occurrence that stands out among the 47
were made upon the buyer's order, judging by findings.
their extraordinary diversity in the details. The composition of grave goods at five cem-
Graves from the western necropolis in eteries examined in more detail reflects a diverse
Romula, where house urns are found, can be and high-quality assortment of local and im-
chronologically placed from the mid-first centu- ported items (Table 1). Most commonly found
ry to the first half or mid-second century, based alongside house urns in graves are oil lamps with
on the composition of grave goods and the coins stamps, likely associated with burial rituals, as
found. Considering the chronologically defina- well as items of personal adornment, with fib-
ble grave complexes from other well-dated sites, ulae standing out in both number and variety
the graves from Ribnica are among the earliest. of forms. A unique feature regarding the grave
The graves from Veliki Kamen, which contained goods in graves with house urns is represented by
House urns, could be dated from the late first the graves from Draga near Bela Cerkev, as five
century to the end of the second century, but no contained iron knives (Udovč 2022). Among the
coins as additional support for possible dating high-quality imported items, it is worth men-
were not found (Uršič 1985, 35). tioning the amber items from Grave 1 in Ribni- House Urns in the Burial Practices of the Western Necropolis of Romula
The newly discovered graves from Drno- ca near Brežice and glass vessels in Graves 1, 2,
vo show a modest range of finds that would al- and 7, as well as Graves 24 and 36 from Gorn-
low for a more precise chronological placement; ja vas near Žumberk (Gregl 2007). The ceram-
only in tomb 16 do two coins help to rough- ic grave goods are primarily of a local or regional
ly date it to the mid-second century (Vojaković character, with hardly any imported Italic pot-
and Novšak 2022). The graves with house urns tery (Table 1).
from Draga near Bela Cerkev are dated from the
late first century to the end of the third century, Conclusion
based on the grave goods and the accompanying The problem of interpreting house urns in the
coin finds (Križ 2003; Udovč 2022). region of south-eastern Slovenia and north-west-
The latest finds and new grave complexes in- ern Croatia has been addressed by numerous au-
dicate the use of house urns in burial cults over thors in the past. The first comprehensive study
a relatively wide time span (Table 1). The earliest of house urns, as a distinctly local element of Ro-
finds are known from Ribnica and date to the man graves in the area of present-day south-east-
mid-first century, while most well-dated grave ern Slovenia, was contributed by Peter Petru
contexts originate from the second century. (Petru 1971), as already mentioned. He linked
The youngest grave contexts with accompany- house urns to the community of the Celtic
ing house urns come from the cemetery at Draga tribe of Latobici, which inhabited this area from