Saved in:
| Title: | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma |
|---|---|
| From: |
Snežana Golubović
|
| Person: |
Golubović, Snežana
1961- Verfasser aut |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Published: |
Beograd
Arheološki Inst.
2008
|
| Series: | Viminacivm
knjiga 2 |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020532879&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020532879&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| Item Description: | PST: Well graves in the Roman cemeteries at Viminacium. - Zsfassung in engl. Sprache |
| Physical Description: | 255 S. Ill., graph. Darst., Kt. 30 cm |
Staff View
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Record in the Search Index
| _version_ | 1819337072459120640 |
|---|---|
| adam_text | SADRŽAJ
/ CONTENTS
UVOD
.........................................................................................................................................................9
Grobovi u obliku bunara
-
pogrebni
ritus
...........................................................................................10
ISTORIJAT ISTRAŽIVANJA GROBOVA U OBLIKU BUNARA
..................................................................................10
ISTORIJAT ISTRAŽIVANJA VlMINACIJUMA
......................................................................................................13
Geografski položaj i isTORUA Viminacijuma
.........................................................................................14
Stanovništvo i SAHRANJivANjE u Viminacijumu
.....................................................................................15
KATALOG GROBOVA U OBLIKU BUNARA I KULTNIH JAMA
.................................................19
Lokalitet Pećine
.....................................................................................................................................19
Lokalitet Kod
bresta
.............................................................................................................................54
Lokalitet Velika kapija
..........................................................................................................................78
Lokalitet Drmske carine
.......................................................................................................................82
KERAMIKA
............................................................................................................................................85
Zdele
........................................................................................................................................................85
Lonci
........................................................................................................................................................86
Tânjiri
.......................................................................................................................................................87
Amfore
.....................................................................................................................................................88
Poklopci
...................................................................................................................................................89
Pitosi
.........................................................................................................................................................89
Pehari
.......................................................................................................................................................89
Kadionice
.................................................................................................................................................90
ttRČAZI
.......................................................................................................................................................91
Minijaturne posude
.................................................................................................................................92
Terakote
..................................................................................................................................................92
ŽIŠCI
.......................................................................................................................................................93
PREDMETI OD METALA
....................................................................................................................95
Fibule
........................................................................................................................................................95
Nakit
.........................................................................................................................................................95
Vojna oprema i konjska orma
................................................................................................................96
Medicinski i kozmetički instrumenti
.....................................................................................................97
Ostali upotrebni predmeti od metala
...................................................................................................97
PREDMETI OD KOSTI
.......................................................................................................................98
PREDMETI OD STAKLA
....................................................................................................................99
PREDMETI OD KAMENA
...................................................................................................................99
ZAKLJUČNA RAZMATRANJA
........................................................................................................101
Oblik grobova i DATOVANJE
...................................................................................................................101
Geneza
....................................................................................................................................................106
Etnička interpretacija
..........................................................................................................................108
Kult glave
..............................................................................................................................................109
WELL GRAVES IN THE ROMAN CEMETERIES AT VIMINACIUM
.......................................121
Well graves
-
burial rite
....................................................................................................................122
History of investigations of well graves in Serbia
..........................................................................123
The history of well grave excavations at Viminacium
.....................................................................124
the geographical position and history of the city
...........................................................................124
The population and burial rites in Viminacium
.................................................................................125
Grave form
.............................................................................................................................................127
Chronology
...........................................................................................................................................130
Origins
....................................................................................................................................................130
Ethnic interpretation
...........................................................................................................................132
The cult of the skull
...........................................................................................................................134
IZVORI
..................................................................................................................................................143
SKRAĆENICE
......................................................................................................................................143
BIBLIOGRAFIJA
.................................................................................................................................144
REGISTAR
............................................................................................................................................149
TABLE
...................................................................................................................................................153
TABELE
.................................................................................................................................................217
WELL GRAVES IN THE ROMAN CEMETERIES
AT VIMINACIUM
In the late 20th century, archaeologists in
Western Europe first encountered an unusual
grave type. In fact, at first it was uncertain
whether these were really a grave type or a fea¬
ture for some other purpose. After some thirty
of these burials were discovered and analyzed,
the phrase graves in the form of a well or
well graves
{Puits funéraires)
became an ar¬
chaeological term. The first well graves were
unearthed and examined in the early 19th cen¬
tury at sites in Bretignolles and
Le
Bernard in
western France (on the Atlantic coast).204 During
the first half of the 20th century, many sites
were excavated in southern France (Gaul) and
southern Germany, where this grave forms was
well established. Several well graves were also
investigated in southern England and Ireland.
Later the term was also adopted by Serbian ar¬
chaeologists after they found this type of grave
in cemeteries at Singidunum, Sirmium and
Viminacium (modern Belgrade, Sremska Mi-
trovica and Kostolac respectively).205
Judging from the associated archaeological
materials, these graves belong to the period of
Roman occupation. On the territory of the
Roman province of Upper Moesia, the predo-
204
Data taken from the book:
Schwarz
К.,
Zum
Stand
der
Ausgrabungen in der spätkeltischen Viereckschanze von
Holzhausen, Jahresbericht der Bayerischen Bodenden¬
kmalpflege, München 1962, 64; Baudry F., Ballereau L.,
Les puits funéraires
du Bernard
en Vendée, LaRoche-sur-
Yon
1873; Boudouin
M., Découverte et fouille d un
nouveau puits funéraire à la nécropole gallo-romaine de
Troussepoil au Bernard (Vendée), Le Mans
1908, 828.
205
Debates on how adequate the term well grave is are
minant
burial rite between the late
1
st and the
mid-Srd century
A.D.
was cremation. In the late
first century inhumation was rarely practiced.
It became more frequent during the
2nd
cen¬
tury, and finally became the dominant form of
burial in the mid-Srd century. Given that every
community has its own specific sequence of
burial customs and rituals which reflect various
forms of belief on which the ritual is based, the
change from cremation to inhumation indicates
that major transformations are taking place.
Specific characteristics of different cultures are
reflected by varying patterns of behavior. In
some cultures, death is talked about and even
during life various preparations are made for
when the moment comes. In others, however,
the subject is taboo. The body is burned or
buried, with or without grave offerings. Mourn¬
ing is expressed through weeping, lamentation,
tearing out or cutting of hair. Mourning periods
also vary.206 That is why research in burial cus¬
toms provides valuable data for understanding
the social and economic life of a given popula¬
tion. Burial ritual, conditioned by various so¬
cial, economic and religious factors, constitutes
a basic characteristic of specific archaeological
still active, given that in many cases the bones of the de¬
ceased, either cremated or inhumated, were not found.
However, the term has been in use in literature for so long,
and in many cases the burial character of these facilities
cannot be disputed, that I believe changing it could create
confusion (author s note).
206
On burial rituals in different, modern ethnic communities
see:
Mandelbaum
D. G.,
Social Uses of Funeral Rites, in:
The Meaning of Death,
1959, 189-217.
121
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
populations. It is often the only element which
contributes to ethnic determination. The form
and construction of the graves together with
their associated artefacts complete this picture
and represent unique qualities in the ethnic
community s local development.
Well graves
-
burial rite
Cremation burials have been found in all
parts of the Roman province of Upper Moesia
(Map
1).
Some cemeteries have been systemat¬
ically investigated (at Viminacium, Mala Kopa-
šnica, Guberevac,
Scupi),
whereas at other sites
cremation burials were identified and recorded
during surface survey or the excavation of ex¬
ploratory trenches. In some of these cemeteries,
well graves were identified primarily because
of their great depth. Specifically, the grave pits
with circular or rectangular bases were dug
down to depths of between
2
and
16.20
meters.
The diameter of such grave pits ranges from
0.75
to three meters.
Their appearance in the Upper Moesia
raises a number of questions, ranging from their
indigenous form, origins and ethnic character¬
istics to their religious significance. Graves of
this type, which have been thoroughly investi¬
gated in Gaul and Western and Central Europe,
represent a rare form of burial and are gener¬
ally distinct in cemeteries from the other graves
with cremation or inhumation.
According to an ideal reconstruction, the
burial ritual included the placement of the re¬
mains from the funeral pyre, which included
soot, ashes, large iron pins and the bowls used
to extinguish the fire, at the bottom of the grave.
Then the remains of the deceased person along
with artefacts which included personal items,
coins, lamps, censers, and ceramic and glass
207
The territory of
Vieille-Toulouse
sometimes belongs to
Aquitaine,
and sometimes to the Midi-Pyrenees. This is
vessels were placed in the shaft. The cremated
bones were most frequently placed in urns (ce¬
ramic, bronze or glass), although grave cham¬
bers enclosed in stone, bricks or wood have also
been found. This part of the well, which consti¬
tutes the grave in a narrower sense, was cov¬
ered by a layer of sterile earth. Stones and
broken bricks were then usually placed over it,
and the remaining part of the well was then
filled with the contents of the ritual feast which
took place at the time of burial. This last layer
included: soot, ashes, parts of large ceramic
vessels such as amphoras, large pitchers, mor¬
tars, massive bowls and deep pots, in which an¬
imal bones were found (including the bones of
pigs, sheep, goats, cows, dogs, horses, and var¬
ious birds). When filled, the wells were covered
with earth, stones and fragments of bricks.
The most completely excavated and best
documented well graves were discovered on the
territory of Roman Gaul in France, more speci¬
fically in
Aquitaine
and the Middle Pyrenees
(Aquitaine
and
Midi-Pyrénées)
and in the
Toulouse region
(Vieille-Toulouse, Haute-Ga¬
ronne).207
Their unusual form required particular ex¬
cavation methods. Because of the small diame¬
ter and the great depth of the grave shafts,
special safety measures were necessary, such as
placing wooden beams to shore up the sides of
the excavation. Drawing on the experience of
archaeologists in France, similar measures were
applied in the excavation of well graves at Vi¬
minacium. Grave
0,1125
was examined with
the use of wooden beam shoring, and in several
cases a large polyvinyl sewer pipe was used for
support. It should be pointed out that former
miners did the digging due to the graves spe¬
cific shape and characteristics (Figs.
1.
a, b;
2.
a,b).
probably a case of administrative division of the town
located on the border between two provinces.
122
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
History of investigations
of well graves in serbia
In the late 19th century, M.
Valtrović
in¬
vestigated graves of this type in Singidunum
(modern Belgrade), and later, in the 20th cen¬
tury, they were discovered by J.
Todorović
and
M.
Birtašević
during the excavation of a
Singidunum cemetery and by P. Milosevic dur¬
ing the excavation of cemeteries at Roman Sir-
mium (modern Sremska Mitrovica).
The first well graves on the territory of an¬
cient Singidunum were examined in the spring
of
1882,
during the excavation of foundations
for a monument dedicated to Prince Mihailo.
The graves were located at a depth of four me¬
ters below ground surface.208 Fifteen pits were
uncovered, two of which had a rectangular
base, while the others were circular (type A
-
circular shape with a diameter of between
0.90
and
1.30
and
2-9
meters deep; type
В
-
rectan¬
gular with dimensions of
1.60
χ
1.10
meters,
with their long sides oriented north-east to
south-west).
Valtrović
divided these graves into
two groups: shallow graves and graves actually
shaped like wells. The shallowest ones had a
depth of two meters, while the deepest extended
to a depth of nine meters. They were filled with
soot, fragments of ceramic bowls and bones
throughout their depth.
Later, in
1955,
archaeologists happened
upon well graves along with a cremation site
below the foundations of the Chemical Institute
building
(12-16,
Studentski Trg).
The crema¬
tion site was
12
meters away from the burials.209
The graves were some six meters deep, with a
diameter of
1.20
meters. They were filled with
ashes, charred wood, remains of artefacts from
208
Valtrović
M.,
Rimski grobovi u obliku bunara, Starinar
II,
Beograd
1885, 33-^5, 69-73.
209
Todorović J., Birtašević M., Arheološki spomenici u
Beogradu i okolini, GMGB
II,
Beograd
1955, 31-33.
210
Pop-Lazić S., Nekropole rimskog Singidunuma,
Singidunum
3,
Beograd
2002, 18.
the pyre, fragments of pottery, glass and the cre¬
mated bones of the deceased and animals. Be¬
cause we no longer have any field documen¬
tation or other description of the burials, it can
only be surmised that these were not well
graves, but pits serving some other purpose.210
Several additional well graves were de¬
stroyed during the excavation of the founda¬
tions for the Jugoeksport building at the
beginning of
Obilićev
Venae Street. Pottery
-
Italian imported wares dating from the period
between the late
1st
century
ВС
and the first
decades of
1st
century AD, was found in the
same context. Another well grave was disco¬
vered along Andre
Nikolić
Street, in Belgrade s
Topčidersko Brdo
district. It was dated by a
coin of Augustus minted in
23
ВС.211
However,
uncertainty also exists in these cases regarding
the character and purpose of these features be¬
cause there is no archaeological documentation
of the finds.
In
1988,
during salvage excavations, a well
grave was uncovered on
Zmaj Jovina
Street in
downtown Belgrade. The burial was not noticed
until sterile soil has been reached at a depth of
3.50
meters. The base of the grave was nearly
circular, with a diameter of
1.26
meters and a
layer of clay some
20
centimeters thick was
found around the outer edge. In the interior ar¬
chaeologists found a layer of hardened reddish
earth between
10
and
15
centimeters thick
along with a layer of calcinated ashes approxi¬
mately
6
centimeters thick. The grave was ex¬
cavated only to a depth of
2.20
meters because
of the presence of ground water at that level.212
During excavations in Sirmium s cemete¬
ries in the
1
970 s, archaeologist
Petar
Milosevic
found well graves in the eastern cemetery, in
211
Kondié
V.,
Rimski
Singidunum
u svetlosti
arheoloških
nalaza, u: Oslobodjenje gradova u Srbiji od Turaka
1862
-1867,
Beograd
1970, 32.
212
Bjelajac Lj., Simić Z., Rezultati zaštitnih arheoloških
iskopavanja na prostoru ulice kneza Mihaila, GGB
XXXVIII,
Beograd
1991, 21.
123
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
the area of the so-called Roman graveyard 213
A total of
79
graves were uncovered. They were
deep circular pits with baked earth sides. The
bottoms of some of the pits were identified at a
depth of
8.5
meters, but most were found at a
depth of between
7
and
8
meters.214 They were
filled with remains from a pyre, over which
burial offerings were later placed. The diameter
of the pits ranged from
1.10
to
1.30
meters.
The history of well grave
excavations at vlminacium
When famous travelogue author Felix Ka-
nitz visited Viminacium for the first time in
May
I860,
he noticed large amounts of exca¬
vated Roman building materials lying around,
ready to be carted away. Just before his arrival,
around
4,000
wagons full of Roman bricks and
stone were transported from the site.215 This si¬
tuation, a castrum that dominated the city and
the cemeteries, some of which contained graves
decorated with frescos, according to Kanitz,
confirmed Viminiacium s high rank among the
cities of Moesia. Looking back on the excava¬
tions undertaken by the Belgrade Museum in
October
1882,
Valtrović
says that, unfortunately
the excavations yielded meager results.216 At the
time, he excavated small exploratory trenches
213
Milosevic P.,
Karakteristike nekropola u Sirmijumu, ZMS
2,
Sremska Mitrovica
1996, 39-53.
214
Milosevic P.,
Etnički i društveno-ekonomski aspekti kulta
mrtvih na ranim nekropolama Sirmijuma, Materijali
XX,
Belgrade
1985,179.
215
Unfortunately, material is still being taken, graves robbed
and localities destroyed, albeit not so much as a few years
ago. Viminacium is mostly endangered by the spreading
of the Drmno coal strip mine, as well as by rogue ar¬
chaeologists and re-sellers of cultural goods. The issue was
first raised at the 19th assembly of the Serbian
Archaeological Society, held in Sremska Mitrovica on June
5,1997.
Then curators of the
Požarevac
National Museum,
Dragana Spasić
and
Dragan Jacanović,
made a number of
proposals on how to protect this archaeological complex
from complete destruction. Fortunately for both the
south of the town, on the
Pećine
site and es¬
tablished the existence of the northern and ea¬
stern cemeteries.217
The geographical position
and history of the city
The city of Viminacium, whose inhabitants
were buried in the aforementioned cemeteries,
developed near the confluence of the Mlava
River with the Danube, close to what is today
the village of
Stari Kostolac.218
It was first men¬
tioned in Ptolemy s Geography, but it existed
before that as a military camp with an adjoining
settlement. It lay on an important military route
that ran from Singidunum to the south, toward
Naissus (modern
Niš).
This was where the three
roads linking the city with the eastern, western
and southern regions of the Roman Empire in¬
tersected. At the same time, Viminacium was
an important military and civilian port on the
Danube.219
The camp of the
VII
Claudia legion, which
was practically continuously stationed in Vimi¬
nacium between the
2nd
and 4th centuries, was
established on the right bank of the Mlava. The
same location had previously contained a fort
with earthwork fortifications, erected by one of
the first legions stationed in Moesia, the IV
locality and archaeologists, the situation changed
conspicuously in
2002,
when the project was taken over
by PhD Miomir
Korać,
who is on the locality with his
multidisciplinary team all year round, thus preventing illegal
excavations on the site.
216
Kanic
F.,
Srbija. Zemlja i stanovništvo, Beograd
/955,177-183.
217
Valtrović M., Otkopavanja u Kostolcu, Starinar
2,
Beograd
1884, 3-14
218
On this
city:
Mirković
M.,
Rimski gradovi na Dunavu
u Gornjoj Meziji, Beograd
1968, 56-67;
Mirković M.,
Viminacium
et Margum,
Inscriptions de la Mésie Supérieure
II,
Beograd
1986,
with
literature.
219
On the position of the city and its port:
Popović
V,
Uvod
u topografiju Viminacijuma, Starinar
XVIII,
Beograd
1968,
29-49.
124
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
Scythica or the V Macedonica. The
VII
Clau¬
dia legion arrived here
from Dalmaţia
in the
60s
or the
70s
of the
1st
century AD. During the
civil wars of AD
69,
elements of the
VII
Clau¬
dia left the base to fight in northern Italy. In the
2nd
and
3rd
centuries, a large part of the legion
fought in the wars in the East, in the Parthian
and Armenian expeditions. The legion s camp
on the right bank of the Mlava remained in use
until the Hunnic invasion in the mid-5th cen¬
tury.
In
117,
during the reign of the emperor
Hadrian, the settlement adjacent to the legio¬
nary base was given municipal status. At the be¬
ginning of the
3rd
century, Viminacium boasted
a class of wealthy citizens, and the city experi¬
enced an economic boom. It enjoyed the favor
of the emperor Septimius
Severas,
who visited
it twice: in
196,
on his way to Rome, and in
202,
on his way back from the East, when he
toured the
Pannonian
and Moesian military
camps. Late in
239
Viminacium gained colonial
status under
Gordian,
when it was also granted
the right to mint coins. During the
16
years the
mint was in operation (239-256),220 coinage was
issued with the portraits of emperors from
Gor¬
dian
to Valerian on the obverse. The reverses
usually depicted a lion (IV Fl) and a bull (IV
Cl), the symbols of the two Upper Moesian le¬
gions, with a female figure in between who per¬
sonified the city or province.221
In the fourth century, Viminacium became
an episcopal center. The bishop Amantinus, who
took part in the Council of Serdica in
343,
and
the bishop Cyriacus
(356),
are both attested.
Its economic downfall started in the mid-
3rd century and accelerated in the late
3rd
and
the 4th centuries.222
There is no information about what hap¬
pened in Viminacium during the Gothic attacks
on the Balkan Peninsula, although in the 4th
and the 5th centuries the Goths must have
passed through the city on their way to conquer
Italy. During the Hunic invasion, Viminacium
was pillaged and destroyed. After the fall of At-
tila s kingdom, it probably became part of the
area controlled by the Gepids. The city was re¬
built during Justinian s reign,
80
years after the
Huns withdrawal. This marked its return to the
Eastern Empire under Byzantine rule.223
The population and burial rites
in Viminacium
Unfortunately, our knowledge of the pre-
Roman inhabitants of Viminacium is very
meager. Strabo
(VII
318)
reports that Vimi¬
nacium was part of the region of the Minor
Scordisci, who lived together with Thracian
tribes, while Ptolemy (III
9, 1)
says it lay be¬
tween the land of the Tricornians (one part of
or the rest of the Scordisci tribe) and the so-
called Picenses. The presence of the Celtic
Scordisci was also confirmed by the archaeo¬
logical material. The earliest cemetery at Vi¬
minacium is attributed to Celts who lived there
in the late 4th and early
3rd
centuries
ВС.224
220
Mirković
M.,
Rimski gradovi na Dunavu u Gornjoj
Meziji, Beograd
1968,66:
the line from I to
XVI
is missing
the years X and XV, when the mint stopped working, most
likely for economic reasons.
221
Borić-Brešković
В.,
Novac kolonije Viminacijuma u zbirci
Svetozara St. Dušanića, Beograd
1976. Ibid.., 66:.
222
Mirković
M., op. cit.,
150:
Jt
is primarily reflected in
the crisis of city organization. Namely, public services are
transferred to the curia and the owners gathered in it, as the
services become too much of a burden for individuals. That
is why the state is forced to link titles with certain groups
of citizens and make them hereditary. Hence the appearance
of underage
decurione in
plate inscriptions.
223
Ibid,
73.
224
Jovanović
В.,
Les sépultures de la nécropole celtique
de
Pećine
près de Kostolac (Serbie du nord), Études
Celtiques
XXI,
Paris
1984,63-93;
Jovanović
В.,
Nekropola
na Pećinama i starije gvozdeno doba Podunavlja, Starinar
XXXVI,
Beograd
1985, 13-18
125
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
The presence of
Dacian
and Moesian tribes is
rather uncertain and at present has not been
confirmed archeologically.
Veterans of the
VII
Claudia legion and then-
families played an important part in the social
life of Viminacium. There is very little epi-
graphic evidence for people of local origin, and
even in such cases where the name indicates a
Celtic, Thracian or Illyrian background, it is im¬
possible to determine whether the person was a
native of Viminacium or from a neighboring
territory.225
In the five centuries of human occupation
in this region, a large number of cemeteries
grew up alongside the civilian settlement and
the military camp. Extensive salvage excava¬
tions have been conducted since
1977
in the
area of the southern cemeteries. The reason for
the salvage work was the construction of the
Kostolac
2
thermal-electric generating plant. So
far over
13,500
graves have been excavated,
and archaeological investigations are still in
progress.
In the period of Roman domination, burials
took place in five of the cemeteries investigated
so far:
Više grobalja, Pećine, Kod
bresta, Drm-
ske carine, and Velika kapija
(Map
2).
Three of
the cemeteries showed signs of contemporary
cremation and inhumation burials between the
1st
and the
3rd
centuries.
The graves with cremation burials are very
diverse. The most frequent grave form is an ordi¬
nary pit or a pit with floors and with walls baked
to a red or sometimes even intense grey color.
There are several variations of these grave forms:
ordinary rectangular grave pits, sometimes with a
cover of flat laid bricks or a moveable cover con¬
sisting of a plank or the lengthwise half of a large
amphora as a cover, and grave pits with lined
floors. The percentage of burials in well graves
is the lowest, followed by burials in urns.
Inhumation burials were most often made
in ordinary grave pits, wrapped only in a
shroud. There were also burials in wooden
coffins made of planks or, rarely, of a hollowed
out tree trunk. Graves with planks covering the
floor are rare. Graves lined with bricks to form
a coffin were very frequent and diverse. The de¬
ceased person could also be buried in a lead sar-
cofagus, which would be placed directly in the
ground or enclosed in a tomb.
Well graves appear in all of the above-men¬
tioned cemeteries, except at
Više grobalja.226
* * *
225
Mirković
M., op. cit.,
69.
In the research conducted here, a total of
25
well graves, two cults pits (G^, Gi767) and one
sacrificial area
-
cult pit (pit no.
3)
from the four
southern cemeteries of Viminacium
(Pećine, Kod
bresta,
Velika kapija, Drmske carine)
were exa¬
mined. After the documentation and archeologi-
cal material were reviewed, several graves were
eliminated from the well grave category. These
features turned out to be either ordinary graves or
waste disposal pits. The well grave type was
identified by determining the presence or ab¬
sence of its basic characteristics. The distribution
of the graves, manner of burial, character and
type of grave offerings, chronology, origin of the
grave form, and the burial ritual were all ana¬
lyzed, and an ethnic attribution was made.
The surviving field documentation was
used for analysis of the archaeological materi¬
als. The artifacts had been kept at the
Požarevac
National Museum, but, because a robbery had
taken place at the museum, most of the artefacts
could not be examined and reprocessed. That is
why the quality of drawings is not uniform. The
drawings are in scale
1:1
if not marked diffe¬
rently. The number of artifact in the catalogue
responds to the number at the plate.
226
Zotović Lj., Južne nekropole Vuninacija i pogrebni obre¬
di, Viminacivm
1,
Požarevac
1986, 42.
126
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
Grave form
Analysis of the well graves from Vimi-
nacium showed that the circular grave pits were
excavated to a depth of between
3.20
and
9.60
meters and that the diameter of the pits ranges
from
0.75
to
3.00
meters. The graves are cylin¬
drical in form and in most cases gradually taper
off toward the bottom of the shaft. In several
examples two (G^
1150)
or three floors (Gj
1089,
G(7, G{8) were formed in the narrow section of
the shaft. Unfortunately, most of these graves
were not completely examined because of
slumping trench walls or the presence of ground
water or methane gas. The situation in Gaul,
where this grave type was more thoroughly
examined, is nearly identical. Archaeologists
rarely managed to excavate to the bottom of the
well because of the appearance of ground water,
which could indicate that all over Europe in the
ancient period the level of the water table was
much lower. The acidity of the soil in the Vimi-
nacium cemeteries caused the near total disap¬
pearance of organic materials.
Only in one example does a bronze bowl,
which most likely served as a cremation urn,
survive at the bottom of a grave pit (T.
30).
Bronze vessels of the same type were found in
two well graves, albeit as burial offerings, north
of the La Planho plateau in the Baulaquet re¬
gion in France. These graves were dated to the
1
st century
ВС.227
Grave G^ is, for the present,
the oldest well grave investigated in the Vimi-
nacium cemeteries. Among the numerous arte¬
facts found were the coins from the reign of
Domitian. The pottery from the grave dates to
between the late
1st
and the late
2nd
centuries.
227
Labrousse M., Informations
archéologiques, Circon¬
scription de Midi-Pyrénées,
Gallici
32/2,
Paris
1974,475-
476;
in
1973, 28
well burials were found, eight of which
(XXIII-XXVI, XXVIII-XXX) were fully examined
during one month of salvage excavations. The pottery
comprise fragments of amphoras and
La Tene
urns. Well
no.
XXIII, 8.05
meters deep, revealed three bronze tin
Based on the stratigraphy of the grave fill, in
which several layers were identified, it seems
that the grave had been in use for a relatively
long time. The burial probably took place at the
end of the
1st
century, while the remaining part
of the grave pit was later filled in with the con¬
tents of the ritual feast. This grave was located
very close to another grave of the same type (Gx
8),
above which a sacrificial pit was found (pit
no.
3).
Burials in both pits were carried out at
very short intervals or even simultaneously.
This is indicated by the fact that fragments of
6
ceramic vessels found in the earth fill from both
shafts could be joined. The forms and contexts
of the shafts are also very similar. Both graves
contained the remains of wooden planks along
with the other archaeological material of almost
at the same time period. The remains of planks
in grave G]7, on its third floor level, although
very modest, were obviously part of a wooden
enclosure. In grave Gj8, the remains of wooden
planks could still be seen all through the depth
of the shaft. This all indicates a practically iden¬
tical period of use.
The wooden chambers were present in
7
graves (fig.
3).
The latest grave
(GjlHó)
was
dated by pottery, a fibula and coins of
Gordian
(in the upper part of the pit at a depth of
0.80
meters) to between the late
2nd
and the mid-Srd
centuries. A well-preserved wooden chamber
spanned the middle section of the well and ex¬
tended from a depth of
4.50
meters to nearly
6.00
meters. Its interior contained no archaeo¬
logical material, but the remains of two indi¬
viduals were discovered just beneath the
chamber. The remains of planks appear again at
a depth of
8.40
meters, but further work was
helmets, while well no.
XVI
contained six bronze situlas.
The deepest grave,
17.10
meters deep, was dated to the
period between
35
and
10
ВС.
It contained a perfectly
preserved
27
centimeter tall wooden bucket, decorated with
a bronze tin stripe forming an S motive, two bronze
situlas, and a very large number of bones of pigs, cattle,
sheep, and a beaver.
127
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
prevented by the infiltration of ground water.
Analysis of the pottery types indicated a date in
the
2nd
century. The pottery was recovered at a
depth of between
4.30
meters and the bottom of
the shaft. The second layer contained slightly
later pottery which was dated to the early
3rd
century. This indicates that the deposits were
made over a somewhat long interval. Graves
Gi
1143
and Gj
1
(from the
Drmske carine
ceme¬
tery) were used once, unlike the others that
were used for a longer period of time. The evi¬
dence for this consisted of the remains of a rit¬
ual feast, several layers of deposits and various
pottery fragments. Grave G]1143 could provi¬
sionally be dated by the pottery to the second
half of the
2nd
century and grave G^, to the
mid^rd century. Graves with lined grave cham¬
bers appear in Gaul and southern Germany. In
Viminacium wooden planks were used instead
of stone and followed the shape of the grave
pits to form a wooden chamber. Their state of
preservation in the graves G,1148 and
0,1150
is unusual. Analysis of a plank sample done at
the Belgrade Faculty of Forestry showed that
the wood was conifer.
In Gaul grave chambers appear over a long
period of time, but are not usual in the latest or
earliest burials. This also applies to the graves
examined at Viminacium. The latest well grave
in Gaul was dated by a Constantius II coin to
the 4th century.228 It was found in
Vieille-
Toulouse
and had a grave chamber lined with
cut stone. Another grave lined with cut stone,
found in the
Charente-Maritime
region, was
dated to between
70
and
80
AD.229 A well grave
with an enclosed grave chamber that contained
a glass urn with only small fragments pre¬
served, was uncovered near Toulouse. The
grave was dated by coins minted at Nimes to
sometime in the reigns of Claudius or Nero.230
Therefore, the presence of a chamber does
not rule out the existence of an urn: a glass urn
in a grave with a stone chamber in Gaul, and a
bronze one in our example at Viminacium.
In the case of other graves at Viminacium in
which no wooden chamber was found, archae¬
ologists usually were not able to excavate to the
bottom of the shaft, so it is possible that such
chambers existed at the bottom of the shaft. The
existence appearance of chambers at a certain
depth (ordinarily
7.50
meters from ground sur¬
face) above the bottom of the shaft-was usually
the rule. Either way, the wooden chambers
which appear in the grave shafts at Viminacium
are characteristic of well graves.
The presence of tree branches in grave
228
Fouet G., Les puits funéraires d Aquitaine; Vieille-
Toulouse et Mountmaurin, Gallia
16,
Paris
1958,186:
this
grave
is also interesting because of its grave chamber lined
with large pieces of stone. Several layers stood out in the
chamber, containing fragments of ceramic bowls, animal
bones, ashes, and other small archaeological material (iron
knives, keys etc.). A Constantius
Π
bronze coin was found
at a depth of seven meters. Several ceramic vessels -jugs
and plates were found at the very bottom.
229
Hélène M.,
Santrot
J., Tassaux D.,
Le Mobilier d un Puits
Gallo-Romain a Saintes (Charente-Maritime), Gallia
33,
Paris
1975, 117-158:
in the
Charente-Maritime
region,
north of
Thermes Saint-Saloine, a
well with a diameter of
around
1.00
meter was examined between
1970
and
1973
to the depth of
16.20
meters (possible depth
30
meters),
which was lined with cut stone down to
4.00
meters of
depth. It is believed it was used as a waste disposal pit.
However, since it was not fully excavated, its function
remains undefined;
G. Manière, Un Puits funéraire de la
fin du
Ier
siècle aux
Aquae Siccae
(Cazères, Haut-
Garonne), Gallia XXTV71, Paris
1966,101-159 -
one well
grave
was examined in
1962,
down to
10.85
meters of depth.
The diameter of the well at a depth of
4.40
meters was
3.20
meters. A grave chamber with a one meter diameter was
discovered at a depth of
9.40
meters, made from pieces of
quartzite. The grave chamber was
1.45
meters tall, but was
not fully excavated as the works were interrupted by the
appearance of water. The grave is dated back to the
1st
century AD; M. Labrousse, Informations
archéologiques,
Circonscription de
Toulouse, Gallia XX, Paris
1962, 559
-
in the small town of Lauzerville, in
1959,
a well grave
of a depth of
9.80
meters, completely made from brick and
brick fragments, was examined. The grave was not dated.
230
Manière G., Un Puits funéraire de la fin du
Ier
siècle aux
Aquae
Siccae (Cazères, Haut-Garonne), Gallia
24/1,
Paris
1966, 101-159.
128
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
is also interesting. The inclusion of
branches, or even a whole tree, seems to have
been
a
frequent
practice in both France and
southern Germany. The well grave excavated in
Bretignolles, France contained the remains of a
tree that was two meters tall. The tree was
carved at one end. One of the well graves in
Holzhausen,
Germany also contained a small
tree. A
51
centimeter high wooden statue of a
sitting female was found at the bottom of a
grave of this type in Bernard. This was believed
to be a statue of the Mother Goddess. Crudely
made wooden statues have been discovered in
sacred springs. In that context, the placement of
branches and trees in graves would represent a
symbolic substitute for the placement of a
statue of the Mother Goddess.231
The well graves from Viminacium exa¬
mined here
-
as a rule have a circular or ellipti¬
cal base and, in just one example, the shape of
the base is rectangular
(G]1147).
In Gaul,
graves with a rectangular base are not rare. In
Toulouse, on the La Planho plateau, several
well graves were examined
-
one of them with
a rectangular base at a depth of
3.15
meters. It
was dated to the reign of Augustus by
5
bronze
coins.232 Also in Toulouse, in
1975,
two well
graves, both with rectangular bases at depths of
5.50
meters and
2.20
meters, were examined.
Both graves were dated to between
30
and
25
ВС.233
On the
Bourlès site,
mechanical excava¬
tion destroyed several well graves, among
which was a particularly interesting grave with
the remains of a wooden coffin and a nearly
rectangular base
(1.10x1.15
meters) at a depth
of
10.45.
It was dated to between
50
and
30
ВС.234
Three graves well with cremation burials
were excavated in the extensive big Saint-Roch
cemetery in the southern quarter of Toulouse.
One, with a
2.60
χ
1.60
meter rectangular base,
was
4.00
meters deep, while the other two had
square bases
1
meter on a side at depths of
4.10
meters and
2.20
meters. The graves were dated
to the
1st
century
ВС.235
Several graves with square bases were ex¬
cavated at Singidunum. There were also graves
with rectangular bases of
1.60
χ
1.10
meters,
with their long sides oriented north-east to
south-west, which
Valtrović
defined as type
B.236 Graves with rectangular and square bases
are in most cases shallower than those with cir¬
cular bases.
The material found in the well graves was
not very different from that found in other cre¬
mation burials at Viminacium and was Roman
provincial in origin. There were very few im¬
ports from the central Gallic and Italic work¬
shops and of luxury items in general. Iron
knives and spears appear in a slightly higher
percentage, which is similar to the artifacts re¬
covered from graves of the same type in Sir-
mium. More specifically, weapons were found
in
10
well graves excavated at Sirmium. There
were six spears, five javelins and as many as
three swords from the
1st
and the
2nd
centuries.
These graves were slightly older than the ones
at Viminacium and were dated to the early
1st
and the early
2nd
centuries.237 In considering
231 Schwarz
К.,
op. cit.,
64.
232
Labrousse M., Informations archéologiques, Circon¬
scription de Toulouse, Gallia
20,
Paris
1962, 576;
idem.,
Informations archéologiques, Circonscription de Midi-
Pyrénées, Gallia
32/2,
Paris
1974,474:
a square
well
grave,
with its sides
2.4
meters long and a depth of
2.5
meters,
was excavated. The grave was dated by means of a coin
to the
1st
century
ВС.
233
Idem., Informations
archéologiques, Circonscription de
Midi-Pyrénées, Gallia
36/2,
Paris
1978,410, 411.
2UIdem., Informations archéologiques, Circonscription de
Midi-Pyrénées, Gallia
24,
Paris
1966, 422
(PI.
18).
235
Idem., Informations archéologiques, Circonscription de
Midi-Pyrénées, Gallia
34/2,
Paris
1976, 478^79.
236
Valtrović
M.,
Rimski grobovi u obliku bunara, Starinar
II,
1885, 34.
237
Milosevic P.,
Etnički i društveno-ekonomski aspekti kulta
mrtvih na ranim nekropolama Sirmijuma, Materijali
XX,
Beograd
1985,178.
129
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
chronology of the Viminacium well graves and
pits, one should bear in mind that they include
graves and pits both with one-time and succes¬
sive fills. But in many features with a single fill,
the material is not chronologically diagnostic,
so that they cannot be dated with certainty be¬
yond a broad time framework which really does
not define their duration. Considering their tem¬
poral duration, the primary dilemma is how
long they were in use. Were they open or did
they have some sort of structure above the
opening itself to protect them from the ele¬
ments? Apparently, they had some sort of pro¬
tective covering, a conclusion supported by
fragments of glue found in most graves with
successive fillings. In the top part of the well
0^95,
pieces of broken bricks and tegula were
found, which may have come from a protective
covering above the grave opening.
Valtrović
believed that the well graves he
investigated at the
Trg Republike
site in Bel¬
grade must have had an earth mound
-
a tumu¬
lus
-
over the grave above ground. His con¬
clusion was based on four meters of deposits
and a grave with a brick structural element on
the south side of the trench, lying at a depth of
one meter below the cobblestone pavement that
existed at the time. He assumed that the earth
had been mounded up over the graves immedi¬
ately after the interment of the cremated re¬
mains and all the offerings.238 The particular
situation in the Viminacium cemeteries, where
the graves intersect and intrude on one another,
does not provide any indications of above-
ground features for the well graves. But it
would not be uncommon that potential traces of
above-ground features were not preserved,
given that parts of the Viminacium cemeteries
were in use long after the period of the well
graves.
Of course, we can only guess what kind of
238
Valtrović
M., op. cit.,
44.
239
Brunaux J.-L.,
Die keltischen Heiligtümer Nordfrank-
protective structure
might have been used; per¬
haps it could have been a circular construction
made of ordinary wooden planks, or maybe a
complete roof-like construction with eaves, per¬
haps a shrine like the one in Gournay-sur-
Aronde (fig. 4).239
Chronology
Grave G,70 was dated by coin of Antoni¬
nus Pius, while
G
282
by coins of Hadrian and
Marc Aurel
(Table
35).
Based on the stratigra¬
phy of the grave fill, the burial was a single
event. Unfortunately, the pottery that could
have supported this conclusion was lost.
A coin of Traian was recovered from in
grave G[263. The pottery dates to between the
second half of the
2nd
century and the mid-Srd
centuries. Several layers of deposits and an un¬
usual number of various pottery types indicated
that the grave pit was in use over a long period.
The upper part of the grave was damaged by an
intrusive inhumation burial (G
879),
which
could mean that the grave most likely did not
have a grave marker or that whatever marker it
had did not last for long.
As for the graves from the Viminacium
cemeteries, both those with a single fill episode
and those with several fill layers belong to the
period between the late
1st
and mid-Srd cen¬
turies. Graves later than the mid-Srd century
have not yet been found (Table
37).
Origins
In interpreting the well graves which he had
excavated in Singidunum,
Valtrović
referred to
graves of the same type in
Le
Bernard, France.
He believed that the form of the graves was of
reichs, in:
Heiligtümer und Opferkulte der Kelten, Haffher
A. (ed.), Stuttgart 1995, 59.
130
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
Roman origin and cited data from Rome where
the burned remains of slaves and the poor were
simply thrown into such graves.240 However, an
analysis of the material from the Singidunum
graves and the burial rite itself leads to a very
different conclusion. This was a very expensive
type of burial which included the cremation of
the deceased and which only wealthy individu¬
als were able to afford.
The origin of well graves in places where
they appear in large numbers, i.e. in Gaul, Eng¬
land and Ireland, lies in the burial tradition of
the European Iron Age. They are considered to
be the special combination of features from
graves located in cemeteries of the
late La Tene
and
Gallo-Roman
periods, Middle
La Tene
sac¬
rificial pits and Celtic shrines, and they symbo¬
lize the mundus, the portal to the underworld.
Three well graves associated with the late La
Tene
period were excavated in
Holzhausen.
The
deepest one was
35.6
meters deep; the upper
part was shaped like a funnel which extended
into a cylindrical shape. These graves in south¬
ern Germany correspond to ones found in
France. At the
Lossow-Fürstenberg
site,
60
well
graves dating to the early Iron Age were disco¬
vered. The cylindrical pits, between three and
eight meters in depth, contained horse, cattle and
human bones and were used as sacrificial wells.
At the Loebus fortress, an early Iron Age well
grave was found which was five meters deep
and contained the remains of several individuals
covered by large stones. Burials in graves be¬
tween two and four meters in depth, with rec¬
tangular bases like the ones in Wallertheim, or
with elliptical or circular bases like the ones in
Ulfersheim, or covered in wood like those in
Hopschtenden, are frequent in the middle Rhine
and Moselle regions. In Wallertheim and Ulfer¬
sheim, the graves are surrounded by a rectangu¬
lar ditch.241 Jean-Paul Petit did a complete analy¬
sis of all the wells and pits of ritual character
from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age and
the Roman period, which was part of the exam¬
ination of a large number of pits in the Gallic-
Roman vicus in Bliesbrack.242 Whether it was
various artifacts, body parts or whole animals or
humans, burned or not, that were interred, the
sacrificial character of the pits is unquestiona¬
ble. The sacrifices were made to the gods of the
underworld. A 10-meter deep shaft examined
from the Celtic
oppidum
at
Agen
sur
Garonne
in southeastern Gaul belongs entirely to the cult
pit type. Four deposits at different levels were
found, which contained various artefacts such
as metal bowls, ceramic bowls, wooden bowls
with metal hoops, jewelry, a fibula, and
12
silver
coins. A large quantity of seeds of various fruits
and nutshells were also recovered from the de¬
posits. These are all indications of the purpose of
the pit. Uncertainty arises in the analysis of
many hundreds of pits in Toulouse, in at least
30%
of which human bones, some of them cre¬
mated were recovered. Archaeologists believe
that this is enough of a basis for the identifica¬
tion of a human sacrificial cult.243
So far no similar forms of burial from ear¬
lier periods (the Mesolithic or Neolithic) have
been found in Serbia or neighboring countries
that would indicate an origin in this region.
However, although the current state of infor¬
mation about cemeteries in this region offers no
immediate answers to outstanding questions,
there are still some grave types that merit at¬
tention and which could be viewed as different
transitional types.
L. Barzu mentions the presence of a well
grave in a cemetery at Bratea, Romania.244 Al-
240
Valtrović
M., op. cit.,
35.
241 Schwarz
К.,
op. cit.,
22-77.
242
Petit
J.
P., Puits et fosses rituels en Gaule
ď
après
ľ
exemple de Bliesbruck (Moselle), Moselle
1988.
243
Haflher
Α.,
Allgemeine Übersicht, in: Heiligtümer und
Opferkulte der Kelten, Haffiier A. (ed.), Stuttgart 1995,41.
244 Barzu L.,
Continuitatea populaţiei autohtone
ín
secolele
IV-V,
Bucureşti
1973, 234.
131
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
though its dimensions
(2.20
χ
2.20
χ
1.62)
are
not usual for a grave of this type, it should pro¬
bably be considered as a transitional form. This
type of grave, shaped like a barrel or bag
and associated with the
late La Tene
Dacian
burial tradition, appears in Romania.245 These
grave pits are cylindrical, and the cremated re¬
mains of the deceased are interred in very small
quantities. Often only a portion of the skull is
found in the grave, an example of the pars pro
toto
concept in funerary cult. The grave pit usu¬
ally contains the remains of the pyre feature
(ash, baked clay), a large quantity of pottery
fragments of bowls produced with or without a
wheel, and sometimes weapons. They are dated
to between the
2nd
century
ВС
and the mid-
1st
century AD. In the older
Dacian
burial tradition,
there are no precedents for this form of burial.
Graves of this type are found in areas far from
any immediate Celtic influences, so it appears
that attempts to explain the appearance of this
grave type through diffusion of Celtic influ¬
ences are not well founded.
In Serbia, barrel graves dated to the first half
of the
1st
century AD were found in Boljetin and
dated to the second half of the
1st
century AD in
Hajdučka Vodenica,
where they mark the latest
appearance of this kind of burial.246
A grave with a circular base, with a diame¬
ter of
0.95
meters and a depth of up to
2
meters,
was found during the excavation of the
La Tene
settlement at
Gomolava.
Three skeletons cov¬
ered with millstones were found in the grave.
Two skeletons belonged to adults, while the
third one was that of a child. The Eurodolico-
morphic type man and the Gracile-Mediter-
ranean type woman were oriented west to east,
with their heads to the west and intertwined legs
245
Protase D.,
Riturile funerare
la
daci şi daci-romani,
Bucureşti
1971, 71.
246
Jovanović
Α.,
Hajdučka Vodenica, kasnoantičku i
ranovizantijsko utvrđenje, Starinar
XXXIII-XXXIV,
1984,321.
to the east. The child s skeleton was placed in
the pelvic area of the two adults. The grave was
dated to the last quarter of the
1st
century
ВС,
based on the pottery recovered and a bronze
fibula. The millstones from the circular grave
are not chronological indicators, and their pre¬
sence among the artefacts actually represents a
specific burial ritual used in this particular in¬
terment within the
late La Tene
settlement at
Gomolava.
Millstones are often found in well
graves. They were also present in two graves
discovered in the Toulouse region,247 one of
which was made entirely of whole and frag¬
mentary bricks.248 At Viminacium they appear
in graves
0^63
and G1II49. They were inter¬
preted as objects of apotropeic significance, al¬
though it is possible that their significance was
as objects for everyday use.
Celtic influence in the ritual seen in well
graves is one of the potential explanations for
the burial ritual evident in the circular grave at
Gomolava.
Other explanations include the prac¬
tice of
Dacian
or
Getic
religious beliefs in the
2nd
and the
1st
century
ВС,
hence the appea¬
rance of new burial types. The different human
physical types, grave artefacts of Celtic and
Pannonian (Illyrian?)
origin and the Dacian-
Getic burial rituals all indicate a complex po¬
pulation base and the mingling of old and new
cultural traditions. Furthermore, this example
provides no direct connections with the early
Iron Age at
Gomolava.249
Ethnic interpretation
A cross-section of the population buried in
the ancient cemeteries of Viminacium provides
247
Fouet G., Les puits funéraires d Aquitaine; Vieille-
Toulouse et Mountmaurin, Gallia
16,
Paris
1958,115-196.
248
Labrousse M., Informations archéologiques, Circon¬
scription de Toulouse, Gallia
20,
Paris
1962, 559.
249
Jovanović
В.,
Jovanović
M.,
Gomolava
-
naselje mla¬
đeg gvozdenog doba, Novi Sad
-
Beograd
1988, 53-58.
132
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
very distinctive examples of certain anthropo¬
logical types. The types identified to date in¬
clude the Anatolian type, the eastern Medi¬
terranean type, the Dinaroid type, a short spe¬
cialized variety of the Dinaroid anthropologi¬
cal type, the long-headed Mediterranean type
of short stature, and the provisionally named
pre-historic anthropological type. However,
this analysis was carried out morphologically
with the use of single examples,250 not statisti¬
cally, and so it fails to offer precise data that
would include all the individuals buried (or sac¬
rificed) in the well graves.
With respect to the ethnic attribution of the
individuals buried in well graves, it has already
been determined that there is no transitional
grave shape on our territory that would indicate
an autochthonous origin for this type of burial.
The earliest cemetery excavated at Viminacium,
dated to the late 4th and the early
3rd
centuries
ВС,
is attributed to a Celtic population. Both
cremation and inhumation burials were exa¬
mined. The cremation burials were placed in
1.50-2.20
χ
1.20-1.60
meter holes, and the cre¬
mated bones were scattered in the western part
of the grave pit which did not have fire-baked
walls.251 This is clearly a completely different
burial ritual that cannot be connected with the
burial in well graves.
250
Mikić
Ž., O
antropološkim tipovima u antičkim nekro¬
polama
Ушшааајхшаа,
Starinar
XXXI,
Beograd
1981,117—
123,121:
based on the analyses of the excavated material
done so far, the conclusion is that this is an entire
anthropological spectrum, which in terms of anthropological
presence makes a geographic arc from the front East to the
region around the Adriatic Sea and its deep background.
251
Jovanović
В.,
Études Celtiques
XXI,
63-93;
В.
Jovanović, Starinar
XXXVI, 13-18 -
a
Celtic
necropolis
with
43
graves
- 17
of which were with cremation
-
was
found south-east of the Viminacium ruins.
252
Mirković
M.,
Viminacium
et
Margum, Inscriptions
de
la Mésie Supérieure
II,
Beograd
1986, 44 (325).
253
Idem.,
Rimski gr
adovi...,
33-34.
The other cohorts are:
I Antiochensium, I Sugambrorum
veterana,
I Raetorum, I
Lusitanorum, and I Cisipadensium. Together with the V
Macedonica
legion, in
69—70
the I Antiochensium and I
A large number of the well graves exa¬
mined appear primarily in Gaul, England and
southern Germany and could indicate that the
Gauls were the bearers of this grave type, espe¬
cially in light of the fact that we have historical
confirmation of the Gauls presence in this re¬
gion. They arrived in Upper Moesia as compo¬
nents of the Roman army in military campaigns
in the late
1st
century. The army assembled on
the Danube during Domitian s wars consisted
of soldiers recruited in Italy and the western
provinces of the Empire. The epigraphic evi¬
dence for their presence is the gentile name
Lucus.252 Only during the
2nd
and the
3rd
cen¬
tury were soldiers recruited in the neighboring
provinces of
Pannonia,
Dacia, Thracia,
Mace¬
donia, and Upper Moesia.
Reference to the III, IV, V,
VII,
and
VIII
Gallorum
cohorts is inscribed on the oldest mi-
-litary diploma from Moesia, dating to
75
AD.
The Gallic cohorts came from the Rhine at the
same time as the I
Italica
and V Alaudae legions,
around
75
AD.253 The
III Gallorum
cohort was
transferred to the Danube around
74-75,
along
with the V Hispanorum cohort and the I Claudia
nova ala.
All three units are mentioned on a
diploma from Germany in
82
AD (CIL
xvi.
28).254 The
V Gallorum
cohort is attested in
Pan¬
nónia
in
85,
after its stay in Upper Moesia.255 The
Cisipadensium cohorts arrived from the east, most likely
along with I Raetorum and I Thracum Syriaca, which are
mentioned only in
78,
the same as the I Cantabrorum, I
Cilicum, I Sugambrorum tyronum, II Lucensium and
Mattiacorum cohorts.
254 Ibid., 34-35.
A significant increase in the number of alas
and cohorts on the Danube will occur during Domitian s
wars, after
86,
when the legion crew was enforced by the
arrival of the IV Flavia legion from
Dalmaţia.
The biggest
number of auxiliary units was registered during Traian s
wars on the Danube, in
100
and
103/107.
At the time, Upper
Moesia hosted three alas and
21
cohorts, while in peaceful
times after the subduing of the Dacians,
8-Ю
cohorts and
2-3
alas were stationed in Upper Moesia.
255
Idem., Sirmium
-
its history from the I century
A.D.
to
582 A.D.,
in: Sirmium
I, Beograd
1971, 28.
133
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
presence of well graves in the territories of Sir-
mium, Singidunum and Viminacium coincides
with the presence of the Gallic cohorts.
The soldiers recruited in the western pro¬
vinces
(Hispánia Tarraconensis,
Lusitânia,
Gal-
lia,
and
Dalmaţia)
during the
1st
century rarely
decided to remain in the Danube region after the
end of their military service. They mostly settled
on the territory of the colony at
Scupi.
Before the
reign of Traian, the middle course of the Danube
was under constant attack by the Dacians and un¬
suitable for veteran settlement, yet their numbers
increased in Viminacium during the second
decade of the
2nd
century. The veterans were the
dominant element in the urban population, a
privileged class that was able to own slaves (usu¬
ally one or two but in one case
IO).256
The well
graves examined at the
Kod
bresta
site
(G
17
and
G]
8)
could be linked to the soldiers arriving on a
campaign in the late
1st
century, whereas the
later graves may belong to the veterans who had
begun to settle on this territory.
The cult of the skull
The origin of the grave type and its ethnic
significance can to a certain extent be inter¬
preted through a cult of the skull, for which
there is clear evidence in the well graves at
Viminacium. Skulls, some with complete hu¬
man skeletons, were found in
6
graves (fig.
5).
In one of the graves at Viminacium
(G,256),
19
secondarily buried human skulls
were found. Analysis of the
8
preserved showed
they were the skulls of male individuals.257 In
another, a layer of bricks and stones covered the
skeleton of a deceased person buried in a
crouching position (G
282),
which was proba¬
bly because of the narrow the diameter of the
well. This burial took place in a well grave; the
skull is assumed to be that of a slave, the
guardian of the grave.
During the excavation of the rest of the
Viminacium cemetery, a group of secondary
skull burials was uncovered. Anthropological
analysis of
153
secondarily buried skulls from
the
G
4924
mass grave (the
Pećine
site locality)
showed that they were related to a high degree.
The analysis indicated that the skulls belonged
to the same physical type or variants of the same
physical type, which was completely different
from that of the the local indigenous popula¬
tion.258 This phenomenon was not found in other
cemeteries at Viminacium from the same time
period and, for the time being, there are no ap¬
propriate analogies, which means that there is
no ethnic determination for this skull type.
In the context of human sacrifice,
16
pits
with a two meter diameters and depths of up to
three meters were found in nearby Romania,
near Orlea, six of which contained human skele¬
tons. One of the pits contained seven sacrificed
individuals. Judging by the pottery recovered,
which was typical of Dacio-Getic manufacture,
and also by the position of the skeleton, which is
typical for the
2nd
and
1st
centuries
ВС
in this
region inhabited by Dacians, these graves were
attributed to the indigenous population. How¬
ever, the excavator believed that the human sac¬
rifice reflected the Celtic influence because it
was not a known custom of the Dacians.259
56
Idem., Viminacium etMargum, Inscriptions
de la Mésie
Supérieure
II,
Beograd
1986,45.
257
An analysis of the entire ostheological material was done
by professor
Živko Mikić
-
on the appearance of group skull
burials in Viminacium:
Mikić Ž.,
Viminacium
-Antropo¬
loški pregled grupnih grobova rimskog perioda (I) i prikaz
nekropola iz perioda velike Seobe naroda, Saopštenja
XXV,
Beograd
1993, 197-207;
Mikić Ž., Rezultati epigenetske
obrade masovnog groba
4924
sa antičkog Viminacijuma,
Glasnik Antropološkog Društva Jugoslavije
25,
Beograd
1988, 19-34.
258
Idem., Viminacium
-
Prilog grupnoj sekundarnoj
sahrani lobanja, Viminacivm
8-9,
Požarevac
1994,53-58.
259
Comşa
E., Contributie
la riturile
funerare
din
secolele
Π
-
1
î.e.n., din sud-estul Olteniei (Mormintele
de la Orlea),
APVLVMX, Alba Iulia
1972.
134
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
During excavations in Nieul
sur Mer,
France, between
1976
and
1980
a well grave
with a
1.5
meter diameter and
15
meters in
depth was uncovered. The pit contained nume¬
rous animal bones,
1st
century AD pottery and
7
human skeletons with broken skulls at a depth
of
9.50
meters. No cremated bones were found
in the grave, but a stone head of a god (Mer¬
cury) was recovered there. It was concluded
that the pit was used for human and animal sac¬
rifices.260 The question of the function of these
features has not yet been fully resolved among
French archaeologists in Gaul because their ex¬
cavation is complicated, time-consuming and
requires trained workers and special safety pre¬
cautions. However, there is no doubt about their
cult character. One of the interpretations offered
by archaeologists examining these features is
that they consist of the combination of a grave
and oversized libation pipe, which was used to
communicate with the deceased and get closer
to the gods of the underworld, however, the bur¬
ial ritual itself is believed to have originated in
the Halstadt period.261 Even post mortem deca¬
pitation was a pre-historic custom that reap¬
peared during and after the Roman period.262
Based on this type of evidence, it appears
that the customs related to the skull cult date
back to pre-historic times. In Yorkshire (Great
Britain), three chalk cylinders decorated with
stylized faces were found in a child s grave
which dates back to the
1
8th century
ВС.263
In tracing the origin of this cult, primary
260
Nicolini
G., Circonscription de Poitou-Charentes,
Gallia
39/2,
Paris
1981, 373.
261
Fouet G., Les puits funéraires d Aquitaine; Vieille-
Toulouse et Mountmaurin, Gallia
16,
Paris
1958,117.
262
Schneider C, Inhumations rituelles d époque gallo-
romaine à Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf, Annales de Normandie,
Château de
Caen
1965, 437-447.
263
Piggott S., Daniel G., A
Picture Book of Ancient
British Art, Cambridge
1951;
A. Ross, Pagan Celtic
Britain, London
1967, 66.
264
Sprockhoff E., Central European Urnfield Culture and
consideration should be given to the urnfield
culture and the Bronze Age European cultures
in which the head was a solar symbol.264 In the
later Etruscan Iron Age the plastic representa¬
tion of a head symbolized the entire warrior.
Many Etruscan cinerary urns were decorated
with the form of a human head.265
The skull cult had very specific significance
for the Celts. They considered the human head
to be a symbol of divinity and otherworldly
forces.266 But in actual fact the head has always
been at the center of various beliefs. Many peo¬
ples at various stages of development had dif¬
ferent rituals related to the skull, which in¬
cluded decapitation after death and decorating
the skull with various materials. 267
The extraordinary attention the Celts de¬
voted to the human head was also reflected in
their art and religious practice. This practice can
be found throughout all the regions inhabited
by the Celts, and it lasted for a surprisingly long
time. For this reason modern archaeologists are
able to use three types of information when
studying the skull cult: Greek and Roman texts,
archaeological evidence and early Celtic litera¬
ture. In regard to the third source, early Irish li¬
terature contains numerous descriptions of
heroes returning from battle with the heads of
their enemies and then exhibiting those heads
outside their houses or in a fort.
In the context of Viminacium the first two
sources are the most important.
Some ancient authors provide information
Celtic
La-Tène,
Journal of the Prehistoric Society n. s.
21,
London
1955, 257-281.
265
Pallotino, U., Art of the Etruscan, London
1955, 135,
pi.
20.
266
Ross
Α.,
Pagan Celtic Britain, London
1967, 61;
Lambrechts P.,
U
exaltation
de la tête dans la pensée et dans
Vart des
Celts, Brugge
1954, 25.
267
For example the Mesolithic skulls in
Omet,
Bavaria,
where
27
skulls decorated with ochre and shells were found
-
Ebert M.
(ed.), Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte
IX,
Berlin
1927,162; also
the famous skulls of
Jericho -
Kenyon
К.,
Archaeology in the Holy Land, London
1960.
135
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
about the customs of human sacrifice among
barbarian tribes. Ammianus
Marcellinus
reports
that the Scordisci sacrificed their prisoners to
Bellona
and Mars, and lustily drank human
blood from emptied human skulls
(XXVII 4,
4),
and Orosius describes that the Scordisci
among other horrors committed against their
prisoners, whenever they needed a cup they
would cut off human heads and use such, still
bloody, hairy and stained skulls, from whose
cavities the brain had not been folly taken out
yet, as real cups, greedily and without dis¬
gust... (V.
23, 17-19).
Livy describes the
Roman consul Postumius defeat in northern
Italy in
216
ВС,
when his army was destroyed
by the Gauls and he himself was killed. The
Gauls then, having cleaned his head, as was
their custom, covered the skull in golden deco¬
rations and used it as a holy vessel for sacrifices
on ceremonial days and as a cup for priests and
temple chiefs . (Livy
XXIII. 24,12)
Strabo and
Diodorus Siculus,
describing the
customs of the Gauls, note that Gallic warriors,
on leaving the battlefield, carried away the
heads of their slain enemies impaled on spears,
or hung them around the necks of their horses
and later above the entrances to their homes.
The heads of respected enemies, as a mark of
great heroism, were embalmed with cedar oil,
kept in chests and displayed with great pride to
strangers. They were held in such high esteem
that the owners refused to give them away even
when offered their weight in gold.
(Diodorus
Siculus V,
29;
Strabo IV,
4, 5)
However, human sacrifices were not made
only to the gods as battle trophies. The Celts
also killed their fellow tribesmen and prisoners
in order to please the gods with their blood or to
discern their will from an inspection of the en¬
trails of the sacrificed. Strabo and
Diodorus
re¬
port that certain Gallic tribes made colossuses
of straw and branches, in which they placed cat¬
tle, beasts and people and burned them all to¬
gether. In this way they made a burning
sacrifice to their gods.
(Diodorus
Siculus V.
32,
6;
Strabo IV.
1, 1)
Lucan mentions the cruel Toutatis and hor¬
rible Esus with their horrific altars, and Taranis,
whose cult is no less cruel than the Scythian
cult of Diana. (Lucan
В. С
I,
445^47).
The
Gauls used blood to please their cruel gods-and
also used human sacrifice in the cult of the
dead. Famous deceased persons were burned
together with their precious belongings, ani¬
mals and slaves and relatives, without whom
the afterlife would not be pleasant.268
The ancient authors descriptions are well
substantiated by the archaeological finds. The
image on one of the silver plates decorating the
large sacrificial Gundestrup Cauldron can serve
as an illustration for the ritual mentioned by
Lucan s scholiast (Lucan B.C. I.
445-447)
about the offering of a sacrifice to Toutatis,
where the person was thrown headfirst into a
cauldron full of water to drown.269 This unique
vessel is extremely important for the study of
Celtic cults and mythology. This is an archaeo¬
logical find from European prehistory that has
been the subject of a large number of publica¬
tions and scientific discussion.270 For example,
the question of the Gundestrup Cauldron s ori¬
gin remains subject to debate. According to a
theory advocated by
Ole Klindt-
Jensen, it came
from northern Gaul, because that is the only re¬
gion where the figure of Kernunos, depicted in
one of the scenes on the vessel, is found. Ano-
258
Papazoglu
F.,
Ljudske žrtve i tragovi kanibalizma kod
nekih srednjebalkanskih i antičkih plemena, ZFF
Х-1,
Beograd
1968, 54.
269 Ibid., 55;
found in
1891
in Gundestrup, Jutland, made
from pure silver, partially gold-glazed, weighing at some
9
kilos, with
69
centimeters in diameter,
42
centimeters tall,
decorated with images from mythology and everyday life
of some savage tribe
-
kept at the Copenhagen National
Museum. Dated back to the early 1st century AD.
270
Liversaž
T.,
Kelti u Evropi, Beograd
2005, 83.
136
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
ther theory is advocated by Flemming Kaul,
who believes the cauldron was made in the re¬
gion of northwestern Bulgaria or southwestern
Romania, i.e. in the regions populated by the
Celtic Scordisci and the Thracian
Tribalii.
He
reached this conclusion after examining a
whole series of artefacts from Bulgaria, which
showed a great deal of similarity in the crafting
techniques and the manner of depicting ani¬
mals to those used on the Gundestrup vessel
(fig.
б).271
The key scene depicted on the cauldron is a
procession of warriors, behind which a large
figure, a priest or chief, can be seen holding a
man upside down by his legs and waist-above
something resembling a large vessel with a
wide opening.272 One of the interpretations of
this scene is that it does not represent a vessel,
but rather
a sacrificai
pit or well because this is
the only way a deep pit dug into the ground
could be represented.273 Apart from the central
scene, in the lower register warriors carry wood
meant for the cult ritual. The scene in question
is a ceremonial procession, during which the
cult tree trunk is laid in the pit before or after
the sacrificial burial. There are differences of
opinion about which of the two cult activities is
the primary one.274
In his description of the
6.5
meter deep pit in
the northern corner of the quadrangular shrine275
in
Holzhausen in
which a two meter long and
0.1
meter thick tree trunk was placed, Schwartz
points out that the tree trunk was supported by
stones at the bottom, and then the pit was filled
with gravel up to half of the tree s height. For a
time the upper half of the tree was left uncov¬
ered, and then it was covered permanently. An
analysis of deposits shows there were organic
remains
-
blood, organs and flesh, in the pit but
it has yet to be determined whether these were
human or animal body parts.276 The importance
of the cult tree among the Celts is also attested
by another unique find a golden branch deco¬
rated with ivy leaves and berries from Manch-
ing, which is stylistically dated to the the
3rd
century
ВС
in the northern Apennine region
when Celtic influence was waning in that re¬
gion. It is believed to have been produced in a
workshop north of the Alps or in northern Italy.
The
70
centimeter long cult tree was made of
wood and bronzed tin and covered in golden
foil; it could have been carried in religious pro¬
cessions, as depicted on the Gundestrup Caul¬
dron, and also used in the cult in various con¬
texts.277 Graves with a wooden chamber or with
the remnants of branches (G282) at a depth of
7.70
meters seem clearly similar to the Celtic
custom of placing a cult tree in sacrificial pits.
The skull cult is also visible in the images
on coins. For example, a Celtic coin with the
image of Dubnorix (Dumnorix), the ruler of the
Underworld, shows a warrior with a sword in
his belt, a trumpet and a boar in his right hand
and a decapitated head in his left hand.278 (fig.
7)
271
Marazov I., Rogozenskoto Skrovise, Sofia
1996.
272
Piggott S., The Druids, London
1968,
PI.
1.
273
Hachmann R.,
Gundestrap-Studien. Untersuchungen zu
den spätkeltischen Grundlagender frühgermanischen
Kunst, Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission
71/2,1990, 568-903, 822.
274 Ibid., 826.
275 In
southern Germany,
France
and England, traces
were found of several hundreds so-called square shrines
(Viereckschanzen).
These are large, rectangular walled
spaces, which may include smaller buildings (temples,
altars). It was initially believed that these are remnants of
a fortress, however, many of them were found to contain
wells up to
40
meters deep, which could not be explained
as waste disposal pits. The conclusion was that these were
cult wells, after some of them revealed deer horns, woo¬
den statues and the remains of organic matter (flesh, blood).
276
Hachmann
R., op. cit.,
824.
277 Maier F., Das Kultbäumchen von Manching. Ein Zeug¬
nis hellenistischer und keltischer Goldschmiedenkunstaus
dem 3. Jahrhundert v. Chr., Germania 68,1990,129-165.
On the latest reconstruction of the Manching branch see:
S. Sievers, Manching. Die
Keltenstadt,
Stuttgart
2003,34.
278
Haffher
Α.,
Allgemeine Übersicht,
u:
Hafmer,
A.
(ed.),
Heiligtümer und Opferkulte der Kelten, Stuttgart 1995,19.
137
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
The
temples in Entremont
and Roquepertuse
also provide substantial evidence of the skull
cult. The
2nd
century
ВС
temple in
Entremont
is decorated with heads carved in stone. In the
hypostyle hall some
20
human skulls were found
which belonged to individuals aged between
35
and
45
years.279 A gate with three pillars and
niches with human skulls, along with the image
of a bird on a plank, was found in a temple in
Roquepertuse which dated to the
3rd
and
2nd
centuries
ВС.280
The discovery of nine human
skulls below the altar dedicated to Mars from
Apt, with the Celtic names of the
dedicante,
con¬
firms the Gallic custom of dedicating the heads
of killed enemies to Taranis.281 Recent examina¬
tions of Celtic shrines in Gournay-sur-Aronde
and Ribemont-sur-
Ancre
provide new data about
the Celtic skull cult. An area of
60
square meters
was identified within the Ribemont shrine which
contained more than
10.000
human bones and
around
100
weapons. The bones were not ran¬
domly placed. On the contrary, they were ana¬
tomically associated, while the weapons were in
functional positions (for example, a sword in its
scabbard hung by a belt). This was not a mass
grave, because not a single skull was found. The
bones of the limbs were in such unusual posi¬
tions that the only possible explanation was that
their location was the result of a fall from a high
platform (fig.
8).
The lack of skulls reflects the
Gallic practice of cutting off their enemies heads
right on the battlefield. The circumstances of the
finds at Ribemont suggest that the defeated ene¬
mies bodies were loaded onto carts, driven to
the shrine and placed there as trophies.282
The situation in the Viminacium graves, in
which complete human skeletons or only skulls
were found, can be taken as archaeological con¬
firmation of the presence of the skull cult in
Viminacium, whether these were trophies of
war or a ritual sacrifice to the gods. The skulls
may have belonged to slaves who had died ear¬
lier and were placed as symbolic servants in the
master s grave after his death. This occurrence
is not uncommon in graves from Gaul. For
example, a portion of a skull, spinal vertebrae
and the thigh bones of a three-year-old child
with signs of mongoloidism were found at the
bottom of a well grave in a layer of ashes in the
southern quarter of Toulouse, which raises the
question of whether this was a burial or sacri¬
fice.283 However,
Vidal,
who paid serious atten¬
tion to this problem and took part in the
excavation of over
100
graves from the early
2nd
and late
1st
centuries
ВС
in the Saint-Roch
quarter in Toulouse and
Vieille-Toulouse,
be¬
lieves that all the technical data and religious
criteria
-
the typology and position of the grave
offerings in groups of three, the presence of cre¬
mated human bones
-
definitely confirm the
burial function of these pits.284 Human bones
were found in over
30%
of the pits in
Vieille-
Toulouse,
and
Vidal
believes that a burial func¬
tion can be assigned to an even higher per¬
centage of the pits where function is more dif¬
ficult to determine because the bone remains
are scattered throughout the depth of the
shaft.285
The images of birds (geese), along with the
plastic representations of human heads, occupy
279
Benoit F., Le sanctuaire aux Esprits d Entremont,
Cahiers de préhistoire et d archéologie, Paris
1955, 38-
69;
Benoit
F.,
Entremont, Capitale celto-ligure des Satyens
de Provence, Aix-en-Provenance
1957, 27-60.
280
Varagnac
Α.,
Fabre G., L art gaulois, Paris
1956, 93,
PI.
12.
281
Ross
Α.,
op. cit.,
66.
282
Brunaux J. L., op. cit.,
71.
283
M., Informations archéologiques, Circonscription de
Midi-Pyrénées, Gallia
36/2,
Paris
1978, 405;
the data was
taken from the manuscript of the PhD thesis: Michel
Vidal,
Rites
funéraires gaulois et gallo-romains dans la région
toulousaine au
Ier
siècle av. J.-C.,
334,
pi.
89. -
the thesis was
presented at the University of Toulouse in
1977,334,
pi.
89.
284
Vidal M., Note préliminaire sur les puits et fosses
funéraires du Toulousain aux
IP
et
Ier
siècles av. J.-C., Revue
Aquitania, Tome
4, 1986, 55.
1X5 Ibid., 61.
138
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
a significant amount of space on the gate in the
Celtic temple in Roquepertuse.286 In the oldest
well grave (G^) at Viminacium, an unusually
large number of bones of various birds were
found at a depth of
5
meters in an extension of
the shaft. Field analysis of the bones indicated
that these were mostly wild birds and birds of
prey (eagle). In Irish mythology, human skulls
and birds were the symbols of the Irish goddess
of war,
Macha.
Until now an association of a
human skull with a goose or crow
-
both birds
of war
-
was unknown in the wider Celtic tra¬
dition.287 A large number of bones in a grave, as
proof of special ritual activities, would be indi¬
rect evidence for groups who used this grave
type.
This grave type undoubtedly originated in
Gaul or Britain. Then its appearance at Vimi¬
nacium would be a duplication of the cult from
the place of origin of those who brought this
manner of burial to Viminacium.
Establishing a connection between the form
of the graves and Celtic shrines is unavoidable.
In the Celtic religious tradition, shrines were
springs, wells and rivers. Rivers were a symbol
of fertility and often represented a divinity, e.g.
the mother goddess. The Celtic mother goddess
was also known as the goddess of war and a
prophetess. Her cult was associated with water as
a symbol of fertility because a river gives life.288
Celtic temples were usually built at the
sources
ofrivers.
This applies to both Gaul and
Britain. The same is true for the skull cult; evi¬
dence for the worship of wells and springs can be
found in the texts of classical authors, archaeo¬
logical discoveries and early medieval literature.
The Celts saw death as a sort of extension
of life, i.e. a second phase of life, with the grave
286
Moreau J., Die
Welt der Kelten, 1958,
pl.
55.
287
Ross
Α.,
op. cit.,
95.
ш
Ibid., 20.
289
Jovanović
Α.,
Rimske nekropole na teritoriji Jugoslavije,
Beograd
1984,135.
Judging by the grave in Nieul, they may
have been used as sacrificial pits as well.
mound, well and sea considered as the doors to
the other world.
Analysis of the well graves leaves the im¬
pression that the main intention was to surren¬
der the physical remains of the deceased into
the possession of the deepest layers of the earth.
Of course, it is impossible to discern whether
the purpose of these deep burials was to protect
the grave from desecration and guard the peace
of the deceased person, or if belief in the after¬
life dictated that the depth of the grave would
come closer to the world of the dead.
The burial function of well graves should
not be questioned, but that was not their only
purpose.289
A large quantity of animal bones was found
in every one of the well graves investigated at
Viminacium (Table
36,
Graph
1).
Graph
1.
A list of animal species found in well
graves at Viminacium
The most numerous are the bones of sheep
or goats (a whole sheep was buried in grave
G)1146) with clearly visible butcher marks,
which indicate their use in ritual feasts. The
practice of sacrificing animals, especially dogs,
was confirmed at numerous
La Tene
sites. In
Celtic mythology, the dog was linked with the
cult of the dead.290 The bones of dogs were
290
Petres
É.
F.,
On Celtic animal and human sacrifices,
Acta
Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
24,
1972, 365-383;
at the
Pákozd
locality, near the
Velence
Lake, in northeastern Transdanubia, several sacrificial pits
from the
La Tene
period were found. The pits contained
human and animal skeletons.
139
Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma
found in the graves GJ
i Gtl
146.
The sacrifice
of horses is also part of linked with Celtic cult
practice but does not appear in Roman funerary
ritual. Although the horse harnesses are often
found in older Celtic graves, the horse itself was
never laid to rest with the deceased. This was a
characteristic of Scythian burials.291 This cus¬
tom is believed to have had a direct or indirect
influence on the Celtic funerary practice, and
even though it was not evident in princely
graves of the 6th and the 5th centuries
ВС,
its
gradual adoption over several centuries cannot
be ruled out, which is possibly corroborated by
the finds from the Viminacium well graves.
Horse bones were found in graves Gi256,
Gi263, Gj279, pit
2
and pit
3.
In Celtic mythol¬
ogy the horse was associated with the goddess
Epona, but up until now the presence of Celtic
divinities has not been confirmed in Vimi¬
nacium.292 Nonetheless, pig bones were also
found in
18
pits along with the bones of other
animals. The pig s role in Roman burial prac¬
tice was described by
Lucian (De Luciu
4,1.19)
and Cicero
(De Legibus
II.
22),
which describe
a certain series of rituals in a funeral that cul¬
minates in the slaughter of a pig. But the pig
also played an important role in Celtic funerary
cult. In Irish mythology, the pig is common in
a banquet given in honor of the dead warriors in
the underworld, and the host of the banquet is
sometimes depicted as a man carrying a pig.293
The deposits and artifacts from the strati-
graphic layers indicate that a sacrificial ritual
took place
-
most likely a sacrifice to the un¬
derworld gods. The well graves could originate
from pits that were used for human sacrifice,
which is what is shown in a scene from the
Gundestrup Cauldron. However, the form and
291
Liversaž
T., op. cit.,
60.
292
Zotović
Lj.,
Der Paganismus in Viminacium,
Starinar
47,
Beograd
1996,137.
293 Alcock
J.,
Classical Religious Belief and Burial Prac¬
tice in Roman Britain, Archaeological Journal
137,
Lon¬
don
1980, 63.
function of the ritual also correspond to another
widespread rite in ancient times: libation.
Water, wine, the blood of slaughtered animals,
the so-called liquid sacrifices that entered the
underworld through an oversized libation pipe,
that is, a grave (shaft) shaped like a well.294
It is clear that the artefacts in the graves are
linked to religious beliefs and were deliberately
chosen to accompany the deceased on their
journey to the other world. Grave Gj8 and pit
3
provide proof of a distinctive religious prac¬
tice reflected in the use of eggs as special offe¬
rings. The origin and spread of this custom can
be easily traced. Namely, eggs were found in
urns in Colchester and York. There are similar
examples in
Pompei
and
Campagna,
where, fol¬
lowing the rites of the Saturnalia (Macrobius
Saturnalia
7.16),
eggs was used in the myster¬
ies of Bacchus. They were found in Greek
tombs and can also be seen in depictions on
Roman sarcophaguses. They were used as gifts
for the inhabitants of the underworld. The eggs
are, in fact, inanimate and inert objects that
carry a strong principle of life and have a spe¬
cial power to stimulate the awakening of or in¬
crease in the vital strength of the person the
eggs are given to.295
One can only assume that the Gauls had
their own community at Viminacium and
brought this special burial custom and cult with
them from their native land. Therefore, the
grave type arrived with the Roman army and
can be considered one of the legacies of Ro-
manization. For the time being, this seems to be
the only likely explanation. The question re¬
mains why this form of burial does not appear
in more parts of the Roman Empire, i.e. where¬
ver there were Gallic settlers. In neighboring
294
Galliou P.,
Les tombes romaines
ď
Armorique, Paris
1989, 62.
295
Alcock
J.
P., op. cit.,
56;
the subject
touches on
Christianity, i.e. Easter eggs as an ancient symbol of
regeneration and the body s resurrection.
140
Well Graves in the Roman Cemeteries at Viminacuim
Dacia,
several Gallic cohorts and one
ala are
confirmed, but no grave shapes have been
found yet that can be linked with the appea¬
rance of the same grave types as in Upper Moe¬
sia and
Pannonia.296
Still, their appearance
should be anticipated in future excavations.
One of the difficulties is the fact they are some¬
what hard to identify, and when identified, they
are very difficult to excavate. Their excavation
requires special precautions in the form of com¬
plex structures to shore up the sides of the well
and the engagement of workers experienced in
mining. In several cases at Viminacium, only
coincidence dictated the completion of excava¬
tion, for example, the grave found at the Drm-
ska
carina site,
where no archaeological ma¬
terial was found until a depth of
7
meters was
reached (T.
62).
In any case, future systematic
excavations of cemeteries will contribute to fur¬
ther explicating the origins of well graves. Fu¬
ture research should also focus on the cult of
the skull, which is characteristic of the other
types of burials from Viminacium as well. The
appearance of secondary group burials of skulls
is still a mystery to archaeologists. One should
bear in mind that well graves represent self-
contained units in all the cemeteries in which
they appear and are never the dominant grave
type. On the sites in our country their largest
concentration is at Viminacium. For now we are
unable to determine whether the practice at
Viminacium reflects the burial of only promi¬
nent members of a small ethnic community be¬
cause the contents of the well graves does not
allow us to distinguish them from other types
of graves. The fact that well graves appear on
three sites in
Pannonia
and Upper Moesia (Sir-
mium, Singidunum and Viminacium) where the
presence of the Scordisci is confirmed may sup¬
port the idea that the indigenous population had
at least partially adopted Gallic customs more
readily thanks to ethnic similarities and then
had gone on to follow those customs. At pre¬
sent, no conclusions can be reached on the
mechanisms for adopting customs that were
foreign to the indigenous population, so this in¬
terpretation remains a hypothesis for now.
The appearance of sacrificial spaces above
the graves in Viminacium is very interesting.
Such an area was found at the
Kod
Bresta
site.
Analysis of the grave goods showed that these
graves were slightly older than the ones found
at other cemeteries.
Based on the research completed to date,
burial in well graves at Viminacium lasted some
150
years. The cremation ritual was abandoned
during the
3rd
century in both Rome and the
provinces. From the time of the
Severan
dynasty,
inhumation became the dominant practice, and
cremation completely disappeared in both Rome
and the provinces in the 4th century.297
At the time of this writing, it can be said of
the well graves at Viminacium that they were a
cultural borrowing that met the needs of a small
ethnic community for a certain period of time.
The same conclusion can be applied to the
graves found at Sirmium and Singidunum. One
should not overlook the fact that customs often
survive long after the circumstances and beliefs
in which they originated ceased to exist. In a
new environment, in conditions very different
from the original ones, new reasons for their
existence were made up.
Excavations at the Viminacium cemeteries are
still in progress and will undoubtedly provide new
data for understanding this special grave type. For
the present Viminacium can be certainly added to
the map showing sites with well graves (Map
3).
296
Petolescu C. C,
Die Auxiliareinheiten
im römischen
Dakien,
Acta
MvseiNapocensis
34,
Cluj -Napoca
1997,
75-149.
The following auxiliary units were attested in
Dacia:
Ala I Claudia
Gallorum Capitoniana,
Cohors I
Gallorum
Dacica,
Cohors II
Gallorum
Macedonica,
Cohors II
Gallorum
Pannonica, Cohors
III Gallorum,
Cohors
V Gallorum.
297
Cumont
F.,
Lux
Perpetua, Paris 1949, 389.
141
|
| any_adam_object | 1 |
| author | Golubović, Snežana 1961- |
| author_GND | (DE-588)1223477908 |
| author_facet | Golubović, Snežana 1961- |
| author_role | aut |
| author_sort | Golubović, Snežana 1961- |
| author_variant | s g sg |
| building | Verbundindex |
| bvnumber | BV036612661 |
| ctrlnum | (OCoLC)705730856 (DE-599)BVBBV036612661 |
| format | Thesis Book |
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| genre | (DE-588)4113937-9 Hochschulschrift gnd-content |
| genre_facet | Hochschulschrift |
| geographic | Grabfeld (DE-588)4021727-9 gnd Viminacium (DE-588)4357159-1 gnd |
| geographic_facet | Grabfeld Viminacium |
| id | DE-604.BV036612661 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-12-20T14:38:11Z |
| institution | BVB |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-020532879 |
| oclc_num | 705730856 |
| open_access_boolean | |
| owner | DE-12 DE-19 DE-BY-UBM |
| owner_facet | DE-12 DE-19 DE-BY-UBM |
| physical | 255 S. Ill., graph. Darst., Kt. 30 cm |
| psigel | gbd_4_2103 |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publishDateSearch | 2008 |
| publishDateSort | 2008 |
| publisher | Arheološki Inst. |
| record_format | marc |
| series2 | Viminacivm / Archeološki institut |
| spellingShingle | Golubović, Snežana 1961- Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma Funde (DE-588)4071507-3 gnd Römerzeit (DE-588)4076769-3 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4071507-3 (DE-588)4076769-3 (DE-588)4021727-9 (DE-588)4357159-1 (DE-588)4113937-9 |
| title | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma |
| title_auth | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma |
| title_exact_search | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma |
| title_full | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma Snežana Golubović |
| title_fullStr | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma Snežana Golubović |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma Snežana Golubović |
| title_short | Grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola Viminacijuma |
| title_sort | grobovi u obliku bunara sa nekropola viminacijuma |
| topic | Funde (DE-588)4071507-3 gnd Römerzeit (DE-588)4076769-3 gnd |
| topic_facet | Funde Römerzeit Grabfeld Viminacium Hochschulschrift |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020532879&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=020532879&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| volume_link | (DE-604)BV047019496 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT golubovicsnezana groboviuoblikubunarasanekropolaviminacijuma |