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Stone funerary urns from the territory of Bulgaria
Section 1. Archaeology
Georgieva Miroslava, South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, PhD in Archaeology, Faculty of Law and History E-mail: [email protected]
Stone funerary urns from the territory of Bulgaria
Abstract: This text presents an important type of burial facilities — stone urns of the Roman Age found on Bulgarian lands. They are used for keeping the remnants from cremation and feature the characteristic peculiarity of sepulchral plastic art.
Keywords: Bulgaria, stone funerary urns, cremation, Roman age, sepulchral plastic art.
The stone funerary urns are among the most interesting phenomena of the development of sepulchral monuments in the Roman world. They are related to the practice of incineration of dead bodies (cinerary urns from the Latin word cinis — ashes), which by its part predetermines their widest spreading during the initial centuries of the Roman Imperial period, when this ritual was predominating. Their designation is to keep the remnants from cremation of dead bodies, and namely — ashes and bones. In Rome stone urns were used by wealthier people and by representatives of the middle class stratum. They were made mainly of marble, sometimes — of some other stone, and rarely — of alabaster. The urns carry the characteristic features of the Roman funeral plastic art and due to their decoration they are important monuments of art. Most of them are of a rectangular shape with a lid in the form of a pediment with acroteria on the angles, but there are also urns of cylindrical shape (Figs. 1, 2). The larger part of the rectangular urns is of an average height of 0.40 to 0.60 m.
What is typical for Roman urns is the inscription especially separated by a frame on the front part, which provides information of the person for whom the monument was made. Apart from the inscription the urns also have a rich decoration and in some of the cases — figured decoration. There are examples of urns on which the deceased individual/s is/are depicted. Scenes of “funeral feast" can also be seen on urns (Fig. 1) [for these monuments see 24; 26,21-54; 31, 2-6; 43; 45, 253-268]. Similar stone boxes were used in Judaic and early Christian ritualism performing the function of ossuaries and related mainly to the ritual of bones re-burying [see 21, 188; 27, 21-46; 28; 37].
Approximately 30 stone urns are known to be found on the territory of Bulgaria. The territorial range of their spreading is clearly outlined. This is mainly the valley of the middle part of the river of Struma, which during the Roman Age was within the territory of the province of Macedonia (The stone urns belong to type IV.2 after Miroslava Georgieva’s classification of burial facilities in Southwest Thrace during
the Roman Age (1st - 4th century)) [5, 15].Beyond this area the number of such examples is relatively small. The urns of Bulgarian land carry the typical features of funeral plastic art of the Roman age in the area.
Fig. 1. Marble cinerary chest with lid [Roman] (90-110 AD)The Metropolitan Museum of Art (27.122.2 a, b)
Fig. 2. Cylindrical cinerary urn with lid, marble (175 AD) (after Scheffer 1987, 49-53, cat. no. 8, figs. 60-61)
Summarizing publication on the stone urns from Bulgarian lands was written at the beginning of the 1980s by Professor D. Mitova-Dzhonova who reviewed the then known examples from Bulgaria [39, 143-146]. In Bulgarian archaeological literature these monuments are met as urns [8, 4-5; 9, 10; 12, 39, fig. 7; 39, 143-166] and also as child’s sarcophagi [12, 39; 13, 11; 14, 373-374] (The
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Section 1. Archaeology
thesis of child’s sarcophagi could drop out taking into consideration the very small size of some of the monuments and respectively their impossibility to contain a body of a child) ossuaries [6, 92-93; 19, 191-195] (The ossuaries are related to keeping the remnants from cremation [see also 41, 1-14; 42, 111-119], but the term “ossuary” refers to another ritual concerning re-burial of bones and is not accurate in this particular case) and ostotheks [15, 43-51] (Ostotheks are burial facilities met in Asia Minor and are epigraphically evidenced. They are considered monuments for keeping the remnants from cremation. In some of the cases the ostotheks could be used as sarcophagi for children or for secondary burial. Their length varies between 0.40 and 1.25 m. [see 22, 189-190; 33, 20; 34; 35, 405-413]. They occurred as early as the Hellenistic Age, but encountered their widest spread in some areas during the Early Imperial period, due to the largely practiced cremations during this age under Roman influence) [see 22, 185-222]. However as they are a part of the Roman provincial world, and as there are no traditions of previous ages, as well as due to the lack of epigraphic data (at this stage) the monuments from Bulgarian lands are to be described as urns.
Along the valley of the middle part of the river of Struma urns with embossed decorations have been found near Kresna, Dolna Gradeshnitsa, Sandanski, Laskarevo, Melnik, Katuntsi, Rupite [3, 152, fig. 17; 6, 92-93, figs. 1-2; 12, 39, fig. 7; 13, 11; 14, 373, panel IX, 2, 3; 16, 245; 19, 191-195, panel XIX-XX; 38, 266, No. 2297; 39, 143-166]. Some of them are separate fragments. All the monuments originate from places where large ancient settlements existed, some of which — with proven urban character. The most significant is the ancient city near the nowadays town of Sandanski, from which in fact the largest part of the known examples originate and where a local workshop producing such monuments could have existed.
Fig. 3. Cylindrical urn, town of Sandanski.
Photo: Prof. Lyudmil Getov
Beyond the area of the middle part of Struma river some urns with plastic decorations were discovered at few more places in Bulgaria — near Prodanovtsi, district of Samokov, Sinitevo, district of Pazardzhik, and Dolna Beshovitsa, district of Vratsa [4, 200-201, fig. 203; 20, 449-450, figs. 265-267; 39, 152-159, figs. 9-13], the first two settlements listed are within the territory of the province of Thrace, and the third — ofthe province ofMoesia Inferior. Similar monuments were discovered in the necropolis near Chatalka, district ofStara Zagora, and near Brezovo, district of Plovdiv [1, 101-108, fig. 11;
2, 16-17, 69, 73, figs. 11, 14], also within the province of Thrace, but they have no decoration. The urns of Chatalka (two urns) are ordinary stone boxes with a lid, and the urn of Brezovo resembles a sarcophagus of an architectonic shape with only an allusion of acroteria on the lid corners. All three originate from tumulus complexes and chronologically are related to the period of the second half of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd century [8; 5].
The urns originating from the territory of Bulgaria were made of marble and limestone and are mostly of quadrangular shapes. The sizes of the urns without decoration vary from 0.47 to 1.00 m. in length; from 0.33 to 0.74 m. in width, from 0.32 to 0.90 m. in height. The urns with decorations are of the following sizes: from 0.41 to 0.82 m. in length, from 0.29 to
0.50 m. in width; from 0.27 to 0.50 m. in height; from 0.20 to 0.27 m. in depth (The information is not complete for all the urns.) Cylindrical urns are met, too, though more rarely. Urns of a cylindrical shape and plastic decoration were found near the towns ofSandanski (Fig. 3) and Melnik [6, 92-93, figs. 1-2; 12, 41, fig. 7; 16, 245; 19, 191-195, panel XIX-XX] (Cylindrical urn without decoration is known from Sofia) [6, 92]. Their height varies between 0.23 and 0.40 m, and their diameter — between, 0.40 and 0.52 m. Cylindrical stone urns are known both from the remaining part of the province of Macedonia, as well as from the neighbour Balkan Roman provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia Superior (Doclea, Salona, Aemona, etc.) [11, 357-359, figs. 10-14; 25, 78; 30, 87; 40, 305, fig. 4].
For the urns from Bulgaria the inscription is not a compulsory element and no special space is allocated to it. Inscriptions (in Greek) were found on only three monuments — the cylindrical urn of Sandanski, Polenitsa area [19, 191-195], the quadrangular urn of Lascarevo [Fig. 7; 38, No. 2297], the inscription ofwhich is located onto the lid (There could have been inscriptions on the lids of other urns, but regretfully, they are not preserved), and the urn of Dolna Gradeshnitsa, where the inscription comes out of the space designated for it [38, No. 2249]. With this peculiarity of theirs the urns correspond to the specificities of the funeral plastic art of the valley of the middle part of the river of Struma, which is different from that in the Romanized Danube provinces and resembles the funeral plastic art in the provinces of the Hellenic East [10, 2-3].
The decoration of the urns from the valley of the middle part of the river of Struma is plastic, full of embossed ornaments, on the basis of which the known examples demonstrate significant similarities among them. The garland plays a major role both in the rectangular and the cylindrical urns, it is met in almost all the monuments, including of tombstones. The garlands are typical decorative motives in plastic art of Hellenism that encountered their flourishing during the Roman Age. They are depicted together with other motives like animal heads, Eros, Victories, etc. [see 10, 1-118; 17, 8-15, fig. 1, 3, 12; 29, 54-56; 36, 25-33; 39, 145].
A part of the urns are characterized by a decoration consisting of heavy garlands woven of laurel wreaths, worn by bull heads in the corners and on the middle of the longitudinal sides.
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Stone funerary urns from the territory of Bulgaria
The space above the garlands between the bull heads is taken by rosettes. The plastic decoration of these urns is of high embossment. The urns of Sandanski and Dolna Gradeshnitsa, area of Hilyadnitsa have similar decorations [39, 145-146, figs. 1-3]. The embossed design and the individual composition elements — bull heads, rosettes, laurel garlands and in particular the garlands of three bunches of grape correspond to the decorative elements of the tombstones originating from San-danski and its pertaining areas. This gives grounds to assume that there is not only a chronological nearness, but also some
presence of a common centre of production where these monuments were made, and it is to be sought not far from the ancient town below Sandanski [39, 147].
Similar is the plastic decoration of the urn of Katuntsi (Figs. 4-5), but in the middle of one of the longitudinal sides the garland is supported not by a head of a bull but by Eros. From the area of the Middle Struma Eros as a supporter of garlands is found also on one of the cylindrical urns of Sandanski (Fig. 3), and beyond the territory of Southwest Bulgaria — on the urn of Prodanovtsi and in the urn of Dolna Beshovitsa.
Fig. 4-5. Urn, village of Katuntsi, region of Blagoevgrad. Photo: Regional Historical Museum - Blagoevgrad
In other cases the decoration of such monuments consists of garlands supported by ram heads, just like the urn originating from the ancient settlement near the village of Rupite, district of Petrich, which reached us in a fragmented condition [14, 373-374, panel IX, 2, 3]. The garlands are heavy woven from fruit and flowers and are supported by ram heads in the corners, around which there are coils of taenias. Garlands supported by ram heads can be seen on the urn of Sinitevo, district of Pazardzhik [4, 198-216, fig. 202]. The heavy garlands hang over four ram heads, each located on one corner. There are coils of taenias around the garlands, and below in corners a leaf of ivy is chiseled. In the margin above the garlands there are rosettes on the narrow sides, and heads of winged Gorgons — on the wide sides. Probably there was such a decoration on the urn of the area of Hilyadnitsa near the village of Dolna Gradeshnitsa, of which only a fragment with a ram head at one of the corners is preserved [3, 152, fig. 17; 39, 147-148].
The urn found near the town of Kresna in the area of Manastira (Fig. 6) as an accidental finding, shows laurel garlands also supported by ram heads in the corners, and on one of the long sides — by a bull head. The lower part of the urn features a more complex design — a plinth expanding slantwise outwards and a concave groove frames the vision field. On the four corners there are legs with a smooth surface [13, 11; 18, 294-295; 39, 148, 150] (The urn is dated in the second half of the first — the first half of the second century) [18, 295; 39, 148].
The urn of Laskarevo, municipality of Sandanski (Fig. 7) reached us in a relatively good shape being completely preserved. It is currently kept at the Regional Historical Museum of Blagoevgrad.
It was found in the area of Tsarkvisthe together with tomb stones. It is of a nearly square shape. Its lid is double sloped with acroteria, it was broken into two as of the moment of
finding. On one side there is an inscription in Greek, from which it is understood that the monument was prepared by AupqlioZ Маштак for his wife and him. The style features give a hint to make a suggestion of a provincial workshop. Based on the epigraphic data the monument is dated to the first half of the 3rd century [7, 342, n. 21a; 38, 266, No. 2297; 39, 150]. Based on the style peculiarities of its decoration the urn is dated to the last quarter of the 2nd - first half of the 3rd century [18, 295].
Fig. 6. Urn, town of Kresna, region of Blagoevgrad. Photo: Prof. Lyudmil Getov
Fig. 7. Urn with an inscription, village of Laskarevo, region of Blagoevgrad. Photo: Miroslava Georgieva
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Section 1. Archaeology
A very interesting monument originates from the same area (Southwest Bulgaria), it is currently kept at the National Historical Museum in Sofia, and the basic motive of its decoration consists of portraits-busts of a man and a woman (Figs. 8-9). Such a decoration is exclusively typical for the funeral plastics in the area of Middle Struma and the remaining part of the province of Macedonia [10, 58]. The urn is of a square shape, and currently has no lid, but it had
one if judged by its shaped upper edge. On its front side there are portraits of a man and a woman and on the opposite side and on the two flanking sides there is a garland supported by an animal head in the corners (This monument is dated by Rumyana Milcheva to the middle-Antonine period [15, 44-45]. Fragments of two more similar monuments with portrait busts are kept at the Archaeological Museum in the town of Sandanski) [15, 43-47].
Fig. 8-9. Urn with portraits from Southwest Bulgaria. National Historical Museum - Sofia.
Photo: Miroslava Georgieva
The urns of Southwest Bulgaria regardless of their fine workmanship bear the signs of the local provincial sepulchral art of the Roman Age. The presence of portraits images and inscription on some of them proves that apart from being burial facilities they have also played the role of gravestones and were intended for frontal observation.
Parallels to these burial facilities are found in the remaining part of the province of Macedonia. Urns are found at Stobi, Tremnik, Manastirtsi, Dolni Disan, Kavadarci, Beso-vitsa, Gorna Borshava, Orehovats, Bitola, Thessaloniki, etc. As it concerns the neighbour Roman provinces urns originate from Moesia Superior (Skopje, Nis), Moesia Inferior (Dolna Beshovitsa, district of Vratsa, Tomi), Dalmatia, Pannonia Superior, Noricum [23, 283-284, figs. 17, 19-22; 25, 71-72; 30, 10, 13, 40-43, 73-78, 85, 119-120, 136-138; 33, 346-357; 40, 305, fig. 4]. Most of them are casual findings.
The urns of Pannonia Superior and Noricum were found near tumuli. They were defined as “graves with stone urns under a tumulus”. “Stone chests for ashes” are also mentioned. The urns are of a simple shape and without decoration and are assumed as elements of Romanization. Urns under “Nori-cum-Pannonia tumuli” were found at Pivoli, Dumovts, Malim Gerlitsim, Maribor, Goli, Trotkovi, and others. The tumuli at Dumovts, Goli and Trotkovi have been systematically studied. Another variety of the urns of Noricum and Pannonia Superior are the “stone ash-trays without decoration”. They contain remnants of an incinerated dead body that in most of the cases were detached from the funeral pile and laid in a glass or clay urn (Aemona, Petovio). The “stone ash-trays Putuyskog type” are also of interest. They are stone chests for ashes featuring a specific tectonics and decoration. They have a two-sloped roof and play the role both of a burial facility and of a grave stone,
as on the front wall the name of the deceased is written, and his/her image is on the lid [30, 7, 10, 13, figs. 1/1Х, 40-43].
The stone cinerary urns in general were spread throughout the Bulgarian lands during the Roman Imperial period and a as part of the Roman provincial world. The urns without decoration found during archaeological excavations are related to the ritual of incineration of dead bodies and are pertained to the period of the end of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd century. They are found at rich tumulus burials and are an indicator for the entry of the Roman influence into the local burial practices.
The urns of plastic decoration from the territory of Bulgaria are found as accidental findings with an unclear context (except for the urn of Sinitevo, district of Pazardzhik), without archaeological evidence of the ritual. Like the other similar monuments of Rome and the provinces it can be reckoned that they are also used for keeping the remnants from cremation. These burial facilities were probably used by wealthier people, as well as by representatives of the local Thracian population, which is evidenced by the inscription of the urn of Laskarevo and the depicted Thracian equestrian on the urn of Prodanovtsi [7, 342, n. 21a; 38, 266, No. 2297; 39, 152-159]. Another example to that regard is the urn of Sinitevo, which most probably was a part of tumulus burial complex.
An Attic influence is assumed for the urn of Prodanovtsi, district of Samokov (province of Thrace) [39, 159], while the urn of Dolna Beshovitsa, district of Vratsa (province of Moesia Inferior) shows a connection with the Italic sepulchral plastics [39, 159-160], which is typical for that province. The urns of Southwest Bulgaria (province of Macedonia), including the urn of Sinitevo, district of Pazardzhik (province of Thrace) with their decoration mark the Asia
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Stone funerary urns from the territory of Bulgaria
Minior trend in sepulchral art and resemble the architectonics of the type “garland sarcophagi from Asia Minor", typical for the period of the 2nd-3rd century. The prevailing part of the local monuments is pertained to the 2nd century, which actually corresponds to the cremation spreading during this period. Their embossed ornaments consist of garlands depicted together with other motives as bull heads, ram heads,
Eros, etc. A portrait as a basic motive of decoration is also met, typical for the tombstones of this area.
The stone funerary urns as a type of grave facility and the ritual of incineration of dead bodies related to them are an important part of the funeral practices during the Roman age at these places. With their decoration they show the typical features of sepulchral plastics in the different Roman provinces.
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Denisov Igor Vasilievich, The Branch of Bashkir State University in Sterlitamak, senior lecturer of the Department of General history, the Faculty of History
E-mail: [email protected]
Classification of burial complexes Abashevskaya cultural-historical community of the bronze age in the Volga-Ural region of European Russia
Abstract: The article is devoted to the publication of the results of cluster analysis of funerary complexes Abashevskaya cultural-historical community of the bronze age in the Volga-Ural region of the European part of Russia. The analysis covered the most famous burial complexes of middle Volga, Urals and the Don-Volga Abashevskaya cultures.
Keywords: Classification, cluster analysis, funeral complexes, chronology, Abashevskaya cultural-historical community.
Денисов Игорь Васильевич, Стерлитамакский филиал Башкирского государственного университета, старший преподаватель кафедры всеобщей истории, исторический факультет
E-mail: [email protected]
Классификация погребальных комплексов абашевской культурно-исторической общности эпохи бронзы Волго-Уральского региона Европейской России
Аннотация: Статья посвящена публикации результатов кластерного анализа погребальных комплексов абашевской культурно-исторической общности эпохи бронзы Волго-Уральского региона Европейской части России. Анализу подвергнуты наиболее известные погребальные комплексы средневолжской, уральской и доно-волжской абашевской культур.
Ключевые слова: Классификация, кластерный анализ, погребальные комплексы, хронология, абашевская культурно-историческая общность.
Одной из основных и первостепенных задач археологии является классификация и типологизация артефактов. За последние десятилетия наука накопила огромный фактологический материал, в том числе, касающийся и погребальных комплексов различных хронологических отрезков и конкретных археологических культур. Однако это фактологическое изобилие стало доставлять определенные
сложности при визуальном поиске аналогов погребальных комплексов, что влечет за собой вероятные просчеты при рассмотрении вопросов хронологии, исторической реконструкции... Существенную помощь в преодолении этих проблем предоставляет информатика, одному из вариантов применения которой в археологии и посвящена настоящая работа [12].
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