Sepulchral use of caves in Lusatian culture: Evidence from the Sąspówka Valley in the Polish Jura

Małgorzata Kot; Grzegorz Czajka; Elżbieta Jaskulska; Marcin Szeliga; Bartosz Kontny; Adrian Marciszak; Michał Mazur; Michał Wojenka

doi:10.35686/AR.2021.7

Authors

Małgorzata Kot Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, PL-00-927 Warsaw https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5277-0283
Grzegorz Czajka Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, PL-00-927 Warsaw https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1311-1274
Elżbieta Jaskulska Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, PL-00-927 Warsaw https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8786-5602
Marcin Szeliga Institute of Archaeology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Pl. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 4, PL-20-031 Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5185-073X
Bartosz Kontny Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, PL-00-927 Warsaw https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3627-046X
Adrian Marciszak Department of Paleozoology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, PL-50-335 Wrocław https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1472-6553
Michał Mazur Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, PL-31-007 Cracow, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6745-837X
Michał Wojenka Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, PL-31-007 Cracow, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6205-5627

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35686/AR.2021.7

Keywords:

Polish Jura, Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, cave sites, burial

Abstract

Funeral and ritual practices in cave sites during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age have been recognised in multiple sites south of the Carpathians. This paper presents the first evidence for the funeral and ritual use of cave sites with such chronology north of the Carpathians. Unburned human remains dated to Ha B and Ha C/D have been identified in two cave sites (Zbójecka Cave and Bramka Rockshelter) located 500 m apart, in the Polish Jura. Additionally, a pottery deposit dated to Ha B2-C has been found in a third cave (Ciasna Cave) situated near the aforementioned sites. The paper analyses these finds in the context of the local Lusatian culture settlement and the already recognised traces of Lusatian cave site use in the studied karstic region. The results give ground to search for more evidence of ritual cave use in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.