Aleksandar Jovanovic

FORMS OF BURIAL IN THE

TERRITORY OF YUGOSLAVIA IN
THE TIME OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE
Summary from the book: Aleksandar Jovanovic, "Rimske nekropole na teritoriji
Jugoslavije" Centar za arholoska istrazivanja Filozofskog fakulteta,
Beograd 1984 (Cyrillic script)

This work discusses the graves from the cemeteries in the Roman provinces in the
territory of modern Yugoslavia. The period surveyed is that from the beginning of the 1st
century A.D. to the middle of the 3rd century A.D. The main classification is made
according to the origin of the grave-form. Thus the basic division is: Roman grave-forms;
alien grave-forms of non-Roman origin; and autochthonous grave-forms. Graves have
been classified into these groups on the basis of an analysis of the following elements:
manner of burial; grave-form; grave-goods; chronology; distribution; origin; and ethno-
cultural traits.

The autochthonous grave-forms are discussed within the framework of geographic and
ethnic wholes. This approach has necessitated the introduction and definition of separate
sepulchral units, called "horizons of burial".

Roman forms of burial

The Roman forms of burial represent an intrusion in the territory of Yugoslavia as a
result of Romanization. The attribute "Roman" is, in fact, provisional, for some grave-
forms included here did not originate in Italy, but were modifications of Greek models
which reached the Yugoslav territory in this modified form as a result of the expansion of
the Roman military and political power.

The Roman forms of burial are: the dolium, stone urns, brick-built cists, metal urns and
mausolea. The dominant Roman component in the hybrid combinations with
autochthonous forms of burial is represented by ash-chests, while pottery urns can be
considered only provisionally as a part of the Roman sepulchral tradition, for the majority
of the graves of this type are of autochthonous origin.

Dolium
The term dolium means burial in an amphora or a part of an amphora. Numerous variants
can be distinguished within this general form, and the differences among them are so
great that the question arises whether it is appropriate to apply the same name to all of
them.

The ideological and funerary implications are not the same if a part of an amphora is used
as the receptacle for the remains of cremation, as a protective cover for the remains of
cremation and grave-goods, or if the upper part of an amphora is used as a tube for
libations and as a marker of the location of the grave. What all these forms have in
common is the fact that a part of an amphora is used in the structure of the grave. It is,
however, used in a secondary sense, as a material, not as a constant funerary factor.
Consequently, the term dolium is conventional rather than precise, and it is used as such
here.

In addition to this general problem, which is partly a problem of methodology, too, there
is also the problem of the adequate interpretation of the provenance of this grave-form in
the territory of Yugoslavia. The origin of this form of burial in Pannonia, in some parts of
Dalmatia and in Macedonia cannot be explained in the same way. The graves of the
dolium type are an intrusion and are associated with the Romanized population on a
majority of sites in Pannonia (Emona, Poetovio, Stenjevac), in Dalmatia (Salona, Iader,
Apsporos, Krk, Hvar, etc) and Moesia Superior. Graves of this type which were
secondarily dug into the mound at Vrelo Cetine are also Roman forms adopted by the
native inhabitants. Who had changed radically their burial rite (from inhumation to
cremation) and, in the absence of satisfactory local forms in their own sepulchral
tradition, took over the Roman grave-form (dolium) without any modifications. The
graves of the dolium type in Macedonia (Stobi) should be considered as the continuation
of the earlier Greek funerary tradition in this region, and not as a novel element
introduced as a result of Romanization.

The accompanying material in the graves of the dolium type is relatively scant and of a
rather poor quality. This is an important indicator of the social status of the persons
buried in them. The majority of the graves of the dolium type belong to the poorest
classes of the (primarily urban) population. The grave-goods consist mostly of Roman
provincial products (lamps, pottery and glass vessels, coins); no material with
autochthonous features has been found.

The graves of the dolium type found in the territory of Yugoslavia belong to the period
from the beginning of the 1st century to the middle of the 2nd century A.D. The lower
chronological limit is determined by the finds of Augustan and Tiberian coins in the
graves in Emona, and the latest horizon of the graves of this type is dated by the coins of
Hadrian and Antonius Pius.

Graves of this type appear in the cemeteries of large towns (Emona, Poetovio, Salona,
Iader, Vegium, Senia, Apsoros, etc.), in suburban settlements (Sv. Jakov, Sv. Juraj,
Murter, etc.), settlements along the main communication lines (Skarucna, Velika Gorica,
Stenjevac) and along the Limes (Boljetin) (cf. map. 30).
The fact that the graves of the dolium type are located in the zones of primary and
intensive Romanization shows that they belong to the Roman tradition. The Roman
character of these graves is also indicated by the type of the grave-goods placed in them,
by some elements of the burial rite (e.g. the separation of the remains of the cremated
body from the remains of the pyre), and by the fact that this grave-form is without
precedent in the autochthonous funerary tradition in the territory of Yugoslavia.

Graves - cists - built of bricks and containing cremation

burials
This group of graves consists of brick-built cists containing cremation burials. Remains
of cremation were usually laid directly into the cist, which served as the receptacle.
Graves of this type which contain a glass or earthenware urn are less common. The cists
are of a standardized form: four bricks set on edge form the sides of the cist, and two
horizontal ones serve as the bottom-and the lid. The absence of the covering brick in
some cases is probably due to damage or devastation of the grave.

The published material from the northern cemetery of Emona has provided the necessary
elements for a detailed study of this grave-form and for its full typological, chronological
and cultural analysis. The brick-built graves make,; up about 40 % of the total number of
the grave containing cremation burials in the northern cemetery of Emona. The
cemeteries of Poetovio present a similar picture. This fact is important; for it shows that
these graves are more common in the cemeteries of urban centres. In addition to the sites
in Pannonia Superior (Emona, Poetovio, Neviodunum, etc.), graves of this type are
known from the large urban centres in Dalmatia (Argyruntum, Salona, Iader, Senia, etc.).
Apart from the urban agglomerations, graves made of bricks appear in settlements in the
neighborhood of towns (Brstje, Komanda, Medvode, Rudnik, etc.), along important
communications (Obrez, Stenjevac, Gameljne) and along the northern part of the eastern
Adriatic shore (Bakar, Novi Vinodolski, Sv. Jakov) (cf. map. 31). Their distribution
corresponds to the regions in which Romanization changed radically the autochthonous
tradition.

The type and character of the grave-goods found in brick-built cists also corroborate the
theory of the Roman provenance of this grave-form. Graves made of bricks have
produced coins, lamps, glass vessels, terra sigillata, pottery with "thin walls". Jewelry is
rare, while weapons do not occur at all. The grave-goods consist of the material common
in the early imperial tombs throughout the Empire, and finds of an autochthonous
character have not been discovered.

The burial rite associated with this form of the grave is not fully documented. It has been
established that the deceased were cremated on the ustrinum and that the remains of
cremation were placed into the cist. But it is not clear whether the remains of the
cremated body were carefully separated from the pyre (and, perhaps, ritually washed)
before being placed into the grave, or whether the remains of the pyre were also buried
with the cremated body. We suppose that the remains of the cremated body ere separated,
although this is merely an assumption based on the Roman character of this grave-form.

The chronology of brick-built cremation graves can be determined on the basis of the
cemeteries in Emona and Poetovio. The earliest graves date from the beginning of the 1st
century A.D. and the upper chronological limit is marked by the graves in which coins of
Marcus Aurelius have been found. After this period there are no reliable finds of graves
of this type, so that the time of the Marcomannis wars represents the terminus ante
quem for this grave-form, at least in Pannonia Superior.

Graves with a box-like structure made of bricks are not known in the prehistoric funerary
tradition in the territory of Yugoslavia. Their similarity to the graves in the form of a box
made of stone slabs is merely formal and does not justify their typological and genetic
association. Graves built of bricks are in intrusion in the territory of Yugoslavia, which
should be directly associated with Italy, where it may be considered as a continuation,
with local modifications, of some Hellenistic traditions.

The distribution of brick-built graves, their character and accompanying material, as well
as the manner of burial associated with them show that this grave-form was used by the
Romanized immigrants or by the Romanized members of the native population. This
seems to be true of the entire territory of Yugoslavia except the province of Macedonia.
The graves of this type from Stobi, Demir Kapija, Debriste may be considered as a
continuation of the earlier Greek funerary tradition , such as are evidenced at Trebeniste
and Beranci.

A variant close in form but different in origin may be also included into the group of
brick-built graves in the form of a cist. This variant consists of graves constructed of
several courses of bricks laid horizontalla. They are box-like structures of considerable
size (about 1,5-2 x 0,7-1 m) containing remains of the pyre. Such graves have been
reported from Topusko, Demir Kapija and Brestovik and have been dated into the 2nd
century or the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. Elements of two sepulchral principles
are merged in the graves of this type: the form and the dimensions of the grave are the
same as in the case of graves containing inhumation burials (it seems that the
arrangement of the grave-goods and of the remains of cremation in the burial pit follows
that of skeleton graves), while the basic burial rite is cremation. This sepulchral hybrid,
consisting of elements of the old and new funerary traditions, may be associated with the
Romanized population in urban and suburban settlements.

Stone Urns
Stone urns have been found on a number of sites in the Provinces of Dalmatia and,
sporadically, in Pannonia Superior. No finds of this type have been reported from the
Yugoslav parts of the provinces of Noricum, Pannonia Inferior and Moesia Superior. A
local modification of the Italic model was in use in Macedonia (cf.. map 32).
The material which has been published makes it possible to obtain a reliable idea of this
form of burial, of its cultural traits and of its chronology. This form of graves also makes
it possible for us to trace the process of Romanization. It is remarkable that there exist
considerable differences within this group, although they display some common features
resulting from the common origin of all the graves of this type. In the case of the earlier
graves with stone urns, which belong to the 1st century A.D. and are for the most part
located in the cemeteries of large towns or along the Adriatic, the remains of the
cremated body were carefully separated from the pyre and placed first into a glass or
earthenware receptacle (olla cineraria) and then into the stone urn. The graves of this
type found in the inland parts of Dalmatia and in Pannonia Superior are later - they
belong to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. - and show no clear evidence of the separation
of the remains of the cremated body form the remains of the structure of the pyre. In a
majority of cases charred bones mixed with soot and ashes were placed directly into the
stone urn, without a glass or earthenware receptacle. This difference is not merely formal,
not can it be ascribed to chronology only. It reflects different attitudes to burial. Urn
burials from the zone along the shore and from the cemeteries of large towns dating from
the 1st century A.D. have a more conspicuous Roman component, manifested in the
procedure of the separation of the remains of the cremated body from the pyre. The later
graves from the inland and peripheral regions belong to the Romanized population in
which the degree of Romanization was not so great as to modify radically that
autochthonous sepulchral traditions. The Roman grave-form was adopted, but the
principle of the separation of the cremated body was not.

Stone urns were commonly laid into simple burial pits dug into the soil or rock. Usually
the burials were individual. In a few cases (Vis, Split, Vid, Trogir) stone urns were placed
in family tombs (ossuaria). The ossuaries probably represent a continuation of the earlier
funerary tradition of burying a number of individuals in family tombs. This tradition is
clearly evidenced in Dalmatia - on Vis, for example.

Stone urns can be divided according to their form into cylindrical and tetrahedral urns.
These forms are basically of related origin. The tetrahedral urns - especially their roof-
like lid - imitate the form of a house or a mausoleum. Such urns are common in the
western provinces of the Empire, so that the examples found in the territory of
Yugoslavia are probably associated with immigrants from these regions. The cylindrical
stone urns seem to imitate the form of a tumulus in which the cylindrical part is elongated
so that it can house the glass olla. This part is otherwise considerably shorter in typical
tumuli. The calotte-shaped lid of these urns resembles the calotte of a tumulus. If this
reconstruction is valid, stone urns of both types were based on the same model. In both
cases, the model is a building with sacral elements: a mausoleum (tetrahedral urns) or a
tumulus (cylindrical urns).

The grave-goods found in stone urns consist mainly of lamps, glass and earthenware
vessels, coins and jewelry. Weapons and pottery bearing autochthonous traits have not
been found. This corroborates the idea suggested earlier that this grave-form is Roman
and that it was grafted on to the native tradition as a result of Romanization. The grave-
goods, and particularly the coins, make it possible to establish a comparatively precise
chronology of the graves with stone urns. The earliest graves are dated by Julio-Claudian
coins. These graves have been discovered in the cemeteries of large towns (Iader, Salona,
Argyruntum, Emona, etc.), on the islands and along the eastern shore of the Adriatic.
Epigraphic monuments on which the family names of Julius and Claudius appear are also
common in this region. The stone urns found in the inland parts of the province of
Dalmatia contained coins from the end of the 1st century to the end of the 3rd century
A.D. (from Domitianus to Aurelianus). This chronological difference is a clear indicator
of the way in which Romanization spread from the Adriatic coast towards the inland
regions.

Stone urns of other forms also appear sporadically in the territory of Yugoslavia. An urn
in the form of the base of a pillar has been discovered at Karlobag (Vegium) and urns in
the form of large beakers have been found in Ljubljana (Emona) and Nis (Naissus). Urns
in the form of a pillar base have been found in the western provinces of the Empire, so
that a certain influence from these regions may be assumed. Urns in the form of beakers
found in the territory of Yugoslavia are extremely simplified versions of the fine Italian
models of alabaster or marble, which are themselves modifications of the products of the
"neo-Attic" industry from the end of the republican period in Italy. A special variety is
represented by a cylindrical urn with a lid in the form of a pine cone decorated with
wreaths and bucrania, which was found at Resava near Kavadarci. This urn is very
similar in form, tectonics and decoration to Italic models. However, this urn cannot be
considered an importation; it is rather a local product with a decorative pattern taken over
from ash-chests and grave stelai found in the region of Sandanski (southern Bulgaria).

Metal Urns
Metal urns are very rare in the territory of Yugoslavia. Isolated finds have been reported
from Karlobag (Vegium), Stari Grad (Argyruntum), Kostolac (Viminacium) and Skopje
(Scupu). The examples from Viminacium are made of lead; they are cylindrical in form
and have a lid with a circular opening in the centre for the tube down which libations
were poured. Cylindrical urns made of lead have been reported from several sites in the
western provinces of the Empire. They date from the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. The urn
from Vegium is made of bronze plaques; one of them bears in inscription dated, on the
basis of epigraphic evidence, into the 1st century AD.

The silver "urn" from Taskovic near Nis, which is well known in archaeological
literature, has not been taken into account here because it probably served a different
purpose and was used as a jewelry box.

Graves with Earthenware Urns

A methodological difficulty precludes the application of the "principle of form" in
making a classification of the graves with urns from the Roman imperial period and in
interpreting their ethnical and cultural traits. Many graves with earthenware urns have the
same formal features and could be therefore considered as belonging to the same funerary
horizon and as manifestations of the same evolutionary process. The actual situation is,
however, quite different and manifestations of very varied processes may often assume
the same form. The ethnical and cultural features of the graves with earthenware urns
from the horizons of burial of the Iapodes and Oseriates, for example, are different from
those found in the graves of the same type from the Stenjevac horizon, or from the
Dacian horizon of burial in Moesia Superior, or again from the graves with urns from
Pannonia Superior. Several smaller groups with approximately the same origin can be
distinguished within these horizons of burial. The graves with earthenware urns from
northern Bosnia (the horizons of burial of the Iapodes, the Oseriates and the Meseies)
represent a continuation of the earlier, autochthonous tradition which had an unbroken
line of development in this area since the establishment of the "urnfield" culture. The
graves with urns from the Stenjevac horizon, which are not numerous, represent a
continuation of the La Tene tradition in Pannonia and show that the beginnings of the
Roman domination did not cause a major break in funerary practice. Graves with urns,
comparable to those in Dacia, have been reported from several cities in Moesia Superior
(Paracin, Viminacium, Velesnica). These graves belonged to the Dacian population
which was transferred from its old homeland to Moesia Superior in the 1st century AD.

As opposed to these graves in which the autochthonous and non-Roman component

predominates, there are graves with urns which should be viewed in the context of
Roman grave-forms. These are mainly the graves in the Dalmatian littoral, in the north-
western part of Pannonia Superior, in Moesia Superior and in Macedonia. In the province
of Dalmatia graves with earthenware urns represent the main form in northern Dalmatia,
central Dalmatia and in the horizons of burial of the Docleates and the Pirustes. Here,
graves with urns should be viewed as a direct manifestation of the process of
Romanization. In the period before the Roman occupation the basic form of burial in this
area was the skeleton grave, flat or under a tumulus. Alter the coming of the Romans, the
burial practice changed and cremation became the dominant rite. In the absence of an
adequate grave-form in its own local tradition (cremation had not been practised here to
any considerable extent in the proto-historic period), the native population of the
Dalmatian littoral adopted Roman forms (earthenware urns and, more rarely, the dolium
or boxes built of bricks). The urns themselves were often fashioned in the traditional
autochthonous style, but the basic sepulchral meaning of the grave-form was not
autochthonous.

Graves with earthenware urns also appear in large town and suburban settlements of
Pannonia Superior. These graves are a Roman interpolation in this area, for there had
been no urn burial in the earlier funerary practice. The graves with urns from Emona,
Poetovio, Praetorium Laobicorum represent Roman forms associated with immigrants or
with the Romanized local population. This also applies to the graves with earthenware
urns from Moesia Superior (not those from the Dacian funerary tradition) and
Macedonia. Some graves with urns from Moesia Superior (for example, those at
Adrovac) reflect a revival of earlier sepulchral tradition (perhaps Karaburma or Donja
Toponica); however, this cannot be established, for we know very little of the funerary
practices in this area.
Stone Ash-Chests
Stone ash-chests are in fact a Roman grave-form. However, the basic Roman model was
modified in so many ways in the teritory of Yugoslavia that it is not always easy to
recognize the common sepulchral basis under the multiplicity of local forms. The bane
model was combined with elements of the earlier sepulchral traditions and, consequently,
there are considerable differences between the stone ash-chests from Dalmatia and
Moesia Superior, the cinerary boxes of the "Poetovio" type, the "Iapodes urns", and the
stone the stone boxes with small legs from Macedonia.

A number of ash-chests from Dalmatia may be considered a combination of the stone urn
and the gravestone. Both these elements are alien to the autochthonous tradition.
However, Illyrian names with the Illyrian anthroponymic formula appear on the majority
of ash-chests, especially those from the inland parts of the province of Dalmatia. The
preference given to this grave-form by the native population cannot be explained by
Romanization only. Part of the explanation may be that some formal elements of this type
of the grave were not completely unknown to the native population. It has been suggested
that there is a link between the stone ash-chests from the Roman epoch and the cists made
of stone slabs used in this territory in the prehistoric period. The formal similarity of
these two types of graves may have been the reason why the native population adopted
the Roman form (the ash-chest).

The hypothesis that an earlier grave-form was revived, in a modified form, as a result of
Romanization, is supported by the chronology of the graves of this type. The earliest ash-
chests are from the big towns on the Adriatic coast (Salona, Narona, Aenona -1st century
A.D.), while the examples from the inland parts of the province are later (end of the 1st
century - 3rd century A.D.) and date from the time when influences from the Romanized
littoral reached the continental parts of Dalmatia.

Stone ash-chests of the "Poetovio" type represent a secondary Roman form. According to
E. Diez, they derive from the funerary arae from the territory of Noricum and Pannonia,
while the opinion of the present author is that they represent reduced variants of the
sepulchral monuments of the "Sempeter" type. In any case, the form is derived from a
Roman model. These ash-chests date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.

The non-decorated stone ash-chests from Pannonia, Noricum Moesia Superior are of
Roman origin. This is shown by their distribution the type and character of the grave-
goods and the funerary rite.

The "Iapodes urns", which represent the most thorough modification of the Roman
model, also belong to the group of stone ash-chests. The lower chronology of these
objects, proposed by D. Sergejevski, I. Cremosnik and D. Srejovic, has been adopted
here.

The stone ash-chests from Macedonia are of a somewhat different structure. They also
seem to be culturally and genetically different. This form of the grave is a combination of
stone receptacle and a stela and originated in the region round Kavadarci. The primary
influences probably came from Stobi. The anthroponymic content of the inscriptions
shows that the graves held Greeks or Grecized natives. The form of these ash-chests,
especially their short legs, suggests that the origin of these graves should be sought in the
Hellenistic East, where sarcophagi with legs are common.

Mausolea
Few mausolea from the territory of Yugoslavia belong to the Romanized population. The
tombs built above ground of the area maceria cincta type which have been reported
from Salona and Komini (Municipium S...) are close imitations of the models from the
Aquilean culture area. Somewhat reduced replicas of Aquilean funerary structures with a
similar spatial organization and a consistent application of the principle in fronte ... in
agro ... have been found in Iader, Argyruntum and Kolovrat. Some elements of Aquilean
origin are noticeable in the mausoleum in Emona, especially in the fence of the funerary
space proper. However, the idea of a pillar surmounted by the statue of the deceased
probably originated under influences emanating from Rome.

The Liburnian cippi, in which the spatial arrangement of the mausoleum is greatly
reduced, but the tectonic structure is very similar, represent very radical simplifications of
the Aquilean models.

The graves-mausolea from Sempeter (Celea) are a combination of the Aquilean structural
scheme and the Norican-Pannonian decorative conception and sculptural style.

The mausoleum at Donja Pecka, which has been only partly explored, is based on a
somewhat different conception. It probably belonged to the mausolea of the "naiskos"
type which are based on certain Hellenistic traditions. The mausoleum can be
reconstructed on the basis of the representations of a mausoleum on the gables of the lids
of the ash-chests from Livanjsko Polje. The primary impulse probably came from the
Hellenized Adriatic coast, where grave stelai similar in decoration and function were
common.

The tomb-mausoleum of Pomponia Vera from Salona is similar in form to the models
from the earlier Italic sepulchral tradition

The ossuaries marked with specific cone-shaped cippi from Boka Kotorska and Budva
have, in the opinion of D. Rendic-Miocevic, direct genetic, ethnic and cultural links with
the monuments of similar structure from the neighborhood of Dyrrachium. The majority
of these monuments have been dated on the basis of epigraphic evidence into the 2nd
century and the beginning of the 3rd century A.D.

Non-Roman alien forms of burial

Some alien grave-forms which do not come from Italy but from other cultures, also
appear in the territory of Yugoslavia. This group includes the graves of the Latobici
horizon, graves in the form of wells, cylindrical alburial pits with several skeleton burials,
Dacian forms of burial in Moesia Superior and Thracian graves under barrows in
Macedonia and Moesia Superior.

The graves from the Latobici horizon have been reported from a number of cities in
Dolenjsko (map 5). They have a specific spatial organization of the grave, with an
interior division into two unequal sections of different funerary functions and contents.
Their grave-goods are of a special kind, the most striking and important being the urns in
the form of a house. The origin of the individual elements of the Latobici funerary
structure should be sought in the Rhine valley (the spatial division of the grave, the form
of the grave) and in the sub-Alpine region (urns in the form of a house Hercynia silva).
The forms of the graves belonging to the Latobici horizon were also influenced by the
forms of burial in the adjacent territories of Noricum and Pannonia. The graves of the
Latobici horizon are not an autochthonous development derived from the native
sepulchral tradition. They represent an intrusive form brought to Pannonia Superior by
the Celtic tribe of Latobici, who settled in this region at the end of the 1st century B.C. or
early in the 1st century A.D. The earliest graves from this horizon belong to the early 1st
century A.D. and the latest ones date from as late as the beginning of the 4th century. A
number of variants within this funerary horizon has been distinguished, but they are all
based on the same sepulchral principle.

Graves in the form of wells have been discovered in the cemeteries of large towns in
Pannonia and Moesia Superior (Sirmium, Singidunum, Viminacium, and, probably,
Siscia). It is a very specific form (cylindric alburial pits, sometimes more than 10 metres
deep) without precedent in the earlier sepulchral tradition in the territory of Yugoslavia.
This form is an "importation", most likely from Gaul, where such graves are most
common. Their appearance in the territory of Yugoslavia should be probably associated
with immigrants from that region, who lived in large towns. The examples from
Yugoslavia mark the easternmost boundary of the distribution of this type of graves. The
grave-goods suggest a partly Romanized population (lams, glass, coins, luxury pottery).
Some graves from Sirmium and Viminacium, however, contained coarse native
earthenware and weapons. About ten human skulls were found in a grave of this type
from Viminacium, and a human skeleton irregularly buried, as if it had been sacrificed on
the grave, was found above another grave of this type. These elements are common in
Celtic sepulchral practice. Traces of such conceptions are found among the Scordisci as
well. Graves in the form of wells found in the territory of Yugoslavia belong, to the 1st
and 2nd centuries A.D (the latest examples at Viminacium are dated by the coins of
Marcus Aurelius).

A "collective tomb" with skeleton burials from the beginning of the 1st century AD. was
discovered at Gomolava. Five (?) skeleton burials were laid into a shallow, cylindrical
pit. This does not seem to be a grave in the proper sense. It is probably a sacrificial pit
into which human victims were placed after they had been ritually sacrificed, Such burial
pits with several sacrificed bodies from the late La Tène period are known from several
sites in West and Central Europe, where they are directly associated with the Celtic
religious tradition, and from Dacia, where they are related to the Dacian religion (for
example, Orlea). The finds from Gomolava contain elements from the Celtic (the
Scordisci) and the Dacian ethnical and cultural spheres. It would be, therefore, unsafe to
attempt a closer definition of the culture traits of this interesting funerary structure.

Several grave-forms with a dominant Dacian component have been discovered in Moesia
Superior. These forms were either associated directly with the Dacian sepulchral tradition
(graves with urns) or reached Moesia Superior after they had been modified ("Daciazed")
in the Dacian territories (graves in the form of a tub, "graves-stoves"). The graves with
urns, which are usually made in the prehistoric technique characteristic of the Dacian late
La Tène, contain a small quantity of the remains from the pyre as an expression of the
idea of pars pro toto, which is otherwise present in the Dacian sepulchral tradition. Such
graves have been found at Paracin, Viminacium, Velesnica and on numerous sites in
Rumania (cf. map 25). Graves in the form of a tub or a sack are a manifestation of the
same sepulchral idea, but they have no receptacle. This grave-form has no direct
precedents in the Dacian funerary tradition and probably originated as a modification of
Celtic models. In the territory of Yugoslavia such graves have been reported from
Boljetin and Hajducka Vodenica (cf. map 26) and are dated into the 1st century and the
beginning of the 2nd century A.D. "Graves-stoves" contain skeleton burials. In the
territory of Moesia Superior only on grave of this type has been found (at Manastir near
Dobra).Such graves probably represent belated example of catacombs with inhumation
burials from the northern shore of the Black Sea. The occurrence of Dacia: grave-forms
in the territory of Moesia Superior can be explained historically, for a considerable
portion of the Dacian population was transferred from the left to the right bank of the
Danube in the 1st century AD.

Several graves under mounds which are associated with the Thracian sepulchral tradition
have been discovered in the territory of Moesia Superior and Macedonia (cf mp. 21-24,
29). These graves should not be considered as examples of an alien form, for there is
cultural continuity with the Thracian diaspora in this marginal territory.

Autochthonous grave- forms

Autochthonous grave-forms are those funerary forms which derive from the earlier
sepulchral traditions and whose basic funerary elements are in direct line of descent from
the earlier forms. Such sepulchral and cultural continuity implies the same ethnic
character of a specific area. Such conditions obtained only in regions where a very stable
sepulchral tradition existed in the pre-Roman period and where Romanization was not so
intense as to transform radically the local culture.

Graves based on earlier, autochthonous traditions are very numerous in the territory of
Yugoslavia. In a majority of cases the continuity is immediately apparent, for the basic
and frequently even formal funerary traits did not change much in the course of the slow
evolutionary process. In such circumstances, genetic connections can be established and
stages of the sepulchral process can be reconstructed even if some link in the
evolutionary chain is missing. In some cases, however, the later replica may depart so
much from its genetic model that the autochthonous character of a grave-form may be
established only in an indirect way. In such cases it is necessary to separate the elements
of the sepulchral structure and to analyze individually the sepulchral constants (the
manner of burial, the attitude to the remains of the cremated body, the relationship
between the location of the pyre and the grave, the position of the remains of cremation
in the burial pit, the type and character of the grave-goods) and the ephemeral elements
(the form of the grave). Links with the earlier tradition must be evidenced in the
sepulchral constants.

A considerable number of graves of autochthonous origin contain Roman elements and

thus provide evidence for an analyzes of the character and degree of Romanization in the
territory of Yugoslavia. Intense Romanization which transformed the local culture took
place only in the large towns, along important communications and at the major strategic
points on the limes. In the other areas prehistoric traditions continued to develop. The
clearest indicator of this continuity of culture are the burial customs and the grave-forms.

Autochthonous Grave-Forms in Noricum and Pannonia

The autochthonous burial horizons in the Yugoslav parts of Noricum and Pannonia
Superior are: the Norican-Pannonian barrows; the post-Mokronog horizon; the cemeteries
of the "Stenjevac" type; and the cemeteries in the zone between the post-Mokronog
horizon and the horizon with the Norican-Pannonian barrows.

Burial under Norican-Pannonian barrows represents the dominant form of burial in

Noricum and the north-western parts of Pannonia Superior in the Roman period (map 1).
The basic features of this grave-form are: cremation on the ustrinum (usually outside the
boundaries of the barrow); the placement of the remains of the pyre - without the
separation of the remains of the cremated body - into burial pits (usually without a
receptacle); and the heaping of a small barrow over the burial pit. The differences in the
forms of graves are a result of the social differentiation of the population, not of different
sepulchral conceptions. The type and character of the grave-goods stress the importance
of the autochthonous component in this grave-form. The pottery is usually closely
associated with the prehistoric eastern Alpine ware (pots with "broom-shaped" designs,
three-legged bowls, etc.), there are parts of the Norican-Pannonian costume, while lamps,
coins, glass objects and luxury ware are very rare. In the Norican-Pannonian barrows
from the Roman period we see a survival of the Hallstatt traditions, but not as a "revival"
of these forms in the conditions after the Celtic occupation, for the Celts did not have
organizational means for such a suppression of autochthonous sepulchral traditions. It is
apparent rather in a continuity which is more conspicuous in settlements than in
cemeteries, although the cemeteries, too, display elements of unbroken development. The
burials under Norican-Pannonian barrows from the Early Iron Age and from the Roman
period are almost identical in their sepulchral forms, which is a fact that can be explained
only by direct continuity. This continuity is a consequence of the fact that the ethnic
situation in this territory did not change over a long period of time. Secondary cultural
impulses during the Celtic domination which had a greater impact in the river valleys
than in the hilly districts, where Norican-Pannonian barrows are located, did not seriously
affect the sepulchral ideas of the Noricans, who were probably the bearers of the burial
under Norican-Pannonian barrows.

The post-Mokronog horizon of burial comprises a number of graves discovered on

several sites in the western part of Pannonia Superior (map 2). The common features of
the graves belonging to this horizon are that the body was cremated on the ustrinum, that
the remains of the pyre were not separated from the remains of the body and were placed
into the burial pit without an urn. The graves were flat, and the burial pits were of a
simple circular or rectangular form and without any features of the "grave architecture".
The accompanying material was scant. The commonest grave-goods were earthenware
vessels, usually local products, and parts of the Norican-Pannonian costume (fibulae A
236, A 238, A 67 and parts of a Norican-Pannonian belt). There are no material
indications of Romanization, such as lamps, coins, glass, fine pottery or terra sigillata. It
was only in Emona, where the process of Romanization had different stages and took a
more organized form, that such finds were discovered among the grave-goods.

All the basic elements of the post-Mokronog horizon of burial show that it is an
autochthonous horizon very little affected by the process of Romanization. Traits of the
earlier, pre-Roman sepulchral tradition are clearly recognizable in these graves. In fact,
the earlier and the later graves are almost identical, the only conspicuous difference being
that the graves of the post-Mokronog horizon did not contain arms. This difference is
probably due to the "pacification" of the native population under the Roman occupation.
The graves of the post-Mokronog horizon represent a continuation of the sepulchral
traditions of the Mokronog culture. This continuity is best seen in the cemeteries which
contain graves from both horizons of burial (Novo Mesto, Dobova, Mihovo, Dresinja
Vas, Formin, etc.). The bearers of the Mokronog culture horizon are the Celts (the
Taurisci), and the sepulchral continuity seems to indicate that the burials in the post-
Mokronog horizon also belong to the Taurisci. The graves of the post-Mokronog type are
datable into the period from the beginning of the 1st century to the middle of the 2nd
century A.D., when Romanization ousted out the earlier autochthonous tradition in this
part of Pannonia Superior.

In the zone of the merging of the influences of the post-Mokronog horizon and the
horizon with the Norican-Pannonian barrows there appear specific, hybrid forms of
graves with elements of both funerary horizons (map 3). The elements of the post-
Mokronog horizon are the form of burial pit. the way in which the remains of the pyre
were placed into the burial pit, and the fact that the graves are flat. The influence of the
Norican-Pannonian barrows is evidenced in the "grave architecture" (the walls of the
burial pit are lined with stones laid without mortar) and in the accompanying material
(the pottery with the features typical of the eastern Alpine centres). This hybrid form of
the graves is a result of a mixture of elements from two ethnic and cultural spheres (the
Noricans and the Taurisci). In view of this, it seems quite likely that Pliny refers to this
area in his remark "quondam Taurisci appelat, nunc Norici".
Graves of a simple form, included into the horizon of cemeteries of the "Stenjevac" type,
are common in many parts of Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior. The greatest
number of the graves of this type has been explored on the type-site Stenjevac. The
graves usually have a circular, epipsoid or rectangular burial pit filled with the remains of
the pyre. A small proportion only (15-20%) contained urns. The accompanying material
consists mostly of the pottery of local provenance, while glass and terra sigillata are very
rare. The manner of burial, the attitude to the cremated remains, the form of the burial pit,
the type and character of the grave-goods indicate that this grave-form is autochthonous.
It seems likely that the graves from the cemeteries of the "Stenjevac" type represent a
continuation of the La Tène sepulchral tradition in this region. In the late La Tène (Lt. C-
D) biritualism was no longer practised and cremation became the basic form of burial.
The body was cremated on the ustrinum and the remains were then transferred directly to
the burial pit or the urn. As regards their basic funerary features, the graves belonging to
the late La Tène period in Pannonia and those from the cemeteries of the Stenjevac type
from the Roman times are similar and may be considered as manifestations of similar
sepulchral ideas. The difference in the accompanying material (the presence of weapons
in the graves from the late c period and their absence from the graves of the Stenjevac
horizon) is of minor importance and is a result of partial Romanization. The unity of the
sepulchral idea on which the graves of this type from the late La Tène and the Roman
periods were based is also shown by the fact that they have been found in the same
cemeteries (Sotin, Gardos and others). This continuity was not greatly affected by the
Roman occupation. The ethnic picture did not radically change: the predominant
elements of the population were the Celtic tribes and the earlier, native, Pannonian
population. The ethnic continuity in this area was accompanied by the continuity of the
sepulchral idea. The Hungarian part of the province of Pannonia (Vasas, Sserzegtomaj,
Gyor-Nadorvaros, etc.) presents a similar picture.

The graves in the cemeteries of the Stenjevac type are basically very similar to those
belonging to the post-Mokronog horizon. The similarity results from the fact that these
graves belonged mainly to the Celtic ethnic element. The main difference is in the fact
that the graves of the Stenjevac horizon have a more conspicuous Pannonian component
(e.g. graves with urns.) The accompanying material is also different (elements of
Norican-Pannonian costume are very rare in the cemeteries of the Stenjevac type). The
boundary between these two horizons is represented by Mons Claudius (Medvednica-
Ivancica), which is also mentioned in classical sources as a boundary between the
Taurisci and the other Celtic populations in Pannonia.

The Bosnian part of the Sava valley, in which graves of the so-called Oseriates horizon of
burial have been discovered, also belongs, organizationally, to the province of Pannonia.
The graves belonging to this horizon are, however, very similar to some sepulchral forms
found in the province of Dalmatia and will be discussed in that context.

Graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase ( and II type are common in Pannonia, and
particularly in Pannonia Inferior (Sirmium, Mursa, Beska, Kunovec, Breg). It is not
possible to say at present whether these graves were a result of influences coming from
the south-east (from Moesia) for whether they were an integral part of a broader cultural
sphere (the Morava valley, the lower Danubian valley, southern Pannonia), in which
similar evolutionary processes of autochthonous character let to the emergence of similar
forms. Without giving a definitive answer to this question, we should like to point out the
chronological precedence of the graves of this form in Moesia because this fact may be of
help in determining the direction in which influences spread.

Autochthonous Grave-Forms in Moesia Superior

A very small number of graves which belong to the Roman funerary conception has been
found in Moesia Superior, (the number of such graves does not exceed 5 % of the total).
The Roman grave-forms have been discovered only in large urban centres (Viminacium,
Scupi, Naissus, Singidunum) and along the Limes (Boljetin, Karatas). However, even in
the cemeteries of major towns (Scupi, Viminacium, Naissus) these graves represent a
minor form. A analysis of the number of autochthonous and Roman graves in the
cemeteries of Moesia Superior shows that the intensity of Romanization was not very
great in this territory. This conclusion is corroborated by the inscriptions, in which native
names predominate, and by the epichoric basis of the majority of cults evidenced in the
territory of Moesia Superior.

The autochthonous grave-forms m Moesia Superior are represented by the graves of the
Mala Kopasnica) Sase I, II and III type and by individual graves found under mounds in
eastern Serbia. It is possible that some graves with urns (e.g. Androvac) should be also
included into this group. They have not been fully published yet, but they seem to be
based on the earlier La Tène funerary tradition rather than on the usual Roman funerary
patterns.

The graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase I and II type have been reported from a number
of sites in Moesia Superior, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Dacia and Macedonia (cf. map. 19). The
graves belonging to Variant I have a large rectangular burial pit filled with the remains of
the pyre; the sides of the burial pit are burnt because of the purification of the burial area.
The graves belonging to Variant II represent a more complex form of Variant I. Here the
burial pit is dug within a larger pit, so that a tomb a etage was formed. The sides of the
upper and lower pit were burnt. The body was cremated on the ustrinum (ustrina have
been found at Viminacium, Kosmaj and Intercisa) and a large quantity of the remains of
the pyre was placed directly into the burial pit, without an urn. We suppose that these
graves derivate from the graves a etage known from the northern coast of the Black Sea
and the lower Danubian valley in prehistory, although those graves held inhumation
burials. Influences emanating from that area also led to the appearance of the graves a
etage of the bustum type under mounds in the territory of Thrace; hence the similarity
between the Yugoslav and the Thracian examples should be considered as a matter of
converging, not analogous phenomena. The graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase I and II
type belong to the period from the beginning of the 1st to the beginning of the 4th century
A.D. The earliest graves of this type have been discovered in the territory of Yugoslavia
(Scupi, Stobi), which may mean that this was the original area of this form. Ethnically,
these graves should be probably associated with the Dacian-Misian-Dardanian cultural
sphere.
The graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase III type are similar in form to the graves of the
Mala Kopašnica - Sase I type, but their sides are not burnt. The body was cremated on the
ustrinum, and the remains of the pyre were placed, without the separation of the remains
of the body. into an ellipsoid burial pit. Such graves have been reported from several sites
in the Morava valley, in the Skopje basin and in Kosovo (map 20), and they are datable
into the period from the end of the 1st century to the beginning of the 4th century AD.
Their distribution shows that they should be probably associated with the Dardanian
population. Graves of this type derive from the graves of a similar sepulchral constitution
from the pre-Roman period found in this area (the latest horizon of graves at Romaja,
Karagac, Krsevica, Tupu,nica).

Of the graves under mounds, those at Moravac show certain specific features, while the
others-belong to the Thracian ethno-cultural sphere (cf. map 21-24). The form of the
grave in the central part of the mound at Moravac has no direct analogies in the eastern
part of the Balkan Peninsula, where burial under mounds represents the basic sepulchral
form.

The earthenware material from these mounds shows some similarities with the products
of the late Dacian La Tène, but the evidence that is available does not warrant an
association of the grave under the mound at Moravac with the burials under tumuli in
Dacia.

Autochthonous Grave-Forms in Macedonia

The autochthonous grave-forms in Macedonia are represented by the graves of the

Beranci-Stobi type found in the middle Vardar valley and in Pelagonia, and by the graves
under mounds from eastern Macedonia.

The graves of the Beranci-Stobi type (map 27) represent, as regards their basic funerary
elements (cremation on the ustrinum), a direct continuation of the earlier sepulchral
tradition in this area. The body as cremated on the ustrinum and the remains of the pyre
were placed, without the separation of the remains of the body, into a circular or
rectangular burial pit surrounded or lined with small stones. Such graves appear towards
the end of the Archaic period and remain the basic form in the classical and Hellenistic
periods. Sacral continuity of the grave-forms and locations of cemeteries can be noticed
on some sites (Demir Kapija, Beranci). This continuity is a reflection of the ethnic
continuity in this area. The ethnic picture as not radically altered; the Paeonians (the
Pelagones should be viewed within this ethno-cultural context) represent the dominant
ethnic category which did not change to any greater extent in the vagaries of their
military and political power. It is interesting to note that the graves of the Beranci-Stobi
type have points of similarity with those of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase III type in Moesia
Superior. This fact may also have interesting historical implications.

Several tumuli from the Roman period have been reported from eastern Macedonia (cf.
map 29). These mounds may be ultimately associated with the Thracian population,
although they display certain specific features. Thus the "princely" grave under mound
from Tarinci has no direct formal analogies with the graves in the Thracian cultural
sphere. The elements which this grave has in common with the Thracian tumuli are:
burial on the spot of cremation (bustum), the mound, the type and character of the grave-
goods (chariot, candelabrum, weapons, applique ornaments made of gold.) The chief
difference is in the spatial organization of the grave. The grave at Tarinci has two zones
(on a horizontal plane) with a different sepulchral content. This is a reflection of the
earlier sacral tradition in this region, attested by the flat graves at Karaorman dating from
the late Archaic period. This marging of the elements of the Thracian and autochthonous
sepulchral traditions may be a result either of the direct presence of the Thracians or,
more probably, of the "Thracization" of the autochthonous population.

The sepulchral tradition in the neighborhood of lake Ohrid (which did not belong to the
province of Macedonia, but to Epirus) is somewhat different. Here, the dominant rite in
the classical and Hellenistic periods is inhumation, either under mounds or in flat graves.
The bearers of this form of burial were the members of the Illyrian tribe of the
Dassaretae. With the beginnings of the Roman occupation of this area the burial rite
changed and native population adopted other forms of graves - not the Roman ones, but
those from the neighboring Pelagonia, which may be interpreted as an expression of
resistance to the conquerors.

Autochthonous Grave-Forms in Dalmatia

The interpretation of the autochthonous grave-forms in the province of Dalmatia presents

complex problems and requires a special methodological approach. In the case of the
autochthonous forms of graves in the other provinces it is possible to establish a direct (or
partly modified) link with the earlier sepulchral traditions both in the form of the grave
and in the manner of burial. In the province of Dalmatia, however, there is no apparent
continuity. The only exceptions are the "sub-Illyrian" horizons of burial (the Iapodes,
Meseises, Oseriates and partly Daesidiates), which show continuity with the graves from
the prehistoric period.

The horizons of burial located in the primary Illyrian territory (central and northern
Dalmatia, the territory of the Docleates and the Piristal) present a different picture. Here
the basic traits of the earlier sepulchral tradition were suppressed and only its secondary
manifestations can be recognized. Inhumation was the basic rite in this Illyrian territory
before the Roman domination. With the beginning of the Roman occupation cremation
superseded inhumation as the dominant rite. Since the native population did. not have
cremation graves in its own tradition., id adopted the Roman grave-forms or,
occasionally, forms from the adjacent regions in which cremation had been known before
the Roman domination. It is therefore erroneous to ascribe the Roman forms of graves,
especially those in the interior of the province, to immigrants or to a highly Romanized
population. These graves belong mostly to the native population, and the degree of its
Romanization may be assessed on the basis of secondary funerary elements (the character
of the grave-goods, the type of cremated remains, the location of the graves, details of the
funerary cult, etc.). The graves from the horizons of northern Dalmatia and of the
Docleates are nearer to the Roman sepulchral idea, while those from the horizons of
central Dalmatia and of the Pirustal have closer links with the autochthonous tradition.

The horizon of burial of the Pirustae comprises the graves discovered in the supposed
territory of the Pirustae. The cemeteries explored in this region are those at Komini
(Municipium S ....), Kolovrat and Radoinja (map 10). The cemeteries at Komini and
Kolovrat contained a number of grave-forms which can be divided, according to their
basic features, into two groups: graves without urns (with or without burnt walls) and
graves with a receptacle (urns made of pottery or stone, and ash-chests). It is supposed
that these two groups of graves belong to two different ethnic and cultural categories of
the population.

In the period before the Roman conquests, the native population used the inhumation rite
and buried their dead under mounds. This is inferred from the analogies with the sphere
of the Glasinac culture. With the beginnings of the Roman occupation, the burial rite
changed and cremation became the dominant form of burial. The native population which
had not known cremation in its funerary tradition, adopted the forms of graves from the
neighboring regions. It is very likely that the models came from the east (the territory of
the Dardanians), where the basic form are the graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase type.
The simple burial pits filled with the remains of the pyre or the burial pits with burnt
sides (i.e. the graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase I and III type) at Komini and Kolovrat
are probably a result of the adoption of the grave-forms from the adjacent regions and
their incorporation into the local sepulchral tradition. The graves with earthenware or
stone urns and with ash-chests are probably associated with the immigrants from central
Dalmatia (from the hinterland of Salona), who were settled there in an organized way at
the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.

Several funerary elements indicate that the origin of the graves with earthenware or stone
receptacles should be sought in the region of central Dalmatia. They are: the form of the
graves, the type of the receptacles, the type and character of the grave-goods, the
structure of family burial units (a reduced area maceria cincta of the Aquilein type), the
insertion of the graves into earlier mounds (Radoinja), and, partly, the type of grave-
stones. Evidence of the presence of immigrants from central Dalmatia has also been
found in epigraphic monuments and in the rites (e.g. the cult of Silvanus).

The occurrence of the graves of the Mala Kopasnica - Sase type in Dacia may be partly
accounted for by the migration of the Pirustae to this territory in the time of Traianus.

Similarly, the graves belonging to the horizon of burial of the Docleates do not have
direct links with the graves of the pre-Roman period in the territory settled by the
Docleates. The graves from the pre-Roman period discovered in this territory contained
inhumation burials (Momisic, Medun, Tuzi). Skeleton graves have also been reported
from the neighboring territory of the Labeates (Gostolj). With the Roman occupation the
burial rite changed. Cremation became the basic form of burial, and the Docleates
adopted alien grave-forms because cremation was not known in their sepulchral tradition.
In the cemeteries of classical Doclea there are graves without urns (Mala Kopasnica -
Sase I, II and III), which represent forms taken over from the Dardanian territory through
the mediation of the Pirustae, and graves with earthenware, stone and glass urns, and the
dolium, which were adopted directly from the Roman funerary practice The type and
character of the grave-goods (lamps, glass, coins) show that the inhabitants of Doclea
were highly Romanized. The central Dalmatian horizon of burial presents a similar
picture, the only difference being that here the autochthonous traits are slightly more
pronounced (map 9). In the are a between the rivers Cetina and Neretva the dominant
burial rite in the Early and Late Iron Ages was inhumation (usually under mounds). The
latest graves of this type are those at Posusje, which date from the first years AD. The
Roman occupation led to a radical change in the burial rite and cremation completely
ousted out inhumation.

In the new circumstances, the native population used the Roman forms of graves (urns,
ash-chests, the dolium), for it had no precedent in its own tradition-nor in the tradition of
the adjacent regions whose inhabitants had also use the inhumation rite in the pre-Roman
period. The graves of the central Dalmatian horizon of burial retained, however, some
elements of the earlier tradition. Some graves contained weapons and objects of
adornment (fibulae of the simplified Aucissa type, lunula-shaped earrings with
pendentives) while an earthenware receptacle made in the prehistoric tradition was used
as the urn. The graves were usually secondarily dug into prehistoric mounds, which is
probably an expression of the idea of the continuity of the sacred site. In the other hand,
the grave-goods common in Roman graves are rarely found in these graves (lamps, coins,
glass, luxury pottery). The graves of the central Dalmatian horizon of burial probably
belonged to the Dalmatae, the Daorsae and other minor Illyrian populations which
inhabited the territory between the rivers Cetina and Neretva.

The graves of the northern Dalmatian (Liburnian) horizon of burial show the highest
degree of Romanization. The earlier sepulchral tradition is completely superseded here
and its traces cannot be perceived. This situation is rather surprising in view of the
conservative attitude of the Liburnians. The forms of burial of the Liburnians had not
essentially changed throughout the Early and Late Iron Ages. They buried their dead
under mounds or in flat graves using the inhumation rite. Even the burial in a contracted
position - an archaism which is a clear testimony of the conservative attitude of the
Liburnian population - persisted for a long time. These graves nasally contained jewelry,
while pottery was rare. The coming of the Romans caused a complete break with
autochthonous sacral and cultural tradition. With the introduction of cremation, the
Liburnians adopted the Roman grave-forms, burial rites and the type of the
accompanying material. Some traces of the earlier tradition can be noticed in the
appearance and fabric of the earthenware urns and in the fibulae (later variants of the
fibulae of the Podgradje type). Weapons occur sporadically in the graves in the area
round the Krka river (Velika Mrdakovica, Dragisic); this is a result of the influence from
the adjacent territory of the Dalmatae. Even the Liburnian cippi, local products of this
area, do not display autochthonous elements although they may be partly considered as a
projection of the idea of the unity of the house-mound-gravestone. It may be supposed
that the Liburnian cippi represent a cheaper local substitute for the high quality Aquileian
tomb monuments and mausolea, with which they have some points of similarity as
regards the tectonic structure and the arrangement of the individual elements of the
"architecture". Graves with earthenware and stone urns, boxes built of bricks and the
dolia (map 8) have been found on a number of sites in the Liburnian territory. They are
datable into the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. The high degree of Romanization of the
Liburnians is a reflection of the specific position of this region in the administrative
organization of the province of Dalmatia and of its fiscal and judicial links with Italy.

In the interior of the province of Dalmatia it is possible o distinguish several horizons of

burial in which the autochthonous sepulchral basis is in evidence: the burial horizons of
the Iapodes and the Oseriates, which belong partly to the province of Pannonia as well,
the burial horizon of the Mesoi, the burial horizon of the Deasidiates, and the post-
Glasinac burial horizon.

The burial horizon of the Iapodes comprises the cemeteries from the territory inhabited
by the Iapodes in the pre-Roman and Roman periods (map 12). The basic funerary
features of the graves belonging to this horizon are directly related to the earlier
sepulchral tradition. This continuity is seen in the manner of burial (cremation on the
ustrinum), in the relation between the grave and the pyre, the attitude to the remains of
cremation (the remains of the body were not separated from the remains of the pyre), the
form of the grave and the type of the grave-goods. In Phases V and Via of the culture of
the Iapodes (according to Z. Maric's periodization), which precede immediately the
Roman conquest of this territory, the most common grave-form is the one containing an
earthenware urn with the remains of the pyre. This grave-form appears also in the earlier
periods of the culture of the Iapodes (as early as Phase I), but it becomes common only in
Phase V. The same form and the same sepulchral content are found in the Roman period,
too. Neither does the accompanying material change. The most common finds are pottery
vessels, jewelry and weapons, while elements typical of the Roman graves of the early
imperial times - are scarce. Even the graves with stone urns (Jezerine, Ribic) contain
material marked by non-Roman, autochthonous features (weapons and fibulae of the late
La Tène type). The urns of the Iapodes also belong to this horizon of burial. They
represent a combination of the native epichoric tradition and an alien morphological
conception.

The burial horizon of the Oseriates, the greater part of which belongs to the province of
Pannonia, and the burial horizon of the Mezoi are not clearly defined ethnically and
culturally, for only a few graves belonging to them have been found. This can be partly
made up by a reconstruction of the elements provided by the earlier sepulchral tradition
in this territory (e.g. the cemeteries at Sanski Most and Carakovo). We suppose that there
was cultural continuity, manifested in the sepulchral sphere as well, in this region from
the Early Iron Age (the time of- the emergence of the "urn-field" culture) to the Roman
period. The incorporation of this territory into the Roman provinces of Pannonia and
Dalmatia did not cause a radical change in the basic funerary conception (the cemeteries
at Donji Laminci, Puticevo, Mosunj, etc.). Cremation continued as the basic rite, and the
forms of the graves (earthenware urns) and the accompanying material have points of
similarity with the earlier funerary elements in this region. Material reflecting the process
of Romanization is completely absent from the graves of the Roman period. The
chronological framework of the graves belonging to this horizon cannot be established
with precision: they appear at the beginning of the 1st century A.D. and are found until
the middle of the 3rd century A.D., when the process of Romanization was completed in
these regions.

The graves from the pre-Roman period in the territory inhabited by the Daesidiates have
not been sufficiently explored and are therefore difficult to interpret. Several graves from
the Roman period have been discovered in the cemeteries at Breza, Stup and perhaps
Janjici. They contained remains of the pyre placed into small burial pits without a
receptacle and grave-goods consisting predominantly of arms and jewelry (there was no
pottery). A certain sepulchral continuity, which can be traced in the cemetery at Breza,
shows that in the pre-Roman period, too, the dominating form of the grave was a shallow
pit filled with the remains of the pyre and that the grave-goods consisted of weapons and
jewelry. This grave-form is unusual in this region and its origin cannot be established. It
id both similar to and different from the graves belonging to the Pannonian and strictly
Illyrian cultural sphere. The use of the cremation rite is probably a result of the influences
emanating from Pannonia, but the character of the grave-goods is slightly different, and
the graves are without urns. On the other hand, the character and kind of the grave-goods
(especially the absence of pottery) seem to point to the sphere of the Glasinac culture,
although the manner of burial is quite different. This specific character of the graves
belonging to the burial horizon of the Daesidiates may be explained by the fact that the
Daesidiates inhabited the territory between the Illyrian Glasinac area and the region in
which the Pannonian sepulchral tradition had taken root. The adoption of individual
elements from different ethnic and cultural spheres resulted in the emergence of a hybrid
form which persisted into the Roman imperial times (the latest graves date from the 2nd
century A.D.). It is interesting that classical sources, too, refer to the Daesidiates both as
an Illyrian and a Pannonian population.

The "post-Glasinac" horizon of burial consists of several skeleton graves dug into the
prehistoric mounds on the Glasinac plateau. The continuity with the earlier graves from
Glasinac is manifested in the burial rite (inhumation is the dominant rite, especially in the
latest phase of the Glasinac culture), in the type of the grave-goods (jewelry, arms; no
pottery), and in he use of earlier sepulchral cores as burial sites. The absence of
inhumation burials from the Late Iron Age at Glasinac makes it difficult to trace the
ethnic and cultural continuity (a possible link may be the skeleton burials under tumuli
from the neighboring Krajcinovici, which belong to the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.). It is
to be supposed that even in the Late Iron Age there were inhumation burials on Glasinac
which marked the cultural and ethnic continuity. The influence of Romanization in this
geographically isolated area with a strong local tradition was very weak and did not affect
the basic cultural (and sepulchral) traits. Hence the Glasinac plateau was the only region
in which inhumation remained the dominant rite in the early imperial times. In this
conservative community even the members of a higher economic and social status were
not Romanized. A grave from Ustikolina, which belongs to the 2nd century A.D.
contained rich grave-goods, but no evidence of Romanization, such as lamps, coins, glass
or pottery.

Inhumation and Chronological Relationship between Cremation and Inhumation

Before a thorough study of the graves containing skeleton burials in the territory of
Yugoslavia in the early imperial times can be made, it is necessary to establish two basic
elements: the origin of this form of burial and the lower chronological limit of its
appearance.

Two hypothesis may be advanced in an attempt o trace the origin of inhumation in the
territory of Yugoslavia in the early imperial times: a) that this rite represents a
continuation of the earlier sepulchral traditions; and b) that inhumation burials represent
an intrusive trait associated with immigrants. The influence of the earlier, autochthonous
tradition may be assumed only in the case of the inhumation graves that are located in the
regions in which this form of burial was the dominant one in the pre-Roman period, too.
Inhumation was the dominant rite in the Illyrian territory proper (the littoral and its
immediate hinterland) and it was used in combination with cremation (biritualism) by the
Celtic populations in Pannonia and in the Danubian valley, especially in the earlier
phases of their presence in this territory.

With the beginning of the Roman occupation the inhumation rite ceased to be used in this
territory. The suppression of the earlier sepulchral tradition as an expression of ethnic
identity was complete. In the new circumstances, when cremation was the only rite, the
native population adopted Roman forms of graves (the Liburnians, Dalmatae, Daorsi,
etc.) or those from the neighbouring regions in which cremation had been practiced in the
pre-Roman period (the Pirustae, partly the Docleates). It is interesting that the Illyrian
population of Dalmatia, settled outside its original territory, in regions where inhumation
was the dominant rite, continued to foster its earlier sepulchral tradition (e.g. the
cemetery of Akko near Jericho).

The persistence of the of the inhumation rite as an expression of direct continuity of the
earlier tradition, has been noted in the post-Glasinac horizon of burial only. This
continuity is a consequence of the conservative attitude of the native population and of
the geographic isolation of this territory, which was distant from the major lines of
communication and therefore outside the sphere of intensive Romanization.

Inhumation was the dominant rite also among the Celtic populations in Pannonia in the
earlier phases of their presence in that region (from the end of the 4th century B.C. to the
beginning of the 2nd century B.C.). In the late La Tène, however, the influence of the
native Pannonian population, which practised cremation, ousted out inhumation, and
cremation became the dominant rite. Sporadic skeleton graves from the late La Tène have
been reported from Jezerine, Donja Dolina, and Bare near Prijedor. No inhumation
graves dating from the early imperial period, indicative of a Celtic renaissance, have been
found in the territory of Yugoslavia. It is only in a grave holding a skeleton burial and a
chariot from the neighborhood of Ludberg (map 7) that we can recognize - on the basis of
analogies from the finds in the Hungarian part of Pannonia - a belated manifestation of
the earlier Celtic funerary tradition. This grave, and a similar one from Petrovina, is dated
into the 2nd century A.D.

The preceding discussion suggests that the native tradition had very little influence on the
appearance of inhumation graves in the early imperial period in the territory of
Yugoslavia. The skeleton graves of this period were an alien form associated with
immigrants from the Orient. This conclusion is supported by the location and distribution
of these graves, the time of their greatest use (which is contemporaneous with the
appearance of Oriental cults and intensive settlement of immigrants from the Orient in
the Balkan provinces), the results of the anthropological analyses of the osteological
material from some sites (Viminacium), and the character of the accompanying material.

Inhumation burials from the early imperial period have been reported from the cemeteries
of large towns (Emona, Salona, Iader, Senia, Viminacium, Sirmium, Scupi, Naissus,
etc.), where the ethnic structure of the population was heterogeneous and where there is
also epigraphic evidence of the presence of east Mediterranean elements.

The earliest inhumation graves have been found in the northern cemetery of Emona,
where some graves are dated by Tiberian and Claudian coins. The majority of inhumation
graves from the other sites belong to the end of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd
century AD. Some of the grave from the early imperial period cannot be dated with
precision. It seems, however, that the earlier graves of this type are poor and that they
should be attributed to a low social and economic class of the population (probably
slaves), while the graves from the end of the 1st century and from the 2nd century A.D.
are richer and probably belong to the craftsman and merchant classes of the urban
population.

The anthropological analyses of the material from the cemetery in Viminacium have
shown that the skeleton burials from the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd
century A.D. belong to the Anadolian and eastern Mediterranean anthropological types.

Some inhumation burials from the end of the 1st and from the 2nd centuries from
Viminacium Scupi, Naissus, etc. contained material of eastern Mediterranean provenance
(glazed vessels, lamps with the representations of Atis from Asia Minor, instruments of
the cult of Cybele on a disc, lamps with the representations of Serapis and Isis, glass of
eastern origin, jewelry made of jade, earrings made in imitation of the models from Syria
and Asia Minor, the "Leuchtturme", etc.).

Consequently, the inhumation graves from the early imperial period should be attributed
to immigrants from the Orient who began to settle in large towns in the 1st century and
came in larger numbers in the 2nd century and at the beginning of the 3rd century A.D.,
as a result of the economic policy of the Antonian and Severian emperors.
The inhumation graves from the 2nd century A.D. in Dacia (Apulum, Romula) and in the
Hungarian part of the province of Pannonia (e.g. Intercisa) have the same ethnical and
cultural traits.

All the general interpretations of the problem of inhumation in the early imperial period
assume, in varying degrees, the presence of an Oriental sepulchral component. The views
concerning this problem can be classed into three basic groups:

- that inhumation is a result of intensive contacts and mutual influences between the
eastern Mediterranean and Italy;

- that inhumation is a result of the merging of eastern sepulchral traditions and of a

renaissance of the earlier Italian funerary forms, particularly manifested in the decoration
and form of stone sarcophagi found in Rome at the end of the 1st and in the first half of
the 2nd century A.D.: and

- that inhumation is a consequence of the Christian diaspora.

Although apparently different, these this have some basic elements in common: they all
postulate influences from the East and their merging with the native sepulchral tradition,
and they treat the chronology of these phenomena in the same way.

In connection with this, it is necessary to discuss the problem of the chronological

relationship between cremation and inhumation and to determine the time when
cremation superseded inhumation/This problem ., has been frequently discussed in
archaeological literature, but no definite solution has been offered because the individual
provinces of the Empire had different combinations of the native and Oriental elements
and different attitudes to their earlier sepulchral traditions. The middle of the 2nd century
A.D. has been often suggested as the period when both burial rites were in equal use, but
this theory does not hold good for the majority of the European provinces of the Empire.
Inhumation was the predominant rite in Gaul, Raetia, Dacia, Thrace, Moesia Inferior,
etc., as late as the first decades or even the middle of the 3rd century AD. The provinces
in the territory of Yugoslavia offer a similar picture. In Pannonia Superior, intensive use
of cremation can be traced up to the time of A. Severus, and sporadic cremation burials
appear as late as the first half of the 4th century A.D. Inhumation becomes the dominant
rite only about the middle of the 3rd century AD. It seems that too much emphasis has
been laid on the break caused by the Marcomanni wars. It is usually considered that after
these wars inhumation was almost the only rite practised in Pannonia Superior, although
cremation still dominated at the end of the 2nd century A.D.

In Dalmatia, the number of explored cemeteries in which the transition from cremation to
inhumation can be studied within a clearly defined chronological framework is very
small. In fact, we can rely solely on the results of the explorations of the cemeteries of
Doclea. The transition from cremation to inhumation in this cemetery took place in the
fourth decade of the 3rd century A.D., which is the period to which the latest cremation
graves belong and in which inhumation graves began to predominate. However,
cremation was still practised to a considerable extent even after this period in Dalmatia.
There are cremation graves from the second half of the 3rd century A.D., and even from
as late as the beginning of the 4th century A.D. (Rogatica, Radoinja, Kolovrat). The
earliest inhumation graves in the Yugoslav part of the province of Pannonia Inferior
belong to the end of the 1st century (Sirmium), but they become common only in the 3rd
century A.D. Unfortunately, this material has not been published, so that we cannot
define more precisely the period in which cremation was superseded by inhumation. It is
interesting to note that even in major urban centres cremation was practiced as late as the
beginning of the 4th century A.D. (the latest graves in Sirmium are dated by the coins of
Constantius II and Iulianus). A few cremation graves from the beginning of the 4th
century have been reported from the Hungarian part of Pannonia Inferior (Intercisa,
Aquincum).

In Moesia Superior there is evidence of cremation in major urban centers (Viminacium,

Scupi, Singidunum) until the fifth decade of the 3rd century A.D. (the latest coins are
those of A. Severus in Viminacium and Scupi, and of Philippus I in Singidunum). In a
few cemeteries (Mala Kopasnica, Kamnik near Skopje, Glavnik), however, cremation
graves are dated by the coins of Constantinus I and Licinius. Inhumation becomes the
dominant rite in the middle of the 3rd century A.D.

In the province of Macedonia cremation is sporadically practised until the middle of the
4th century A.D. (Stobi, coin of Constantius II; Pesterica, coin of Julianus). By the fourth
decade of the 3rd century, however, inhumation had become the dominant rite (period IV,
according to A. B. Wezolowski's periodization of the graves at Stobi; children's skeleton
burials from the earlier period are an exceptional phenomenon and should be accounted
for the by Roman custom not to cremate children - Pliny. NH, VII, 15).

Generally speaking, the transition from cremation to inhumation in the territory of

Yugoslavia took place in the fourth decade of the 3rd century AD. This process .was not
abrupt, but gradual and lasted for generations. The cremation rite persisted for a long time
after that date, not only as "an exception confirming the rule". The appearance of
cremation graves at the end of the 3rd and in the first half of the 4th century AD. cannot
be considered as an expression of the resistance of the pagan population to Christianity,
but as a logical consequence of the continuous evolution of a sepulchral idea which
survived in the circumstances of religious toleration.

The change in the burial rite in the territory of Yugoslavia was partly caused by the
impact of the eastern Mediterranean sacral tradition (the manner of burial, the Oriental
cults, the Christian religion), and partly by the social leveling of the population of the
provinces after the Constitutio Antoniana. This act virtually abolished the principle of
the spiritual supremacy of Italy, and particularly of Rome, so that new ideas, more
acceptable to the native population, began to gain ground.