AUTHOR: Ion T. DRAGOMIR
THE HALLSTATTIAN COMMON TOMB FROM SUCEVENI, GALAŢI COUNTY
Danubius, XVI, Galaţi, 1996, pp. 365-372.
LE TOMBEAU COLLECTIF HALLSTATTIEN DECOUVERT A SUCEVENI, DEPARTEMENT DE GALATI
Abstract
One of the most challenging archaeological discoveries made on the territory of Galaţi county is the common tomb from Suceveni. The tomb contains four skeletons disposed in very uncommon positions. They seem to have been randomly thrown in the burial hole but, at the same time, the four skeletons seem to delineate the rounded shape of the grave.
Although totally deprived of inventory objects, nevertheless the tomb includes one bovid skull, placed there as funerary offering, with traces of burning. In fact, all the human bones also have slight traces of burning and they are covered with a thin layer of ashes.
Though uncommon, the tomb is not unique, some similar discoveries being made in Romania and in the neighboring countries. Through a comparative approach, the author also tries to find the meaning of the tomb; it definitely had a ritual character, but it is difficult to state anything more precise in this respect.
The tomb may be related to the nearby settlement belonging to Basarabi culture and hence it can be dated to the First Iron Age, in the period comprised between the VIII-th and the VI-th centuries B.C.