Towards an Absolute Chronology at the Beginning of the Late Bronze Age in Slovenia. New Radiocarbon Dates from Ljubljana

Abstract

The cemetery at Ljubljana – Dvorišče SAZU is of fundamental importance for the research into the Late Bronze Age in the territory of the southeastern Alps and beyond. The recently conducted revision of the entire cemetery revealed that the oldest cremations should be placed already at the very beginning of the Late Bronze Age period. Such observations have, furthermore, been confirmed by the new AMS dating results. The analysis of ceramic finds from Ljubljana cemetery showed that the best analogies for them can be found in the territory of the northern Carpathian Basin. Due to analogies in ceramic finds, cremated bones from cemeteries of the so-called Piliny Culture in Slovakia (Radzovce, Šafárikovo) were also sent for AMS analysis. Further typo-chronological analysis of the bronze grave goods revealed that connections with communities from the northern Carpathian Basin were decisive not only for the formative phase of the cemetery in Ljubljana at the very beginning of the Late Bronze Age but also later on during the Early Urnfield period. In conclusion, all cremation graves in Slovenia from the Initial and Early Urnfield period are considered. Although their number is exceptionally small, it seems possible to distinguish two separate phases. The oldest phase can be correlated with the Br D/Ha A1 period (Ljubljana Ia 1 phase) and is dated from the 13th century to the first half of the 12th century BC. The second phase, covering the major part of the Ha A period (Ljubljana Ia 2 phase), ends around the middle of the 11th century BC.