Secondary cremation burials at Kavousi Vronda, Crete: Symbolic representation in mortuary practice

Abstract

Excavations at Kavousi Vronda, Crete, recovered 107 intrusive Early Iron Age burials within the abandoned Late Minoan IIIC town. Of these, three were secondary cremation burials in amphoras deposited in stone cist graves that also contained multiple primary cremation burials. The small quantity of bone in each amphora and the recurrence of skeletal elements (bones from the cranium and right forearm) suggest that these burials represent the deliberate selection of particular skeletal parts that may have been transported to the communal graves at Vronda. The author explores the possible significance of these token burials within the larger context of funerary ritual and the representation of the dead.