Typology and function of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age cremation graves – a micro-regional case study

In Denmark, there has been little focus on characteristic differences between grave types from the transition period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age with limited elaboration on the nature of the differences and on chronological variation. In nearby Scania, Sweden, a grave type classic for Southern Scandinavia, the ‘cremation pit’, has been interpreted as in situ remains of the actual cremation pyre, that is, a form of bustum. Here, we further explore this interpretation through both osteological and archaeological analyses of recently excavated graves from the Fraugde region on northern Funen, Denmark. In the Fraugde region, pyre debris in cremation graves clearly gain significance during the transition period from the Bronze Age towards the Pre-Roman Iron Age. The exclusive presence of cremation pits on the Pre-Roman Iron Age grave sites in contrast to the varied grave types present on the Bronze Age sites implies a change in cremation practice and technology during the transition period. Although clearly commemorated and left undisturbed for centuries, the cremation pits on the pre-Roman Iron Age sites must be interpreted as intentional, secondary deposits of the debris from the cremation pyre, but not as in situ pyre sites.