Poznań/ A team of scientists from Poland and Ukraine examined a burial mound in Podolia

A team of scientists from Poland and Ukraine conducted research on barrow No. 3 near the villages of Ivanivci and Antoniwka in Podolia. Archaeologists discovered women's graves there. According to Adam Mickiewicz University, this type of burial has never been subjected to such detailed research before.

The scientists published the results of their work in the journal "Praehistorische Zeitschrif." The fieldwork was conducted in 2019. The Polish team was led by Prof. Marzena Szmyt from Adam Mickiewicz University and Prof. Piotr Włodarczak from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Ukrainian team was led by Dr. Vitaly Rud from the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

The press release emphasized that the mound selected for research was severely damaged by intensive agricultural activity. Its diameter was approximately 21 meters, and its height above the surrounding ground was only 40-60 cm. The mound was surrounded by a ditch 4-6 meters wide and approximately 25 cm deep. The authors of the article conducted research there, including using a drone and a magnetometer.

"It turned out that the barrow contained only seven objects, including two graves dating from approximately 820-685 BC and associated with the population of the so-called Black Forest culture. Importantly, the researchers emphasize, both graves were intended for women: one of them died at the age of over 25, while the other was approximately 50 years old at the time of her death. Anthropological examination revealed that the younger woman buried here had a minor foot injury, and thanks to isotope analyses, we know that her diet included meat and grains (including millet). The older woman, on the other hand, had severely worn teeth," the researchers reported.

The report also noted that a similar set of objects was placed next to each deceased woman's body: a clay cup with a high-raised handle and a spindle, of which only the clay spindle whorl survived. Archaeologists speculate that this repeated arrangement was likely intended to emphasize one of the women's primary tasks: textile production.

"Scientists don't know what was placed in both cups, but it was likely some kind of beverage. However, they do know that both vessels were made of a specially prepared clay mass containing only a small amount of fireclay. These were likely specially selected specimens, different from the vessels used at the funeral feast – the wake, the remains of which were also discovered. It is worth adding that meat dishes were eaten at the feast, as indicated by the skeletal remains of cattle, pigs, and sheep or goats," the university reported.

Prof. Marzena Szmyt from the Faculty of Archaeology of Adam Mickiewicz University, quoted in the press release, pointed out that the barrow from the area around Iwaniwci-Antonivka currently has no full analogies in the Chornolesian culture, as objects containing modest burials of women have not been subjected to such detailed research so far.

"Our burial mound demonstrates a little-known variation of rituals used in women's funerals. Features such as modest and repetitive grave goods relating to basic female occupations, the lack of objects made of materials other than clay and possibly unpreserved wood from a spindle, as well as the small size of the mound suggest the low status of the women buried here in their community," noted Professor Marzena Szmyt.

She added that, on the other hand, the deliberate selection of vessels (cups) deposited in the graves, made with great care, as well as the holding of a customary funeral feast, confirm the respect shown to the deceased. "It's also worth remembering that the criteria for selecting the deceased, whose bodies were placed in graves covered with a barrow or buried in an existing mound, are still unclear," she noted.

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań announced that all materials discovered in the barrow—artifacts, ecofacts, and geofacts—were subjected to multifaceted laboratory studies, including anthropological, archaeobotanical, archaeozoological, geoarchaeological, mineralogical, petrographic, isotopic, and chronometric analyses, much of which were conducted at Adam Mickiewicz University. Participants included Professor Tomasz Goslar and Professor Iwona Hildebrandt-Radke from the Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, and Professor Marzena Szmyt and Dr. Danuta Żurkiewicz from the Faculty of Archaeology.

The article in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrif is titled "An Early Iron Age Female Funeral Site in the Ukrainian Forest-Steppe: Insights from Ivanivtsi-Antonivka, Barrow 3." The authors are: Marzena Szmyt, Piotr Włodarczak, Oleksandr Szełehan, Anita Szczepanek, Marcin M. Przybyła, Witalij Rud, Danuta Żurkiewicz, Tomasz Goslar, Iwona Hildebrandt-Radke, Daniel Makowiecki, Anna Rauba-Bukowska, Joanna Rennwanz.

Adam Mickiewicz University announced that field and laboratory research was conducted as part of the project "Podolia as a contact space in the 3rd millennium BC: barrows on the Murafa and Riv rivers" (no. 2017/27/B/HS3/01444), financed by the National Science Centre, headed by Prof. Marzena Szmyt. (PAP)

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