Megalithic ceMeteries of the funnel Beaker culture in the sandoMierz upland

Florek M. 2020. Megalithic Cemeteries of the Funnel Beaker culture in the Sandomierz Upland. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 72/1, 213-232. In the Sandomierz Upland, 39 confirmed or putative cemeteries of the Funnel Beaker culture have been disco vered so far, in addition to 4 burials found within settlements. Archaeological excavations have been conducted on 17 of these cemeteries, and on 8 of them large stone tombs have been discovered. The most common form of the megalithic tombs are very long trapezoids, built along a west-east axis, with stone casing on their sides, and a large, post-framed room in the eastern, wider part of the trapezoid. The main grave, covered with a mound of earth, could be found behind the room, containing two parallel chambers, or a single tomb, most often with double burials. Large tombs are accompanied by flat graves, usually constructed using stone material. Clear examples of funerary practices include deposits of flint tools and items, as well as the peculiar treat ment of bodies discovered on some cemeteries, which might be described as apotropaic and anti-vampire rituals.

In the Sandomierz Upland, thirty-nine confirmed or putative cemeteries of the Funnel Beaker culture (FBC) have been discovered so far (cf. Florek 2008Florek , reviewing research up until 2006 (Fig. 1). The putative cemeteries are archaeological sites that are known only from surface surveys, which revealed stone constructions associated with artifacts typical of the FBC, along with human remains. Additionally, accidental discoveries, not yet verified by archaeologists, have been made, and objects have been found whose sepulchral function has not been unequivocally confirmed. Four tombs were also discovered within FBC settlements: Gorzyczany (site 7), Kamień Łukawski (site 1), Zawichost-Podgórze (site 1), and Pawłów (site 9) (Florek 2006). The last one was originally thought to be related to fig. 1. Cemeteries and burials within settlements of the FBC in the Sandomierz Upland area. Labels: 1 -confirmed cemeteries with megalithic tombs; 2 -putative cemeteries with megalithic tombs; 3 -non-megalithic cemeteries; 4 -cemeteries of unknown type; 5 -graves within settlements; 6 -range of the loess cover; 7 -the Sandomierz Upland boundary.
It appears, however, that the presence of megalithic tombs can be ruled out in site 2 in Kichary Nowe. The hypothesis that five FBC stone-box graves discovered there were covered with a single earthen mound (Kowalewska-Marszałek et al. 2006, 356-357) is no longer supported, and archaeological analogies for such an object would be difficult to find.

CEMETEry LOCATIONS
Both confirmed and putative megalithic cemeteries were located in exposed places: on ridges, and at higher altitudes of valley slopes, highland peaks, or knolls. Very often these places had been occupied by neolithic settlements (e.g. in Daromin, Kichary Nowe, Tominy, Złota), and therefore they had some permament characteristics of cultural landscape; most importantly, they were deforested (see Iwaniszewski 2006, 265).
There has been no research on the spatial relationship between FBC cemeteries and contemporary settlements in the area of the Sandomierz Upland (one exception being Stryczowice and Broniszowice, see Iwaniszewski 2006). In light of existing information, it appears that the distance between a cemetery and the closest settlement ranged from 100 to 300 meters, sometimes even less (in Pawłów, Malice Kościelne, Tominy, Dacharzów, Czyżów Szlachecki). In Wojciechowice and Stryczowice, cemeteries were founded on the site of older FBC settlements.
One of the most interesting examples of spatial relationships between FBC sites can be observed in Pawłów, near Zawichost. One cemetery (Pawłów site 3), which has been excavated (cf. Bargieł and Florek 2006b;Florek 2008 and references therein), is located directly to the south of a settlement (Pawłów site 9), while another one (Pawłów site 10), which was accidentaly discovered, is located to the north. Archaeological excavations conducted in 2002 demonstrated that there used to be a depression -a small, dry valley -between the southern cemetery (Pawłów site 3) and the settlement (Bargieł and Florek 2005, 30). The terrain topography suggests that another depression might also have separated the settlement and the northern cemetery (Pawłów site 10).
Such co-location of these sites does not appear to be coincidental. The depression might have been a border, both physical and symbolic, between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It needs to be emphasised, however, that in the absence of precise chronological markers or absolute dates, we cannot be certain that both cemeteries and the settlement were indeed contemporary to each other.

SPATIAL PATTErNS
Cemeteries containing megalithic tombs often form complex and differentiated spatial and functional complexes. Apart from large trapezoidal tombs, they also include flat graves, burials dug into into earthen mounds, and sometimes other objects.
At Pawłów site 3 (Fig. 2), there was only one trapezoidal tomb (I), the largest discovered so far in the Sandomierz Upland. It was located in the northern part of the cemetery, with a length of 52 meters, oriented along a west-east axis. Not far (8-16 meters) from the western part of tomb I was another one (tomb II), in the form of a large, elongated building, with post-frame walls, and containing graves within. On its southern end, excavations revealed a trench dug in a crescent shape, and three graves with stone casings (two of which were joined together). Further east, the remains of a rectangular building with a roof supported by 7 or 8 wooden posts were discovered. All these objects were interpreted as belonging to another large tomb (III). Apart from tombs I-III, the cemetery contained flat graves, sometimes including different stone constructions, sometimes lacking them entirely. Four of these graves were located between the eastern part of trapezoidal tomb I and the post-framed structure (tomb II); the rest were clustered to the south of tomb III. Also worth noting is the empty space separating different burial clusters, and the differentiated spatial orientation of flat graves located in the southern part of the cemetery (see Bargieł and Florek 2006b, and references therein).
In Malice Kościelne (Fig. 3), which so far appears to be the best-researched FBC cemetery in the Sandomierz Upland, two parallel trapezoidal tombs were discovered, along with flat graves located between the tombs towards the front, as well as directly to the east. A number of large pits with burned out loess bottoms was also revealed by excavations; while they fig. 2. Pawłów site 3, map of the FBC cemetery. Labels: 1 -megalithic stone constructions; 2 -post pits and cavities; 3 -remains of wooden constructions; 4 -trenches; 5 -graves with stone casings; 6 -burial pits without stone casings; 7 -skeletons; 8 -excavation plots. Edited by M. Florek appeared to be similar in size, shape, and orientation to the graves, no bone fragments nor any other artifacts have been found (Bargieł and Florek 2006a). They might be interpreted as cenotaphs or other ritual objects, e.g. with the purpose of symbolic fire purification. It is likely that another pair of parellel (but displaced) megalithic tombs was also located in Broniszowice (Bąbel 2006), their remains being mound A (which was excavated) and mound B (not excavated). Two mounds (only one of which remains today) containing megalithic objects might have been present in Kunów (Bąbel 1998, 9-11;Florek 2011b, 249). It is also possible that two parallel megalithic tombs are inside the so-called mound I in Święcica (Fig. 4). However, because archaeological surveys conducted there resulted only in very limited and fragmentary information, the status of this object is unclear (see Szeliga and Florek 2007).
Because of the relatively low number of surveyed cemeteries, we do not know if the appearance of the megalithic tombs in pairs is significant. It is, however, worth mentioning that a similar spatial situation was discovered in Grzybów near Staszów, another megalithic cemetery close to the Sandomierz Upland area (Garbacz 2006), and also in Zagaje Stradowskie (Burchard 2006).
In Stryczowice, 3 parallel trapezoidal tombs were discovered, along with a number of accompanying flat graves (Matraszek and Sałaciński 2006). The putative cemetery in Garbacz-Skała included 5 (cf. Bąbel 1998, 12;Florek 2011b, 248) or 6 mounds (as inferred from LIDAR analysis), each of which might contain one megalithic tomb. If such is the case, it would be the largest megalithic cemetery of the FBC in the Sandomierz Upland area. Other cemeteries with trapezoidal megalithic tombs (Dobrocice, Gorzyczany, Pawłów site 10, Czyżów Szlachecki), have not yet been surveyed in sufficient detail to determine their layout and exact composition, apart from them containing at least one megalithic tomb.
The best-researched megalithic cemeteries can usually be subdivided into several zones, each of which included a group of graves of a certain type or character. In Malice Kościelne, the western parts of the tombs' embankments (and especially tomb I) contained dug-in secondary burials of women and children. In Pawłów site 3, individuals buried along the northern wall of the trapezoidal tomb (I) were also exclusively women and children. The southern part of the cemetery contained another group of graves, where research revealed peculiar funeral practices: body binding and fragmentation, secondary or fragmentary burials, and human remains in a prone position, etc. (Bargieł and Florek 2006b, 392). Similar practices in the context of medieaval or modern burials are usually interpreted as anti-vampiric ones, the purpose of which is to prevent the deceased from returning and hurting the living (cf. Żydok 2004).
In no cases could a separate zone for funerary rituals or sacral practices be found. The entrances to the trapezoidal tombs -and in the case of the Pawłów site, to other sepulchral structures, as well (tombs II and III) -were usually located on their east ends, but no such ritual zone was ever found there. According to observations made in Broniszowice, roads leading to the megalithic tombs should also be located on the east side (Bąbel 1998, 22;Iwaniszewski 2006, 262). In the case of Malice Kościelne, however, there was another flatgrave cemetery directly in the front of the megalithic tombs, and a terrain depression behind it. That would also preclude the existence of a special ritual zone in the eastern part of the cemetery in Malice.
This issue, and the problem of the spatial layout of cemeteries in general, obviously requires more research and archaeological surveys.

TyPES OF TOMBS
The most basic type of megalithic tomb of the FBC in the Sandomierz Upland includes objects built on a surface, in the shape of a very long trapezoid or a triangle. They were constructed from wood and stone, and covered at least partially with earthen mounds or embankments. Stones were used for building walls that enclosed the longer sides of the trapezoid (and sometimes also its base at the front), as well as for the construction of central grave structures enclosed by the tombs. In Malice Kościelne and Pawłów, a number of flint deposits (flakes, axes, and hammer stones) was discovered within the stone walls; in Dobrocice shattered pottery was found there. Such artifacts can be interpreted as foundation sacrifices.
Trapezoidal tombs identified so far in the Sandomierz Upland were oriented more or less along a west-east axis, with the wider base facing east. The largest deviation from this pattern was encountered in Czyżów Szlachecki, where the tomb was oriented along the NW-SE axis, with its base facing SE (Fig. 5). It is however possible that the (putative) tomb in Daromin, on the Opatówka River, is the only known exception to this rule. In this village, where a stone grave with skeletal remains was accidentally discovered, Włodzimierz Antoniewicz conducted excavations in 1924, revealing another grave (Antoniewicz 1925, 249-250, fig. 17). The grave, uncovered only partially, took the form of two rows of stones, between which a body was buried in a fetal position on the side (Fig. 6). Considering the layout of the parellel stone structures, and the lack of walls enclosing the grave from the Pawłów, in both tombs in Malice Kościelne, and also in Broniszowice, might have been places where funeral rituals or other sepulchral practices were conducted. Behind thempossibly separated by a wall -was located the central (main) chamber of the tomb. In Malice Kościelne, these (ante-) rooms also contained graves, but their stone casings were placed below the floor level. The largest surveyed tomb in the Sandomierz Upland was found in Pawłów site 3. It measured 52 meters in length, with a base 8.5 meters wide (Fig. 7). The length of the partially surveyed tomb from Czyżów Szlachecki was determined to be roughly 40 meters, with its base measuring 9-10 meters (Fig. 5). Tombs in Malice Kościelne were 27 and 23 meters long, with wider bases measuring 5 and 4.5 meters, respectively (Fig. 8). Finally, tomb "A" in Broniszowice was approximately 25-39 meters long, and 10 meters wide at its base. While it is difficult to estimate the size of other, not so well surveyed, megalithic tombs, it is clear that objects of this type, found in the Sandomierz Upland area, are smaller than similar tombs found in lowland areas. fig. 6. Daromin site 1A. Plan of (a fragment of) a putative megalithic tomb, with a secondary dug-in early Bronze Age grave. After W. Antoniewicz 1925, fig. 17 other two sides, it appears that Antoniewicz unearthed the narrow end (the so-called "tail") of the trapezoidal megalithic tomb, with a secondary grave of the Mierzanowice culture dug into its embankment, and not, as he interpreted it, a stone grave from the early Bronze Age (cf. Antoniewicz 1925, 250). The practice of the people of the Corded Ware and Mierzanowice cultures of digging into embankments of older FBC tombs is known from other locations, e.g. a cemetery in Malice Kościelne, and -outside the Sandomierz Upland area -from Grzybów and Zagaje Stradowskie (see Bargieł et al. 2001;Garbacz 2006;Burchard 2006). If this interpretation is correct, then the putative tomb in Daromin would be oriented along the N-S axis, with its base facing south (although there are discrepancies between the description of the grave and its illustration, in terms of its orientation -see Antoniewicz 1925, 249-250, and fig. 17), making it therefore different from other, confirmed megalithic tombs from the Sandomierz Upland area.
In the wider parts of trapezoidal tombs, located usually at their eastern ends (apart from the putative tomb from Daromin described above), there was a rectangular room, likely with a roof supported by wooden posts. Such constructions, discovered in tomb I in Although tombs II and III from Pawłów, as described above, differ from other "typical" trapezoidal constructions, they share the same ideo-functional elements, such as an elongated shape, orientation along a west-east axis, a room in the eastern part of the tomb, and graves containing stone constructions within.
Tomb II was built completely above the surface, on a plan of two trapezoids joined together at their bases. It was 30 meters long, 6 meters wide at the center, but only 3 meters wide at the western end. Its walls were of the vertical-post log -or possibly braided -type, with a gable or hip roof supported by wooden posts (Fig. 9).
Inside this structure, seven graves were discovered. The first three graves, located in the eastern part of the building (where the entrance had most likely been), were oriented along a north-south axis. Similar to graves unearthed in Malice Kościelne, their stone casings were below the floor level. The other 4 graves (including a cenotaph with grave good deposits), which were dug on the opposite site of the building, were oriented along a W-E axis, and their stone casings reached above the contemporary floor level. In the eastern part of tomb III, there was a room (4.5 x 3.8 m) with a roof supported by 7 or 8 wooden posts, and with an entrance from the eastern direction. Behind it, 3 stone graves were discovered (Fig. 10). One of them contained the burial of an adult man; another, adjacent one, contained the remains of 2 women and a child; the third one was also a burial of a woman. The graves were most likely covered by a trapezoidal embankment measuring over 15 meters in length, surrounded by a trench in the shape of a crescent.

FUNErAL rITES
Most, if not all, burials performed by the people of the FBC in the Sandomierz Upland were inhumations (skeletal burials). It is worth noting, however, that the remains of a person buried in the central trapezoid tomb (I) in Pawłów were affected in some way by fire (Zychman-Kozak and Szeliga 2005, 36). In Malice Kościelne, two rectangular pits, bearing signs of some intensive fire activity, were discovered between megalithic tombs, of a size and orientation similar to graves located nearby. These pits, containing a large amount of tiny charcoal fragments, blackened stones and singular animal bones, might be interpreted as cenotaphs.
On the non-megalithic cemeteries of the FBC, a uniformity of burial practicies can be observed; most graves contained only one body (only in Dacharzów two double graves were discovered, and another one in Góry Wysokie, see Florek 2006, 409;Tabaczyńscy 1973, 54), which was placed in a supine position along a west-east axis, with the head to the west (with the exception of the double grave in Góry Wysokie, where the bodies had been placed in opposite directions). The megalithic cemeteries, on the other hand, were much more differentiated in terms of the number and orientation of the dead. Other unusual practicies were also observed, like partial and secondary burials, binding of the deceased, or fragmentation of the bodies, which might be intepreted as anti-vampiric rituals.
The most uniform burials were observed in the central graves of the largest tombs. If the central grave contained two grave chambers, each one would contain a single burial (e.g. at Pawłów site 3, tombs I and II), while if only one central chamber was present, it would include most often a double burial of an adult and a child or a younger individual (e.g. at Malice Kościelne, tombs I and II). Bodies were always placed in a supine position, most often along an east-west axis, with heads to the west. There were some exceptions, however -for instance, a central grave in tomb II at Malice Kościelne, where burials were oriented along the south-north axis, with heads pointing south.
In the case of flat graves located outside megalithic tombs, graves dug into their embankments, and burials placed in buildings constructed in the eastern part of the tombs, bodies were also frequently placed in a single grave each, in supine position, with hands along the body or palms resting on the pelvis. The exceptions include double graves (graves no. 7 and 45 at Pawłów site 3; grave no. 5 at Malice Kościelne; and, at Czyżów Szlachecki, a grave found outside the megalithic construction) and triple graves (grave no. 16/3 at Malice Kościelne, grave no. 46 at Pawłów site 3).
The orientation of burials was much more diversified. While most remains of the dead were found to be along a west-east axis (with some deviations) with heads pointing west, some bodies had been placed the other way round (i.e. with the head to the east) -for instance, grave no. 34 at Pawłów site 3; grave no. 2 and a female burial in double grave no. 16/3 at Malice Kościelne. The north-south orientation was also quite common, with heads pointing towards the south (e.g. three graves in the structure built in the eastern part of tomb I at Malice Kościelne, grave no 5 at the same site, and double grave no. 7 in the eastern part of tomb II at Pawłów site 3) and north (flat graves nos. 4 and 6 at Malice Kościelne, grave nos. 44, 45 and 46 at Pawłów site 3, three flat graves in the Stryczowice cemetery).
As mentioned before, peculiar burial practices were observed in the southern part of the site 3 cemetery in Pawłów, including secondary burials in which the deceased appear to have had their hands tied behind their backs and their bodies fragmented (graves no. 29, 30, 44), graves that included skeletal elements from a different person (grave no. 43), a triple grave with the remains of a man, a woman, and a child (grave no. 46), and a double grave (no. 44). Grave no. 5 at Malice Kościelne might also be considered unusual; the remains of a woman in a prone position were found with one leg curled up and placed above the other, along with the body of a child in a fetal position, with both legs curled up, and the head pointing south and facing the body of the woman (cf. Florek and Libera 1997, fig. 3: B).

GrAVE GOODS
Burials discovered at cemeteries containing megalithic tombs were also very diverse in terms of the grave goods present. Among three graves found within tomb A at Broniszowice, only one contained pottery fragments of an undetermined number of vessels, including a collared bottle. A stone axe and an axe made from striped flint were found nearby, and might have come from one of the destroyed graves (Bąbel 1998, 25). Inside a central grave in tomb I at Pawłów only a single flake made from Volhynian flint was found. Another burial, in tomb III at the same cemetery, contained a scraper made from Świeciechów flint.
Grave goods were also discovered inside 3 of 7 post construction graves (tomb II) in Pawłów, with the largest number of deposits found in grave no. 3, which, while containing no human remains (and therefore being a cenotaph), included an amphora, a stone axe, an axe of Świeciechów flint, a scraper, and a retouched flake made from Volhynian flint. Among flat graves in Pawłów, only one (no. 42) contained a deposit -namely, a small axe made from striped flint. In the other cemetery in the same location (site 10), a collared bottle was found. Even fewer grave goods were discovered in graves from the Malice Kościelne cemetery. The central grave (no. 10) of tomb I contained a fragment of a blade made from chocolate flint and a scraper made from a boar's tusk; inside the central grave (no. 3) of tomb II, several fragments of animal bones (including parts of skulls, jaws, and long bones of cattle) were found with the remains of an adult and a child. Grave goods were also present in: grave no. 14 -a fragment of a retouched flake; no. 19 -a scraper (both artifacts made from Świeciechów flint), and no. 5 -a bone awl (Bargieł et al. 1998, fig. 3: 4, 10-12, Bargieł and Florek 2006a, fig. 11: 5, 14).
Some pottery was also found accompanying graves known only from accidental discoveres, at Pawłów site 10 and Wlonice (Fig. 11).

ChrONOLOGy
The cemeteries with megalithic tombs discussed above can be dated, on the basis of the discovered artifacts and a few pubished absolute dates, to belong to the classical phase of the south-eastern group of the FBC. On the other hand, cemeteries that do not include megalithic constructions, and contain uniformly orientated flat graves, are probably younger, and related to the late phase of the south-eastern group of the FBC (cf. Nowak 2009, 341-348, 477-478;Król 2011, 89-95).

CONCLUSION
1. In the area of the Sandomierz Upland, two types of FBC cemeteries can be found: megalithic ones, which include large tombs built at ground level from stone, wood, and excavated earth (rarely from wood only), with a number of burials inside; and non-megalithic ones, which contain only flat graves. In FBC settlements, a number of burial pits (sometimes repurposed) have been discovered.
2. Most of the megalithic tombs were in the form of elongated trapezoidal constructions, with stone casings built along their walls, oriented on a west-east axis, with a post-framed room in the eastern, wider part of the trapezoid. Behind the room, a central grave was located, with two parallel stone chambers, or one chamber, most often with a double burial. These constructions were covered with an earthen embankment.
3. Both types of cemeteries include flat graves with different types of stone constructions (walls, casings, boxes etc.). Burial pits lacking any stone constructions were rarely found. Megalithic cemeteries could include graves oriented both along a westeast, as well as a north-south axis. Non-megalithic cemeteries contained graves along a west-east axis only (allowing for some deviation, which remained consistent for a given cemetery).