Medieval Jewelry and Burial Assemblages in Croatia: A Study of Graves and Grave Goods, ca. 800 to ca. 1450

269 Pages·2016·38.215 MB·English

by  Vladimir Sokol

Medieval Jewelry and Burial Assemblages in Croatia
East Central and Eastern Europe
in the Middle Ages, 450–1450
General Editor
Florin Curta
VOLUME 36
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ecee
Medieval Jewelry
and Burial Assemblages
in Croatia
A Study of Graves and Grave Goods, ca. 800 to ca. 1450
By
Vladimir Sokol
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustrations: Gold, silver and bronze earrings and rings (9th and 10th centuries), Stranče (Crikvenica).
With kind permission of the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sokol, Vladimir, 1948–
 Medieval jewelry and burial assemblages in Croatia : a study of graves and grave goods, ca. 800 to ca. 1450 /
by Vladimir Sokol.
  pages cm. — (East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450, ISSN 1872–8103 ; volume 36)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-90-04-18553-1 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-30674-5 (e-book) 1. Croatia—
Antiquities. 2. Cemeteries—Croatia. 3. Tombs—Croatia. 4. Grave goods—Croatia. 5. Jewelry,
Medieval—Croatia. 6. Earrings—Croatia. 7. Material culture—Croatia—History—To 1500. 8. Excavations
(Archaeology)—Croatia. 9. Social archaeology—Croatia. 10. Archaeology, Medieval—Croatia. I. Title.
 DR1521.S65 2016
 949.72’01—dc23
2015034766
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issn 1872-8103
isbn 978-90-04-18553-1 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-30674-5 (e-book)
Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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To Tomislav and Mirjana
∵

Contents
Abbreviations x
Introduction 1
part 1
Graves and Material Culture
1 A History of Research 5
The Beginning of Excavations—The First Finds 5
First Classification of Artefacts 5
Modern Research 7
Recent Research (1989–2012) 13
2 Cemeteries and Material Culture 17
Spatial, Temporal and Cultural Characteristics 17
Key Cemeteries 17
3 Cemetery Stratigraphy and the Classification of Material Culture 30
Methodology 30
Cemetery Analysis 31
Relative Chronology and the Interpretation of Groups 82
4 Cemetery Horizons and Material Culture Phases 88
Cemetery Horizons 89
First or Early (Pagan) Horizon (±795–850/855) 89
Second or Middle (Christian) Horizon (±850/855–1090/1110) 93
Third or Late Horizon (±1090/1110–1450) 95
5 The Development of Material Culture: Earrings and Their Evolution 99
±
PHASE I: Early or Pagan— ?795–850/855 99
±
PHASE II: Classical— 850/855–1000 102
±
PHASE III: Interim 1000–1090/1110 107
PHASE IV: Late (ca. 1110–1450) 110
6 Grave Architecture 114
General Remarks 114
Interpretation and General Remarks
1 Croat Burial Rites and Belief System 123
Material Culture and Non-Christian Spirituality among Croats—Its Duration and Cessation 124
viii contents
2 Stone Cists: Late Antique or Early Medieval? 126
3 Burial Customs 129
4 Burial Horizons and Churches 132
5 Cemeteries between the Mountains and the River Sava 136
part 2
Earrings
1 Earrings as Grave Goods 141
List Sites with Earring Finds 142
2 Medieval Earrings in Croatia 144
Omega-shaped Earrings (no. “1”) 144
Plain Links 144
Plain Links with Pseudo S-loop and Clasp (no. “2”) 144
Plain Links with Thinner Hoop and Spiral Cone Ending (no. “3”) 145
Links with Three Interlaced Pendants on the Lower Part of the Hoop and Spiral Hoops on the
Links (no. “4”) 152
Earrings with Grape-shaped Pendant with Filigree Ornament (no. “5”) 153
Earrings with Stylized Ear-of-wheat Spike (no. “6”) 158
Plain Links with Thinner Hoop, with Loop and Clasp (no. “7”) 159
Ancient-looking Earrings with Oppositely Placed Buds (no. “8”) 159
Ancient-looking Temple Pendants with Three Rings on the Link and Filigree Ornament
(no. “9”) 166
Ancient-looking Earrings with Floral, Omega-shaped Ornaments (no. “10”) 167
Triple-beaded Earrings or Temple Pendants with Bell-shaped Calotte (no. “11”) 167
Finely Cast Grape-shaped Earrings (no. “12”) 174
Filigree Earrings with Almond-shaped Pendant (no. “13”) 174
Earrings with Single, Smooth Beads (no. “14”) 175
Tetra-beaded Temple Pendants with Filigree Ornament (no. “15”) 175
Earrings or Temple Pendants with Single Beads with Filigree Ornament (no. “16”) 186
Earrings or Temple Pendants with Intricately Fashioned, Single Beads with Filigree Ornament
(no. “17”) 186
Earrings or Temple Pendants with Single, Smooth Beads (no. “18”) 187
Earrings or Temple Pendants with Twin Beads Decorated with Filigree Ornament (no. “19”) 187
Plain Links with Straight Open Ends (no. “20”) 193
Earrings with Single, Round Beads (no. “21”) 193
Earrings with Three Round Beads (no. “22”) 202
Temple Pendants with Single, Bi-conical Beads between Two Loops (no. “23”) 202
Temple Pendants with Three, Bi-conical Beads Arranged in a Y-shaped Pattern (no. “24”) 202
Earrings Made of Thin Interwoven Wire (no. “25”) 203
Earrings with Thicker Links and S-shaped Ends (no. “26”) 212
Earrings or Temple Pendants with Three Joints (no. “27”) 212
Earrings with Three Joints Decorated with Filigree (no. “28”) 213
Earrings with Filigree and Granulated Ornament (no. “29”) 213
Contents ix
Earrings with Three, Equally Sized, Round Beads Decorated with Filigree (no. “30”) 222
Triple-beaded Earrings with a Larger Central Bead and Filigree Decoration (no. “31”) 223
Table of Absolute Chronology for Earrings—31 Basic Types 229
Conclusion 232
List of Cited References 237
Index of Proper Names 251
Index of Geographical Names 253