Rethinking collective burial in Mediterranean caves: Middle Bronze Age Grotta Regina Margherita, Central Italy

Skeates, R., Beckett, J., Mancini, D., Cavazzuti, C., Silvestri, L., Hamilton, W. D. , Sayle, K. L. , Crowder, K. D., Rolfo, M. and Angle, M. (2021) Rethinking collective burial in Mediterranean caves: Middle Bronze Age Grotta Regina Margherita, Central Italy. Journal of Field Archaeology, 46(6), pp. 382-398. (doi: 10.1080/00934690.2021.1917137)

Abstract

Drawing on the results of new multi-method research in Grotta Regina Margherita—the largest known Middle Bronze Age mortuary cave in west-central Italy (ca. 1650–1450 b.c.)—this article helps to replace the generic idea of “collective burial” with a more precise understanding of how the bodies of the deceased were transformed into potent social, symbolic, and sensuous resources housed in caves. It contextualizes this process within a nuanced understanding of settlement and subsistence practices, in which relatively short-lived and small-scale agricultural communities extended inland to the edge of the Apennine Mountains, ritually demarcating mortuary assemblages in caves in the process.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the British Academy (SG140575).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Sayle, Dr Kerry and Hamilton, Professor Derek
• Authors: Skeates, R., Beckett, J., Mancini, D., Cavazzuti, C., Silvestri, L., Hamilton, W. D., Sayle, K. L., Crowder, K. D., Rolfo, M., and Angle, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Journal of Field Archaeology
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 0093-4690
• ISSN (Online): 2042-4582
• Published Online: 03 May 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Field Archaeology 46(6): 382-398
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License