Liegt da der Hund begraben? An aspect of post-funerary intrusions from the Wielbark culture cemetery in Czarnówko in Pomerania

ill. ; 25 cm

il. ; 25 cm

In comparison with other Wielbark culture necropoles, the cemetery in Czarnówko is remarkable not only due to its size, but also because of a very high percentage of disturbed graves. It is estimated that nearly 90% of inhumation grave pits were disturbed in antiquity. This paper deals with the practice of deposition of a dog’s body into a grave in the course of post-funerary intrusion. This habit is unknown in other cemeteries of the Wielbark culture. Bones of the animal underwent examinations using absolute dating methods. Possible reasons behind the deposition of the animal in the trench are discussed with reference to similar discoveries from the Central European Barbaricum in the Roman Period. The role of the dog in funerary rites in antiquity is stressed.