Vessels from Late Medieval cemeteries in the Central Balkans

Abstract

Although a rare occurrence in late medieval cemeteries, vessels have been found on almost all major sites of the period, such as Novo Brdo, Trgovište, Reljina Gradina and the churchyard of St Peter’s near Novi Pazar, the churchyard of St Nicholas’ at Kuršumlija, the churchyard of St Stephen’s at Milentija near Brus, Mali Zvečan, Mirijevo, Vinča. Vessels occur in different places, both on top of and in graves. Fragments of pottery and glass vessels are relatively abundant in layers of earth filling burial pits and chambers, and in those immediately overlaying burial pits or gravestones. The available data make it possible to recognize almost all functional types. The most frequently found pottery shapes are larger liquid containers - jugs and pitchers, and apparently there have also been many pots, both hearth cooking and glazed (figs. 1-3; 5-9). Recognizable among the glass vessels are bottles, usually those with long fluted necks and biconical, as well as infrequent icon lamps. The data about the vessels found buried with the deceased is much more detailed. Such finds are recorded at Mačvanska Mitrovica (fig. 10/3), Brestovik (fig. 13/3), Mirijevo (fig. 4/1), Vinča (figs. 4/2; 10/4), Stragari near Kragujevac, Milentija near Brus, round the church of St Peter near Novi Pazar, at the monastery of Končulić (fig. 13/2) and the monastery of Gradac. The relatively plentiful and diverse vessels discovered at the cemeteries of medieval Trgovište are especially illustrative (fig. 10/2, 7). The available descriptions of vessels and archaeological contexts provide a general impression about the types of vessels recorded in the cemeteries of a late medieval and early modern date in the central Balkans. Glass bottles as a rule were laid in graves, while earth-fill layers, apart from bottles, contained plentiful shards of drinking vessels. As for the bottles, two types were registered: biconical and those with long fluted necks (figs. 10; 12/1). Among the glass fragments there were parts of bottles with a ring around the neck and a ribbed body (Rippenflaschen), generally known in domestic scholarship under the term Panik type bottle (fig. 10/8). Also identifiable among the recovered glass fragments are drinking vessels of several types, beakers with small or large prunts (Nuppenbecher and Krautstrunk) and ribbed (Rippenbecher), common especially in the 15th and 16th centuries (figs. 12/1, 3, 5, 6). There are also pieces with a blue thread applied around the rim and body, similar to the examples from Stalać reproduced herein (fig. 12/3). Quite rarely found are drinking vessels of cobalt blue glass, which are mostly small, except for a few examples of up to 14 cm in height, which is also the height of the abovementioned bottles. Apart from Venice and Dubrovnik (Ragusa), glassware was imported from Hungary. The discovered pottery vessels show a greater diversity, mostly in terms of shape. In addition to liquid containers - jugs, pitchers and beakers, there occur bowls, pots and even apothecary vessels. A vast majority belong to the Serbian ware of the 14th and 15th centuries. Most are glazed, and frequently painted with spirals, bands and blotches in white, green and dark brown or decorated with simple sgrafitto patterns, such as the finds from Novo Brdo (fig. 1), St Peter’s (figs 9; 13/1, 4) and the monastery of Gradac. By far the most interesting of them is the beaker from Končulić with an openwork edge around the base (fig. 12/2), which is commonly found in glass beakers of the same period. Deserving of particular attention are three cylindrical ceramic bottles from Novo Brdo (fig. 2). The presented material allows us to recognize the central issues surrounding the occurrence of vessels in the cemeteries of the 14th to 17th century in Serbia. Given the small number of recorded cases, the presence of vessels in graves as grave goods appears to have been utterly sporadic. Being based on the processed and published results, and given the small number of systematically investigated and analyzed cemeteries, however, such a conclusion should be taken with caution. In most cases, the vessels were laid beside the head of the deceased, usually on its left, rarely on the right side, and only exceptionally next to the legs or the upper body area. On the other hand, the amount of fragments discovered in cemeteries is generally large, as shown, for example, by a cursory insight into the excavation records for the site of Novo Brdo. This discrepancy is surprising and makes us think over the character of the finds, but we shall not get closer to an answer until we have detailed context analyses done and the material systematized and statistically processed. When it comes to shapes, liquid containers obviously predominated - glass bottles and ceramic pitchers, followed by glass and ceramic drinking vessels, while ceramic pots and bowls occurred in graves only rarely. The vessels are mostly small. The glass bottles are between 14 and 15 cm in height on average, except the specimen from Mali Zvečan, which is more than twice as high (36 cm). The cups show similar heights, between 10 and 16 cm. The ceramic pitchers and pots are also small, with a height usually not exceeding 16 cm. Judging by the available data, it appears that shards of larger vessels were found on top of graves (bowls, pitchers, jugs, pots), apparently brought for the memorial ceremony held at the grave, while graves usually contained small vessels, usually bottles. Apart from Serbia, the occurrence of vessels in cemeteries has also been recorded in the surrounding areas. Given their very distinctive context and character, the finds from Bosnia draw particular attention, as well as those from Croatia, where they are concentrated in the broader area of Split. This overview makes it plain that the vessels laid in graves differ little from ordinary household utensils. Moreover, all can be classified as typical of the 14th to 17th century - Venetian, Dubrovnik and Hungarian glass, and the ceramic kitchen and tableware produced locally, in Serbia. For the sake of comparison, we draw attention to similar vessels discovered on fortress, settlement and monastery sites, such as Stalać, Belgrade (fig. 14), Studenica, Mileševa, Trgovište, Trnava near Čačak. The presented examples, combined with all previously gained insights, clearly demonstrate and corroborate the assumption that the custom of laying vessels in graves in the central Balkans was an uncommon but long-standing phenomenon. Unlike earlier periods, when it was pottery vessels that were almost exclusively placed in graves, from the 14th century on the ratio of glass to ceramic vessels, mostly bottles, pitchers and beakers, becomes virtually equal. Judging by the find-spots and other known information, in the late medieval period the custom of laying vessels in graves was confined to a few areas along the Danube, Morava, Ibar, Drina and Neretva rivers. These areas, in the hinterland of Dubrovnik, in Herzegovina, Bosnia and Serbia, are associated with major caravan routes, which is relevant in our considerations of the glass finds. As it appears from the examples from all aforementioned areas, the only difference of some significance concerns the type of glass vessels used in funeral rituals - bottles in Serbia and Croatia, and drinking vessels in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though this seems to give grounds to assume certain regional variation in the custom of making offerings to the dead, at this point any conclusion would be highly conjectural, especially if based only on the available archaeological data. As shown by ethnological research, the custom, also sporadic, survived in Serbia and Bulgaria until the late 19th century. The analysis of the vessels from late medieval and early modern cemeteries has revealed a number of features common to the central-Balkan region, but also some regional variation. However, given the proportion of processed specimens in the entire recovered material, the assumptions and results presented here should only be taken as preliminary. The fact that some manifestations of the custom are still obscure reduces some of the previously proposed interpretations to little more than unfounded speculation, which is fertile ground for manipulation. Apart from analyzing the archaeological material, what is needed therefore is a thorough study of other aspects of the issue, above all the phenomenon of burials topped by slabs and stećci, and funerary practices at large.