The last two decades is a time of extremely intensive rescue excavations, preceding great investments. This article is a contribution to the discussion over the way of research analyses of remains from settlement sites excavated on a large scale. The authors presented their viewpoints on the method of description of sources and approach to distinguishing settlement structures. The starting point for the separation of the different settlements episodes should be a chronological scheme of the local evolution developed on the basis of the analysed materials. Evolution trend analysis of mass materials, mainly ceramics, should be preceded by a reflection about depositional and post-depositional processes. For the sites that manifest themselves only on the surface, the most important role is played by the spatial analysis. The authors suggest that the level of detail of conclusions about spatial diversity of the site, especially separation of units and phases of development, should be directly proportional to the credibility of chronological determinations.
The barrow cemetery in Łubna (Łubna-Jakusy), Poland, excavated shortly after World War II , is one of the best-known necropolises in the western area of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle. During the archaeological research conducted by K. Jażdżewski, up to 27 mounds were excavated. In this article, the authors present and specify the absolute chronology of this site. Thanks to a search in the museum storerooms, it was possible to obtain osteological material, which was subsequently dated in the Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory using the AM S method. These absolute dates combined with the results of a study of the archaeological material allowed the chronology of almost half of the excavated barrows to be defined. The dates obtained thanks to modelling functions answer the question about the timeframe the necropolis was in use. Additionally, the authors present a probable scenario for the development of the cemetery in Łubna, outlining the direction of expansion and characterizing its spatial arrangement.
This article evaluates the potential of magnetometry to establish the internal structure of three mounds in the barrow cemetery of Bukivna in the Upper Dniester River Basin in Ukraine.We also evaluate the effects of geomorphological processes on the magnetometric results. The three-stage research method we applied comprises the preparation of a digital elevation model of the mounds, conducting geomagnetic surveys and, finally, targeted excavations, the latter enabling the verification of previously detected magnetic anomalies. In effect our studies show exceptionally complex geophysical anomalies, difficult to interpret with any certainty. In the peculiar case of the barrows 6 and 7 in group I, partly connected by an earthen mantle, the overlapping magnetic fields did not allow the two mounds to be distinguished from each other; it was possible to achieve only through subsequent excavations. In both barrows, a series of ritual and sepulchral structures were discovered that provided clear magnetic signals. The arrangement of the anomalies in the mound 1, group II, potentially reflects various aspects of the barrow’s structure and its state of preservation, beginning with postdepositional processes related to erosion or to the run-off of material down the slope, and ending with the mound’s stratigraphy, formed over the course of two phases. In turn, in the case of mounds 6 and 7, it can be assumed that the effects of these processes have been somewhat “suppressed” in the magnetometric image, due to the strong impact of the burnt wooden structures located underneath the features