The evidence for cremation burials in the LH/LM IIIC period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded that the widely held view, according to which the custom of cremation was introduced to the Aegean from Asia Minor, no longer applies.
It is necessary to differentiate between cremation as a minority rite in ordinary chamber tomb cemeteries and cremation as a majority rite in tumuli in order to understand the cultural affiliation of the custom. Cremation as a minority rite in chamber tomb cemeteries probably derives from Italian influence. The tumuli with inurned cremations in the Argolid seem to be connected to the Western Balkans. There was no direct or continuous development that led directly from the occasional LH IIIC cremation burials to cremation as the almost exclusively practiced type of burial in Attica and Euboea during the Early Iron Age. Cremations during the LH IIIC period and during the Early Iron Age are two separate phenomena, each having a different cultural and social background. Cremation was a very rare burial practice throughout the entire Aegean Bronze Age. Generally, this also applies to the 12th century BC, the time after the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces that was accompanied by the complete dissolution of the palatial political and economic system. This period is referred to as LH (Late Helladic) IIIC on the Greek mainland and LM (Late Minoan) IIIC on the island of Crete. However, some considerable changes occurred in the 12th century BC with regards to cremation burials. There were far more cemeteries with a few cremation burials in this period than in the preceding palatial era of the Mycenaean culture (LH IIIA–LH IIIB: ca. 1400–1200 BC). It is far from certain that cremation was practiced at all during the palatial period in the area of the MycenaeBrandbestattungen von der mittleren Donau bis zur Ägäis zwischen 1300 und 750 v. Chr. 186 an culture.1 Claims of cremation burials in chamber tomb cemeteries by archaeologists without any anthropological evidence or without cremation urns should be treated with extreme caution. This is because of the widespread, though still not generally noticed, practice of cleaning chamber tombs by purification fires,2 which could have resulted in the partial burning or smoking of bones from inhumation burials. These partly burned bones could easily be mistaken for genuine cremation burials by the non-specialist. There is not a single Mycenaean cremation burial of the palatial 1. One cemetery with a predominance of cremation burials was in use during the LM IIIA2–LM IIIB period on Crete: Olous in the eastern part of the island: Kanta 2001. The cremations were deposited mainly in pithoi. This unusual custom indicates that the cemetery at Olous represents an isolated phenomenon, which cannot be connected to the spread of cremation burials during the LM IIIC period. Other LM IIIA–LM IIIB cremations are unknown. 2. Morricone 1967, 31. – Cavanagh, Mee 1998, 112–113 and n. 83– 84. The custom was much more widespread than Cavanagh and Mee believe. – Gallou 2005, 120–123. – Jung 2007, 216 and n. 8; 229 and n. 89. Jung as well as Cavanagh and Mee surmise that the fires had a ritual background. – Paschalidis, McGeorge 2009, 104. period that is confirmed by anthropological analysis. Only two cases of LH IIIA–LH IIIB cremation urns have been asserted so far. One was found in Brauron in East Attica,3 the other in the Mycenaean type chamber tomb cemetery at Müskebi near Bodrum on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor.4 The possible cremation remains from chamber tomb A in the cemetery at Brauron were deposited in a small alabastron that was found next to a fireplace. According to the excavator‘s convincing interpretation this fireplace is the remains of a purification fire. This gives reason to speculate that the bones in the alabastron were burnt by the purification fire. Moreover, the greenish discoloration of the bones from their contact with bronze objects is more fitting for the inhumed than for cremated bones. Thus, the possible inurned cremation in Müskebi is the only reported case of a LH IIIA–LH IIIB cremation burial that can be accepted with some degree of confidence. However, even in this instance, the limited amount of information does not make it certain. 3. Lazaridis 1968, 99. 4. Boysal 1967, 79. Fig. 1. LH IIIC, LM IIIC and Subminoan cemeteries with cremation burials in the Aegean region. – 1. Elateia – 2. Perati – 3. Mycenae-Chania – 4. Argos – 5. Palaiokastro – 6. Agrapidochori – 7. Spaliareika – 8. Kallithea-Spentzes – 9. Achaea Klauss – 10. Cos, Langada – 11. Rhodes, Ialysos – For Crete see fig. 2 (F. Ruppenstein, prepared by M. Frauenglas). Cremation burials in Greece from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age: continuity or change? 187 Besides the few cremations in cemeteries with inhumation as a majority rite a small number of cemeteries, in which cremation was the prevailing burial practice, made their first appearance in the 12th century BC. A more distinctive change in the Greek burial customs happened at the very beginning of the Early Iron Age in the late 11th century BC. In some regions, notably in Attica and Euboea, cremation became the dominant, nearly exclusively practiced burial custom. These alterations in the burial customs and the reasons behind them have attracted scholarly interest for a long time and are still continuing to do so. In the following I will try to add some new thoughts to this ongoing discussion. Emphasis will be placed on the origins of the new burial rite in the 12th century BC and to the relationship between LH IIIC and Early Iron Age cremations. On the origins of the cremation burial rite in the 12th century Aegean When discussing the origins of cremation as a burial custom in the Aegean region it is not advisable to treat all LH/ LMIIIC cremations as a unity (cf. figs. 1–2). The cremation burials of this period can be divided into two groups according to the structure of the cemeteries to which they belong. The first group consists of the cremation burials in traditional Mycenaean chamber tomb cemeteries in which inhumations clearly dominated. The small number of cremations was placed in the same tombs as the numerous inhumations. Apparently, the people who practiced cremation in this way were fully integrated members of the respective local Mycenaean communities. Cemeteries with a predominance of cremation burials belong to the second group. Only three such cemeteries are known: at Argos5 and Mycenae-Chania6 on the Greek mainland and at Atsipades7 on Crete. The cremation burial cemeteries at Argos and Mycenae-Chania were established in other places to the usual chamber tomb cemeteries of the same settlements. Moreover, they differ from the customary Mycenaean cemeteries because the cremations were deposited in tumuli and not in chamber tombs. Thus, the communities who cremated their deceased members and buried them in tumuli clearly set themselves apart from the majority of the population. Therefore, it can be inferred that these communities were distinct groups, which were not fully integrated into the Mycenaean society. Firstly, the origin of cremation burials in chamber tombs will be investigated. Cremation burial as a minority rite in chamber tomb cemeteries It is still almost generally accepted that the custom of cremation was introduced to the Aegean from Asia Minor. This hypothesis was supported most forcefully by Spyros Iakovidis.8 However, Reinhard Jung and Oliver Dickinson have since argued that at least the cremation burials in Achaea could have been inspired by contacts with Italy9. Nevertheless, neither R. Jung nor O. Dickinson doubts the 5. Piteros 2001. 6. Palaiologou, this volume. 7. Agelarakis, Kanta, Moody 2001. 8. Iakovidis 1970, vol. 2, 56–57. 9. Jung 2007, 229. – Dickinson 2006, 73. Fig. 2. LM IIIC and Subminoan cemeteries with cremation burials on Crete. – 1. Atsipades-Pezoulos – 2. Phaistos-Liliana – 3. Tylissos – 4. Knossos, North Cemetery – 5. Kritsa – 6. Vrokastro – 7. Tourloti – 8. Myrsini – 9. Mesa Mouliana – 10. Krya – 11. Praisos-Photoula – 12. Epano Zakros-Palaimylos (F. Ruppenstein, prepared by M. Frauenglas). Brandbestattungen von der mittleren Donau bis zur Ägäis zwischen 1300 und 750 v. Chr. 188 importance of Anatolia as the place of origin for the custom of cremation in the Mycenaean culture. Yet there are significant reasons why it can be believed that the LH/LM IIIC cremations in the Aegean are not at all connected to Asia Minor: 1. If Asia Minor was indeed the source of inspiration for the introduction of cremation to the Aegean, one would have expected cremations of an early date and in comparatively large numbers in the regions of the Mycenaean cultural sphere next to Anatolia, especially on the Dodecanese. However, this is not the case. Just one possible cremation burial of the palatial period has been reported for Ialysos on Rhodes but it is far more likely that this is just a case of an inhumation that was smoked by a purification fire.10 The one possible inurned cremation in Müskebi can hardly be the reason for the spread of this custom to the Aegean. In LH IIIC cremation burials are well represented in the chamber tomb cemetery at Ialysos. According to Mario Benzi eight secure instances were found.11 A further example is known from the island of Kos.12 However, these numbers are not exceptionally high when compared to sites on the Greek mainland. In the cemetery of Perati in East Attica 18 cremated individuals were found.13 2. Regions with an extraordinarily high concentration of cemeteries with cremations show no particular connection to Asia Minor. This is particularly obvious in the case of the northwestern Peloponnese due to its geographical position. Yet even East Crete, that is much closer to Anatolia than the northwestern Peloponnese, exhibits no characteristics in its material culture, which reveal a close relationship with the indigenous cultures of LESS
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