Necropolis under a tumulus at Veprčani: Representative case of using sacred places during several periods in the past

Abstract

Six Late Roman graves and one prehistoric burial have been discovered under a tumulus in the course of investigations. The tumulus is around 11meters in diameter and around 1 meter high and is situated at Veprčani, in the mountainous area of Mariovo in south Macedonia. The graves mostly contained cists of broken stones or slabs covered with stone slabs, one grave was carved into the rock and one consisted of a dislocated grave association. One prehistoric burial containing the remains of a cremated individual and grave goods was encountered under a small stone mound to the south of tumulus. Regarding the grave goods, mortuary practice and funerary rituals of the original tumulus as well as the prehistoric burials, and material from the mound have been dated to the Ha A period, while the antique graves were dated to the 3rd-4th century. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177020: Archaeology of Serbia: cultural identity, integration factors, technological processes and the role of the central Balkans in the development of European prehistory]

Keywords

• tumulus
• Mariovo
• south Macedonia
• Late Roman necropolis
• prehistoric burials
• transition period from the Bronze to the Iron Age