New data on Jaani stone graves at Vao, Northern Estonia/Uusi andmeid Vao Jaani kivikalmetest.
Laneman, Margot ; Lang, Valter ; Malve, Martin 等
Introduction
In 1982, one of the authors of this paper excavated three conjoined
stone graves on the bleak alvar at Jaani farm in Vao village (Lang
1983b; 1996, 134 ff.). These were the last of the numerous stone graves
around the hill site at Iru and the lower reaches of the Pirita River
(Fig. 1) that were rescue excavated due to vibrant economic development
on the doorstep of the capital city Tallinn. The majority of the graves
in the area had been rescue excavated in the 1970s and in 1980 (Lougas
1975; 1976; 1981; Jaanits & Lavi 1978; Deemant 1993; see also Howen
1900; Spreckelsen 1907; 1927; Vassar 1936).
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
Now, more than thirty years later, we scrutinized the site's
osteological assemblage and ordered radiocarbon dating for a selection
of human bones. The study was undertaken as part of a radiocarbon dating
programme for stone-cist graves in Estonia (see Laneman 2012; Laneman
& Lang 2013). In the current paper we publish the results of this
investigation, adhering to a rather plain form of describing and
discussing different elements of a single site (grave structure, human
and faunal remains, artefacts, etc.). In an ideal world, most of this
information, particularly osteological analysis, would have been
available shortly after the excavation. In the real world, however, one
has to deal with the remarkable paucity of properly excavated,
osteologically analysed and (radiocarbon-)dated grave sites. Filling in
essential gaps and re-interpreting the record--which is what we do in
this paper--is thus a necessary and unavoidable part of archaeological
practice. Furthermore, it is only detailed information on single sites
that provides the basis for a broader and deeper insight of the past in
general. Discussion of the Jaani graves in their wider context, however,
is the subject of a separate study.
Structure of the site
The site under review comprised a ship-shaped stone grave, a
stone-cist grave (B), and half of another stone-cist grave (A) fitted
tightly between them (Fig. 2). This is a rather unusual arrangement,
since stone-cist graves usually occur as clearly defined separate
structures, and ship graves are altogether rare in the eastern Baltic
region. The ship at Vao is one of the three stone ship graves currently
known in the territory of Estonia; the remaining two were excavated at
Lulle, Sorve Peninsula, Saaremaa (Lougas 1970; Lang 2007a, 164 ff.).
[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]
The roughly 10.5 m long ship-shaped grave in the eastern part of
the structure was edged with large granite stones, which in places were
situated in two adjacent rows. It was not possible to definitively
establish whether this was the original arrangement of the stones or if
they had initially been placed on top of each other; in any case it
seems that there has been no top wall of limestone slabs (unlike with
the other graves). The gunwale line was partially destroyed, and thus
revealed no indications as to which end of the ship was the stern and
which was the stem (cf. Lang 1983b; 1996, 135). The cist, also of
granite boulders, was preserved only partially, but its original
dimensions may have been ca 60 x 50 x 40 cm. The space between the
gunwales was filled with limestone, except for the surroundings of the
cist where relatively small sparsely situated granite stones were found.
The limestone fill included slabs collapsed from the ring wall of grave
A, and stones from a later field clearance above them. The thickness of
the original limestone fill was therefore difficult to determine, but it
was estimated to have been approximately a couple of dozen centimetres,
so that the fill did not reach the tops of the framing granite stones.
The stone-cist graves were bordered by two-layer ring-walls with a
foundation of granite stones (which in at least grave A were placed in
two adjacent rows) and a top wall of limestone slabs; the limestone
walls, however, were fully disintegrated. The ring-wall of the
westernmost grave B was partially destroyed. The bases of both graves
inside the ring-wall were a 30-50 cm tall paving of granite stones,
while the upper parts were predominantly crumbled limestone, about 20-40
cm in thickness at the time of excavation. The cists had been built
above the granite base and had dry stone walls of limestone slabs which,
however, had completely fallen apart and shattered; hence even defining
the cists' dimensions involved a considerable degree of conjecture.
Worthy of mention are the differences in length and particularly the
orientation of the cists. Also, the floor of cist A was positioned on a
ca 20 cm higher level than the floor of cist B, and its westernmost part
rested on the ring-wall of grave B.
It is thus evident from the construction features that grave B had
been built prior to A. In which order grave A and the ship were erected
is more difficult to decide from only the construction (cf. Lang 1983a;
1983b; 1996, 134 ff.), since the intersection of these graves did not
definitively reveal whether the ship's granite stone edging was
originally partial (to merge with the pre-existing grave A), or if it
was destroyed (before or in the course of grave A construction), or if
it was simply adjusted to form the ring-wall for the new grave A. The
overall impression, encouraged by the date of Scandinavian ship graves,
has so far been that the ship pre-dated grave A and probably also grave
B. Even if this is not the case, the ship must have been built before
the eastern ring-wall of grave A collapsed, since its limestone slabs
were found fallen over the interior of the ship.
It is important to consider that the described monument may have
been part of a larger group of stone graves. The nearest of such is
known to have been 190 m to the west, but many nearby graves were
reportedly destroyed in the 19th and even the 20th century, hence the
prehistoric spread of graves may have been denser. Six or seven of the
graves have been archaeologically excavated (Howen 1900; Lougas 1975),
but unfortunately without proper reports, which leaves many important
details veiled. It seems, however, that the graves were quite common
stone-cist graves, which in at least some cases had two concentric
circular walls consisting of limestone slabs above a granite foundation.
The cists were roughly north-south in orientation, but varied in terms
of construction: some were of stacked and some of vertical limestone
slabs and some perhaps of granite stones. Burial was mostly by
inhumation, but the presence of cremation remains cannot be ruled out.
Human remains
The human osteological assemblage of the site has been examined by
Leiu Heapost, but this study was never published or reported, except for
the final conclusion on the minimum number of inhumations. This revealed
only that the two stone-cist graves together contained the remains of
eight adults and thirteen sub-adults (Lang & Ligi 1991, table 1;
Lang 1996, 137). We carried out a new analysis with the purpose of
obtaining more information, particularly on the sex and age profile of
the buried individuals and their location within the site. The detailed
analysis thereof can be found in a separate report (Malve et al. 2014);
here we present the main findings of the investigation.
The task, however, turned out to be more complicated than expected,
because the bones were highly fragmented and mingled. A good gauge for
this is provided by the fact that the excavators were able to
distinguish no more than at best two skeletons (in cist A, allegedly in
reverse orientation), while the rest were in an indistinguishable bone
mix. This must have been partly due to the naturally poor conditions for
bone preservation in above-ground stone graves and repeated burials at
the same spot, and partly because of more recent disturbances. For
instance, the whole site was overlain by stones from field clearance,
which in the case of grave A had to be removed with a bulldozer; the
grave also contained an unexploded WWII projectile shell near the
southern end of its cist (Lang 1983a). The list of disturbances can be
extended by adding the action(s) that destroyed the ring-wall of grave B
and parts of the ship.
Another drawback was that the bones were collected during
excavation from over large and poorly defined areas without reference to
their vertical positioning within the grave. An example of difficulties
caused by this imprecision is that it cannot be ascertained which bones
were found north and south of cist A and whether or not they represented
separate burials (see Fig. 2 to grasp the problem); also, part of the
bones from the two stone-cist graves are indistinguishably intermingled.
The imprecise recording can be explained by the overall attitude towards
bones in the archaeology of the 1980s where osteological studies were
rare, and therefore recording bones gained little attention, and by the
fact that the structural elements of the site were exposed only at a
later stage of the excavation. All things considered, however, one has
to accept that very limited inferences can be made on the
funerary/mortuary practices of the site.
The ship grave reportedly yielded 'a couple of handfuls'
of burnt bones and roughly the same amount of unburnt bones. Both
assemblages were found outside of the destroyed cist (Fig. 2), and the
burnt bones were, generally, positioned slightly deeper than the unburnt
bones. Unfortunately, the existent bone collection includes no burnt
bones from the ship--the most probable explanation is that they have
gone missing at some point after excavation. The unburnt human bones
comprise altogether eleven fragments from at least
--one adult of indeterminate sex and age (three teeth and some bone
fragments present) and
--an infant less than six months old (a femur present).
It is impossible to tell whether the bones originate from a primary
or secondary burial (in the sense of e.g. Nilsson Stutz 2003, 206 f.) or
from the disturbance of the adjacent stone-cist graves. A primary
inhumation is perhaps the less probable option, though in view of the
disturbed state of the grave and the possibly shallow burial, it cannot
be ruled out.
The stone-cist graves yielded much larger quantities of bone.
Excavation records suggest that the remains of the deceased had been
placed mainly inside and in the vicinity of the cists (Fig. 2). Among
the bones that were identified as collected from within the boundaries
of grave A are the remains of at least
--five adults (incl. a male 30-40 and perhaps another male 40+
years old),
--one juvenile (14-16 years old),
--six infants (generally less than six months old, a few less than
two months old at death) and
--seven children aged 1-11 years (as bones of children between
infancy and teenage were difficult to recognize, this number is based on
the teeth).
Inhumed bones collected from the area of grave B include the
remains of at least
--two adults (one of them probably male),
--one juvenile (14-16 years),
--a child of 2-3 years,
--three other children or juveniles of unspecified age, and
--six infants (generally 0-6 months, some 0-2 months old).
According to the teeth, however, this grave contained the remains
of at least seven children aged between 1-11 years (at least six of them
other than the children recorded in grave A).
The site also included the remains of at least two additional adult
inhumations, but it is unknown from which stone-cist grave they were
collected.
The best preserved skeleton, that of a male who had died between 30
and 40 years of age, was found from the cist of grave A. The skeleton
was lying extended and supine, with the head to the north and the arms
probably at the sides. Its position next to the cist's eastern wall
may be the reason why the left side of the skeleton was much better
preserved than the right side (Fig. 3). The man had been approximately
175 [+ or -] 3 cm tall in life. The joints of his upper and lower limbs
and hips show signs of osteoarthritis, and vertebrae had developed
spondyloarthrosis, osteochondrosis in the cervical spine, and
spondylosis and Schmorl's nodes in the lumbar region. The
pathological features are generally related to ageing and manual labour,
while Schmorl's nodes (intervertebral herniation) may also be a
result of trauma or congenital disorders (Jimenez-Brobeil et al. 2010,
37). The man's teeth show mild wear and slight dental calculus. In
all probability, the individual had been deposited as a complete body.
[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]
It was impossible to reconstruct any other skeleton or determine
its position within the grave (incl. the second reported skeleton in
cist A). It is nevertheless likely that at least part of the
disarticulated bones originate from complete inhumations which were
analogous to the above-described male burial, and had been placed
inside, above or in the vicinity of the cists. On the other hand, in a
situation like this, partial burial, re-burial and any other kind of
secondary burial practices cannot be excluded from consideration. There
were indeed a few vague indications that skeletal parts of an individual
may have been divided between graves A and B, i.e. located several
metres apart (in a manner suggesting that intentional placement may be
the cause, not inaccurate recording by excavators). This observation,
however, was only based on the distribution of teeth, which does not
allow definitive conclusions to be drawn. Single teeth can easily be
relocated by any intrusion or even by rodents, and reconstructing a set
from loose and scattered teeth itself is controversial. Despite that,
the referred division of skeletons, be it ritual-related or not, cannot
be ruled out.
It should thus be clear that the above lists of whose bones were
found from which section of the site does not necessarily mean that the
listed individuals had been buried in the respective sections. The
figures, however, accord with the minimum number of individuals (MNI)
that we calculated, based on the recurrent skeletal parts, for the whole
site. Accordingly, the three graves altogether contained the remains of
at least 38 individuals (incl. cremains--see below). The figure includes
--ten adults (according to the number of petrous parts of temporal
bones),
--two juveniles (according to metatarsals),
--fourteen children aged 1-11 years (according to teeth) and
--twelve infants (according to mainly limb bones).
Needless to say, the actual number of the deceased was probably
bigger; however, again, we should be cautious in determining the
distribution of the deceased between the graves and the way and form in
which they were interred. As for the considerable deviation from the
estimate of MNI by Heapost, we hypothesise that her calculation included
only temporal bones, whereas we considered also other skeletal parts.
Besides inhumed bones, the stone-cist graves yielded a small
quantity of burnt bones. In grave A there was only one such fragment,
well-cremated at the temperature of ca 1200-1300[degrees]C.
Unfortunately, it cannot be established whether the fragment belonged to
a human or an animal. Grave B comprised apparently two separate
assemblages of burnt bone. The surroundings of the cist yielded scant
remains of an adult, perhaps male, and a child. Both were represented by
cranial fragments, 16 in total, and nine pieces of tubular bones were
also present. The second assemblage was found in the southernmost part
of the grave. Remarkably, it consisted of exclusively cranial fragments,
18 in number, which belonged to another adult, perhaps also a male. All
three individuals had been burnt at the same temperature
(300-600[degrees]C, with the lower end of the range being more likely).
Since it is imaginable that a ritual involved cremation of only part of
the body (or bones), we cannot exclude the possibility that these
individuals are the same who are present among the unburnt bones. There
is presently no clear-cut evidence in Estonia to prove that the practice
of partly inhuming and partly burning the same body or skeleton existed,
but indications along this line have nevertheless been observed in quite
a number of stone graves from the Bronze through Early Iron Ages (Kalman
2000, 427 f.; Lang 2007a, 180; see also Vassar 1943, 22).
A few words must be said on pathologies observed on the bones,
although the assemblage was rather modest in this respect. Most of the
observations were made on the best preserved male skeleton from cist A
and were mentioned above. Besides this individual, a few other cases of
osteoarthritis were recorded. A fragment of a lower jaw of an adult
showed bony growth along the inside of the mandible (torus
mandibularis), which may have been caused by trauma, and another
fragment of a mandible from another adult had developed a bone growth
that was possibly a benign bone tumour (osteoides osteoma; Fig. 4).
Teeth also show only modest pathological features. Dental calculus, in
most cases slight, was observed on approx. 21% of the teeth; horizontal
stress lines were present on ca 12% of the teeth, and only 3.5% of the
teeth featured caries. In two cases (adults), caries had resulted in
severe abscess.
[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]
Faunal remains
The animal bones, highly fragmented and mingled, had been collected
together with the human bones, and the analysis thereof faced generally
the same limitations (see above). Detailed review of the site's
zooarchaeological finds is provided in Rannamae et al. 2014.
Compared to the human bones, animal bones were considerably fewer
in quantity. The respective list includes 552 bones or, predominantly,
fragments thereof (Table 1). 35% of the assemblage is, however,
fragments that do not allow determination of a sufficient precision, and
may thus include a few specimens of even human origin. The bones are
generally unburnt, with the exception of only two indeterminate
fragments which may also have been human. The greatest number of bones
was gathered from the area of grave A, while they were clearly less
numerous in grave B and only a few in the ship. This pattern is
compatible with the distribution of human remains. The highest number of
species was also observed in grave A, but all in all the species
composition is similar in all three graves. The lack of (identifiable)
pig bones in the ship grave is worth mentioning; also, it is difficult
to see why the bone assemblage of the ship included almost no rodents.
Approximately 22% of the assemblage is made up of the remains of
rodents, moles and amphibians, which most probably reached the site
without human involvement. This may apply to some other wild species,
for instance marten, hare and at least part of the birds (1). Small
mustelids frequently inhabit the ancient stone graves, and the
sites' bone records may to some extent reflect their diet. An axis
(vertebra) from grave A suggests that at least some hares of the site
may be European hares (Lepus europeaeus) and cannot thus pre-date the
16th century when the species migrated to Estonia (Kirk 2003; Lepiksaar
1986). The presence of the single fox canine (in the ship) is difficult
to explain; a possibility that the canine belonged to a dog must however
also be considered.
Species whose presence can be associated with human activity were
represented by at least 144 bones. Such species include dog, sheep/goat,
cattle, pig, horse and seal. Horse was represented by only a single
tooth, quite heavily worn, and seal by a single astragalus, the size of
which possibly indicates the ringed seal (Pusa hispida). The dog bones
belonged to a minimum of three individuals, including two adults and a
puppy less than 8-10 months old. All body parts of a dog from nose to
tail seem to be more or less present (Table 2), but skeletons were
nevertheless impossible to reconstruct.
Sheep/goat, cattle and pig were all present with at least two
individuals, but in view of the fragmented state of bones these figures
hardly reflect the reality. Of sheep/goat, a few bones are clearly
attributable to sheep (two individuals), whereas no definite goat bones
were detected. Both sheep were of adult size but less than two years in
age; one sheep/goat tooth indicated an individual older than 1.75 years.
Of cattle, at least one newborn calf was represented in addition to
adult(s). Of pig, there was a piglet less than 3-6 months old; two
canine teeth indicated the presence of an adult female and an adult
male, (2) and some bones belonged to an individual of adult size but
less than 2-2.5 years old. Skeletons are very incomplete. Most of the
bones apparently originate from skulls and limbs (Table 2), but this is
probably because these parts are the easiest to identify among highly
fragmented material. In general, all body parts from skull to tail seem
to be represented, and in view of heavy fragmentation it would be
incorrect to claim otherwise.
Cut marks were observed on four bones: a rib and an ilium of
sheep/goat, and a humerus and a cervical vertebra of cattle. Three other
(indeterminate) bones may bear cut marks. The marks indicate both
chopping of carcasses and removal of flesh from bones. At least four
fragments (of sheep, sheep/goat, black grouse, and an indeterminate
species) bear tooth marks, mostly so-called puncture marks, which have
been left by a predator, most likely a canid (dog). Five other bones
(including cattle and pig) possibly have the same kind of marks. Chew
marks from rodents were observed on up to four bones. The scarcity of
tooth marks suggests that the bones were not easily accessible to animal
disturbance. On the other hand, the small number of both tooth and cut
marks may be due to the fact that the surfaces and edges of bones were
poorly preserved.
It is more than difficult to assess how and when the bones of the
domesticates (and the seal) arrived at the site. A metatarsal bone
(which bore clear tooth marks of a predator) of a sheep from grave A was
radiocarbon-dated to the 18th-20th centuries AD (3), which is
unexpectedly recent. This leads one to think that part of the bones may
originate from livestock that had suddenly died and were dug in or cast
on long-abandoned stone graves--a practice widely maintained even in the
20th century (e.g. Mandel 2000, 96). In such cases the cadavers were
quickly detected and consumed by predators, leaving behind nothing but a
few bones with occasional chew marks. On the other hand, the cut marks
show that some of the animals were cut into pieces. Unfortunately, it is
impossible to decide whether or in which cases they imply food for the
departed, offerings to some supernatural creatures (which may involve
practices of very varied content and date), remains of funeral or
commemorative meals, or leftovers from a farmer's lunch taken at a
field baulk. The generally small number of bones suggests that in most
such cases only part of an animal was involved, but one cannot exclude
scenarios in which an animal was cut in pieces and then cast in to the
grave (in the vein of frequently cited description by Ibn Fadlan).
Finally, one can also think that complete animals were buried in the
same manner as or together with humans, though this interpretation seems
to be the least likely. It may, however, apply to the dogs or some of
them.
It might be interesting to look at better preserved and documented
graves to see if they can help narrow the range of interpretations
outlined here. The truth is, however, that this review would offer
little beyond the crude understanding that the species composition at
Jaani graves is generally similar to that observed in other Bronze and
Iron Age sites, including graves (see Laneman 2012, 102 and references
therein). The zooarchaeologically analysed graves are disgracefully few
in number, the information is published in varied detail and is
therefore poorly comparable, and radiocarbon dates are absent. It
becomes increasingly evident, however, that without radiocarbon dating
interpretations may be misleading.
Radiocarbon dates
For radiocarbon dating, 15 samples of human bone were selected, to
encompass all three graves, different age groups, and both inhumations
and cremations. Detailed information thereof is provided in Table 3. An
attempt was made to ensure that each sample should represent a separate
individual, though a degree of doubt cannot be avoided in case of the
burnt bones and, particularly, the bone from the ship. All samples from
grave A originated from bones that were reportedly collected from within
or above/around the cist. The same applies to the samples from grave B,
except for one of the cremation deposits (UBA-24122) which was found on
the southern margin of the grave. Two samples (UBA-24134 and UBA-24135)
were collected from the context designated as Northern sector, which
combined intermingled bones from graves A and B. These samples were
included to test if the interments in the northernmost part of grave A
(see Fig. 2) deviated from the general chronological pattern of the
site.
The radiocarbon dates were obtained by accelerator mass
spectrometry (AMS) at the Centre for Climate, the Environment &
Chronology at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2014.
Stable isotope measurements were provided along the way, but these will
not be discussed in this article.
As can be seen in Fig. 5, the obtained dates fall roughly into two
chronological groups: (1) Late Bronze and Early Pre-Roman Iron Age and
(2) Roman Iron Age, Migration Period and beginning of the Pre-Viking
Age. This is in relatively good accordance with the previous dating of
the site based on artefact typology. Accordingly, the graves were
established at the end of the Bronze or (more likely) beginning of the
Pre-Roman Iron Age, but also contained burials from the Late Roman Iron
Age and Migration Period, and single artefacts, probably sacrifices,
from even later periods (Lang 1996, 136-138, 292). In what follows we
discuss the site in the context of the mentioned periods, including
comparison of radiocarbon dates and relative chronology of the artefact
finds.
[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]
Late Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age
A single date of a juvenile from grave B indicates that this grave
was present in the Late Bronze Age. This is confirmed by a spade-headed
bone pin that was found from cist B (Lang 1983b, pl. III: 1; 1996, pl.
XXXVI: 9). Unfortunately, the time range indicated by the radiocarbon
date cannot be narrowed: bone pins were present in the earliest
stone-cist graves, for instance at Joelahtme long before 800 BC, and
were probably used throughout the Late Bronze Age. Of no great help is
the possibility that pins with large dimensions, such as the one under
discussion, may be relatively late in date (see Lang 1992, though the
paper is somewhat outdated). It is also relevant to note that the grave
most probably contained other (Late) Bronze Age burials not analysed
with radiocarbon dating.
Grave A seems to have been attached to grave B in the 5th century
BC or only slightly earlier. One cannot be certain that the very first
burial of the grave was radiocarbon-dated, but it is likely that the
most complete skeleton (Fig. 3) in cist A was among the earliest.
Another inhumation (of a child) is approximately the same in date,
though it is unknown whether it had been placed inside the cist or
somewhere else. Its presence nevertheless indicates a burial pattern
commonplace in stone-cist graves: both adults and sub-adults were
interred in these graves (incl. cists). An iron knife with a slightly
curved back (Lang 1983b, pl. III: 3; 1996, pl. XXXVI: 5) that was found
lying on the cist bottom may have been connected to these burials or to
this burial period. However, the typological date of the knife spans the
entire Pre-Roman Iron Age and perhaps even beyond (see Lang 1996, 136
and references therein; Laul & Tonisson 1991 is outdated and
inconsistent), and its association with slightly later Pre-Roman Iron
Age burials, also present in the grave, cannot be excluded.
Human remains from between ca 400 and 200 BC were found from all
three graves. As earlier, both adults and children were involved.
Unfortunately, there is no certainty about the precise location (cist or
outside cist) and nature (primary or secondary) of these interments.
Associated with them (or/and earlier burials) is probably part of the
pottery scattered across mainly the stone-cist graves. The vessels were,
however, poorly preserved and thus quite uninformative. They
nevertheless require a brief discussion, because in the course of the
project the pottery assemblage was also reviewed and the results
slightly differ from what has been published before (cf. Lang 1996, 137
f.).
The ship grave contained only a few pieces from a shallow vessel
with slightly striated surface and indeterminable date. The
stone-cist graves, however, yielded altogether approximately 330
potsherds, which originate from a minimum of 14 vessels. All
vessels were shattered, and the sherds of a vessel were generally
scattered all over the structures with no clear patterning. The
shape of a vessel could be reconstructed in only one case and a
more or less precise date established in only four cases. An almost
certain Pre-Roman Iron Age date can be assigned to only one
possibly Ilmandu-type vessel, the sherds of which were mostly
scattered in the southern part of grave A, while a single sherd was
unexpectedly found slightly north of the grave. The shape of the
vessel remains unknown, but its surface had been striated and
shoulder appears to have been decorated with marks that were
probably stick impressions, resembling a pot found from stone-cist
grave 70 at Muuksi (Laneman & Lang 2013, fig. 6: 3). Such vessels
were undoubtedly present in the 5th century BC (ibid., 112), but a
slightly earlier or later date cannot be ruled out. Two other
vessels may represent the Late Bronze Age fine-grained ceramics,
but with a slightly greater probability they date from post-Roman
period and will thus be discussed below.
As for the ship, the obtained Pre-Roman Iron Age date most likely
represents late insertions to the grave. For the reasons stated above,
we were unable to radiocarbon-date the original burial deposit, and an
unidentifiable (burnt?) bronze item, a single clay vessel and a bronze
spiral ring found from the grave are unhelpful in pinpointing the date
of its construction. A further option is turning to the date of the
grave type, which is clearly of western origin in this corner of land.
In what is probably the most recent treatment of the subject, Joakim
Wehlin (2013) dates the ship graves of the Baltic Sea region generally
to 1100-700 BC, peaking around 950-850 BC. He also attempts to divide
the ship graves into types and specify the date accordingly. The ship at
Vao resembles the most type 2 of Wehlin (op. cit., 59, fig. 4.1: B),
which according to him is relatively late in date, from 900-700 BC
(ibid., 68, 80, fig. 4.11). (4)
The latter date based on the type may well apply to the Vao ship. A
degree of reservation, however, is needed with this estimation, because
the mentioned date range is based on just five radiocarbon-dated
specimens from only Gotland. Also, Wehlin himself does not specify the
type of the Vao ship, and he is generally vague and even inconsistent in
also discussing other eastern Baltic ship graves. In any case, however,
it is clear that at Vao the ship pre-dates grave A (which was also
suggested by stratigraphic observations), but it remains disputable
whether the same is true in relation to grave B. The only currently
available option to decide is the intuitive feeling of the excavator,
according to which the ship was the oldest element at the site.
An unavoidable question is at which temporal intervals the graves
were built and whether burial was continuous or with considerable
interims. A conclusive answer is, however, out of reach. This is not
only because most of the interred individuals were not radiocarbon-dated
and the available radiocarbon dates are ambiguous, but also because
there probably were associated graves which served whilst the discussed
graves were temporarily left alone. Since (most of) these graves were
probably destroyed long ago, it cannot be established whether the
structures and burials discussed in this subsection evolved over a
millennium or over only a few hundred years. As for the perspective of
joining graves of remarkably old ages, it can be noted that this may not
be inconceivable if the structures were constantly taken care of (see
e.g. Lang 2000, 104).
A further emerging issue concerns the relationship of the ship
grave and stone-cist graves or, more properly, of their builders. In
this paper we nevertheless skip the intriguing discussion of northern
'colonists' and 'hybrid culture' (see e.g. Wehlin
2013, 47, 52, 77, 185, and the references therein), particularly because
we were unable to establish a reasonably precise date for our ship. An
equally interesting issue, however, revolves around stone-cist grave A.
The general date of stone-cist graves has been recently revised so that
the majority of the graves are believed to pre-date the Pre-Roman Iron
Age (see Laneman & Lang 2013, 94-96, 102-103). The referred grave
thus appears to be one of the latest specimens of this grave type in
Estonia. The end of the stone-cist grave tradition is a subject that
definitely needs further research, but the case of Vao nevertheless
suggests that the tradition was still followed in the 5 th century BC,
or at least at the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC.
Also, the fact that the discussed structure is, strictly speaking,
not a proper stone-cist grave but only half of one, and that it was
squeezed between two preexisting graves, leads one to ponder whether it
mirrors the concept of a tarand grave, which involves attaching a series
of rectangular enclosures to each other and which appeared, notably,
around the 5th century BC (Lang 2007a, 170 ff.; 2007b; see also Laneman
& Lang 2013, 112). The similarity is even more striking in 400-200
BC when burials appear in all three sections. Also, the age profile of
the buried (i.e. various age groups present) and the paucity of grave
goods is compatible with the earliest tarand graves. True, there are
other and considerably older sites where stone-cist graves are attached
to each other (Lang 2007b). The truly comparable examples, however, are
only graves 12/35 and 17/36 at Joelahtme (Kraut 1985, pl. IV: 5), which
were built several hundred years before tarand graves were introduced.
This, however, does not disprove what was hypothesized about Jaani grave
A, since the apparently similar arrangements may embody different
concepts. Or, what is also possible, the concept that fully manifests
itself in the tarand graves may have been present in the earliest
stonecist graves already.
Roman Iron Age, Migration Period and Pre-Viking Age
The radiocarbon data suggest that the Jaani graves contain no Late
Pre-Roman period burials, and there is no evidence to claim the
opposite. A few iron shepherd's crook pins from another nearby
grave (Howen 1900, 95; Lang 1996, 134) may nevertheless be a tenuous
indication that the grave field was not entirely abandoned, though the
main burial ground of the associated community seems to have been
elsewhere or at least not in the stone-cist graves. We will probably
never find out what happened in the intervening centuries, but at a
certain point of time in the Roman Iron Age, burial in the Jaani graves
began again.
Radiocarbon dates from the later burial phase(s) span through the
Roman Iron Age, Migration Period and the beginning of the Pre-Viking
Age, embracing a minimum of 350 and a maximum of 600 years. Interments
from this time range comprise at least, and most likely even more than,
half of all interred individuals, which was anticipated because the
total number of burials was too high for a common stone-cist grave
burial pattern. The interments were made in the stonecist graves, and
their placement, which most likely disregarded the structural elements
of the graves, must have contributed to the disintegration of the cists
and mingling of bones. The ship may have been neglected because, as a
low structure from the very beginning, it was perhaps covered in turf
and sunk into the ground to such an extent that it was no longer
considered appropriate for burial. It is questionable whether a specific
grave form (i.e. stone-cist grave or ship grave) was of any particular
significance at this time.
The overwhelming majority of the late interments are sub-adults,
and this remains true even given the considerable probability that
radiocarbon dating may have missed some inhumed adults from this time
period. Particularly interesting is the clustering of infant burials
within AD 400-650, which suggests that this particular age group was
probably excluded from a common burial ground and ended up in a
thousand-year-old or even older stone grave. This phenomenon was very
clearly observed in Kasekula I and Rebala II stone-cist graves as well,
which contained numerous infant burials from the 8th-11th and the 15th
centuries AD respectively (see Laneman 2012 for a more detailed
discussion). An even closer case of infant mass burial, both temporally
and spatially, may have been in stone-cist grave IX at Lagedi, where
also disproportionately numerous and well-preserved infant skeletons
were noted outside the cist (Spreckelsen 1927, 24 f.). The grave also
contained a bronze shepherd's crook pin and a 7th(-8th)-century
ring-headed pin, which may hint at the date of the burials. It can be
added that similarly to the Lagedi case, the infant bones from Vao were
also relatively well-preserved.
Given this interpretation, it is difficult to explain the presence
of the cremated adults (5), who seem to be more or less contemporaneous
with the infant burials. First, however, it must be acknowledged that
the respective dates should be approached with a degree of suspicion,
because radiocarbon dating of modestly burnt bones may yield unreliable
results (Van Strydonck et al. 2009). In the current case, there are no
means (such as for instance artefacts) to assess their accuracy. But if
the dates are accurate, the cremains can be interpreted as possibly
representing individuals who in some way or other deviated from the norm
and were therefore excluded from the common burial ground. A possibility
that only part of the cremation remains were brought to this grave, or
only part of the body was cremated, may also be of significance here. As
for cremation in general, it is not possible to draw conclusions from
this particular burial mode, since in the region and throughout the time
span under discussion cremation and inhumation were practised side by
side. Also, it is unknown how the rest of the community members were
treated in death, though it is entirely possible that burning the dead
was a standard procedure for which infants were not eligible.
Despite the fact that the site was used for interment of only
selected individuals, and in view of their estimated total number, it is
likely that throughout the many centuries that the radiocarbon dates
span, burial was not continuous but occurred with a considerable
interlude, or perhaps with several interludes. The detailed chronology
thereof, however, is very difficult to pinpoint based on the available
radiocarbon data. One possible reading is that burials were placed
before or around AD 200/250 and then again around AD 500-600, but this
is only one of the possible interpretations. The artefacts, scattered in
the grave and impossible to associate with any of the burials, are also
unhelpful in this respect. To demonstrate this, and for the sake of
comprehensiveness, we provide a review of artefacts connected to the
discussed time span (for their location within the site, see Fig. 2).
--A bronze shepherd's crook pin (Lang 1983b, pl. III: 2; 1996,
pl. XXXVI: 4) has a protracted date range from the Pre-Roman period
until the Viking Age. At Proosa, not far from Vao, one such pin was
found in the tarand grave from AD 300-450, while the adjacent cairn
grave of a later date did not yield such pins (Lang 1996, 181). In
south-eastern Estonia such pins have also been dated to the 4th-5th
centuries and probably beyond (Laul 2001, 126). As mentioned above, at
Lagedi IX a bronze shepherd's crook pin was found together with a
7th(-8th)-century pin, though this was not a closed find. This provides
no definite judgement about the date of the discussed Vao pin, but
allows its association with the later burials rather than the Pre-Roman
Iron Age burial phase.
--A tiny tube made from coiled bronze wire (Lang 1983b, pl. III: 6;
1996, pl. XXXVI: 2) represents an item that in large amounts appeared in
graves of north-western Estonia at the turn from the 3rd to 4th century
and continued until at least the Viking Age (Lang 1996, 128; Tvauri
2012, 149). An earlier date cannot be ruled out either.
--Spiral bronze rings, two in the discussed grave (Lang 1983b, pl.
III: 4-5; 1996, pl. XXXVI: 1, 3), are widespread in particularly the
3rd-5th-century graves in northern and central Estonia, but they may
also have an earlier or a later date (Lang 1996, 127). The ring found
from the cist A area has a diameter of 14 mm, which suggests that, if it
was a finger ring, it probably belonged to a child. The spiral ring that
was a secondary find from the ship is 17 mm in diameter.
--Two strips of bronze wire may originate from such rings as
described above or some other artefacts. The wires clearly represent two
different items. A third piece of bronze wire had been coiled into a
floppy ring with a diameter of less than 10 mm.
--A small bronze mount has probably counterparts in 5th-6th-century
cairn graves and late burials of tarand graves (see Lang 1996, 137;
Shmidekhel'm 1955, 128 ff., fig. 31: 3). Two small fragments of
sheet bronze, one of them with a shiny surface, were found nearby and,
speculatively, may have a similar date.
--Of shattered clay vessels, at least three provided grounds for
being dated to the discussed time span. One of them was a carinated bowl
(Lang 1996, fig. 50: 3) with a probable date in the 5th-6th centuries.
(6) Its sherds clustered at the southernmost margin of grave A, but were
also scattered in grave B and perhaps even north-west of it. Another
vessel, also scattered in both A and B sections, was probably similar to
the aforementioned bowl in both shape and date. The third vessel was
represented by only a single sherd with a black burnished surface, and
can be dated to the 8th-10th centuries, though an earlier date is not
ruled out. The at least eleven vessels of indeterminable date (incl. the
vessel from the ship) may, however, include specimens that were
associated with the burials discussed in this sub-section.
--An iron knife (Lang 1996, pl. XXXVI: 7) is so heavily worn that
its date cannot be established. It may also belong with the
Pre-Roman-period interments.
--A fire-steel with rolled-back ends (Lang 1983b, pl. III: 7; 1996,
pl. XXXVI: 6) is an item the appearance of which has been dated to the
Pre-Viking Age at the latest and in some opinions to as early as the
5th-6th centuries (Vassar 1943, 122 f.; Tvauri 2012, 89). Its date
however spans throughout the Late Iron Age and beyond, perhaps into the
modern era. There is a considerable probability that the specimen from
Vao has in fact no connection whatsoever to the burials.
The interpretation of a segregated burial ground unavoidably raises
a question as to where the remaining community members (i.e. the
majority of them) were buried or how they were treated in death. There
is, however, no definitive answer to this question. It is unlikely that
they were distributed between other nearby stone-cist graves, because in
all probability, the graves did not contain burials and artefacts,
particularly ceramics, even close to the quantity found at the discussed
Jaani graves (see e.g. Lougas 1975). True, one cannot be entirely
assured about the destroyed graves and graves excavated in 1895. One of
these structures indeed yielded a shepherd's crook pin, a finger
ring and a coiled wire tubule (all from bronze), which is strongly
reminiscent of the find assemblage of the discussed triple grave (Howen
1900, 93). The amount of bones, however, seems to have been
unremarkable, suggesting the presence of only a few burials or, less
likely but still possibly, of only (sacrificed?) artefacts. Among the
destroyed graves were also specimens that contained 3rd-6th-century
finds, some of which have been collected from a local farmer (Lang 1996,
145 f.). The character and type of the graves is however unknown. But in
the end, excavations of other groups of stone-cist graves have shown
that graves with numerous (late) burials, such as Jaani at Vao, are
exceptional, and there are no particular grounds to argue that this
statement does not apply at Vao. On the other hand, however, the
possible presence and unknown character of even a few contemporaneous
burial deposits in other nearby graves inevitably blurs the
interpretation of Jaani graves.
The signature grave types of the discussed time period were
conjoined tarand graves, which in the discussed region were built in ca
AD 200-450/500, and cairn graves, which came subsequently (Lang 1996;
2007a). The graves are rich in grave goods and burials, among which
generally both cremations and inhumations occur. It however appears that
from the viewpoint of Vao, such graves were built and used on only the
other side of the river. It seems unlikely (though, admittedly, not
entirely impossible) that those communities crossed the river to bury
some of their dead in some relatively distant grave field. The destroyed
graves of Vao, again, may have included tarand and/or cairn graves, but
on the other hand, it is probable that some communities of the time did
not use stone graves at all. There are for instance indications that
throughout the time span under review, underground cremation and
inhumation graves may have been far more common than the archaeological
record reveals (Lang 2007a, 217 ff.; Tvauri 2012, 264 f., 280 f.). None
is known from the surroundings of Vao, which however does not disprove
that such burial, or some other archaeologically invisible rite, was
practised.
As for the re-use of old stone graves in general, the phenomenon is
widespread and apparently practised throughout the periods discussed in
this sub section (Tvauri 2012, 254 ff.; Laneman & Lang 2013, 105).
It has, however, not been specifically studied in Estonia, which
admittedly would be difficult in view of the scarcity of osteologically
analysed and radiocarbon-dated sites. It is generally held that the late
burials in a stone grave are usually few in number, and their presence
is frequently inferred from only the presence of single artefacts, which
may result from other practices than human bone deposition.
Differentiation of such burials by age groups has not been addressed in
the context of the discussed periods, although the tacit understanding
seems to be that the buried were mainly adults (which need not be
untrue). Therefore, it is difficult to place the late burials at Vao
into a sufficiently detailed context of the discussed practice, but
hopefully the case study contributes to approaching a more refined
understanding thereof.
Later periods
According to the currently available evidence, the Jaani graves and
most probably also the rest of the group were abandoned well before the
outset of the Viking Age. The uppermost layers of the stone-cist graves
and their close surroundings, however, produced an array of relatively
recent iron objects. The finds include five forged nails with different
shapes; a broken bridle bit that might have counterparts in the
ethnographic collections of many museums; a ring which may have been
part of another bridle bit; and a presumed frame of a crude buckle.
Perhaps the items represent nothing but recent rubbish and the only
radiocarbon date to possibly associate them with might be that of a
sheep bone originating in the 18th-20th centuries.
Conclusions
Osteological analysis showed that the site's human bone
assemblage is such a mess that significant and detailed observations on
bone deposition practices are impossible to make. This also explains why
the previous estimations by Heapost had been so unspecific. The new
analysis, however, identified twice as many individuals as previously
known, and the reasoning is also backed with a detailed report, the
necessity of which needs no further comment. As for the faunal remains,
the species composition offered no surprises, unlike the unexpectedly
modern radiocarbon date of a sheep, which eloquently calls for more
frequent scientific dating of animal bones if an adequate interpretation
thereof is aspired.
As a major disappointment, the burnt bones of the ship grave had
gone missing and were not available for radiocarbon dating. Since the
general time-frame for stone-cist graves has recently been shifted
towards a slightly earlier date, and it generally coincides with the
date of Scandinavian ship graves, the status of the ship grave as the
oldest element at the site has become much less self-evident than before
(though may nevertheless be valid). Also, it became clear that stonecist
grave B had been erected in as early as the Bronze Age and not at the
beginning of the Iron Age, as was thought before.
An almost certain Pre-Roman Iron Age origin, however, was attested
for grave A, which may be one of the latest stone-cist graves in
general. In view of the recently revised chronology of stone-cist
graves, it is not yet entirely clear when the tradition of the building
of stone-cist graves ceased. The discussed grave A shows that in the 5th
century BC, or at least at the onset thereof, the tradition was still
followed. On the other hand, however, one might ask as to whether it was
a 'proper' stone-cist grave and whether adding it between the
two former graves aimed at the creation of a kind of tarand grave. As
arbitrary as this reading may be, it cannot be overlooked that the site
includes interments from the time when the earliest tarand graves were
being built and used.
The disproportionately high number of sub-adults among the buried
found an explanation in the fact that the most, or at least a great
proportion, of them are not part of the Bronze and Pre-Roman-period
burial pattern, but belong to a later period between the Roman Iron Age
and early Pre-Viking Age. In other words, in the later stage of its
lifecycle the site seems to have served as a segregated or, perhaps,
'deviant' burial ground for predominantly children and
infants. This form of re-using old stone-cist graves has also been
observed elsewhere. The evidence at Vao, however, is not equally
straightforward, and a degree of caution with this interpretation is
advisable. A great proportion of skeletons has not been
radiocarbon-dated, and there is a considerable chance that what
initially appears as a continuous burial period may in fact imply at
least two separate phases with a different burial pattern and associated
beliefs.
To sum up, an attempt might be done to outline the developments at
the site through several millennia. It would probably start with
picturing a noble ship grave being accompanied with a stone-cist grave
at an honourable distance and with a slightly different orientation.
After a while, a third grave is being inserted, as if to bridge the two
opposing graves and to turn the structure into a more up-to-date grave
type, a tarand grave. Then there are a few peaceful centuries without
burial, after which burying begins again, this time involving
individuals whose social positions were not among the most prominent.
The ship seems to be treated with disregard, and the presence of once
two stone-cist graves is probably also forgotten. Finally, after one and
a half millennium of significance, the cemetery falls into oblivion and
serves as a random hump where dead farm animals and rocks from the
surrounding fields are occasionally thrown. It luckily survives a shot
of a military projectile, only to be destined to fall victim to
limestone mining soon after. To avoid the fate of becoming crushed
stone, as it happened to its surrounding milieu, the site's
integral physical existence is finished by archaeological excavation.
But as is also evident from this paper, the site continues its
transformations in a literary form.
doi: 10.3176/arch.2015.2.02
Margot Laneman, Institute of History and Archaeology at the
University of Tartu, 18 Ulikooli St., 50090 Tartu, Estonia;
margot.laneman@ut.ee
Valter Lang, Institute of History and Archaeology at the University
of Tartu, 18 Ulikooli St., 50090 Tartu, Estonia; valter.lang@ut.ee
Martin Malve, Institute of History and Archaeology at the
University of Tartu, 18 Ulikooli St., 50090 Tartu, Estonia;
martin.malve@ut.ee
Eve Rannamae, Institute of History and Archaeology at the
University of Tartu, 18 Ulikooli St., 50090 Tartu, Estonia;
eve.rannamae@ut.ee
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Liivi Varul and Teresa Tomek for their kind
assistance with the osteological analysis, and for Andres Tvauri for his
useful discussions on some of the artefacts. Thanks are extended to Mara
Woods and Kristel Roog who, respectively, checked the English and
prepared the figures. The study was financed by the European Union
through the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence in
Cultural Theory) and by institutional research funding IUT20-7 of the
Estonian Ministry of Education and Research.
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(1) The research on the bird bones was supervised by Teresa Tomek
(Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of
Sciences).
(2) A lower right tusk of a boar (less likely, a wild boar) was
found slightly outside grave B, near an iron nail (see Fig. 2). It has
previously been assumed to bear traces of working, and is therefore
listed as an artefact in the excavation records. Fresh inspection did
not confirm the presence of working traces, and we therefore include the
find in the faunal remains (of grave B).
(3) 100 [+ or -] 30 BP (Poz-61914). The radiocarbon dating was
undertaken by Eve Rannamae as part of another project on sheep DNA
research. Other animal bones of the site have not been
radiocarbon-dated.
(4) It is worth noting that the burnt bone deposits from one of the
Lulle ships yielded the radiocarbon dates of 2613 [+ or -] 30 BP (cist
2; Ua-42960) and 2525 [+ or -] 30 BP (cist 1; Ua-42959), which are among
the latest in the Baltic Sea region (Wehlin 2013, table 4.2, fig. 4.12).
This of course tells nothing definite about the date of the Vao ship.
The ship graves in Courland were much closer to the Lulle graves, but
they nevertheless produced considerably different (earlier) dates
(ibid.).
(5) The respective radiocarbon dates are very uniform. To be frank,
it cannot be assured that different individuals were dated. There were
apparently two burnt bone assemblages and each contained a single
fragment to prove the presence of altogether two different adults. We
did not want to damage these bones, so less informative fragments were
selected for AMS analysis; we assumed that the rest of the bones in a
particular assemblage belonged to the same person and that the bones of
two adults had not intermingled between the assemblages--which we
however cannot definitively verify.
(6) Very similar vessels were present in the Late Bronze Age
settlements and ship graves of Saaremaa and Courland but, notably, they
do not turn up in the stone-cist graves with Late Bronze and Pre-Roman
Iron Age burials (Lang 2007a, 128 f.). Such vessels re-appeared in the
mid-5th-century northern Estonian graves (ibid., 135 f.; see also Tvauri
2012, 71 f.). Since there is no undeniable evidence that the pot under
discussion originated from the ship grave, there are also no reasons to
prefer the earlier date over the later, which accords with the
radiocarbon data (cf. Lang 1996, 137 f.).
Table 1. Faunal remains from Jaani graves at Vao. Given is the number
of bones/bone fragments that can be assigned to the indicated species
or other taxon. A number in brackets stands for the minimum number of
individuals wherein bones of unquestionably more than one individual
are involved. Northern sector denotes the assemblage where bones from
grave A and B are indistinguishably mixed. It may also be that some
bones recorded as collected from grave A were in fact collected from
grave B, and vice versa
Ship grave Grave A
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) 2 36 (3)
Sheep/goat (Ovis aries / Capra hircus) 5 20
sheep (Ovis aries) 5 (2)
Cattle (Bos taurus) 5 16 (2)
Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) 15 (2)
Horse (Equus caballus) 1
Seal (Phocidae) 1
Hare (Lepus sp.) 2 9 (2)
Pine marten (Martes martes) 1
Fox (Vulpes vulpes)? 1
Birds (Aves) 10
landfowl (Galliformes) 5 (2)
--black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) 2 13 (2)
--capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) 1
--black grouse / capercaillie (Tetrao sp.) 8 (2)
waterfowl (Anseriformes) 1
--mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6 (3)
--duck (Tadorna sp. /Anas sp.) 2
corvids (Corvidae) 2
--jackdaw (Corvus monedula) 1
--crow/rook/jackdaw/raven (Corvus sp.) 2 3
owl (Strigiformes) 1 1
charadriiform (Charadriiformes) 1
gruiform (Gruiformes)
passerines (Passeriformes)
--trushes (Turdidae)
Rodents (Rodentia) 1
cricetids (Cricetidae) 45 (11)
Amphibians (Amphibia) 2
Mole (Talpa europaea) 2
? 6 51
TOTAL 30 255
Grave B Northern
sector (A + B)
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) 3 9
Sheep/goat (Ovis aries / Capra hircus) 4 5
sheep (Ovis aries) 1
Cattle (Bos taurus) 5 4 (2)
Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) 4 3
Horse (Equus caballus)
Seal (Phocidae)
Hare (Lepus sp.) 1 1
Pine marten (Martes martes)
Fox (Vulpes vulpes)?
Birds (Aves) 4 (2) 2
landfowl (Galliformes) 1
--black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) 1
--capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
--black grouse / capercaillie (Tetrao sp.)
waterfowl (Anseriformes)
--mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
--duck (Tadorna sp. /Anas sp.) 2 1
corvids (Corvidae)
--jackdaw (Corvus monedula) 1
--crow/rook/jackdaw/raven (Corvus sp.)
owl (Strigiformes)
charadriiform (Charadriiformes)
gruiform (Gruiformes) 2 1
passerines (Passeriformes) 1
--trushes (Turdidae) 1
Rodents (Rodentia) 1
cricetids (Cricetidae) 30 (7) 34 (7)
Amphibians (Amphibia) 5 3 (2)
Mole (Talpa europaea)
? 58 79
TOTAL 123 144
Total
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) 50 (3)
Sheep/goat (Ovis aries / Capra hircus) 34 40
sheep (Ovis aries) 6 (2) (2)
Cattle (Bos taurus) 30 (2)
Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) 22 (3)
Horse (Equus caballus) 1
Seal (Phocidae) 1
Hare (Lepus sp.) 13 (3)
Pine marten (Martes martes) 1
Fox (Vulpes vulpes)? 1
Birds (Aves) 16 (2) 76
landfowl (Galliformes) 6 (2) (12)
--black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) 16 (2)
--capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) 1
--black grouse / capercaillie (Tetrao sp.) 8 (2)
waterfowl (Anseriformes) 1
--mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6 (3)
--duck (Tadorna sp. /Anas sp.) 5
corvids (Corvidae) 2
--jackdaw (Corvus monedula) 2
--crow/rook/jackdaw/raven (Corvus sp.) 5 (2)
owl (Strigiformes) 2
charadriiform (Charadriiformes) 1
gruiform (Gruiformes) 3
passerines (Passeriformes) 1
--trushes (Turdidae) 1
Rodents (Rodentia) 2 111
cricetids (Cricetidae) 109 (25) (26)
Amphibians (Amphibia) 10 (3)
Mole (Talpa europaea) 2
? 194
TOTAL 552
Table 2. Skeletal elements of the animals present in Jaani graves at
Vao
bones teeth Furcula Coracoid Vertebrae
Cranium
Dog 1 10 3
Sheep/goat 1 14 1
Cattle 4 8 2
Pig 2 7
Horse 1
Seal
Hare 1 1
Pine marten 1
Fox? 1
Birds 2 10 1
Rodents 76
Amphibians
Mole
? 4 1 9
Total 89 43 2 10 17
Ribs and Scapula Humerus Radius Carpal and
sternum and ulna tarsal bones
Dog 1 3 2 3
Sheep/goat 3 2 2 2
Cattle 2 1 2
Pig 3 1 2
Horse
Seal 1
Hare 1 2 2 2
Pine marten
Fox?
Birds 2 7 14 8
Rodents 10 1
Amphibians 4
Mole
? 6 1 1 3
Total 15 9 40 17 13
Metacarpal and Pelvis Femur and Tibia Digital
metatarsal bones patella bones
Dog 15 12
Sheep/goat 6 2 1 6
Cattle 6 2 2 1
Pig 1 1 2 3
Horse
Seal
Hare 1 1 2
Pine marten
Fox?
Birds 9 3 11 2
Rodents 3 14 7
Amphibians 5
Mole 1 1
? 1 1 2 1 1
Total 37 9 24 31 25
Long ? Total MNI
bones
Dog 50 3
Sheep/goat 40 2
Cattle 30 2
Pig 22 3
Horse 1 1
Seal 1 1
Hare 13 3
Pine marten 1 1
Fox? 1 1?
Birds 7 76 12
Rodents 111 26
Amphibians 1 10 3
Mole 2 1
? 36 127 194
Total 44 127 552 58
Table 3. Radiocarbon dates and stable isotope measurements of the
human bones from Jaani stone graves at Vao. Calibration after OxCal
v4.2, using IntCall3 calibration curve (Bronk Ramsey 2009; Reimer et
al. 2013). Isotope measurements by IRMS method. 1 = left; r = right
Grave Individual's sex Sampled bone Lab code
and age at death UBA-
Ship ? (adult) a tubular bone 24 121
A Male 30-40 yrs 1. tibia 24 124
A Male 40+ yrs r. metacarpal IV 24 125
A ? 14-16 yrs 1. metacarpal I 24 126
A ? 5 yrs [+ or -] 16 mos a tooth (r. M1) 24 127
A ? 0-6 mos 1. femur 24 128
A ? 0-6 mos 1. femur 24 129
B ? (juvenile) fibula 24 130
B Male (adult) r. metacarpal I 24 131
B ? 9 yrs [+ or -] 24 mos a tooth (M1) 24 132
B ? 0-6 mos r. femur 24 133
B Male? (adult) parietal bone (burnt) 24 122
B Male? (adult) cranium (burnt) 24 123
A or B ? (child) r. femur 24 134
A or B ? 0-6 mos r. femur 24 135
Grave Date BP Date cal (95.4%) [sup.13]C
([per thousand])
Ship 2230 [+ or -] 28 380-200 BC -21.3
A 2399 [+ or -] 27 730-400 BC -21.2
A 2242 [+ or -] 26 390-210 BC -21.1
A 1862 [+ or -] 31 80-230 AD -21.2
A 2382 [+ or -] 31 730-400 BC -20.7
A 1610 [+ or -] 29 390-540 AD -20.1
A 1626 [+ or -] 29 350-540 AD -20.6
B 2574 [+ or -] 42 820-550 BC -21.2
B 2255 [+ or -] 38 400-210 BC -21.4
B 1785 [+ or -] 33 135-330 AD -20.8
B 1546 [+ or -] 29 425-575 AD -20.5
B 1456 [+ or -] 28 560-650 AD n/a
B 1438 [+ or -] 31 570-655 AD n/a
A or B 2296 [+ or -] 31 410-230 BC -21.4
A or B 1405 [+ or -] 29 600-670 AD -20.9
Grave [sup.15]N C : N
([per thousand])
Ship 9.8 3.14
A 10.7 3.13
A 10.2 3.07
A 12.2 3.09
A 10.8 3.07
A 11.9 3.16
A 10.5 3.24
B 11.0 3.14
B 10.6 3.24
B 13.0 3.09
B 11.8 3.21
B n/a n/a
B n/a n/a
A or B 11.2 3.38
A or B 11.6 3.38
