The Early Bronze Age Burial Mound at Kriaritsi – Sykia (Central Macedonia, Greece)

The burial mound is located on a rather low hill (altitude 41.03m), which rises almost perpendicularly above sea level. The burial site lies on a 400 sq. m plateau on the mound’s top. The dense layer of crude or semi-crude stones located on the surface of the plateau covered 30 burial enclosures which can be divided into four categories according to their shape: circular, oblique, semi-circular and irregular. Cists are dug into the burial enclosures: one in most cases, two in some, while in one case there is a double cist. Cremation is the exclusive burial practice of the burial site. The urns in which the burned bones are gathered are placed in the small burial cists of the enclosures. The cists were first covered by slabs and then by a pile of stones covering the whole enclosure. We have not yet located the cremation places. The range of vessel shapes is rather limited due to their specific burial use. They are all handmade and can be divided into 3 categories according to their use: a. Urns (amphorae with four or two handles, hydriae, small closed vessels, etc.); b. Vessels covering the urns (bell-shaped cups); c. Burial offerings (small cups). Considering the sparse evidence for cremation in the EBA burial sites of Macedonia, the exclusive use of this practice at Kriaritsi makes it a unique example in the wider region, as far as the construction method and in particular the burial practice are concerned.Asouhidou Sofia. The Early Bronze Age Burial Mound at Kriaritsi – Sykia (Central Macedonia, Greece). In: Ancestral Landscape. Burial mounds in the Copper and Bronze Ages (Central and Eastern Europe – Balkans – Adriatic – Aegean, 4th-2nd millennium B.C.) Proceedings of the International Conference held in Udine, May 15th-18th 2008. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2012. pp. 383-390. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée. Série recherches archéologiques, 58