STONE-CIST GRAVE AT KASEKÜLA, WESTERN ESTONIA, IN THE LIGHT OF AMS DATES OF THE HUMAN BONES

Abstract

The article discusses new AMS dates of the human bones at stone-cist grave I at Kasekula, western Estonia, in the context of previously existent radiocarbon dates, artefact finds and osteological studies. There are altogether 12 radiocarbon dates for 10 inhumations (i.e. roughly a third of all burials) of the grave, provided by two laboratories. The dates suggest three temporally separated periods in the use life of the grave(s): the Late Bronze Age, the Pre-Roman Iron Age and the Late Iron Age. In the latter period, the grave was probably reserved for infant burials only. Along with chronological issues, the article discusses the apparently unusual structure of the grave and compares two competing osteological studies of the grave’s bone assemblage from an archaeologist’s point of view.