An elusive ritual or a weave of adverse environmental conditions? From a research on the issue of a small number of sepulchral objects in the Trzciniec culture

Abstract Over the past dozen years or so, there has been a significant increase in the pace of research on the phenomenon of the Trzciniec cultural circle. This is due to a snowballing increase of the source base, which was obtained as part of modern excavations, currently being conducted in a wide spatial scope (research on routes of planned motorways). A number of synthesis publications have also appeared. Coherent periodizations of development of this cultural circle has been worked out for many regions. It should be noted, however, that these are mainly systematics created on the basis of materials originating from settlements. The number of sepulchral discoveries that have been made so far is incomparably smaller than those of settlement-type objects. The problem of the scale of occurrence of cemeteries seems to be very clear, because in some thoroughly researched areas, no single confirmed grave has yet been discovered. The areas of the San, Vistula and Wisłoka river interfluves, the central Warta region and the sandy areas of the Nida Basin can, among others, be considered as such regions. This article is an attempt to address this problem more broadly. It is also a search for possible explanations the indicated irregularity of an absence of grave sites. The work analyses three aspects of this issue: the degree of excavation reconnaisance of the Trzciniec ecumen, environmental conditions and cultural factors. For the purposes of the analyses, a current list of sepulchral sites of the Trzciniec culture in Poland has been created and all relevant information has been collected. Selected aspects have been illustrated with various types of mapping, specific examples from selected Trzciniec culture sites or groups remote territorially or remote in time, chemical analyses of soil for phosphorus content and radiocarbon facts.