⭐ 14: An Etruscan Situla in a Celtic Tomb

A Remarkable Find Brought to Brežice from Northern Italy

In addition a third war wagon, the discovery of a severely damaged bronze vessel was the biggest surprise of the excavations conducted at the Sejmišče site in 2017. The bottom of the vessel was melted and the vessel itself was flattened to such an extent that the vessel's bottom and opening were on the same level. It was identified as an Etruscan stamnoid situla from the 4th or 5th century BC by Dr Dragan Božič from the Institute of Archaeology ZRC SAZU. According to Dr Božič, the custom of adding imported bronze vessels into Celtic graves that are much younger than the time of their making is mainly typical of the Po Valley, the Celtic tombs in Spina and the vicinity of Verona. The situla is an exceptional and unique find for this area. Apart from the fact that the vessel was most likely brought from northern Italy, it is at least 100 years older than the rest of the grave goods. Due to its age, provenance and craftsmanship it was undoubtedly of great value. The deceased in whose grave the situla was buried was certainly an important member of the community.

For heritage enthusiasts:

The discovery of Grave 114 with a situla and a war wagon at the Sejmišče site in Brežice
The Celtic burial site Sejmišče in Brežice is located on the southern edge of the town, on a gravel river terrace, which is now about 200 meters from the Sava riverbed, on its left bank. The burial site dates back to a period between ca. 250 BC, when the Celts settled in Posavje, and 150 BC, when the Celts started retreating to more distant, higher-lying positions. Members of the community buried in this burial site belong to the Celtic tribes that were part of the Taurisci tribe.
The site was explored in several stages, but no settlement related to it has been discovered. It was first identified as a Celtic burial site in 1948, when various finds were discovered by accident during the digging of foundations for a veterinary clinic. This was followed by research conducted by the Posavje Museum Brežice in 1981, 1982 and 1997, Arhos d.o.o. in 2010/2011, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia – Novo mesto Regional Office in 2014/2015 and Arhos d.o.o in 2017. All the research was conducted as part of rescue excavations during construction work and was limited to the construction area in question. Although the burial site has not been explored systematically, a large part of it has been excavated so far; the site's northern and southern borders have been marked off, the eastern and western borders, however, have yet to be determined.
Burial sites are characterised by shallow graves, in which cremated remains of the deceased are buried along with their personal possessions. The burial method is associated with a funerary rite, which involved burning the deceased on a pyre together with their belongings. Skeletal remains were then carefully placed in a leather or fabric bag and buried in the grave. Other grave goods included personal items melted on the pyre, containers filled with food and drinks, and often also a piece of pork – either jowl or a pig leg. Other items buried in warrior graves included weapons, which were subjected to a special funerary destruction rite, i.e. typical warrior gear, which includes a sword, a spear and a shield, was bent and then added to the grave. Of the 161 graves excavated so far, about a third are warrior graves and represent a distinct group among the Celtic graves discovered in Brežice. It should, however, be noted that not all men's graves are warrior graves. Typical grave goods found in men’s graves are various items such as whetstones, razors, massive knives and iron bracelets. These grave goods are typically found in warrior graves too along with the aforementioned weapons.
Grave goods typical of women's graves include bronze jewellery, i.e. clasps for fastening garments, massive anklets, iron chain belts with a rod-shaped pendant and glass bracelets, which have been severely distorted due to the cremation rite.

Grave 114 with the bronze situla and the war wagon.	Reconstruction of the Celtic war wagon. Drawing by Gregor Smukovič.

Due to a planned construction of an additional parking lot next to the local nursing home (investor: Prodoma d.o.o.), research at the Sejmišče site continued in the spring of 2017, headed by the Arhos d.o.o. archaeological team. The finds were expected, as the researched area was located within a known burial site area. In addition to several graves, including a few warrior ones, the most notable grave was Grave 114 with the aforementioned find, i.e. the third war wagon discovered at the Sejmišče site. Parts of the excavated war wagon included two iron wheel tires, an iron wheel bolt and two felloe plates with a spine on one side and a perforation on the other. In addition to these, three bronze objects have also been identified as parts of the wagon, their function, however, was most likely decorative. Two of them have the same diameter and served as decorative wheel fittings. This assumption has been confirmed by an iron rivet, discovered on the inside of one of the decorative fittings. The remains of silver plating were discovered on the other fitting. There was also a third, smaller decorative fitting, which may have been used on the shaft.
Other objects discovered in the grave included double curb bits, as well as two massive rings and another tin one, which might have been parts of the bridle, although this has not been confirmed with certainty. The buried warrior's gear included a sword bent as part of the funerary rite and a spear, from which two iron parts have been preserved, i.e. the spearhead and the shaft. The remains of an iron sheet metal fitting were also found in the grave and can be interpreted as a shield border. Typical men's grave goods discovered in the grave included a razor, scissors and a massive knife whose spherical end had been broken off. Also found in the grave were two earthenware vessels: a pot and a bowl of food, as evidenced by the remains of chicken and pig bones.
The discovery of the situla and the war wagon makes Grave 114 the most luxurious grave excavated at the Sejmišče site so far. All the grave finds are exhibited as part of Posavje Museum Brežice’s permanent archaeological collection.
 

The bronze situla before restoration.	The restored bronze situla.

Jože Lorber restoring the situla.	A reconstruction drawing of the situla. Drawing by Jože Lorber.

For more information see:

• Guštin Mitja: Prazgodovinski vozovi na ozemlju Jugoslavije. V: Keltski voz, Guštin, Mitja in Pauli, Ludwig (ur.), Brežice: Posavski muzej Brežice, 1984, str. 111–133.
• Jovanović Alenka. Kelti ob sotočju Save in Krke. Publikacija ob razstavi. Brežice: Posavski muzej Brežice, 2007.

Prepared by: Jana Puhar

 
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