Tradition established: Kantharoi in funerary rituals at La Tène necropolis Belgrade-Karaburma
Tradition established: Kantharoi in funerary rituals at La Tène necropolis Belgrade-Karaburma

Summary/Abstract: During the 4th century BC, contacts between the Mediterranean world and communities in the Carpathian Basin and Central Balkan region intensified, which resulted in the appearance of larger numbers of Greek imports in these areas. Their presence inspired the production of imitations of Hellenistic vessels, such as kantharoi, which became a recognizable feature of the Late Iron Age material culture. In the Carpathian basin they were in use only for a short period of time, during the phases LT B2 – LT C1. However, on the territory of the Scordisci, kantharoi were continuously used for over three centuries. Their number increased during the Late La Tène period, and they were found in both cemeteries and settlements. The present paper aims to analyze the tradition of using kantharoi in funerary rituals at the Scordiscan cemetery Karaburma in Belgrade, along with the neighboring site of Rospi Ćuprija. The two sites represent the same necropolis, where more than 100 graves, both cremation and inhumation burials, were excavated. The earliest graves with kantharoi are dated to the Middle La Tène period. The tradition of placing kantharoi in graves continued through the Late La Tène, as well as during the first decades of the new era. The finds from Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija allow us to observe the changes of the form of kantharoi through various phases of the La Tène period. The practice of placing kantharoi in burials at the necropolis persisted for a long period of time, which indicates the significance of these vessels among La Tène populations that lived at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, considering that kantharoi could be found in graves even after material of Roman provenance began to appear in larger numbers.

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