Red Ochre – for Special Dead and Dangerous Dead (Use of Red Ochre in the Burial Practices During the Late Eneolithic by Data from the Territory of Bulgaria)
Red Ochre – for Special Dead and Dangerous Dead (Use of Red Ochre in the Burial Practices During the Late Eneolithic by Data from the Territory of Bulgaria)

Summary/Abstract: In this article the author presents the use of red ochre in the burial rituals during the Late Eneolithic on the territory of Bulgaria. Approximately 1,200 graves have been analyzed in necropolises, settlement mounds and in unusual places, where ochre was found to be selectively and relatively rarely used, and this outlines it an unusual burial practice. At the same time, its presence in graves was documented throughout the surveyed area - it occurs in 70% of the necropolis, which gives the author reason to believe that this practice is part of the standard burial ritual applied in special cases for „special" dead or for „dangerous" dead. What is interesting is that these practices are present in some of the richest graves. The author suggests possible interpretations of the reasons for ochre use.

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