Grobnice halštatskih kneževa na lokalitetu Kaptol – Čemernica: arheobotanički nalazi iz tumula III i XI

The prehistoric archaeological site of Kaptol is the most significant Iron Age site in northern Croatia discovered to date. It has given its name to the southernmost group within the Hallstatt cultural complex. The necropolis at the location of Cemernica was excavated between 1965 and 1971, with 14 tumuli encompassed by the archaeological investigation. Thereafter, three rounds of complex revision excavations were conducted: in 2007, tumulus XI – the northernmost tumulus in the Cemernica necropolis – was excavated; two years later, tumulus III; and, in 2016, tumulus IV. This is the first presentation of the results of archaeobotanical research of Hallstatt tumuli III and XI at the Kaptol – Cemernica site. In total, 674 litres of sediment from tumuli III and XI were floated, resulting in the recovery of 16.285 carbonized plant remains. The overwhelming majority (more than 90%) of finds from both tumuli are those of cereals. Due to the poor preservation of the plant material, half of the cereals have been identified as Cerealia (large-grained cereals). Wheat (Triticum) is predominant among the better-preserved remains from both tumuli, with common wheat (Triticum aestivum) being the most numerous among the types of wheat identified. In view of the large quantity of plant remains, predominantly cereals, the conclusion can be drawn that the plant component of the Early Iron Age burial ritual was much more important than we thought.