Analysis of the Cemetery Župna Cerkev in Kranj (Slovenia)

Description

The cemetery of Župna Cerkev in Kranj (Slovenia) is one of the largest Early Medieval cemeteries in the south-eastern Alps as well as in the larger part of Central Europe (Fig. 1). The current state of research provides a good starting point for a qualitative leap in the archaeological knowledge of the Central European Early Middle Ages. The cemetery has 2943 archaeologically excavated graves, of which about one third are Early Medieval. A stratigraphy of the graves (Harris matrix) and a typochronology of Early Medieval jewellery and anthropological analyses have been produced. No archaeological interpretation of the cemetery has been made to date. The stratigraphy and the material remains indicate a continuous burial activity between the 8th and 18th centuries in the same area next to church buildings from different periods.

The wider area of Kranj, with its location at the junction of the Alps and the Mediterranean, shows numerous contacts with neighbouring regions, which has been repeatedly confirmed by previous research on Early Medieval material culture. Kranj (Carnium), as a place of supra-regional importance, also contains artefacts that are not typical of the area in the Early Middle Ages. In fact, similar artefacts are found in the surrounding area in the Early Middle Ages in northern Italy, Switzerland, Austria, southern and central Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and even sporadically in Romania. As such, the cemetery represents a unique and representative site of a significant part of Central Europe and not only of the Southeastern Alps.

Fig. 1: Cemetery Župna cerkev in Kranj. 1- Early Medieval/Medieval grave; 2-modern town; 3-High/Late Medieval church/chapel

Objectives of the project

The objective of the research is the synthetic analysis and archaeological interpretation of one of the largest Early Medieval cemetery in Central Europe. To this end, we have set 3 specific goals.

• First, dating of the Early Mediaeval and later graves with and without artefacts by applying proven archaeological and science dating methods. In particular, we use the possibility of a well-preserved stratigraphy (Harris matrix), which includes 2470 graves and 278 other elements of the cemetery, between which there are 4416 stratigraphic relations (for examples see: Fig. 2).
• Second, conducting a spatial analysis of the cemetery. Using the dated graves, we observe, in a temporal and spatial context, the distribution of the Early Medieval graves and selected attributes, as well as their relations to some other elements of the cemetery, especially the contemporary churches.
• Third, making an archaeological interpretation of the results, focusing on the Early Medieval period and supported by the results of the spatial analysis. The results provide a basis for resolving a number of interpretive issues in Central European archaeology: from questions related to archaeological typologies to problems of identity group formation and questions about the possibility of detecting population migrations.