Biconical urn
The biconical urn is a hallmark of Italy as the forerunner of the Etruscans in the 10th century BC. Chr. Common Iron Age Villanovan culture . The shape is also represented in the Hallstatt , Lusatian and Urnfield cultures. In addition, biconicity (double cone) is a property of many prehistoric pioneering ceramics, other predominantly European cultures in the Mediterranean and Danubian-Balkan region, including ribbon ceramics .
The predominant vessel shape in the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age burial grounds in northwest Germany is the simple double-conical urn. The upper and lower parts close together in a more or less sharply formed break. The top is often shorter than the bottom. The time at which the double cone first appears cannot be precisely determined, as there are no closed finds with dating bronzes. Research suggests that it was already in use as a cremation container in the later part of the Bronze Age. It then remains in use in almost unchanged form until the early Iron Age.
The biconical ash pot of the Villanova culture was first discovered in 1853 in a burial site from the early Iron Age near Bologna . The containers served as funeral urns . Right from the start, they only had one handle. An occasional second handle was broken off during the funeral ritual. Several examples have an engraved or printed complex geometric decoration. A small bowl or a ceramic replica of a helmet was used as a lid. He gave the urn, which was designed without anthropomorphic decoration, a personal touch. Such decorations would only gain importance later in certain cultures.
literature
- Kurt Tackenberg : Westphalia in the prehistory of Northwest Germany: Find maps from the Paleolithic to the time around the birth of Christ (Münster 1996).