Pohřební obyčeje doby železné procházely postupnými proměnami, které někdy prozrazují významné zvraty odehrávající se v tehdejší společensko-duchovní sféře. Ve vývoji pohřebního ritu doby železné lze pozorovat jak společné rysy, tak i rozdíly mezi západem a východem Evropy. Pozornost je zaměřena zvláště na rozdíly mezi západní a východní částí střední Evropy, které od stupně LT C2 nápadně vystupují do popředí a zřejmě souvisí s radikální změnou náboženských představ ve východní části střední Evropy. Interdisciplinární výzkum narušené knížecí mohyly z pozdní doby halštatské v Rovné u Strakonic přinesl nové informace, které do jisté míry přispívají k objasnění zmíněné problematiky. and Burial customs underwent gradual changes during the Iron Age, sometimes revealing significant upheavals occurring in the socio-spiritual sphere of the time. Both commonalities and differences between Western and Eastern Europe can be observed in the development of Iron Age burial practices. Particular attention is paid to the differences between the western and eastern parts of Central Europe, which come to the forefront in LT C2 and are probably related to the radical change in religious ideas in the eastern part of Central Europe. Interdisciplinary investigation of the disturbed princely barrow from the Late Hallstatt period in Rovná near Strakonice (South Bohemia) produced new information that has helped clarify the studied topic.
In 2018, during a rescue archaeological excavation taking place in one of the gardens of Staré Město near Uherské Hradiště, 23 early medieval graves containing skeletal remains of 26 individuals were detected. The site is situated on the northern border of the well-known Great Moravian burial ground ‘Na Valách’. In a large number of the newly excavated graves, greater or lesser deviations from the usual funeral rite were recorded. While the established burial rite in Great Moravian society means the deceased lies on their back in the supine position with extended extremities and head towards the west, here we found skeletons in very different orientations, lying in a prone or crouched position, or, at least, with unusual positions of their upper or lower limbs. Additionally, some of the graves contained incomplete or no skeletons. There is also one double burial and a triple burial, and several graves in superpositions. In nine graves, objects of material culture were found, the most important of them come from the rider’s grave 20/2018. The presented study aims to interpret the burial contexts using the bioarchaeological approach, which is, however, affected by the quality of the preserved finds, especially skeletal remains.