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This article presents the results of a multi-proxy study conducted on a triple burial found at a settlement site at Pärnu Road 41, Tallinn, Estonia, dating to 405â360 cal BC (Pre-Roman Iron Age). Through archaeological and chemical analyses, including AMS dating, archaeobotany, osteology, stable isotope analysis, lipid analysis, metallography and XRF analysis, this study proves valuable insights into the provenance, diet, and burial practices of the woman and children buried in the grave at Pärnu Road 41. The stable isotope analysis of strontium, carbon and nitrogen suggests that the individuals were of local origin and did not travel long distances during their lifetime. It is likely that the diet of the woman was mainly based on terrestrial protein, which is also supported by lipid analysis performed of pot sherds. These results correspond with the dietary stable isotope values of individuals from Estonia dated to the second half of the Bronze Age and the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Based on the find context of carbonized grains, the partial burning of the female skeleton and the fire pit built contemporaneously above the grave, it is likely that grains and fire could have played an important role in inhumation burials. However, because of the scarcity of inhumation burials in pit graves, it is unclear whether or not the triple burial at Pärnu Road 41 represents a widespread burial practice alongside the stone graves typical of this period. Moreover, it is possible that the observed rituals are linked to foreign customs, as the buried individuals may have had familial ties to immigrants from different regions of eastern Europe, as indicated by a unique bronze bell-pendant found in the grave. This study also introduces the discovery of the earliest known iron smithing site in Estonia. Spherical magnetic droplets found within the burial soil were proven to be hammer scales, formed as a by-product of iron working. The appearance of hammer scales in the soil of a burial dated to the 4th century BC challenges the previously established timeline of iron working in the region.

This is an in-depth study of a mimicked slotted point, carved from a cervid longbone, found in the lower reaches of the Pärnu River. The 3D digital model, created during this study, provides an interactive and innovative tool for studying the object in detail. The AMS dating places the artefact at the very beginning of human habitation in the present-day territory of Estonia. SEM-EDS, ATR-FT-IR and GC-FID/MS analyses demonstrate that this unique object was probably originally partially covered with a mixture of red ochre and some coniferous resin, possibly as hafting adhesive. As this is a detailed replica of a slotted point, it also demonstrates how people themselves saw slotted points in the Early Mesolithic, also raising the question of the purpose of this replica â was it an ordinary arrowhead or rather a ritual object?

Methods of palaeogeographical modelling of possible freshwater bodies based on open access datasets provided by the Estonian Land Board are discussed, along with the landscape use of the recently surveyed palaeolagoons at the mouths of the rivers Vihterpalu, Teenuse and Velise (western Estonia) after Litorina Sea transgression maximum (ca 5300 BC). The site clusters by the Vihterpalu palaeolagoon can be dated to the Pre-Pottery Mesolithic or Narva stage (until 5200 BC and 5200â3900 BC, respectively). Human activity by the Velise lagoon probably started at the same time and intensified during the Comb Ware stage (3900â1750 BC). Two mineral surface depressions, sufficient to accommodate remnant lakes and presently covered by peat layers of mires deserve further attention. They are located in the Seljaküla, Variku and Keedika villages behind the coastal formations observable by the road connecting the Keilaâ Haapsalu main road with Nõva village. Similar depressions behind the coastal formations in the TeenuseâVelise area are not sufficient for freshwater bodies. The spatial pattern of small- scale aceramic settlement sites by the tributaries of the present-day River Kasari up to 10 km from the palaeocoastline suggests a highly persistent seasonal land use during the Comb Ware stage, comparable to the Neolithic settlement phase of Kunda Lammasmägi.

The settlement site of Jägala Jõesuu V is located in northern Estonia in the village of Jõesuu, about 200 m from the eastern bank of the Jägala River and about 2 km from the present-day coast of the Baltic Sea. It was discovered during the fieldwork in 2011, and 275 m2 was researched during rescue excavations in the course of road renovation. The remains of one pit-house (partly excavated), several pits and fireplaces were found. The collection of finds (11 454 artefacts and ecofacts) consists of potsherds of Comb Ware, tools and debris of quartz and flint, burnt bones, hazelnut shells, etc. The excavation technique, as well as the fact that the site was a relatively short-term and undisturbed complex, provided a good basis for spatial analysis that identified at least five concentration zones of finds. The largest concentration (61% of all finds) is related to the filling of the pit-house, >2.8 à 5.3 m in size and with pits inside it. The second large concentration zone (10% of all finds) contains the same find categories as the pit-house, but in different proportions, and it is assumed to be the remains of an above-ground construction measuring about 6 à 3 m. Three other concentrations, which in one case mostly contain flint and quartz artefacts (diameter ca 2.5 m) and quartz in the other two cases (ca 1.5 and 3 m in diameter) can be associated with outdoor activities.

Cremation burials of the 1st millennium AD were probably one of the most spread but the least studied funeral traditions in the north-west of Eastern Europe. In 2013, a single cremation Rosson 11 was found in a rather untypical landscape in the NarvaâLuga Klint Bay area, by the RussianâEstonian border. The burial was located at the foot of Kudruküla palaeospit, 1 km away from the shoreline of the Baltic Sea, in a plain and marshy area. Burnt bones might have belonged to one individual, presumably 15â45 years old, most likely female, as judged from anthropological evidence and assemblage of the preserved burial goods. Cremation was done elsewhere, and the remains were afterwards placed in an urn and a shallow pit. Besides the burnt bones, the contents included fragments of bronze ornamented plates, of a narrow cast bracelet with a longitudinal rib, a fragment of an iron artefact, and fragments of hand-built pottery. The chronology of typologically pronounced finds allows to date the burial within 5thâ6th c. AD. A burnt bone fragment was dated by AMS, within the interval from 420 to 560 cal AD. The Rosson 11 burial differs from burials with stone constructions known in the Izhora Plateau, as well as from Pskov Long Barrows and eastern Lithuanian barrows, although there are many parallels to the bracelet and other finds from the site. This burial can be considered as an evidence that the population of Ingeria did use the coastal landscape in the second half of the 1st millennium AD.