VELIM AND VIOLENCE

Résumé

The Bronze Age site of Velim, Czech Republic, saw the deposition of much skeletal material, mostly disarticulated and dumped in disorder in pits and ditches. A number of explanations have been advanced for this (cult, defence, normal burial, warfare followed by massacre). The paper considers the evidence for each explanation, and attempts a reinterpretation in the light of recent work on comparable sites, notably in the Tollense valley in north-east Germany, and Cliffs End Farm, south-east England.