Ritual pits in Thrace (end of 2nd-1st millennium B.C.)

Abstrakt

The article analyzes the phenomenon of so-called ritual pits in Thrace from the end of the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, focusing on their function, chronology, and significance in religious practices. These pits, most often beehive-shaped, occur both within tumuli and in sanctuaries, and their fillings include, among others, pottery fragments, animal bones, ash, and traces of fire. The analysis of archaeological data from numerous sites (including Duvanlii, Kralevo, Debelt, Mirkovo) indicates their long-term use and varied contexts of formation—before, during, and after the construction of tumuli. The author emphasizes that ritual pits constituted an important element of funerary and post-funerary rites, enabling symbolic contact between the living and the world of the dead. They are interpreted as places for making offerings, performing libations, lighting fires, and ritually depositing objects. Comparisons with analogous phenomena in the Greek world suggest their chthonic character and connection with the cult of ancestors and fertility deities. At the same time, some pits may have functioned as open sanctuaries used over a long period. The author indicates that rituals associated with pits constituted an important element of the Thracian belief system, combining ideas of death, rebirth, and fertility.