THE WEAPON BURIAL RITUAL IN THE EARLY IRON AGE KERAMEIKOS CEMETERY: A RESEARCH PROJECT

The article illustrates the evidence related to the weapon burial ritual in the specific context of the Kerameikos cemetery at Athens, where an overwhelming series of burials with weapons came to light in the course of the systematic excavation of the site made by the German arcjhaeologists. It sums up previous investigations made by the Author (2011) on the whole Attic evidence, concentrating on the Kerameikos site, starting a reconstruction of the cultural behaviour of the communities contributing to the cemetery. Distribution and ritual pattern are recognized in the archaeological record, permitting a renovated approach to the matter.