Top text:
The Urnfield lived in northern and Central Europe during the late Bronze Age, and this image depicts a
typical Urnfield funeral. Click on the image to hear more about what is happening in each part of the
image.
Script:
The Urnfield Culture is defined by using cremation with a funeral pyre like this one. The ashes were
placed in a ceramic urn, then buried.
Wealthy members of Urnfield society were often buried with their prized possessions. Swords, like these
bronze swords, along with other valuables were placed in large wagons and buried along with their
owners.
Crowds would have gathered for a burial like this one. This scene depicts the burial for wealthy elite,
likely a prince or lord of some kind.
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Image adapted from “Vandkilde, Helle (2007). Culture and Change in Central European Prehistory: 6th to
1st Millennium BC. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus UP”