Spatial relationship between the living and the dead during Neolithic and Chalcolithic at the Lower Danube

Raluca KOGALNICEANU
(Giurgiu County Museum)

Abstract: The analysis of the spatial relationship between the living and the dead during Neolithic and Chalcolithic at the Lower Danube will consider a large number of the known pairs of settlements and cemeteries, both from the Southern Romania area and from Northern Bulgaria. Each pair will be treated according to the following steps:

• The positioning of the settlement and of the cemetery on topographic plans (minimum scale 1:25.000).
• The digitization of the plan of the area where the pair is located.
• The realization of a profile through the settlement and the cemetery.
• The synthesis of the following data regarding each pair: a) distance between the settlement and the cemetery, b) orientation of the cemetery from the settlement, c) the altitude of the settlement and of the cemetery compared.
• The synthesis of the data mentioned at point 4 in a general scheme, both with the settlement as central point and with the cemetery as central point.

The main purpose of this presentation is to highlight, in an expressive, visual manner, possible patterns in the spatial relationship between the settlements and the cemeteries. The use of a standard set of criteria on a given number of paired sites will offer a general, standardized image of this relationship.

Keywords: settlement, cemetery, DEM, profile, general scheme