Guerriero del Bronzo, Tomba Intatta.

Bronze Age warrior tomb

 unearthed in SW Greece 





ArchaeoHeritage, Archaeology, Breakingnews, Europe, Greece, Southern Europe 





On the floor of the grave lay the skeleton of an adult male, stretched out on his back. Weapons lay to his left, and jewelry to his right. 

This gold ring with a Cretan bull-jumping scene was one of four solid-gold rings  found in the tomb. This number is more than found with any other single burial  elsewhere in Greece 

[Credit: University of Cincinnati, Pylos Excavations] 

Near the head and chest was a bronze sword, its ivory hilt covered in gold. 
A gold-hilted dagger lay beneath it. Still more weapons were found by the man's legs and feet. Gold cups rested on his chest and stomach, and near his neck was a perfectly preserved gold necklace with two pendants. 
By his right side and spread around his head were over one thousand beads of carnelian, amethyst, jasper, agate and gold. 
Nearby were four gold rings, and silver cups as well as bronze bowls, cups, jugs and basins.

Dagger with a gold hilt overlaid with gold in a rare technique imitating embroidery [Credit: University of Cincinnati, Pylos Excavations]

The above describes what a University of Cincinnati-led international research team found this summer when excavating what was initially thought to be a Bronze Age house. Instead, the team made a rich and rare discovery of an intact, Bronze Age warrior's tomb dating back to about 1500 B.C., and that discovery is featured in The New York Times, in an article titled: A Warrior's Grave at Pylos, Greece, Could Be a Gateway to Civilizations. 

One of six ivory combs found within the warrior's tomb 

[Credit: University of Cincinnati,  Pylos Excavations]

 The find is so extraordinary that UC's Shari Stocker, senior research associate in the Department of Classics, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, states: "This previously unopened shaft grave of a wealthy Mycenaean warrior, dating back 3,500 years, is one of the most magnificent displays of prehistoric wealth discovered in mainland Greece in the past 65 years." 
Stocker co-leads the team that unearthed the undisturbed shaft tomb, along with Jack Davis, UC's Carl W. Blegen Chair in Greek Archaeology. 
Other team members include UC faculty, staff specialists and students, some of whom have worked in the area around the present-day city of Pylos on the southwest coast of Greece for the last quarter century as part of the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project. 
That UC-based effort is dedicated to uncovering the pre-history and history of the Bronze Age center known as the Palace of Nestor, an extensive complex and a site linked to Homeric legend. 
Though the palace was destroyed by fire sometime around 1200 B.C., it is nevertheless the best-preserved Bronze Age palace on the Greek mainland. 
It was UC archaeologist Carl Blegen, along with Konstantinos Kourouniotis, director of the National Archaeological Museum, who initially uncovered the remains of the famed Palace of Nestor in an olive grove in 1939. 
Located near the present-day city of Pylos, the palace was a destination in Homer's "Odyssey," where sacrifices were said to be offered on its beaches. 
The king who ruled at the Palace of Nestor controlled a vast territory that was divided into more than 20 districts with capital towns and numerous small settlements. 

This unique necklace measures more than 30-inches long and features two gold pendants  decorated with ivy leaves. It was found near the neck of the warrior's skeleton  

[Credit: University of Cincinnati, Pylos Excavations]

 Explains Stocker, "This latest find is not the grave of the legendary King Nestor, who headed a contingent of Greek forces at Troy in Homer's 'Iliad.' Nor is it the grave of his father, Neleus. 
This find may be even more important because the warrior pre-dates the time of Nestor and Neleus by, perhaps, 200 or 300 years. 
That means he was likely an important figure at a time when this part of Greece was being indelibly shaped by close contact with Crete, Europe's first advanced civilization." 
Thus, the tomb may have held a powerful warrior or king -- or even a trader or a raider -- who died at about 30 to 35 years of age but who helped to lay the foundations of the Mycenaean culture that later flourished in the region. Davis speculates, "Whoever he was, he seems to have been celebrated for his trading or fighting in nearby island of Crete and for his appreciation of the more-sophisticated and delicate are of the Minoan civilization (found on Crete), with which he was buried." 
Potential Wealth of Information The team found the tomb while working in the area of the Palace of Nestor, seeking clues as to how the palace and its rulers came to control an area encompassing all of modern Messenia in western Greece and supporting more than 50,000 inhabitants during the Bronze Age. 

The golden necklace of the grave at Ano Englianos 

[Credit: University of Cincinnati,  Pylos Excavations]

 Davis says that researchers were there to try and figure out how the Palace of Nestor became a center of power and when this rise in power began, questions they now think the tomb may help answer. 
Given the magnitude of this find, it may be necessary to rethink when Plyos and the wider area around it began to flourish. It may have been earlier than previously thought since, somehow, whether via trade or force (e.g., raiding), its inhabitants had acquired the valuable objects found within the tomb. 
Many of the tomb's objects were made in nearby Crete and show a strong Minoan style and technique unknown in mainland Greece in the 15th century BC. 

Finds from the grave at Ano Englianos 

[Credit: University of Cincinnati,  Pylos Excavations]

 The same would likely have been true of the warrior's dwelling during this lifetime. 
He would have lived on the hilltop citadel of nearby Englianos at a time when great mansions were first being built with walls of cut-stone blocks (vs. uncut rock and stones) in the style then associated with nearby Mediterranean Island of Crete and its Minoan culture, their walls decorated with paintings influenced by earlier Minoan wall paintings. The weapons of bronze found within the tomb included a meter-long slashing sword with an ivory handle covered with gold. 

Wealth of Jewels and Weaponry 

A remarkable store of riches was deposited in the tomb with the warrior at the time of his death. The mere fact that the vessels in the tomb are of metal (vs. ceramic pottery) is a strong indication of his great wealth. 

The team of Jack L. Davis and Sharon R. Stocker, from the University of Cincinatti  has brought to light this unlooted and extremely wealthy tomb  

[Credit: University of Cincinnati, Pylos Excavations]

 "It is truly amazing that no ceramic vessels were included among the grave gifts. 
All the cups, pitchers and basins we found were of metal: bronze, silver and gold. 
He clearly could afford to hold regular pots of ceramic in disdain," according to Stocker. 

This member of the elite was accompanied in the afterlife by about 50 seal-stones carved with intricate Minoan designs of goddesses as well as depictions of bulls and human bull jumpers soaring over their horns. 
Four gold rings in the tomb contain fine Minoan carvings. 
A plaque of carved ivory with a representation of a griffon with huge wings lay between the man's legs. 
Nearby was a bronze mirror with an ivory handle. 
Archaeological conservator Alexandros Zokos was essential partner in the removal, cleaning and preservation of the finds from the grave. 
The weapons of bronze within the tomb include a meter-long slashing sword with an ivory handle, several daggers, a spearhead, along with the already-mentioned sword and dagger with gold pommels. 

View of the excavation 

[Credit: University of Cincinnati,  Pylos Excavations]

 Other grave gifts originally rested above the dead warrior atop a coffin of wood which later collapsed, spilling a crushing load of objects down on the skeleton -- and making the job of excavation difficult and slow. 

Sharon Stocker standing in the excavated tomb

 [Credit: University of Cincinnati,  Pylos Excavations]

The gifts atop the coffin included bronze jugs; a large, bronze basin; thin bands of bronze, probably from the warrior's suit of body armor; many wild boar's teeth from the warrior's helmet.
 In combination with this weaponry, the discovery of so much jewelry with a male burial challenges the commonly held belief that these apparently "feminine" adornments and offerings accompanied only wealthy women to the hereafter.

Previously Unexplored Field 

What would eventually become the successful excavation of the tomb began on the team's very first day of its field work in May 2015, conducted in a previously unexplored field near the Palace of Nestor. 
They immediately found one of the four walls of the warrior's grave.

This is one of more than four dozen seal stones with intricate Minoan designs  found in the tomb. Long-horned bulls and, sometimes, human bull jumpers  soaring over their horns are a common motif in Minoan designs   

[Credit: University of Cincinnati, Pylos Excavations]

 "We put a trench in this one spot because three stones were visible on the surface," says Davis, adding, "At first, we expected to find the remains of a house. 
We expected that this was the corner of a room of a house, but quickly realized that it was 
the tops of the walls of a stone-lined grave shaft."

In the end, the shaft measured about 5 feet deep, 4 feet wide and 8 feet long. 
It took the team about two weeks to clear the shaft before "we hit bronze," says Stocker. At that point, they realized they might have an exceptional prize: an undisturbed grave shaft, never stripped by looters. 
She explains, "The fact that we had not encountered any objects for almost a meter indicated that whatever was at the bottom had been sealed for a long time." Stocker and Alison Fields, a UC graduate student of classics, did most of the actual excavation because their smaller size allowed them to work more easily and carefully around the tomb and its many precious objects.

What Comes Next 

Both Stocker and Davis say it was good luck to discover this intact grave. Given the rarity of the find, it's unlikely to be repeated. "It's almost as if the occupant wants his story to be told," Davis says. 

A bronze mirror with an ivory handle 

[Credit: University of Cincinnati,  Pylos Excavations]

 And that story will continue to unfold. 

The UC team and others are studying the artifacts in detail, with all artifacts remaining in Greece and their final disposition determined by the Greek Archaeological Service. 

Former UC anthropologist Lynne Schepartz, now of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, will study the skeletal remains. 

The skeleton of an adult male stretched out on his back lay in the grave with  weapons arranged to his left and a hoard of fine jewellery on his right  

[Credit: Denitsa Nonova]

Catalogue of Objects Found Within the Warrior Tomb

- Gold 
Four complete solid-gold seal rings to be worn on a human finger. 
This number is more than found with any single burial elsewhere in Greece. 
Two squashed gold cups and a silver cup with a gold rim 
One unique necklace of square box-shaped golden wires, more than 30 inches long with two gold pendants decorated with ivy leaves. 
Numerous gold beads, all in perfect condition.

- Silver 
Six silver cups.

- Bronze 
One three-foot long sword, with an ivory hilt overlaid with gold in a rare technique imitating embroidery (found at warrior's left chest). 
Under this sword was a smaller dagger with a gold hilt employing the same technique. Other bronze weapons by his legs and feet. 
Bronze cups, bowls, amphora, jugs and a basin, some with gold, some with silver trim.

- Seal Stones 
More than 50 seal stones, with intricate carvings in Minoan style showing goddesses, altars, reeds, lions and bulls, some with bull-jumpers soaring over the bull's horns -- all in Minoan style and probably made in Crete.

- Ivory 
Several pieces of carved ivory, one with a griffon with large wings and another depicting a lion attacking a griffon. Six decorated ivory combs.

- Precious Stone Beads 
An astonishing hoard of over 1000 beads, most with drill holes for stringing together. 
The beads are of carnelian, amethyst, jasper and agate. Some beads appear to be decorations from a burial shroud of woven fabric, suggested by several square inches of cross woven threads which survived in the grave for 3,500 years. 



Source: University of Cincinnati [October 26, 2015]

Archeoatronomia

Prehistoric temple builders 

‘an advanced civilisation’ 

ArchaeoHeritage, Archaeology, Breakingnews, Europe, Malta, Recommended Reading, Southern Europe  

Malta’s prehistoric temple builders were an advanced civilisation, paying careful attention to align the Mnajdra complex with celestial activity right from its very inception, according to Norwegian academic Tore Lomsdalen. 

Niche at the Mnajdra South Temple [Credit: Sudika/WikiCommons] 

In a book titled Sky and Purpose in Prehistoric Malta: Sun, Moon and Stars at the Temples of Mnajdra, Mr Lomsdalen introduces new evidence and insights into the temple architecture and its relationships with the sky. 
The notion that megalithic monuments were deliberately constructed to align with the sun, moon and stars has been well documented. 
Mr Lomsdalen presents evidence based on archaeoastronomical observations, a field of study which bridges archaeology with astronomy. 
At the equinoxes (March 20/21 and September 22/23) the rising sun perfectly illuminates the central corridor of the south temple. 
During the solstices (June 21 and December 21/22) the sun rises in line with corners of the 
door jambs. 
The light never extends beyond the altar-like arrangements towards the back of the temples. 

Plan of the Mnajdra temple [Credit: Hamelin de Guettelet/WikiCommons] 

“The temple builders knew exactly which parts of the temples they wanted to light up and which parts they wanted to remain in the dark. 
The very specific orientation seems to be connected to ritual ceremonies during the solstices and equinoxes. 
“It has been suggested that Malta had a chiefdom society, that it might have been a priestly class. They might have held ritual feasts, with animal sacrifices around those particular times of the year. 
“The arrangement is just too precise to be arbitrary.” 
The Mnajdra complex was built in different stages, spanning from the early Ġgantija phase (c.3,600-3,000 BC) to the later Tarxien phase (c.3,000-2,500 BC). Mr Lomsdalen suggests that the lower left chamber is the oldest part of the south temple.
 The chamber is a temple in itself, with a proper entrance and three altars. This was followed by Rooms 2 and 4 in the middle Ġgantija phase. 
The eastern buildings of Mnajdra were also constructed in the early Ġgantija phase (c.3,600-3,000 BC), while the northern buildings were built in the later Tarxien phase Each extension to the temple meant that the light’s penetration was closed off, causing the temple builders to build new altars or introduce orthostats (large stones set upright) to ensure that the specific features of the temple were illuminated. The very specific alignment of the stones increased in complexity and sophistication through time. “They had a very keen knowledge – as they extended the temples, they constantly made modifications to ensure that the light always struck at a particular point.” 
The sun’s movement throughout the year casts vertical slits of light on the orthostats. 
Mr Lomsdalen suggests the temple builders used it as a sort of calendar device, to keep track of the seasons.

 To find the exact orientation of Mnajdra, the temple builders might have used the open star cluster known as the Pleiades.

 This could possibly mean that some of the building was done at night. 


Author: Kim Dalli | Source: Times of Malta [June 28, 2015]

Fiori per la Signora in Rosso.

La sensibilità umana non è certamente di recente origine. Si tratta di una serie di comportamenti che attribuiamo a sentimenti 'superiori' che però - qualche volta - ci sembra di riscontrare persino negli animali. Cerchiamo allora di giustificarli in vario modo ('istinto', riflessi condizionati, etc), a seconda della nostra cultura di provenienza e della relativa preparazione e 
anche degli eventuali sensi religiosi di ciascuno di noi.

Di fatto, nella regione basca (grotta di El Miron, in Cantabria, scoperta già nel 1903, ma sotto studio ancora oggi per le grande ricchezza e varietà di reperti che offre, essendo stata in uso dal Paleolitico al Bronzo) è stata recentemente trovata una deposizione che data indietro fino al Paleolitico Superiore (16.000 anni fa) e che riguarda una donna dell'apparente età di 35/40 anni, con ossa tinte di rosso, accompagnata dalla deposizione di fiori interi appartenente al genere Chenopodium.

Sono state prese in esame tutte le possibilità, circa la presenza dei fiori interi nel sito.
Dopo l'accurata considerazione del clima (che era piuttosto freddo, allora), della flora di quell'area e degli usi ipotizzabili anche per scopi decorativi, o alimentari, o depurativi dell'aria, l'unica conclusione possibile sembra proprio essere quella di un omaggio floreale alla defunta.

Ed è proprio quella che ci piace di più.


Traces of flowers placed on Palaeolithic grave found 

The burial of the so-called Red Lady, dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic, was discovered in El Mirón cave (Cantabria) in 2010. 
The Journal of Archaeological Science has devoted a special edition to all the studies conducted at this unique burial site, because there are hardly any Palaeolithic tombs like this one which is intact and which has not been contaminated. One study is the research led by the UPV/EHU's Ikerbasque lecturer Mª José Iriarte, who analysed the remains of fossilised pollen dating back more than 16,000 years ago and which appeared on the tomb. 

El Mirón cave, Ramales de la Victoria, Kantabria  

[Credit: UPV/EHU] 

"They put whole flowers on the tomb, but it has not been possible to say whether the aim of placing plants was to do with a ritual offering for the dead person, or whether it was for a simpler purpose like, for example, to ward off the bad smells associated with the burial," explained Iriarte. 

El Mirón cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain) was inhabited between the Middle Palaeolithic and the Bronze Age and therefore contains a significant archaeological deposit. 
It had been known since 1903, but systematic archaeological investigations did not begin until 1996 (led by L. G. Straus and M. González-Morales) and it was not until the 2010 campaign that a human burial site was found in the levels corresponding to the Cantabrian Lower Magdalenian. 

The grave containing the osseous remains of a woman aged between 35 and 40 is located at the back of the cave in a small space between the wall and a block that has come away from the roof. What is more, there are various engravings on this block that could belong to the same period as the burial. 
The reddish colour of the bones and the sediment in which they lie point to the use of ochre as part of the interment. 
Hence the name ‘Red Lady' given to the remains. 

This is fossilised pollen of Chenopodiaceae which was  found on the grave 

[Credit: UPV/EHU] 

In this context, the researchers in the UPV/EHU's Prehistory Group, the Ikerbasque Lecturer Mª José Iriarte and the lecturer Alvaro Arrizabalaga, together with the University of Zaragoza lecturer Gloria Cuenca, have studied the environmental conditions under which the burial took place and have analysed the pollen and spores preserved in the sediment together with the microfauna remains recovered. 

During the Lower Magdalenian age in which the burial took place the environmental conditions around El Mirón cave were, as in the rest of the Cantabrian region, very cold and fairly dry. 
This influenced the plant landscape, characterised by the sparse tree cover comprising pines and birches. 
Nevertheless, at the end of this period in the Magdalenian, there was an improvement in the climate which signified a slight increase in the tree-covered areas and the record of the hazelnut tree among its components. 
At the sepulchral level in the cave and there only, the UPV/EHU researchers found a high concentration of pollen of plants of a single family, the so-called Chenopodiaceae. 

The appearance of part of this pollen grouped together with the absence of this taxon in other records of the same archaeological level from other parts of the cave suggest that they did not appear naturally reflecting the plant landscape around the cavity. 

Having ruled out other possibilities for various reasons, like the fact that these plants may have been used for food or therapeutic purposes, "the most plausible hypothesis is that complete flowers were placed on the tomb," explained Uriarte. 
"It has not been possible to say whether the aim of placing these plants was to give the dead woman a ritual offering, or whether they fulfilled a more simple purpose linked, for example, to hygiene or cleansing," she added.  
"With their small, generally white or yellowish flowers we would not regard them as colourful plants today," explained Iriarte, "although we cannot apply the Principle of Actualism to human conduct in these merely aesthetic matters.

" Source: University of the Basque Country [May 07, 2015]

Bianco Splendente.

La bimillenaria Piramide Cestia (Nota a Roma solamente come: "la Piramide") è stata restaurata ed è tornata al suo pristino bianco splendore di gloria, grazie ad un progetto di finanziamento costato circa due milioni di euro... 

La Piramide, dopo il restauro  [Credit: ANSAmed] 

La tomba in stile egiziano  (una leggenda popolare la voleva smontata, trasportata dall'originario Egitto e poi ricostruita a Roma!) di Gaio Cestio, generale d'epoca augustea, ha riaperto al pubblico nel corso della settimana scorsa, al termine di un lavoro di restauro 
che era iniziato nel marzo del 2013.

Una foto di prima del restauro.

Il mago della moda giapponese Yuzo Yagi, fondatore del progetto, si è dichiarato soddisfatto: "E' una cosa straordinaria restituirla alla città esattamente come era 2.000 anni fa", riferendosi ai risultati del lavoro condotto da due donne, Rita Paris e Maria Grazia Filetici, direttrici della Soprintendenza Archeologica Italiana, che hanno diretto i lavori.

Secondo la Paris, la piramide (che misura 36,5 metri in altezza, 120 piedi) fu costruita in 330 giorni in marmo bianco di Carrara.  Il lavoro di restauro ne ha richiesti 327 (75 in meno di quanto previsti inizialmente).
Yagi ha donato i due milioni di euro perché fossero attuate tutte quelle tecniche - innovative e no - per la rimozione di vegetali parassiti, la protezione della facciata marmorea, la stabilizzazione dei pannelli, la prevenzione di futuri possibili danni e la costruzione di una rampa d'accesso per disabili.
In Giappone il bianco è il colore del lutto: non a caso, forse, Yagi ha fatto la sua scelta, che si conforma fortemente ai gusti tradizionali giapponesi per il colore di una tomba e combina necessità paesaggistiche della Capitale con marketing e pubblicità. Una scelta intelligente.

Il restauro era veramente necessario, dopo anni ed anni di trascuratezza e di danni ambientali da fumi, smog, vibrazioni da traffico, abbandono. Non hanno certo giovato alla piramide l'essere inglobata nella cinta delle mura medievali, i furti d'arte perpetrati nel corso del Medioevo e neppure il 'restauro' della metà del XVII secolo. Nel XIX secolo la piramide è stata usata unicamente come utile punto d'incontro dai romani indifferenti ("Ce vedemo alla piramide!")

    Umberto Vattani, presidente della Italy-Japan Foundation, era presente all'inaugurazione unicamente per inviti,  insieme a Francesca Barracciu, Benedetto Della Vedova, ed il soprintendente per l'eredità culturale capitolina Francesco Prosperetti, oltre naturalmente al sindaco Ignazio Marino. 

Naturalmente, la domanda che tutti hanno posto a Yagi è stata: "Finanzierà il restauro di altre opere italiane?". Il mago della moda ha risposto saggiamente con un sorriso: "Abbiamo una lunga lista di finanziamenti doverosi per riparazione di siti danneggiati dallo Tzunami in Giappone, ma sarò felice di potere ritornare qui negli anni a venire"."  

 [Aprile 21, 2015]

Scarnificazione

La pratica rituale religiosa funebre della 'scarnificazione' è dimostrata archeologicamente in varie parti del mondo, ma fino ad oggi non era stata dimostrata in Europa. 
Alcuni archeologi l'avevano ipotizzata per alcuni siti sardi (G. Manca, "Le Torri del Silenzio" in Sardegna Antica: l'autore ipotizzava una scarnificazione affidata all'azione di uccelli spazzini, sui corpi dei defunti custoditi in luoghi alti), ma la cosa era stata considerata mera speculazione e non aveva ricevuto alcun tributo scientifico.
E' di recente la conferma che - nel Neolitico, in Puglia, grotta di Scaloria - anche in Europa tale pratica vigeva: pubblicazione su "Antiquity" (John Robb, British University of  Cambridge). 

Stone-Age Italians defleshed their dead



 About 7000 years ago in Italy, early farmers practiced an unusual burial ritual known as “defleshing.” 
When people died, villagers stripped their bones bare, pulled them apart, and mingled them with animal remains in a nearby cave. 
The practice was meant to separate the dead from the living, researchers say, writing in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity 

Defleshed and disarticulated bones found during excavations of Scaloria Cave's  upper chamber in the late 1970s [Credit: UCLA]

 “[Defleshing] is something which occurs in burial rites around the world but hasn't been known for prehistoric Europe yet," says John Robb, an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and leader of the research project. 

Robb and his team examined the scattered bones of at least 22 Neolithic humans—many children—who died between 7200 and 7500 years ago. 
Their remains were buried in Scaloria Cave, a stalactite-filled grotto in the Tavoliere region of southeastern Italy, where Robb says that they provide the "first well-documented case for early farmers in Europe of people trying to actively deflesh the dead." 
The cave—sealed off until its discovery in 1931—was uniquely able to preserve the human remains, which were mixed randomly with animal bones, broken pottery, and stone tools. 

This level of preservation is unusual: "Neolithic assemblages are often very challenging to interpret, as they are commonly broken, mixed up, and poorly preserved," says Martin Smith, a biological anthropologist at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the research. 
Neolithic communities typically buried their dead beneath or beside their homes or on the outskirts of settlements. 
But in this case, farmers from villages as far as 15 to 20 kilometers away scattered the defleshed bones of their dead in the upper chamber of Scaloria Cave. 
But why did they do it, and what does this tell us about how they viewed life and death? To answer these questions, Robb's team performed detailed analyses of the skeletal remains, first excavated in 1978 and now at the University of Cambridge on loan from the Archeological National Museum in Manfredonia, and their context. 
The results showed that few whole skeletons were present in the cave—only select bones had been interred. 
Some of the bones had light cut marks, suggesting that only residual muscle tissue needed to be removed by the time of defleshing.
 That meant the remains were likely deposited as much as a year after death. 

The light cut marks evident on this fibula shaft show that little effort was required  to remove the muscle tissue 

[Credit: University of Cambridge] 

Given the evidence, Robb and his team theorize that the defleshing process was part of a long, multistage burial. 
It isn't known what happened to the bodies in the early stages of these rites, though the lack of animal damage on the bones suggests that they weren't exposed to the elements, meaning that they were either sealed away or buried deep in the ground. 
What is clear is that the rites ended up to a year later, when select bones were cleaned of their remaining flesh and placed in the cave. 
This likely marked the end of the mourning process—the deceased's social significance among the community of loved ones now severed by this final transformation into cleaned bones. 
Relatives were then free to place the remains among other discarded items, animal bones, and broken vessels, perhaps as a symbolic gesture, showing that the transition from life to death was now complete. 
Robb contrasts that process with present-day mourning rituals: "Death is a cultural taboo for us. People in our culture tend to shun death and try to have brief, once-and-for-all interactions with the dead. 
But in many ancient cultures, people had prolonged interaction with the dead, either from long, multistage burial rituals such as this one, or because the dead remained present as ancestors, powerful relics, spirits, or potent memories." 
But what was the significance of the cave?  
Robb and his team further hypothesize that due to the similarity in appearance, bones might have been regarded as equivalent to stalactites. 
Indeed, noticing the connection between water dripping from the cave ceiling and stalactite formation, the Neolithic Italians had placed vessels beneath the falling liquid to collect it; as the substance that created "stone bones," it likely had a spiritual power. 
It’s thus possible, the team says, that the cleaning process and deposition in the cave was a way for the living to return the bones to their stonelike origins, both in appearance and location, completing a cycle of incarnation.

The team's comparison between long bones and stalactites is “extremely suggestive," says Mark Pearce, an archaeologist at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the study.
"We know that caves have a great ritual importance in Italian prehistory, and specifically the water that drips from stalactites." Pearce adds: "The Scaloria Cave, with its difficult-to-access lower cave, was clearly a special place for the people of the Tavoliere, and we may imagine that it was thus a suitable place for final death rituals."

 "It may be that they regarded life as originating from forces or substances underground," Smith says, "or they may have believed subterranean places to be where the soul traveled to after death. 
Either way, it gives a level of insight into Neolithic beliefs that we wouldn’t normally have access to." Author: Garry Shaw | Source: Science AAAS [March 27, 2015]