Ritual pit with human remains from the mid-first millennium BC at Brestak, northeast Bulgaria

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of the archaeological investigation of a pit with human remains dating to the mid-sixth century BC. Some 66 pits from three different periods – the Early Copper Age (early fifth millennium BC), the Early Bronze Age (early third millennium BC), and the Iron Age (sixth–fifth century BC) were uncovered during the 2021 rescue excavations at a pit site near the village of Brestak in northeast Bulgaria. Pit 2 is of particular interest due to the unusual context with bones of three human individuals: a complete skeleton of a pre-adolescent child, remains of a six-month baby, and leg bones of an adult (articulated femur and tibia bent sharply at the knee joint).

Human remains have been recorded at a number of pit complexes in the territory of Ancient Thrace, mostly dating to the first millennium BC. The opinions of modern researchers on the interpretation of such finds diverge greatly, with the two major theories opposing human sacrifice against unconventional graves.

The author proposes a set of characteristics which distinguish the material evidence of ritual human sacrifice from burial practices. With reference to the adduced parallels and excerpts from classical authors, the context in pit 2 at the site of Brestak is interpreted as a multiple human sacrifice with evidence of ritual dismemberment.