Exotic Goods from the Early Iron Age Necropolis Stubarlija, Serbia, as Indicators of Cultural Contacts

Abstract

The Early Iron Age necropolis Stubarlija is situated near the village of Mošorin in south Bačka. It contained five skeletal graves attributed to the Srem/Syrmia group. The grave inventory included pottery finds, Certosa fibulae, glass beads and cowry shells. Apart from the pottery finds with traditions of the local Bosut group, other finds are considered to be imported goods. In this paper we will focus on the cowry shells - the unique finds which have not been recorded on other sites in the territory of the Syrmia group. Cowry shells were found only in one grave of this necropolis. According to P. Medović, the cowry shells were imported to the territory of present day Slovenia via the northern Adriatic, and as re-imported goods they could have been brought from Slovenia, along with the Certosa fibulae and the multi-coloured glass beads to the territory of the Syrmia group. The aim of this paper is to examine whether the practice of placing cowry shells in graves suggests cultural contacts other than proposed.