Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (774 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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village green
[Co].
xee
GREEN
.
Villanovan Culture
[CP].
Term applied loosely to the early Iron Age of Etruria and northern Italy, named after the type-cemetery near Bologna, excavated in 1853 and dated to the 9th–8th centuries
bc
. The origins of the culture can be traced in later Bronze Age Terramara and Apennine Cultures, with elements derived from the north Alpine Urnfield Culture, though not necessarily as a result of immigration. The classic Villanovan assemblages from around Bologna have been divided into four principal periods extending broadly from the 9th to the 5th centuries
bc
. The principal settlements were villages, cemeteries being of the
URNFIELD
type with decorated biconical urns and well-developed bronze objects used as grave goods, for example helmets, drinking vessels,
SITULAE
, and personal ornaments such as
FIBULAE
.
Vin
a, Serbia
[Si].
Substantial
TELL
beside the River Danube near Belgrade, extensively excavated by Miloje Vasi
between 1908 and 1912. The deep stratigraphy, up to 10.5m thick in places, showed occupation spanning the period from 5000 bc through to about 3500 bc. The lowest levels were of the
STAR
EVO CULTURE
above which were all the recognized phases of the eponymous
VIN
A CULTURE
.
[Sum.: D. Srejovic and N. Tasic (eds.),
Vin
a and its world
. Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]
Vin
a Culture
[CP].
Middle and late Neolithic culture of southeastern Europe, named after a type-site on the Danube near Belgrade. The Vin
a Culture succeeds the
STAR
EVO
culture in the region. It is commonly subdivided into an earlier Vin
a-Tordos phase of the late 5th millennium
bc
, and a later Vin
a-Plo
nik phase of the early 4th millennium
bc
; both are each further subdivided. Settlements are in some cases extensive open sites such as Selevac, Yugoslavia, while others, such as Vin
a itself, are substantial
TELL
mounds with up to 8m of occupation. Both kinds of settlement are characterized by single-roomed oblong buildings. Ceramic types include bowls and jars in dark burnished ware. Decoration includes channelling of the surface. Distinctive of the culture are the figurines of the Pristina style, and the appearance in later Vin
a-Plo
nik levels of copper artefacts.

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