Aktuelle Einblicke in die spätmittelbronze- bzw. frühurnenfelder- bis älterhallstattzeitliche Nekropole Kainach bei Wildon, Steiermark

The Late Middle Bronze Age to Older Hallstatt Period necropolis in the cadastral municipality of Kainach (municipality of Wildon, Styria) was discovered in 2004 and explored in several excavation campaigns (Verein Kulturpark Hengist). In total, more than 28,000 m2 were investigated and around 240 cremation graves were discovered. To date, around 15% of the grave inventories have been fully restored, including graves 186, 226, 114, 42, 30, 93, 70 and 102 as well as grave 120 and object 266, which are presented here in chronological order. The area between the Mur and Kainach rivers was a ritual landscape that developed into a large burial area over the centuries. Graves 186 and 226 in particular are of great significance for the late Middle Bronze Age and the early/older Urnfield Period in Styria. Remarkable are the contacts to the Laugen-Melaun culture respectively to the western inner Alpine region, as evidenced by the inventory of Kainach grave 42