Abstract:

The bone element composition of four individuals (three from the main grave chamber and one from the antechamber, who was discovered under a large flat stone) recovered from the Koru Tumulus (Daskyleion, Bandırma, Balıkesir), dated to the Persian period (546-334 BC), was used to evaluate the pre-burial and post-burial processes exposed to the individuals. For that, calcium, P, Sr, Ba, Mg, Cu, As, Fe, Y, Th, Cd, Zn, Mn, Pb, and U, representing the integrity of the bone, diet and post-burial accumulation, were analyzed from the inorganic part of the femur by Polarized Energy Separated X-Ray Fluorescence (PED- XRF). The variations concerning diet and diagenetic accumulation of elements among the individuals were observed between the individuals recovered from the grave chamber (BDK-K1, BDK-K2 and BDK-K3) and from the outside of the grave chamber (BDK-K4). The Ba/Ca and Zn/Ca ratios, indicating a diet comprised of grain and animal protein, are apparent for the inner group. The Sr/Ca ratio, which indicates the consumption of plant and marine nutrients, is also distinctive for the inner group. In contrast, the Cu/Ca ratio, indicative of the consumption of animal parts with low protein content, such as the viscera, is characteristic for the individual from outside the grave chamber. In addition to differences in the dietary data, the outsider was also subjected to post mortem chemical changes that were grouped by iron. However, the inner group had undergone diagenetic changes that were grouped by copper. The postmortem changes indicate that the individual from outside of the burial chamber, that dietary differences are detected as well, was not a part of the inner group, and that the placement was not due to taphonomic processes, thus preserving its position from the beginning. When these data are evaluated together with the valuable burial gifts, the likelihood that the individual was a grave robber who has lost his life without success is more probable.

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