The cemetery of Lajh in Kranj, dating to the second half of the 6th century, is the largest Late Antique cemetery in Slovenia and the broader region. Due to methodological issues arising from early 20th-century excavations and inconsistencies in its only comprehensive publication (Stare 1980) it has remained understudied. This thesis re-evaluates the cemetery using a thorough revision of all available data and applies modern analytical and theoretical approaches. We examined how social identity—particularly gender, age, kinship, status, and ethnicity—was constructed and expressed in burial practices at Lajh. The methodology combined a thorough archival review with the reconstruction of grave assemblages, a new site plan, and the creation of a database. The latter was used to
statistically analyse the data using exploratory data analysis and the comparative analysis of intentional and functional data, incorporating the use of anthropological data. Findings show that graves were used as a display of social status, strongly associated with age and gender. Children were generally buried with fewer and less valuable grave goods. Around the age of 11 to 14, we observed a threshold to social adulthood, which coincided with a clearer expression of gender identity. Dominant form of masculinity was primarily constructed around warrior symbolism, while female identity was emphasised through body adornment—
particularly in young adulthood, when female graves appear especially wealthy, which is linked to their ability to marry and bear children. Social status was mainly reflected in the quantity and material of grave goods, likely also through patterns of spatial clustering, suggesting family groupings. The thesis challenges traditional ethnic interpretations highlightes the complexity of ethnicity and argues that other identities were more prominently expressed in the context of burial.
This research provides a foundation for further studies, and contributes to a deeper understanding of identities and social structure in Late Antiquity.
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