In the spring of 2023, our research group member Kristóf Fülöp took part in a series of cremation experiments on Crete, carried out in collaboration with the TEFRA research project. A brief overview of the preparations and the experimental work have already been published in a blog post on the website of the HUN-REN Institute of Archaeology. A few days ago, the first results also appeared in the pages of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

The study published in this prestigious Q1 journal presents and compares two experimental contexts: an open-air cremation and a furnace pyre. This international research initiative aligns with a growing scientific trend that—thanks especially to recent advances in scientific analyses—places increasing emphasis on the study of cremation, a topic that earlier scholarship addressed only sporadically and briefly.

Among these new approaches, experimental archaeology plays a key role, forming the central focus of the newly published paper. From a technological perspective, the paper offers a detailed examination of how bodies in different states transform during burning, as well as the complex interplay of internal and external factors that shape the cremation process.

The open-access publication can be read and downloaded at this link.