Bulaestian “roffins without bottom” and their romanian analogies: the question of origin
Bulaestian “roffins without bottom” and their romanian analogies: the question of origin

Summary/Abstract: The peculiar feature of the construction of Bulaestian coffins consists of the bottom made of some rarely nailed transversal laths; the reed is spread on the laths. The informers understood this construction as “a coffin without a bottom”. A similar construction is known among the East Romanian (it evidently provoked the appearance of the same Bulaestian tradition), as well as among the Bulgarians and the Gagauz. However, neither the Bulgarians, nor the Gagauz cannot be thought as the source of the tradition for East Romanians. Instead, the existing data make us suppose that the East Romanian tradition influenced the Bulgarian and Gagauz ones. Looking for the true source of the tradition, the author considered the so-called lattice coffins (as well as frame coffins) which were well known to some medieval and early nomads of the Eurasian Steppe. Taking into the account the whole set of the archaeological data, the Cumans and the Golden Horde’s peoples, as well as the Hungarians, Avars and Huns cannot be accepted as the true source of the East Romanian tradition of “coffins without bottom” either. Thus, we have to look for another suitable candidate for the role of such source.

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