Magnetometry of Corded Ware Culture Barrows in Western Ukraine: The Multiproxy Analysis of Burial Mounds in Volytsia Cemetery as a Key to Identify the Chronological Affinity

This study presents the results of a multiproxy geoarchaeological analysis of Corded Ware culture (CWC) barrows from the 3rd millennium BC in Volytsia, Western Ukraine. Combining magnetometry surveys, stratigraphic excavation, magnetic susceptibility testing and iron content analysis, the research aims to identify diagnostic features of CWC burial mounds and assess how soil processes affect their geophysical visibility. Magnetometry revealed that enhanced magnetic anomalies correlate with preserved anthropogenic mound structures, particularly in barrow 013, while others displayed less distinct signatures, possibly due to pedogenic degradation. Excavations uncovered diverse burial practices, including wooden coffins and cremations, but a lack of stone structures typical of Middle Bronze Age (MBA) Komarów culture mounds from the 2nd millennium BC. Magnetic susceptibility and total amount of iron profiles confirm that magnetically enhanced layers align with unaltered burial deposits, whereas leached upper horizons show diminished signals. The study demonstrates that fire-related features made solely of wood do not produce the dipolar magnetic anomalies observed in daub-rich wooden mortuary houses from the MBA. Consequently, distinguishing CWC from Komarów barrows solely through magnetometry remains challenging. The results highlight the need for integrated prospection strategies and contextual soil analysis when interpreting under-mound architecture and chronology. These findings contribute to refining non-invasive archaeological methodologies in forested loess landscapes with complex postdepositional histories.