The Early and Middle Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin is often viewed as a long period of transition from a dispersed form of land occupation to one of increasing aggregation, ultimately resulting in the formation of tell settlements and large cemeteries. This developmental trajectory remains a legacy of early 20th century archaeology, where the similarity of material culture recovered from cemeteries and settlements was used to develop a multi-linear scheme of progression of regional chronologies tied to specific archaeological cultures. While typologically conclusive, the recent increase in the availability of radiocarbon determinations suggests that these sequences represent a priori interpretation of social development rather than empirically verified observations. In order to do so, it is necessary to re-evaluate the existing dataset in order to determine whether the formation of tells was a chronologically contemporary development and whether the regional chronological sequences are supported by independent dating.

This article discusses two cases of so-called double barrows from the Middle Bronze Age Komar ow culture cemetery in Bukivna, in the Upper Dniester Basin (Ukraine), in order to demonstrate the potential of incorporating geophysical image analysis, excavations and sedimentological studies towards identifying subterranean funerary architecture. The magnetometer prospection of the Bukivna necropolis revealed the presence of a specific dipolar anomaly within the extent of a double barrow. The excavations uncovered burnt wooden-clay constructions related to mortuary houses.The sedimentological samples collected from the features below the mound provided data for the increased ferrous content. Another double barrow located in the Pidhoroddia cemetery was prospected by means of magnetometry, which did not reveal any similar anomaly within the magnetometry plan, thus providing evidence for a possible lack of discussed mortuary structure.

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Investigations of the settlement of Kakucs-Turján have applied a multi-disciplinary approach to recognize the everyday reality of communities living in Early and Middle Bronze Age Hungary. Field prospection and preliminary excavations allowed characterization of the overall site parameters, while the subsequent excavation seasons provided evidence of a complex settlement history wherein a major transition from behaviors producing a flat to a multilayered site was identified as a major turning point. Analyses of material culture and botanical remains point to stable lifestyles and subsistence practices across generations of inhabitation of the settlement within which differential access to exotic resources and non-local objects was part of the way of life. This paper provides a state-of-the-art overview summarizing the main findings of the focal points of research at Kakucs-Turján.

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