The funerary Bronze Age culture in the Belgian part of the Meuse valley is poorly understood due to the challenging nature of cremation deposits that dominate the archaeological record. Only a few sites were analysed in that region, limiting the possibilities to reconstruct the development of Bronze Age populations in Belgium. Due to its good preservation and detailed excavation reports, the site of Herstal (Belgium) offers a unique opportunity to finally gain new insights into the life and death of those buried in the Meuse Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A total of 21 graves were analysed using a multi-proxy approach, combining grave typology, osteoarchaeology, strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), and radiocarbon dating. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr results show that the individuals of Herstal most likely used a variety of local food supplies while having interactions with other populations in and beyond the Meuse Valley, as demonstrated by the bronze artefacts and ceramics displaying clear influences from Germany, Southern Netherlands, and North-West France. The cemetery most likely shows a local burial style with the presence of two (or even three) individuals in several cremation deposits containing a number of privileged individuals who had access to bronze trading networks.

由于在考古记录中占主导地位的火葬沉积物具有挑战性，因此对默兹河谷比利时部分的葬礼青铜时代文化知之甚少。该地区只分析了少数几个地点，限制了重建比利时青铜时代人口发展的可能性。由于其良好的保存和详细的挖掘报告，赫斯塔尔遗址（比利时）提供了一个独特的机会，可以最终对青铜时代晚期埋葬在默兹河谷的人的生死获得新的见解。使用多代理方法分析了总共 21 个坟墓，结合了坟墓类型学、骨考古学、锶同位素比 ( ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr) 和放射性碳测年。在⁸⁷ SR / ⁸⁶Sr 结果表明，赫斯塔尔的人最有可能在与默兹河谷内外的其他人群互动时使用各种当地食物供应，正如显示出来自德国、荷兰南部和北部的明显影响的青铜手工艺品和陶瓷所证明的那样。法国西部。该墓地很可能显示出当地的葬礼风格，在几个火葬场中存在两个（甚至三个）人，其中包含许多有权访问青铜交易网络的特权人物。