Chemical characterization of the sacred wood: final resting place of Benedictine Abbots of St. Margaret, Bijela

The ruins of the Benedictine monastery of St. Margaret are situated in Bijela in northeastern Croatia. Systematic archaeological campaigns from 2012 unearthed a part of the single-naved monastery church, revealing numerous architectural elements, burials and grave goods. The Monastery became one of the most important Benedictine centers in Mediaeval Slavonia, however, by the turn of the 15^th century, it was used as a fortification and defense against the Ottoman threat. Still, life in Bijela persisted as evidenced by burials in the church, even in the 16^th and 17^th century. Burials revealed a predominant male community as well as the presence of women and children who endured stress, had physical labor, low health standards and intentional violence. Remains of wooden coffins were preserved in connection with some burials, despite non-preferable conditions in the aerated soil environment, demonstrating a set burial ritual. Samples of archaeological wood were recovered from the ruins of the main nave of the church, and collected at the site during excavations and stored in secure and stable conditions. The anatomical identification of wood was done under stereo and light microscope, while chemical characterization was conducted with FT-IR/ATR and Py-GC/MS.