Ziridava Studia Archaeologica

Th e present study analyzes the archaeological research in the area of Arad from the middle of
the nineteenth century until present day. As elsewhere in Europe, the early days of archaeology in Arad were
marked by enthusiast amateurs like S. Márki, K. Torma, L. Dömötör, I. Haller, F. Juhász, and J. Záray. M. Roska’s
excavations in Pecica “Șanțul Mare” opened new perspectives for the technique of archaeological excavations.
Despite the fact that Roska set new standards in the archaeology of the Carpathian Basin, his research methodology
remained unique. Th e era of the numerous systematic researches, test trenches, excavations, and fi eld
research, started with D. Popescu’s work in Vărşand. New road infrastructure works (2008–2011) led to largescale
preventive researches on sites such as Șagu “Site A1_1”, Pecica “Site 14”, and Pecica “Site 12”, “Site 13”.

Th e present study focuses on an aspect of archaeology, which to a large extent has been neglected in
the archaeological research in Romania, namely that of the environmental changes with special reference to archaeology.
Th e geographical area of analysis is the Tisza/Tisa Lowland and the period is the Holocene. Changes in geomorphology,
fl ora and fauna, climate and humidity will be presented and discussed. As a fi nal step, archeco-zones will be
defi ned in order to delimit regions in space and time with similar environmental traits, in the hope that discussion on
mid-scale changes of the environment and their relation to archaeology will be stimulated in Romania as well.

Th e article discusses not only the evidence of military confl icts and implicitly warriors within
the Lower Mureş Valley during the Late Bronze Age chronological horizon, but it is also a historiographical
and theoretical approach of the topic. Fortifi cations researched in Sântana, Corneşti and Munar are the fi rst
indications of confl ictive situations. Th e presence of bronze items showing clear traces of use, such as those
discovered in Pecica, Păuliş, Felnac and Sântana is yet another indication. One can also mention the numerous
prestige items discovered in the area, indicating a well established social hierarchy. Th e excavations in Sântana
and Corneşti allowed specialists to establish the fact that the fortifi cations systems were burnt and even the area
of a possible attack was identifi ed at Sântana. To such proof one might add the human skull fragment showing
traces of violent blows discovered in the defensive ditch in Sântana.

Bronze objects were only found in 13 of the 322 complexes discovered on the “A1_1” site.
Th e discovery of these bronze objects raises the question of their provenance: were they produced inside the
settlement or are they the result of exchanges with other communities? No certain answer can be given in the
case of objects found in complex Cx_236, because no indication of local bronze processing can be identifi ed for
the BB2-C horizon in Şagu. Th e number of bronze objects increases and proof of metal processing can be found
during the BD /HA1 horizon. Th us, moulds made of clay and sandstone were found in complexes Cx_25, Cx_182,
Cx_194 and Cx_198, pottery fragments with bronze smelt traces on the inside were discovered in Cx_198 and
casting remains in Cx_66, Cx_182 and Cx_193. Given the above enumerated fi nds, one can assert that bronze
objects were cast on the “A1_1” site during the BD/HA1 horizon.

Th rough its generally well located position – both geographically and for logistics –, through its
form and internal planning resembling that one of a city, and through its well made inner constructions, one
deserted fort could be attractive for reusing by civilians. Before showing the situation for the castra in Dacia, we
presented some historiographical approaches, some general aspects related to the issue and discussed the legal
regime of the deserted forts.

Th rough the present study I aimed at selecting tombs with jewelry items of Byzantine infl uence
dated to the 11th–14th centuries, found on the present-day territory of Romania, except Dobrudja, since the
latter was included in the Empire during several periods. Overall, such jewels were discovered in 116 complexes
published to a larger or lesser extent. As for the number of discovery sites, to the present state of research one
knows of 54 possible necropolises (see Pl. 1).
I also wanted to see if such fi nds are concentrated in certain regions and if they are connected to certain
peculiarities of funerary rite and ritual. I thus analyzed the funerary rite, the location of the necropolises,
the presence or absence of religious monuments and the main aspects of the funerary rituals (single burials,
orientation of funerary complexes, position of the bodies and members inside the tombs and the location of
inventory items).
From the perspective of the items’ chronology and spread, one can note that the earliest items of jewelry
and dress accessories are mainly located in the mountain area of Banat and in Oltenia, thus in the close proximity
of the Byzantine-Hungarian border, in an area that neither of the two states clearly controlled. In Walachia
and Moldavia the earliest items are concentrated on certain sites, but theybare few in numbers and often later
than those in Oltenia and Banat. As an exception one can note the items concentrated in the area of Dridu-
Fierbinţi and some of those in the northern half of Moldavia. Considering the presence of Turkic populations
there, I suspect that the absence of such items is due to the domination of these populations. In support of this
statement one can mention the existence of tombs belonging to nomad populations mainly concentrated in
southern Moldavia and Walachia. Th e situation was preserved until around the fi rst third of the 13th century.
After this period, the number of jewels of Byzantine infl uence drops signifi cantly in Banat. Th is does not
indicate a decreased infl uence of art in the Byzantine tradition, but possibly some new legislation in the Kingdom
of Hungary that forbade placing such valuable objects in tombs. Th e phenomenon can be noted in eastern Banat at
the time the Banat of Severin was founded. Isolated cases and the typology of the items prove that the production
of Balkan items of jewelry continued and even became more diverse during the 13th and 14th centuries. Outside
the Carpathians, the number of such objects nevertheless increased signifi cantly, including those areas where they
were scarce during the previous chronological interval. Th is statement is supported by the discovery of jewelry
items in settlements and the discovery of treasures and casting molds (in Coconi for example).
Another aspect worth mentioning is that in most of the necropolises that included jewelry items of
Byzantine tradition, the bodies were placed with arms in position E or its sub-variants. Th is might indicate that
there was a strong connection between population groups wearing Balkan clothes and possibly heretical beliefs.

Th e present study presents the analysis of certain bio-cultural factors on bone fragments. Th e
skeletons were recovered from a medieval ossuary in Tauţ (Arad County). Some pathological affl ictions, such as
the large number of teeth lost antemortem, tooth cup-shape wear and the large number of interproximal cavities
led to the conclusion that the diet of these individuals mainly consisted of cereals.

Th e article presents the military items discovered during the systematic archaeological excavation
conducted on the site of Tauţ during several campaigns. Together with data from written sources, these objects
provide valuable information for the history of Zarand County during the medieval and early modern period.

On the occasion of rescue archaeological excavations carried out in the historical centre of
Timişoara, one of the most important medieval and early modern towns of the Banat region, researches have
been made in the “core” of the late medieval and then Ottoman-period settlement. A rich and diverse archaeological
inventory has been recovered on this occasion; however only a part of it has been studied and thus
published in a fi rst monograph. Th e present study aims at presenting a small category of ceramic artefacts dated
to the Ottoman period (16th–17th centuries), namely the tobacco pipes. Th e habit of smoking and the use of
tobacco pipes have been introduced to this region by the Ottoman and Balkan populations settled here after the
Ottoman conquest of Timişoara and of the northern part of Banat in 1552. Based on already existent typologies
we have placed the items into categories; however, due to the diversity of their shapes and ornaments, there still
are individual and yet unique pipes. As for the workshops that produced them, we could conclude that some of
the pipes come from the Balkans (one even bears a craftsman or workshop mark) or even as far as the Orient,
while others can be labeled as local products.

In the context of the revival of the Habsburg Empire encouraged by the victory against the Turks
at Vienna, in the time span between October 1691 and June 1692, Oradea was conquered by the imperial troops
led by General Donath Heissler. In order to celebrate this victory Leopold I issued three medals of diff erent types,
made of bronze, silver, tin and gold. Th e medals are described and discussed as numismatic documents regarding
the history of Oradea, being in this way the fi rst Baroque objects that celebrate the new town of the Habsburg
Empire; on the other hand these medals marks the re-birth of this important city of Partium.

Th e article presents depictions of tobacco pipe smokers on stove tiles in Central and Eastern
Europe. Such depictions are analyzed in the context of the habit’s spread and reception in the area, with special
interest in who smoked and where. Several analogies and cases of later interventions off er interesting clues on
how their viewers might have reacted to and interacted with images of smokers on stove tiles from the seventeenth
to the nineteenth century.

In this brief article the authors aim to present some new discoveries regarding the prehistoric art in North Western Transylvania. Seven sites with incisions were discovered until now located on the walls of the geological unit called “The Someş Corridor”. From a chronological perspective, five of these sites can be dated to Prehistory, while two belong to the Middle Ages. Research is still in progress and the purpose of this article is to include these new discoveries in the scientific circuit.

Through the eleven gold items, the 67 copper and bronze objects, and one sandstone mold preserved fragmentarly, all attributed to Late Bronze Age (Late Bronze II‑III, Bronze D – Ha A), the fortification in Sântana “Cetatea Veche” has revealed among the most numerous metal items in Lower Mureș area. Some objects are part of funerary inventory, but most of them were not found in clear contexts, having ended up in the ground by chance. The metal artefacts, together with the imposing size and fortification elements, can be attributed to a statute of power and prestige that “Cetatea Veche” probably had among it’s contemporary communities.

In this paper the archaeological evidence of Late Bronze Age metalworking activity from the excavation campaign during 2007 and 2008 in the archaeological site of Sopron‑Potzmann dűlő will be represented with a special focus on a find assemblage consisting of bronze slags, clay ladles and a two‑piece mould of stone for producing bronze socketed hammers. This settlement was certainly inhabited during the whole earlier period of the Urnfield Culture (HaA), but its further existence during its middle period could not be excluded either. Although this extensive settlement of the Urnfield Culture proved to be poor in metal finds and despite of the disturbance caused by intensive agricultural use of these plots during the successive later periods, the working area of metal moulding could be archaeologically localised to the western part of the settlement.

The article presents a previously unpublished bronze hoard discovered by chance in 2007 in Ampoiţa‑Piatra Boului. The finding context of the items is unknown, as they were found on the margin of a pit, at the feet of a rock massif. The deposition consists of a bronze arrowhead and two fragmentarily preserved copper lumps. Their reduced chronological value only allows for their dating to the end of the Bronze Age (Br. D‑Ha. A). In the context of the discovery the author also discusses the issue of the so‑called “Zlatna II” hoard, found in 1907 and attributed to the Jupalnic‑Turia series (Ha. A2) that, in the author’s opinion, was discovered in Gura Ampoiţei (Ampoiţa). Therefore, the author suggests that the “Zlatna II” hoard should be called “Ampoiţa I” and thus the items found in Piatra Boului should be henceforth called “Ampoiţa II”.

Over the recent years, specialists have started to pay academic attention and to publish the archaeological collection of the Museum Arad. The present initiative is part of the effort to introduce a series of unpublished artefacts into the academic circuit. Gornea‑Kalakača‑type pottery and vessels dated to the second‑fourth centuries discovered during the restricted excavation performed by E. Dörner and E. Ivanoff are the main focus of the present article. Since on‑site documentation does not include data on domestic discoveries, the structure of the settlement, or daily life there, we have attempted to supplement such deficiencies through a coherent geographical and chronological presentation of the micro‑area. We have thus collected all prehistoric discoveries and all finds dated to the second‑fourth centuries in the area around the site that coincides with the present‑day territory of the Aradu Nou District, in the administrative area of the city of Arad.

The article presents a private collection of 41 pieces. The coins are mostly Roman, 38 pieces, with 1 Greek, 1 Macedonian and 1 Jewish coins. In presenting the coins we took into account the mints, the date of issue, the emitent and the denomination.

The Dacian fortification in Ardeu is an archaeological site identified in the end of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, interest in the site was not constant through time. One of the most significant stages of research, performed during the twentieth century, important through both the size of the excavations and the nature of the discovered material, were the test trenches performed by Larisa Nemoianu in 1973. Unfortunately, the results of this research remained largely unpublished. The present paper aims at recovering for the academia a small part of the objects discovered on that occasion.

The cartographic sources analyzed in this article, that include the micro‑sector of Ardeu, can be grouped in three categories: sources with low accuracy, general sources and professional/modern ones created for military goals, and administrative and scientific sources. Each stage is characterized by its own manner of representation and the level and accuracy of its details. According to the topographic base and the means/methods of representation, I followed, from the Josephinische Landaufnahme (The Josephine Map) until the latest topographic survey of the site (2001), the development of all details of archaeological and historical significance for the micro‑area covered by the archaeological site under discussion.

The bow and arrow are not typical weapons to the Romans, but the flexibility of the Roman military system and its easiness to adapt made their adoption possible. In the Orient, archers were respected fighters, as the bow and arrow were used by those rich enough to afford expensive and efficient composite bows, which they usually used from horseback. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire the bow and arrow were typical weapons to lower social groups. In these areas people used simple bows, less efficient but easier to build and cheaper to buy.

In September 2012, during a visit to some Dalmatian towns, in Budva/Budua (it.), we bought two deltoid‑shaped arrow heads from the antique vendors near the museum, which can be categorized as 10–11th century finds and have been found int he microregion of Kotor/Cattaro – Herceg Novi/Castelnuovo.

Researching archaeological site of Dăbâca beginning in the early 60’s in the 20th century were conducted with preconceptions, as the centre of ‘lord Gelou’ was thought to have been discovered before the start of the excavations, which is an impassable way from a scientific point of view. According to the archaeological and numismatic finds, the fortification built in/after the first third of the 11th century, but the fortress system reached their peak in the 12th century. This is clearly shown by the coins found in the graves in Fortress Area IV, Tămaş’s garden and the cemetery of Boldâgă/Boldogasszony, as well as in diverse structures of the settlement. The 13th saw a decline of the central fortress as a political and administrative center.

The present study focuses on the analysis of a fracture on the level of the left tibia and fibula diaphysis of a male individual from the mature adult age category. The skeleton was discovered during the 2004 archaeological campaign in Nãdlac “Lutărie” (Arad County) in an Early Medieval cemetery. Fractures are among the pathological lesions most often encountered in past populations. I have analyzed the implications of this fracture on the individual’s locomotion and implicitly on the modifications that occurred due to this trauma on the level of the significant articulations.

The present study is a detailed analysis of the monetary reform and activity initiated by Vladislav II of Walachia in the middle of the fifteenth century (1452–1456). During this period the ruler has reformed the metrological parameters of the coins and, taking into consideration the discoveries, one can say that the reform materialized through the issuing of more coins than during the reign of other voivodes of the fifteenth century. The article also analyzes the arguments in favor of a possible intense monetary activity under this ruler, that some of the researchers support. Among available discoveries, rather few coins issued by Vladislav II are known; most such items are preserved in private collections and their place of discovery remains unknown.

In 1973 a hoard consisting of 68 coins, found near Cristur/Apátkeresztúr (Bihor County), was inventoried in the registers of the museum in Oradea. The majority of these coins are of the three‑groats type issued in the Polish Kingdom (34 items), the Great Duchy of Lithuania (6 items), Transylvania (3 items) and the city of Riga (10 items). The rest of the hoard consists of large coins of great value – thalers – minted in Central and Western Europe (the German and Austrian lands, the Spanish Netherlands, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands). The earliest date of the find is set by a Saxon thaler (Johann Friedrich and Moritz) minted in 1547, while the closing date is 1600 (a Polish three‑groats).