Arheologia Moldovei

Front Matter

2025-03-11T15:15:40+01:00

Abbreviations

2023-02-15T19:27:03+01:00

Vasile Chirica (3 iulie 1943 – 18 aprilie 2021)

2023-02-15T19:13:30+01:00

Activitatea știinţifică a Institutului de Arheologie din Iași în anul 2020

2023-02-15T19:07:38+01:00

T. Soroceanu, E. Sava, Die Metallgefäße zwischen Karpaten und Westaltai während der Bronze- und Früheisenzeit

2023-02-15T18:37:47+01:00

Sylvie Yona Waksman (Ed.), Multidisciplinary approaches to food and foodways in the medieval Eastern Mediterranean

2023-02-15T18:28:23+01:00

Sergey Yu. Monakhov, Elena V. Kuznetsova, Vladimir P. Tolstikov, Nataliya B. Churekova, Amfory VI-I vv. do n.e. iz sobraniya Gosudarstvennogo muzeya izobrazitel’nykh iskusstv

2023-02-15T17:24:58+01:00

The relevance of the words Șcheau (Daco-Romanian), Șcl’eau (Macedo-Romanian) and Shqâ (Albanian) in clarifying the relationship between the ethnonym sclavus – ‘Slav’ and the word sclavus – ‘slave’ in medieval Latin

2023-02-14T12:43:28+01:00

The borrowed words slav ‘Slav’ and sclav ‘slave’ began to be used in Romanian as late as the 19^thcentury, as indicated in the respective articles of MDA – Micul dicţionar academic, IV, 2003. But, on Romanian soil, the two words had a cognate that was recorded as early as the 16^th century, in a plural form that was written, in Cyrillic letters, as Шкѣи, subsequently transliterated as șchéi. The latter – with a singular șcheau, meaning ‘Slav, ‘Bulgarian’ – is a clear etymological relative of Albanian (dialectal) shqâ, which was included in the first etymological dictionary of the Albanian language (MEYER 1891). By starting from these basic data, the author of the present article will first survey a series of lexicographical presentations and etymological interpretations, to which he will add historiographic views (mainly the influential but not fully plausible ones expressed by Charles Verlinden), as well as information extracted from historical documents that referred to the penetration of early Slavs into Southeast Europe. In their turn, derivatives such as Daco-Romanian șchienesc ‘Slavic’ and Albanian Shqeni ‘a territory inhabited by Slavs’, suggest that Daco-Romanian șcheau and Albanian shqâ should no longer be presented simply as based on “Latin Sclavus”, as an ethnonym. Those two words should rather be referred to the form Sclaveni used by Iordanes in the 6^th century; it is a form that reflects a non-Slavic perception of a Slavic ethnic name that must have sounded like /ʹsłavěni/ in the original, the sequence /sł/ being “misinterpreted” as /skl/ by non-Slavs. As for semantics, Aromanian șcl’eau ‘servant’ (together with Greek σκλάβος ‘slave’) indicates that 10^th – century Germany was not the original area in which Latin Sclavus ‘Slav’ actually turned into sclavus ‘slave’ (as indicated by Verlinden). A trustworthy view appears to be the one expressed by several important forerunners, who considered that the semantic shift under discussion occurred first within the Byzantine sphere of influence, from where it was subsequently transferred to the West, most probably via Venice. As a general conclusion, it appears that the long-neglected pieces of evidence that are provided by Southeast European languages such as Romanian and Albanian, which remained unwritten practically up until early modern times, can be as relevant as the data provided by written documents of ancient and medieval times.

Keywords: etymology; history; ethnology; onomastics; ethnonymy; slavery; Romanian șcheau; Albanian shqâ

Complementary analyses of the faunal remains of the lower level of Climӑuți II (Republic of Moldova)

2023-02-14T12:36:42+01:00

The paleolithic site of Climӑuți II, discovered in 1989, yielded two archaeological layers, the upper one, the most famous, and the lower one, on which we are focusing on. This layer is relied to the beginning ou the Upper Pleniglacial, before the Last Glacial Maximum. Our aim is to bring more data on this assemblage basing on the faunal remains, applying zooarchaeological methods to better understand the assemblage itself but also to better determine the anthropogenic activities. The main exploited taxa are horse, reindeer and bison, then wolf and mammoth. These remains are associated with a lithic industry linked to butchering activities. For the first three species, it could correspond to a secondary butchering treatment of carcasses. For mammoths we did not obtained clear data. They could have been hunted or mammoth dried bones could have been used by humans as material support, particularly ribs, to process to furskin activities of herbivorous but also wolves. The presence of burned bones, as fuel but also cooked, shows that at least a hearth was present in the camp. This layer corresponds to a temporary camp in the warm season in a strategic place.

Keywords: Zooarchaeology; Taphonomy; Dniester valley; Upper Palaeolithic; Epiaurignacian; Upper Pleniglacial

Some remarks regarding the saber of Prince Alexander Ipsilanti in the History Museum of Moldavia in Iași

2023-02-14T12:24:04+01:00

The collections of the History Museum of Moldavia in Iași include a saber attributed to Prince Alexander Ipsilanti, the elected leader of the Greek Secret society Philiki Hetairia, formed with the declared purpose of liberate the Hellenic lands from the Ottoman rule. This saber was transferred from the Romanian Academy to the History Museum in 1967. It originated, most probably, from the collections of the former Museum of Antiquities (founded at the beginning of 20^th century). The item is a shamshir-type saber, with the particular feature of flame-shaped blade. This type of weapon is of Persian origin and spread in the 19th century throughout the south and Eastern Mediterranean, and used by both Christian and Muslim warriors. There are several analogies, dated at the end of 18^th and the fist decades of the 19^th century, the most notorious of these being the saber of Greek Hero Niketaras, said to be captured from a Turk during the Siege of Missolonghi, and preserved at present in the collections of the National History Museum in Athens. The Ipsilanti saber is decorated on the cross-guard with gilded reliefs, which are also present on the sheath. However, the blade is inlaid with Islamic texts (a citation on one side and a monogram on the other) made of brass wire. Our investigation points out to the usage of this particular type of weapon as a talisman, as a magical simile to the legendary weapon of Shiite hero Ali, the Dhu’l Faqar / Zulfikar. This hypothesis is based on both the very similitude of the text inscribed on the blade with the double invocation of Ali and Dhu’l Faqar and a certain interpretation of the historic description of Dhu’l Faqar not as forked tip blade, but as a wavy one. The mountings of this saber, with medallions of the Imperial Russian Eagle and Medusa’s Head, as well as the particular arrangement of the lanyard, i.e. for a left-handed person, support the attribution to Prince Ipsilanti, who lost his right hand in the Battle of Dresden (1813) and is portrayed with an empty right sleeve and the saber borne on his right side.

Keywords: flame-bladed weapons; Philiki Hetairia; Ipsilanti; amulet sword; Dhu’l Faqar

Two medieval axe-heads uncovered near the village of Fundu-Moldovei (Suceava County)

2023-02-14T12:19:04+01:00

The present study primarily aims at bringing in the research field two medieval axes made by iron, discovered by chance in the proximity of Fundu Moldovei village (Suceava County). The village Fundu Moldovei is located about 15 km away from the city Câmpulung Moldovenesc and 85 km west from Suceava, the former capital of medieval state of Moldavia. The area (the Câmpulung Moldovenesc-Gura Humorului Hollow) is well-known as a corridor used by armies, peoples and animals to go across from Moldavia to Transylvania during the historical times. At the same time, the area was inhabited mainly by the animal breeders from the very early age of Middle Ages. The two axes belong to the type VII, VIII and IX in the classification of M. Głosek, in type IVA in the W. Hübner tipology, and type XIV in the classification made by Em I. Emandi. The typological and diachronic systematization has its main starting point in the classifications made for different regions of Europe by A. Nadolski, B. A. Kolčin, A. N. Kirpičnikov, A. Ruttkay, M. Głosek, M. Brmbolić, V. Jotov and many other specialists. For the Romanian region, the late E. I. Emandi’s works and D. Gh. Teodor’s contribution to the timeline of the early axes are most relevant. In the Middle Ages, various types of axes were used not only in wood cutting and deforestation, but also in carpentry and other domestic activities and crafts. Certainly, some tools were also used as weapons and the other way round.

Keywords: medieval axes; medieval metallurgy; medieval state of Moldavia; Fundu Moldovei village (Suceava County); 16^th – 17^th centuries

The ethno-demographic and political context in the southern area of the Prut-Dniester region in the 8th – 11th centuries AD

2023-02-14T12:10:45+01:00

As a result of the archeological investigations undertaken in the Carpathian-Dniester regions, the dynamics of the dwelling from the 6^th -11^th centuries AD could be quite well known. It was found that the sedentary local population preferred the areas of plateaus and hilly plains covered with forests, which were the most suitable for the establishment of settlements of farmers and craftsmen. The steppe areas, such as the one in the south of the region between the Prut and the Dniester called Bugeac, were especially preferred by nomads. During the VI-VII centuries, no settlements of the sedentary population were attested in this area. Surprisingly, during the VIII-IX and X-XI centuries, despite the numerous presence of nomads, a series of settlements belonging to the sedentary population were discovered. Their presence here could be due either to their dislocation from the central areas of the Prut-Dniester area, as a result of threats by migrant populations, or to the deportation by the Bulgarians of some of the Byzantine prisoners taken during the siege of Adrianople in 813. Their repatriation by the Byzantine fleet in 837 was probably only partially done, with the rest continuing to live here until the beginning of the 11th century. Probably these could be the so-called Tivars, which were also used as translators between the local population and the nomads from Bugeac. In the following period, in the XII-XIII centuries, in the southern part of the mentioned area, no settlements of the sedentary population were attested, but only vestiges of the nomads.

Keywords: Onglos; Bugeac; old Romanians; Bulgarians; Slavs; Tivars

The complexity and ingenuity of reading the time around 1600

2023-02-08T19:53:03+01:00

The diptych ivory sundial found in Iași – Centrul de Afaceri, in 1996, has been the central piece in the exhibition ”Underground Iași – Rediscovered (Hi)stories”, organized at the Palace of Culture in Iași by Moldavia’s History Museum within ”Moldova” National Museum Complex, as its presence in this area is unusual, intriguing and can change the understanding of the perception of time in the epoch when it was in use. The paper includes current state of knowledge in the field in Romania, information on Hans Tröschel, the craftsman who created the sundial, information on Nürnberg, its commercial activities and numerous guilds in early modern times, information on the material (ivory) the sundial of Iași is made of, the evolution of sundials and writings describing their operation, and finally the analysis of the artefact dated 1591, discovered in Iași 25 years ago. Contrary to the common understanding of today among Romanian scholars, our opinion on this sundial is that it could have been used to tell the local real time, while indicating a degree of sophistication at the level of the upper-middle class in Iași.

Keywords: Sundial; Renaissance astronomy; german compass-makers; Nurnberg

The Celtic pottery in the Getic settlement of Roșiori (Neamț County)

2023-02-08T19:45:52+01:00

In the nine systematic research campaigns in the Getic settlement from Roșiori, commune Dulcești, Neamț County, were found Celtic vestiges (ceramics and iron pieces). Most are ceramic fragments, either from fine paste, gray-black color, polished outside (group a), either from graphite paste and with metallic gloss, gray color (group b). The fragments of the group a typologically indicate vessels such as mugs and jugs, and the fragments of group b represent the situla type vessels, a glass and a bowl. Those in the first group are decorated by incision, alveolar and stamping with crescents, circles, alveoli, single or double lines. In the second group the ornaments are vertical layers made with the comb in the raw pasta, before burning. The Celtic vessels of the group a are dated (in combination with fragments of Greek amphorae, one synopean and another rhodian) at the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 2nd century BC, and the vessels of group b, with graphite, date from the 1st century BC (in association with bastarnian ceramics and fragmentary bronze bracelets).

Keywords: Getic settlement; Roșiori; Celtic pottery; fine polished vessels; graphite pots; incision decoration; alveolate decoration; stamped decoration; striped decoration

A hoard of bronze objects uncovered in Pătrăuți, Pătrăuți commune, Suceava County

2023-02-08T19:34:03+01:00

A deposit made up of six bronze artifacts (a Transylvanian type celt, a chisel with a tube, three sickles with “button” and a raw fragment) was accidentally discovered in 2018, in the forest near Pătrăuţi village (on the road to Dragomirna), Suceava county. The deposit dates from the early Iron Age, Hallstatt A1, the Gáva-Grănicești-Holihrady (GGH) culture, being, through its composition, unique in the geographical area of the Suceava Plateau-Upper Dniester. The discovery is important both for studying prehistoric bronze metallurgy and for completing the list of such discoveries.

Keywords: deposit bronze artifacts; early Iron Age; Hallstatt A₁; Gáva-Grănicești-Holihrady (GGH) culture; prehistoric bronze metallurgy

A miniature chariot wheel from Balta Sărată. A study of ethno-religion –archaeology

2023-02-08T19:24:42+01:00

Starting from a miniature chariot wheel discovered at Balta Sărată, we made a foray into the world of models representing cult wagon models, showing their meanings and the myths they transmit. We made a grouping of them based on several characteristics (type of wagon models, materials from which they were made, number of wheels), but also other symbolic elements that are accompanied (birds, snakes, horses, swastika, spiral, square etc.). Their symbolism is eloquent, most of the rendered elements being found on other cult objects, from PPN and until late in the historical era. From a chronological point of view, such wagon models appear since the end of the Copper Age and we find them back to antiquity. We did not avoid the models rendered on different vessels or those discovered in the cave representations (the latter more difficult to attribute to a certain era).

Keywords: wagon model; types of worship wagon models; the meaning of the signs and symbols

Coin findings from the surroundings of the town of Berestechko

2023-02-08T19:16:54+01:00

The article deals with 74 coin findings from the area of one of the largest battle of Bohdan Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648-1657) – the battle of Berestechko (28.06. – 10.07.1651), fought between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army and the allied forces of Zaporozhian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars. These include three parcels containing 34, 10 and 19 coins, as well as single findings, stored in private collections. Most of the coins are the issues of the Ottoman Empire, supplemented by a small share of coins of the Crimean Khanate, city of Emden, Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Republic of Ragusa and Tsardom of Russia. Most likely, the majority of these findings belonged to a soldier of Ottoman military unit that participated in the battle of Berestechko on side of Cossack-Tatar army. Since these coins did not circulate in the region where the battle took place (Volhynia), and reflect the monetary circulation of more distant lands, where their owner came from, the circulation in the territory of the European possessions of the Ottomans and vassal Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in the mid-17^th century has been examined.

Keywords: Bohdan Khmelnytsky Uprising; battle of Berestechko; Ottoman coins; akche

Numismatic finds in Moldavia. XIII

2023-02-08T19:06:49+01:00

In this issue of the chronicle we publish a batch of Roman coins, which are kept in the collection of the Roman History Museum, within the Neamț National Museum Complex. The coins we publish have been discovered between the 60s and 80s of the last century. They come from the following locations: I. Brad (Bacău County) (1 D, Marcus Aurelius, 163, pierced; 1 D, Marcus Aurelius, 179); II. Călinești (Bacău County) (1 D, Hadrianus, 134-138, pierced); the coin was discovered on the surface of a “Free Dacians” settlement; III. Făurei (Neamț County) (1 D, Antoninus Pius, 145-161; 1 D, Antoninus Pius: Faustina II, 147-161); the 2 coins belong to a hoard that was discovered in this locality, in 1963; it contained 42 imperial denarii, which were housed in a ceramic vessel; IV. Roman (Neamț County) (surroundings) (1 D, C. Metellus, c. 125-120 BC; 1 As, Claudius, 41-42; 1 S, Traianus, 107-108; 1 D, Traianus, 113-114; 1 S, Hadrianus, 125-134; 1 D, Hadrianus, 134-138; 1 Dp/As, Antoninus Pius: Faustina II, 147-161; 1 D, Lucius Verus, 165; 1 AE, Thracia, Mesambria, Philippus I: Philippus II, 244-246; 1 AE, Bithynia, Nikaia, Quietus, 261-262; 1 Follis, Constantin I: Constantin II (caesar), Thessalonica, 318-319; 1 Follis, Constantin I, Heraclea, 324; 1 AE, Constantius II: Divus Constantin I, Nicomedia, 337-340; 1 AE, Constantius II, 351-361; 1 AE3, Valentinianus I, Nicomedia, 364-367; 1 AE3, Valentinianus I, Heraclea, 364-367; 2 AE, Valentinianus I – Valentinianus II, 364-388).

Keywords: coin finds; Moldavia; Roman coins; hoards; stray finds

Archaeological and numismatic discoveries in Northern Bukovina (II.1)

2023-02-08T18:56:09+01:00

The paper presents some archaeological and numismatic artefacts found on various medieval sites in the Hliboca county, Cernăuți region, started in 2019 in the same edition. This time a collection of medieval and modern European coins is going to be discussed. The coins have been found on a site, located between Oprișeni and Stârcea villages, on the left side of the Cotovăț river, 500-600 meters from its discharge into the Siret. The site, identified as a Bârlinți village, no longer to be found today, was mentioned in the narrative sources since the late 15^th century. The collection is formed of 57 items, minted by the Duchy of Prussia (1 groat) and Brandenburg (1 solidus); Poland and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (3 groat, 2 coins of a half groat, 2 coins of 3 groats, 19 solidus); Sweden (9 solidus); Hungary and Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (5 denars, 1 kreuzer); Spain (1 coin of 2 Reali); two fake coins after Sweden’s solidus as well; 9 items left unidentified. The discussed collection comes to complete the data on the coins of the Moldovan and Turkish origin, as well as custom seals, published in the previous volume. All together they form a group of objects that attest an intense economical life of the Bârlinți village during the 16^th – 17^th centuries and, in a less active form, of the 15^th and 18^th centuries.

Keywords: Numismatics; The Principality of Moldova; Bucovina; Bârlinți; Late Medieval – Modern Monetary Circulation

On the Early Medieval pottery made at the slow wheel (7th –9th centuries) and the beginning stage of its diffusion in the Carpathian-Danubian regions

2023-02-08T18:30:10+01:00

In the investigated area the common use vessels made on slow wheel were the main technological category of pottery used since the second half of the seventh century and the eighth century especially, although regional variations can always be found. In the case of the Carpathian Basin, respectively the Avar Khaganate and the neighboring regions, the origin of slow-wheeled pottery, with almost stereotypical decoration, can be more clearly specified of the Late Antiquity environment in the central-southern and eastern regions of the Alpine arc, as the archaeological literature repeatedly indicates. Known data suggest the spread of this type of pottery in the Khaganate from the second half of the 7^th century, probably against the backdrop of the gradual decline of pottery workshops that produced with the help of the fast wheel, in the cursive technological model of Late Antiquity, which was still present in ancient Pannonia and in Transylvania. The Avar Khaganate probably played a role in the transmission of the new type of pottery from the mentioned date. However, in peripheral areas or near its borders it seems that, though to a lesser extent, pots modeled on the slow wheel, with or without the usual decoration, were already used during the first half of the seventh century. It is possible that in some territories where the Early Slavs were already settled the slow potterʼs wheel was adopted a little earlier (gradually replacing crude-handmade vessels) compared to the stage when such pottery began to be used in the Avar Khaganate. The difference between products made with a „fast wheel” and those made with a „slow wheel” (terms whose suitability is debatable) is more related to the efficiency of the production supported by the appropriate devices, the former being more efficient. The potterʼs experience and skill have always mattered, and slow-wheeled vessels are no better than fast-wheeled in terms of their suitability for the requirements of food preparation or storage. For a relatively long time, the production of such pottery, as a household industry, has met the needs of small local markets, in connection with an entirely rural habitation.

Keywords: pottery; slow-wheel, 7th century; Carpatho-Danubian regions

‘Arrow-money’ and ‘Scythian’ coins as medium of exchanges between money and prestige economy in the North-western Black Sea area

2023-02-08T18:22:32+01:00

In the first part of the study, the research focuses on arrowheads valued as money, especially on aspects related to the origin and early functionality of ‘arrow-money’ within the context of an emerging common market for the Greeks and ‘Barbarians’ in the north-western Black Sea area. Despite the different geo-political circumstances valid for each Milesian apoikia, the extensive circulation of ‘arrow-money’ and cast copper coins generally from Apollonia to Kerkinitis allows us to presume that the whole region had one united market; this was connected to the sacred sphere of the Greek colonists’ lives, from early colonization to the Classical times. In the second part, the research is centred on another particular aspect of numismatic evidence in the context of long-term relations between the Greeks and non-Greeks in the western and north-western area of the Pontus Euxinus – coin recognition as symbol of legitimate power by some ‘barbarian’ dynasts. Chronologically, this spans the 2^nd century BC, when in the territory of Scythia Minor (current Dobrudja) six dynasts with Iranian names are recorded to have used coinage with Greek iconography and legends. Archaeological and written sources (especially inscriptions) provide a basis for a simplified model describing money functions in the north-western Black Sea area on various levels in the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. The author believes that there were at least nine means by which coinage flowed from the Greek cities on the coast to their chorai and further to inland populations: 1. Money as medium of exchange. 2. Individual finds of the lost or intentionally deposited pieces as a result of peoples’ mobility. 3. Annual tribute. 4. Diplomatic gifts. 5. Payment to mercenaries. 6. Ransoms for prisoners. 7. Occasional spoil of the poleis by certain barbarian dynasts. 8. Money hoarding (accumulation) for various purposes. 9. Monetary-signs and Greek copper money also seems to have played a role in rites of passage as funeral offerings. Compared to circumstances in other peripheral societies, it is possible to imagine that ‘arrow-money’ and subsequent small copper coins would be most easily accepted as standard value, acting as an intermediary and convertible factor in various transactions between the Greek money economy and the prestige economy of Thracian and Iranian ‘Barbarians’.

Keywords: North-western Black Sea area; Greco-‘Barbarian’ relations; ‘arrow-money’; ‘Scythian’ coins; money functions

Acknowledging the mess

2023-02-08T18:10:52+01:00

It is nowadays generally well acknowledged that archaeological excavation and documentation methods have a major impact on interpretations of the record. In the last decades, the effort to mitigate potential biases became increasingly visible, generally by combining high-resolution excavations with detailed accounts of employed methodologies. However, this also highlighted the uneven quantity and quality of data obtained throughout the history of archaeological research, stressing the need to re-evaluate past interpretations. In order to understand the degree of these issues in the particular case of Romanian Palaeolithic research, a brief comparison between the ‘traditional’ excavation and recording methodologies in use between 1950 and 1990, and new documentation methods, based on 3D geodetic total station-aided recording, multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental sampling and systematic chronometric assessments, is proposed. Based on their comparable sedimentological background, two sites located in the Eastern Carpathians (Bistricioara-Lutărie I/II and Bistricioara-Lutărie III) were chosen for this task. The goal is obviously not to criticize an already abandoned methodology, but rather to offer a more realistic image of the state of preservation of these particular archaeological sites, with implications for defining relevant analytical units. Overall, this endeavour stressed the fact that filtering potential interferences caused by syn- and post-depositional processes is a difficult task without the input of the additional data offered by a multi-proxy approach.

Keywords: Upper Palaeolithic; site formation; documentation; spatial analysis; database

ABREVIERI

2022-12-06T11:29:51+01:00

Doina Benea (8 iunie 1944 – 16 martie 2019)

2022-12-06T11:27:57+01:00

Nicolae Gudea (17 octombrie 1941 – 5 iulie 2019)

2022-12-06T11:25:21+01:00

Activitatea știinţifică a Institutului de Arheologie din Iași în anul 2019

2022-12-06T11:22:57+01:00

Notițe de lectură pe marginea unei cărți cu un titlu promițător: Vasile Diaconu, Ludmila Bacumenco-Pîrnău (ed.), Un secol de arheologie în spațiul est-carpatic. Concepte, metode, tendințe, Brăila-Piatra Neamț, Editura Istros a Muzeului Brăilei „Carol I”

2022-12-06T11:20:07+01:00

George Nuțu, Dan Elefterescu, Fibulele de la Durostorum-Ostrov (The Brooches from Durostorum-Ostrov), ediție bilingvă româno-engleză

2022-12-06T11:18:15+01:00

Ion Niculiță, Sergiu Matveev, Andrei Nicic, Cercetările sitului arheologic Potârca din Rezervaţia Cultural-Naturală Orheiul Vechi

2022-12-06T11:16:13+01:00

Liviu Măruia, Dorel Micle, Andrei Stavilă, Cristian Floca, Unip-Dealu Cetățuica: Rezultatele cercetărilor arheologice desfășurate între anii 2009-2015, Cu contribuții de: Iosif Vasile Ferencz, Petru Urdea, Bogdan Craiovan, Alexandru Hegyi, Editura Mega

2022-12-06T11:14:15+01:00

M. Cârciumaru, Elena-Cristina Nițu, Comportamentul simbolic și arta pe teritoriul României din Paleoliticul mijlociu până în Mezolitic (55.000 – 7.500 B.P.)

2022-12-06T11:12:01+01:00

O necesară reconsiderare a originii cuvântului românesc boier și a boieriei ca instituţie specifică românilor, albanezilor și slavilor medievali (II)

2022-12-06T11:07:57+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: etymology; history; ethnology; onomastics; hospitalitas; OCS bolʹarinʺ; Romanian boier; Albanian bujar; Old High German buwari.

Dobrovăţ-„Pădurea Buda” – 2019. Archaeozoological study

2022-12-06T11:04:18+01:00

Adrain Poruciuc, O necesară reconsiderare a originii cuvântului românesc boier și a boieriei ca instituţie specifică românilor, albanezilor și slavilor medievali (II) [A necessary reconsideration of the origin of the Romanian term boier and of boyarship as an institution specific to medieval Romanians, Albanians and Slavs].

Keywords: archaeozoological analyze; domestic animals; wild animals; animal economy; artifacts made of bone; horn and shell.

Some remarks on the documentary sources of the “fortifications” of Iași

2022-12-06T11:02:12+01:00

There is an academic consensus in that the premodern city of Iaşi was no walled. However, although there are campaign fortifications in and around the city that are well documented, mainly for the Russian-Turkish wars of 18th century, one also finds several sources that give testimony of various “walls” inside the city proper as well as at its outskirts. This paper undertakes a short inventory of these documentary “walls” in the city of Iasi in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as commentary on the location and nature of such walls, making use of the methods of historical topography and the cartographic sources available.

Keywords: Iaşi; Princely Court of Iaşi; enclosures; city walls; ditches; pre-modern urbanism; Moldavia.

Marxism în opera Mariei Comșa

2022-12-06T10:59:02+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: Marxism; tributary mode of production; history of archaeology; village community; eudalism; settlement archaeology; social archaeology; ethnography.

Tipar de cruce pectorală din secolele X-XII p.Chr. descoperit la Lămășeni – Rădășeni (jud. Suceava)

2022-12-06T10:55:50+01:00

The stone mould was fortuitous revealed in the village of Lămășeni, Rădășeni commune, Suceava County. The carved out negative represents a model of a Byzantine pectoral cross, of small dimensions. The cross had trefoil arms, and it was decorated with geometrical (short lines, ″X″-s), and cruciform motifs. According with the characteristics of the mould (bivalve, but only one valve was recovered), the cross could be casted in lead or silver, materials which have lower melting points. The similarity to other artefacts suggest a dating, roughly, around 10th–12th centuries AD.

Keywords: mould; pectoral cross; Byzantine type; trefoil arms; geometric and cruciform decorations.

O amuletă-pandantiv antropo-zoomorfă din bronz descoperită în judeţul Iași

2022-12-06T10:52:54+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: 10th–12th centuries; bronze horseman-amulet; Dobrovăţ – Pădurea Buda (Iaşi County); the Carpathian-Dniester regions; Avar Khaganate; Alans; Proto-Bulgarians; Pechenegs, Cumans.

A clay myrmillo figurine from Territorium Troesmense

2022-12-06T10:50:04+01:00

The article is devoted to the analysis of a clay figurine discovered stray find in the area of the Cerna village during the 1980’s. The findspot is close to the legionary headquarter of Legio V Macedonica from Troesmis (near modern Turcoaia village in Tulcea county). This myrmillo statuette is a unicum for Dobrudja, NE area of Moesia Inferior province, and even a rare form in the rest of Roman provinces, and merits publication in its own right.

Keywords: Moesia Inferior; territorium Troesmense; clay figurine; gladiator; myrmillo.

Soldaţii uitaţi din curtea Casei Pogor. Contribuții arheologice la studierea istoriei contemporane a orașului Iași

2022-12-06T10:46:02+01:00

The archaeological excavations undertaken by the members of the Institute of Archaeology in Iași, in the courtyard of the famous Pogor House, brought to light several human remains and other archaeological artifacts belonging to the soviet soldiers, that were buried there after the end of World War II. The Soviet cemetery from Pogor House was dismantled in 1992, the remains being moved to the Eternitatea Cemetery. Nevertheless, the remains of 11 individuals along with some personal items (belt buckles, buttons, a pocket knife, a small cap star), were discovered in a common grave. The anthropological analysis revealed the approximate age of the individuals and the multiple trauma related to their violent death in combat, perhaps in the fierce fights that took place around Jassy în 1944.

Keywords: Soviet soldiers; World War II; human remains; Pogor House cemetery.

Pontic tableware from Troesmis. The 1977 excavations

2022-12-06T10:43:25+01:00

In 1977 archaeologists from the Danube Delta Museum carried out a rescue excavation in the civilian settlement of Troesmis. On this occasion, they discovered a substantial amount of Roman pottery. In this article, we present the tableware produced in the Black Sea area. This group was divided into the following categories: Pontic Sigillata; Early Pontic Red Slip; Durostorum Red Slip; Pontic Gray Slip; Unslipped Wares and Late Pontic Red Slip. Pontic tableware dates from the middle of the 1st century AD to the middle of the 4th century. The Late Pontic Red Slip ceramic fragment is from the 5th century, contemporary with the late Roman fortress.

Keywords: Pontic Tableware; Western Black Sea; Danubian Limes; Troesmis.

Originile preistorice ale unei iconografii clasice. Reprezentări janiforme în Chalcoliticul Europei Sud-Estice

2022-12-06T10:39:57+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: Janus-type double-fronted character; Gumelnița – Karanovo VI; Cucuteni – Tripolie; anthropomorphic plastic art; anthropomorphic vessels; human face shaped vessels; gynaecomorph vessel.

The Cucuteni A3 site from Dobrovăţ – Pădurea Buda. 2019 Research

2022-12-06T10:30:48+01:00

The A3 Cucuteni site from Dobrovăţ – Pădurea Buda/Buda Forest was discovered in 2016, by local Cornel Iascu and Alexandru Berzovan. In 2017 a magnetic prospection of the site (Carsten Mischka), which together with the LIDAR exploration offered information regarding the real dimensions of the site and of the constructions that are present in the investigated zone (9 constructions, one defense moat, palisade and other constructions with undetermined functions). In 2019, the first explorations to determine the magnetic anomalies were conducted. The research targeted two housing units, L3 and L4. The L4 was partially researched, resulting several rooms and interior amenities (altar, bed attached to the corridor separating two rooms) and annexes. The structures of walls and floors of L4 were investigated, as well as part of the pits related to the structure of resistance of the house. Between the two houses were found debris from another house, L10. At the same time, ceramics were analyzed statistically, as were the faunal remains discovered. Along with the typical ceramics for Cucuteni A3, ceramic fragments of the type Cucuteni C and Precucuteni III were also discovered. The study represents the current state of research.

Keywords: Cucuteni culture; A3 phase; Dobrovăţ-Pădurea Buda; houses; structure of the architecture.

Medalii și decorații din colecția Institutului de Arheologie din Iași (VI)

2022-12-06T10:26:49+01:00

The authors present in this short contribution a series of 15 medals that are part of the numismatic collection belonging to the Institute of Archaeology in Iași. These popular medals were minted by various engravers (Carniol Father and Son, Șaraga, Sternberg, Radivon etc.) in order to commemorate some historical events or some important figures during the Romanian Kingdom period. A first group of medals has a somewhat religious character being linked to the restoration of important churches, pilgrimages or important ecclesiastical figures. The second group of medals is linked with the figures or some important political and social figures that built modern Romania (Ion Brătianu, Lascăr Catargiu, Constantin Angelescu or Take Ionescu). Last but not least, we also present some distinctions that were offered to the children with meritorious results in school and education.

Keywords: Phaleristics; medals and awards; “popular medals”; 19th – 20th centuries; Kingdom of Romania.

Descoperiri monetare din Moldova. XII

2022-12-06T10:02:38+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: coin finds; Moldavia; ancient and medieval coins; hoards; stray finds.

Descoperiri numismatice și arheologice din nordul Bucovinei (II.1)

2022-12-06T09:58:10+01:00

The paper discuss some archeological and numismatic artefacts found on the medieval sites in the Hliboca county, Cernăuți region, started in 2019 in the same edition. The site is located between Oprișeni and Stârcea villages, on the Cotovăț river bank, 500-600 meters from it discharge in the Siret river. The site, disappeared in present, can be identified with a settlement existed in the Middle Age and the Modern period, recorded in written sources as a Bârlinți village. Here were found various objects: coins minted by Moldovan Principality and Ottoman Empire, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish and Hungarian Kingdom; cloth seals; various decorative and house hold items (other 140 pcs.). In the article at hand we publish only a part of the materials, namely 22 coin specimens minted in the 14th – 16th c. by the Moldovan state, 13 items struck by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th – 16th and 18th cc. and four custom seals, produced by the Duchy of Burgundy in 15th c., Wrocław town in the 16th c., of the Western Europe in the 15th – 16th cc., and one of the unknown provenience, also made in the Western Europe in the 16th – 17th cc. Objects are of the big importance and notice high economical potential of the Bârlinți population. The publication of the rest of the materials to be continued in the next volume.

Keywords: Archaeology; The Șipeniț/Șipiniț Land; The Principality of Moldova; Bârlinți; Moldavian coinage; Otoman coins; Cloth Seals

Typology of the Ottoman coins minted in the Kingdom of K’akheti in the light of new findings

2022-12-06T09:54:06+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: Kingdom of K’akheti; Zagem; Kakhed; dirhem; akche; monetary circulation

Unwanted refugees: Newcomers from the steppes in the Byzantine Balkans (11th – 12th century)

2022-12-06T09:50:15+01:00

After a period of safe isolation from the Great Steppe area and its restless inhabitants in the history of Byzantium came a difficult 11th century, when the empire had to face the migration of nomadic peoples (Pechenegs, Uzes). Their stay in the Paristrion theme was one of the most difficult problems that the imperial court had to deal with in the second half of the 11th century. This study is an attempt to answer two questions: how Byzantium coped with steppe refugees and how the experience of their presence influenced the later (until the end of the 12th century) relations of the empire with the inhabitants of the Black Sea steppes.

Keywords: Byzantine Balkans in the 11th–12th centuries; Byzantine policy towards nomads: Pechenegs, Uzes, Cumans.

Understanding the political geography and economic history of the Black Sea on the basis of proxeny decrees

2022-12-06T09:47:27+01:00

Includes a summary in English.

Keywords: Black Sea area; Greek cities; proxeny decrees; political geography; economic history; status of foreigners.

Warriorhood at the end of the Neolithic in Central Europe. Comparative analysis of warrior traditions in the chosen regional groups of the Corded Ware Culture

2022-12-06T09:42:52+01:00

The goal of this paper is to examine the variety of customs associated with celebration and commemoration of warrior virtues among chosen Corded Ware culture communities from western and eastern parts of its ecumene. It also summarizes recent theoretical background of warriorhood and compares assemblages from warrior graves with traces of skeletal traumata, in order to at least partially reconstruct actual methods of fighting. The level of actuality of warrior identity is reflected by the quantity of warrior burials. The need for emphasizing power and military prowess through funerary rituals and material culture might represent a response for internal social conflicts, as well as external threats. The lack of uniformity in rituals associated with warriorhood demonstrates that it was a dynamic social construct, which adapted to changing socio-economic conditions.

Keywords: Corded Ware culture; warriorhood; social identity; weaponry; skeletal traumata.

The chipped stone industry from the Chalcolithic in Eastern Romania:A literature review. I. Raw material procurement and the blade technology

2022-12-06T09:32:48+01:00

This paper addresses the archaeological literature on the subject of the chipped stone industry of the Chalcolithic communities that inhabited the east of nowadays Romania, namely Precucuteni and Cucuteni (5th and 4th millennium BC).1 The first part of the study focuses on how the Romanian archaeologists approached the first two stages of the chaîne opératoire: the raw material procurement and the technology of producing knapped stone tools (especially the elongated supports). These aspects were analysed through the literature published until now, regarding aspects as
petrographic determination of raw materials, available information on the morphology of the cores and on blade attributes, on the reduction sequences and procedures. Although rewarding in what considers the raw materials supply, the information proves scarce in what concerns the organisation of technology. The causes of this unbalance are sought in the specificity of the development of the study of Prehistory in Romania. Consequently, perspectives for the further investigations and new directions of research are proposed.

Keywords: Romanian archaeology; Precucuteni and Cucuteni communities; chipped stone assemblages; raw material acquisition; lithic technology; blade industry.

Sumar

2022-12-06T09:30:23+01:00

Front Matter

2022-12-06T09:27:55+01:00

Prof. Dr. Peter Robert Franke (2.11.1926 – 30.12.2018)

2022-12-05T10:32:43+01:00

Le Paleolitique Superieur de Roumanie en contexte du Paleolitique Superieur Européen, Colloque International, Iași, 8-10 mai, 2019

2022-12-05T10:27:59+01:00

Activitatea știinţifică a Institutului de Arheologie din Iași în anul 2018

2022-12-05T10:24:32+01:00

Costin Croitoru, Valea Mărului. Contribuții arheologice și documentare (I)

2022-12-05T09:51:03+01:00

Iurie Stamati, The Slavic Dossier. Medieval archaeology in the Soviet Republic of Moldova: between State Propaganda and Scholarly Endeavor

2022-12-05T09:47:34+01:00

Translated by Ruxandra Iuliana Petrinca.

Moshe Idel, Experiența mistică la Abraham Abulafia

2022-12-05T09:44:47+01:00

Alina Streinu, Vase antice de sticlă din colecția ”Maria și Dr. George Severeanu”

2022-12-05T09:42:03+01:00

Yu Taishan, Li Jinxiu, International Journal of Eurasian Studies

2022-12-05T09:37:50+01:00

Johannes Müller, Robert Hofmann, Wiebke Kirleis, Stefan Dreibrodt, René Ohlrau, Lennart Brandtstätter, Marta dal Corso, Welmoed Out, Knut Rassmann, Natalia Burdo, Mykhailo Videiko, Maidanetske 2013. New excavations at a Trypillia Mega-site

2022-12-05T09:33:33+01:00

Isabel Cáceres, Isabel Expósito, Marta FONTANALS, M. Gema Chacón, Josep Maria Vergès, Experimental Archaeology: from research to society. Proceedings of the 5th International Congress of Experimental Archaeology. 25th – 27th October, 2017

2022-12-05T09:30:37+01:00

O necesară reconsiderare a originii cuvântului românesc boier și a boieriei ca instituţie specifică românilor, albanezilor și slavilor medievali (I)

2022-12-05T09:23:28+01:00

The history of the Romanian (Rm.) term boier (a medieval aristocratic title) is long and rather confusing. Practically, all dictionaries that include entries on that term present it as ultimately derived from Old Church Slavonic (OCS) bolʹarinʺ. The latter, in its turn, has been presented – in keeping with a suggestion coming from Miklosich – as a “Turanian” word borrowed by South-Danubian Slavs from their Turkic (Bolgar) ruling elite of the 7th – 9th centuries. The present author considers, however, that the mainstream etymologic interpretations of Rm. boier and of its putative OCS source-word are hardly tenable. Part I of this study provides a inguisticethnologic-historical background for a new hypothesis, which does not center on the above-mentioned OCS term (as supposedly borrowed from Turkic), but rather on the deeply-rooted tradition of boyarship in Romania and on two lexical families that display striking correspondence (in roots and suffixes), namely Romanian boiér-boiereásăboieréşte-boieríe-boierí and Albanian bujár-bujoréshë-bujarísht-bujarí-bujerój. Worthy of attention is the fact that the latter lexical family appears to be etymologically linked with the Albanian verb buj ‘to lodge, to take up one’s lodging’, a word for which Gustav Meyer – in his etymologic dictionary of Albanian, 1891 – indicated a significant series of Old Germanic cognates. (Actually, Alb. buj may be a borrowing proper, from Old Germanic, like several other Albanian words for which the respective origin has already been demonstrated.) Such facts open the way for a discussion on the probable connection between the medieval Southeast European boyarship and the Roman institution of hospitalitas, whose earliest beneficiaries were East Germanic foederati. Further arguments along that line – as well as final conclusions – will make up part II of the present study, to be published in a future issue of Arheologia Moldovei.

Recent addenda to the mapping and ethnoarchaeological research of the brine springs from Bistrița-Năsăud county

2022-12-05T09:19:20+01:00

The archaeological evidence confirmed that the brine of the salt springs from the Subcarpathian area was used to obtain salt, through the evaporation-crystallization processes, as far back as the Early Neolithic. This region is nowadays unique in Europe, for its traditional and non-industrial ways of salt water exploitation, still intensively applied. This inestimable scientific resource has been, in the last decade, the subject of an extensive ethnoarchaeological research conducted by a Romanian/French team, with impressive results. The paper deals with some results of the ethnographic inquiries, focusing on the traditional ways in which the brine is used in its original state, mainly for preserving different types of food, but also for daily cooking and in preparing feed for animals. The paper also explores the possible implications for the prehistoric archaeology, using the premises of the ancient exploitation of the brine and the (most probable) need to conserve aliments like meat, cheese, etc. (with few options available). Therefore, techniques similar to those known today, are highly likely/probable of having been used in prehistoric times, though much more difficult to establish than brine recrystallization.

Locuirea bastarnă de la Roșiori. Plăcuțe decorative de la cățeii de vatră

2022-12-05T09:15:04+01:00

During the 2017 archaeological campaign from Roșiori, commune Dulcești, Neamț County was excavated section IX of the settlement where we discovered four fragments of decorative plates belonging to two or three fire-dogs. They are rectangular shaped, modeled from clay, black (three pieces) or yellow (one piece). The objects present aincised geometrical motifs. Considering the disposition of the geometric decoration we can assume that the three black fragments belong to one or two fire-dogs while the other fragment (incompletely burned) is a part of another fire-dog. All of the pieces were discovered on the archaeological level attributed to the bastarnae, IInd-Ist centuries before Christ specific to the Poienești – Lukașevka culture.

Noutăţi arheologice din zona bisericii Talpalari din Iași

2022-12-05T09:06:09+01:00

The Talpalari Church in Iasi, dedicated to "Nativity of the Virgin", was built, according to the existing documents, in the middle of 17th century, by the great vistiernic (treasurer) Iordache Cantacuzino, the brother-in-law of prince Vasile Lupu. There was a cemetery around it, about which we also have information from contemporary sources. In view of the consolidation works to be carried out on "Milescu" House, a heritage building, the Institute of Archeology in Iasi provided the archaeological assistance. The excavations near the Talpalari church, conducted in 2016 and 2017, led to the identification of the skeletal remains of 14 individuals in relatively certain funerary contexts. It was also possible to estimate, based on minimum number of individuals calculation method, the presence of 11 other individuals from which we have only disparate fragments due to repeated disturbance events. The present paper presents a detailed analysis of the funerary features, from historical, archaeological and anthropological points of view. The research focuses on both elements of funerary inventory (including potsherds), and animal osteological remains identified in a secondary context. Six coins have been identified as a grave goods. The excavation of the features has led to the finding of several buttons and hook-eye fasteners. In particular, based on the interpretation of the numismatic material, we could see that the graves corresponding to this level in the cemetery of the Talpalari church can be chronologically framed between the last decades of the sixteenth century and the first decades of the next. Therefore, the written sources of the time argue for the existence of Talpalari church in the seventeenth century, however, the field research leads us to the hypothesis that this place of worship was preceded by another one that operated in the previous century and which hosted the cemetery of that neighborhood.

Valentin Codrin Chirica, Les grattoirs de Mitoc

2022-12-05T08:58:02+01:00

The following contribution is focused on the lithic end-scrapers found in Mitoc, considering the statistics of finished pieces (tools), their percentage (%) and number, in comparison to other types of finished tools. The authors took into consideration end-scrapers discovered in five systematically excavated sites: Malu Galben, La Sărături, Valea Izvorului, Pârâu lui Istrate, Valea lui Stan, and La Pisc (La Chisc). The latter site yielding small sized pieces, in the context of a Dufour bladelet. Based on their dimensions, as well as the retouch manner, the end-scrapers discovered here during surface investigations can be assigned to a specific Gravettian cultural aspect, which was not identified in other sites form Mitoc, Crasnaleuca, Cotu Miculinți or Ripiceni. While re-examining the lithic collections from Mitoc, especially those from Valea lui Stan and La Pisc (La Chisc), we noticed the existence of specific aspects pertaining to the presence of human communities, different from those encountered in the habitation levels from Malu Galben and Pârâu lui Istrate, or Valea Izvorului and La Sărături.

Medalii și decorații din colecția Institutului de Arheologie din Iași (V)

2022-12-05T08:51:04+01:00

The authors present 29 medals with official or commercial character issued by the Kingdom of Romania between 1881 and 1928 in order to commemorate various events like the proclamation of the Kingdom (1881), the jubilee years of 1891 and 1906, Emperor Franz Joseph’s visit to Romania in 1896, the inauguration of some monuments for the heroes of the 1877-1878 Independence War, commemoration of military manoeuvres or universal exhibitions. All these official or so called “popular medals” were created by famous artists of the era, some – like Carniol or Radivon – being official supplyers of the Romanian royal family. Apart from their artistic value, these medals represent very efficient means of political and ideological propaganda in service of the ruling Hohenzollern
Dinasty. By associating himself with historical figures like Emperor Trajan, Mircea the Elder or Stephen the Great, king Charles I of Romania sought to legitimate his reign, his mission and his accomplishments. Thus, these medals preserve in their engraving important parts of our history from the past centuries.

Descoperiri monetare din Moldova (XI)

2022-12-05T08:46:41+01:00

The paper presents new coin finds from various places in Moldavia. The coins belong to hoards or they are stray finds in some cases. They date back to the ancient, medieval and modern times and they were discovered in the following locations: I. Botoșani (Botoșani County) (1 AR, Vespasianus: Domitianus, Rome, 76; 1 AR, Traianus, Rome, 101-102; 1 AR, Marcus Aurelius, Rome, 177; 1 AE, Constantinus I, Cyzicus, 324-330; the first three coins may belong to a Roman imperial coin hoard); II. Fedești (Vaslui County) (1 AE, Phillip II, “Apollo” type, c. 359-336 BC (or postum); the coin might be part of the well-known Fedești hoard); III. Horodiștea (Botoșani County) (hoard containing more than 600 coins, of which only 10 denari were recovered: 1 AR, Vitellius, Rome, 69; 3 AR, Vespasianus, Rome, 70, 73, 76; 1 AR, Vespasianus: Domitianus, Rome, 76; 1 AR, Domitianus, Rome, 92; 1 AR, Traianus, Rome, 108-111; 1 AR, Antoninus Pius, Rome, 152-153; 1 AR, Antoninus Pius: Diva Faustina I, Rome, after 141; 1 AR, Marcus Aurelius, Rome, 176); IV. Botoșani (Botoșani County) (1 AE, Lithuania, Wilna/Brześć, Jan Kazimierz, szeląg, 1666); V. Iași (Iași County) (all coins come from archaeological research: A. Mihai Eminescu Street no. 5: 1 AE, Polish Crown, Ujazdów, Jan Kazimierz, szeląg, 1664; 1 AE, Swedish Empire, Riga, Kristina, Schilling, 1653; Ottoman Empire, Mustafa III, Islâmbol, para, 1771/1772; B. Toma Cozma Street nos. 7B-9: 1 AR, Austrian Empire, Wien, Franz II. (I.), 3 Kreuzer, 1820; C. Zugravi Street no. 64: 1 AE, Russian Empire, Ekaterina II Alekseevna, Sadagura, 2 paras/3 kopecks, 1772).

“The afterlife” of money. The coins found in the necropolis of Brad (Negri Commune, Bacău County)

2022-12-05T08:38:16+01:00

The medieval necropolis of Brad overlaps the fortified section of the Geto-Dacian fortress of Zargidava, located on the left bank of the Siret River. Altogether, 962 graves were researched here during the years 1963-2004. The numismatic material consists of 158 coins that were discovered in 146 graves. The coins are small silver and bronze
denominations that belong to various issuers and date back to an extremely generous chronological range (14th-19th centuries). More than half of the coin finds from Brad were issued by the Ottoman Empire (86 pcs.). Those originating in the Christian world came mainly from German (34 pcs.), Polish (21 pcs.) and Austrian territories (9 pcs.). Besides these, there are also small amounts of Russian (3 pcs.), Swedish (2 pcs.), Moldavian (1 pc.) and Hungarian (1 pc.) coins. Based on the numismatic discoveries, the commencement of the necropolis of Brad can be dated at the beginning of the 15th century. But the site starts to be used intensively only from the second half of the 16th century and the beginning of the next one. Immediately after the church was rebuilt (in 1697), the burial place attained its maximum level of use, which extended throughout the 18th century, reaching the peak of exploit to its end and continuing at the beginning of the next century. In these times the Ottoman paras and the Austrian small denominations of silver (late denars and duarii) and bronze (Kreuzer) have been deposited inside the graves. The coins from the studied batch can be interpreted as having a special status since they were part of grave inventories. Only hypotheses can be assumed in regard to the possible meanings of these coins in the funerary practices of the epoch. A significant part of the coins from Brad are pierced (66 pcs.). We believe that the perforations are not connected to funeral customs, but rather had a practical role, facilitating the activity of the usurers, who used to gather the small change into a certain unit of account, using a thin wire or thread.

Descoperiri numismatice și arheologice din nordul Bucovinei (I)

2022-12-05T08:29:18+01:00

The article discusses some archeological and numismatic artefacts found in the medieval settlement, which was identified as the old nucleus of the modern village of Oprișeni, situated in the Hliboca district (also called Adâncata district), Cernăuți region, Ukraine. These are Moldovan coins (15 ex.), cloth seals originated from Mechelen and
Gdansk (of Tudors rose type) (2 ex.), jewellery: earrings, finger rings, buttons, cloth hook, decorative appliques; household items; religious objects used in cults, as well as fragments of various other objects (48 ex.), which dates back from the end of the 14th century until the modern times. The importance of these objects, as well as the
localization of these settlements, is extremely important for the history of the Moldovan medieval Principality. Due to the fact that the current territory of Cernăuţi region, known from the written sources as Șipeniț/Șipiniț Land (Ţara Șipenițului/Șipinițului) has been part of Moldovan principality since the 14th century. Moreover, the favorable geographic location of this village on the international trade route The Moldovan Route (Drumul Moldovenesc), benefited to the arrival of the goods coming from the south and the north. The existence of these contacts is proven by the detection of coins and decorative objects as well as the customs seals for textiles.

Some remarks on the configuration of urban space in the pre-modern town of Iaşi

2022-11-29T11:18:42+01:00

The morphology analysis of the pre-modern town in the East-European space is encumbered by the lack of maps and zoning plans, as well as by the small quantity of preserved documentary sources. In the case of Iași, the Russian military maps of the 18th century, together with the General plan of Iași made by the French engineer Joseph Bayardi, creates the base for analysis, corroborated by the historical documentary sources recently edited. The general analysis we carry out considers the origins, emergence, evolution and distribution of the town quarters/cores, the streets configuration as well as the size, distribution and evolution of urban plots. The analysis uses both cartographic and documentary sources, supported by analogies with the similar situations in the rest of Moldavia, which are documented by archaeology, and in Central and Western Europe, when the analogy is appropriate.

Farming and trading in Medieval Moldavia: The circulation of products based on historical sources

2022-11-29T11:14:44+01:00

Includes an abstract in English.

Pseudofakten und Ethnonationalismus am Beispiel der „Geschichte der Daker”: Ein Beitrag zur Dekonstruktion axiomatischer Geschichtsbilder und ihrer Folgen in der Archäologie und Numismatik des Donau- und Balkanraumes

2022-11-29T11:10:56+01:00

Includes an abstract in English.

Aspectele regionale ale Culturii Cucuteni faza A din perspectivă statistică. Teorie și studiu de caz asupra variației formei paharelor din cinci așezări

2022-11-29T11:07:20+01:00

Our study investigates whether, during the phase A of the Cucuteni culture, a connection exists between observed regional cultural preferences for pottery decoration and pottery shapes. We do so through the statistical investigation of the variation in the shape of beakers, expressed as the ration between maximum diameter and height, from five diagnostic settlements. The use of one way ANOVA allows us to ascertain that there is significant variation between settlements. A post hoc Scheffe test, comparing the pairwise variability of the variation, shows that the specific decoration characteristics used to define each cultural group are also accompanied by preferences in specific beaker shapes. We conclude that, although our data set forces caution on the generalisation of our results, shape variation may be used as an added argument in the identification and characterisation of regional groups.

Sumar

2022-11-29T10:59:52+01:00

Front Matter

2022-11-29T10:57:51+01:00

Prof. em. dr. dres. h.c. Bernhard Hänsel (24.05.1937 – 1.04.2017)

2022-11-29T09:43:39+01:00

In memoriam Marilena Florescu (27 septembrie 1932 – 23 noiembrie 2017)

2022-11-29T09:37:36+01:00

Hommage à Jacques Tixier (1925-2018) Grand prehistorien et ethnologue des techniques

2022-11-29T09:32:47+01:00

Lăcrămioara Stratulat, Vizită în Republica Populară Chineză

2022-11-29T09:24:31+01:00

Activitatea știinţifică a Institutului de Arheologie din Iași în anul 2017

2022-11-29T09:16:04+01:00

Ionel Cândea, Cetatea Albă. Cercetări arheologice și istorice

2022-11-29T08:59:04+01:00

Ion Tentiuc, Populaţia din Moldova centrală în secolele X-XIII

2022-11-29T08:49:43+01:00

Dan Gh. Teodor, Contribuţii arheologice la problema etnogenezei românești

2022-11-29T08:43:36+01:00

Roland Steinacher, Rom und die Barbaren. Völker im Alpen- und Donauraum

2022-11-29T08:40:03+01:00

Ekaterina Nechaeva, Embassies – Negotiations – Gifts. Systems of East Roman Diplomacy in Late Antiquity

2022-11-29T08:35:04+01:00

Alain Chauvot, Les “barbares” des Romains: représentations et confrontations. Études réunies par A. Becker et H. Huntzinger, avec le concours de C. Freu et O. Huck. Centre de Recherche Universitaire Lorrain d’Histoire

2022-11-29T08:27:00+01:00

Cătălin Borangic, Seniorii războiului în lumea dacică. Elite militare din secolele II a.Chr.-II p.Chr. în spațiul carpato-dunărean

2022-11-28T11:25:54+01:00

Sarmizegetusa Regia. I. Redescoperirea cetății

2022-11-28T11:22:24+01:00

Marzena Szmyt, Biały Potok.Materiały z badań Józefa Kostrzewskiego na Podolu

2022-11-28T11:17:31+01:00

Sabin Adrian Luca, Tărtăria Rediviva

2022-11-28T11:13:37+01:00

Vasile Chirica, Cristian Ichim, Les Aurignaciens. Leur creation materielle et spirituelle. Actes du colloque international de Iași

2022-11-28T11:06:00+01:00

Vasile Chirica, Cristian Ichim, Leur creation materielle et spirituelle. Actes du colloque international de Iași

2022-11-28T11:01:22+01:00

Rom. Baniţă (‘vas de lemn folosit ca măsură pentru cereale’) și legăturile sale cu familia lexicală a rom. Ban (‘titlu feudal’)

2022-11-28T10:55:14+01:00

The first part of this article contains the author’s objections to the mainstream etymological opinions according to which Romanian (Rm.) baniţă was borrowed from Slavic, the putative source-word being a Slavic *banica. The latter has been presented as a suffixed diminutive from Slavic banja ‘bath (tub)’, in its turn borrowed from Vulgar Latin (*bannea < Lat. balnea). In fact such an etymological interpretation is debilitated by a number of confusions and conflations. Therefore, this author propounds a connection between baniţă and ban ‘local authority’ (later ‘feudal title’), whose Old Germanic origin has already been demonstrated. In such a case baniţă would appear to have designated a standard measure for grain that dates from the period during which Germanic elites imposed tributal systems on non-Germanic populations of Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Experimental (re)construction and use of a Late Cucuteni-Trypillia kiln

2022-11-28T10:46:23+01:00

This paper describes an archaeological experiment which took place in September 2017 in Stolniceni, Edineț County, Republic of Moldova, based on the recent discovery, in the Cucuteni-Trypillia site from the locality, of an exceptional two-chambered updraft kiln. First are presented the phases of the (re)construction of the complex, which strictly followed the dimensions and constitutive elements of the original discovery. After the kiln was finished and dried, a first attempt was made to fire a batch of about 50 vessels of various sizes. During over 10 hours of continuous firing, the kiln worked perfectly, with no incidents that could jeopardize the pottery. In the end, although the vessels seemed to be very well fired in an oxidizing atmosphere, it was proved that the temperatures reached in the kiln (measured with Orton temperature cones and confirmed by a series of XRD analyses) were inferior to those known (based on analyses) for Cucuteni- Trypillia ceramics. However, this first experimental attempt allowed some interesting observations, being a step forward in understanding this complex chaine opératoire of prehistoric pottery production.

O reprezentare a lui Marsyas pe o gemă de la Romula

2022-11-28T10:42:17+01:00

This small article is focused on the representation of Marsyas, on a gemstone from Romula. The piece is unpublished and the representation of Marsyas like a young boy is quite unusual. It is the only known representation of Marsyas in the gliptic of the province of Dacia Inferior, from which somehow results the uniqueness of the piece in question, at least for this area. From the point of view of artistic achievement, the piece betrays a accurate and careful execution. After the manner of engraving, the gemstone from Romula looks to join the Hellenistic or Italic Hellenistic style, characteristic from the Augustus period of time and the first century A.D. Furthermore, the known analogies on this kind of representations could indicate an early dating of the Marsyas gemstone at the earliest at the beginning of the 2nd century AD. In any case, this gemstone and its representation, complete the repertoire of the representations of divinities from Romula, the capital of Dacia Inferior.

Observații privind câteva fragmente ceramice de tip Vest-Podolian descoperite în cetățile getice de la Stâncești

2022-11-28T10:37:35+01:00

The present article brings into attention a number of previously unpublished pottery shards belonging to the Western Podolian culture that were discovered in the Iron Age Getian forts of Stâncești. Although, in very short numbers, their presence is important as they represent a good chronological indicator for the earliest phase of habitation from Stâncești dated between the 6th – 5th centuries BC.

Descoperiri arheologice efectuate în situl de la Ruginoasa, județul Neamț

2022-11-28T10:12:54+01:00

Field research carried out in territory of the commune of Ruginoasa, Neamț County, has brought in to the light several ceramic fragments assigned to the period of the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. Following these research a new site belonging to the Poienești-Vârşeşcoiu culture was discovered. The importance of this new site is also due to the discovery in proximity of an imperial hoard coins.

Fashion by rituals: Rosette glass beads found in Sarmatian and Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov cultures (1st c. BC – 4th c. AD)

2022-11-28T10:08:15+01:00

This paper will analyse the rosette glass beads (TM XXIII/362) found extra and intra Carpathian Basin, especially in graves belonging to the so-called Sarmatian and Sântana de Mureș-Chernyakhov cultures, during the 1st c. BC – 4th c. AD. I will also discuss to the possible origins of these types of beads: production within the borders of the Roman Empire and outside the Empire – in Pontic workshops or native production in Barbaricum. The manner of wearing the rosette beads will be another important topic, since they appear in rich female graves, probably the funerary features of female elite. Regularly they are accompanied by other polychrome beads and Roman products, especially enamelled brooches or disc-shape brooches.