Horia Ion Ciugudean | Muzeul National al Unirii Alba Iulia (original) (raw)

Books by Horia Ion Ciugudean

The catalogue presents nine bronze hoards discovered along the last decade in eight different sit... more The catalogue presents nine bronze hoards discovered along the last decade in eight different sites in the Alba county.

The exhibition catalogue presents nine bronze hoards discovered in eight different sites in Alba ... more The exhibition catalogue presents nine bronze hoards discovered in eight different sites in Alba county along the last decade.

Editor: Sabin Adrian LUCA Cu contribuţii de: Diana STANCZ SIBIU, 2005 Cercetări arheologice în pe... more Editor: Sabin Adrian LUCA Cu contribuţii de: Diana STANCZ SIBIU, 2005 Cercetări arheologice în peştera Cauce (II) Redactor: Dan Tudor MARINESCU Corectură: Daniela Luiza MARINESCU Coperta: Adriana POPESCU Tehnoredactare computerizată: Sabin Adrian LUCA, Ioan Marian ŢIPLIC Adresa pentru corespondenţă: Sabin Adrian LUCA, Universitatea "Lucian Blaga" din Sibiu, Institutul pentru cercetarea şi valorificarea patrimoniului cultural transilvănean în context european, Bdul Victoriei, nr. 5-7, Sibiu 550009; Tel. / Fax O269 / 214468; 0745 / 366606; Cercetări arheologice în peştera Cauce (II) CUPRINS Cuvânt înainte (S.A. Luca)………………………………………… 7 CAPITOLUL VI. Nivelul VI. Cultura Coţofeni (H. Ciugudean, C. Roman, D. Diaconescu, S.A. Luca)……………………………………………. 9 Stratigrafia. Materialele arheologice. Consideraţii cronologice. Planşele I-XIII. Catalogul planşelor. CAPITOLUL VII. Nivelul VII (H. Ciugudean, C. Roman, D. Diaconescu, S.A. Luca)…………………………………………………………….. 41 Stratigrafia. Complexele. Materialele arheologice. Planşele XIV-XXXVIII.

Cercetări privind epoca bronzului şi epoca fierului în Transilvania, 1997

Bibliotheca Thracologica. XIII, 1996

Bibliotheca Musei Apulensis. I, 1994

Papers by Horia Ion Ciugudean

Apulum, 2021

THE BRONZE AGE IN TRANSYLVANIA: AN OVERVIEW The study offers the present state of research regard... more THE BRONZE AGE IN TRANSYLVANIA: AN OVERVIEW
The study offers the present state of research regarding the Bronze Age in Transylvania, with some corrections towards the previous chronological systems proposed by other Romanian specialists. The beginning of the Early Bronze Age before 3000 BC, as proposed by the Bucharest school, is rejected, while the Late Bronze Age is seen as a longer period, covering both the Tumulus and Urnfield periods, according to Central European chronology. A few new considerations on the Yamnaya arrival in Transylvania are also made, introducing the preliminary results of the excavations performed in the kurgan at Hăpria.
The theory of a strong Mycenaean influence in the Transylvanian Middle Bronze Age, which is still supported by a few scholars, is not supported by evidence, and has to be rather seen as a Late Bronze phenomenon in the Balkans. The diffusion of a weighing system in the same period, as clearly demonstrated in the fragmentation of the gold rings from the Cugir hoard and other similar depots in Transylvania, is a much better proof for trade contacts with the Aegean in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC.
The intensive exploitation of salt resources with a new type of technology, specifically developed in the Eastern Carpathians, as well as the huge size of the bronze depots, probably based on both the salt and copper/gold mining, accompany the rise of a powerful ‘aristocracy of salt’. After the earlier mega-forts from the Banat region, new hillforts were built in Transylvania in the 12th century BC.
The author uses some of the results of new excavation made in the Telec hillfort in the frame of a LOEWE project to support the idea of a pre-Scythian military expedition of a Meszócsát group from the Tisza plain towards central Transylvania. The destruction and burning of the Teleac rampart and house in trench radiocarbon dated in the second half of the 10th century BC might be a direct consequence of this military incursion. The date of the Meszócsát-type burial at Vlaha fits quite well with the one from the post-destruction layer at Teleac. The arrival of the Basarabi groups along the Mureş valley by the end of the 9th century BC marks the end of the Transylvanian Late Bronze Age, the local Gáva-type communities being part of an acculturation process. The period represents the beginning of the Early Iron civilization and is accompanied by the last horizon (DFS VI) of the bimetallic depot, like the ones from Vinţu de Jos and Tărtăria.

Bioarchaeology International 4, 2, 2021

The Apuseni Mountains of southwestern Transylvania (Romania) are home to the richest gold and cop... more The Apuseni Mountains of southwestern Transylvania (Romania) are home to the richest gold and copper deposits in Europe, key resources that fueled the development of social complexity during the Bronze Age (ca. 2700-800 B.C.E.). This landscape encompasses a significant amount of topographic and ecological diversity , with upland landscapes incorporating major mineral deposits, forests, pastures, and salt springs, and low-land agropastoral landscapes abutting the major interregional Mureș River corridor. Local Early Bronze Age (ca. 2700-2000 B.C.E.) communities typically buried their dead in stone-covered tumuli in the uplands, though there are also examples of burial in lowland settlements. The relationship between upland and lowland mortuary contexts is an enduring question within the regional archaeological record. In this paper we present a case study that compares individuals from two sites: the lowland settlement of Alba Iulia-Pârâul Iovului and the upland cemetery of Meteș-La Meteșel. We ask whether there were differences between the uplands and the low-lands in terms of mortuary practices and eligibility for burial, or differences in the lived experience of pathology or trauma. Our results show that there are few significant differences between the two samples. Adults and subadults, as well as males and females, are represented at both sites, and levels of skeletal pathology are low, while dental insults are more frequent. We conclude by outlining a strategy for developing a regional bioarchae-ology that will incorporate multiple lines of archaeological and bioarchaeological evidence and enhance our understanding of the biocultural dynamics of the region.

Apulum 57, 2020

It has long been recognised that because the character of landscape change in the Apuseni Mountai... more It has long been recognised that because the character of landscape change in the Apuseni Mountains (Transylvania) has historically been gradual and piecemeal, the region is still rich in visible, upstanding archaeological sites and monuments. The number of Roman mining sites is extremely high but it has not been completely estimated yet. The gold/silver and copper mines in the Bucium - Zlatna area became the main target of a Romanian-German archeological project funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, its preliminary results being presented in this paper.

Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports, 2020

Where people bury their dead is a critical part of mortuary rituals. This paper examines the rela... more Where people bury their dead is a critical part of mortuary rituals. This paper examines the relationship between the placement of the dead within a landscape and the social roles of the dead in the lives of the living. We examine the distribution of mortuary sites in southwest Transylvania during the Early and Middle Bronze Age (2700-1500 BCE), a period of significant socioeconomic transformation. We document a shift in the locations of cemeteries that is linked to the changing roles of the dead within society. During the Early Bronze Age, people placed their dead in highly visible tomb cemeteries in upland landscapes with access to metal and highland pasture. We argue that the living used mortuary practices to contest access to resources. During the Middle Bronze Age, however, people were primarily cremated and buried in flat urn cemeteries in similar contexts as settlements. We argue that this transition signifies changing institutions of metal procurement as well as a shift in the roles of the dead in the lives of the living. The analysis of cemetery placement has significant potential for revealing the organization and evolution of how bodies are used for political purposes in a broad range of geographic and chronological contexts.

Roms unbekannte Grenze. Kelten, Daker, Sarmaten und Vandalen im Norden des Karpatenbeckens 4 Jh. v. Chr. bis 4 Jh. n. Chr., 2018

Antiquity, 2020

Southwest Transylvania was an important source of metal and other natural resources for Bronze Ag... more Southwest Transylvania was an important source of metal and other natural resources for Bronze Age Europe, helping to facilitate the development of increasingly hierarchical societies. The absence of a radiocarbon-based chronology for Transylvania, however, has impeded understanding of the region's role within broader socioeconomic networks. Here, the presentation of the first radiocarbon chronology for the Wietenberg Culture in southwest Transylvania allows the authors to highlight the importance of interregional exchange and reliable access to metal for Bronze Age European societies, and emphasise that resource-procurement zones follow unique trajectories of socioeconomic organisation.

Apulum, 2018

The study presents the content of a pit discovered in Transylvania, at the site of Uioara de Jos,... more The study presents the content of a pit discovered in Transylvania, at the site of Uioara de Jos, Alba county, during the 1984-1986 excavations. Several painted vessels were deposited at the bottom of a pit, together with a bone awl and a clay spindle-whorl.The ritual feature might be assigned to the Middle Copper Age Petreşti culture.

Cercetări privind epoca bronzului şi epoca fierului în Transilvania, 1997

Bibliotheca Thracologica. XIII, 1996

Bibliotheca Musei Apulensis. I, 1994

Apulum, 2021

Bioarchaeology International 4, 2, 2021

Apulum 57, 2020

Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports, 2020

Roms unbekannte Grenze. Kelten, Daker, Sarmaten und Vandalen im Norden des Karpatenbeckens 4 Jh. v. Chr. bis 4 Jh. n. Chr., 2018

Antiquity, 2020

Apulum, 2018

Apulum, 2019

The study offers the present state of research regarding the Cugir-Band cultural group, which is ... more The study offers the present state of research regarding the Cugir-Band cultural group, which is characteristic for the Late Bronze Age in the central and South-Western parts of Transylvania. Fourteen sites have been identified so far, including one cremation cemetery. The three radiocarbon dates from Miceşti, Teiuş and Turdaş point towards the 12th century calBC. Thus, it mainly follows the Noua culture in the central and south-western regions and it might be contemporary with the very beginning of the Gáva culture, as the two dates from Alba Iulia and Teleac seem to indicate. A clear Cugir-Band heritage can be detected in the Gáva-style ceramics otherwise.

Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie, Band 335, Bonn, 2019

Geophysical prospection and excavations show that the heavily fortified Teleac hillfort was dense... more Geophysical prospection and excavations show that the heavily fortified Teleac hillfort was densely occupied with a population reaching the low thousands. In this article it is argued that Teleac was a local political centre that acted as a hub for transportation and trade in a region that is rich in mineral resources. Recent investigations also reveal that Teleac was attacked in the late 10th century in an event that breached and destroyed the formidable northern defensive system. This attack suggests that the level of military threat was quite severe in the eastern Carpathian Basin. The attacking forces must have had signifcant offensive capabilities in order to tackle Teleac’s defences. It is also a strong indication that not only Teleac, but contemporary fortified settlements in the surrounding region were at least in part erected to resist serious military threats.

B. Rezi, R. Nemeth, (ed.), Bronze Age Connectivity in the Carpathian Basin. Proceedings of the International Colloquium from Târgu Mureş, 2018

UPA, 2018

Recent investigations of the Teleac hillfort in south-western Transylvania have generated new dat... more Recent investigations of the Teleac hillfort in south-western Transylvania have generated new data on the spatial organisation and history of the settlement. A combination of excavations and geophysical prospection reveal that Teleac was a dense and well organised settlement with a substantial population, and that some sections of the hillfort likely were used for different activities. It is also argued that Teleac likely dominated surrounding open settlements and acted as a hub for transportation and trade through the region.

Cronica Cercetarilor Arheologice din Romania, 2017

Technical report of the 2017 excavations in the LBA/EIA hillfort at Teleac, Romania

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018

The Bronze Age was a period of significant socioeconomic transformation that gave rise to the fir... more The Bronze Age was a period of significant socioeconomic transformation that gave rise to the first complex regional polities with institutionalized inequality in Europe. Communities in southwest Transylvania, a major source of gold, copper, and salt, played a critical role in this transformation. This article examines how socioeconomic changes affected how people situated settlements in resource procurement zones during the Early and Middle Bronze Age (2700–1500 cal. BCE). Taking advantage of the heterogeneous distribution of natural resources across the landscape, a GIS catchment analysis of the orientation of settlements toward particular constellations of resources is presented. Our results show increased preference for access to high quality agricultural land and access to interregional trade through the Mureș River corridor over the course of the Bronze Age. Despite the increased importance of metal within Bronze Age economies, there is no evidence that Transylvanian communities placed their settlements to maximize their ability to contest or secure access to the metal ore sources in the Apuseni Mountains. The organization of settlement systems in the Bronze Age demonstrates that Transylvanian communities prioritized socioeconomic institutions beyond metal procurement. This study demonstrates that tracing how humans situate themselves in variable landscapes can provide new insights into the conditions and mechanisms of social change.

Recent investigations of the Teleac hillfort in south-western Transylvania have generated new da... more Recent investigations of the Teleac hillfort in south-western Transylvania have generated new data on the spatial organisation and history of the settlement. A combination of excavations and geophysical prospection reveal that Teleac was a dense and well organised settlement with a substantial population, and that some sections of the hillfort likely were used for different activities. It is also argued that Teleac likely dominated surrounding open settlements and acted as a hub for transportation and trade through the region.

Cronica Cercetarilor Arheologice din Romania. Campania 2016, 2017

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018

H.Ciugudean review: A. Frinculeasa, A. Simalcsik, B. Preda, D. Garvan, Smeeni-Movila mare: monografia unui sit arheologic regăsit, Bibliotheca Mousaios 13, Editura Cetatea de Scaun, Târgovişte, 2017, 517 pag., 136 planşe.

Apulum, 2019

This paper presents preliminary results which were obtained in the context of a new project on an... more This paper presents preliminary results which were obtained in the context of a new project on ancient ore mining in Transylvania, a cooperation between Muzeul Naţional al Unirii Alba Iulia and the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum.

The aim of this presentation is to discuss the “High-status” burials found in the Transylvania re... more The aim of this presentation is to discuss the “High-status” burials found in the Transylvania region and dated to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. They show similar patterns in terms of burial rite and grave architecture with several other graves in the Balkan area. In terms of its inventory, the high-status grave-goods exhibit many particular patterns, rooted in the Late Copper/Early Bronze Age traditions of Central and Eastern European societies. Some of the most remarkable burial contexts are highlighted to emphasize their significance in future research of the social structure of inner-Carpathian EBA groups.
The lack of the weapons (battle-axes or daggers) in male graves of the Transylvanian EBA barrows might indicate a different ideal than the warrior one. Common throughout the Carpathian Late Copper/EBA world, the copper spectacle-shaped pendant was not only a jewelry, but a symbol of a person’s status and standing in society. I consider it the most characteristic prestige-good item in the EBA tumulus-burials of Western Transylvania. The presence of gold ornaments in the Ampoita barrow is a strong evidence for the connections towards the princely graves of the Adriatic shore and even further to the Ionian islands. This might support the existence of trade networks and/or social contacts between the high rank individuals.

In contrast to later periods that show a more strictly circumscribed approach to the location and... more In contrast to later periods that show a more strictly circumscribed approach to the location and treatment of skeletal remains, third millennium Europe was host to a wide variety of human interactions with dead bodies. This variability is particularly noteworthy in Iberia, where over the course of the Copper Age human bones were subject to a wide range of funerary rituals, including interment in commingled deposits in natural and artificial caves and rock shelters, burial in primary and secondary depositions in purpose-built mortuary features, and scattering as fragments in enclosure ditches and other architectural features. Here, I focus on a series of illustrative cases from large-scale Chalcolithic sites in Spain and Portugal to illustrate intra-site variability in mortuary treatment, and to consider what such variability meant for the social and ritual organization of these prehistoric communities. Next, I move to the mountains of southwestern Transylvania, where distinct mortuary tracks are recorded for upland sites in the Apuseni highlands and lowland sites in the Mureș River valley. Here, I describe how my initial bioarchaeological analyses of Early Bronze Age mortuary populations have important implications for understanding the negotiation of community identities and territorial relationships. Overall, evidence from both Iberia and Romania points to the dead being a constant presence in Late Prehistoric societies, with continuous interaction with the human remains, physically and perhaps even socially, an important component of daily life.

Copper and gold resources from Southwestern Transylvania played a critical role in the emergence ... more Copper and gold resources from Southwestern Transylvania played a critical role in the emergence of inequality in European Late Prehistory. Communities in this metal-rich landscape, however, remain poorly understood. Though the highly visible tombs in the Apuseni Mountains where these communities buried some of their dead have been known to local archaeologists for decades, very little is known about the backdrop of health and disease in the region. Here, we present one of the first bioarchaeological analyses of skeletal and dental health for the Apuseni Early Bronze Age, focusing on a sample of human remains that incorporates individuals of both sexes and a range of ages, from very young children to older adults. Our results show relatively low levels of skeletal pathology, with age-related insults such as osteoarthritis predominating. In contrast, dental insults were more common and included caries, calculus, alveolar resorption, and abscesses. We present several case-studies of older individuals affected with particularly severe combinations of dental insults, and discuss the dietary and behavioral implications of handling such pathologies, at both the level of the individual and the community.

The Apuseni Mountains of southwest Transylvania, Romania, are amongst the richest gold and copper... more The Apuseni Mountains of southwest Transylvania, Romania, are amongst the richest gold and copper procurement zones in the world. Metals from this region helped fuel the rise of inequality across Europe during Late Prehistory, and the area is also home to a rich mortuary record, with archaeological survey identifying over one hundred mounded tomb cemeteries belonging to Bronze Age communities. However, none of these cemeteries have been fully excavated and only a small sample of skeletons have been studied. Here, we describe the results of bioarchaeological analysis of human skeletal remains from a sample of previously unanalyzed Early Bronze Age sites that encompass a significant degree of environmental and cultural variability, including upland cemeteries with stone-covered cairns, as well as lowland cemeteries with earthen cairns. These cemeteries show evidence of diverse mortuary treatments, including primary burials, secondary burials, and commingled interments. Our analyses assess age, sex, health, and funerary treatment, providing preliminary information about how mortuary treatment intersected with aspects of identity and lived experience. This study builds a foundation for future bioarchaeology in the Apuseni region and emphasizes the need to supplement osteological analysis of the scant museum collections with larger-scale excavation of cemeteries.

ACTA MVSEI APVLENSIS, 2018