Bronze Vessels of the Early Iron Age Discovered at Bălata (Romania) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 27/2 Supplement, 2021
In the Saharna microregion (Rezina district, Republic of Moldova), four settlements and one burial attributed to the Holercani-Hansca culture are currently known. In the settlements Saharna Mare / “Dealul Mănăstirii” and Saharna “Rude”, a bronze hairpin of Ösennadel type and a crescent pendant with vertically perforated shank were recently discovered. Both objects have many analogies in Transylvania as well as in Central Europe, being dated within the period Bz D - Ha A1. Along with the finds from Saharna microregion, in the area of the Holercani-Hansca culture, in the sites of Calfa, Holercani, Coșnița and others, other bronze artifacts are known, also of Western origin and having the same chronological markers. Thus, the presence of these objects denotes the connections of the communities from the Prut-Dniester area with Transylvania and Central Europe.
(2020) Popescu et alii, The deposition of bronze artefacts from Preajba Mare (Gorj County, Romania)
Dacia N.S., 2020
The debate focuses on two complete socketed axes recovered by metal detecting from a forest nearby Preajba Mare, Gorj County. The artefacts are typologically different, but they both date from the Late Bronze Age or the beginning of the Iron Age (Bz D–Ha A1). One of the socketed axes has a bronze rod twisted around it and the interior of the socket is stuffed with bronze items. X-ray computed tomography provided diverse information of technological nature and allowed visualizing inside the socket of the respective axe. Wedging metal fragments or even complete items made of other raw materials inside socketed axes were highlighted by Svend Hansen over 20 years ago. There are few finds of blocked socketed axes compared to the total number of such artefacts. In south‑-east Europe such artefacts occur in hoards consisting usually of both complete and fragmented items and dated mainly to the Bz D–Ha A1 period. The paper reviews the main opinions regarding the motivations that might have triggered such a practice – stuffing the area where the handle was inserted when the piece was functional. The final part of the paper discusses the particular case of Preajba Mare where within the same area with the socketed axes were also found fragmented bronze implements, deposited most likely during the Ha A1 period. Whether the complete artefacts represent a hoard on itself, separate from that of the fragmented implements or the two categories of artefacts – complete and fragmented – represent a single hoard are two different hypotheses, in their own right.
A CONTRIBUTION ON THE EARLY BRONZE AGE IN SOUTHERN ROMANIA AND SOME FRIENDLY NOTES
Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica, 2014
The Early Bronze Age in the area between the Eastern Carpathians and the Lower Danube constituted the topic of numerous attempts. A recent contribution concerning this theme was made by Radu Băjenaru, who presented me with the opportunity to have an updated reading of the manner in which archaeological monuments can be analysed. The critical scrutiny, rigorous analysis, direct access to sources, field experience, suggestions for classifying the impressive lot of artefacts analysed, are just some of the author’s cards. In the following, the author of these lines has only the merit of bringing to a written conclusion a number of friendly observations.
Marisia, 2021
During a rescue excavation near Sâncrăieni (Hungarian Csíkszentkirály, Harghita County, Romania) a pottery deposit was discovered. The feature was made of a large tripartite storage vessel placed into a pit. Several other objects were put inside the vessel, but a few ceramic fragments were also found below the vessel, in a burnt layer with a lot of charcoal. The objects inside the vessel were made of several fragments of one plate, fragments of four clay weights and of grinding stones. Based on analogies the vessel and the vessel fragments can be attributed to the Late Bronze Age Gáva culture, to its classical (Gáva II) phase, which in terms of Central-European chronology is the Ha A2-B1 period. The paper discusses the occurrence of tripartite vessels of the Gáva period. Similar vessels appear in various contexts: in burials (Reci–Telek), in pottery depositions (Reci–Telek, Sâncrăieni–Kőoldal) or in settlements in fragmented state (Reci–Telek, Cernat–Hegyes). For a better understanding of Gáva pottery deposits with objects we had to rely on a somewhat wider chronological span, like the period of the Suciu de Sus culture, the pre- respectively the proto-Gáva period. Selective depositions are mostly known from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. The storage vessels sometimes occur alone, or associated with different objects. Many times the number of these objects differ to one place to another, but a main pattern of selection can be traced. The ritual activity, which led to the hiding of the vessels and other clay objects is hard to reconstruct. In everyday life these recipients could have been used for storage, fermentation or other purposes, but later received a role in ritual activities: as accessories for food or drink sacrifice and were not used anymore in everyday life.
Mensch, Kultur und Gesellschaft von der Kupferzeit bis zur frühen Eisezeit im Nördlichen Eurasien , 2016
In 2014-2015, two hoards and 10 other solitary finds of bronze items have been discovered on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, accidentally or by means of illegal metal detection. They come from the vicinity of villages of Volodeni, Rudi, Bulăeşti, Susleni, Furceni, Ivancea, Bălăbăneşti, Scoreni, Fundul Galbenei, Haragîş and Sadîc. One of the hoards and a separate item (a dagger) is kept in the collection of the Historical and Ethnographic Museum in the city of Comrat. The rest of the items are held in private collections. The spectrum of bronze finds includes tools, weapons, adornments, and parts of horse harness. Some of these types are well known and are encountered quite oft en in hoards (socketed axes of the Râşeşti, Casimcea, and Gemzse types; rounded plaques; daggers of the Eastern type), while others are rarely found (a fibulae of the Passemanterie type, twisted necklaces, a cheekpiece with cone-shaped ends, spearheads of the Sejma type). The presented items are dated from the Middle Bronze Age to the HaB3 period; most of them dates to the BrD-HaA1 period.
Preliminary Data on Bronze Age Pottery from S Ă Ve Ş Ti ( Neam Ţ County , Romania )
2015
The paper presents the results of the mineralogical and physical analyses carried out on 20 potsherds from Săveşti (Neamţ county, Romania) belonging to Noua Culture. The goal of this investigation was to provide information on the type of temper materials, the way that the vessels were shaped, the temperature and firing conditions. Generally, the colour is homogenous, grey to black indicating reducing atmosphere. Exceptions are three samples with a “sandwich”-type structure and one sample with a yellowish-brown colour that suggest an oxidizing atmosphere during firing. The matrix is relatively uniform, with clasts of various sizes (up to 3-4 mm). Macroscopically, quartz grains, micas, and ceramoclast were identified. Based on microscopic grain size, two types of ceramics can be separated: semifine (lutitic-siltic-arenitic), and coarse (lutitic-arenitic-siltic). Based on the ratio between crystalline vs. amorphous phases, microcrystalline-amorphous and amorphous-microcrystalline to a...