Peuce. Studii si Cercetari de Istorie si Arheologie

7-48

Authors: Cristian MICU, Michel MAILLE, Florian MIHAIL, Laurent CAROZZA, Mihai FLOREA

This article presents the stratigraphic and chronological data found during the archaeological surveys Northeast of the tell settlement at Luncavita, point « Cetățuia » (Tulcea County).

79-122

Authors: Maria-Magdalena ȘTEFAN, Dan ȘTEFAN, Valeriu SÎRBU, Sorin-Cristian AILINCĂI, Alexandra ȚÂRLEA

In addition to the decades-long known archaeological ensemble (consisting of a 6th-3rd centuries BC settlement and tumuli necropolis) on Celic Dere valley, in Northern Dobruja, a second settlement (Cassiana) of the same period was recently documented – just 2.5 km to the east – on the same river valley, right near Celic Dere Monastery. The newly surveyed settlement at Celic Dere Monastery/Cassiana was field assessed, in 2013 and 2014, by geophysical survey (magnetic method), aerial photogrammetry and systematic collecting of surface materials. LiDAR data was used as an integrative background of the landscape analysis. The discovery is meaningful because it gives the opportunity to discuss once more, and with enhanced elements, the impact of Greek colonisation in western Pontus upon the aggregation processes of local populations. The proximity of two contemporaneous large settlements characterized by the same rich mix of materials (consisting of Archaic and Classical periods amphorae fragments, Archaic monochrome grey wheel-made ware and hand-made local pottery of late Hallstatt tradition), even if for the Monastery settlement the considered pottery originates only from surface surveys, reveals the consistent demography of the communities inhabiting the high hills bordering the Danube, their endurance in the same places from late Hallstatt till early Hellenistic period, and their organisation in habitation nuclei based on steady markets directly connected with the western Black Sea Greek colonies, of which Orgame and Istros were located at ca. 50-60 km to the south-east. The two settlements on Celic Dere valley, for which a peak of early activity seems to be the end of the 6th century BC and the 5th century BC, mainly exploit the proximity of a major Danube ford (at Isaccea, 20 km north) and the existence of an important inland route going towards the former Black Sea golfs – now the lakes Babadag-Razim-Sinoe. They represent a nucleus within a larger group of emerging settlements, at the end of the Archaic period, throughout Northern Dobruja – either near Danube (like Revărsarea Tichilești or Novoselskoe – on the other shore), far inland, in the high plateaus (Beidaud) or in a 20-8 km range around Istros and Orgame and the former navigable golfs (Tariverde, Nuntași, Vișina, Sinoe, Vadu). If the last category was often interpreted as Greek establishments, results of colonial activity, inhabited by an ethnically mixed population, the sites of the same type, located in the Danube area, point to the reality of a more extensive process of social development and demographic growth happening inland, linked to a specific period – end of the 6th-5th century BC.

135-142

Authors: Valentin BOTTEZ, Florin TOPOLEANU

The article analyzes a fragmentary marble relief of the Thracian Horseman, discovered in 2003 in the ancient city of Halmyris (Tulcea County, Romania), and dated to the beginning of the 3rd c. AD. Even if – taken separately – the iconographic elements (the horseman hunting and impaling the boar with a spear, the dog, the serpent coiled on a tree, touching a burning altar with its tail, the lion and the bull) appear on many other monuments dedicated to the god, their combination and the manner in which they are represented make this a unique relief.

181-224

Authors: Iulia ILIESCU, Valentin BOTTEZ

In this study, we present a part of the lychnological material discovered during the archaeological excavation carried out between 2013 and 2020 on the Acropolis Centre-South Sector in Istros (Constanța County). The entire lot includes almost 190 pieces that, from a chronological point of view, belong to the Greek (Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic), Early Roman and Late Roman period. We selected for discussion in this paper only the Late Roman material, which is the most numerous (130 lamps, of which 107 typologically determined) and more representative for the archaeological complex under investigation. The lamps belong to many types, some of them newly attested in Istros, and are both imported products and pieces manufactured at a regional, maybe even local, scale.

261-300

Authors: Aurel-Daniel STĂNICĂ, Constantin NICOLAE, Mihai Anatolii CIOBANU

Like all the Ottoman fortresses in Dobrudja, the fortress of Hârșova was little known until today. In the absence of an archaeological research, only a few documents, often questioned too, were the only sources that presented the image of a strong fortification. The conquest of Dobrudja at the beginning of the 15th century also involved the Ottomans' preoccupations regarding the care and repair of the existing fortress, the conquerors being motivated by the strategic and military importance of the region. The integration in the political, military, administrative, economic, and social system of the new Ottoman province represented for Hârșova a new historical stage of special relevance. Hârşova was a significant fortified centre, that housed an important garrison, but also with a decisive economic function given by the port and by the access to the main roads that crossed Dobrudja, as well as a crossing point of the Danube, which offered a connection with the Transcarpathian roads. All these aspects gave Hârșova a special place in the Ottoman administrative framework, with consequences in the organization of the city and the surrounding land integrated into a kaza. The image of the Ottoman fortress was well known, especially thanks to the lithographs dated 1826, which depicted an imposing structure. The cartographic document published by von Moltke in 1856, which represents the oldest plan of the fortress and the town of Hârșova known so far, recorded an imposing bastion fortification, which closed the perimeter between Citatel Hill (Dealul Cetății) and Belciug Hill (Dealul Belciug). Aside from this plan, to which some brief descriptions could be added, we notice a lack of data regarding the Ottoman fortress. Thus, we turned our attention to the cartographic sources, trying to identify new plans and maps which would allow a clarification of the evolution of the Ottoman fortification. In this article, we present some of the plans of the Hârșova fortress recently discovered in the archives of Kiev and Moscow. These are particularly important and will be critically analysed in relation to the results obtained in the archaeological research so far and other documentary sources that we have at our disposal. The discovered plans constitute new, original research sources, and allow a better knowledge of the situation of the fortification from Hârșova in the course of the 18th-19th centuries.

7-34

Authors: Neculai BOLOHAN, Ana DROB

The field survey brings new information about the occupation pattern of an area as well as about the unearthed archaeological heritage. If the field survey is followed by the analysis of the environment and the archaeological materiality, the chance of realizing a narrative is getting closer to the purpose of the research proposed by each of us. At the same time, field archaeology is an open laboratory for the gradual integration of the students for assessing data about the cultural and natural heritage of an area. In the following paper we will present some of the objectives proposed by the authors aim to, which led to the identification of new sites with a consistent materiality and which could draw attention to the need to include these heritage sources in local histories.

67-109

Authors: Aurel ZANOCI, Marianna A. KULKOVA, Mihail BĂȚ, Alexander M. KULKOV

Thanks to a project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, interdisciplinary research of pottery from several Early Iron Age sites in the Northern Black Sea region, including the Middle Dniester region, was carried out. Among these sites, due to the number of samples and the variety of forms of the vessels subject to analysis, the settlement of Saharna Mare–Dealul Mănăstirii (Rezina District, Republic of Moldova), attributed to the Cozia-Saharna culture, is of special interest. Fifty-two pottery samples were collected there, which were subjected to petrographic and chemical analyses. Also, in order to establish the provenance of the raw material used for pottery manufacture, samples were taken from the clay outcrops located at a distance of about 1.0 km southwest of the settlement. The results of these analyses, supplemented by the archaeological remains of a pottery workshop, as well as by the tools used for production and ornamenting of vessels, suggest a local manufacture.

137-150

Authors: Daniel SPÂNU

For the end of the Early Iron Age and for the beginning of the Late Iron Age in Dobroudja, the scheme proposed 4 decades ago by Bernhard Hänsel on the basis of the Dobrina and Ravna necropoleis is still relevant today. The late phase of the Ravna necropolis (III) can be relatively synchronized to the period of use of the "Murighiol" type necropoleis, as well as with the well-known rich burial at Agighiol. After the abandonment of the necropoleis of "Murighiol" type (approximately at the end of the LT B phase) a surprising lack of funeral expressiveness followed. This period of very discrete funerary practices lasted from the mid-3rd century BC until the integration of the southern bank of the Lower Danube to the Roman Empire (mid-1st century AD). For this period, the only viable landmarks for a relative periodization are offered by the oscillations of the Satu Nou dwelling. The first dwelling on the Valea lui Voicu site (levels IX - IV) could correspond to the LT C1 phase. The dwelling from Vadul Vacilor site could correspond to the LT C2 and D1 phases. A newer dwelling on the Valea lui Voicu site (levels III - I) could correspond to the LT D2 phase in the chronology of the pre-Roman Dacia.

163-170

Authors: Natalia MATEEVICI, Mihai IONESCU

This article brings additional information to the previous reports on the amphora stamps discovered and published by the authors in various publications in the country and abroad, regarding the new amphora stamps found both in the area of ancient Callatis and its chora.

203-214

Authors: Marian MOCANU

In 2003-2004, at Slava Rusă, a small-scale archaeological excavation took place, near one of the archaeological bases. The excavation brought to light a level dated in the first half of the sixth century, marked by a building and a street. Among the archaeological materials discovered are 30 tableware fragments, analyzed in this article. All of them can be dated to the end of the 5th century and the first half of the 6th century and come from Phocean and North African workshops.

263-300

Authors: Sever-Petru BOȚAN, Gabriel Mircea TALMAȚCHI, Daniela CRISTEA-STAN

This study aims to present a series of glass finds from recent archaeological excavations in several important settlements of Roman Dobroudja-Tropaeum Traiani / Adamclisi, Carsium / Hârșova, Altinum / Oltina and Ulmetum / Pantelimon. Most of these discoveries belong to the Early Byzantine era and fall into the typology of Isings 111 stemmed goblets, used mostly as candles for lighting in early churches. However, we can also mention some earlier vessels, among which we can count the fragment of a carinated bowl made of opaque-red glass paste or two fragments of ribbed bowls from Tropaeum Traiani, as well as other fragments of beakers and cups dating back to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. Although they do not represent typological rarities, the glass discoveries presented in this study are able to complete the general panorama of Roman and Early Byzantine glass finds in the Pontic Danubian space.

333-355

Authors: Emre OKAN, Ahmet BILIR

The main issue of this paper is the study of a group of amphorae of Heraclea Pontica origin which have been found during the late antique workshop excavations in the ancient theatre of Prusias ad Hypium. According to Memnon of Heraclea, the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium was established by the Greek immigrants who were founders of the ancient city of Heraclea Pontica. Although the city joined the Bithynian Kingdom during the reign of King Prusias I, the most brilliant and powerful age of the city was during the Roman Empire period. The ancient theatre is the best preserved ancient architectural ruin in the city, although today most of the ancient city remains are under the modern town of Konuralp. It seems to be a Greek theatre due to its location on the slope but the use of vaults and its semi-circular plan and dramatic multi-stores stage building reflect its Roman character. In this context, this theatre is a Greco-Roman building and thus, it can be accepted as a transitional form between Hellenistic and Roman theatres. The archaeological excavations which have been conducted in the theatre since 2013 brought to light several archaeological structures belonging to the period when the theatre was abandoned. Among these remains, a structure belonging to a late antiquity workshop (specialised in bone tools production) is important. The commercial amphoras, found among other ceramic categories inside the workshop, represent a group of finds that should be evaluated and constitute the subject of the present paper.

7-25

Authors: Emilian TELEAGA, Migdonia GEORGESCU, Gheorghe NICULESCU

The X-ray fluorescence analyses of 19 harnesses pieces and 13 beads from Agighiol show that they were made from silver, gold and copper; some items include copper to strengthen the alloy and some phalerae were gilded and contain more gold in the protome. The X-ray fluorescence analyses of ten Histrian obols from the first stylistical and weight system (475-410 BC), plus three didrachmas and 26 obols of the second group (410-380 / 350 BC) show that they were made principally of silver. The earlier obols contain a higher percentage of copper and lead than the later obols; the copper and lead do not indicate an intentional alloying, but they belong to the process of extraction of silver from ores, because the silver was not purified. The phalerae and the beads differ from the coins in the proportions of gold and silver, differences that can be explained functionally and technologically: most of the phalerae were gilded, but the coins were made using pure silver. The coins and the phalerae differ with regard to trace elements, from example iron and bismuth, because of the different original ores from which the silver was extracted. The phalerae and coins could not have been cast using Histrian silver coins.

99-112

Authors: Laurențiu RADU

At Callatis were discovered, based on the information existent at present, several representations of goddess Aphrodite, among them three clay discs or pyxis lids, four protomes, six clay figurines in various states of fragmentation, three marble statues, and three moulds, of which two for producing protomes. Aphrodite had numerous attributions, including the assuring of cohesion between citizens of a polis, her cult being a guarantee of their unity. As patroness of the magistrates, she was responsible for the cordial relations between magistrates and demos, and also of the familial harmony. The most numerous media of representation of Aphrodite are the protomes, with a double signification, votive and funerary. The protomes with feminine representations are frequently found in graves belonging to women and young girls, starting with the middle of the 5th century, their use becoming generalised during the 4th century and being still present in the 3rd century BC.

139-162

Authors: Alexandra LIȚU, Laurențiu CLIANTE

We publish the amphora stamps recently discovered in ancient Tomis (nowadays Constanța, Romania) during the excavations in the Arhiepiscopiei Street 11. The amphora stamps originate from Sinope, Rhodos, Knidos, Kos, Akanthos, and Thasos. A few monograms are added. Several novelties are being commented upon.

167-206

Authors: Daniel SPÂNU

The periodization of Late La Tène period in Romania is determined by three main flows of imports: (1) the import of Rhodian and Cnidian amphorae during the 2nd century BC, (2) the import of drachms and denarii during the first half of the 1st century BC and (3) the import of Roman fibulae at the turn of the Millennium. The import of Rhodian and Cnidian amphorae can be correlated to the beginnings (in the LT C2 phase) of both Poieneşti - Lucaşeuca culture and Cetăţeni - Vadul Vacilor group. They did not penetrate the Carpathian arch. The decline of their import was followed by the massive influx of drachms and denarii that had reached this time also Transylvania. This new import of silver coins has induced a major reconfiguration of local cultural structures. It is probable that the Padea - Panagjurski Kolonii elites were involved in the processes of receiving and redistributing the imported silver coins beyond the mountains. The jewellery hoards already reflect a stage when the Roman stipendia were absorbed in the local culture. Their emergence allows the distinction between LT D1 phase (without hoards) and LT D2 phase (with hoards). Further more, their analysis allows a distinction between LT D2a and LT D2b phases. This transition corresponds to the abandonment of the middle LT scheme of fibulae. The end of Poieneşti - Lucaşeuca and Padea - Panagjurski Kolonii funerary traditions could also be synchronized with the transition from the LT D2a phase to the LT D2b phase. The imposition of the late LT scheme of fibulae (LT D2b) could be synchronized with the import of the earliest Roman fibulae, with the intensifying of dwelling in local settlements and with the erection of the hill-forts and sanctuaries. To the end of LT D2b phase, the depositions of jewellery hoards have stopped and some settlements have been abandoned. Thus, the most iconic monuments of the Grădiştea de Munte - Poiana group (small oppida, hill-forts, jewellery hoards) occurred at once only in the second half of the late La Tène period (LT D2). The post-LT phase of the Grădiştea de Munte - Poiana culture (1st century AD) is characterized by the progressive adoption of Roman goods and cultural models, concentrated in certain settlements and hill-forts. This time, the depositional and funeral rituals have been drastically blurred.

235-248

Authors: Laurențiu CLIANTE, Alexandra ȚÂRLEA

The excavations conducted starting with 2010 in the Centre-North Sector from Histria/Istros (Romania) brought to light among other categories of finds a small number of glass fragments belonging to stemmed goblets with folded base (Isings form 111), a widespread type of vessel of the Late Roman/Early Byzantine period.

7-22

Authors: Florian MIHAIL, Cristian MICU

In this short contribution we analysed the flint and polished stone material discovered by E. Comșa in the archaeological test pit excavated in 1959, on the tell settlement from Luncavița, „Cetățuia” point. Named Trench B, it had the dimensions 8 × 3 m and it was excavated in the interval 12-26 November 1959, in this campaign participating, alongside E. Comșa, Gh. Cantacuzino and G. Simion. In this analysis, we approached several aspects that contribute to improving our understanding of an artifact`s operational sequence from raw material block to discarded item.

31-40

Authors: Alexandra LIŢU, Alexandra ŢÂRLEA, Iulia ILIESCU, Valentin BOTTEZ

Our paper deals with the amphora stamps (from Rhodos, Sinope, Thasos and Tauric Chersonesus; all unpublished) discovered during several excavation campaigns at Histria, the ACS (Acropolis Center-South) sector.

55-198

Authors: Laurent CHRZANOVSKI, David DJAOUI

The importance of the Arles harbor's garbage which "sealed" the Arles-Rhône 3 shipwreck, shortly depicted hereafter, is so huge in archaeological materials, quantitatively and qualitatively, that it will give birth in the next decade to more than twenty monographs devoted each one to a specific type of artefact. This lamp-focused article aims to propose, in "avant-première" and in "globish" (the recently accepted expression designating for non-native very poor English), is to highlight only one of the many important results of the final study of the more than 816 intact lamps and +5'000 fragments discovered during the underwater excavations of the Arles-Rhône 3 shipwreck, to be published next year. As a matter of fact, never, in lychnological history, a single small excavation delivered so many motifs from so many different manufactures and adorning productions framed in only 60 years of history (70 to 130 AD), and the different social, economic, productive and merely lychnological topics to be covered in the monograph abound. Here, we would like t propose a discussion on the micro- and macro-regional trade roads and their influences on lamp iconography. As a matter of fact, the corpus is made of artifacts brought to Arles from the most remote parts of the Mediterranean as well as from the nearest Gallic workshops, exactly during the apex of creativity of the Roman workshops in terms of quantity and variety of discus themes. This flourishing lamp decoration vogue started with Tiberius' reign and will slowly end with Trajan's one, our garbage is hence covering the second half of this momentum. Arles, a major multimodal platform as we would say today, transferring goods from the sea to the river Rhône as well as to the consular road network and vice-versa, is certainly one the most perfect observation points possible towards the whole Western Roman Empire. There, we can guess some partial answers on important questions such as: which motifs remained at the level of individual imports? Which ones seduced the local manufactures? Which ones were also produced by the flourishing manufactures of one or both ends of the Western Empire (the Rhine Valley and Africa)? Which ones belong to Gallic lamp-makers' own creativity? The short comparison tables will indicate that there are a lot of hypothesis to study further in this domain. Further, an in-depth immersion on each motif will be proposed through an "illustrated dictionary" of the 290 more relevant motifs with the most relevant lists of parallels and the intact/context-dated lamps found in Gaul, eliminating all additional French-known fragments which did not bring anything relevant to the article.

205-226

Authors: Radu-Octavian STĂNESCU

This paper presents a sample of early and late Roman amphorae fragments discovered during several excavations performed at Aegyssus–Tulcea-Colnicul Hora in the 1959-1996 period, with the purpose of bringing a small contribution to the study of the economic history of the Roman Empire. The sample consists of 458 fragments. Typologically, 17 amphora types were identified, some of which have different versions: Dressel 43, Dressel 2-5, Dressel 24, Zeest 72, Zeest 94 (Šelov B and C), Berenice Middle Roman Amphora 5, Kapitän II, Agora M273, Kuzmanov XV-XVI, Spatheion, Opaiț D II, Opaiț D III, Opaiț E I – c, Carthage Late Roman Amphora 1, Carthage Late Roman Amphora 2, Carthage Late Roman Amphora 3 and Carthage Late Roman Amphora 4. Furthermore, out of these 17 types, it was determined, based on macroscopic fabric comparison, that 5 types were of Aegean origin, 3 types from the Eastern Mediteranean Coast, 7 types of Black Sea origin, one type from North Africa, while the LRA 1 and even LRA 2 types were produced in various centres in the Eastern part of the Empire. Chronologically, 5 types were distributed during the Early Roman Period, 10 types during the Late Roman Period and 2 types have been traced to the period between the 3rd and 4th century AD. Last but not least, the paper also proposes a method of calculating quantities of imported wine and olive oil during the two time periods of the Roman Empire.

251-280

Authors: Aurel STĂNICĂ

The extensive process of first gaining a foothold and then controlling the region at the mouth of the Danube by the Golden Horde is a topic that has not been dealt with in accordance with its importance. Archaeological researches provide important data and represent the starting point for understanding the vast complex of the political events and the socio-economic evolution of the area at the mouth of the Danube in the 13th and 14th centuries. The study of the ceramics attributed to the Golden Horde is at the beginning, and the present approach is based on the observations made on the archaeological material in northern Dobrudja and with a single discovery in the south of the province. The archaeological researches from Tulcea, Tichileşti, Enisala–Cetate, Enisala–Palanca, Nufăru, Isaccea, Isaccea–Noviodunum and Păcuiul lui Soare, the random discoveries from Jurilovca, Slava Rusă and Babadag revealed red-yellowish or grey ceramic fragments, roulette decorated, ceramics produced in moulds or enamelled, typical of the material culture of the Golden Horde in the 13th and 14th centuries.

325-334

Authors: Gabriel Mircea TALMAŢCHI

Increasing the scientific exposure of the monetary resources present in the varied and rich numismatic collections of the National History and Archaeology Museum Constanţa remains one of our permanent preoccupations. Thus, for this article we chosen 6 bronze coins struck during the autonomous period in Odessos and Mesambria. They correspond to two monetary types: Apollo/Great God, and the Corinthian Corvette/Four-Spoke Wheel, respectively. These were discovered during archaeological surveys in the vicinity of one of the most important crossing points of the Danube from Muntenia to Dobrudja, in its most southern area, in Izvoarele (Lipnița com. Constanta County). From earlier researches the traces of pre-Roman settlements are known in the area. The first one, a Gaetic dava type, is identified in the La Tablă point. The second one was located on the 500-600 m beach of the Danube, Kala Gherghi point (about 2.5 km east from the village, where the ruins of the Sucidava Moesica fortification are preserved). The coins from Odessos and Mesambria found at Izvoarele, in the local environment, outside the proper choras, add another important page in the history of Greek-native relations, an expression of the establishment of stable economic and commercial contacts. The many monetary breakthroughs made in southern and south-west Dobrudja continue to provide valuable insights into their directions of penetration and the complex nature of their manifestations (monetary and non-monetary) in the local environment.

7-48

Authors: Dragoş MĂNDESCU, Maria MIHALACHE, Ioana STĂNCULESCU, Mihai CONSTANTINESCU

Recent excavations in the necropolis at Valea Stânii led to the attestation of the kaolin little beads as grave goods (in the tumulus No. 1, 4 and 10), for the first time in the north-Thracian culture at the end of the Early Iron Age (Ferigile group). These adornments are widespread throughout the 7th-6th centuries BC within a large area, from the North of the Caucasus (in the tombs of the early Scythian culture) to the South-East of Poland (in a milieu corresponding to the Tarnobrzeg Lusatian culture), and from the Lower Danube to Northern Ukraine (in the Scythian tombs of the Aksiutincy area). A high density of such kind of adornments was documented in the tombs of the Ciumbrud group, in Transylvania. Their arrangement in the grave goods framework typical for the inhumation tombs and their relation to the preserved skeletons indicate that they were worn in necklaces, on the head or coiled around the neck. According to the characteristics of the grave goods with which these adornments were associated within sealed contexts, but also in agreement with some anthropological determinations, the necklaces of kaolin beads were the attribute of the female attire. The anthropological study of the burnt bones in the No. 4 tumulus tends to confirm this fact. Beyond the archaeological discussion, the paper displays the results of parallel investigations on some samples from the No. 1 grave at Valea Stânii, delivered by RATEN-ICN Pitești and „Horia Hulubei” IFIN Măgurele laboratories. A bead fragment was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersion X-Ray Spectrometry. The characterization of the fracture surface of the archaeological artefact showed the presence of small particles with different shapes and morphology. Some of them were crystallites with sharp edges that displayed a pattern with parallel lines, representing the crystalline plans of particle, others were areas containing either small or bigger particles rounded by cracks. The EDS analysis of a large field indicated the presence of Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminium as main chemical elements and also the presence of Iron, Potassium, Titanium, Magnesium and Calcium. EDS mapping of these elements demonstrated the presence of Oxygen and Silicon in isolated areas whereas other elements were absent, while the rest of the surface is composed of all these elements. The EDS multi-point analysis determined the chemical composition that indicated the presence of complex silicates formed with Aluminium, Iron, Potassium, Titanium and Calcium. Vibrational spectroscopy methods give information on the samples’ functional groups/chemical bonds and allow the identification of compounds by comparing them with reference spectra. The following Fourier Transform (FT) techniques were used for investigations: micro DRIFT (Diffuse Reflectance Infrared), KBr pellet transmission FTIR and FT-Raman. The DRIFT spectra showed the very specific OH kaolin strong bands of 3695 and 3620 cm-1. In the FTIR spectra, silicate SiO2 bands of 1088, 796, 779, 694 and 465 cm-1 helped us to conclude that the material used for beads was kaolin paste. In the FT-Raman spectra the SiO2 bands of 466 and 129 cm-1 were identified. The results of the laboratory investigations provide a reference database for future investigations on this specific type of adornment.

79-116

Authors: Dan ELEFTERESCU

The Lower Danube Museum of Călărași houses over 1400 Roman lamps, most of them discovered by the author of this paper during field research and preventive or systematic excavations made within the territory of the civil settlement of Durostorum (Ostrov-No. 4 Farm). Among these, 13 pieces fall within the proposed theme. Even though most of them were not found in a stratigraphic context, the already known chronological boundaries of the civil settlements determines the dating of the presented pieces within the 2nd-3rd centuries AD.

149-174

Authors: Victor-Henrich BAUMANN

The transit commerce which underwent at the Danube`s mouths favoured the emergence and development of a local industry, one based on the processing of raw materials, needed on the market economy of the time. The northern area of the province, a hilly one, mainly covered by forests and pastures, was suitable for the development of crafts involving the processing of clay, iron, stone, lime used in building construction and wood. The archaeological research within the Noviodunensian territory brought under light the presence of a strong crafts centre on the Telița creek valley, whose evolution, beginning with the Getic-Latène period, underwent a qualitative increase in Roman times. Numerous archaeological finds prove the high technical standards reached by the Roman period`s craftsmen of this border area, and the industrial stage of the serial production of different kinds of local products. A great part of the artefacts unearthed in the archaeological excavations stand proof for a production meant for market which took place in the farms` figlinae and in the rural settlements of the territory. We chose to investigate a special category of monuments, made up of kilns used for manufacturing ceramic construction materials and of those used for reducing ferrous ore. These monuments can be defined as Roman buildings, having a special destination, being of greater importance, as they incorporate not only constructive techniques and procedures so advances for their time, but also a whole history, vastly contributing to the transformation of the rural structures from the Istro-Pontic area. The building and use of these installations reflect a great confidence coming from the masters, based on a long experience and on their technical knowledge from various domains. Their presence reflects the level of civilization reached within the provincial Roman society, during its process of urbanization, and also a change in the mentality of this society, evident through the level of craft production as an expression of a selective appropriation of material values essential for an originally rural civilization.

279-294

Authors: Alina MUŞAT-STREINU

This paper presents some preliminary results of the study of the pottery finds found in an early Roman building discovered in the settlement at Acic Suat (Caraburun, com. Baia, Tulcea county), in the 2015 campaign. The focus is on the ceramic materials as the building has not yet been fully uncovered and its functionality is still uncertain. Still, the ceramic fragments can lead to a hypothesis to this end and, moreover, can help date the edifice and point towards relations of the settlement with neighboring centers.

305-326

Authors: Luminiţa ANDREICA-SZILAGYI, Andrei SOFICARU

The 466 skeletons subjected to this study are part of a group of 676 graves belonging to the St. Sava churchyard cemetery dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The main purpose of this work is an attempt to identify the accidental and/or violent etiology of the bone fractures, following the pattern of the lesions and their incidence according to the sex and age of the individuals. The results obtained have been compared to data from other more or less contemporary sites in Romania and Europe, from both urban and rural areas. The migration of the population in villages in search of a job led to overcrowded cities, the emergence of insalubrious conditions of living and, possibly, to the increase of the violence level in the population of Bucharest. Moreover, historical sources mention the Tatar, Ottoman, Russian and Austrian invasions, which were very likely to negatively influence the quality of life of the population buried in the St. Sava cemetery. The increasing incidence of fractures on the skeletons established as belonging to male individuals, as well as their diversified location on bones may suggest the demanding nature of the professions in which men were involved. Also, the co-occurrence of cubitus and skull fractures only in male individuals may suggest violence against the men of this community.