Set in clay: altars in place at Cuina Turcului, Iron Gates Gorge
Set in clay: altars in place at Cuina Turcului, Iron Gates Gorge

Summary/Abstract: The 1960s rescue excavation at the rock shelter of Cuina Turcului uncovered a large collection (over 100 specimens) of altar-pieces of Starčevo-Criș origin. The present paper investigates how and if these artefacts appear to create various zones of deposition on the terrace in front of the rock shelter or inside it and also if they provide evidence of mutual reinforcement of technological and “ritual” choices. Furthermore, they demonstrate the unusual character of the site, through high counts of endemic design forms and, conversely, extremely low counts of better – known types. Whilst the results are still highly preliminary they highlight both the importance of intra-site analysis in Neolithic studies, as well as the variation with the Starčevo-Criș culture.

• Details
• Contents