A Drajna Type Bronze Axe (Nackenknaufäxte) from Eastern Romania Cover Image

A Drajna Type Bronze Axe (Nackenknaufäxte) from Eastern Romania
A Drajna Type Bronze Axe (Nackenknaufäxte) from Eastern Romania

Author(s): Vasile Diaconu
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Cultural history, Prehistory
Published by: Editura Universităţii »Alexandru Ioan Cuza« din Iaşi
Keywords: Late Bronze Age; bronze-axe; Eastern Romania; social symbol; cultural contacts;

Summary/Abstract: The author presents in this article an exceptional bronze piece, accidentally discovered on the territory of Țibucani village, Neamț County. It is an axe belonging to the Drajna type, whose usual area of spatial distribution corresponds to the northwestern part of Romania and the northeastern Hungary. In order to create an overview all the analogies from the Romanian territory are presented. From a chronological point of view, Drajna type axes are specific to the Late Bronze Age (Bz D) and appear mainly in metal hoards. The specimen from Țibucani distinguishes by the meandering decoration from it's edge, which finds good analogies on other bronze axes, or on some bone and antler objects, discovered mainly in the area of Noua culture. As its features indicate, the axe that we discussed constitutes an object of prestige, that reached the area east of the Carpathian Mountains as a result of inter-community contacts.

  • Issue Year: 27/2021
  • Issue No: Supplement
  • Page Range: 142-157
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: English