Un sceptru cruciform descoperit la Traian ‘Dealul Fântânilor’ (jud. Neamţ)
An Eared-type Mace from Traian ‘Dealul Fântânilor’ (Neamţ County)

Summary/Abstract: A fragment of an eared-type mace was recently found in the collections of the History and Archaeology Museum at Piatra-Neamt. The artefact originates from Traian ‘Dealul Fântânilor’, a Cucuteni A-B settlement. Only three other such maces are known from the Romanian territory of Moldova with all found in uncertain contexts. The recently ‘rediscovered’ mace contributes to the re-interpretation of cultural relationships and influences during the Chalcolithic period. The presence of eared-type maces in larger numbers in Transylvania is attributed to a population of steppe origin: the architects of the Decea Mureşului necropolis. The maces from Moldova are considered the result of contact with eastern tribes. The stone artefact from Traian is later in date than the Decea Mureşului cemetery confirming that eared-type maces reached the area west of the Prut River during a broad time span (perhaps the whole of the Chalcolithic).

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