Fragmentele de necropole de la Oradea-Salca Gheţărie din secolele VI şi X–XII
Sections of burial grounds dating from the 5th and 10-11th centuries in Oradea-Salca

Summary/Abstract: Salca-Gheţărie (in Hungarian Szálka terasz ‘Jégverem’) is situated on the left bank of theRiver Crişul Repede, the last section of the lower and middle rows of terraces in the river valley. It starts in the southern part of present day Oradea, at Peţa stream and it ends to the west on the southern edge of the village of Toboliu. Between 1930 and 1936 Frigyes Ardos excavated some graves in the upper part of the hill of ‘Jégverem’, in the plots behind the houses in the street that is called Vavilov today. In 1960 Nicolae Chidioşan excavated nine more graves here in two excavation sections (Sections A and E). The position of the two groups of graves within the burial ground is still unknown. According to Attila Lakatos, Nicolae Chidioşan excavated on the northern edge of the area where now the orthodox church is being built on Avenue Nufărul, opposite 12-14 Vavilov Street. The two sections of the burial ground found at two different times in the upper part of Jégverem are approximately 30 metres apart. It seems clear that a major part of the burial ground was destroyed, and the boundaries of the burial ground have not been identified. According to the overall map of the section of the burial ground which was excavated by Nicolae Chidiosan, the graves were situated in rows, forming at least two rows. The number of graves dating from the age of the Great Migration is unknown. It cannot be decided whether the three excavated graves were part of a burial ground or asmall group of graves. The typochronological connections of the objects found in the graves seem to date them to the second half of the 5th century. Based upon the burial customs and the fashion elements, the three graves can be connected to the so-called Gepids (after narrative sources), who lived near the River Theiss and in Transylvanian Basin and are known from the written records. The 32 excavated graves dating from the 10th–11th centuries constitute a small portion of themuch bigger burial ground used in the 10th–11th centuries. The finds cover the whole period during which the burial ground was used. Among the 10th century graves there are three with arrow heads and quivers (9.67%). The other types of weapons and the burials with horse bones and symbolic horses are missing. The finds from the graves excavated by Frigyes Ardos can be divided at least into two chronological groups. The first group can be dated to the second half/end of the 10th century or the early 11th century, whereas the second group to various times in the 11th centuries. The questions have remained unanswered whether the 10th century burial ground was used further into the 11th centuryand the members of the 10th–11th century community buried here had any genetic connection with the individuals resting in the 11th century graves.

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