Vingt ans après. Două decenii de la structurarea autonomă a Institutului de Arheologie din Iaşi
Twenty years after: two decades from the autonomous reorganization of the Institute of Archaeology from Iasi
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Twenty years after: two decades from the autonomous reorganization of the Institute of Archaeology from Iasi
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The paper's subject is the list of coins revealed by an archaeological site and only a small proportion of the questions and solutions that some experts have proposed to interpret it. I decided to focus my attention on two particular cases. It is about the methods used by J. P. Casey and R. Reece. The subject studied by both of them is one apparently common: the sites located in the province of Britannia. Also, the premise of the two specialists’ researches is similar: no list of coin finds on a site has any numismatic value per se. It should only be understood in relation to other similar lists and in a permanent rapport to a general background of the sites. But the processing and interpretation of the same data is done in a distinct manner starting from the fundamental forms of reasoning (induction/deduction) to the methods and instruments applied through which they materialize. A universal method that can be applied with maximum results to any site from the Roman period, in any area, remains a pium desiderium. Probably the latter technique, suggested by R. Reece – that of Cumulative percentage curves, shares the profile of ‘expected method’, but it must be validated by repeated testing. The fact that he managed the approximation of the average value of coin loss from the Roman world, however relative this figure would be, is an important step in this direction. The principles on which any methodological attempt in this regard will be based remain immutable: the list of coin finds of a site should be interpreted only by comparison with similar lists, and only against the general monetary background to which it belongs.
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Numerous factors, such as exploitation of natural resources and favorable geographical position characterize Etruria allready in the Early Iron Age. This eventually led to an increase of population and economic growth of society, urbanisation and formation of social elites. Besides that, this period is the time of orientalizing goods, people and ideas from Eastern Mediterranean. These processes have altered the cultural character of the central Tyrrhenian and had an impact on daily life and customs. In particular, the distribution of wine and material culture associated with the consumption of this drink led to the emergence of new social forms, such as banquets. The appearance of aristocratic Etruscan burials favored not only the development of new art forms such as sculpture and painting, but also the formation of rich grave goods, decorated with gold, silver and exotic objects.
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Cultural and historical processes in the beginning and first half of the I Millennium BC determined the nature of interactions between the early nomads of the steppe Eurasia, consolidating remote regions and civilizations, forming branched trans-continental channels for dissemination of advanced knowledge, inventions and various goods. These well-developed communications stimulated production and evolution of nomads’ own wheeled transport vehicles. This assertion is based on a detailed analysis of relevant written, visual and archaeological sources, as well as on evidences of use of chariots and cavalry in this period.The article analyzes evidence of the actual use of wheeled transport in the early nomadic communities in the northern part of the Central Asia. Particularly, the author scrutinizes materials of the Pazyryk kurgans in the Altai, which are a unique proof of the practical use of various types of wheeled vehicles by the early nomads. He draws new materials from Sarmatian and Saka burial grounds from Kazakhstan: Taksay, Kyryk-Oba and Berel, materials from Arzhan kurgans, as well as findings of Xiongnu, Han and Turkic (5th—8th cc. AD) vehicles. The author suggests development of a steady local tradition of wheeled vehicles among the early nomads, stemming from the Bronze Age chariot complexes of the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes, which became the material foundation for the transport communications of the emerging Silk Road.
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At the beginning of this century, two personal homesteads of οἴκος and χωρίον type were excavated and examined to the south of Olbia: Shyroka Balka 6 and Shyroka Balka 7. Prior to their discovery, there were known only two homesteads, situated to the south of the fort — Shyroka Balka 1 and Shyroka Balka 5. Both homesteads are characterized by two periods of existence: 1) semi-dugout houses period and 2) period associated with the construction of ground-based premises on stone pedestals with adobe and stone and adobe walls. When constructing ground-based premises on homesteads, the same construction techniques were used. There were discovered semi-dugouts and ground-based premises of rare design. The sites yielded numerous materials, allowing to define the period of homesteads’ functioning and get an idea about occupations and outlook of their inhabitants. The existence of personal homestead Shyroka Balka 6 refers to the second third of the 5th century — the beginning of the 3rd century BC, and chorion Shyroka Balka 7 refers to the end of the 5th century — 30s years of the 4th century BC.
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This work is a first attempt to collect and analyze ethnographic, narrative and archaeological material of more than 20 European nations, shading the light on tradition to worship domestic serpents. This study unveils various aspects of this tradition, loci, contacts between serpent, men and cattle, concepts, beliefs, rites and taboos concerning serpent, its functions as a home and family's prosperity patron and a human double. The author also discloses interconnections between serpent and buried ancestors, threshold, hearth, material wealth, grain, female deities, the origins of domovoy (hob), along with taboos (concerning the threshold, the dwelling, the whistle) and customs (feeding Santa or domovoy with milk and cookie), widespread among the European nations. Special attention is paid to the calendar aspect of domestic serpent worship. The time span covered periods from the Neolithic to the end of 20th century. The material collected and analyzed allows a new look on the substance, scope and significance of the studied phenomena, to identify its semantic connections and to outline the path for further studies.
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In this article we describe the human skeletal elements recently excavated from the site of Verteba Cave in Ukraine. A minimum of 21 individuals have been recovered since 2008. Through the study of these skeletal elements we can reconstruct aspects of Tripolye behavior and health. For example, bioarchaeological analysis of cranial trauma in the Verteba Cave sample demonstrates that the Cucuteni-Tripolye experienced significant lethal violence. Twelve of the 21 crania have perimortem depression fractures. Furthermore, skeletal markers of stress suggest that the Cucuteni-Tripolye experienced a rather high level of physiological perturbations. Specifically, the population from Verteba Cave has significantly shorter long bone lengths and significantly more enamel hypoplasias than earlier Mesolithic and Neolithic populations from Ukraine. This suggests that aspects of the Cucuteni-Tripolye sedentary agricultural lifestyle exposed them to more stressors than were experienced by earlier hunters and foragers.
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Various metal artefacts from archaeological sites of the Middle Bronze Age on the territory of Azerbaijan are considered in the article. Most of the metal artefacts derive from graves, whereas only some of them were found in settlements of this period. The result of spectral analysis of the artefacts can demonstrate that most of them are produced from tin bronze based on local deposits of copper ore. So far deposits of tin have not been uncovered in the Caucasus, that is why this metal comes to the region from foreign sources. It was possible to bring tin on the territory of Azerbaijan by two ways: from the Near East, where trade of tin was developed, as well as from Iran where this raw material was traded to the Near East. Taking into consideration some facts, it seems that development of Middle Bronze Age metallurgy on the territory of modern Azerbaijan was not only economic, but also ritual in nature.
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Two groups of archaeological material excavated from burial mounds or kurgans in the present-day state of Ukraine are preserved today in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. One collection derives from acquisitions made by Aleš Hrdlička and Adalbert Schuck around 1912 for exhibit in the Panama-California-Exposition of 1915—1917 and for study purposes in anthropology in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C. It comprises objects of prehistoric date (Early to Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age), Ancient and Medieval Period, made of clay, bone, metal and stone. The kurgans were located on the northwestern fringe of the steppe. Many objects can be ascribed to the Yamnaya and early Catacomb Grave cultures. The second collection was donated to the Smithsonian, at that time ‘National Museum of the United States, in 1908 by V. K. Korostowetz, a government official in Russia. It consists of material found in ca. six burial mounds dated to the time of the Slavs and located near Kiev in the forest steppe. Very little documentation on the locations and find contexts of the two collections is preserved.
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Being extremely fragile, glass vessels represent quite rare finds in the archaeological sites of the Roman and Roman-Byzantine periods. However, many artifacts of this type entered the collection of ICEM Tulcea over the years. Almost all of those vessels, whose context of discovery is known, come from cemeteries of Northern Dobrogea (Tulcea County) – Argamum, Beroe, Enisala, Niculiţel, Noviodunum, Poşta or Troesmis, being a part of grave inventories. In the present study we aim to present all the glassware of the above-mentioned collection. Although more than half of the vessels are already published, we found it necessary to resume the discussion on sites of discovery, due to the scarcity of information in that respect. The pieces are extremely varied from the typological point of view; prevailing in number are, as expected, the unguentaria. Among those, there are numerous unguentaria of the candlestick-type, with short conical bodies, high cylindrical necks and the rim turned outwards (5 ex.). Also worth mentioning are the large bell-shaped unguentaria (2 ex.), very well represented in Dobroudja, or the conical unguentaria with the body separated from the neck by a slight constriction. For the Late Roman period, very common are the fusiform unguentaria and the flasks decorated with indents. The glass unguentarium with a high tubular foot, coming from Argamum (Jurilovca, Tulcea County), is a very interesting and rare piece. In regard to table ware, that category is well represented by cups, beakers, bottles, and even a trulla, used for libations during religious ceremonies. Notable is a beaker from Noviodunum (Isaccea-jud. Tulcea), No. 17, decorated on the outside with a honeycomb pattern. Most of our vessels show good analogies with the vitreous material found in the Balkan-Danubian area, a fact that indicates a relative uniformity in the distribution of such pieces, but also a possible local production. Although many glass vessels have been already published in various archaeological reports, we found it necessary to resume the discussion in a broader perspective.
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The excavations conducted by the present author at Šventoji and Nida during 2006–2014, a survey of the earlier coastal Stone Age material, and new laboratory investigation results have allowed the beginning of agriculture on the Lithuanian coast and inland to be re-examined. 8e obtained results show that Neolithisation did not last thousands of years in Lithuania and began not in the 5th or mid-6th millennium BC as had been thought before but was a comparatively rapid process that occurred as the result of the large-scale migration of new inhabitants, the farmers and animal breeders of the Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures during 3200–2700 cal BC. The Lithuanian coast, owing to the richness of the lagoonal ecosystems was an exceptional location; at Nida and Šventoji distinctive Neolithisation trajectories with an important contributions by Globular Amphora culture immigrants and a mixed economy can be observed.
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The area of Rogatica had a special significance in the development of the ancient province of Dalmatia. It contained the urban and administrative core of a colony whose name is fragmentarily preserved only with the fi rst three letters RIS... The found epigraphic material also implies the presence of inhabitants of this “Rogatica” municipal unit. On eight epigraphic monuments eight different people have been identified. In the area of Rogatica and Romanija individuals with an Aelian gentile name are predominant (5 individuals), while two individuals carry Ulpian gentile names, and one a Claudian name. These persons performed a number of different municipal duties. As can be seen from their gentile names, the municipal aristocracy of the Ris... colony is dominated by people of native descent. Apart from epigraphic monuments, a number of other ancient remains were also found in the areas surrounding Rogatica. In the Early Middle Ages this region had a signifi cant meaning for the local Romanic populations, which is additionally confirmed by the name of the mountain Romanija.
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The author discusses the attached views of V. Sokol and M. Petrinec who recently commented in his writings on his thoughts on the origin and nature of the findings “komani” type in the wider area of East Coast. Warns wrongly interpreted the data for the study of this problem provides one fresco in Rome, and which served Petrinec.
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Im Text werden einige symbolische und ideologische Aspekte der Grabhügel und des Kreises behandelt, die bislang wenig bekannt waren. Es wird festgestellt, dass die Grabhügel zum ersten Mal während des 5. Jts. v. Chr. im Kontext sozialer Umwandlungen der frühen Kupferzeit Europas auftauchen (Abb. 1-4). In den nächsten prähistorischen Perioden wurden sie zu einem der meist verbreiteten kulturhistorischen Denkmälern in der alten Welt (Abb. 7-10). Vereinzelt werden sie noch heute sekundär gebraucht (Abb. 11). Von diesen Umständen ausgehend führt der Verfasser, neben den bereits bekannten Charakteristiken eines Grabhügels, eigene Feststellungen an. Danach ist der Grabhügel das erste monumentale Kultbauwerk, für das man mit Sicherheit behaupten kann, dass es nicht Gott, sondern dem Menschen gewidmet wurde. Das Auftauchen erster Grabhügel ist demnach ein gewaltiger und mutiger geistiger Schritt gewesen, mit dem sich der Mensch den Göttern zu nähern wagte und seine Ansprüche auf eine höhere Sphäre der himmlischen Ewigkeit offenbarte, die bis dahin nur Gottheiten zugestanden hatte.
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Zu den vieldiskutierten Themen in der russisch- und ukrainischsprachigen Literatur gehört die Subsistenzwirtschaft in den osteuropäischen Steppen während der Kupfer- und der Bronzezeit. Hielt man in den ersten Jahrzehnten der Forschung über die wirtschaftsarchäologischen Aspekte der betreffenden Kulturen noch eine komplexe Wirtschaftsweise, die sich aus Ackerbau und Viehzucht zusammensetzte, für wahrscheinlich, nahm man in den sechziger und siebziger Jahren Abstand davon und hielt das Betreiben einer Viehzucht für die Lebensgrundlage im Steppenraum. Interessanterweise bildeten die Grabhügel, die in der offenen Steppenlandschaft, zum Teil relativ weit entfernt von Wasserläufen errichtet sind, eines der wichtigsten Argumente für diese Überlegungen, nicht etwa archäozoologische Studien. Diese wurden von V. P. Šilov in einer jüngeren Arbeit nachgeliefert, in der er ausschließlich auf Tierknochen, die in kupfer- und bronzezeitlichen Bestattungen in den Grabhügeln geborgen worden waren, Bezug nahm.
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The paper deals with archaeological material collected during the archaeological excavations from 1960 on the site of Brdašce, in Laktaši, near Banja Luka, northwestern Bosnia. This prehistoric settlement was located on the plateau, placed on the lower hill with approximate height of 7m, which dominates the surrounding lowland area along the left bank of the Vrbas river. In addition to the characteristic topographic location, position was convenient for the settlement because of the thermal water springs in the foothills and it was probably used during the prehistoric period. The archaeological material, presented thorough this comprehensive analysis of ceramic forms especially, as well as the remains of architecture and animal bone materials and tools noted the unity of almost all cultural layers (layers recorded with numbers of I-XIII). There were recorded also two construction phases. At the bottom of the excavated area, next to the sterile layer (layer XII-XIII), were found flints, their deductions and flint tools belonging to another cultural layer, from completely different period in relation to described and dated site on a hill.
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Over the course of the last century, interest in cults in the territory of Istria and the Kvarner islands during classical antiquity (the Roman era) has grown steadily. Previous research has shown the deep roots of spiritual culture in the life of the Romanized Histrian, Histro-Venetian and Liburnian populations, which systematically influenced many segments of their social, political and economic life. Throughout history, cults have existed as a part of religious rites in all societies. They have been a component of the organization of human life and they have expressed beliefs, ways to serve and revere deities, forms of behaviour and grounds upon which institutions, customs and values were built. It is very difficult to comprehend the activities of human beings without a deeper understanding of their cults in various historical periods. Archaeology, onomastics, and toponomastics, as well as the interpretation of cults through the evolution of autochthonous Greek and Roman mythologies and their profusion by syncretism, provide us with valuable comparative knowledge on the existence of Roman-era belief systems in Istria. I attempted to throw some light only on some of the more important questions tied to the problem of cults in Istria during classical antiquity, although some of the brief commentaries on individual cults or cult communities and cult centres indicate important links and considerations of religious and spiritual influences on the life of Roman Istria’s residents on the border between East and West, within the sphere of the emergence and development of Christianity and the gradual decay of the Roman Empire.
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In ancient times snake representations were present in many myths and cults. Snake was often the symbol of life and death. As a cult animal occurs in Mithraism, and as a symbol of evil arises in the Christian tradition. In the area of a large mining site of Japra were found two fragments of pottery with representations of snakes that are wrapped around the handle. According the analogy with similar cases can be said that these vessels are connected with cult of Mithras and were used for religious purposes.
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Previous attempts to determine the dating of the inscription on the tombstone of Vukašin Dobrašinović from Konjsko near Trebinje have not been convincing. It is apparent that through the numerous analyses of the contents, language, script or generally all internal or external characteristics of the tomb inscriptions, archival documents still represent the most reliable comparative corrective for the further study of the medieval Bosnian tombstones – stećci. It can be assumed that a large majority of the completed work on the study of the external characteristics of the tombstone inscriptions, primarily concerning the script, did not reach the satisfying standards by which the numerous stećci would be dated with more certainty. This is an open and insufficiently researched area which, after Marko Vego, Šefik Bešlagić, and other epigraphists, representatives of the old generations and pioneers in epigraphy, still does not have its specialist in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though the convincing parallel of the name and surname from the tomb inscription and those from the archival sources do not represent the final solution, Vukašin Dobrašinović from the stećak in Konjsko could be the same person recorded in archival documents dating from April 1421 and June 1428.
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