Archaeology Monthly Update Files, Romania

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update September 2007 Most of the diggings that we usually work on are in Transylvania. The only work we do in the South is at a Neolithic digging site near the Danube Delta. This month however we went to a medieval digging near Bucharest, in a small village called Gaiseni. The site is a monastery called Strambu and it was built in the medieval times by "boieri" - feudal land lords.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update August 2007 In August we had the opportunity to dig at a Dacian site in Simleu Silvaniei. This area is very important because it allows research of three distinct historical times. Before the Dacians settled here, a fortification belonging to the Halstad Iron Age was built in the area, on a hill called Magura Simleului. Later on, in maedieval times, another fortification was built on top of the Halstad and Dacian remains.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update July 2007 Simleu Silvaniei is a small city in the north-west of Romania. Human civilizations have lived there since the Bronze Age period. On the main hill near the city there are two fortifications. The bigger of the two dates back to the Bronze Age and is on higher ground which extends over several hectares. The second one is on the peak of a smaller hill and is a Dacian fortification under a medieval one.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update June 2007 Alba Iulia is one of my favorite places for digging. The area is very rich in history, and the archeologists like to spend as much of their field time there as possible. In a way I can understand them, as working in the office is not that interesting! On the other hand the dig is only one part of the archeologists' work. After the dig comes the sorting and analysis of information, all of which is very important.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update May 2007 The Sic village is situated in the centre of Transylvania. It was famous for the salt mines in the area and was an important place for distributing this resource all over the province. It was mentioned for the first time in 1291 and in 1330 was one of the most important settlements in the area. Later on, around XVI century the inhabitants changed their religion to Lutheranism and lather on to Unitarianism. Eventually in the first half of the XVII century they embraced the reform.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update April 2007 Digging at an old church was not a new thing for me. But it was definitely new for the volunteers, and overall the church was special. It is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Alba Iulia. Built in several stages between 1247-1291 and 1320-1356, it has antique characteristic belonging to a combination of several styles: Roman, Gothic and Baroque. The building grew through the years and the way that it looks today is the result of over 750 years of history.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update November 2006 Last month we had been working on a salvage dig at a second century Roman cemetery. A number of graves had been found with bodies laid upon a bed of lime, an untypical method of burial for the region and of great interest; also of note was the complete lack of grave goods. One of the hypotheses forwarded was that these graves were the victims of a disease outbreak, perhaps even the plague. Having a biologist as a volunteer we agreed to examine the skeletons for evidence of Pathology.

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update October 2006 October is one of the last month in which the archeologist can do digging. Because of the winter which is closing the weather is becoming colder and colder and in November the first show usually appears and the earth begins to frieze. Although I have to admit that I've heard about diggings made in February with the hair dryer near you, worming the earth ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update September 2006 This month the diggings in Bordusani have ended. After the closure of the diggings, the site is covered with a layer of plastic sheeting and a layer of Earth to provide protection. The archaeologist will now begin to work with the material that they have discovered. First of all the pottery is washed and then it is marked. The marking includes several elements which identify features about the pot. Where it was discovered: the section ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update August 2006 The digging planted in Bunloc, near Brasov didn't take place as they should. The local Council from didn't sign the contract with the archeologist. We went to Alba Iulia where we made diggings in the Neolithic site from the city called "Lumea Noua". It was not the first time that we have dug there, so we had experience with the culture and the site. There were a lot of interesting discoveries made there ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update July 2006 The beginning of the month has caught us at the digging from Pincota. This is a small city in the west of Romania, 30 kilometers away from Arad. It is famous for the wines that it produces, for the timber industry and for the fairs that were held here a long time ago ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update June 2006 June was one of the busiest months for the archaeology program this year. We started work in a village near Alba Iulia called Seusa where, together with the Sarmizegetusa Association, we succeeded in making a copy of an ancient Dacian sword called a falx ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update May 2006 Capalna is one of the antique fortifications that were protecting the dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa. It was researched in 50's but was not opened to tourists. When The Sarmizegetusa Group started the ecology program, because we are their partners we decided to help open it up to tourists ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update April 2006 April was exclusively dedicated to diggings in Codlea. This town is situated 15 kilometers from Brasov and the first discovered remains of human activity are from 2000-1500 B.C. (late Bronze Age) and belong to the Schneckenberg culture ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update March 2006 The main work for this month was dedicated to the Dacian Falx project, working with the Cultural Association Hieronymus, and to the translation for The Cultural Association Sarmizegetusa ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update February 2006 In February we continued work for the dacian falx program. This program will carry on until July when the whole project will be presented at an archaeology and history conference in Alba Iulia. Also there will be published article in magazines ...

Volunteer Archaeology in Romania, Monthly Update January 2006 The ones who don't know a lot about archaeology usually had the idea that his science is all about digging in a historical site. This is not true at all. If in the summer there is a lot of digging to be done in the winter the time is good for some ...