Archaeology - ROMANIA Monthly Update - August 2007

Volunteer Archaeological 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.

Approximately 2000 years ago, this area was the end of the Roman world and the beginning of the barbarian world. These lands were inhabited by Dacian tribes who had built and important center here. It is very usual for the Dacians to build their fortifications on mountains or hill peaks and have a civil settlement around them on terraces. The situation is the same as on Piatra Craivii, another Dacian fortification and civil settlement where we dug last year.

Archaeologists have been digging in the civil area here since 1989, even though the settlement was discovered in 1967. Some of the artificial terraces made by the Dacians have even 100 meters in length and are 20 metres wide today. In the more modern times people have also built houses in the area and found artifacts and structures during the construction works.

This year, due to the fact that another house was being built in the area, the archaeologists had to do some salvation diggings. A team led by prof. dr. Horea Pop, from Zalau County History and Art Museum was commissioned on the dig. It was the second time we have cooperated with dr. Pop, who is a specialist of the Dacian period.

The team opened a section - 17 meters long and 4 meters wide, oriented S to N - on one of the terraces on the hill. We discovered the first archeological complex at the depth of 2.50 - 2.65 metres. There were three stages of construction and around 14 archeological complexes: pit holes, houses, fire places, ovens and a lot of artifacts.

Most of the pit holes were used for provision storing at the beginning but later on they were not suitable for storing food anymore, so they were transformed into garbage holes. Inside the houses, we found remains of hand-made Dacian pottery, animal bones, ash and burn wood. We also discovered hand and wheel-made Dacian pottery around ovens.

One of the houses we dug out had a surface of around 10 per 9 meters, separated in at least 4 rooms. Three of the rooms had each a fire place. in the forth one The slope of the terrace had destroyed a part of the fourth room, so it's possible that it too had had an oven. One of the walls was so well preserved that we even found some of its wooden structure. Inside of the house we discovere Dacian hand made and wheel made ceramic and also Celtic ceramic from the 1st century B.C.

The most interesting discovery was in room number 4, and it consisted of a small pottery statue of a woman, as shown by the small triangle made in the pubic area. It is the second one discovered in this part of Romania. The figurine has eyes, nose, mouth, 2 arms and 2 small legs. The neck and breasts are missing.



George Andrei CIOTLAUSI
Archaeology Assistant for Project Abroad Romania

Projects Abroad Archaeology Centre Romania
8^th December 2007

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