Studia Archaeologica 30 2016
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ZIRIDAVA STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA 30 2016 MUSEUM ARAD ZIRIDAVA STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA 30 2016 Editura MEGA Cluj‑Napoca 2016 MUSEUM ARAD EDITORIAL BOARD Editor‑in‑chief: Peter Hügel. Editorial Assistants: Florin Mărginean, Victor Sava. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD V. Bârcă (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), M. Cârciumaru (Târgoviște, Romania), S. Cociș (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), F. Gogâltan (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), S. A. Luca (Sibiu, Romania), V. Kulcsár (Szeged, Hungary), M. Takács (Budapest, Hungary), J. O'Shea (Michigan, USA), K. Z. Pinter (Sibiu, Romania), I. Stanciu (Cluj‑Napoca, Romania), I. Szatmári (Békéscsaba, Hungary). In Romania, the periodical can be obtained through subscription or exchange, sent as post shipment, from Museum Arad, Arad, Piata G. Enescu 1, 310131, Romania. Tel. 0040–257–281847. ZIRIDAVA STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA Any correspondence will be sent to the editor: Museum Arad Piata George Enescu 1, 310131 Arad, RO e‑mail: [email protected] The content of the papers totally involve the responsibility of the authors. Layout: Francisc Baja, Florin Mărginean, Victor Sava ISSN 2392–8786 Editura Mega | www.edituramega.ro e‑mail: [email protected] Contents Octavian Cristian Rogozea, Alexandru Berzovan, Eugen Pădurean Contribution to the Repertory of Late Neolithic Settlements on the Territory of Arad County 7 Mária Bondár A new Bronze Age wagon model from Szombathely‑Motel 27 Florin Gogâltan, Victor Sava An Older Bronze Age Funerary Discovery from Zimandu Nou (Arad County) 43 Luminiţa Andreica-Szilagyi Anthropological Analysis of Two Cremation Graves Discovered in the Settlement of Zimandu Nou (Arad County) 55 Eugen Pădurean, Alexandru Berzovan Prehistoric Vestiges on Highiș Peak in Zarandului Mountains (Municipality of Tîrnova, Arad County) 61 Victor Sava The Archaeological Site of Felnac “Complexul Zootehnic” (Arad County). Discussions on the Late Bronze Age Settlement and Cemetery 69 Octavian Cristian Rogozea, Răzvan Ioan Pinca Two Bronze Items Discovered by Chance: the Bracelet from Jupa (Caraş‑Severin County) and the Long Dagger from Găvojdia (Timiş County) 109 Sándor Berecki Two Late Iron Age Graves from Vladimirescu 115 Cristina Bodó, Valeriu Sîrbu The Fortifications in Câmpuri Surduc in the Context of the Dacian Discoveries made in the Mureş Gorge (the Şoimuş – Zam Area) 125 Alexandru Berzovan On a Presumed Roman Military Expedition in the Valley of River Marisos at the Turn of the First Century A.D. 141 Britta Burkhardt Reflecting on the Typological Analysis of Roman Provincial Baths and Bathhouses 149 Dan Băcueț-Crișan, Sanda Băcueț-Crișan Old and New Archeological Researches Regarding the Early Medieval Habitat in Sylvanian Basin 159 Aurel Dragotă Typology of Crescent‑Shaped Pendants 171 Silviu Oţa, Andra Samson Several Observations on the Medieval Battle Knives Found on the Territory of Romania (The MNIR Collection) 189 Florin Mărginean Ottoman‑Turkish Archaeological Research in Arad County. Turkish Strongholds in the Second Half of th the 16 Century between Mureș and Crișul Alb (The Beginning of a thematic Approach) 211 Călin Ghemiş From the History of Archaeological Researches in Crișana: Dr. Ernest Andrassy (I) 229 Abbreviations 249 The Archaeological Site of Felnac “Complexul Zootehnic” (Arad County). Discussions on the Late Bronze Age Settlement and Cemetery* Victor Sava Abstract: Archaeologists from the Arad Museum have investigated over time numerous sites in the Lower Mureş Basin. Nevertheless, many of these field surveys, rescue excavations or systematic excavations have not been published. This is also the case of the significant multi‑layer site of Felnac “Complexul Zootehnic”. The site came to archaeological attention ever since 1971, with the stray discovery of certain bronze artifacts and ceramic pots, all dated to the Late Bronze Age. Subsequently, the site benefited from one archaeological survey (1972) and three excavation campaigns (1975–1977). Though the Bronze Age discoveries from this site have often been mentioned in the archaeological literature, most of them have remained unpublished. A large part of the artifacts found by chance in the beginning of the 1970s has been published recently, but some of the artifacts discovered then have remained unpublished. This was also the case of the Bronze Age discoveries made during the excava‑ tions. I have thus decided to take up again the discussion of the discoveries dated to the Late Bronze Age by publishing the artifacts identified during the excavations coordinated by Mircea Zdroba and Mircea Barbu. By consulting the entire documentation in the archive of the Museum of Arad that relates to this excavation, I have attempted to provide a comprehensive perspective over the entire site. Keywords: Lower Mureş Basin, archaeological excavation, Late Bronze Age, cemetery, settlement. Introduction Field archeology in Arad began in the first half of the 19th century. The first excavation that can be considered to be archaeological in nature was performed by the locals from Pâncota; in 1847 they have “investigated” the ruins of the medieval monastery on “Dealul Cetăţii”1. Since then, the region of Arad has benefited from numerous filed surveys and archaeological excavations, in the beginning coor‑ dinated by amateurs2 and then by specialists such as M. Roska, D. Popescu, I. H. Crişan, E. Dörner3, M. Zdroba, M. Barbu and G. P. Hurezan4. Besides those mentioned in the lines above, one should also note stray finds such as gold hoards or bronze deposits5. Among the stray finds discovered over time one can discuss the artifacts recovered in 1971 during the construction of the zootechnical complex in the eastern part of the settlement of Felnac. The rescued artifacts, consisting of several weapons and jewelry made of bronze, but also of ceramic pots dated to the Late Bronze Age, have been donated to several museums. Several years later, a team from the museum in Arad has led a rescue excavation but 200 m north of the zootechnical complex. The excavation coordinated by M. Zdroba and M. Barbu has led to the identification of a settlement that was contemporary to the stray finds made in 1971. * English translation: Ana M. Gruia. 1 Hügel 1999, 5; Heitel 2006; Vasiliev, Hügel 1999; Hügel et al. 2012, 7. The site is today known in specialized literature as Pâncota “Cetate” or „La Mănăstire”. 2 One must mention that some amateur archaeologists have performed small test trenches or field surveys until around 2000; for a brief history of the researches performed by amateurs see Sava, Ardeleanu 2009, 23–24; Sava 2010a, 129. 3 For a presentation of the investigations performed by E. Dörner see Sava 2010b, 53–55; Bader 2015. 4 A history of archaeological researches performed on the territory of the present‑day county of Arad can be found in Hügel 1999; Hügel et al. 2010; Hügel et al. 2012. 5 I shall just mention the gold hoards from Firiteaz (Mozsolics 1973, 194; Taf. 78–79; 80/1–5) and Sântana (Dörner 1960, 472; Mozsolics 1973, 208, Taf. 104–105; Rusu et al. 1996, 15; Rusu et al. 1999, 143), and the bronze deposits Pecica II (Petrescu‑Dîmboviţa 1977, 101–102, pl. 169/5–18; 170–175; 176/1–23; Kemenczei 1991), Pecica IV (Petrescu‑ Dîmboviţa 1977, 102, pl. 176/29–33; 177; 178/1) and Sâmpetru German (Petrescu‑Dîmboviţa 1977, 107; pl. 186/17–18; 187). ZIRIDAVA, STUDIA ARCHAEOLOGICA, 30, p. 69–108 70 ◆ Victor Sava Though the metal artifacts discovered on that occasion have been published and some discussions on the character of this site have been included in the literature, the Late Bronze Age site in Felnac “Complexul Zootehnic” has not been yet analyzed in all its complexity. The fact that until now the discoveries made there have not been the focus on an exhaustive study has generated some confusion in the specialized literature. I shall just mention that this confusion has led to the amusing situation in which no less than nine different names have been employed in the relevant literature for the site known under the toponym of “Complexul Zootehnic”. The museum in Arad has coordinated over time numerous excavations that envisaged important archaeological sites for both the region of the Lower Mureş and the entire Intra‑Carpathian area. The site under discussion here, Felnac “Complexul Zootehnic”, is among the referential ones. Just like in numerous other cases, the excavations from Felnac have partly remained unpublished6. The entire lot of artifacts discovered by chance in 1971 during the construction of the zootechnical platform has been recently published7. I have thus decided to take up again the discussion of the discoveries from the Late Bronze Age discovered on this site by publishing the artifacts identified during the excava‑ tions led by Mircea Zdroba and Mircea Barbu. The present study mainly focuses on the researches performed on this site, but it also includes discussions on the context of discoveries, in those cases where the documentation allowed such an initiative. By consulting the entire documentation in the archive of the Museum of Arad that relates to this excavation, I have attempted to provide a comprehensive perspective over the entire site. At the same time, for better accuracy of the information but also in order to provide a brief excursus into the history of archaeology in Arad I have decided to transcribe in the end of the article the excavation reports and technical reports belonging to each archaeological campaign in Felnac. Site location The “Complexul Zootehnic” archaeological site from Felnac is located in the piedmont plain of Romania’s Câmpia de Vest. Today, the site can be found approximately 800 m north‑east‑east from the margin of the municipality of Felnac, on the left side of the road leading from Felnac to Arad (Fig. 1–2)8. Fig. 1. Map from the middle of the 19th century, with the location of the site (marked in red) and the reconstruction of the floodable area (in blue). 6 A brief excavation report envisaging the 1975 campaign has been published so far (Zdroba, Barbu 1976), one study of the discoveries dated to the First Iron Age (Sava 2011) and one dealing with certain discoveries from the Early Midle Ages (Mărginean, Băcueţ‑Crişan 2015).