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This paper introduces the aims, methods and preliminary results of the Southern Romania Archaeological Project 1998-2000 to examine a range of critical questions about the local Neolithic in the Teleorman River valley.
Research Interests: Geography and Archaeology
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ABSTRACTPast human population dynamics play a key role in integrated models of understanding socio-ecological change over time. However, little analysis on this issue has been carried out for the prehistoric societies in the Lower Danube... more
ABSTRACTPast human population dynamics play a key role in integrated models of understanding socio-ecological change over time. However, little analysis on this issue has been carried out for the prehistoric societies in the Lower Danube and Eastern Balkans area. Here, we use summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates to investigate potential regional and local variation population dynamics. Our study adopts a formal model-testing approach to the fifth millennium BC archaeological radiocarbon record, performing a region-wide, comparative analysis of the demographic trajectories of the area along lower Danube River. We follow the current framework of theoretical models of population growth and perform global and regional significance and spatial permutation tests on the data. Specifically, we investigate whether populations on both sides of the Danube follow a logistic pattern of steady growth, followed by a major decline over time. Finally, our analysis of local-scale gro...
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Research Interests: Geology, Stratigraphy, Geoarchaeology, Danube, Habitat, and 4 moreChalcolithic, TELL, Danube Delta, and Gumelnita
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Research Interests: Chalcolithic and Delta
In this paper, we present the first results of the micromorphological study of the anthropic sequence from the Upper Paleolithic site of Poiana Cireşului (Neamţ County). The stratigraphic succession of the layers attributed to the... more
In this paper, we present the first results of the micromorphological study of the anthropic sequence from the Upper Paleolithic site of Poiana Cireşului (Neamţ County). The stratigraphic succession of the layers attributed to the Gravettian occupation was studied on the Western, Northern and Eastern profiles, in Section V. After the resin impregnation and the subsequent induration, the samples were processed in order to obtain the thin sections for the optic microscopy study. Thin sections were analysed using a polarising petrographic microscope (Olympus BX 60). The stratigraphic units were systematically described and interpreted, and the identification of the sedimentary facies was achieved at magnifications between x100 and x600, using standard methods. The study was centred on the characterization of the sedimentary matrix, and of the anthropogenic features, in order to identify the units corresponding to anthropic and natural forming processes, and to characterize from this po...
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Research Interests: History and Archaeology
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The non-polished lithic artefacts from the Hamangia cemetery at Cernavodă – Columbia D belong to several technological groups, namely laminar blanks, flakes, cores, hammers and indeterminate fragments, all of them made of various types of... more
The non-polished lithic artefacts from the Hamangia cemetery at Cernavodă – Columbia D belong to several technological groups, namely laminar blanks, flakes, cores, hammers and indeterminate fragments, all of them made of various types of chert and limestone. Most of the laminar blanks are represented by proximal and median fragments. Some of the intentionally modified ones are endscrapers, truncated blades, or marginally retouched blades. When available, their archaeological context (inside/ outside of the grave, sex and age of the deceased, etc.) will be discussed.
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Several years ago, within Limes Transalutanus Project (2014-2017), we dealt with several segments of the Roman limes in Teleorman County. Briefly, that meant aerial and terrestrial survey, geologic sampling and geophysics, in most of the... more
Several years ago, within Limes Transalutanus Project (2014-2017), we dealt with several segments of the Roman limes in Teleorman County. Briefly, that meant aerial and terrestrial survey, geologic sampling and geophysics, in most of the cases. The old renditions of the frontier line, as being a rampart without a ditch, were intriguing and unusual, thus they had to be checked in the field, including by test digging. One spot chosen for a complex investigation was located several kilometres south of Roşiorii de Vede, along Mocanului Valley, where the most common traits of a Roman border (a tower, the frontier palisade and segments of the road) were present and relatively well preserved. The test excavation confirmed the fact that the frontier obstacle was made by a large palisade and the defensive ditch was missing. The Roman road has been also sectioned, having the expected width and bulgy shape, being made, however, entirely of clay, as the stone is absent in the plain. The watchto...
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Rescue excavations carried out on the Bușag Hill in 2019 (the Palaeolithic site had been identified and excavated by Maria Bitiri in the 1960s and 1970s) allowed for new stratigraphic observations required by a future re-evaluation of the... more
Rescue excavations carried out on the Bușag Hill in 2019 (the Palaeolithic site had been identified and excavated by Maria Bitiri in the 1960s and 1970s) allowed for new stratigraphic observations required by a future re-evaluation of the chronology. While we still await for the OSL results on the samples collected from trench II and the microscopic analysis of raw materials, the present paper presents preliminary observations on the lithic material from the Aurignacian workshop uncovered in soundings V and VI, level D : a homogenous assemblage ; two operational chains oriented towards blade production, predominant blade production ; possible presence of flake production ; predominant hard percussion, careful debitage, a certain massiveness of the lithic assemblage ; raw materials brought to the site in their natural form or with little modification.
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In this article we document the evolution of the internal area of the Danube Delta (i.e. the blocked delta) starting from the geo-archaeological and geomorphological investigations performed at Mila 23 district, following the discovery of... more
In this article we document the evolution of the internal area of the Danube Delta (i.e. the blocked delta) starting from the geo-archaeological and geomorphological investigations performed at Mila 23 district, following the discovery of the oldest human settlement in the Delta. The in-site and out-site field work and coring allowed us to specify the delta’s early stages of evolution from 5600 to 4000 CAL BC. During this period, the site evolves as a freshwater bay-head delta flowing into a huge lagoon isolated from the open sea by Letea-Caraorman spits. The rapid sedimentation rate in the lagoon is interpreted as a response to base-level rise and overflooding as a result of humid conditions during 6-5 ky RCC, leading to the partial submersion of the site and probably to its abandonment around 4450 CAL BC.
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La question de la reconnexion entre la Mediterranee et la mer Noire au debut de l'Holocene est au coeur de nombreux projets de recherche. Installee une rhetorique bien huilee derivant du mythe biblique du "deluge", la... more
La question de la reconnexion entre la Mediterranee et la mer Noire au debut de l'Holocene est au coeur de nombreux projets de recherche. Installee une rhetorique bien huilee derivant du mythe biblique du "deluge", la recherche a eu du mal a se departir de lieux communs fondes sur une approche deterministe des trajectoires humaines. Ainsi, les societes neolithiques riveraines de la Mer Noire - principalement de la zone nord pontique - soumises a un cataclysme soudain et divin se seraient trouvees devant une seule alternative : fuir ou perir ! Cette vision caricaturale voire simpliste du comportement des communautes humaines est aujourd'hui abandonnee. Il n'en reste pas moins qu'elle impregne encore l'imaginaire collectif et journalistique. La communaute scientifique ellememe peine a se departir d'une vision deterministe de l'etude des relations qu'entretenaient les societes du passe avec leurs environnements. Soumises a des contraintes envir...
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In this paper we present preliminary results of microscopic study on pottery fabric of few ceramic fragments discovered in Chalcolithic tell settlements Hârşova and Borduşani Popină. Analysis of 20 sherds considered the description of... more
In this paper we present preliminary results of microscopic study on pottery fabric of few ceramic fragments discovered in Chalcolithic tell settlements Hârşova and Borduşani Popină. Analysis of 20 sherds considered the description of their paste fabric in terms of texture, microstructure, porosity, composition and colour, in order to characterize technological issues related to preparing the mixture and combustion conditions, identify materials used and indicate possible natural sources for them. The main identified paste types are characterized by the presence, constantly, of small pottery fragments ("crushed ceramic"), as well as plant fragments such as straw, or even coprolites (probably sheep and goat types, as suggesting the presence of phyto-sferolites). A special case is that of the bivalve shell fragments that are observed not only in ceramic fragments attributed to Cernavodă I culture (as presented in literature), but also in one of Gumelniţa ceramic fragments fr...
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Abstract An assemblage of 58 ceramic shards discovered in archaeological excavations at Oltina, Romania, dated to the 10th-11th century CE, was subjected to archaeometric investigations in order to reveal the raw materials and... more
Abstract An assemblage of 58 ceramic shards discovered in archaeological excavations at Oltina, Romania, dated to the 10th-11th century CE, was subjected to archaeometric investigations in order to reveal the raw materials and manufacturing techniques employed by the potters from the Lower Danube zone during the Byzantine ruling. The initial grouping of the shards according to stylistic criteria was refined by the subsequent petrographic study. Optical Microscopy (OM) detailed the general mineralogy and the pottery fabric, i.e. the textural characteristics, porosity and microstructure, surface treatments and firing. The PIXE analyses of potteries performed at AN2000 accelerator of LNL, INFN, Italy led to the identification of the chemical composition of the ceramic shards. The Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of the PIXE data evidenced several categories of shards with distinct compositional signatures, the main division being the one separating the ceramic fragments made of kaolinitic clays from the rest of the Oltina potteries.
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Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Natural Resources, Landscape Archaeology, and 12 moreEnvironmental Anthropology, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Ecomuseums, Balkan prehistory, Tourism, Black Sea Region Archaeology, Gumelnita culture, Fishermen, Local Knowledge, and Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve
1 CNRS UMR 5602 Géode, Toulouse (France) 2 Institut de recherche éco-muséal de Tulcea (Roumanie) 3 Université de Strasbourg, Géode, Toulouse (France) 4 MNIR Musée National d'Histoire de la Roumanie, Bucarest (Roumanie)
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In this article we document the evolution of the internal area of the Danube Delta (ie the blocked delta) starting from the geo-archaeological and geomorphological investigations performed at Mila 23 district, following the discovery of... more
In this article we document the evolution of the internal area of the Danube Delta (ie the blocked delta) starting from the geo-archaeological and geomorphological investigations performed at Mila 23 district, following the discovery of the oldest human settlement in the ...
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Abstract: Since 2009, the Institute of Eco-Museal Research Tulcea together with partners from research laboratories from France and Romania has developed the project Société et environnement durant le Néolithique dans le Delta du Danube... more
Abstract: Since 2009, the Institute of Eco-Museal Research Tulcea together with partners from research laboratories from France and Romania has developed the project Société et environnement durant le Néolithique dans le Delta du Danube (Delta du Danube)[Society ...
Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Political Science, and 10 moreNeolithic Archaeology, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Balkan prehistory, Neolithic Europe, Black Sea Region Archaeology, Lower Danube, Neolithic of the Balkans, Eneolithic, Gumelnita culture, and Lower Danube Archaeology
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ABSTRACT One of this volume’s main aims is the completion of a methodology that should mark another stage of the analysis begun here and at Hârşova (Randoin et al., 2000; Popovici et al., 2001). We therefore aimed both at the development... more
ABSTRACT One of this volume’s main aims is the completion of a methodology that should mark another stage of the analysis begun here and at Hârşova (Randoin et al., 2000; Popovici et al., 2001). We therefore aimed both at the development of an adequate analysis methodology for various data categories as well as the making of a diagnose concerning the knowledge of the human communities evolution at Borduşani - Popină. The first results (Marinescu-Bîlcu et al., 1997) synthetically mark this beginning. Now the main purpose has been the attempt to define several archaeological complexes discovered and studied during the previous year from several points of view. The essential purpose aimed at the completion of a methodology that should mainly allow, on the basis of discovered materials, the reconstitution and understanding of the various activities developed here by the Gumelniţean community.