Lie Marian Adrian

The new archaeological investigations from Toboliu-Dâmbu Zănăcanului, started in 2014,  were resumed in July 2015. The main objective set for 2015 was the exhaustive investigation of Trench 2. As a secondary objective, we tried to finish the excavation and documentation of all modern graves revealed in Trench 1. All our objectives were successfully completed. Thus, a complete stratigraphic sequence for the Bronze Age tell settlement was obtained. Five individual habitation levels were observed in Trench 2, each corresponding to a distinctive structure. However, considering that the uppermost phase in Trench 1 seems to be younger than the uppermost phase in Trench 2, we have to consider the possibility of 6 individual Bronze Age habitation levels for this site.
Among the archaeological discoveries, we mention structures (compacted clay dwelling platforms, fire hearths, pits, postholes), as well as a rich collection of artefacts, consisting of numerous ceramic fragments, animal bones, bone and antler tools, miniatare cart wheels, spindle whorls and clay weights.
Regarding the cultural and chronological assignment, the discoveries are specific to the 2nd and 3rd Otomani cultural phases, datable to the MBA II - MBA III/LBA I. The three AMS dates, processed the Debrecen laboratory,  show that the chronological evolution of the site occurred between 1898-1695 BC and 1679-1528 (cal BC)

The archaeological site from Salca terrace in Oradea is already well known from previous accidental discoveries and archaeological investigations. The areas investigated in May-June 2014 (uneven in size and adding to about 1 ha), are situated between Ceyrat Street and Rulikowski Cemetery and were overlapped by the municipal plan nursery. Visible excavations and other modern interventions made it clear from the beginning that the archaeological layers were altered almost entirely. After removing the top disturbed soil, a number of 116 features were identified, among them a few natural root holes and modern garbage pits.
Judging from the size, shape and content, most of the
features probably functioned either as storage pits or garbage pits. As well, a few clay extracting holes were also identified. Of a greater interest are two earth ovens (dated to the 14th century A.D.) both build in a similar manner, with a service pit and a clay hob. Three ditches crossing the second investigated surface were also observed, two of them relatively narrow and parallel to each other and a considerably wider one, overlapping the smaller ones. Another type of feature found here is represented by dwellings, four such structures being identified for certain. Even thou these are dated to entirely different periods (Bronze Age, La Tène and Medieval period), the building techniques and dimensions are rather similar, with roughly rectangular shape and traces of post holes. Four other features could function as dwellings of huts. In the southern area of the second surface, close to the edge of the terrace, an inhumation grave was discovered oriented on a SV-NE axis. The deceased was laid on its back, with upper limbs along the torso and lower limbs fully extended. An iron spear head, an iron blade and a bronze coin were discovered near or on the body. The coin was dated to the 347-348 A.D.
From a chronological point of view the site is heterogeneous, comprising finds from different periods: Late Neolithic, Early Copper Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Middle Age, various cultural manifestations within this periods being represented. The material finds are also diverse. Pottery from all above mentioned stages is well represented (with many fragments nicely decorated), but other artefacts, such as spindle whorls, loom weights, adobe, bone and antler fragments were found. Apart from the already mentioned grave goods, among special finds we mention a few Neolithic stone blades, two bronze pendants and an iron fibula (brooch).

A series of 158 archaeological test trenches were conducted along DN76, due to new scheduled road projects in the area from Ştei to Pocola. In the initial phase between km 126+500+750 (near Sânmartin de Beiuş) a few archaeological features were identified, consisting of four pits containing Medieval pottery. The site was already known in the archaeological literature. Consequently we decided to extend the archaeological excavation in that area in order to obtain accurate scientific information, by drawing three more sections: SI, SII and SIII/2014. All in all, besides the four pits identified in the test trenches, during the archaeological researches carried out we identified 27 features in the first section and 6 other in the second one. The ceramic and slug fragments recovered could be dated to the XIV-XVI centuries.

Archaeological investigations in the Bronze Age tell settlement from Toboliu Dâmbul Zănăcanului were started in 1960 and were led by N. Chidioşan, continuing with a series of other campaigns, last conducted in 1972. With the exception of a stratigrafic profile and a few archaeological materials, the results of these campaigns have not been published. The former name of this objective was Girişu de Criş „Alceu”, but presently it belongs to the village Toboliu with the toponym „Dâmbu Zănăcanului”. Investigations here were resumed in 2014, consisting of excavations and non-intrusive methods (topographic survey, aerial photography, systematic survey and resistivity profiling). Regarding the actual excavations, three trenches were dug, named „Caseta” I, II and III respectively. The first trench (7x5 m.) was located on the highest point of the tell settlement. In this part, a modern cemetery disturbed the upper layers of the prehistoric site, a total number of 13 graves being exposed, arranged on three parallel rows. Seven of these graves were fully investigated, revealing remains from one adult and six infants. Copper and bronze coins (the earliest was issued in 1812 (Francisc II (I)) and the latest in 1879 (Franz Joseph), as well as metal and porcelain buttons were identified. It was also observed here that the burial pits cut through a Bronze Age structure, from which a large number of pottery fragments (still in situ) were recovered. The second trench (4x2 m) overlapped an old archaeological trench and was intended as means of verifying and comparing old and new results. The third trench (7x5 m) was excavated in the eastern part of the mound. After removing the top soil and a disturbed layer, patches of compact adobe were observed, belonging to a surface dwelling. Unfortunately, here too we encountered an old archaeological trench (1,5 m wide), crossing our section on a NNE-SSV axis and cutting trough the prehistoric structure.
Archaeological finds consisted of pottery, bone and adobe fragments, as well as other special finds, from which we mention a few whole or well preserved vessels, miniature cart wheels, a bone pendant and a bivalve casting mould for obtaining a socketed chisel. Based on ceramic style, the upper layer investigated was dated in Middle Bronze Age III (Bz B1), assigned to the Otomani III Cultural phase. From the surface of the house in Caseta I (features 10,12) a bone was sampled for Radiocarbon analisys. The result places the house between 1600-1500 B.C..

This paper presents new information on the domestic architecture in the outer settlement of a Bronze Age tell in the Great Hungarian Plain. This data is the result of archaeological fieldwork carried out between 2021 and 2023 at the tell-based settlement complex in Toboliu (western Romania). The fieldwork consisted of an extensive coring survey of the outer settlement and targeted excavations of two off-tell house locations. In order to explore the various household configurations at this complex site, a comparison of on-tell and off-tell houses is also made, focusing on construction details and building techniques.

Core drilling has been used successfully in archaeology
for a variety of applications, including mapping stratigraphy
across large areas, estimating feature depth and
content, understanding site formation processes, as well as
complementing information obtained through surface collection
and geophysical survey. In this paper, we provide
an overview of the first core drilling campaign carried out
in 2021 on the outer settlement of the Bronze Age tell from
Toboliu in western Romania. The overall aim of this coring
program was to gather information regarding the nature
of various features within the settlement, with a focus on
the anomalies visible in the geomagnetic site plan. Based
on 165 drilled cores, a reconstruction of the site’s stratigraphy
is presented in this paper. This reconstruction was
controlled and confirmed by excavations in one of the
coring transects where the stratigraphic interpretation of
the cores could be linked with the excavated stratigraphy.
Additionally, samples for radiocarbon dating were collected
from several cores. Based on this data, we discuss preliminary
insights into possible house locations and preservation
issues, as well as the chronological development and occupation
sequence of this complex site.

During the 2022 excavation campaign in the outer settlement of the Brozne Age tell at Toboliu
(Bihor County, Romania), an anthropomorphic figurine was discovered in a shallow pit located
inside a house. Seven cups were also found in the pit. In this paper, a description of the finds and
their context is given, together with possible interpretations. Special emphasis is placed on the
way the figurine was modelled. The discussion also includes an overview of Bronze Age
anthropomorphic figurines from the wider region.

The article is focused on the possible functionalities of a peculiar fragmentary clay object found in the outer settlement of the Middle Bronze Age site from Toboliu Dâmbu Zănăcanului (Bihor County, Romania). The artefact was discovered on the freshly ploughed surface during a field campaign conducted in 2022, in an area located approx. 200 m north of the central mound. Its general aspect (shape, dimensions) suggests that it was potentially employed as a domestic tool. Its active side presents a series of punctured holes, which might have held some type of insertions. As such, the artifact probably resembled a brush or a curry comb. Arguably, it could have been used as a tool to decorate soft surfaces (potentially suitable for creating the so-called broom-stroke/Besenstrich pottery decoration. As well, it could have had a role in textile processing, used a hackling or carding implement.

This paper presents the preliminary results of the 2021 excavation campaign carried out in the Bronze Age tell-based settlement complex from Toboliu (Bihor County, Romania). The site consists of a relatively small tell that is surrounded by an extensive horizontal settlement covering an area of about 84 ha. The 2021 excavation season in Toboliu was focused on investigating the outer settlement of this site. An excavation block measuring 5 x 12 m (Trench 5) was opened at about 220 m NNE of the settlement mound. This paper provides an overview of the main archaeological features uncovered in Trench 5, along with the first results of the archaeobotanical, archeozoological and geoarchaeological investigations. The fieldwork and analyses upon which this report is based were conducted within the framework of an interdisciplinary project funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG).

In this paper we present a new research project dedicated to the interdisciplinary investigation of the complex Bronze Age site in Toboliu (Bihor County, Romania). Using a multidisciplinary approach, the project aims to reveal the interplay of factors that contributed to the development and subsequent decline of this site. To this end, the planned investigations feature both archaeological fieldwork and comprehensive scientific analyses; the main disciplines involved here are geoarchaeology, archaeozoology, arcaheobotany and molecular archaeology. Hence, this project contains two closely integrated parts (archaeology and natural sciences), which in cooperation will hopefully provide a broad spectrum of new information about a Bronze Age tell in terms of the chronological and spatial development of the entire site structure, as well as subsistence practices and social and economic developments.

Colectiv: Adela Kovács (Muzeul Județean Botoșani -
responsabil de șantier), Marian Lie (Institutul de Arheologie
Iași - membru în colectiv), Lavinia Grumeza (Institutul
de Arheologie Iași - membru în colectiv), Constantin
Aparaschivei (Muzeul Național al Bucovinei - membru în
colectiv), Alexandru Kovács (Muzeul Național al Bucovinei),
Carsten Mischka (Friedrich - Alexander - Universität Erlangen
- Nürnberg), Alexandru Nechifor (Muzeul Județean Botoșani
- conservator), Alexandra Stache - student (Universitatea
Babeș-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca), Marinel Gorgan - student
(Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca).
Total finanţare Muzeul Județean Botoșani-8000 lei.
Perioada desfășurării cercetării: 18.09 - 02.10.2021

During the 2015 excavation campaign, a stone casting mould for socketed chisels was uncovered in the tell settlement from Toboliu. In 2017, while carrying out geophysical investigations on the outer settlement surrounding the tell, a bronze socketed chisel was accidentally found at the surface of the site. Both mould and finished product belong to a group of tools that are widespread among the Bronze Age tell settlements. In the following paper, we would like to present these finds and also discuss matters related to their chronology and distribution, alongside the technological aspects of their production.

The settlement of the bronze age of Toboliu-Dâmbu Zănăcanul is known in the literature since the mid-twentieth century. Archaeological research itself was carried out by Nicolae Chidioşan, Sever Dumitraşcu and Doina Ignat in the 60's and 70's of the last century. New research was initiated in 2014, continuing to date. As a result of these researches it was found that this is a multi-layered settlement attributed to the Ottoman ceramic style, which functioned during the middle bronze (about 2000 / 1900-1600 / 1500 BC). The central part of the site is an anthropic mound, surrounded by two concentric ditches and a large secondary settlement.

In the late summer of 2017 we identified on Google Earth maps a structure which we supposed that is the result of human activity in the past. After examining the Austrian historical land surveys and the contemporan maps we noticed what appeared to be an earth mound field west of our interes area. Consulting archaeological literature refering to Şişterea area we find only two informations. First referring to one Jászladány type copper axe (Dumitraşcu 1974; Vulpe 1975: 41, nr. 143, taf. 19/143) and another one relating to an „tumulus field” in the close proximity, at Fegernicu Nou, which is the same with what we noticed on historical maps (Dumitraşcu, Hadnagy 1980). After that we organized an archeological survey. On-site, we found a lot of pottery, adobe, stone blades and splinters. At the surface was visible some rectangular structures, probably the remains of houses. The artifacts belong to the Late Neolithic period, probably Herpály culture.

The importance of archaeological field walks is undisputable, with an significant role in discovering and mapping new sites, but also in investigating other aspects in known sites, such as habitation density and extent. Several types of systematic field walks were applied, some yielding notable results. In the current paper, we present a systematic field walk method applied in the Middle Bronze Age site Toboliu Dâmbul Zănăcanului, located in Bihor County. Although the size and shape of the central part of the site, consisting of a tell, is rather clear, the dimensions of the outer settlement are more problematic. Previous field walks suggested that the surface inhabited by the Bronze Age communities is considerable. In order to establish the actual dimensions of the outer settlement, the authors of this study conducted a systematic field walk in March 2015, using a improvised method: with a hand GPS, all archaeological finds encountered on predefined parallel paths (10 m apart) were marked on a map, as black (isolated finds), yellow (clusters), or red dots (clusters and adobe). The surface covered by red and yellow dots is more likely to give a more accurate image of the surface inhabited by the Bronze Age communities, covering around 85 ha. However, it probably reflects periodic shifts of inhabited areas over the three centuries, rather that a large, contemporaneous settlement. In regards to the landscape, it is noticeable that the lower area located on the western and southwestern side was avoided, as it was probably marshy in prehistoric times.

Așezarea de epoca bronzului de la Toboliu-Dâmbu Zănăcanului este cunoscută în literatura de
specialitate încă de la jumătatea secolului al XX-lea. Cercetări arheologice propriu-zise au fost efectuate
în anii 60 și 70 ai secolului trecut de către Nicolae Chidioșan, Sever Dumitrașcu și Doina Ignat. Noi
cercetări au fost inițiate în anul 2014, fiind continuate până în prezent. În urma acestor cercetări s-a
constatat că este vorba despre o așezare multi-stratificată atribuită stilului ceramic Otomani care a
funcționat pe parcursul bronzului mijlociu (cca. 2000/1900-1600/1500 BC). Partea centrală a sitului este
reprezentată de o movilă antropică, înconjurată de două șanțuri concentrice și o așezare secundară de
mari dimensiuni.

Introducere În vara anului 2014, Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor din Oradea împreună cu Institutul de Arheologie şi Istoria Artei din Cluj-Napoca au reînceput cercetările arheologice de la Toboliu (jud. Bihor), în punctul numit Dâmbu Zănăcanului 1 (fig. 1c-d). Săpăturile arheologice precedente au avut ca obiectiv cercetarea tell-ului de Epoca Bronzului, amintind sumar sau deloc existenţa unui cimitir modern 2. Putem spune că ne-am confruntat şi noi cu problema acestei descoperiri, încă înainte de începerea propriu-zisă a săpăturilor, deoarece dispunerea mormintelor, precum şi a vechilor secţiuni constituia o necunoscută, acestea neputând fi identificate la suprafaţă 3. Am ales, aşadar, să deschidem prima casetă într-un punct de maximă importanţă pentru cercetarea stratigrafiei tell-ului, sperând să nu se contureze mormintele moderne, care ar fi deranjat nivelele superioare ale aşezării din epoca bronzului. Totuşi, mai multe astfel de morminte s-au conturat în unitatea de cercetare. În cele din urmă, puşi în faţa faptului împlinit, am avut de ales între a abandona această casetă şi a deschide una nouă, sau de a o continua pe aceasta, începând prin cercetarea mormintelor. Am ales atunci cea de-a doua variantă, care acum constituie subiectul studiului de faţă.

Call for Papers for the 7th International Landscape Archaeology Conference, 10-15 September 2022 ONLINE
Session 11# Long-term dynamics of human-environment interaction: The case of prehistoric multi-layered settlements
Deadline for abstract submission: 30 May 2022!

From delimitation of interaction areas to consideration of technological changes, the prehistoric ceramics of the Carpathian Basin and the adjacent areas provide new fields for integrating theory with high-resolution studies of the human past. Beyond re-evaluation of the relative dating, the technological advances of the Information Age highlight the necessity of rethinking the research questions: does conjunction of production and interaction represent the only facet of ceramic style formation? What underlying histories are responsible for the formation of the archaeologically-distinctive groups? How can overarching similarities of the technological process be used to explain the maintenance of obvious distinctions? Expansion of the scope beyond material characterizations towards the socio-cultural processes is further mobilized by the increasing availability of analytical methods where ceramics are no longer viewed from the perspective of typochronological studies but provide the medium for investigating subsistence practices, site-formation processes and exploitation of the natural environments. The involved framework of archaeological practice integrating perspectives and methods results in an increasing complexity of research and the developed models of human past. The refined analytical tools provide the means of investigating previously inaccessible parts of the prehistoric record and conceptualization of turning points between otherwise separated periods. The transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age represents a time of change in terms of formation of individualized personhoods and the increasing examples of collective habitation. How can the two be linked to formation of Bronze Age tell-landscape? Beyond typological similarities and temporal consecutiveness, is there other evidence of relationship between periods and regions? Finally, how did the introduction of bronze technology impact the existing economic relations and established technologies? As organizers we invite papers, work-in-progress studies and posters which explore the multidisciplinary approaches to the highlighted period by integrating social theory, ceramic analysis and the dynamics of the human past.

A presentation summarizing the results of non-invasive investigations and excavations undertaken on two tell-settlements in the Eastern Carpathian Basin.
Within the project Living in the Bronze Age tell settlements. A study of settlement archaeology at the Eastern frontier of the Carpathian Basin, numerous sites located in Western Romania were investigated through various non-invasive methods. The neighboring sites from Toboliu and Sântion (located only 7 km away from each other) were also chosen to undergo excavations.
After the end of the aforementioned project in late 2016, investigations at Toboliu continued with the financial support of the Chair for the Archaeology of the Metal Ages, Department of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Cologne.