PhD Thesis summary by Radu Petcu
The present paper tries to systematise and synthesise the available data related to the history a... more The present paper tries to systematise and synthesise the available data related to the history and importance of the Roman settlement of Ulmetum in the context of both the province of Moesia Inferior (2nd-3rd centuries AD) and Scythia Minor (4th-6th centuries AD). The approach is a critical one, based on both literary and epigraphic sources, as well as on the results of the archaeological investigations, especially on the study of the metal items discovered within the perimeter of the archaeological site. The information, reaching us through different means, once examined together, manage to paint a picture in which we can observe the important role the settlement has played throughout history. This fortress, like other settlements in the province, has defended the interests of the Empire, being at the same time an important center of Romanisation and civilisation in a geographical area that has ever been a place of pilgrimage for many ancient peoples.
Antiquity and Late Antiquity by Radu Petcu
Pontic Treasures. Artefacts from the collections of the Museum of National History and Archaeology from Constanţa I, 2024, pp. 92-97
Pontic Treasures. Artefacts from the collections of the Museum of National History and Archaeology from Constanţa I, 2024, pp. 68-74
Pontic Treasures. Artefacts from the collections of the Museum of National History and Archaeology from Constanţa I, 2024, pp. 41-43
Ex Ponto Nr. 2-3 (77-78), (Anul XXI), mai – iunie – iulie – august 2023, pages 174-184
Poziţia economică şi strategică însemnată a teritoriului dintre Dunărea şi Marea Neagră, care va ... more Poziţia economică şi strategică însemnată a teritoriului dintre Dunărea şi Marea Neagră, care va fi cunoscută în perioada Antichității Târzii sub numele de Scythia, a determinat Roma să-şi îndrepte privirile de timpuriu asupra sa. Primul contact serios, are loc mai concret între anii 72 - 71 a.Chr., când guvernatorul Macedoniei, Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus porneşte spre nord, executând o diversiune în cadrul celui de-al treilea război mithridatic. Intenția romanilor era de-a scoate de sub influența lui Mithridates al VI – lea Eupator, regele Pontului, atât triburile tracice cât și a cetăților grecești de pe malul stâng al Pontului. Campania porneşte concomitent cu cea a fratelui său, L. Licinius Lucullus, care între ani 73-71 a. Chr. lupta în Asia împotriva aceluiași rege. Introducerea în sfera de influență romană a cetăților grecești și a teritoriilor aferente, conferea dominaţiei romane o mai bună stabilitate a provinciilor din Peninsula Balcanică și un control asupra linei Dunării și a coastei vest-pontice. Campania lui Lucullus ar putea fi considerată una dintre primele și cele mai importante etape în instaurarea dominaţiei romane la Gurile Dunării.
Ex Ponto Nr. 1 (76), (Anul XXI), ianuarie – februarie – martie – aprilie 2023, pages 169-176
Continuând seria notelor arheologice pe care le-am publicat în Ex Ponto de-a lungul anilor, în ar... more Continuând seria notelor arheologice pe care le-am publicat în Ex Ponto de-a lungul anilor, în articolul de față dorim să prezentăm cititorilor revistei precum și specialiștilor din domeniul istoriei și arheologiei, o cărămidă cu simboluri creștine descoperită la Tropaeum Traiani (Adamclisi, jud. Constanța) în anul 1974. Deși a fost publicată foarte succint în monografia dedicată cetății din 1979, intitulată Tropaeum Traini I. Cetatea, considerăm că nu a primit atenția cuvenită, de aceea dorim să-i facem o analiză amănunțită în cele ce urmează.
Pontica 55, 2022, p. 319-344.
In the present study, the authors present a batch of 15 clay oil lamps from the collection of the... more In the present study, the authors present a batch of 15 clay oil lamps from the collection of the Museum of National History and Archeology in Constanța, discovered at Capidava in 2015 during the restoration project of the site. The lot is divided into seven categories very well known in the late Roman and early Byzantine times in the province of Scythia, as well as in the neighboring provinces. The ratio of imports to provincial/local production is rather inequitable, with the weight being higher for local centres. It is important to note that many of the lamps are local imitations of the well-known types originating in Asia Minor from Miletus and Ephesus, or from the North African area, with centers in Egypt and Tunisia. The flourishing trade, but especially the exchanges of annona-type goods specific to the 6th century AD for the quaestura Iustiniana exercitus, can also be observed in the material presented in the present study.
VARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA (II) ARHEOLOGIE ÎN PANDEMIE. PROVOCĂRI ÎN ARHEOLOGIA ROMÂNEASCĂ ÎN ANII 2020–2021, 2022
The study shows six fibulae that were discovered, using a metal detector, in the locality of Drăg... more The study shows six fibulae that were discovered, using a metal detector, in the locality of Drăgești (Bacău County). The fibulae are divided into five categories: Carpic‑type fibulae, knee brooches, brooches of A VII type, brooches with recurved foot, and cast fibulae with bent stem. They are dated from the 1st to the 6th century AD. Though they were not found in an archaeological context, we may admit that the ethnical attribution of the persons having worn the fibulae, corroborated with discoveries from other settlements and necropolises, indicates a native “Daco‑Carpic” population with strong Roman, Sarmatian, and Germanic influences. The objects found at Drăgești suggest the hypothesis of the existence of a settlement with one or more habitation phases.
In medias res antiquorum. Miscellanea in honorem annos LXV peragetis professoris Costel Chiriac oblat, Cluj-Napoca, 2022, p. 167-184
Dans cette étude, les auteurs présentent treize quenouilles de verre de la collection du Musée d’... more Dans cette étude, les auteurs présentent treize quenouilles de verre de la collection du Musée d’histoire nationale et d’archéologie de Constanta, découvertes dans des sépultures romaines du Ier et du IIe siècle ap. J.-C. Conventionnellement appelées « baguettes de verre », elles ont été interprétées au fil du temps comme des instruments utilisés à des fins médicales, dans l’utilisation des produits cosmétiques, pour mélanger des liquides ou même comme des épingles à cheveux. Selon les dernières études, les quenouilles de verre ont été associées au monde féminin funéraire, symbolisant le travail de la laine. Dans le monde romain, le filage, notamment celui de la laine, était une vertu, qui a pris au fil du temps une dimension symbolique positive. Dans la vie d’une femme, le filage était considéré comme un signe de l’activité domestique et aussi un gage moral de celle-ci. Il a donc acquis un caractère idéologique fort dans les cérémonies nuptiales et funéraires. Les quenouilles en verre sont répertoriées dans toutes les provinces de l’Empire Romain à partir du Ier siècle ap. J.-C. Elles sont datées par l’association directe avec les monnaies du Ier et du IIe siècle ap. J.-C. trouvées dans les tombes. Une caractéristique particulière est leur fréquence élevée dans les sépultures féminines, faisant dûment partie de l’inventaire funéraire tout au long du IIe siècle ap. J.-C., comme on peut le voir dans les nécropoles du nord de la péninsule italienne, de la Pannonie et de la Moésie Supérieure, etc.
Pontica 54, 2021, p. 395-407.
In the present study we want to present a number of seven fibulae specific to the 6th century AD ... more In the present study we want to present a number of seven fibulae specific to the 6th century AD discovered at Ulmetum. The brooches are divided into two main categories: 1. Fibulae with bent stem - five objects; 2. Cast fibulae with bent stem - two objects. Both types represent a category of clothing accessories very common in the Byzantine provinces of the Balkan Peninsula during the mentioned century. They are found very frequently in civil settlements, fortifications, and necropolises. Although their manufacture is not very complicated, they were produced on a smaller scale in barbaricum also. The considerable number of fibulae discovered in various contexts indicates both their demand and their large-scale production, being a phenomenon of the "clothing fashion" of the 6th century AD.
Ex Ponto, 3-4, (70-71), 2021, p. 166-173.
Dossiers d'archéologie. Hors série, 40, 2021, p. 70-73.
Essays in Archaeology and Ancient History in Honor of Victor Henrich Baumann at his 80th anniversary, 2021
This paper focuses on a bronze stamp – signaculum ex aere – discovered in 1989, at Dumbrăveni, in... more This paper focuses on a bronze stamp – signaculum ex aere – discovered in 1989, at Dumbrăveni, in Southern Dobrudja, very close to the border with Bulgaria. The phrase signacula ex aere refers to the the Roman artifacts used to stamp food products, organic materials, construction materials, etc., included in the category instrumentum domesticum inscriptum Signacula are important for the inscriptions they bear, such as proper names or abbreviations of names, all in genitive case (often in the plural form). On the signaculum from Dumbrăveni there is a Greek name engraved on two lines ‒ ΕVTVXHΔOC, derived from the patronymic Εὐτύχης. Based on the analogies with other signacula discovered in Lower Moesia, respectively at Marcianopolis, it was possible to date the signaculum from Dumbrăveni to the 3rd c. AD. Whatever their primary or secondary utility, such instruments were unanimously assigned an economic and commercial function. Signacula are an important epigraphic and historical source, associated with the Roman social elite, who was directly involved in the economic activity of the colonies or provinces where the stamps were discovered.
Ex Ponto, 17, 66-67/3-4, 2020, p. 170-173.
Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 25(1), 2019, p. 113–122
Discovered in a large number in the Balkan-Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, the swastika-s... more Discovered in a large number in the Balkan-Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, the swastika-shaped fibulae with horse-head decorations are in most cases attributed to the military. The iconographic motive and form are the artistic expression of Thracian traditions specific in the Lower Danube regions. The precursors of this type of brooches are the silver brackets found in Thracians princely graves discovered in Romania and Bulgaria dated in the 4 th century BC. Chronologically framed in the 2 nd-4 th centuries AD, the roman fibulae are discovered mainly in military environments. On the territory of Dobroudja (Moesia Inferior), four brooches of this type are known, one at Ulmetum and three in the civil settlement near the camp of Durostum, at Ostrov-Ferma 4.
Ex Ponto, Nr. 2-3, (62-63), (Anul XVII), aprilie – iunie, iulie – septembrie 2019, p. 182-186
Semnalate pentru prima dată în Mesopotania şi în Egipt, mecanismele de închidere s-au născut fără... more Semnalate pentru prima dată în Mesopotania şi în Egipt, mecanismele de închidere s-au născut fără îndoială din necesitatea omului de a-şi securiza lucrurile personale, odată cu apariţia primelor aşezări urbane. Deşi Plinius cel Bătrân atribuia originea mecanismelor de închidere lui Theodorus din Samos, cele mai timpurii descoperiri datează din vremea lui Ramses al II-lea (sec XIII a. Chr.) în Egipt şi a regilor asirieni, cum ar fi cele găsite în palatul regelui Sar-gon al II-lea (sec. VIII a. Chr.) din Khorsabad, Irak. Confecţionate la început din lemn, os şi mai apoi din metal, pentru o rezistenţă şi o durabilitate mai mare, dispozitivele antice de securitate s-au dovedit a fi eficiente din punct de vedere al mecanismelor folosite. Preluate mai apoi de către bizantini, ele au funcţionat pentru o lungă perioadă de timp, până la finele epocii medievale. Denumite în latină clavis pentru cheie şi sera sau claustrum pentru încuie-toare/broască, mecanismele de închidere se pot împărţi în trei tipuri: încuietori fixe, mobile (lacăte) şi sisteme de securitate pentru mobilier (casete de lemn). Încuietorile fixe au fost folosite în Europa încă din prima epocă a fierului. Cu un sistem rudimentar de asigurare a uşilor, acesta era format dintr-o bară metalică în forma literei "S" care la un capăt avea un cârlig, iar în partea opusă un mâner mobil. În perioada grecească clasică, după cum se poate observa pe reprezentările de pe vasele pictate, asemenea chei erau de dimensiuni mari, fiind purtate pe umăr. Pe o piesă aflată în colecţia muzeului din Boston, se păstrează o inscripţie în greacă care s-ar traduce: "Templul lui Artemis din Lousoi", prin urmare acest tip de obiecte au fost denumite "chei de templu". Casetele de lemn sunt atestate atât arheologic cât şi în izovoarele antice, dar și reprezentate pe mozaicuri, cum ar fi în cazul celor descoperite la Zeugma, Turcia. Pe unul dintre ele, în care este ilustrată căsătoria dintre Dionysos şi Ariadne, un personaj din alaiul de nuntă este reprezentat oferindu-i zeiţei o casetă de lemn plină cu bijuterii din aur. Mozaicul a fost datat undeva în secolele II-III p. Chr.
Studia Universitatis Cibiniensis. Series Historica, vol. XV / 2018, p. 37 - 51, Sibiu, Romania
In this article, the authors present some Roman Age graves discovered during preventive archeolog... more In this article, the authors present some Roman Age graves discovered during preventive archeology carried out in the necropoleis of Tomis between 2014 – 2016. They also point out recent discoveries of ditches found nearby the graves dating from the same period, that hint the possibility of cemetery plotting during Roman times in Tomis.
Ex Ponto, Nr. 4 (60), (Anul XVI), octombrie – decembrie 2018, p. 173-179.
Uneltele şi ustensilele meşteşugăreşti se regăsesc în majoritatea siturilor de epocă romană şi ro... more Uneltele şi ustensilele meşteşugăreşti se regăsesc în majoritatea siturilor de epocă romană şi romano-bizantină. Ele sunt indicii ale vieţii cotidiene de zi cu zi ale comunităţilor locale. Descoperirile de la Ulmetum sunt diversificate şi se împart în mai multe categorii, în funcţie de particularităţile funcţionale. Tipologic fac parte din grupul de obiecte denumite generic, instrumentum domesticum. Îmbinând nu de puţine ori utilul cu frumosul, în care se adaugă elemente simbolice de natură spirituală şi religioasă, obiectele evidenţiază latura practică şi pragmatică a mentalităţii romane, preluată apoi în epoca creştină şi de către romano-bizantini.
STUDIA NUMISMATICA ET ARCHAEOLOGICA In honorem magistri Virgilii Mihailescu-Bîrliba oblata
The authors aim to discuss some minor discoveries made in the
commune of Dobrovăţ (Iaşi County). ... more The authors aim to discuss some minor discoveries made in the
commune of Dobrovăţ (Iaşi County). Thus, following a field survey carried out on the territory of this village, a new settlement belonging to the Sântana de Mureş-Cerneahov culture was discovered. The archeological data that were gathered consist in ceramic fragments that are typical for this period, but also two fibulae, one being typologically
identified as Fibeln mit umgeschlagenem Fuß and the other belonging to the A-VII type - Almgren group VII, series I.
Tyche. Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 2017
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PhD Thesis summary by Radu Petcu
Antiquity and Late Antiquity by Radu Petcu
commune of Dobrovăţ (Iaşi County). Thus, following a field survey carried out on the territory of this village, a new settlement belonging to the Sântana de Mureş-Cerneahov culture was discovered. The archeological data that were gathered consist in ceramic fragments that are typical for this period, but also two fibulae, one being typologically
identified as Fibeln mit umgeschlagenem Fuß and the other belonging to the A-VII type - Almgren group VII, series I.
commune of Dobrovăţ (Iaşi County). Thus, following a field survey carried out on the territory of this village, a new settlement belonging to the Sântana de Mureş-Cerneahov culture was discovered. The archeological data that were gathered consist in ceramic fragments that are typical for this period, but also two fibulae, one being typologically
identified as Fibeln mit umgeschlagenem Fuß and the other belonging to the A-VII type - Almgren group VII, series I.
second half of the 6th century AD. This type of oil lamps is of North African influence, probably Egyptian.
research of the graves – we discuss the absolute chronology of more than one and a half millennia of burial mounds use in Dobroudja and the transformation of burial practices in this interval. Our results correlate with fi nds from burial mounds investigated in eastern and southern Romania but also the wider steppe-like regions of Hungary, Bulgaria and Serbia.
An archaeological research was carried out at Stejeriş (Moldovenești commune, Cluj county) within
the “Autostrada” National Research Project, during August-September 2014. As a result of the
archaeological excavations four archaeological complexes were identified and investigated: two dwellings,
pits and a cult construction dating to the Middle Bronze Age (Wietenberg culture). This article presents new
archaeological evidence, as well as a selection of recently discovered pottery fragments, analyzed by
considering the current state of research about Wietenberg culture. The archaeological site, located on
Măhăceni plateau, was partially affected by the construction highway (km 64+850–65+100).
representations on pottery, clay “altars”, anthropomorphic vessels and clay figurines. Interesting fact is that human representations depicted on those kind of artifacts mentioned before are very similar one to another.
the last debitage stages, the cores were used for producing flakes as well as blades, both types of blanks being equally represented. The important number of cortical and rejuvenation products indicates a local (for the most part) lithic production. Nevertheless, judging by the lack of significant debitage byproducts, the assemblage includes blanks obtained from elsewhere; also, it seems possible that some of the locally obtained blanks were removed from the assemblage (some of the flint or chalcedony
blanks). Most of the retouched items fall under the categories of endscrapers and truncated blades. Besides the 671 pieces analysed in this study, another 13 items were chemically analysed to detect possible sources of raw material.
settlements.
Thematically papers were divided into 11 sessions, dealing with different aspects of Greek, Roman and Byzantine fibulae (cf. the program in the abstract booklet). Revised papers will be published in a peer-reviewed proceedings volume.
A fibula is a brooch or pin for fastening garments, typically at the right shoulder. The fibulae developed in a variety of shapes and are usually divided into families that are based upon historical periods, geography, and/or cultures. They are also divided into classes that are based upon their general forms. Fibulae were found in relatively large quantities in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area, where they were in use and produced frequently between the Bronze Age and Medieval periods. So far the study of these multifunctional objects has been overlooked in the Mediterranean whereas there is still a huge amount of unpublished material from excavations and museums in an area from Portugal down to Egypt.
Fibulae can be categorized based on different criteria, including genres of material, production, use and distribution. The purpose of this video conference was to create an analytical framework for understanding the fibulae in their social and material contexts. This conference considered in depth the role played by fibulas – whose uses ranged from clothes pins to status symbols to military badges of rank – in ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine societies. In recent decades, major excavation projects have produced vast quantities of material data that have reshaped our understanding of the fibulae, while also raising new questions about their use and production over the long term. We focused on a study of brooches in general and fibulas in particular. Along the way we looked at the intersection between material culture and ethnicity, dealing with the contentious issue of how much that a people’s material culture can tell us about their ethnicity – or not! In this online conference we only focused on Greek, Roman and Byzantine fibulae from the Mediterranean and Black Sea area between c. early sixth century B.C. and early seventh century A.D., and attempted to set out a comprehensive model for the study of fibulae, including their definition, typology, chronology, contexts, function, regional characteristics and distribution patterns in the whole Mediterranean and Black Sea geographies.
This conference on ancient material culture and instrumenta is dedicated to the 75th birthday of Dr Maurizio Buora, the former director of the Civici Musei Castello di Udine in Italy and an international authority on fibulae.
Such papers that engage the following themes and topics are invited:
- Fibulae from archaeological field projects (especially well-dated finds), museums and private collections,
- Identification of different kinds of fibulas,
- Ancient Greek and Latin textual sources on fibulae,
- Evolution of fibulae in the Mediterranean and Black Sea area during the Etruscan, Lydian, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods,
- The construction of fibula taxonomies,
- Similar instrumenta in the ancient Near East and their relations to ancient Graeco-Roman fibulae, - The nature of different types of surviving material culture,
- What ancient Greeks and Romans thought about afterlife? Fibulae in funerary and votive contexts,
- Comparative studies and issues related to the adoption of Greek and/or Roman fibula models in indigenous contexts: fibulae as major indicators of the relationship between these two communities (indigenous and Greek or Roman),
- Fibula as an indicator of rank and prestige in the ancient world,
- Domestic and commercial use of fibulae,
- Early Christian fibulae,
- Byzantine fibulae,
- Post-Byzantine or modern replicas of Classical fibulae,
- Eastern fibulae in the ancient western world,
- Major production centres of fibulae in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea area,
- Related instrumenta to fibulae in the regards of their function,
- Documentation and analysis of fibulae,
- The creation of a fully annotated and organized corpus,
- Publication of fibulae in the Mediterranean in possible corpara,
- Miscellanea.
By this logic, we should be able to observe a degree of Christianisation in the provinces of the Empire which would be proportional to their level of militarisation. The “limes” being theoretically the most militarised area in Late Antiquity, it should then be the most Christianised. Should we therefore see evidence of the military outposts as units of Christian propaganda around the Empire?
It is true that most of the episcopal sees of this part of the Roman world were founded in military camps. Compared to the importance of the militarisation of these territories, the episcopal network was, however, very modest even up to the middle/end of the 6th century, so that the contribution of the army to the spread of Christianity does not seem as obvious is sometimes assumed.
In order to propose elements of answers to that research question, presentations on all archaeological of Christianity on the border areas of the Roman Empire are welcome in this session. These papers can focus on new discoveries, as well as on the re-evaluation of material already studied, which dates, for most of it, from the 4th to 7th centuries AD.
This session is the second part of a first one on the same topic, organised in September 2019, at the 24. International Limes Congress (Belgrade/Viminacium, Serbia).
Capidava it is a roman military fortress located on the Danube frontier in Moesia Inferios/Scythia Minor, from the 2nd century AD up to the end of the 6st century AD. In the principate period from the epigraphic source there are two cohors mentioned which stationed there: Coh I Ubiorum and Coh I Germanorum.