Demjen Andrea
National Museum of Transylvanian History, History, Faculty Member
- Medieval Studies, Death and Burial (Archaeology), Medieval Ecclesiastical Archaeology, History, Anthropology, Archaeology, and 9 moreArt History, Arheologie, Education, Social Sciences, Modern History, Early Modern History, Post-Medieval Archaeology, Post medieval Transylvania, and Frontier Studiesedit
This article tries to present the story of the archaeological excavation carried out by Béla Pósta in the Calvinist church of Tirimia (Hung. Nagyteremi, Germ. Gross-Wachsdorf, Mureș County) in 1904 and to analyze the objects discovered on... more
This article tries to present the story of the archaeological excavation carried out by Béla Pósta in the Calvinist church of Tirimia (Hung. Nagyteremi, Germ. Gross-Wachsdorf, Mureș County) in 1904 and to analyze the objects discovered on that occasion, preserved today in the patrimony of the National Museum of Transylvanian History in Cluj-Napoca. Reconstructing an excavation carried out almost 120 years ago, when the archaeology of medieval and early modern churches was in its infancy, based exclusively on objects kept in museum repositories and on letters/diaries of the period, is a difficult task. From the correspondence between Béla Pósta and the people directly or indirectly involved (the Calvinist priest of the village of Tirimia, Márton Kakasy; the local landowner Baron László Solymosy, etc.) and from the personal diaries of Lajos Kelemen we can partially reconstruct the archaeological excavations, the scandal that followed, and later the fate of the objects discovered during the research.
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The present article briefly focuses on written sources and archaeological excavations organized in 2015 in the Rákóczi Fortification. This was located at about 32 de km on the north-eastern side of the town Miercurea-Ciuc, in the village... more
The present article briefly focuses on written sources and archaeological excavations organized in 2015 in the Rákóczi Fortification. This was located at about 32 de km on the north-eastern side of the town Miercurea-Ciuc, in the village Ghimeș-Făget (Bacău County). There was an observation post that functioned since the beginning of the seventeenth century and was connected to the Ciucului Mountains customs (tricesima). During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Blockhaus C or “Cetatea Rákóczi” was part of a very complex system of fortifications consisting of ramparts, ditches, and bastions. These were meant to protect the border between Transylvania and Moldavia. The fortification’s periodization was made on the basis of archaeological researches, on-site observations (the study of the walls’ structure and the composition of the mortars) and finally, by correlating this information with the plans kept in Kriegsarchiv in Vienna.
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When the archaeological research of the Pricske quarantine institution started in the summer of 2009, no one expected that quarantine would be such a topical issue due to a pandemic in 2020. Quarantine is not a novelty: in the Middle... more
When the archaeological research of the Pricske quarantine institution started in the summer of 2009, no one expected that quarantine would be such a topical issue due to a pandemic in 2020. Quarantine is not a novelty: in the Middle Ages, the mandatory isolation period was first introduced for maritime transport in the port cities of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia), Marseille, and Venice. In the early eighteenth century, quarantine institutions were established along the borders of the Habsburg Empire as part of a sanitary cordon (cordon sanitaire). They protected the borders for almost 150 years and were meant to stop the spread of contagious diseases (especially the plague). The present paper is focused on the development of the quarantine system at the passes of the Eastern Carpathians. Furthermore, by the example of the excavated quarantine area at Pricske, I demonstrate what has remained of it at an archaeological site in Eastern Transylvania.
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Written sources indicate that burials inside churches and within the churchyard enjoyed a special status throughout the Szekler region. For both Catholics and Protestants, burials in the church, mainly around the communion table, had a... more
Written sources indicate that burials inside churches and within the churchyard enjoyed a special status throughout the Szekler region. For both Catholics and Protestants, burials in the church, mainly around the communion table, had a particular status linked to the belief that the chances for resurrection on the day of the Last Judgement were higher for those who were closer to the saints, to the sanctuary. Nobles, donors and benefactors of the church as well as clergymen would normally be buried there. However, the church allowed every social category to have a grave in the church against a certain amount of money. Burials in the church and in the churchyard were regulated by several ecclesiastic decrees that were disregarded most of the times. The austerity measures in the church protocols give us some information about those situations. In the Middle Ages the church was packed with graves, which, at the beginning of the early modern period, led to decisions to confine burials t...
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Since 2009, interdisciplinary investigations (wall facing research, geo-radar measurements) have been carried out at the Roman-Catholic church in Joseni, followed by archaeological excavations in order to clarify the building phases of... more
Since 2009, interdisciplinary investigations (wall facing research, geo-radar measurements) have been carried out at the Roman-Catholic church in Joseni, followed by archaeological excavations in order to clarify the building phases of the monument. The archaeological research was performed in two stages (2010 and 2015). The 2010 archaeological excavations evidenced that the framework located within the eastern wall of the tower lay in secondary location. Research in 2015 revealed the nave of the previous (medieval) church and 26 burials from the cemetery in the church vicinity. The burials discovered underneath the foundation of the AMS dated nave place its construction in the second half of the 15th century (possibly the following), while those lying below the tower foundation show that the tower was likely built by late 15th century – early 16th century.
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A pricskei vesztegintézet 2009 nyarán elkezdett régészeti kutatásakor senki sem gondolta volna, hogy a karantén téma a 2020-as világjárvány kapcsán ennyire aktuális lesz. A karantén nem új keletű dolog: a középkorban Raguza (ma Dubrovnik,... more
A pricskei vesztegintézet 2009 nyarán elkezdett régészeti kutatásakor senki sem gondolta volna, hogy a karantén téma a 2020-as világjárvány kapcsán ennyire aktuális lesz. A karantén nem új keletű dolog: a középkorban Raguza (ma Dubrovnik, Horvátország), Marseille és Velence kikötővárosokban vezették be először a tengeri közlekedés számára a kötelező elkülönítési időszakot. A 18. század elején a Habsburg Birodalomban a határok mentén létrehozott egészségügyi védőövezet (kordon; cordon sanitaire) részeként alapítottak karanténokat/vesztegintézeteket, amelyek közel 150 évig ellenőrizték a határszéleket és védekeztek a járványos betegségek (főleg a pestis) behurcolása ellen. Jelen írásom azt tárgyalja, hogyan alakult ki a karantén-rendszer a Keleti-Kárpátok átjáróinál, illetve a pricskei vesztegintézet régészeti feltárásán keresztül azt mutatom be, hogy hogyan őrződtek meg egy kelet-erdélyi lelőhelyen ennek maradványai.
Research Interests: Quarantine and Archeology
The present paper briefly presents the archaeological excavations and interdisciplinary researches (georadar, dendrochronology, and AMS dates) performed on five churches in Giurgeu Depression, in Gheorgheni, Joseni, Lăzarea, Valea... more
The present paper briefly presents the archaeological excavations and interdisciplinary researches (georadar, dendrochronology, and AMS dates) performed on five churches in Giurgeu Depression, in Gheorgheni, Joseni, Lăzarea, Valea Strâmbă, and Suseni. In the light of the new archaeological researches, the beginnings of ecclesiastic architecture in Giurgeu Depression cannot be dated earlier than the thirteenth century. At the church of St. Nicholas
in Gheorgheni archaeologists were able to note a previous foundation beneath the southern wall of the Gothic
nave, while a grave dated to the second part of the thirteenth century was discovered under the foundation of the wall built together with the north-western corner of the present-day tower. Thus, the first phase of the medieval church in Gheorgheni, together with the tower of the fortification of Both located in the eastern edge of the city can be dated to the thirteenth century. In the case of the Romanesque church discovered in Lăzarea archaeologists noted that the nave disturbed a previous grave. At the church in Joseni, that still preserves Romanesque architectural details, the archaeological researches have not yet attested the existence of a previous church. The data presented above clearly show that the first churches in Giurgeu Depression (Gheorgheni and Lăzarea), a peripheral region of Transylvania with the harshest weather conditions, were already built in the middle of the thirteenth century. Even in the case of main or filial churches believed to date from a later period, the research has proven the fact that their history started much earlier and that previous ecclesiastic buildings must be presumed. A
grave was disturbed during the construction of the Late Gothic choir of the church in Suseni and the medieval pottery fragments collected during systematic field walks performed on the territory of the village of Valea Strâmbă support the earlier dating of the settlement. I believe that the researches performed by our team in 2008-2016 have contributed to a more profound knowledge of the medieval and modern ecclesiastic architecture in Giurgeu Depression.
in Gheorgheni archaeologists were able to note a previous foundation beneath the southern wall of the Gothic
nave, while a grave dated to the second part of the thirteenth century was discovered under the foundation of the wall built together with the north-western corner of the present-day tower. Thus, the first phase of the medieval church in Gheorgheni, together with the tower of the fortification of Both located in the eastern edge of the city can be dated to the thirteenth century. In the case of the Romanesque church discovered in Lăzarea archaeologists noted that the nave disturbed a previous grave. At the church in Joseni, that still preserves Romanesque architectural details, the archaeological researches have not yet attested the existence of a previous church. The data presented above clearly show that the first churches in Giurgeu Depression (Gheorgheni and Lăzarea), a peripheral region of Transylvania with the harshest weather conditions, were already built in the middle of the thirteenth century. Even in the case of main or filial churches believed to date from a later period, the research has proven the fact that their history started much earlier and that previous ecclesiastic buildings must be presumed. A
grave was disturbed during the construction of the Late Gothic choir of the church in Suseni and the medieval pottery fragments collected during systematic field walks performed on the territory of the village of Valea Strâmbă support the earlier dating of the settlement. I believe that the researches performed by our team in 2008-2016 have contributed to a more profound knowledge of the medieval and modern ecclesiastic architecture in Giurgeu Depression.
Research Interests:
When the archaeological research of the Pricske quarantine institution started in the summer of 2009, no one expected that quarantine would be such a topical issue due to a pandemic in 2020. Quarantine is not a novelty: in the Middle... more
When the archaeological research of the Pricske quarantine institution started in the summer of 2009, no one expected that quarantine would be such a topical issue due to a pandemic in 2020. Quarantine is not a novelty: in the Middle Ages, the mandatory isolation period was first introduced for maritime transport in the port cities of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia), Marseille, and Venice. In the early eighteenth century, quarantine institutions were established along the borders of the Habsburg Empire as part of a sanitary cordon (cordon sanitaire). They protected the borders for almost 150 years and were meant to stop the spread of contagious diseases (especially the plague). The present paper is focused on the development of the quarantine system at the passes of the Eastern Carpathians. Furthermore, by the example of the excavated quarantine area at Pricske, I demonstrate what has remained of it at an archaeological site in Eastern Transylvania.
Research Interests:
This paper discusses the glass artefacts (window panes, drinking glasses, rectangular bottles and apothecary vials) uncovered during the systematic archaeological excavations undertaken at the quarantine facility in Pricske (Harghita... more
This paper discusses the glass artefacts (window panes, drinking glasses, rectangular bottles and apothecary vials) uncovered during the systematic archaeological excavations undertaken at the quarantine facility in Pricske (Harghita County). The chronology of these objects is connected to the period of occupation of the quarantine facility, namely the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the subsequent century.
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The article analyzes in detail the stove tiles discovered during the systematic archaeological researches performed in 2009 – 2013 and in 2015 at the quarantine in Pricske (Harghita County). The chronology of the objects is tied to the... more
The article analyzes in detail the stove tiles discovered during the systematic archaeological researches performed in 2009 – 2013 and in 2015 at the quarantine in Pricske (Harghita County). The chronology of the objects is tied to the period when the quarantine was in use, i.e. between 1732 and 1808.
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The article analyzes in detail the 107 smoking pipes discovered during systematic archaeological excavations performed in 2009–2013 and 2015 at the quarantine in Pricske (Harghita County). The chronology of the items is connected to the... more
The article analyzes in detail the 107 smoking pipes discovered during systematic archaeological excavations performed in 2009–2013 and 2015 at the quarantine in Pricske (Harghita County). The chronology of the items is connected to the period when the quarantine was in use, i.e. between 1732 and 1808.
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Archaeological research at the fortifiation and the quarantine area in Pricske
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Archaeological research at Saint Nicholas Church in Gheorgheni
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Archaeological research at Both Fortress