- Prehistoric Archaeology, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Early Metallurgy, Balkan prehistory, Aegean Prehistory (Archaeology), Archaeology of the Eurasian steppe belt, and 32 moreEast Anatolian and Caucasian Bronze Age Culrures, Early Anatolian Metallurgy, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Prehistory, Mediterranean archaeology, Anatolian Archaeology, Aegean Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Neolithic & Chalcolithic Archaeology, Prehistoric Warfare, Archaeometallurgy, Mineralogy, Archaeometry, Ancient Weapons and Warfare, Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin, Lower Danube Archaeology, Prehistoric weapons, Prehistoric Technology, Metalwork (Archaeology), Metal Finds (Archaeology), Bronze Age metal hoards, Bronze Age (Archaeology), Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Archaeometallurgy, Anatolian Studies, European Prehistory (Archaeology), Prehistoric Archeology, Ancient Metallurgy, Neolithic Archaeology, Neolithic Europe, Archaeology, Neolithic, and Megalithic Monumentsedit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Balkan Studies, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Bronze Age Archaeology, and 5 moreBalkan prehistory, Prehistory, Iron Age, Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin, and Cimmerians, Herodotus, Scythians, Pontic area, Black Sea area, Caucaaus, Near East, Anatolia, nomads, steppe peoples
The authors present a flat metal axe discovered in Prigoria (Gorj County), using a metal detector. From a typological point of view, the axe belongs to the series of flat axes characteristic of the 4th millennium BC in the Oltenia area,... more
The authors present a flat metal axe discovered in Prigoria (Gorj County), using a metal detector. From a typological point of view, the axe belongs to the series of flat axes characteristic of the 4th millennium BC in the Oltenia area, with a higher probability for a dating towards the middle of this millennium, or even in a period corresponding to the Coțofeni culture. Some technological peculiarities of the item, observed both macroscopically and by X-ray Computed Tomography examination, allow a more detailed discussion on the casting and forging techniques of flat axes in the early Bronze Age in the Lower Danube.
Research Interests:
The Glina-type flanged axes were acknowledged as such in 1975 by Alexandru Vulpe. Seventeen artefacts of this type exist up to the present moment, distributed in south-eastern Transylvania and south of the Carpathians, mainly in the Olt... more
The Glina-type flanged axes were acknowledged as such in 1975 by Alexandru Vulpe. Seventeen artefacts of this type exist up to the present moment, distributed in south-eastern Transylvania and south of the Carpathians, mainly in the Olt and Argeş basins. The finds here suggest the presence of several typological variants, while their inclusion in one main type is indicated by their general aspect and proportions. All are cast in closed bivalve moulds with the metal poured through the butt. Some were subjected to compositional analyses, such as the axe from Râşnov (cat. no. 14) with 5% Sn. In the case of two artefacts, the conditions of discovery are unknown, three are isolated finds, two are part of a hoard alongside a shaft-hole axe, and the remaining nine originate from various occupation contexts. Geographically-wise, two finds from south-eastern Transylvania come from Schneckenberg or Jigodin-type contexts and seven artefacts recovered south of the Carpathians originate from Glina-type settlements. We may thus conclude that the Glina-type flanged axes represent a consistent group, well individualised in time and space. They constitute one of the arguments (alongside the Dumbrăvioara-type shaft-hole axes, the Runcuri-type pottery etc.) for the very close links between the Glina-type communities and those on the Upper Olt Basin, within a chronological horizon dated, most probably, between 2700 and 2500 BC.
Research Interests: Balkan prehistory, Bronze Age (Archaeology), Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), European Copper and Bronze Age – Archaeometallurgy – Prehistoric Metalworking in Social Context – Settlement Archaeology – Application of Geophysical Methods in Archaeology – Neolithic – Theory / Cultural Anthropology – Material Culture Studies, Lower Danube Archaeology, and Metal artefacts
The author discusses the problem of prehistoric metal daggers discovered in the Carpathian-Danubian area. Particular attention is paid to the contexts from which these daggers come, observing a certain differentiation during the... more
The author discusses the problem of prehistoric metal daggers discovered in the Carpathian-Danubian area. Particular attention is paid to the contexts from which these daggers come, observing a certain differentiation during the Chalcolithic, Bronze and early Iron Age. Thus, in the Chalcolithic, early and middle Bronze Age, most daggers come from settlements and graves, a very small number being found in hoards and single depositions. On the contrary, in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, the ratio changes significantly, with most daggers being found in hoards and single finds. It is very likely that this differentiation will also reflect changes in the meaning and functionality of daggers within those prehistoric societies.
Research Interests: Balkan archaeology, Bronze Age (Archaeology), European Prehistory (Archaeology), Eneolithic, and European Copper and Bronze Age – Archaeometallurgy – Prehistoric Metalworking in Social Context – Settlement Archaeology – Application of Geophysical Methods in Archaeology – Neolithic – Theory / Cultural Anthropology – Material Culture Studies
The paper presents four flat axes recently discovered in Oltenia by detectorists. AII four items are made of copper, two of them with a small amount of arsenic. Considering their technological and typological features, the axes could be... more
The paper presents four flat axes recently discovered in Oltenia by detectorists. AII four items are made of copper, two of them with a small amount of arsenic. Considering their technological and typological features, the axes could be dated in the early Bronze Age (ca. 3500-2500 BC). The authors discuss several topics concerning the copper ores and metallurgical activities in the western Lower Danube area during the early Bronze Age.
Research Interests: Prehistoric Archaeology, Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Balkan archaeology, Balkan prehistory, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), and European Copper and Bronze Age – Archaeometallurgy – Prehistoric Metalworking in Social Context – Settlement Archaeology – Application of Geophysical Methods in Archaeology – Neolithic – Theory / Cultural Anthropology – Material Culture Studies
The author considers several Bronze Age tanged daggers from the collection of the Lower Danube Museum, discovered by chance in various places from Călărași County. The first is a dagger from Vâlcelele with a rhomboid guard, having good... more
The author considers several Bronze Age tanged daggers from the collection of the Lower Danube Museum, discovered by chance in various places from Călărași County. The first is a dagger from Vâlcelele with a rhomboid guard, having good analogies in the north‑Pontic area in Srubnaya and early Sabatinovka contexts. It is the only known dagger of this type from the west‑Pontic area to date, being in connection with the Coslogeni‑type discoveries from the Lower Danube. Other three daggers found at Grădiştea, Roseţi and Coslogeni are typologically earlier, dated during the second half of the 3rd millennium – first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Their context (chance finds/single depositions) differs from that of the typologically similar items from the Carpatho‑Danubian and north‑Pontic areas, usually found in settlements, or as grave‑goods. Therefore, a transmission and use of the three daggers until the late Bronze Age in the communities with Coslogeni‑type ceramics can be assumed, which would also explain their different context.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Balkan archaeology, Balkan prehistory, Bronze Age (Archaeology), and 3 moreEarly Bronze Age (Archaeology), European Copper and Bronze Age – Archaeometallurgy – Prehistoric Metalworking in Social Context – Settlement Archaeology – Application of Geophysical Methods in Archaeology – Neolithic – Theory / Cultural Anthropology – Material Culture Studies, and Metal artefacts
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Bronze Age Europe (Archaeology), Metal Finds (Archaeology), Archaeometallurgy, Balkan prehistory, Early Bronze Age, and European Copper and Bronze Age – Archaeometallurgy – Prehistoric Metalworking in Social Context – Settlement Archaeology – Application of Geophysical Methods in Archaeology – Neolithic – Theory / Cultural Anthropology – Material Culture Studies
C'est de l'automne 1988 que date ma première rencontre avec Alexandru Vulpe. Il faisait une conférence sur Pythéas de Massalia à la Faculté d'Histoire de l'Université de Bucarest. J'avoue que je ne me souviens plus très bien du contenu de... more
C'est de l'automne 1988 que date ma première rencontre avec Alexandru Vulpe. Il faisait une conférence sur Pythéas de Massalia à la Faculté d'Histoire de l'Université de Bucarest. J'avoue que je ne me souviens plus très bien du contenu de ce cours et je pense même que je n'en ai pas compris grand chose non plus à l'époque. Il s'agissait d'un cours assez difficile pour un jeune étudiant inexpérimenté. Mais ce que j'ai remarqué et retenu, c'était l'érudition du conférencier, la manière dont il a fait appel à une multitude de sources antiques pour mieux retracer le voyage du géographe tout au long des côtes de l'Europe, mais ce que j'ai surtout retenu, c'est le fait que dans la recherche du passé il faut toujours envisager plusieurs hypothèses plausibles. En même temps, cette rencontre a été cruciale pour moi, en ce que j'ai pris la décision de me rendre, dès l'été suivant, sur le chantier de fouilles de Popeşti, dont il était le responsable. Ce choix a complètement bouleversé ma vie, car Alexandru Vulpe était un homme qui possédait la faculté d'orienter les destins, toujours en bien. Il est difficile d'esquisser en très peu de mots la personnalité d'Alexandru Vulpe. Je ne crois pas exagérer en affirmant qu'il fait partie de cette minorité de chercheurs qui ont vraiment marqué l'archéologie roumaine au cours des dernières décennies, tant par son oeuvre scientifique que par l'école d'archéologie qu'il a réussi à créer.