Iosif Vasile Ferencz

The structures with perhaps the highest visibility among those that appeared in the landscape
in Burebista’s time, or shortly before his reign, were the so-called “fortresses on heights”. They still
attract attention today and are considered true “hallmarks” of the Dacian civilization. They were
designated as “fortresses” by only considering their defensive potential. A large number of such
monuments have been identified inside the Carpathians range, but few have been archaeologically
researched. In many situations, their plan or size is unknown; if they were excavated, there is limited
information about their organization, the constructions inside the enclosures, the development
stages, etc. The purpose of this article is to identify the components of the structures designated as
“Dacian fortresses” to distinguish an organizational model and to better understand their
functionality.

On this occasion, we are proposing to address a topic still unexplored in the Romanian archaeological literature, from
the perspective of older or more recent archaeological discoveries. Through the present work, we want to draw attention to some
pulleys discovered in the southwest of Transylvania, still rare objects among the artifacts dating from the Dacian kingdom era.
Such artifacts document a distinct area of ancient technology, namely the ways in which heavy objects were lifted and handled.
The pretext is provided by an artifact discovered in Ardeu in 2009, a piece that is in the collections of the Museum of Dacian and
Roman Civilization Deva.

In the southern areas of the Apuseni Mountains, both watermills and rotary querns were used until the middle of the 20th century. They gradually disappeared and, unfortunately, very few images remain to illustrate them. But in the memory of some people, sequences of an old world are still preserved. Therefore, gathering oral information from those who still remember the image of the mountain village becomes an objective that cannot be postponed.

The Cetăţuie hill from Ardeu, located in the commune of Balșa, in Hunedoara county (Romania), it was been investigated
systematicaly in the last two decades, and the results have been frequently presented. The site was inhabited during several
historical eras, but during the Dacian kingdom it experienced the most intense development. The beginning of the fortification can be
dated, probably during the 1st century BC, perhaps in the middle of that interval, while the end of the Dacian habitation is associated
with the confrontations with the Romans, at the beginning of the 2nd century of the Christian era. Older discoveries, especially
accidental ones, were only rarely analyzed. For this occasion we have proposed to present some of the objects discovered on the
occasion of the beginning of the works for the setting up of the stone quarry.

The scope of this article is to discuss the main components of the social structures which characterized the “Celtic” and the “Dacian” cultural and chronological horizons, and to identify, on the basis of the available archaeological evidence, the means and practices through which social hierarchy and competition was expressed within the communities of each horizon. The rural society specific to the “Celtic” horizon was largely heterarchic, whereas the “Dacian” horizon was characterized by a hierarchic social organization. The differences between these two horizons can be observed in the funerary practices, the organization of the landscape, and the range of visual symbols used in the expression of social status and power by the local elites.

The scope of this article is to discuss the main components of the social
structures which characterized the “Celtic” and the “Dacian” cultural and
chronological horizons, and to identify, on the basis of the available archaeological
evidence, the means and practices through which social hierarchy and
competition was expressed within the communities of each horizon. The rural
society specific to the “Celtic” horizon was largely heterarchic, whereas the
“Dacian” horizon was characterized by a hierarchic social organization. The differences
between these two horizons can be observed in the funerary practices,
the organization of the landscape, and the range of visual symbols used in the
expression of social status and power by the local elites.

Thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy are used in the study of various mortar samples clearly attributed to different
historical periods in south-western Transylvania (Romania). The results obtained will clarify the character of certain samples,
one Medieval period mortar sample, and a few Dacian kingdom period mortar samples. The results may contribute in the
successful identification of the construction techniques used in the buildings from where the samples originate. The area
under investigation is of great importance for Romanian heritage, so restorers have to find and produce mortars similar to
those used in the building of our monuments. The thermoanalytic curves obtained in the case of possibly Dacian period and
medieval mortars are presented in the following. Surface morphology (SEM) and elemental analysis (EDX) were investigated
by scanning electron microscopy. Analysis was completed with XRF. The studies managed to solve the proposed objectives,
namely demonstrated the presence of mortar and the use of limestone from the local site as a raw material to obtain the
mortars analysed and listed above. Furthermore, it provided new data useful for the interpretation of building techniques
used in the region and period, though the data are not sufficient to completely clarify the relevant questions.

About the archaeological discoveries from Ardeu (Balşa commune, Hunedoara county), many pages have been written over time1. We tried to present a different overview on the site „Ardeu-Cetăţuie”2. On this paper we set out to undertake an exploration of the mythological micro-universe, in the form in which it is still preserved among the members of the community of Ardeu village. %e investigation is based on small sequences collected from local folklore, directly from the locals, during the research campaigns, as well as by the Hunedoara journalist Laura Oana. %e study area is located in the south of the Apuseni Mountains3, in a place dominated by rocky cliffs (Fig. 1) and caves, where there are traces of habitation of populations from many historical times.%e walls of some fortifications, visible for centuries on top of the Cetăţuie hill, were a source of inspiration for the collective imaginary of the place, allowing the adaptation of some archetypes widespread in mythology, to the ...

An iron object discovered in the 2002 research campaign, on the plateau of the Dacian fortress in Ardeu, is the subject of this work. The piece represents a fragment of a pilum-the spear characteristic to the Roman heavy infantryman. Such artifacts are rare in archaeological finds in the Dacian environment. Its presence in Ardeu, in the level o f destruction of the most important construction investigated in that place, seems to be related to the confrontations that ended with the destruction of the Dacian ensemble. The mentioned events probably took place at the beginning of the 2 nd century AD.

In the final decades of the Late Iron Age some changes are recorded within the European civilizations. In Central and Western Europe the oppidum civilization is developing, characterized by sites with Celtic materials. In Transylvania small rural communities continue to exist similarly as during previous centuries. Alongside them fortified settlements and fortresses also begin to appear. Celtic artifacts are missing nearly completely from these sites. The “Cetăţuia” (Citadel) at Ardeu is one of the lesser known monuments in the Hunedoara County. Just a brief glimpse at any map shows that the positioning of the fortress allows it to control the local valley and also to defend the shortest road connecting the capital of the Dacian Kingdom with precious metals deposits in the Apuseni Mountains. In our opinion this is the reason why the settlement and fortress developed and thrived for almost two centuries, before Roman legionaries put an end to its existence. The walls were built of local stone, clay and wood and enclosed an area of about 1/2 ha. Inside the stronghold we identified structures such as: houses, a workshop as well as a tower-dwelling, interpreted as a personal residence of a Dacian nobleman. So far the location of the gate has not been identified but access from the foot of the hill to its summit was by a path, suitable for traveling by foot, horse or mule. In the lower lying area on southern slopes of Ardeu Valley, at Gura Cheilor, we identified a settlement dating from the same period as the fortress. Dacian fortresses appeared in late second and early first century B.C., in Transylvania, in some places outside the arc of the Carpathians, in the Romanian southern Banat, right on the Danube bank. Some of them, probably the richest, were built using blocks of dressed limestone, in a Hellenistic technique, but in most of them local stone was used. Inside some structures were identified, most of them interpreted as noble residences. The Dacian fortress at Ardeu is similar to most other strongholds from that period. It had the same plan and the walls were built from the same type of raw material as most Dacian fortresses of this type. The archaeological material is also similar to that recorded at other sites dated to this period. The positioning of the Cetăţuia stronghold at Ardeu, not very far from Sarmizegetusa Regia, as well as its special features recommend it as an interesting site for further research.

In 2016, while carrying out a campaign on a Dacian "tower-house" type structure identified in earlier years on the Cetățuie Hill in Ardeu, an atypical material was noticed on the inferior surface of a stone block sitting perpendic¬ular on the revetment. Its appearance, of different colour and texture compared to the stone block it was attached to, led us to immediately assume it could be mortar. Based on this working hypothesis a series of questions were formulat¬ed, with the purpose of extracting as much valuable information as possible from the sample. Powder X-ray diffraction and petrographic investigations were carried out in order to answer these questions.

The archaeological site Ardeu – Cetăţuie is well known in the literature due to the results of the systematic research developed in the last two decades. Thus, an important Dacian fortification was uncovered on the hilltop, preceded by sporadic prehistoric traces of habitation and followed by a Middle Ages fortification. Other remains pertaining to the aforementioned periods have been identified at the foot of the hill (Pl. I).
Several ancient objects appeared by chance during the industrial works.
Amongst them, there is a bronze dagger, discovered by a local and donated to the Orăştie Museum. Later, it became part of the archaeology collection of Deva Museum. The necessity of a rescue excavation has led to a single campaign, conducted by L. Nemoianu and I. Andriţoiu, in 1973. The results were published as a brief report which addressed the respective dagger (text and illustration).
Although the publication of the artefact was resumed three times in the 1990s, the information comprised only the find spot and a concise description. Therefore, we are rediscussing the item, with the intention to provide all the available data at this moment, including the correct chronological framing.
The bronze dagger is small in size. The handle features a rounded plate and four perforations for fastening. The triangular blade is elongated, having a longitudinal median rib. The object was preserved in a good condition (Fig. 1; Pl. II).
The chronological context is illustrated by the Middle Bronze Age ceramic
materials, unearthed on top of Cetăţuie and also on the terraces below. They add to several fragments from the same chronological phase, found in different spots in the area of the site. The pottery can be attributed to the final stage of the Middle Bronze Age and the early stage of the Late Bronze Age. In terms of culture, we are dealing with materials belonging to phase III of the Wietenberg culture and to the Bădeni III-Deva horizon, which is placed on the next chronological level.
In regards to typology, analogies for the Ardeu dagger are found in the larger space of the Carpathian Basin, namely in the neighbouring cultural milieus of the Transylvanian territory, but also further to the west. Yet the closest similarities are displayed by two daggers discovered in Slovakia, dated at the end of the Early Bronze Age and the debut of the Middle Bronze Age. Nevertheless, the archaeological context which illustrates the Bronze Age occupancy at Ardeu and in the surrounding area, corroborated with other few finds of this kind of contemporary pieces in Transylvania,
determined us to frame our artefact in the early stage of the Late Bronze Age. This dating could be revised if similar finds with well-determined context would appear.
Presented in the light and limits of the data available so far, the bronze dagger form Ardeu adds to the very small number of similar artefacts discovered in Transylvania.

An archaeological site which is more and more visible in the scientific literature at the beginning of this millennium is known as Ardeu – Cetăţuie. It is placed in southwestern Transylvania, North of the Mureş Valley, in the Apuseni Mountains, in a small village named Ardeu. The investigations on this site were started at the end of the 19 th century, but the most extensive researches were done in the last decade. The interest of the research team focused on the top of the hill where the Dacian fortress was identified, but also at the bottom, in the ancient settlement. During the time, several topographic surveys were done, but in this paper we try to analyze some observations on the topographic survey made in the year 2013 by Alexandru Hegyi and Cristian Floca. 1. The archaeological site Ardeu: description and location Ardeu is a small mountain village, located in the South West of Transylvania, in the Metaliferi Mountains. From an administrative point of view, it is affiliated to...

Carbon (C) and oxygen (O) stable isotopes from tooth enamel have become a valuable tool in both geosciences and archeology in reconstructing past environmental and climatic conditions. Oxygen isotopic values in bone apatite and tooth enamel are directly related to body fluids, which in turn are dependent upon the source of drinking water, thus being a suitable paleoclimate proxy. On the other hand, the stable isotope ratio of C from tooth enamel is based on differences in C isotope discrimination between plants using the two major photosynthetic pathways (C3/trees and C4/grasses). The abundance of trees versus grasses is controlled by climate variables and the transfer of this "signature" amid plant foods in the diet of mammals and mammalian tooth enamel δ 13 C values (ε diet−enamel) allows us to use C isotopic composition of bioapatite as a climate proxy. This study is the first of its kind from an archaeological site in Romania, which is dated back to before the Roman co...

During the rescue research organized at the end of 2014 in Tărtăria, Alba County, many archaeological complexes were discovered,
which dated from several historical periods. One of them belongs to the La Tène period and is thought to be a dwelling. Based on
stratigraphical observations we established that after its abandonment it was quickly filled. The archaeological inventory consists mostly of
ceramics and osteological materials, and some of them had traces of processing. The entirety of the archaeological material discovered at the
site of Tărtăria-Pietroşiţa is the subject of a long process of evaluation, but on this occasion, we intend to outline the main directions used to
analyze the ceramic material found in the La Tène dwelling. Our purpose is to analyze the ceramic inventory based on 5 specific attributes
that are macroscopically distinguishable: category, color, the basic elements in the paste, smoothing and firing type.

... | Ayuda. Despre o spada celtica descoperita la Aiud. Autores: Iosif Vasile Ferencz; Localización: Apulum: Arheologie. Istorie. Etnografie, ISSN 1013-428X, Vol. 44, Nº. 1, 2007 , pags. 73-82. © 2001-2011 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. XHTML 1.0; UTF ...

The world is permanently changing, so that throughout life, many of us are left with nice memories for realities that are left behind and lost, or other times survive only in our memory. In rural areas, the transformations are often slower and maybe that's why the memories of the locals seem to preserve more intensely the image of a specific way of life. Traditions, customs, occasional or daily activities and crafts are left behind, which no longer find their place in the present time.
Vărăritul is the craft by which limestone is transformed into lime, and it was one of the occupations practised by many communities in mountain areas, in the Apuseni Mountains and elsewhere. On this occasion, we intend to record some sequences of the respective craft in the rural environment in the area of the Metaliferi Mountains. The paper is based on the testimonies of three locals, recorded during the research campaigns but also on other occasions.

... | Ayuda. Asezari din la Tène-ul timpuriu si mijlociu în bazinul central al Muresului. Autores: Iosif Vasile Ferencz; Localización: Apulum: Arheologie. Istorie. Etnografie, ISSN 1013-428X, Vol. 34, Nº 1, 1997 , pags. 79-92. © 2001-2011 ...

La disseminazione ad Accesso Aperto (autorizzata dal Prof.Univ. Dr.Sabin Adrian LUCA) è mediata da: "Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology" http://www.jiia.it - JIIA Eprints Repository http://eprints.jiia.it:8080/ ... La disseminazione ad Accesso Aperto (autorizzata dal ...

... | Ayuda. Des fibules celtiques sur le cours moyen du Mures. Autores: Iosif Vasile Ferencz; Localización: Apulum: Arheologie. Istorie. Etnografie, ISSN 1013-428X, Vol. 36, Nº 1, 1999 , pags. 135-144. © 2001-2011 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. ...

... | Ayuda. Despre o spada celtica descoperita la Aiud. Autores: Iosif Vasile Ferencz; Localización: Apulum: Arheologie. Istorie. Etnografie, ISSN 1013-428X, Vol. 44, Nº. 1, 2007 , pags. 73-82. © 2001-2011 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. XHTML 1.0; UTF ...

The importance of the middle Mureș area for human communities in all
historical epochs is mainly due to mineral resources. But its role as the main link between Transylvania and the Central European areas of the Carpathian Basin must also be emphasized. The wide and easily accessible corridor of this river facilitates the communication between the two geomorphological units. And the importance of trade in antiquity has been noted by many historians3. More than that, some ancient authors considered that the river Maris5 flows into the Danube and not into the Tisza (Fig. 1).
In the area of Vețel village, Valea Mureșului is well individualized within the surrounding mountain landscape (Fig. 2). The sector crossed by Mureş downstream of Deva and up to the locality of Lipova is called by some geographers Culoarul Mureşului (Mureș Corridor). The area provided good conditions for the establishment of human settlements and even if the discoveries belonging to the Roman era are the best known in this micro-area, there are also discoveries belonging to other historical epochs.
On this occasion, we will try to present in a synthetic way the discoveries dating back to the centuries that preceded the founding of Micia.
1. A first chronological interval that we have in mind is constituted by the so-called “Celtic horizon” (c. 350–175 BC).
Transylvania and the parts in western and northwestern Romania today were colonized by the Celts in several stages. Biritual necropolises, in which there are dead buried and cremated, with inventories that include objects specific to the La Tène culture, but also some from the local background, mark the main access roads from the west to Transylvania and are also present in the center of the Transylvanian Plateau.
At the same time, small groups of deep dwellings are associated with settlements of farmers and animal breeding communities.
In the microzone in which the traces of ancient Micia were also identified, we notice that the objects belonging to the respective chronological and cultural horizon, which we know, are not numerous. They are represented by a fragment of a bronze belt (Fig. 4) and some fragments of ceramic vessels recently discovered in the eastern extremity of the village (Fig. 5, 7-8). Even in such small numbers, they can indicate the presence of a settlement, in the place called Gerhat and may be a necropolis, at the point La Hotar.
Other complexes dated in stage C1 of La Tène, seem to have been discovered in 2018 in the place called Luncă/ În Vie.
2. The second chronological interval that we have in mind in the area of Micia is the so-called „Dacian horizon” that falls from the second half of the second century BC, until the beginning of the second century AD.
Among the accidental discoveries recorded over time, we draw attention to an object made of gold plate, interpreted to be a harness prometopidion) (Fig. 9/1) and a spearhead (Fig. 10). But the most numerous objects specific to the Dacian horizon come from the Piatra Coziei Hill, where small-scale archaeological research, carried out more
than half a century ago, seems to have identified a settlement60, or maybe even a fortress.
To summarize, it can be seen that the analyzed micro-zone have a rich potential of archaeological discoveries dating back to the second Iron Age, whose exploitation is still awaiting systematic involvement.

Biserica ortodoxă “Adormirea Maicii Domnului” din satul Strei (jud. Hunedoara) este unul dintre cele mai vechi monumente de arhitectură şi artă ecleziastică din Ţara Haţegului. Biserica-monument, datată în secolul al XIII-lea, are un ansamblu mural atribuit celei de-a doua jumătăţi a secolului al XIV-lea. De-a lungul vremii, edificiului iniţial i s-au adăugat o serie de construcţii anexe (sec. al XV-lea) şi o capelă de rit reformat (sec. al XVIII-lea). De asemenea, complexul ecleziastic se află în apropierea unor vestigii de epocă romană (villa rustica), a unei locuiri post- romane şi a ruinelor reşedinţei feudale.
În primăvara anului 2000, cu ocazia unor lucrări de întreţinere şi reparaţii, Muzeul Civilizaţiei Dacice şi Romane din Deva a întreprins săpături de salvare a vestigiilor din jurul bisericii. Au fost deschise patru suprafeţe : S1 3 x 1,70 m, S2 8 x 10,30 x 9 x 7 m, S3 6 x 1,5 m, C1 2 x 1 m. În urma cercetărilor au fost descoperite 42 de morminte, care pot fi datate, pe baza inventarului funerar şi a observaţiilor stratigrafice, în intervalul secolelor XV-XIX. Inventarul funerar este extrem de sărac şi constă în monede aparţinând celei de-a doua jumătăţi a secolului al XVI-lea şi obiecte de podoabă (verigi de bronz şi argint, nasturi globulari cu perle metalice etc.). Totodată a fost dezvelită fundaţia unui zid (Z1) şi un prag format din lespezi de piatră.
Aceste elemente constructive, necunoscute până în prezent, dovedesc existenţa, pe laturile de vest şi nord ale bisericii-monument a unor edificii databile în secolul al XV-lea. Destinaţia lor nu ne este cunoscută cu certitudine, dar putem presupune fie existenţa unui sistem defensiv cu ziduri de incintă, fie prezenţa unei mănăstiri ortodoxe în perioada secolelor XV-XVII.
Noile cercetări arheologice de la Strei au oferit o serie de informaţii extrem de utile privind evoluţia complexului ecleziastic de la Strei.

Subiectul volumului proaspăt apărut la Editura Mega din Cluj-Napoca este mai puțin
dezbătut în literatura arheologică din România cu privire la epoca fierului. Așa cum precizează încă din titlu, autorul ne propune o incursiune într-un cadru intim al societăților din Transilvania ultimei jumătăți de mileniu înainte de Hristos.
Aurel Rustoiu s-a remarcat pe parcursul ultimelor trei decenii și jumătate printr-o
lungă serie de studii abordând cu predilecție subiecte de istorie veche și arheologie cu accent pe civilizația celtică și cea dacică în Transilvania, Banat și în Bazinul Carpatic. Într-un astfel de cadru cronologic și spațial se înscrie și demersul pe care îl prezentăm cu acest prilej.

About the archaeological discoveries from Ardeu (Balşa commune, Hunedoara county), many pages have been written over time1. We tried to present a different overview on the site „Ardeu-Cetăţuie”. On this paper we set out to undertake an exploration of the mythological micro-universe, in the form in which it is still preserved among the members of the community of Ardeu village. The investigation is based on small sequences collected from local folklore, directly from the locals, during the research campaigns, as well as by the Hunedoara journalist Laura Oana. The study area is located in the south of the Apuseni Mountains3, in a place dominated by rocky cliffs (Fig. 1) and caves, where there are traces of habitation of populations from many historical times.
The walls of some fortifications, visible for centuries on top of the Cetăţuie hill, were a source of inspiration for the collective imaginary of the place, allowing the adaptation of some archetypes widespread in mythology, to the geographical framework of the place. Thus, we had the opportunity to capture details that ensure the connection with the intimate environment of popular beliefs. We noticed the persistence of a series of significant elements, with their own function, which are correlated with each other: giants and their homes, huge guardians and/or treasure owners, underground rooms and tombs of giants. In the mythical universe, the giants lived in “Colţ”, on/in Dealul Cetăţuie (Cetăţeauă), an archeological site registered in the National Archaeological Repertory and in the List of monuments and archeological sites. From the point of view of archeological research, the association of the site with the treasures brings disadvantages, and the activity of the treasure hunters can only be classified as harmful for the national cultural heritage.
The material proof of the presence of the giants at Ardeu, in antiquity, is a skeleton, or rather the accidentally unearthed head of a person with larger dimensions than the usual ones. As it is still preserved, the legends with and about giants are part of the general structure and limits of the genre, with details that are widespread, in large spaces, but also with some particular ones. These fairy tales and stories are in a process of updating, but nevertheless we tried to understand their ancestral meanings and to draw research directions.
The folklore of Ardeu village is vast unexplored land, in full  transformation, land from which representative details
are lost every day. Sequences of the mythological universe can still be recovered in Ardeu, such as the set of customs during the winter seasons, whose „piece of resistance” is represented by Căluşerii.

A series of studies were dedicated to the roads built on the territory of Dacia Province, and their ensemble was systematically analyzed more than a decade ago. The ancient roads between the most important centers of Dacia focused an increased attention. In the same time the connection roads between smaller settlements were studied either. During different historical moments, they were used by communities that inhabited some micro-areas in parallel, several communication routes, which combine valley and peak roads.
Through this material, we aim to investigate the possible routes of a distinct sector of the road that connects the town of Ampelum, located on the Ampoiului Valley, to Germisara, located on the Mureș Valley. The importance of the first as a mining centre is well known, and the notoriety of the second is based on thermal waters with recognized therapeutic qualities.
Following the road upstream, starting from the village of Renghet, the landscape changes. The slope becomes more and more accentuated, there are steeper, and the communication routes follow the Geoagiu Valley, which in this sector is generously wide. On the territory of Bozeș village, it narrows again, but the natural setting allows the arrangement of three access variants to the north, to the Ardeu - Balșa depression.
The argumentation of the paper we propose is based on the analysis of archaeological and cartographic sources and on the analysis of the land, especially on a distinct sector, in the area of Bozeș, Băcâia, Ardeu and Cheile Cibului localities. The habitation of human communities in the area, during many historical epochs, is attested archaeologically and literary. And one of the important sites, both for the era of the Dacian kingdom and for the period in which the Province of Dacia functioned, is the site identified on the Cetățuie hill in Ardeu village and in its surroundings. A number of archaeological arguments for the interpretation of possible itineraries of roads in antiquity have been provided by the research of this site.
Through this study, we propose a model for the investigation and analysis of road networks in antiquity, the Middle Ages and in the pre-modern and modern periods.

In the 2019 field campaign, we assigned as
researches objectives to continue the documentation of
the tower dwelling’s transversal profile (West-East). Our
investigations were targeted on the western slope. The
researches brought a series of important new features for
the knowledge of the construction technique, but also for
the level of destruction of the aristocratic dwelling - the so called
“tower-dwelling” and of course, of the Dacian hillforts.

The attractiveness of Hunedoara County is due to both the natural environment and the richness of cultural elements, landscapes or monuments. The variety and diversity of ethnographic areas, which bring together different traditions, give the area a special specificity. Among them, the Luncanilor Platform represents a well-individualized area
From the vast cultural landscape that characterizes that area, on this occasion we intend to draw attention to a certain type of wooden construction, specific to the place, which can only be seen in museum exhibitions or old photographs. The round “staur” with a conical roof is a shelter for sheep, located in the perimeter of the household and is intended for sheltering animals during the cold season.
Archaeological research carried out in the last century in the Șureanu Mountains, with the objective of knowing the Dacian civilization, has brought to light the traces of constructions with a round or polygonal plan. They are present both at Grădiștea Muncelului, where the capital of the Dacian Kingdom - Sarmizegetusa Regia was identified, but also in other places: at Feţele Albe, at Meleia, Rudele and Pustâiosu.
Ethnographers and some historians have argued that in the lands around ancient Sarmizegetusa, polygonal constructions with shingled faceted shingles have been perpetuated to this day, even if they are no longer intended for actual living.
As far as we are concerned, we believe that starting from the two hypostases presented, the historical and the ethnographic one opens a favorable horizon for the research of a fascinating cultural field.

An iron object discovered in the 2002 research campaign, on the plateau of the Dacian fortress in Ardeu, is the subject of this work. The piece represents a fragment of a pilum-the spear characteristic to the Roman heavy infantryman. Such artifacts are rare in archaeological finds in the Dacian environment. Its presence in Ardeu, in the level o f destruction of the most important construction investigated in that place, seems to be related to the confrontations that ended with the destruction of the Dacian ensemble. The mentioned events probably took place at the beginning of the 2 nd century AD.

The volume presents monographically the discoveries of the second Iron Age in a well-specified area of Transylvania. More specifically, it is the period when Celtic civilization is archaeologically certified in that area (end of 4-th - beginning of 2-nd century BC). This work was the subject of the author’s dissertation for the Phd. And the work is representative for the Transylvanian area. Actually, it was the first regional monographic synthesis, concerning Celtic discoveries in that region. It was drafted in Romanian but also contains a generous summary in English, with reference to the most important references and illustrations.

It is generally known that the way in which the researchers chose to present their own activity and especially the
results of their work to the public is insufficient. This fact is not a characteristic only of Romanian research.
As concerns the research of the past, the situation is not different even if the public interest (coming from various
socio-professional categories) regarding history is a high one.
The Dacian civilization fascinates due to the mystery that surrounds the information coming from written sources. The veil that
covers the culture, the events and the way of life specific to the Dacians is gradually removed by the meticulous research of the
archaeologists. The fulfilment that the researcher feels when he very carefully completes the huge puzzle of the past is very rarely
transmitted to the un-academic public. Often, in discussions with friends, I felt this shortcoming appearing like a veiled criticism. Also, I
have felt a reproach in their voices and as a constant; I have never found sufficient arguments to contradict them. The only answer that I,
as a museum researcher, can give them is to offer them an available perspective from which the Dacian culture and civilisation can be
known and understood.
Starting from this, the idea of a series of temporary exhibitions appeared. This is “Art and craftsmanship during the
Dacian Kingdom epoch”. Together with my colleagues we chose this general title being convinced that it could comprise
numerous aspects related to the Dacian culture and civilisation. We started with the presentation of ceramics because
from many points of view, it represents one of the most important category of vestiges discovered in archaeological
excavations. We have the conviction that the museum product that was “staged” in 2011 at the Museum of Dacian and
Roman Civilisation of Deva and ulterior at Brad, was a success (Ferencz 2011).
For this year, we have chosen to approach a theme that is totally new even for the researchers. In this respect, we
should mention the Dacian objects made of bone, antler, shells (or osseous materials artefacts, as the international
methodological canons refer to them) discovered during the researches done in the last few years, researches carried out
in the Hunedoara area, but also in other parts from Transylvania and Banat. The exhibition starts from the moment of
raw material acquisition and it continues with the finite object, every aspect being integrated in the (reconstructed or
suggested) natural, socio-economic and technologic environment in which these artefacts were manufactured or used.
We have the intention to present sequences of life from the Dacian Kingdom as in a history class, in each class
another domain being approached and for each sequence to approach another domain. In this respect, we will present
exhibitions related to the iron and bronze metallurgy, stone working, architecture, clothes etc.

Subiectul volumului proaspăt apărut la Editura Mega din Cluj-Napoca este mai puțin dezbătut în literatura arheologică din România cu privire la epoca fierului. Așa cum precizează încă din titlu, autorul ne propune o incursiune într-un cadru intim al societăților din Transilvania ultimei jumătăți de mileniu înainte de Hristos.
Aurel Rustoiu s-a remarcat pe parcursul ultimelor trei decenii și jumătate printr-o lungă serie de studii abordând cu predilecție subiecte de istorie veche și arheologie cu accent pe civilizația celtică și cea dacică în Transilvania, Banat și în Bazinul Carpatic. Într-un astfel de cadru cronologic și spațial se înscrie și demersul pe care îl prezentăm cu acest prilej.