Thanks to a project supported by the Physics Advisory Committee of the “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, five samples were analyzed, taken from pits rich in archaeological material (Pits 76, 78, 93, 99, and 116). The selection of samples was determined by the presence, in their fill, of inventory items and ceramic fragments traditionally attributed to the Early Iron Age (EIA). The analyzed batch also included a sample from Pit 93, whose fill contained an inventory item and ceramic fragments from the EIA, along with several vessel pieces that could possibly be assigned a broader chronological range, up to the 4th century BC. The last two pits (Pits 99 and 116) stood out for their distinctive character, suggesting the possible existence of ritual practices. Following radiocarbon analysis, the samples from Pits 76, 78, 99, and 116 were dated, with a probability between 94.7% and 95.4%, to the interval 1265–804 cal BC, which broadly corresponds to the proposed archaeological dating—namely the 12th–10th centuries BC. The result for the sample from Pit 93 indicates, with a probability of 80.1%, the interval 564–394 cal BC, and with 10.7%, the interval 746–689 cal BC. These data confirm the chronology suggested by certain categories of artifacts, especially bronze arrowheads (pyramidal or with three fins) and fragments of Chios amphorae, dated to the third quarter of the 5th century BC. The later dating supports reservations regarding the cultural-chronological attribution of some complexes with ceramics that can be placed in both the Early and Late Iron Age, even in the presence of inventory items securely dated to earlier phases.
În cadrul acestui articol este revizuită cronologia și periodizarea necropolei atribuite culturii sarmatice de la Petrești. Autorii cercetărilor de la Petrești, S. Kurceatov și V. Bubulici, au presupus că situl a funcționat între cel de-al doilea sfert al sec. II și începutul sec. III p. Chr. Pe baza unei reevaluări tipologice detaliate a materialelor cu relevanță cronologică –importuri provinciale romane (veselă și amfore de tip Šelov C), catarame de centură (tipurile Symonenko 1 și 1.a) și o oglindă de bronz (tipul Hazanov IX) - se propune un cadru revizuit a funcționării sitului. Necropola pare să se fi evaluat în două faze distincte: faza I (M. 1, 10 și 25) corespunde etapelor B2b–începutul C1a a epocii romane (cca. 120–170/180 p.Chr.), în timp ce faza 2 (M. 6, 7; structuri comemorative 6 și 22) corespund etapei C1 a epocii romane (cca. 170/180–230/240 p. Chr.). Prin urmare, opinăm că necropola a fost utilizată între cel de-al doilea sfert al sec. II și prima jumătate a sec. III p. Chr. Această reevaluare subliniază necesitatea unor modele cronologice mai precise pentru Barbaricum european.
This paper presents two pieces of large jars, one of them bearing a Latin inscription of four letters, spelling SATV, the other decorated with geometrical figurines imprinted in the row fabric before firing. The archaeological artefacts were retrieved from the filling layers of a pit-house dated in the late 2nd and first half of the 3rd century. The unusual rim shape of the inscribed jar alongside the archaeological context together with all the other finds, the Latin inscription and the decoration represent motifs for discussion regarding the origins, dating and functionality of these two jars.
The conquests of the Roman state and the subsequent peace of Augustus ultimately changed the historical and cultural map of the Mediterranean. Included in the provincial system, the population of three continents establishes contacts to a much greater degree, which facilitates the exchange of ideas, points of view and values. It is not necessary to dwell on the processes that followed, but it was the penetration of Egyptian cults into the European landscape and their diffusion to the margins of the Pax Romana one of the most significant markers of their scale. The Balkans, in particular the western coast of the Black Sea and southern Thrace, are distinguished by an area favoring their penetration. It is hardly possible to point to a single factor for the situation in the region. By analyzing the data, we partly understand the processes favoring their appearance. Obviously, they are much more complex and require an in-depth study of data with certain characteristics, interpretation methods, different techniques and a different vision. This gave me a reason for a new approach that focuses specifically on people. After all, they are both the initiators and the “end product” that caused cultural and religious diversity along the western Black Sea coast. According to the conducted study, several traits distinguishes well in the epigraphic habit of the population. First of all, it should be noted that the Tomis inscriptions mostly date from the Imperial era. This may be an indicator of the flow of inhabitants from the Orient towards the supposed main center of the province for the period. It seems that this flow is of great help in maintaining religious diversity and at the same time favors the diffusion of deities foreign to Thrace. The arriving population determines the diversity of the settlement, so that the participation of a heterogeneous cultural element in Egyptian religious practices seems justified. Indeed, by looking at the inscriptions we cannot tell what exactly a person’s place in the established order or their ethnic origin is. Nevertheless, from the character of the dedications and the nomenclature extracted from the inscriptions, a general idea of belonging to the Hellenistic East is created. Of course, some of them are descendants of individual settlers or entire groups. The evidence appears in anthroponymy, a sign of the stability of onomastic traditions in the family. Secondly, we must rethink the role of people from unfree sircles and former slaves in the system of religious practices. Onomastics are not able to fully trace their path through the religious system, but in fact the nature of naming and some anthrioinyms suggest the participation of people of the mentioned echelon. Glimpses of their manifestation in the epigraphic fund can be traced in Tomis.
It includes epigraphic fragments found in the deposits of the Timișoara Museum, belonging to 15 inscriptions. They represent a votive monument probably dedicated to I. O. M. (no. 1), another dedicated to the same deity for the salvation of a provincial governor during the reign of Maximinus Thrax (no. 2), a third dedicated to the Genius of the numerus Palmyrenorum Tibiscensium (no. 4), a fourth related to the statio of the Tibiscum customs post (no. 5), a fragment of a statue base of Emperor Gordian III (no. 8), as well as several fragments of imperial inscriptions or relating to the troops of the Tibiscum camp.
Iznik, with its ancient name Nicaea, contributed to all civilizations that developed around it during and after antiquity, and became the social, political and economic center of the periods it witnessed. One of the buildings is the Roman Theater, which maintained its feature of being an attraction point during the Roman period. The first information about the construction phase of the theater, which was raised on a flat area of vaulted galleries, is taken from the letters written by Pliny the Younger, who was appointed as the governor of Bithynia, to Emperor Trajan in 111 AD. In the letters, it is mentioned that porticos were built with the donations of private individuals. The remains of porticos/colonnaded galleries located to the east and west of the scaenaee were unearthed during the recent excavations. The galleries date to the 2nd century AD and are identified as having two floors in Corinthian style. The first floor has been erected by postaments, conglomerate fluted smooth columns, Corinthian capitals, architraves made of gray local marble, conglomerate frieze, dendiculae, cornice, geison and sima. However, Attic- Ionic bases, columns made of white marble, Corinthian capitals, Hermae, parapets, architraves made of white/ yellow marble, cantilever frieze, cornice, geison, sima and pediments made of gray local marble are used on the second floor. The aim of this study is to analyze in detail the columned galleries, a similar example of which is not found in contemporary theaters.
The study examines seven lekythoi donated to the collection of the Selçuk University Museum between 2019-2020. The analysed vessels can be categorized into two groups:plain or shouldered and squat. They were painted in black-figure and red-figure techniques. Their decorative motifs include figural (female head), floral (palmette) and geometric (meander, running dog, stripe, net pattern, white dot) elements. The plain or shouldered lekythoi date to the first half of the 5th century BC and the squat lekythoi to the 4th century BC. Some of the lekythoi have been attributed to the Bulas Group, while others were assigned to the Megera painter and his workshop. The clean clay content of the lekythoi, the lustre and quality of the firing and the fine workmanship of the decoration suggest they were likely imported from Attica.
This paper focuses on nine fibulae curently housed in the Museum of Lycian Civilisations in Demre (ancient Myra), in south-western Türkiye. These finds were transferred from Antalya Archaeological Museum to the recently inaugurated museum in Lycia, and none of them comes from documented excavations. They belong to the Iron Age (cat. nos. 1–7) and the Roman period (cat. nos. 8–9). Their significance lies in the fact that fibulae are scarcely attested in scholarly literature for this area.
For Julius Nepos, the last legitimate Western Roman emperor, gold coinage was minted in Italy in three mints (Roma, Ravenna, and Mediolanum), to which he soon joined another two mints after he ascended to the imperial throne – one each in Gaul (Arelate) and Dalmatia (Salona or Spalatum). As a rule, they all minted solidi and tremisses (only Rome minted semisses), but in accordance with the tradition established as early as the beginning of the reign of the emperor Valentinian III, the mints were marked by symbols only on the reverses of the Western Roman solidi. An exception are the solidi of Nepos minted in Dalmatia as they are the only ones that do not bear a mint mark. Despite this fact, their existence and features were recognized in the 1980s, when the first two examples were singled out. Since then, the number of known Dalmatian solidi of Nepos, although then doubled, has only grown slightly, and still remains far less than the number of Dalmatian tremisses known to the present. Nonetheless, that insignificant greater number of solidi has enabled a more thorough analysis of their stylistic characteristics and a more purposeful recognition of the typological features sufficient for the definition of the various periods of their minting. The scarcity and the complete lack of connection between the dies of the Dalmatian solidi of Nepos provides a warning about the possibility of their short-term nature or even temporary minting in relation to the recognizable continuity of minting characteristic of the Dalmatian tremisses of Nepos.
In the Romanian archaeological environment, the early medieval discoveries from Albești-La Cetățea (Mureș county) have long attracted attention, especially due to the particularities presented by the pottery, which have also determined the proposed chronological classification of the site. Starting from these characteristics/peculiarities, in the present approach we proposed to re-discuss the early medieval archaeological inventory (pottery) and, considering the formal and visual characteristics (related to the identified analogies), to propose another chronological framework for the stage of habitat ante year 1000. On several pots are present a series of decorative elements with special characteristics, described as “elongated impressions” or “narrow horizontal bands features made with the comb”. Gh. Baltag believed that this ornament “appears on the Dridu type ceramics, starting from the 10 century, extending in this way the dating of Albești pottery”. The respective dates were taken over in the Romanian archaeological literature without an additional analysis of the archaeological inventory (recte…the pottery!). This decoration (the “elongated impressions/fork decoration”) is not characteristic of Dridu (A) type pottery, nor of the 9-10th centuries. According to examples of ceramic vessels (of the Danube type) decorated in this way come from earlier archaeological contexts (on the periphery of the Avar world, in various locations in the Carpathian Basin: northwest, southwest/Transdanubia, east/Transylvania), that cover chronologically almost the entire Avar Era (starting with the middle/second half of the 7th century and until the end of the 7th century). Referring to the chronology of the examples of pots decorated with “elongated impressions/fork decoration” presented (as analogies), we are of the opinion that the examples from Albești-La Cetățea (provided with this particular decorative element) cannot be dated in the 9-10th centuries. We also believe that, in Albești-La Cetățea, there was only one phase of habitation ante year 1000 (and not two, as was thought!), which can be placed in the chronological interval represented by the middle/second half of the 7-8th centuries (possibly also, the beginning of the 9th century). As for the archaeological features from the period of habitation post year 1000 (those from the 11-12th centuries) from Albești-La Cetățea, they are most likely part of another settlement.
From the latter half of the 13th century, Italian maritime republics, particularly Genoa, Venice, and Pisa, became major political and commercial actors in the Black Sea region. They established a vast trade and communication network that functioned effectively until the late 15th-century Ottoman conquests. Numerous written sources document their trade, military, and religious activities along the eastern periphery of the Mediterranean Sea routes. Material evidence of their daily life in the Northern Black Sea Region, however, as well as information on the integration of different consumer goods from their homelands into exchange processes, and their potential impact on local craft, remains limited. This study explores the circulation of Italian ceramics in the Northern Black Sea area, the impact of Italians ideas on local pottery production and distribution, and the evolution of exchange patterns before and after the Ottoman conquest of the region.
In the cemetery of the auxiliary fort and vicus at Capidava on the Danubian frontier of Moesia Inferior were discovered two weapon graves, one inhumation and one cremation of bustum type, placed in the same tumulus, each of them containing a short sword. Among the three cremations of bustum type of another tumulus there is one including in his funeral assemblage a belt set of silver fittings together with an attached knife sheath dated approximately from the last third of the 2nd century AD until the first quarter of the 3rd century AD. The silver openwork plates of curvilinear design of this set are freely assembled to make a unique belt according to the taste and/or wealth of his owner. So, it seems that the Capidava fittings were manufactured in a workshop from the northeastern part of Moesia Inferior, located perhaps at Durostorum, the base of legio XI Claudia. After the Dacian Wars of Trajan and until at least the end of the 2nd century AD, but most probable also in the 3rd century AD, Capidava was garrisoned by cohors I Germanorum civium Romanorum. Consequently, the weapon graves and the one with the belt set belonged to soldiers or veterans of this military unit. The best analogy of the Capidava military burials is at Noviodunum, c. 160 km downstream on the Danube, where in a grave of a Moesian fleet arkarius were deposited a sword and the silver fittings of a baldric and two belts. Therefore, two of the Capidava military burials belonged probably to non-commissioned officers and the poorest one almost certainly to a private soldier.
Based on the overview of hungarian and international literature, the following picture emerges regarding the function of the bone tubes from Orosháza. Among the bird bone artifacts featuring one to three central openings, scholarly classifications suggest they could have functioned as thread guides, whistles or needle cases. They are considered needle cases if they have one or two circular perforations. However, this type of accessory is characteristic of an earlier horizon, specifically the 10th century. From the 11th century onward, a new variant featuring a pair of circular perforations on opposite sides of one end became widespread, including in regions where yurks were known, making it possible to clearly distinguish between the two differently used artifact types. For specimens with three openings arranged directly next to each other and perpendicular to the object’s longitudinal axes, the whistle function is questionable. Furthermore, they are unlikely to be needle cases, as more than two perforations in the central section would not have been necessary for attachment. In relation to the bone tubes from Orosháza, we lean toward the „yurok” (thread guide) function, a term frequently appearing in Russian and Ukrainian literature. At the beginning of our research, the analysis of scattered data suggests that yurks were present in the East-Central European region during the 11th-13th centuries, and in their area of origin, they can be documented even in later periods. Their use in the Carpathian Basin, based on the available data, is known from the 11th to the 13th centuries. After the Mongol invasion (1241-1242), they disappeared from archaeological findings, though simpler versions persisted in ethnographic records until the early 20th century.
Masa din lemn care face obiectul prezentului demers se află în colecțiile Muzeului Național Brukenthal (Sibiu), are nr. inv. M5312/10.081 și provine din camera de arme a orașului Sibiu (Fig. 1). În articolul privind tipurile de mobilier din sudul Transilvaniei(sec. XV-XVII) publicat de A. Haldner în anul 1976 se face referire și la acest tip de masă (Kufentisch). Masa analizată a fost confecționată la Sibiu (în sec. XVI), fiind considerată o manifestare a artei gotice târzii. Elementele pictate cu alb pe tăblia mesei au fost cele care ne-au atras atenția, determinându-ne să „redescoperim” respectiva piesă de mobilier și să furnizăm o evaluare corectă privind utilitatea acesteia. Toate elementele pictate cu alb de pe tăblia mesei fac parte dintr-un ansamblu unitar, ceea ce s-a pictat în partea dreaptă a tăbliei (linia verticală și „semnele”) s-a copiat și în partea stângă. În ceea ce privește cele două grupuri de „semne” (Fig. 2-4), acestea sunt de fapt numerale latine, câte cincipe fiecare linie verticală (adică: I, X, C, M, X), fiecare cu valoarea cunoscută (I = 1, X = 10, C = 100, M = 1000), dispuse crescător, de jos în sus. Toate aceste elemente pictate indică un sistem matematic, masa în sine fiind utilizată pentru calculul aritmetic (abacus). Se cunoaște faptul că existau două modele de table/mese de calcul (counting table): cu linii trasate orizontal și cu linii trasate vertical, cum este cazul celei de la Sibiu. Alături de numeralele trasate (care aveau valoarea matematică cunoscută), liniile (verticale sau orizontale) și spațiile dintre acestea (verticale sau orizontale) aveau de asemenea valori stabilite: fiecare linie (orizontală sau verticală) avea valoarea 10, iar fiecare spațiu (orizontal sau vertical) dintre linii avea valoarea 5. Calculul aritmetic se făcea prin plasarea monedelor pe linii sau între linii. Varietatea mare de monede (cu valoare și putere diferită de cumpărare) emise în țările europene a dus la apariția unui alt tip de „monedă”: jetonul de calcul (jeton/counting token/rechenpfennig) (Fig. 8-9). În prezent, în Europa mai există (păstrate fizic) extrem de puține mese de calcul aritmetic (abacus) din perioada medievală (Fig. 6), fapt ce conferă o valoare excepțională piesei de la Sibiu. Fără discuție că, această masă („redescoperită” acum) confecționată la Sibiu, contribuie la cunoașterea fizică/palpabilă a sistemelor de calcul aritmetic în Transilvania medievală, arătând faptul că, inclusiv prin știința matematicii, spațiul transilvan a fost racordat la cultura și civilizația vest europeană.
Archaeological research conducted at the Mălăiești Roman Fort between 2011 and 2019 uncovered almost 90 fragments of amphorae. These fragments have been categorized based on their contents: wine, oil, and fish products. Aside from table pitchers and some amphorae likely used for local wine, most of the specimens originated from various Roman provincial exporting centers. The well-known wine exporting centers in the South Pontic region include Heraclea and Sinope. In contrast, the Troesmis X amphorae from the western Black Sea come from an unidentified center. Notably, expensive East Mediterranean wines produced in centers such as Rhodes, Kos, and Chios, as well as those from the western coast of Asia Minor, are also significant. However, only two types of amphorae provide a limited representation of Western Mediterranean centers. Regarding olive oil, it reached Mălăiești in two of the most common amphora types used in military contexts: Dressel 24 and its variant, Dressel 24 Similis, as well as Dressel 25 amphorae. Additionally, amphorae exporting fish products, primarily from the Pontic area, are important to mention. The variety of amphora types and their contents further demonstrate the Roman administration’s commitment to ensuring adequate supplies for the troops.
This study presents results from archaeological surveys and excavations at Hurbat Husham, a strategic hill site in the Judean Foothills. Investigations reveal a Jewish settlement that existed from the Hellenistic period through the Bar Kokhba revolt (3rd century BCE – 136 CE). Key findings include a fortress-like structure at the summit, three ritual baths (miqva’ot), an underground hiding complex, rock-cut tombs, and a large elongated cistern. Material culture—including distinctive pottery and chalk stone vessels—confirms the site’s Jewish character during the Second Temple period. The underground complex with connecting tunnels likely served as an escape system during the Bar Kokhba revolt, similar to those at nearby sites. Based on strategic location, architectural features (particularly the elongated cistern typical of Hasmonean-Herodian desert fortresses), and second-century BCE ceramic evidence, we identify Hurbat Husham with Thamnata—one of Bacchides’ fortresses constructed in 160 BCE as recorded in 1 Maccabees and Josephus’ Antiquities. This identification is supported by the preserved name at nearby Kh. Tibnah and the site’s position controlling major routes into Judea via Nahal Sorek and Nahal Elah. During the Hasmonean and Herodian periods, it served as a fortress associated with the Betholetepha-Pella Toparchy. We suggest Hurbat Husham was likely Rabbi Simeon the Timnite’s hometown during the interbellum period. Late Roman or Byzantine occupation featured a Christian community, evidenced by graffiti on a ritual bath doorpost. One graffito depicts birds alongside a Christogram combining a cross with the Greek letters chi and rho, while another may represent a fish—an early Christian symbol functioning as an acrostic for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” These symbols were later plastered over when the structure was converted to a water cistern, suggesting they date to the late third or early fourth century CE. The findings contribute significantly to our understanding of settlement patterns, defensive strategies, and religious transitions in the Judean Foothills, while addressing historical-geographical questions regarding Bacchides’ fortresses and Rabbi Simeon the Timnite’s origin.
This study is dedicated to a special category of archaeological material, named the oil lamps discovered in the area located to the west of the fort at Micia. A total of 19 pieces, either complete or fragmented, were studied, which were discovered during the archaeological monitoring activity carried out in the area of preventive archaeological research as part of the railway rehabilitation project between 2020 and 2021. The study and analysis of these lamps enhance the understanding of how this category of artifact was used for lighting enclosed spaces (both public and private) at the small site. Most of the analyzed pieces come from the destruction of the balk preserved by the researchers, and the recovery and publication of these Roman lamps are expected to make a significant contribution to the creation of a corpus of Roman oil lamps from Micia.
This study offers a critical re-evaluation of the chronology and periodization of the Sarmatian culture necropolis at Petrești, challenging the dating proposed by S. Kurceatov and V. Bubulici, who placed the site in the second quarter of the 2nd to the early 3rd century AD. Based on a detailed typological assessment of chronologically diagnostic artifacts – including Roman provincial imports (tableware and Šelov Type C amphorae), belt buckles (Symonenko Types 1 and 1.a), and a bronze mirror (Hazanov Type IX) – a revised framework is proposed. The necropolis appears to have developed in two distinct phases: Phase 1 (Gr. 1, 10 and 25) corresponds to the B2b– early C1a stages of the Roman period (ca. 120–170/180 AD), while Phase 2 (Gr. 6, 7; commemorative structures 6 and 22) aligns with phase C1 (ca. 170/180–230/240 AD). The site’s overall period of use, therefore, extends from the second quarter of the 2nd century to the mid-3rd century AD (B2b–C1b), continuing later than previously suggested. This reassessment highlights the necessity for more precise chronological models for Roman Age Barbaricum in the northwestern Pontic region.
The Armenian monasteries and churches in Jerusalem are rich in pilgrims’ inscriptions and graffiti, and the collection and publication of these inscriptions form the primary focus of my research, which began in 2019 as part of the project ‘The Armenian Inscriptions and Graffiti of the Holy Land and Sinai,’ led by Prof. Michael E. Stone of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This article examines the Armenian Convent of the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem and its epigraphic heritage. According to my research, there are more than seventy inscriptions and graffiti, most of which have already been published. However, as my findings indicate, this is not the actual total number of inscriptions at the site, and it is likely that additional examples can still be documented. In this article, I present ten previously unpublished inscriptions and graffiti, found during my research in 2019 and 2022, along with their transcriptions, translations, and relevant annotations.
The results of the preventive archaeological excavations and archaeological supervision carried out between 2022 and 2024 at the amphitheatre of the colonia Ulpia Traiana Dacica Sarmizegetusa are presented here. The work was carried out in the context of the restoration and museum and tourist development project, completed in 2025. Although not extensive, the research brought to light new details about the role and place of the amphitheatre in the life of the colony and the province of Dacia.
