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.
