Papers by Ardeleanu Marius
ANALELE BANATULUI, S.N., ARHEOLOGIE – ISTORIE, XVIII, 2010
Th e beginnings of European archeology were
marked by passionate amateurs, who at that time serve... more Th e beginnings of European archeology were
marked by passionate amateurs, who at that time served
this science. For more than a century, amateurs began
to be replaced by professional archaeologists. Today
when this discipline has become increasingly specialized,
amateurs are few in numbers. Arad Museum, like
all museums, has benefi ted and still benefi t from collaboration
with various enthusiasts of archeology.
During 2007 Arad Museum acquired from
E.D. Pădurean, a local amateur, a Dacian curved sword
– sica. Th e artefact is part of a “tools and weapons”
deposit, discovered in 2002, at Neudorf “Pârâul Rosia”,
Arad County. Of the 28 pieces, 27 were donated to
Arad Museum in 2002 and the last, the curved sword,
was off ered for sale by Pădurean in 2007 to the same
institution mentioned above.
In this article we do not want to open the issue of
the deposit, but to put forward “the state” in which the
curved dagger from Neudorf has reached to the Arad
Museum and historical implications of this discovery.
Lack of engravings on the blade part, the width, the less
pronounced curvature, the lack of a terminal button to
handle, the considerable size of this weapon make this
dagger to be datable sometime in the 1st century A. D.,
when the written sources and archaeological evidence
shows many confrontation with the Romans. To resume
we must mention that the sword artefact was ornamentated
with some bronze plates.
In this case we are dealing with a fake due to E. D.
Pădurean. In an excess of zeal he “ornamented” a Dacian
artifact by fi xing on its body, part of a bronze plates
dated in Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age (BzD/HaA1).
It is not the place to make remarks on the ethics of some
archeology amateurs or archaeologists, but it should be
recalled that science leaves no room for dilettantism.
MARMATIA, 2017
With the occasion of a field survey conducted in the area of Sighetu Marmaţiei city (Maramureş Co... more With the occasion of a field survey conducted in the area of Sighetu Marmaţiei city (Maramureş County), Mr. Gheorghe Todincă, director of the Maramureş Museum, informed us about a recent entry into the Museum patrimony of an iron ax. The discovery was made on 07 February 2015 near the Blidar Valley (Sighetu Marmaţiei city) by Daniel Zapca, a
member of the ProDetection Association. The axe was handed over according to the legislation as a donation to the Maramureş Museum. It is entirely preserved with a length of 23 cm and a weight of 890 grams. The blade of the ax has a length of 16 cm and an edge of 4 cm wide.
The maximum width of the axe blade is 3 cm. The handle grip hole has an almost round shape and the dimensions of 4 x 4.5 cm. In this area, on each side, the axe has two triangular extensions, here the maximum width is 6 cm. The opposite side of the edge, the head of the ax, is flattened (3.3 x 4 cm). According to the typology made by F. Szücsi, the axe from
Sighetu Marmatiei belongs to the category called hammer axes, the most common type of axe in the avars period. They were especially used in combat, but could also be used as a tool. Axes like this one have been discovered in numerous points in the Carpathian Basin and Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania or Latvia, all dated in the avars period. Considering the analogies, the typology of this type of ax and the lack of other dating items, we can date grosso modo the iron ax discovered at Sighetu Marmaţiei in the 7th-8th centuries AD.
ArheoVest, 2022
This paper presents the results of experiments conducted between 2018 and 2022, which were inspir... more This paper presents the results of experiments conducted between 2018 and 2022, which were inspired by a Dacian cooking pot found on the archaeological site of Bozânta Mică – Grind, located fifteen kilometres southwest of Baia Mare in Maramureș County, Romania. On the one hand, we wanted to establish which clay working technique was used to make the pot and experience the difficulties an ancient potter would encounter whilst making it. On the other hand, we wanted to reconstruct the whole journey of the pot, from the moment it was formed from clay until the moment it broke and became useless.
The experiments were successful, as we managed to shape the pots, fire them, cook in them and even accidentally break some whilst cleaning. Using various clay working methods we discovered that the slab-building technique was used to make the pot and that an ancient potter needed less than two hours to form one vessel. Moreover, the firing process revealed which of the pots had hidden faults and were not suitable for cooking.
Cooking in the reconstructed Dacian pot was a great experience and, for someone who never had the opportunity before, it was a bit like using a modern ceramic slow cooker. It kept the temperature for a long time, even after the removal of the source of heat. We tested pots on different types of fire and examined soot marks, food stains and residues to get an idea of how they were used in the past. Dacians probably placed the pot on the gridiron and kept the fire beneath it for the best temperature control. We didn’t observe the build-up of food residues, often said to be the reason these pots stopped being used. In our case, the only way we could not use the pot was simply to break it into pieces.
MARMATIA, 2021
The article presents an analysis of metallurgical artefacts recovered during the excavation at th... more The article presents an analysis of metallurgical artefacts recovered during the excavation at the Bozânta Mică Grind site in Maramureş, Romania. The study is based on the evaluation of materials conducted in 2019 by Daria Dabal. The work describes the archaeological contexts from which the metallurgical finds (comprising 279 artefacts and a total weight of 16.4kg) were derived.
Smithing residues were identified in three rectangular pits with clay-lined walls, containing evidence of burning. The features were dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD. Typically, pits of this nature would yield no findings. However, in this instance, the smithing hearth cakes (SHCs, with a total weight of 2546.37g) and a rusty accretion of flake hammerscale (weight 1.92g) were discarded into them.
Archaeological materials discovered in contexts dating to the 8th century AD were recorded in three buildings (a house and two household annexes). These finds comprised debris associated with iron smelting, such as fragments of furnace bottoms (with a total weight of 8049.64g) found in collapsed building structures, such as a chimney stack.
All metallurgical residues were found in secondary contexts. The materials were fragmented and present in small quantities, suggesting that metallurgical activities took place close by but outside the bounds of the excavated area.
A Maramaros megyei Miszmogyoros (rom. Tăuții Măgherăuș) Nagybanyatol nyugatra, 11 km tavolsagra h... more A Maramaros megyei Miszmogyoros (rom. Tăuții Măgherăuș) Nagybanyatol nyugatra, 11 km tavolsagra helyezkedik el. Reformatus temploma a varos kozponti reszen talalhato, a regi Totfalu/Misztotfalu reszen. A templomot a Nagybanya-Szatmar DN 1C nemzeti ut veszi korul. A 2009 tavaszan a templom alapozasa mellett vegzett drenezesi munkalatok kapcsan kerult sor megelőző regeszeti feltarasra. A kutatas celja a templom epitestortenetenek es a hozza tartozo temető kapcsolatanak megallapitasa, annak időrendjenek tisztazasa volt. A regeszeti kutatas soran ket szelvenyt jeloltek ki: az SI/2009 feluletet a templom deli falaval merőlegesen nyitottak, a templomhajo es a szentely talalkozasanal, mig az S II/2009-est a szentely eszaki kulső falaval parhuzamosan nyitottak a 16. szazadban elfalazott sekrestyeajto előtt. A kutatas soran megallapitottak, hogy az S I/2009 szelvenyben a templomhajo es a szentely alapozasa es felmenő fala kozott letezik egy falelvalas, ami arra utal, hogy ezek kulonboző fazi...
This article presents the results of investigations of an earthen structure on Imaș Hill in Coști... more This article presents the results of investigations of an earthen structure on Imaș Hill in Coștiui village conducted in the autumn of 2019. The encampment closely resembles a medium‑size Roman marching camp, a temporary base built by the Roman army on the move during campaigns. It is located 70 km north from the Roman Frontier area (the line of the Roman auxiliary camps from Cășeiu/Samum and Ilișua/Arcobadara). It is the farthest known Roman military point discovered beyond Dacia Porolissensis. The fortification has a distorted rectangular shape, adapted to the hill’s outline, and covers the area of 3.59 ha. Its defensive elements comprise a single line of ramparts and an external ditch. The ditch is of the truncated “V‑shaped” type with a straight bottom. The heavily eroded rampart is not continuous and has 43 openings along all sides at relatively equal distances from each other. The presence of a Roman camp in the area of one of the richest salt deposits in Maramureș cannot be a coincidence. Discoveries of Roman military sites are known on the former Roman Empire’s territory in areas of useful natural resources such as mineral outcrops. The fact that it was built near one of the biggest salt deposits known in the Maramureș Depression is a strong suggestion that Romans could be interested in controlling the salt extraction and perhaps its distribution/trade in the Upper Tisza region.
Studii si Comunicari Satu Mare. Seria Arheologie XXXIII-XXXIV, 2017-2018/I
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Papers by Ardeleanu Marius
marked by passionate amateurs, who at that time served
this science. For more than a century, amateurs began
to be replaced by professional archaeologists. Today
when this discipline has become increasingly specialized,
amateurs are few in numbers. Arad Museum, like
all museums, has benefi ted and still benefi t from collaboration
with various enthusiasts of archeology.
During 2007 Arad Museum acquired from
E.D. Pădurean, a local amateur, a Dacian curved sword
– sica. Th e artefact is part of a “tools and weapons”
deposit, discovered in 2002, at Neudorf “Pârâul Rosia”,
Arad County. Of the 28 pieces, 27 were donated to
Arad Museum in 2002 and the last, the curved sword,
was off ered for sale by Pădurean in 2007 to the same
institution mentioned above.
In this article we do not want to open the issue of
the deposit, but to put forward “the state” in which the
curved dagger from Neudorf has reached to the Arad
Museum and historical implications of this discovery.
Lack of engravings on the blade part, the width, the less
pronounced curvature, the lack of a terminal button to
handle, the considerable size of this weapon make this
dagger to be datable sometime in the 1st century A. D.,
when the written sources and archaeological evidence
shows many confrontation with the Romans. To resume
we must mention that the sword artefact was ornamentated
with some bronze plates.
In this case we are dealing with a fake due to E. D.
Pădurean. In an excess of zeal he “ornamented” a Dacian
artifact by fi xing on its body, part of a bronze plates
dated in Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age (BzD/HaA1).
It is not the place to make remarks on the ethics of some
archeology amateurs or archaeologists, but it should be
recalled that science leaves no room for dilettantism.
member of the ProDetection Association. The axe was handed over according to the legislation as a donation to the Maramureş Museum. It is entirely preserved with a length of 23 cm and a weight of 890 grams. The blade of the ax has a length of 16 cm and an edge of 4 cm wide.
The maximum width of the axe blade is 3 cm. The handle grip hole has an almost round shape and the dimensions of 4 x 4.5 cm. In this area, on each side, the axe has two triangular extensions, here the maximum width is 6 cm. The opposite side of the edge, the head of the ax, is flattened (3.3 x 4 cm). According to the typology made by F. Szücsi, the axe from
Sighetu Marmatiei belongs to the category called hammer axes, the most common type of axe in the avars period. They were especially used in combat, but could also be used as a tool. Axes like this one have been discovered in numerous points in the Carpathian Basin and Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania or Latvia, all dated in the avars period. Considering the analogies, the typology of this type of ax and the lack of other dating items, we can date grosso modo the iron ax discovered at Sighetu Marmaţiei in the 7th-8th centuries AD.
The experiments were successful, as we managed to shape the pots, fire them, cook in them and even accidentally break some whilst cleaning. Using various clay working methods we discovered that the slab-building technique was used to make the pot and that an ancient potter needed less than two hours to form one vessel. Moreover, the firing process revealed which of the pots had hidden faults and were not suitable for cooking.
Cooking in the reconstructed Dacian pot was a great experience and, for someone who never had the opportunity before, it was a bit like using a modern ceramic slow cooker. It kept the temperature for a long time, even after the removal of the source of heat. We tested pots on different types of fire and examined soot marks, food stains and residues to get an idea of how they were used in the past. Dacians probably placed the pot on the gridiron and kept the fire beneath it for the best temperature control. We didn’t observe the build-up of food residues, often said to be the reason these pots stopped being used. In our case, the only way we could not use the pot was simply to break it into pieces.
Smithing residues were identified in three rectangular pits with clay-lined walls, containing evidence of burning. The features were dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD. Typically, pits of this nature would yield no findings. However, in this instance, the smithing hearth cakes (SHCs, with a total weight of 2546.37g) and a rusty accretion of flake hammerscale (weight 1.92g) were discarded into them.
Archaeological materials discovered in contexts dating to the 8th century AD were recorded in three buildings (a house and two household annexes). These finds comprised debris associated with iron smelting, such as fragments of furnace bottoms (with a total weight of 8049.64g) found in collapsed building structures, such as a chimney stack.
All metallurgical residues were found in secondary contexts. The materials were fragmented and present in small quantities, suggesting that metallurgical activities took place close by but outside the bounds of the excavated area.