The preventive archaeological research campaign 2012 on the site Tărtăria-Podu Tărtăriei vest was occasioned by the construction of the A 1 motorway. The site was identified following the survey made in 2011 by an archaeological team from the National History Museum of Romania, although there were a series of earlier information conceming the archaeological potential of this area but near to DN7 route and the railway Arad-Alba Iulia. The site is located about 0.3km south of DN 7 IE 68 road, north to Tărtăria village, on a plateau situated on the upper left terrace ofthe Mureş valley. The preventive archaeological investigations took place in spring and summer 2012 (March-July) and led to the discovery of very consistent archaeological vestiges. Throughout an open area archaeological excavation it was fully investigated an area of about 2ha, where 269 archaeological complexes (mostly from the middle Hallstatt period -the Basarabi ceramic style) were investigated. There have been excavated a variety of archaeological remains, e.g. (possible) semi-sunken dwellings, offering pits (with pottery broken in situ), refuse and extraction pits, but also certain particular vestiges -two ditches marking the southem and eastem limits of the site, two bronze hoards (comprising 400 bronze and iron objects, dated to the Ha C 1 period -the Bâlvăneşti-Vinţ series, 8 1 h c. BC) and a collective grave. Also, there was uncovered a large quantity of pottery of Basarabi type, as well as a great number of metal objects (weapons, tools and adomments of bronze and iron). Considering all the data recorded and the preliminary analysis of the very rich archaeological finds from Tărtăria-Podu Tărtăriei vest, this is a very important site from the middle Hallstatt period.
This study focuses on the investigation of certain bronze adornment objects from the First Iron Age (the so-called middle Hallstatt period), dating to the ninth–eighth c. BC. These objects are part of a bronze and iron hoard (labeled Cx 116) discovered in the present Romanian territory, at Tărtăria–Podu Tărtăriei vest archaeological site, in Alba County. Along with a second hoard of bronze and iron objects, this represents a unique discovery for the present Romanian territory, namely, for the inner Carpathian area and the Lower and Middle Danube Basin, where no such votive discovery had been made by archaeological excavations. The objects, approximately 450 bronze and iron objects—weapons, tools, adornments, and harnesses—were found in the two hoards, in the Southern ditch, which outlines the archaeological site. Digital radiography has been used to assess the physical state of the objects and to identify potential specific craftsmanship details. It showed a fairly good preservation status, with incipient corrosion processes located in the core of some of the objects and some specific traces of the crafting process and subsequent mechanical defects were highlighted. The relatively good state of preservation of the objects can result from the fact that they had been protected from the humid environment by the ceramic vessel they were placed in. XRF and LIBS were used to identify the materials and to stratigraphically evaluate the objects. XRF scanned the surface of the objects, revealing elements related to both the raw material—a copper alloy with tin and lead, together with trace elements related to the specific mining location of the ores, and the depositional environment of the objects–such as iron. LIBS allowed a more in-depth stratigraphic analysis, which indicated a higher copper ratio—compared to iron—as the kinetic series advance, fact that sustains the idea that the major iron input was coming from the depositional environment. Both XRF and LIBS results were consistent with high elemental variability, probably due to the nature of the original material and the influence of the deposition soil conditions.
The preventive archaeological research campaign 2012 on the newly discovered site Aurel Vlaicu-Obreza (Hunedoara County) was occasioned by the construction works of Al motorway, developed along the 4 1 h pan-European transportation corridor, runining from West to East along the middle Mureş valley. The site was preliminary identified in autumn 2008, following the archaeological survey made by a team of the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation (Deva). Later on, when the exact location ofthe future motorway was set, a more thorough field survey was undertaken by a team of the National History Museum of Romania. Still in autumn/winter 2011 the archaeological site was overlapped by an apple trees orchard, which impacted significantly the site's integrity and stratigraphy, along with an irrigation underground system (water supply pipes).The preventive archaeological investigations lasted 6 weeks (July-August 2012) and confirmed an important presence of archaeological vestiges. Throughout an open area archaeological excavation, between km 4+900 and km 5+150 ofthe Al motorway, section I was fully investigated an area ofabout !ha, where 133 archaeological complexes (semi-sunken pit dwellings, refuse pits, extraction pits and remains of the socalled "culture layer") were oulined. By opening 7 main trenches (S 001 -S 007 ) was possible to observe the concentration of archaeological features in the area between km 5+020 and km 5+ 150, further confirmed by opening of 11 excavation areas (SrSx 1 ).The archaeological discoveries made at Aurel Vlaicu -Obreza indicate the existence of a prehistoric settlement, most probably with a single layer of habitation (significantly disturbed in the upper part). The absence of certain constructive elements like walls, floor boards, hearths etc. in situ are determining -at least for the moment -a cautious approach regarding the functionality of the archaeological vestiges. Also worth to mention the rather small number of pottery found, the high degree of fragmentation of the ceramic material (except six vessels broken in situ), but the large quantity of animal bones. Since the post-excavation analysis of the archaeological material is on-going one only can consider certain work hypothesis in regard to the site's chronology and functionality. Other finds made in here are bronze objects, bone tools (including crenated scapulae) and fragmentary lithic objects. There have been found a series of fragments characteristic to the Noua type pottery, and fragments ofblack polished channelled pottery, specific to the early Hallstatt period.Based on the preliminary post-excavation analysis, the site from Aurel Vlaicu-Obreza is a prehistoric settlement of the Late Bronze Age I Early Iron Age. Within certain archaeological complexes were found in association elements typical for the Noua culture (e.g. handles with knobs, crenated scapulae) with black polished channelled pottery. These discoveries bring new evidence for a much thorough analysis regarding the transition period of Late Bronze Age to Earl...
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