No abstract

The architectural motif in the form of an arch-on-columns, the titular “temple facade”, decorating the discus of late antique lamps, has been the subject of debate and various interpretations of the meaning without reference to the rendering or the lamp type. An examination of known examples of lamps with this particular motif has identified four different lamp type variants and two main renderings of the decoration. Ovoid lamps bearing a representation of an arch-on-columns, the most numerous among the finds, come mostly from Constantinople and nearby cities, the Black Sea coast and the Danubian sites, the sole exceptions being Egypt (where they appear also in a late variant), Cyprus and Byblos. Reconstructing the distribution of these types and renderings has introduced some “order” into the existing hypotheses and highlighted issues connected with understanding the booming economy of the Pontic area as well as the recently rebuilt Danubian limes fortresses, during their apex, in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. It has also contributed to the discussion aimed at ending the widespread use of the term “Balkan lamps” for products that represent the output of Pontic and Danubian workshops influenced by the Imperial capital in Constantinople.

Lamps of the Hayes 9 type were produced in huge quantities in the state workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire and in the Western Pontic ateliers, where the Hayes 8 lamps were also manufactured, especially in Constantinople and Halmiris. The shape of the lamps and the fabric argue in favor of this assumption, further supported by the dating of contexts recorded during the excavation of Dobrogean sites. Thus, the Halmyris workshop complex appears to stand out among the lamp-producing centers, at least in the Black Sea area, during Justinian’s reign.

Clay oil lamps of type Hayes 9 were produced in large quantities in the eastern Roman ateliers and in Western Pontic workshops, which were responsible for making also lamps of type Hayes 8. A huge concentration of this production occurred in Constantinople and Halmiris. In the latter case, arguing in favor of this idea is the shape, fabric and chronology of the finds from the excavation of this Dobrodgean site. The Halmyris workshop complex is thus demonstrated to be an important lamp-producing centers, at least for the Black Sea region, during the reign of Justinian.

: Management of archaeological sites in Tulcea County using an integrated geospatial system for their positioning and protection. While conservation is a key component of sustainable development, cultural landscapes preserve traditional interactions between nature and culture. Within the cultural landscapes, the protection of historical monuments presents an importance underlined by numerous international and European political documents. The importance increases when historical monuments receive additional educational and informational value through their inclusion in touristic circuits. Consequently, different institution started their involvement in historical conservation all over the world. New technologies, particularly the Geographical Information Systems (used to integrate spatially referenced data in a problem solving environment) and the Global Positioning Systems (used to accurately position and represent different objects in a geodatabase), had found applications in the conservation of historical monuments. Unfortunately, approaches differ by place, and no common methodology could be used for a joint management of the worldwide heritage. Two pieces of legislation tackle the issues related to the protection of historical monuments in Romania, and each of them introduces different classifications. This paper introduces a novel methodology that has a potential of integrating other approaches and databases, and also for being used in conjunction with other planning and research instruments. The methodology had been applied in Tulcea County, due to its richness in historical monuments, to build and query a geodatabase of all historical monuments, regardless of their inclusion in other databases. The database consists of the following elements : literature reviews, archeological database, digital elevation model, thematic maps, satellite imagery, digital maps, integrated maps, and WEB site. Results suggest that the methodology allows for integrating new elements to existing database, join databases owned by different agencies, easily update information and perform spatial queries for informative, research or planning purposes. Furthermore, the project leading to the creation of the PATRIMON database had proposed a lighting system used for the possible inclusion of identified monuments in touristic circuits.