Aspecte privind locuirea otomană in zona cetății Noviodunum / Aspects concerning Ottoman Period Habitat in the Area of Noviodunum Fortress

Abstract

Archaeological site Noviodunum is on the right bank of Danube, on a promontory (Eski–kale) near the most important shoal, in the right of 65 sea miles and about 3 km east of the city center Isaccea (jud. Tulcea). The ancient Noviodunum was identified until the end of XIXth century but the first archaeological researches started after the middle of XXth century when there are surveys on the east, south and west side. Through its geographical location Noviodunum had an important strategic and economic role in the Roman, Byzantine and Middle Byzantine time, the settlement here ceasing at the end of the XIVth century to continue on the territory of modern Isaccea city. Probably in the XVIIth century in the central area of Noviodunum fortress, the Ottomans set up a fortification, tabya (palanca) and in the XVIIIth century they raised a stellate fort in the north–east and a secondary fortification in the northwest. The existence of Oriental ceramics, Ottoman or the Far East in archaeological contexts or accidental findings show the importance of the area in the Ottoman period even after XVIth century, here there is a massive destruction. Ottoman ceramics discovered generally dated in the XVIIIth century being produced by the workshops of Kutahya and the prevailing form, cup, shows that coffee ritual was widely spread not only among soldiers but also the local population.