Settlement patterns north of the Lower Danube in the Early Middle Ages. Case study: Târgșoru Vechi area (Prahova County, Romania)
Settlement patterns north of the Lower Danube in the Early Middle Ages. Case study: Târgșoru Vechi area (Prahova County, Romania)

Summary/Abstract: Important transformations in respect with the settlement patterns took place to the north of the Lower Danube between the 8th - 10th centuries AD. During this time span, marked by the decline of the Avar Khaganate and the ascension of the of Bulgarian Tsardom, there was both a growth in the number of settlements and a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of the archaeological inventory. Unfortunately, the research carried out so far has allowed rather to formulate hypotheses than to find satisfactory answers. Such, for example, three main hypotheses have been proposed to explain these transformations: 1) an increase of population; 2) a different way of exploiting the land or 3) a combination of these two. Some clarifications and a significant amount of new data on the development and functioning of the settlements north of the Lower Danube in the early Middle Ages has been brought by the investigations carried out over the last years on the territory of Târgșoru Vechi village in Prahova County. Alongside solid evidence for the hypothesis of wandering settlements, these investigations are also pointing to a certain degree of planning and systematization, as well as the existence of an authority responsible for such tasks.

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