Dating grave no. 97 from Vălcani in the light of numismatic and radiocarbon research – contributions to the chronology of H.1
Dating grave no. 97 from Vălcani in the light of numismatic and radiocarbon research – contributions to the chronology of H.1

Summary/Abstract: The early medieval burial site near Vălcani (Timiș County) was discovered alongside other archaeological elements dating from the Neolithic era to the Modern Age. The funerary site, dated to the 10th–11th centuries, exhibits greater variety than the earlier one from the 7th century, which was excavated in the same spot, and is the largest in the Banat region. The coin discovered in grave 97 from Vălcani was issued during the reign of Stephen I (1000–1038). The radiocarbon analysis of the grave was performed to obtain a more precise dating, given that the coin in the grave provides a reliable terminus post quem, which also serves as a means to verify the radiocarbon results. The radiocarbon analysis of the human skeleton offered a conventional date of 1060±18, placing the death of the individual from grave 97 between the years 900 and 1030. The calibration in the Oxcal 4.4 Interface program indicated a 95.4% probability that the year of death was between 900 and 1025, respectively with a 68.3% certainty between the years 989–1021. The calibration results suggest a high probability of dating at the end of the 10th century and the first quarter of the 11th century. However, since we know with certainty that the coin was issued in the 11th century during the reign of Stephen I, the dating in the 10th century must be disregarded. The comparative analysis of the radiocarbon dating and the terminus post quem thus captures a very narrow chronological sequence of approximately 20 years, which is of special importance both for the burial site and for grave 97, in particular with regard to Stephen’s H.1 type coins, in relation to the theories propounded in the extant literature and discussed in the paper. It can be concluded that the H.1 coins were likely minted following the coronation of Stephen I, most plausibly during the first decade of the 11th century, a result that challenges and invalidates several earlier hypotheses in the literature.

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