An Early Iron Age fortified settlement at Moldovenești (Cluj County)
An Early Iron Age fortified settlement at Moldovenești (Cluj County)

Summary/Abstract: The archaeological site from Fluierişte – Șanţul Păgânilor near Moldoveneşti (Hungarian: Várfalva), Cluj County,is located right where the Arieş River exits the Trascău Mountains, at the border between the TransylvanianPlateau and the Western Carpathians. Its position on a naturally well‑defined promontory, where access can beeasily controlled, made it an ideal location for establishing a large fortification.The first mentions of this site date back to the 19th century, when pottery fragments, stone and bronze tools, aswell as defensive works were identified. Over time, several researchers have contributed with a series of observationsregarding this site, but only the investigations carried out in recent years allowed a clearer assessment of thesite’s size and characteristics.Based on the latest investigations, during the main occupation phase an area of around 20 hectares was fortified,as the promontory was blocked by an imposing east‑west oriented, meandering rampart that reaches up to 3 min height to this day. The presence of other ramparts and ditches suggests that important reconfigurations of thedefended area took place, indicating a possible long‑term (re)occupation of the Fluierişte Plateau.These characteristics, together with the archaeological material mentioned in the literature or that observed inthe field (especially pottery fragments specific to the Gáva culture) indicate that a large, fortified settlementfunctioned here during the Early Hallstatt period (12th – 8th centuries BC). Its dominant position and access toresources may indicate that this settlement may have had an important status during said period. This seems tobe reinforced by the fact that many bronze hoards have been found in the vicinity of this area.There is certain information that the plateau was occupied after and, possibly, even before the early Hallstattperiod, but the extent of these occupation phases remains to be determined.

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