CUGIR III BRONZE HOARD. AND SOME ADDITIONS REGARDING THE BRONZE HOARDS FROM CUGIR
CUGIR III BRONZE HOARD. AND SOME ADDITIONS REGARDING THE BRONZE HOARDS FROM CUGIR

Summary/Abstract: In 2025, a bronze hoard was discovered in Cugir, on a first terrace of the Cugir River. The hoard that we named Cugir III, consists of three artefacts: two Transylvanian-type socketed axes and a sickle with a tang handle. Although numerically reduced, bronzes benefit from decorative elements that allow them to be related to similar finds. The socketed axes are decorated with vertical ribs, with close analogies in central Transylvania. They are linked to neighbouring centres in northwestern Romania and Banat, where such pieces are frequent finds. The hoard can be dated to the Bronze D-Ha A period and comes from a settlement that probably belongs to a late stage of the Noua culture, from its western outskirts. The study also analyses the other hoards previously discovered: Cugir I and Cugir II. Unfortunately, confusion was created in their numbering, in the toponymy of places, and in some cases, the data proved insufficient. This is why we analysed again and ordered them: Cugir I (Valea Dăii), Cugir II (Pârâul Gugului) belonging to the Cugir-Band group, and Cugir III (Gura Luncilor). We also have new information about the Cugir I hoard, found in the 1950s. Although we only know of five artefacts today, at the time of finding the hoard, it consisted of 12 bracelets chained in the form of a necklace. The hoard is the southernmost of its type in the Uriu-Opályi hoards area. It probably links to a Wietenberg IV or post-Wietenberg. A particular problem is raised by a possible hoard (Cugir IV?) consisting of a sickle and a few arrows, reported in several publications dedicated to pupils from 1979-1980, discovered on Ţara Vânturilor (Muchea lui Gheorghe).

• Details
• Contents