Keywords: Celts, toponymes, hydronyme, archaeological discoveries
More toponyms and a hydronyme, all from Celtic origin, identified at the Lower Danube, are to add to the literary antique sources and to the archaeological discoveries to confirm the Celtic presence from the III rd c. B.C. in the region.
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Keywords: archaeological evidence; medieval towns; Moldavia; Wallachia; Transylvania; Lower Danube
More...Keywords: services for the elderly; religious communities; religious assistance; church groups; self-help groups
The concern for and about the elderly is deeply rooted in the biblical history, as witnessed in the Book of Psalms: “Do not forsake me in my old age” (Psalm 70: 19-20). The social services for the elderly have taken many forms in various cultures. Thus, tribal care was supplemented by dependence on the family, which in some countries is still the primary source of help for the elderly. For example, in countries such as USA, volunteers and families provide eighty percent of the help to the elderly. Families with elderly people themselves often need help. There is an aphorism claiming that two parents can support eight children, but eight children cannot support one parent. In other cultures, families are helped by church groups, guilds, humanitarian organizations and self-help groups, among others. The paper tries to look into the problem of the elderly and their dignity of being the “image and likeness of God” in Romania, providing an analysis of those situations in which they are either neglected or humiliated by a fast-changing society, that tends to leave them behind. They do not move, do not emigrate, have no power to strike, claim or start again, but often suffer in silence. It is a psychological and social trauma to move someone in his/her old age from his/her house into an institutional home for elderly. They need to “age in place” and be provided with decent living, less work, suitable living conditions and love from the community. Does the answer come from religious communities? If so, how far can they go? They need care-workers, especially in rural areas where the elderly tend to be sicker and more disabled than their urban counterparts.
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Among the adornments used at the end of the first and the beginning of the second Iron Age, in the Carpathian-Pontic area, an interesting item is the helix-shaped tip hair pin. They were made of bronze, small-sized (around 4 cms long by 2 cms high), unitary as typology. Along the years, scholars considered these pieces either as arrow devices or pre-monetary objects. Within their distribution area, we can easily distinguish three groups – the one from Transylvania, the one from the Moldavian Central Plateau and the one from Dobruja. Their dating is not unitary: these items were used over a long period of time, between the second half / the end of the VIth century BC and the beginning of the IVth century BC. Helix-shaped tip pins can be considered an original creation of the Ciumbrud cultural group from Transylvania or of the closely-related group from the Eastern Carpathian area. From here, they spread to the South, in Dobruja, where they finished their evolution around the beginning of the IVth century BC.
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Keywords: church; mission; ministry; society; state
This study exposes, after more than 20 years from the fall of Communism, the main pillars on which the Romanian Orthodox Church has developed its internal mission. The starting point of the research is the change produced after 1989 in the relation between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the State. The first step taken by the Church, as an absolutely necessary change image, was in the direction of consolidating its position in the newly reborn Romanian society after the Communist period. At the same time, it is important to consider the posture in which Romanian Orthodoxy finds itself currently in the relation between Church, State and society; thus the following sections of the study cover the presence of the Romanian Orthodox Church amidst the military, the prisons, the nursing homes, the hospitals, as well as its implication in the development of social services in Romania. The last chapter exposes the orthodox religious education in the Romanian area, which unfolds itself both at pre-university and university level. The conclusion represents an evaluation of the mission of the Romanian Orthodox Church in contemporary society, recording both the achievements of the post-communist era and the more “sensitive” points (mainly present in the relation between Church and State).
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Keywords: Preroman Dacia; Şimleu Depression; Şimleu Silvaniei; La Tène D; relief decorated bowls
The strategic importance of the area: the gateway to Transylvania that the Celtic conquerors missed. This passing point is the Meseş-gate around which classic Dacian discoveries revolve, that are dated in the range 2nd c. BC – 1st c. AD. Is the main reason why the classic Dacian period experienced a great development, but no major changes in climate or terrain. Nowhere in the Dacian world obviously except the capital Sarmizegetusa, was not found such a great treasures density after the removal of the Celtic domination (2nd c. BC). The occurrence of at least 15 fortified points after the disappearance of Celts in the area is a natural consequence of this. The treasure discoveries, made during archaeological research, express the high degree of civilization attained by Dacians on the present territory of Sălaj. Passage point and transit of goods, values, people and ideas, the Depression of Şimleu is the area where they were found "exceptions" from the common pattern observed for the Dacian space. In addition to the abundance of fragments Celtic painted recipients imported from western regions there were discovered also pieces that can origin from the eastern and southern parts of the Dacian material culture. The last category is represented by cups with relief decoration on four small fragments, all found at Şimleu Silvaniei Cetate.
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Barbara Eichner, History in mighty sounds. Musical constructions of German national identity 1848-1914 (Marian Zăloagă); Lucy Lethbridge, Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain (Anca Şincan); Zoltán Györke, Zoltán Györke, Prefectura judeţului Cluj (1923-1938) (Cornel Sigmirean); La dimension humaine de l’histoire. L’Héritage intellectuel de Alexandru Duţu (Corina Teodor); Cornel Sigmirean (coord.), Culture, Elites and European Integration Volume III – History (Colin Swatridge)
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Keywords: Babadag; First Iron Age; Babadag culture; complexes with human remains from settlements
Cercetările arheologice din aşezarea de la Babadag (jud. Tulcea) au evidenţiat existenţa unui număr de 12 complexe care conţineau oseminte umane. Prezentul studiu include un catalog amănunţit al acestor descoperiri şi o analiză de ansamblu a fenomenului, ţinând cont de descoperiri similare documentate în aşezările culturii Babadag şi în medii culturale contemporane, pe un spaţiu extins. Analizând totalitatea descoperirilor cu caracter funerar din zona Dunării Inferioare, o primă concluzie ar fi aceea a existenţei, în linii mari, a cel puţin două modalităţi de tratament aplicat defuncţilor. Prima dintre ele ar fi reprezentată de complexele cu aspect macabru din aşezări iar cea de a doua s-ar putea referi la organizarea unui spaţiu funerar în afara habitatului, aşa cum sunt necropolele descoperite la Folteşti şi Sboryanovo. Dintr-o privire de ansamblu asupra complexelor cu oseminte umane din aşezări se poate observa că nu au fost observate reguli în ceea ce priveşte numărul de indivizi depuşi într-un complex, starea lor de integritate anatomică, poziţia depunerii, orientarea, excepţii referitoare la sex şi vârstă sau prezenţa unor malformaţii sau anomalii la aceşti indivizi. Aceste informaţii, în majoritatea lor inedite, care provin din arhiva Sebastian Morintz aflată la Institutul de Arheologie „Vasile Pârvan”, din publicaţii dar şi din descoperiri recente, nu fac decât să aducă o imagine nouă asupra fenomenului depunerii defuncţilor în spaţiul locuit.
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Keywords: Enisala; descoperiri funerare; epocă romană; epocă medievală; funerary discovery; Roman Age; Middle Ages
This article presents and analyzes ten inhumation tombs discovered during the rescue investigations in Enisala (Sarichioi, Tulcea County). These discoveries can be classified into two distinct chronological intervals. The first chronological horizon is the Roman-Byzantine Period, poorly documented on the territory of Enisala; it is represented by the two partially investigated tombs in the north of Enisala that can also be connected to the fortification at La Peşteră and to the nearby recently discovered necropolis. The coins and clothing accessories discovered in the eight tombs investigated at La Bucluc and La Biserică can be analogized to other similar discoveries and can be dated to the 17th–18th century. It is our belief that these tombs represent an extension of the necropolis of the Yeni-sala medieval settlement in the 15th–17th century, also known from earlier investigations; it is nowadays superposed by the contemporary settlement. The tombs belong to a local exclusively Christian community, as confirmed by the observations made during our investigations, and by the characteristics of the funerary rites and rituals. The archaeological investigations in the last decades in Tulcea County have lead to the localization of some 16th–17th century necropolis at Luncaviţa, Isaccea, Niculiţel, Sarichioi, Sabangia or Nufăru, and the new discoveries at Enisala duly complete this information.
More...Keywords: history of Romanian archaeology; Dimitrie C. Butculescu; Ţigăneşti-‘Măgura Calonfirescu’; Gumelniţa culture
Between 1867 and 1873, Dimitrie C. Butculescu (1845-1916) carried out an archaeological excavation of the tell settlement of ‘Măgura Calonfirescu’, located on his family estate in Ţigăneşti (Teleorman county). The results of the excavation were published by Butculescu in a periodical paper called ‘Revista contimporană. Litere, arte, şciinţe’ (Bucharest). This article, published over three edition of the journal in 1873 (totaling 30 pages with illustrations), can be considered the first Romanian archeological report focused on a prehistoric site. Here, this rare article is published again, with only minimal editing from Butculescu’s original text.
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Keywords: Early Iron Age; Babadag culture; Niculiţel - Cornet; complexes with human remains from settlements
Dans la période juin – septembre l’Institut de Recherches Eco-Muséelles Tulcea a réalise des fouilles de sauvetage dans l’habitat de type Babadag de Niculiţel – Cornet. Cette étude propose de présenter deux fosses où on a découvert des vestiges ostéologiques humains. Des fosses de ce genre ont été découvertes aussi dans l’habitat du Cornet en nombre de quatre et aussi dans la région de la culture Babadag, où ce phénomène est bien documenté. Jusqu'à présent on n’a pas découvert dans la culture Babadag des nécropoles à proprement – parler, distinctes de l’habitat. Les fouilles contiennent des squelettes intacts ou incomplets qui se trouvent en connexion anatomique totale ou partielle ou qui sont dissipés au fond de la fouille. On n’a pas observé quand même une éventuelle intervention ultérieure dans la fouille, c’est pour ça qu’on suppose que les corps ont été déposés en divers états de décomposions ou ont été déposés successivement avant de combler les fosses.
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Keywords: Pontul Euxin; Histria; epocă greacă; monedă autonomă; Pontus Euxinus (Blake Sea); Greek epoch; autonomous coinage
Aus der grossen Verschiedenartigkeit histrianischer Prägungen, bespricht der Verfasser eine Anzahl von 148 solcher Stücke von den Typen Apollon, Helios und Dionyssos, die für die Jahrhunderte 4. – 2. v.Chr. kennzeichnend sind. Anfänglich befanden sich die Stücke in der Privatsammlung R. Diaconu und wurden nachher vonn Museum für Nationalgeschichte und Archäologie Constanţa erworben. Alle davon wurden im Gehier des Bereichs X, auf dem Plateau aufgefunden, das reich an archaischen und hellenistischen archäologischen Funden ist. Die 1997 Münzen von Typ Apollon, den Grossteil der hier besprochenen Groppe ausmachend, veranschaulichen die Answesenheit verschiedener. Hauptserien, nebst welcher Varianten und sogar Untervarianten festgestellt werden können, zu den Typen “Apollon ?” und “Apollon oder Dionyssos” gehörend. Die Münzen des Typs Helios sind in einer Anzahl von 41 Stücken vertreten, mit den Inschrften IΣTPI und IΣTPIH. Es erscheinen die Signaturen HPO, MIK, ME und ΔIO. Von ikonographischem Standpunkt kann von einem Haupttyp gesprochen werden, der in zwei Untertypen geteilt ist, der letztere davon in nicht weniger als 4 Varianten. Die 10 Münzen vom Typ Dionyssos entsprechen im Katalog Pick 469 – 470, folgende Sinaturenvarianten aufweisend: , ΔIO, , XAI, MIK, Tatsache die ihre mit dem Typ Helios zeitgleiche Prägung bezeugt. Die 149 im Katalog ist eine Bronzemünze, von der Kolonie Herakleea Pontica geprägt, aus dem 4. Jh.v.Chr Eben dieses Metall erregt Aufsehen, denn alle Fachangaben mit dem analysierten AV / REV – Modell beziehen sich auf Silbermünzen (Drachmen und Unterteilungen).
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Keywords: Early Iron Age; Babadag culture; Teliţa - Amza
In this study are analysed all the archaeological materials found in the one habitational layer Teliţa-Amza settlement, layer attribuited to the Babadag III phase. Five ceramic forms specific to the Babadag typology were documented in the archaeological complexes excavated: bitronconic vases (40,1 %), jars (36, 7 %), celti (13 %), plates (9,7 %) and pyxides (0,5 %); cups seem to be missing from the inventory. The most important find is a flat iron axe with fins, belonging, after A; Wesse’s typology, to the III1C1 type, which dates from the HaB3-HaC period. In Romania the Teliţa-Amza axe has analogies in the series of Vinţu de Jos - Coldău-Bâlvăneşti axes type, dated in HaC, constituting an important reference point in the Babadag chronology.
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Keywords: Public religions; Post-Communist Romania; State; Church
Public religions in Post-Communist Romania. A new approach of the interaction between State and the Church
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Keywords: Legionary Movement; Social History; Rural History
“Un puternic curent” la sate: mecanismele mobilizării politice ale mişcării legionare în lumea rurală 1933-1937. O primă schiţă a unei istorii sociale a Gărzii de Fier Der Aufsatz unterzeichnet Mobilisierungsmechanismen der Legionärsbewegung im ländlichen Raum (1933-1937) und möchte damit einen Beitrag zur Sozialgeschichte einer der wichtigsten politischen Massenbewegungen der rumänischen Geschichte leisten. Methodisch steht dabei die Abkehr von einer überwiegend auf die intellektuellen Kreise Bukarests zentrierten Forschungsdebatte im Vordergrund. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt der Analyse von Forme ländlicher Soziabilität (Märkte, kirchliche Feiern, Reigentänze), die von den Legionären zur Mobilisierung in dörflichen Gesellschaften verwendet wurden.
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Keywords: Hunt Papyrus; Ptolemy; fortified settlements; imports; Piroboridava; Bărboşi; Zargidava; Tamasidava
Valuable information regarding the settlements on Siret Valley are provided by the papyrologic and cartographic sources which, corroborated with the archaeological discoveries, led to the identification of the great Getae settlements.Hunt papyrus contains the text of a military document from the reign of Emperor Trajan; it mentions that arrays from Cohors I Hispanorum veterana quingenaria were sent at Piroboridava and Buridava for actions and defence. The geographical information regarding Moldova from the time of the Getae generally come from the writings of the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy. He mentions several names of Getic settlements (Zargidava, Tamasidava and Piroboridava) located near Hierasos River, identified with Siret River. Comparing Ptolemy’s test with the archaeological discoveries, we can state that the three davae spread on the left bank of Siret and can be dated to the Ist century AD. The discovery of the settlements of Poiana, Brad and Răcătău confers authority to Ptolemy’s text and invalidates, at the same time, his geographical coordinates regarding their position. The systematic research of certain Getic settlements, identified ever since the XIXth century or discovered in the second half of the XXth century, revealed important data regarding the spread and lifestyle of the Getic tribes on the extra-Carpathian territory. The oldest Getic citadels of Moldova, fitted with fortification elements specific to the epoch, date to the first half of the 1st millennium BC. In the last two centuries before the Common Era, we find the development of certain intensely inhabited settlements, named dava by the Getae and polis by the Greeks. Fortified with ramparts, palisades and trenches, in the old tradition of the Bronze Age and of the first Iron Age, they would flourish under Burebista and Decebalus. The configuration of the land on which they were placed would offer a good natural defence to those citadels. Generally, they occupied a cape, being shielded by steep slopes on three sides; in spite of these, the entire citadel or only its vulnerable pats were protected by certain elements of fortification. These fortified heights of Moldova were refuges where people sought shelter in times of strife. The tools discovered in these citadels, the metallurgy traces and the ceramics kilns represent conclusive proofs that these citadels were also small craftsmen centres with workshops populated by the local artisans. The citadels from Poiana, Brad and even Bărboşi were true economic centres, aspect also due to the fact that they were located on Siret Valley. Apart from the great settlements, adjacent necropolises were also found. Thus, we encounter the tumular necropolises of Poiana, Brad and Răcătău, the plain necropolises from Şendreni? and Cândeşti, as well as the isolated tombs discovered by chance at Galaţi, Răcătău and Brad. Many of these tombs belong to Greek rulers, to the rich or to those holding important positions.
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Keywords: masonic lodge; Pythagoras’s disciples; Galaţi; Romanian Freemasonry;
Appreciating the institutional openness of the Romanian National Archives which, starting with January 2012, kindly provided to Romanian and foreign researchers the Romanian Freemasonry fund (1921-1945), the present study takes as landmarks the following events: “Pythagoras’s disciples” Masonic Lodge of Galaţi celebrating two decades of activity (1885); a legal approach initiated by the Freemasonry of Galaţi – the Reception of the Philanthropic Committee (1927) and the Jubilee with the occasion of the celebration of 200 years since the foundation of Freemasonry in Romania (1932). As much as possible, the documentary sources were limited to archives, without any major reference to historiography, the presentation of the interrelation of the events which took place at local and national level being briefly made, all of these out of the desire to bring certain unique aspects to the fore. The article has three parts: the first part includes a short history of the Freemasonry of Galaţi, the second part, the full edition of four documents, out of which only one has been published before, and the third part contains the presentation of certain photos from the albums compiled by I.T. Ulic with the occasion of the 200-year jubilee of the Romanian Freemasonry (1732-1932). Without claiming to be a thorough study of interdisciplinary relations, the present paper comes to the conclusion that “Pythagoras’s disciples” Masonic Lodge of Galaţi played an important part in the history of Romanian Freemasonry, both in its beginnings and during the subsequent historical evolution, activating in rough times as well, when other lodges were slumbering. It also played a significant role in the process of unification of all the lodges and workshops into one institution - the Great Orient of Romania.
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Keywords: Early Bronze Age; middle Bronze Age; barrow burials; Dobrogea; Yamnaya culture; Bugeac version; site Mihai Bravu; Tulcea County
In the year 2000, the Museum of History and Archaeology of Tulcea County conducted a series of rescue archaeological works along the gas pipeline route linking Russia to the southern and south – eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Among others, the research was also focused upon a tumulus from the area of Mihai Bravu village, belonging to Yamnaya culture. There were discovered three inhumation graves – two principal and a secundary one – with the bodies laying crouched, laterally, on the right. The funeral inventory was meager. The presence of the ochre was reported in the principal graves, both in the form of granules, deposited near the skull, and in the form of powder scattered over the bones of the skeletons. The burial tomb no. 1 from tumulus no. 4, Mihai Bravu site, was dated to the early Bronze Age, Yamnaya culture, Bugeac version, while the burial tomb no. 2 was dated to the middle Bronze Age period.
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