Archaeologia Bulgarica 2011, 2

ARCHAEOLOGIABULGARICA

22011

ARCHAEOLOGIA BULGARICA XV 2011 #2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLES

Bulatović, А.: Relations between Cultural Groups in the Early Bronze Age in Southeastern Serbia, Western Bulgaria and Northeastern Macedonia.................................................................1

Tsaneva, S. / Hristov, M. / Karatsanova, V. / Tsintsov, Z.: � e SEM-EDAX Story of a Small Early Bronze Age Gold Find from the Locality of Balinov Gorun, Karlovo Region ..................................15

Leshtakov, L.: Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Bronze Spear- and Javelinheads in Bulgaria in the Context of Southeastern Europe ...................................................................................................25

Dimova, S.: Ancient Weights of Mesambria Pontica .................................................................................................53

Tomas, A.: Connecting to Public Water: the Rural Landscape and Water Supply in Lower Moesia ..................59

Rabovyanov, D.: Early Medieval Sword Guards from Bulgaria ...............................................................................73

Atanasov, G.: Two Belts from 14th-Century Male Burials in Drastar (now Silistra, NE Bulgaria) ......................87

REVIEWS

Protase, D. / Gudea, N. / Ardevan, R.: Din istoria militară a Daciei romane. Castrul roman de interior de la Gherla / Aus der Militärgeschichte des römischen Dakien. Das römische Binnenkastell von Gherla (Bibliotheca historica et archaeologica Banatica, XLVI). Timişoara, 2008. (Torbatov, S.) ..................................99

Editor-in-Chief: Lyudmil F. VAGALINSKI PhD (So� a, Bulgaria)

Editorial Advisory Board: László BARTOSIEWICZ PhD DSc (Budapest, Hungary); Prof. Florin CURTA PhD (Gainesville, Florida, USA); Prof. İnci DELEMEN PhD (Istanbul, Turkey); Prof. Haskel J. GREENFIELD PhD (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada); Jean-Luc GUADELLI PhD (Bordeaux, France); Prof. Bernhard HÄNSEL PhD (Berlin, Germany); Prof. Ulla Lund HANSEN PhD (Copenhagen, Denmark); Prof. Boris MAGOMEDOV PhD (Kyiv, Ukraine); Prof. J.V.S. MEGAW MA DLitt (Adelaide, Australia); Prof. Aristotle MENTZOS PhD (� essaloniki, Greece); Prof. Marcel OTTE PhD (Liége, Belgium); Nicolay SHARANKOV MA (So� a, Bulgaria); Rastko VASIĆ PhD (Belgrade, Serbia); Prof. John WILKES PhD (London, United Kingdom); Prof. Jak YAKAR PhD (Tel Aviv, Israel).

Language Editors: Sven CONRAD PhD (German), Leipzig, Germany; Jean-Luc GUADELLI PhD (French), Bordeaux, France; Emil NANKOV PhD (English), So� a, Bulgaria; Diana Gilliland WRIGHT PhD (English), Seattle, WA, USA.

All articles in Archaeologia Bulgarica are submitted to peer review.

On the cover: 13th c. BC bronze spearhead found by accident in the vicinities of Dobrich, NE Bulgaria. Photo: Ass. Prof. Dr. St. Alexandrov.

ISSN 1310-9537 Printed in Bulgaria

ARCHAEOLOGIA BULGARICA appears three times a year (20 x 28 cm, ca. 100 pages per number) and provides a publishing forum for research in archaeology in the broadest sense of the term. �ere are no restrictions as to time and territory but the emphasis is on Southeastern Europe.Objective: interdisciplinary research of archaeology.Contents: articles and reviews.Languages: English, German and French.Intended readers: Scholars and students of the following �elds: Archaeology, Numismatics, Epigraphy, Ancient History, Medieval History, Oriental Studies, Pre- and Early History, Byzantine Studies, Anthropology,Palaeobotany, Archaeozoology, History of Religion, of Art, of Architecture, of Technology, of Medicine, Sociology etc.

Manuscripts should be sent to one of the editors. �ey should contain a summary, bibliography of works cited and a list of illustrations. A summary will be published in Bulgarian. �e authors retain sole copyright for their articles and reviews.

Payment: VISA, Euro/ MasterCard, JCB (any amounts); remittance (amounts higher than EUR 300).Annual price: EUR 57 + postage (EUR 11 for Europe; EUR 13 outside Europe).Single fascicles: EUR 19 + postage (EUR 4 for Europe; EUR 5 outside Europe).Price of electronic versions: EUR 5 for a paper/review.

An exchange is not possible.

© 2011 NOUS Publishers Ltd, PO Box 1275, BG-1000 So�a, Bulgaria.Fax/Tel.: +359 2/8659 688E-mail: [email protected]://www.archaeologia-bulgarica.com

Designed by Graphilline Ltd. (o�[email protected])

ISSN 1310-9537 Printed in Bulgaria

Relations between Cultural Groups in the Early Bronze Age in Southeastern Serbia, Western Bulgaria and Northeastern MacedoniaAleksandar BULATOVIC

Problems concerning the chronology of the Early Bronze Age, and the cultural and ethnic determination of populations that inhabited the territory of central Balkans, as well as the character of their relationship in some regions of this terri-tory has long been neglected in national scientific literature, or only superficially treated. One of the key problems concerning the Early Bronze Age in the central Balkans is the incompatible chronology among certain regions of this territory1. According to Bulgarian chronology the Early Bronze Age begins at the end of the 4th millennium BC (Лещаков 1992, 67-106, табл. 9, 11; Alexandrov 1995, 253-268, fig. 1; Nikolova 1999, 175-240; Todorova 2003, 295-301), whereas chro-nology of Serbia and Macedonia states that advanced Chalcolithic culture groups existed during this period (Гарашанин 1973, 291-292; Stojić 1996, 247-250, 254; Mitrevski 2003, 43-46). Only the last, third phase of the Early Bronze Age in Bulgaria (EBA III) approximately coincides with the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Serbia and Macedonia. The main problems in studying the Early Bronze Age on this territory are insufficiently explored sites from this period, and a small number of sites with an indicative stratigraphy. This paper was written in order to contribute new information to the study of this period, because it was noted long ago that some forms of material culture in southeastern Serbia and western Bulgaria are almost identical, or very similar indeed. It is motivated by new data from research of the sites Bubanj and Velika Humska Čuka near Niš, as well as in Kokino and Pelince near Kumanovo, which showed that on the terri-tory of northeastern Macedonia, in the Early Bronze Age, similar pottery shapes and ornamental motifs had been used as in the basin of Južna Morava and the western part of Bulgaria. The paper is focused on several characteristic pottery shapes and ornamental motifs on the vessels, which occur in all three regions of the territory mentioned in the paper (eastern Serbia, northeastern Macedonia and western Bulgaria), because data on the spiritual culture, economy and other important aspects of life of the Bronze Age communities in this territory is almost non-existent, or recorded only in certain regions of this territory. Geographically speaking, we are dealing with the basins of the Južna Morava, Pčinja, and Lom, and upper courses of rivers Struma and Iskar. Pottery shapes that are registered in this territory are hemispherical bowls with T-shaped rims, hemispherical bowls with inverted rims and plastic, rectangular or fan-shaped extensions, often con-nected with bent handles; pear-shaped beakers with two handles in line with the rim or that slightly exceed the rim (a technical term – two-handled beaker – will be used onwards); Yunatsite beakers; hemispherical cups on a cone-shaped hol-low foot and an ornament made of plastic stripes in the form of concentric circles. Some of these forms (two-handled beakers, Yunatsite beakers, plastic concentric circles) appear outside the territory mentioned in the paper, but are taken into ac-count because they were noticed at most sites in western Bulgaria, southern Serbia

1 The central Balkans include the territory of western Bulgaria, a major part of Serbia south of the Danube and Sava, as well as northern Macedonia.

ArchAeologiA BulgAricA XV, 2 (2011), 1-14

relations between cultural groups in the early bronze age in …

Fig. 1. The earlier (I) and the later (II) horizon of the Early Bronze Age (EBA): 1, 3, 5, 6 Bubanj; 2, 4, 8 Hum; 7 Crvena Reka; 9 Zvezdan; 10 Potoci; 11 Varzari; 12, 13, 16, 17 Pelince; 14, 15, 18 Kokino Selo; 19, 20, 23-25 Bagachina; 21 Okol Glava; 22 Chukovets; 26, 27 Dyakovo; 28 Peklyuk.

South Morava basin Pčinja basin Western Bulgaria

Horizon I

Horizon II

The SEM-EDAX Story of a Small Early Bronze Age Gold Find from the Locality of Balinov Gorun, Karlovo RegionSvetla TSANEVA / Martin HRISTOV / Victoria KARATSANOVA / Zdravko TSINTSOV

IntroductIon

The archaeological excavations that started in the year of 2004 in the locality of Balinov Gorun, near the village of Dubene, Karlovo region, South Bulgaria led to the discovery of 25 ritual structures. Most of them were dated to the Early Bronze Age III (EBA III) but there were few that belonged to the Iron Age. The structures themselves were situated around five relatively large mounds and yielded over 21,000 gold items and adornment elements. Some preliminary results concerning mostly the archaeology of the site have already been published (Христов 2005; 2007; 2008; 2009; Христов / Карацанова 2010) (fig. 1).

The object discussed in this paper was found in ritual structure #1 (designated in an earlier publication as small mound #1) (fig. 2). It was located in the south-east of the southmost large mound #1, and had a stone cover of 6.10 x 6.40 m. The maximal thickness of the latter reached 0.30 m. The stones that composed this cover were predominantly of medium size, but there were several of larger dimen-sions. Treasure-hunters had dug a small trench in its center before we started our investigation. This intervention had undoubtedly disturbed the situation below the cover. However, it was established in the process of the study that there were archaeological structures next to the treasure-hunter’s digging and under the stone cover in the east and southeast, which had not been disturbed and were preserved in situ. One of them was composed of ceramic sherds that belonged to four vessels. The other one comprised small bones and a tooth, which were accompanied by small pieces of charcoal and some gold objects: single small gold rings (3.0 – 3.2 mm in diameter), some of them fused together into short “tubes”. Fused gold aggregates of spherical or irregular shape were also found. The cause of their fusion remains still uncertain but it is quite possible that the gold pieces had been included, intentionally or accidentally, in a certain activity that required fire, before their deposition into the ritual structure.

The accumulation of such an abundant material from one and the same local-ity and date was a challenge, leading to long studies under a conventional, bench stereomicroscope, as well as to some preliminary analyses of the metal. A sample of the fused gold and a gold piece from ritual structure #2 were subjected to X-ray microanalysis by means of scanning electron microscope JEOL JSM 35 CF with an energy dispersive X-ray microanalyzer TRACOR NORTHERN TN-2000. The etalons used are the standard ones of JEOL (accelerating voltage – 25 keV; method of analysis: EDAX quantitative analysis; current of the probe: 2x10-9 A). The result showed considerable differences in their composition (table 1).


s. tsaneva / m. hristov / v. karatsanova / z. tsintsov

Fig. 3a-e. SEM images of the aggregate from different sides; 3a shows the starting position of our SEM-EDAX studies of the fused aggregate.

a b

c d

e

Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Bronze Spear- and Javelinheads in Bulgaria in the Context of Southeastern EuropeLyuben LESHTAKOV

The development of bronze spear- and javelinheads from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (LBA, EIA) in Bulgaria has been insufficiently studied1. Only one article was devoted to this kind of bronze weapons dating back to the late 1970s (Черных 1978). In the last 30 years new finds were accumulated which do not correspond to the existing typological scheme. Lately O. Höckmann discussed some of them according to his earlier works from the 1980s (Höckmann 2007). A considerable problem in Bulgarian archaeology is the absence of artefacts dating from the 11th – 8th centuries BC (Буюклиев 1985, 27).

In Europe the situation is almost the same: the studies dealing with Bronze Age (BA) spearheads are few. The first one was published in the late 1960s and the others respectively in the beginning of the 1980s or the late 1990s (Jacob-Friesen 1967; Höckmann 1980a; Avila 1983; Říhovský 1996; Gedl 2009). Anatolia does not differ from this picture, with only one study published in 1976 (de Maigret 1976). Few finds are briefly mentioned by H. Erkanal and Ö. Bilgi (Erkanal 1977; Bilgi 2002). Nevertheless in the last 30 years in southeastern Europe the number of published spear- and javelinheads has considerably increased and now we have much larger base for comparison. This emphasizes the need for a new analysis of the finds from Bulgaria in a much broader context.

The evidence about the use of spears and javelins in Ancient Thrace during the LBA and EIA is scarce. By now we lack the images found on frescoes, seals, vessels and figurines discovered frequently across the eastern Mediterranean, or written evidence from clay tablets. Except for the finds themselves, the only other source available is the Iliad by Homer. In it there is invaluable information regarding the armament of the ancient Bronze Age warriors from the Aegean, Thrace and Anatolia and its use in combat. Although the Iliad was recorded well after the Trojan War, it describes only weaponry made of bronze.

In the Iliad Ciconian spearmen are mentioned with their chief Euphemos (Hom., Il., II, 846). The warriors of another Thracian chieftain, Pyræchmes were also armed with spears. Paeonians were described as archers, but they also had spears. The Thracian chief Asteropaeus faced Achilles armed with two spears (Hom., Il., II, 848; IV, 524-528; XXI, 162-168).

According to the Iliad, the spear was the main weapon in close quarter combat. It was used to strike at different parts of the enemy’s body: the head, limbs or the torso. It could be hurled or used to stab the enemy at close range (Hom., Il., IV, 12; VII, 11-16; XI, 143-144; 251-253, 321). The warriors fighting in big melèe battles were equipped with two spears (Hom., Il., XII, 298; XXI, 162-163). When it comes down to one-on-one combat only one spear was used. Swords, rapiers or other types of weapons were used when the warriors for some reason had no spears at all (Hom., Il., III, 317, 344-362, VII, 244-273; XXI, 173).

It is important to note that the spear- or javelinheads very often were damaged on impact with a shield (The Iliad: book III, 346-348; VII, 259). This could explain the damage visible on some artefacts like the item from Haskovo museum (fig.


1 I would like to express my gratitude to Ass. Prof. Ivan Panayotov, who was my supervisor during my Ph.D. study; to Prof. B. Hänsel for his invaluable help; to the Director of Varna Archaeological Museum – Ass. Prof. V. Pletnyov, who kindly permitted me to use unpublished finds from the museum collection; to Ass. Prof. St. Alexandrov who provided excellent photo-graphs of some of the finds; to Dr. G. Nehrizov for the javelinhead from Ada Tepe peak sanctuary (the first volume dedicated to this site is forthcoming) and many others. The list is too long to be presented here.

lyuben leshtakov

Fig. 2. Shape B, Type I: 1. Lessura, 2. Southern Bulgaria; Type II: 3, 5. Sokol, 4. Unknown; Type III: 6. Lesichery, 7. Glozhene, 8. Dambala peak, 9. Ljubljana. 1, 2, 5, 8 drawings by the author; 3 after Черных 1978; 4 drawing by K. Leshtakov; 6, 7 after Миков 1939; 9 after Teržan 1995.

Ancient Weights of Mesambria PonticaStoyanka DIMOVA

The ancient weights are rare and illustrative artefacts providing information on the metrology of a certain town. They are the legal measures of weight, controlled by civic officials, and reflect the operating weight standard of a particular histori-cal period.

In the course of the last decade four weights of Mesambria Pontica (now Nessebar on Bulgarian Black Sea coast) entered the numismatic depot of the Ancient Nessebar Museum. Their obverses display the characteristic legend (ΜΕͲΑ) and the town symbols (a wheel with four spokes and the legend ΜΕͲΑ between them), thus securing their Mesambrian attribution beyond any doubt. To date, no other weights recognized as standard weights of ancient Mesambria have been published. Their publication will fill a gap in the studies on the metrology of Mesambria Pontica during the Late Classical and the Early Hellenistic periods.

Catalogue

1. Bronze weight of square shape

It represents a solid square plate produced by means of casting in a mold (fig. 1).Measurements: 32 x 32 x 8 mm. Weight: 64.42 g. Inv. #1197.Well preserved, the surface slightly corroded.Obverse: A smoothed out surface with four embossed letters Μ/Ε/Ͳ/Α – ar-

ranged centrically at each side of the square. Length and width of the letters – from 8 to 10 mm; height of the letters – 2 mm. There is a round opening 3 mm in diameter at the angle of the plate, between the letters Ε and Ͳ. The distance between the letters and the edge of the plate is 2-3 mm. The legend reads counter-clockwise. The letter Μ is of a regular outline, although smaller than the rest. The middle stroke of Ε is almost erased (probably a production defect). The letter Ͳ is wider than high and with long side strokes. The letter Α is proportional, convex and with a straight middle stroke.

Reverse: A roughly smoothed surface with no images.The weight comes from the old town of Nessebar. It has been purchased from a

local citizen. It was found in the soil thrown out next to St. Virgin Eleousa Church. About a decade ago a depot of soil was accumulated next to the church, as a result from archaeological excavations in the old Nessebar.

Its weight corresponds approximately to 1/6 of the Euboean-Attic mina which is 436.6 g in weight. We certainly have to recognize also the loss of material as a result of the corrosion and long time use. The opening for a string has a utilitarian function.

Similar to most of the Greek colonies along the Western Black Sea, in conse-quence of the growth of trading with Athens, in the 4th c. BC Mesambria gradually adopted the Euboean-Attic weight standard. It has the drachma as a principal monetary unit, and a mina is equal to a hundred drachmas. In our case, the weight of the bronze weight from Nessebar is equal to the weight of 16 drachmas, 4.366 g in weight.

The paleography of the letters on the weight is similar to the legend ΜΕͲΑ on the widespread types of bronze and silver coins of Mesambria in the course


ancient weights of mesambria pontica

Fig. 1.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 4.


Connecting to Public Water: the Rural Landscape and Water Supply in Lower Moesia1

Agnieszka TOMAS

The physical map of Lower Moesia displays a land consisting of three major re-gions: coastal lowlands, very often poor in drinking water, foothills, rich in small water sources, and the very changeable Lower Danubian valley with its regularly flooded plains (fig. 1). The majority of springs in Lower Moesia were small or middle-sized underground water sources, which were conveyed by means of aqueducts from a few kilometres away. The shore area of the province is quite dif-ferent due to the fact that the mouth of the Danube and the unstable sea coastline create more difficult conditions for water engineering. Both terrain features and access to water resulted in a specific settlement pattern. Roman lifestyle and skill brought significant changes in water use such as construction of aqueducts and building of baths and irrigation systems.

Landscape Use

A comparison of the present hydrographic map of Bulgaria with the map of the Roman water intakes was undertaken by M. Biernacka-Lubańska (1973, 76-80). The Bulgarian part of Lower Moesia is rich in small streams with unstable water levels during the year. Seasonal water fluctuations did not favour the use of riv-ers as water sources. On the contrary, areas endangered by floods ought to be controlled by a drainage system (Adam 1999, 537). It is very possible that the underground corridors cut out of rock near Dolna Studena, Brestovitsa and Karan Varbovka might have served such a function. The corridors, considered to have been used by the Romans (Иванов 1976; Дремсизова-Нелчинова / Иванов 1983, 32, #50], are situated within a radius of 30 km, not far from the place where the Rositsa river flows into the Yantra river. These rivers are nowadays known to generate severe floods, sometimes even twice a year (Гълъбов 1960, 129).

In the Lower Moesian coastal cities, where the terrain was not advantageous for a natural waterfall, the aqueducts’ conduits had a meandering course in order to avoid as many barriers as possible. Good drinking water was gained from the inland sources. In central and western Moesia terra-cotta pipes conveyed water from the springs on hills, using the slope gradient to bring water to the towns.

sUrroUndings of MiLitary sites: Novae, Durostorum, oescus

The construction of big aqueducts in Moesia was undoubtedly initiated by Roman military engineers fulfilling the need for water in legionary bases and forts. Well-recognised conduits, such as the ones near Novae (4 km to the east of Svishtov) (fig. 2), show a very developed water system2. The largest water source is found a few kilometres to the west of Svishtov (Biernacka-Lubańska 1997, 13). The aqueduct took water from underground resources (caput) which had a shape of a big underground reservoir. According to M. Biernacka-Lubańska, the erection of stone reinforcements near this intake resulted from the fluctuations of under-ground waters (Biernacka-Lubańska 1997, 17). These fluctuations, caused by the activity of the Danube, were sufficient to provide water for a large lake. According

1 Some observations in-cluded here were presented during the conference “L’eau dans le monde romain” held in Deva (Romania) in 2008. The study is based on an overview of the remains of Roman water installa-tions supplying the rural settlements and suburbs.

2 In 1973 M. Biernacka-Lubańska gave a number of six aqueducts for Novae (Biernacka-Lubańska 1973, 101), but in 1997 she discusses only four, one of them being double (Biernacka-Lubańska 1997, 14-18). In fact, the num-ber of aqueducts indicated is inaccurate due to their destruction and the fact that some of them were run-ning parallel to each other.

agnieszka tomas

Fig. 1. Lower Moesia. Some rural settlements and water installations in the countryside (by A. Tomas).

Fig. 2. Novae. The aqueducts and settlements in its hinterland (after Biernacka-Lubańska 1997).

Early Medieval Sword Guards from BulgariaDeyan RABOVYANOV

Subjects of this study are a specific type of sword guards found on the territory of Northern Bulgaria. A characteristic feature of these items is that at the bottom there is a metal plate which outflanks the lower part of the blade. Although there are three types of sword guards out of the four known to date, differentiated by the shape, a common tendency in all these three particular types could be traced. The chronology of the objects, based on archaeological evidence, falls into the period of the First Bulgarian kingdom (681-1018) and the beginning of the Byzantine domination (1018-1185) but not later than the 11th century.

The comparison of these sword guards with the ones found in Eastern and Western Europe (Кирпичников 1966, 18-60; Измайлов 1997, 60-79; Jones et al. 2002; Nicolle 1999a; 1999b; Oakeshott 1994; 2000; Petersen 1919; Vinski 1977; Marek 2005) did not show similarities between them. This fact requires adducing other parallels which could establish the origin and the appearance of these sword guards in Bulgaria.

The first to turn to these artefacts was Valeri Yotov, who suggested a date in the 10th century, thereby attributing a Byzantine origin to them (Йотов 2004, 40-45; 2009). However, the available information about these sword guards does not seem to support his hypothesis.

The earliest object to appear in the scholarly literature is the bronze sword guard discovered in 1948 during the excavations of St. Vaklinov in Pliska. It was found northeast from the Little palace among the ruins of an edifice that had a public purpose and dated to 10th – 11th c., thanks to the coins retrieved therein (Станчев 1955, 190-194). The sword guard was defined as a part of a “bronze cross-piece for a sword”, consisting of two halves, cast separately, and embracing the iron part of the sword. The author identified the find as being a part of a typi-cal medieval sword, which was widespread among the Slavs. The identification is based on a photo obtained from Niederle (Станчев 1955, 208).

From the detailed photo (fig. 1), we can assume that the sword guard was designed for a sword with a blade 6.5 cm wide, with the sleeve under the quillons being 2 cm long. The quillons were relatively short, but well defined with rounded ends. The cylindrical bush that was meant to embrace the sword hilt is 1.6 cm high and 3.2 cm wide. In the base, there is a relief ring which is the only decoration of the sword.

The sword from the village of Galovo was discovered by chance by tractor drivers from the Ostrovo dike which were passing by the village (fig. 2). Nikolov is quite brief in mentioning that the same sword guard was found in Pliska (Николов 1962, 36). The sword is 89 cm long and has a rounded point, without a fuller. Of the hilt, there is a metal tang preserved with two openings for the rivets. This object has been studied in details by V. Yotov (Йотов 2004, 40) who concludes that there are no immediate or closer parallels for it. He considers, however, that the sword of the Niederle’s monograph (fig. 26), as well as another one found in Černi brod, Slovakia (fig. 9) and identified as being Byzantine are similar to this one.


deyan rabovyanov

Fig. 1. Sword guard found in 1948 in Pliska (after Станчев 1955, 207, обр. 24).

Fig. 2. Sword from Galovo vil-lage, district Vratza (after Йотов 2004, табло XXIX/421).

Fig. 3. Sword guard from northeastern Bulgaria (after Йотов 2004, табло XXIX/429).

Fig. 4. Sword guard found in 2005 in Pliska (after Йотов 2009, 256, рис. 2).

Fig. 5. Sword from warrior’s grave from the Agora of Corinth (after Weinberg 1974, 519, fig. 4).

Fig. 6. Sword from grave 85 in Aradac-Mečka (after Kiss 1987, 196, Abb. 2).

Fig. 7. Sword from Tekija (after Janković 1983, 63, Pl. IV/1).

Fig. 8. Sword from Andalusia (after García 2001, 185, fig. 2).

Two Belts from 14th-Century Male Burials in Drastar (now Silistra, NE Bulgaria)Georgi G. ATANASOV

A cemetery with more than 400 graves was discovered around the medieval cross-shaped church in Drastar (old bulg. Дръстръ, gr. Δρίστρα, now Silistra), which was built at some point after the mid-ninth century and served as the cathedral for the city’s bishops, for patriarchs and metropolitans until the fourteenth century (fig. 1) (Ангелова et al. 1996; Ангелова 2002; Атанасов 2007). The cemetery has several phases stretching over the entire period between the eleventh and the fourteenth century. Some of those burials produced extremely rich grave goods (Ангелова 2002, 18; 2002а). Special attention among them deserve a number of graves dated to the second half of the fourteenth century, which are associated with the noble family of the αὐθέντης (sovereign) Terter (John?)1, who ruled over Drastar and its environs after 1370. Terter proclaimed himself an independent lord after 1376 and ruled until ca. 1385 (Diaconu 1978; Атанасов 2009, 133-142). He was the son of Dobrotitsa and of a daughter of the Grand Duke Alexios Apokaukos who was at the same time a grand-daughter on the mother’s side of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (Атанасов 2009, 133-164). Along with golden finery, the graves of two noble ladies of the Terter family discovered in front of the church’s diakonikon have produced gold earrings. Each had engraved on one side a two-headed eagle, and on the other, the monogram Т/e/Р/те/Р otherwise known from Terter’s coins (fig. 2) (Ангелова 2002а, 593-598)2.

However, in this paper, I intend to draw attention to two other graves dated to the same period, but discovered to the east of the church. Both contained male skeletons. A belt set was found on the waist of the skeleton of the middle-aged man in grave 93 (fig. 3-4). The set includes a buckle of which only the plate is pre-served, a strap end, and 91 belt mounts. All components are made of low-grade silver (300‰). Though gold-plated, all components were badly oxidized. The belt mounts were attached to remains of a dark brown-red fabric about 2.3 cm wide, and in an advanced state of decomposition. Each mount is shaped like a double anchor (or double lily), 2 cm in height, 1.4 cm wide at the top, and 0.7 cm wide in the middle. They were attached to the textile base by means of two rivets at the opposite ends. The preserved belt buckle plate is 8 cm in length and 2.1 cm in width (fig. 3). It was affixed to the belt like a cartridge and then riveted. The plate is severely corroded; the buckle’s loop and tongue are missing. The strap end is shaped like a tongue, and must have also been attached to the belt like a cartridge, then firmly set in place by means of five rivets – two at the bottom and three along the middle axis. The strap end is 10 cm long, 2.1 cm wide and 0.4 cm thick. On one side the strap end is decorated with a symmetrical motif, of which the most conspicuous feature are the volutes. The other side is smooth and has an engraved inscription in Cyrillic characters, which reads AЛЪДѠН (the last letter may also be M) (fig. 4). The central part of the strap end is badly corroded and the very end of the inscription is illegible. Underneath the first inscription, there is a second one, but almost nothing is preserved because of the advanced state of corrosion. Judging from the components of the belt set, the belt must have been 1.6 m long

1 In this case αὐθέντης – sovereign is a title similar to dominus – ‘lord’. For the title, see: Oberländer-Târnoveanu 1988, 116-117; Атанасов 2009, 150-160.

2 One of the two pairs of earrings was found on either side of the skull of an old woman buried with many gold ornaments in front of the diakonikon in the church. The other pair of earrings was of smaller size, but similar manufac-ture, and was found in a nearby grave containing the burnt bones of a child. The child burial is probably to be associated with one of the many outbreaks of the plague taking place after the mid-fourteenth century.


two belts from 14th-century male burials in drastar (now silistra …

Fig. 11. Reconstruction of the belt from grave 215.

Fig. 9. The strap end from grave 215. Fig. 10. Nut pendant from grave 215.

PROTASE, D. / GUDEA, N. / ARDEVAN, R.: Din istoria militară a Daciei romane. Castrul roman de interior de la Gherla / Aus der Militärgeschichte des römischen Dakien. Das römische Binnenkastell von Gherla (Bibliotheca historica et archaeologica Banatica, XLVI). Timişoara, 2008, 504 p.

Despite of its belonging to another editorial series, the reviewed book is, as a matter of fact, a new supplement to the series of short monographs dedicated to particular Roman fortifications in the province of Dacia Porolissensis (“Monumente arheologice din Dacia Porolissensis”). The publication of the latter began in connection with the XVII International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies held in Zalău in 1997, and was con-tinued in 2003, with regard to the XIX Congress of Roman Frontier Studies held in Pécs.

The book is bilingual – in Romanian and German. The German text is a full translation of the Romanian one and follows it as a separate body of text. Both texts contain 8 chapters each, which are subdivided into many parts. The texts in both languages are equipped with a list of illustrations, detailed indices (of personal names, geographical names and specific terms), lists of abbreviations, bibliography and a great number of illustrations (33 figures and 99 plates).

The earliest pieces of evidence about the presence of Roman antiquities in the vicin-ity of Gherla date back to the 18th century. In 1847 the consul of Prussia in Bucharest J. Neigebaur identified remains of a Roman fortification some 1 km to the south from the town center of Gherla and undertook the first small-scale excavations at the site. According to written notes from the middle and the second half of the 19th century, the fortification was easily discerned on the ground in the form of an elevation of quadrangular plan on the right bank of the Someşului Mic River, with well marked corners and gate locations. However, already by that time certain parts of the walls had been demolished by the ero-sion of the river bank. The intensive agricultural activities and systematic robbery of stone material in the following decades, and especially the large-scale new industrial building in the area since the 60s of the 20th century almost completely destroyed the fort. Only insignificant remains of its southeastern corner have survived until now.

The Roman military camp by Gherla and the adjacent vast civil settlement have never been subjected to systematic archaeological investigation. Nevertheless, archaeological excavations of different scale and duration have been carried out there many times ever since the mid-19th century. As a result of those, important information of architectural, stratigraphic and topographic nature has been collected. Unfortunately, in most cases the structures which have been excavated in the past cannot be now exactly located on the ground due to disappeared older landmarks as well as lack of, or significant omissions in, the documentation. Meanwhile, in the course of a century and a half, the territory of the military camp and the nearby civil settlement by Gherla has yielded huge amount of archaeological artefacts. Albeit often devoid of an adequate context, all those finds provide valuable chronological and cultural-historical evidence.

The authors of the reviewed book undertake the ambitious but difficult task to find, collect, analyze and generalize the entire available information about the Roman military camp and its adjacent civil settlement by Gherla, presenting a synthetic study on their historical development and revealing their place and role in the military organization, social-economic and spiritual life in the North of Roman Dacia.

Chapter I (р. 11-15/171-175) presents a standard introduction. Except for descrip-tion of the situation and the present state of preservation of the Roman antiquities in the vicinity of Gherla, special attention is paid to the role of the local military camp in the defense system of Dacia. The name of the castellum is still unknown. As far as the sug-gested current identifications are concerned, they are rejected by the authors as being in contradiction with the available evidence. The foundation of the castellum is dated to the time immediately after the end of the Dacian Wars of Emperor Trajan. The choice of the place of its construction is foreordained by its strategic position and the favorable natural conditions of the locality. The still anonymous Roman military camp near Gherla was built in the rear zone of the border line along the Carpathian crest and was designed to secure the communications between the border garrisons and the legionary bases at Potaissa

ReviewsArchAeologiA BulgAricA Xv, 2 (2011), 99-102

Archaeologia Bulgarica 2011, 2

Documents

Transcript of Archaeologia Bulgarica 2011, 2