BOOKS by Lucian Munteanu
Descrierea CIP este disponibilă la Biblioteca Naţională a României.
Editura Istros a Muzeului Brăilei Carol I, Editura Constantin Matasă, Brăila-Piatra Neamț, 2021
The architectural and religious ensemble, viewed as the most imposing and important in the city R... more The architectural and religious ensemble, viewed as the most imposing and important in the city Roman, is located on a promontory of the upper terrace of the river Moldova and it includes ecclesiastical and administrative buildings erected during the 15th-18th centuries. Through its location, it dominates the entrance plateau to the former medieval fair of Roman and it imposes due to its past of over 600 years. Through its antiquity, architecture and tradition, the Bishopric of Roman (category A monument) is part of the Romanian national historical and cultural-artistic heritage.
The collapse of a portion of the southern enclosure wall of the sanctuary determined the archaeological intervention in 2015. Besides the restoration of the enclosure wall, the aim was to construct an administrative building (in the courtyard behind the church), in an untouched investigation perimeter. It was researched by means of two extensions (marked Cas.1 and Cas.2), the first separated longitudinally by a modern stone foundation (reason for which it was renumbered Cas.1/I and Cas.1/II). Adjacently a sewer ditch was drawn, which crossed the entire orchard behind the church. Until the discovery of the features, it was found that the medieval and modern layers were partially affected by an addition of soil necessary for leveling the surface. Household (jar vessels, bowls, cups, mugs, plates, lids) and ornamental ceramics (tiles), along with other artifacts made of clay (candlesticks, smoking pipes), glass (fragmentary containers), bronze (religious objects) and iron (clothing pieces, tools, locks) indicated and dated the respective levels.
Starting with a depth of 1.40 m, in the perimeter of the extension Cas.1 were discovered the first graves of the cemetery on the south and southwest side of the church. Along the way, on the side of the extension there were some graves located at 1.00-1.20m depth, but most were between 1.40m and 2.80m deep. 210 medieval tombs were found and researched, as well as 5 tombs (one double) from the Bronze Age (M.39-Cas.1/II, M.101, M.102, M.107, M.dublu110- Cas.1/I), a rarity for the plateau on the upper terrace of the Moldova River. The pottery discovered among the tombs and on the surface of the cemetery indicates, in addition to the known levels, an ancient layer, which, according to local and imported pottery, dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD, a settlement so far unknown on the terrace of this area.
Das Buch bildet den dritten Teil einer auf mehrere Bände angelegten Bibliographie, die die Litera... more Das Buch bildet den dritten Teil einer auf mehrere Bände angelegten Bibliographie, die die Literatur zum nördlichen Schwarzmeerraum in griechisch-römischer Zeit möglichst vollständig erfasst. Erstmalig wird hier der Versuch unternommen, die gesamte im Westen und Osten erschienene Literatur zur antiken Kunst, Religion und Mythologie vom Beginn der altertumskundlichen Forschungen bis zum Jahr 2019 systematisch zusammenzustellen. Die „Bibliographia classica orae septentrionalis Ponti Euxini. III. Ars, res sacrae & mythologica“ schließt eine Forschungslücke, fördert den neuen Geist des wissenschaftlichen Austausches zwischen Ost und West und stellt ein Arbeitsinstrument bereit, das die internationale Zusammenarbeit zur Erforschung der Schwarzmeerküste weiter vorantreiben soll.
in extenso o cercetare arheologică recentă, derulată în regim preventiv. Deși suprafața acoperită... more in extenso o cercetare arheologică recentă, derulată în regim preventiv. Deși suprafața acoperită de săpăturile arheologice nu este una foarte extinsă, perimetrul abordat poate fi un eșantion reprezentativ pentru respectivul obiectiv arheologic, dar și pentru etapa actuală de cercetare. În completarea acestor noi săpături arheologice sunt adăugate și reevaluate informații legate de cercetări anterioare derulate în secolul XX. Descoperirile sunt abordate pluridisciplinar, concluziile gererate oferind o perspectivă mult mai lărgă asupra sitului de la Dărmănești. *** După anii 90 a intervenit în România o nouă abordarea în practica arheologică, aceea a arheologiei preventive. La un moment dat s-a trecut relativ ușor de la autorizația de salvare la cea preventivă, fără să fie percepută implicarea unei noi abordari instituționale, dar și modificări și adaptări mentale, atât ale breslei, cât și ale legiuitorului și în cele din urmă ale beneficiarului cercetării. Trebuie evidențiat că cele mai multe din săpături au avut și continuuă să aibă un caracter de salvare, în multe situații arheologii intervin după ce siturile sunt deja afectate. Prin urmare, credem că existența unei astfel de autorizații/abordări, este necesară inclusiv pentru a conștientiza că persistă o culpabilitate instituțională atunci când sunt distruse situri arheologice. E dificil să definești o săpătură ca fiind preventivă atunci când intervi într-o situație extremă. Cercetarea de salvare, mai curând decât cea preventivă, are o anumită istorie în România. Sunt cunoscute cercetările în cazul unor mari investiții derulate în a doua jumătate a secolului XX precum Canalul Dunăre Marea Neagră, Porțile de Fier, Bicazul, valea Buzăului, valea Jijiei, Dridu, etc. Deși au existat proiecte cu rezultate mai mult sau mai puțin notabile, nu s-a creat o anumită conștientizare a acestui tip de abordare și necesitate în practica arheologică românească. De altfel, discuțiile și dezbaterile din ultimele două
EDITED by Lucian Munteanu
Magdalena MĄCZYŃSKA (Łódż) Mircea MAMALAUCĂ (Bârlad) omagial ionita.indb 11 omagial ionita.indb 1... more Magdalena MĄCZYŃSKA (Łódż) Mircea MAMALAUCĂ (Bârlad) omagial ionita.indb 11 omagial ionita.indb 11 7/24/2006 2:21:22 PM 7/24/2006 2:21:22 PM 12 SCRIPTA ARCHAEOLOGICA Lucia MARINESCU (Bucureşti) Lucreţiu MIHAILESCU-BÎRLIBA (Iaşi) Virgil MIHAILESCU-BÎRLIBA (Iaşi) Ioan MITREA (Bacău) Dan MONAH (Iaşi) Sergiu MUSTEAŢĂ (Chişinău) Lucian MUNTEANU (Iaşi) Rosemarie MÜLLER (Göttingen) Wojciech NOWAKOWSKI (Warszawa) Bernhard PÄFFGEN (München) Mircea PETRESCU-DÎMBOVIŢA (Iaşi) Alexandru POPA (Chişinău) Rodica POPOVICI (Iaşi) Gheorghe POSTICĂ (Chişinău) Silviu SANIE (Iaşi) Michael SCHMAUDER (Bonn) Siegmar von SCHNURBEIN (Frankfurt a. M.) Valeriu SÎRBU (Brăila) Victor SPINEI (Iaşi) Heiko STEUER (Freiburg i. Br.) Eldrid STRAUME (Oslo) Octavian-Liviu ŞOVAN (Botoşani) Ursula TEGTMEIER Köln) Jaroslav TEJRAL (Brno) Dan Gh. TEODOR (Iaşi) Silvia TEODOR (Iaşi) Vasile URSACHI (Roman) Vlad VORNIC (Chişinău) Frank WILLER (Bonn) omagial ionita.indb 12 omagial ionita.indb 12 7/24/2006 2:21:23 PM 7/24/2006 2:21:23 PM Im Sommer 1965 bekam ich eine Stelle beim Archäologischen Museum in Piatra Neamţ und kurz nachher wurde ich vom damaligen Institutsdirektor (Constantin Matasă), nach Cucuteni geschickt, zu Professor Mircea Petrescu-Dîmboviţa, um mir so gut und so schnell wie möglich die Technik der archäologischen Arbeit anzueignen. Damals leitete der Jassyer Professor die große Ausgrabungsstätte zu Cucuteni, die für viele interessierte Jugendliche eine regelrechte Schule darstellte. Außer dem Hauptziel der Untersuchungen -die Festung Cucuteni -wurden auch sonstige umgebende Stätten unter der Leitung seiner jüngeren, jedoch genauso erfahrenen Mitarbeiter untersucht (Adrian C. Florescu, Ion Ioniţă, Attila László, Dinu Marin, Victor Spinei u. a.). Ich füge hinzu, dass nicht nur Studierende bei all diesen Ausgrabungen mitmachten, sondern auch Archäologen aus allen Zentren des Landes: Assistenten, Doktoranden, Mitglieder des Personals usw. Es herrschte eine Atmosphäre des steten, fruchtbaren Betätigungsdrangs, aber auch der Kollegialität. Professor Petrescu-Dîmboviţa hat mir dazu geraten, an den höchst interessanten und komplexen Ausgrabungen in Băiceni-Silişte teilzunehmen, die unter der wissenschaftlichen Aufsicht von Ion Ioniţă, meinem seither immer treuen Freund, stattfanden. Einige Merkmale der von ihm geleiteten Ausgrabungsstelle haben mich von Anfang an beeindruckt: die exakte Planung, die Pünklichkeit, die maximal ausgenutzte Arbeitszeit, die dem winzigsten Detail geschenkte Aufmerksamkeit und schließlich die absolute Behrrschung der Lage. Später, als ich Ion Ioniţă besser kennenlernen durfte, kam ich zum Schluss, dass all meine Feststellungen seinen Charakterzügen entsprachen, die auch seine wissenschaftliche Persönlichkeit geprägt haben. Einige Charakterzüge sind uns eingeboren und können von der Umwelt begünstigt werden, andere aber erwerben wir erst allmählich mittels der Erziehung. Mir scheint, dass Ion Ioniţă -oder einfach Ion oder John, wie die Freunde ihn nennen -einiges von beiden hat. Ion PROFESSOR ION IONIŢĂ WIRD 70 omagial ionita.indb 13 omagial ionita.indb 13 7/24/2006 2:21:24 PM 7/24/2006 2:21:24 PM 14 SCRIPTA ARCHAEOLOGICA Ioniţă wurde in Răuseni, Kreis Botoşani, am 8. Januar 1936 geboren und kam nach dem Abschluss der dortigen Grundschule nach Iaşi, um das Pädagogische Gymnasium zu besuchen. Hier hat er während der Studien, wie er mir oft gestand, versucht, seinen Sinn für Disziplin und Ordnung weiterzuentwickeln, ohne den man in jedem Bereich, doch insbesondere in der Archäologie keine ertragreiche Arbeit leisten, keine überzeugenden Ergebnisse erzielen kann.
NUMISMATICS by Lucian Munteanu
Revista de Arheologie, Antropologie și Studii Interdisciplinare, 2024
Note on a ‟repaired” Roman coin. The study presents a remarkable Roman issue kept in the collecti... more Note on a ‟repaired” Roman coin. The study presents a remarkable Roman issue kept in the collection of the Institute of Archaeology in Iași. It is a denarius serratus of Q. Antonius Balbus (83-82 BC), which belongs to a hoard discovered in the vicinity of the Drobeta site. This coin was originally sloppily pierced in order to be worn as a pendant. Subsequently, at a time we cannot estimate, the hole was plugged with a piece of metal. It has drawn our attention that the ‟repair” was very carefully carried out. The Roman craftsman tried to integrate the added material as well as possible, taking into account the metal (silver with a 97-98% fineness), colour, relief and design of the coin. The aim was to reproduce as accurate as possible, the original appearance of the denarius in order to reinsert it into monetary circulation in Dacia. The only analogies we have found in the specialized literature refer to perforated Roman coins, mostly of gold (aurei, solidi) and, rarely, of silver (denarii), discovered in territories outside the Empire (India and the east-central and north European Barbaricum), which have been ‟repaired” in a similar manner in order to restore their original monetary function.
Key words: Dacia, Drobeta, denarius serratus, perforation, ‟plugged” coin.
Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica, 2024
He would have acquired the denarii back in his hometown, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, during his childh... more He would have acquired the denarii back in his hometown, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, during his childhood and student years. Throughout this paper, we have attempted to prove that these coins are unlikely to represent single finds from the Drobeta site. More likely, the issues were part of a hoard of Roman denarii, also containing Republican coins, which had its main core made up of denarii from the Antonine emperors until the reign of Elagabalus or Severus Alexander. Although we have no other information about this hypothetical hoard, the discovery was made in Drobeta or, quite probably, in the vicinity, before the year 1931.
Tezaurul de la Muncelu de Sus (com. Mogoșești-Siret, jud. Iași). Lotul de monede păstrat în colecția Institutului de Arheologie din Iași, in: D. Aparaschivei, G. Bilavschi, L. Bacumenco-Pîrnău (eds.), Varia Archaeologica (IV). Provocări, căutări și certitudini, Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2024, p. 273-346. The hoard from Muncelu de Sus (Mogoșești-Siret comm., Iași County). The batch of coins kept in th... more The hoard from Muncelu de Sus (Mogoșești-Siret comm., Iași County). The batch of coins kept in the Collection of the Institute of Archaeology in Iași
The hoard of Muncelu de Sus (Mogoșești-Siret Commune, Iași County) is the most important discovery from the Roman period in the eastern territory of the Carpathians. The deposit has been recovered in several batches over time and contains Roman silver and bronze artifacts and c. 2000 silver coins. In this paper we point out the oldest batch from the hoard of Muncelu de Sus (batch I), which was discovered accidentally, in May of 1963 and contains 364 silver coins, stored in a mug, which has not been preserved. The pieces are kept in the collection of the Institute of Archaeology Iași. The chronological structure of the batch is as follows: Republican denarii (15 pcs.), “legionary denarii” of Marcus Antonius (200 pcs.), imperial denarii (149 pcs.), from Nero - Antoninus Pius period and a Trajanic drachm from Lycia. Most of the coins are countermarked. An outstanding countermark which appears on four of the coins is “IMP•VES”, applied at Ephesus, between 74-79 AD. We suppose that five other denarii belong also to this batch, which were recorded in 1973 by V. Mihailescu-Bîrliba, in the collection of the School of Muncelu de Sus (2 pcs. Antoninus Pius, 1 pc. Vespasianus, 1 pc. Traianus, 1 pc. Marcus Aurelius). In this instance, the end date of our batch is in the time of Marcus Aurelius, as in the case of the other batches from the same hoard.
Arheologie Moldovei, 2023
In this issue of the chronicle we publish the Medieval coins, which are kept in the collection of... more In this issue of the chronicle we publish the Medieval coins, which are kept in the collection of the "Constantin Mihai" Museum, from the "Ion Neculce" Theoretical High School in Târgu Frumos. The coins have been discovered over time in the localities around the town of Târgu Frumos (Iași County): Principality of Moldavia (1 pc.): Ștefan I, gros, 1433-1435; Ottoman Empire (2 pcs.): Mehmed II, akçe, 1451-1461; Mustafa III, para, 1764/1765; Kingdom of Hungary (2 pcs.): Hunyadi Mátyás, denár, 1471-1481 (1), 1479-1485 (1); Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Polish Crown (3 pcs.): Zygmunt I Stary, grosz, 1548 (1); Zygmunt III Waza, szeląg, 1626 (1), trojak, 1599 (1); Lithuania (7 pcs.): Aleksander I Jagiellończyk, pólgrosz, 1501-1506; Zygmunt II August, pólgrosz, 1557 (1), 1558 (1), 1560 (1), 1561 (2), 1565 (1); Ryga (city) (1 pc.): Zygmunt III Waza, trojak, 1593; Gdańsk (1 pc.): Zygmunt III Waza, ort, 1626; Holy Roman Empire: Kingdom of Hungary (4 pc.): Ferdinand I, denar, 1553; Maximilian II, denar, 1578; Rudolf II, denar, 1589; Ferdinand II, denar, 1629; Branderburg-Prussia (1 pc.): Georg Wilhelm, Schilling, 1626; Kampen (imperial city) (1 pc.): Leeuwendaalder, 1649; Swedish Empire (1 pcs.): Ryga (city): Krystyna, Schilling, 1637; Austrian Empire (1 pc.): Franz I, 3 Kreuzer, 1815.
Memoria Antiquitatis, 2023
In the archive of the Museum of History and Ethnography in Târgu Neamț there are some unpublished... more In the archive of the Museum of History and Ethnography in Târgu Neamț there are some unpublished documents, which refer directly to the discovery of Roman imperial denarii from Ghindăoani (Neamț County). One of the documents contains impressions of the obverse and reverse sides of two coins, a date ("958.III", probably March 1958) and the owner of the coins (the teacher Enea). The coins are two denarii from Marcus Aurelius: Diva Faustina II, years 176-180 (RIC III 743) and Antoninus Pius: Diva Faustina I, post 141 (RIC III 360a). Another document confirms that the museum received two coins from a local man, Vasile Gh. Leonte, through the teacher Mihai David. The legends of the coins were transcribed in the document, so that they could be easily identified: Hadrianus: Sabina, years c. 130-133 (RIC II.3 2500-2504 var.) and Commodus, years 190-191 (RIC III 219).
We believe that all four denarii have their origin in a hoard known from the literature. It was discovered by Vasile Gh. Leonte in his yard, on the "Leontești"/"Izvoare" hill in Ghindăoani. This monetary deposit belongs to a small group of hoards, from the territory of western Moldavia, ending with issues from the period Elagabalus - Severus Alexander.
Acta Musei Tutovensis, 2024
Our paper introduces a remarkable silver coin kept in the collection of "Vasile Pârvan" Museum in... more Our paper introduces a remarkable silver coin kept in the collection of "Vasile Pârvan" Museum in Bârlad. It is a tetrobol from Histiaea (Euboea), with the tripod and trident symbols on the reverse, which was probably minted between 196-146 BC, in the context of the Third Macedonian War. In the first half of the last century, the coin was part of the collection of a small rural museum, established by priest Vasile Ursăcescu in Curteni (Vaslui county). Later, that museum was abolished, and most of the artefacts, including our coin, ended up in the collection of "Vasile Pârvan" Museum in Bârlad. We believe that it is possible that this coin comes from the north of Dobroudja, from the area of the villages of Nalbant and Ostrov (Tulcea county), where the priest Ursăcescu served. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact that the only discoveries of coins from Histiaea, which are known on the current territory of Romania, come from Dobroudja.
Revista de Arheologie, Antropologie și Studii Interdisciplinare, 2023
Note on the composition of several Roman coins from the collection of the Roman History Museum. T... more Note on the composition of several Roman coins from the collection of the Roman History Museum. The study presents the analysis results of the elemental chemical composition of four ancient coins, using the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) method. The coins were discovered in ‟Poienești-Vârteșcoiu” type sites in the central area of Moldavia (Romania): Roșiori (Neamț County), Gâdinți (Neamț County) and Călinești (Bacău County). The two coins from Roșiori (Cat. 1-2) are copies after Roman imperial denarii, made by casting, from an alloy of copper (77.52-88.52%) and tin (10.45-19.16%), to which a particular amount of lead was added (1.02-4.43%). The coins from Gâdinți (Cat. 3) and Călinești (Cat. 4) are authentic Roman imperial issues. A very high percentage of silver (87.82-95.45%) has been identified in their composition. This can be accounted through the fact that the technique we used only examines the surface of the denarii, which, in the time of the Empire, was artificially enriched with silver. Thus, the results obtained by XRF analysis of these denominations should be interpreted with caution, and it is necessary to constantly compare them with similar data available in the literature.
Key words: Western Moldavia, ‟Poienești-Vârteșcoiu” sites, XRF analysis, cast imitations, Roman imperial denarii.
The hoard from Ghindăoani (Neamț County) was discovered in the middle of the last century, and on... more The hoard from Ghindăoani (Neamț County) was discovered in the middle of the last century, and only 39 Roman imperial denarii were recovered from it, dated from Traianus to Clodius Albinus. The coins from the hoard have some particular features, such as: light weight, heavy wear or friability. In order to verify the quality of the metal, we analyzed the elemental chemical composition of eight coins from this hoard, using the X‑ray florescence technique – XRF (performed with a portable spectrometer, Tracer 5i). For all denarii, a very high percentage of silver was detected (89.82–94.95%). This is explained by the fact that the technique we used analyzes only the surface of the coins (up to 50 microns deep), which, in the time of the Empire, was artificially enriched with silver (so‑called ʻdepletion silvering). In general, the coins from Ghindăoani have a relatively uniform chemical composition, which shows a concern for standardization, specific to a powerful authority. Their alloy is similar to that of the Roman imperial coins, containing the same minor and trace elements (associated both with silver and copper), in similar quantities. We believe that the denarii analyzed from the Ghindăoani hoard are original issues, made by stiking, in the workshops of the Empire.
Acta Musei Tutovensis, 2023
We present two unpublished Istrian silver coins, kept in the numismatic collection of the "Vasile... more We present two unpublished Istrian silver coins, kept in the numismatic collection of the "Vasile Pârvan" Museum in Bârlad. Both coins belong to Group IV, subgroup VIII (in M. Dima's classification) and date between ca. 256/255 - ca. 240 BC. The first coin was discovered in September 2022, following an archaeological surface survey, in the Getic fortification at Obârșeni - "Cetățuia" (Vinderei Commune, Vaslui County). Also in that locality, at the "Drăghia" point, an unknown number of Istrian silver issues were discovered before 1943, which could have belonged to a hoard. The second coin was discovered in the vicinity of the town of Bârlad, before 1965. It was probably reworked by perforation in the modern era. The two localities where the presented coins come from seem to belong to a micro-area of concentration of Istrian coin finds, located in the south of the Fălciu Hills and the north of the Covurlui Plateau. In the same area, five fortifications dated to the V-III centuries BC are attested. We believe that Histrian coins arrived in this area as a result of political (and perhaps military) relations between this center of local power and the city of Istros during the 3rd century BC.
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BOOKS by Lucian Munteanu
The collapse of a portion of the southern enclosure wall of the sanctuary determined the archaeological intervention in 2015. Besides the restoration of the enclosure wall, the aim was to construct an administrative building (in the courtyard behind the church), in an untouched investigation perimeter. It was researched by means of two extensions (marked Cas.1 and Cas.2), the first separated longitudinally by a modern stone foundation (reason for which it was renumbered Cas.1/I and Cas.1/II). Adjacently a sewer ditch was drawn, which crossed the entire orchard behind the church. Until the discovery of the features, it was found that the medieval and modern layers were partially affected by an addition of soil necessary for leveling the surface. Household (jar vessels, bowls, cups, mugs, plates, lids) and ornamental ceramics (tiles), along with other artifacts made of clay (candlesticks, smoking pipes), glass (fragmentary containers), bronze (religious objects) and iron (clothing pieces, tools, locks) indicated and dated the respective levels.
Starting with a depth of 1.40 m, in the perimeter of the extension Cas.1 were discovered the first graves of the cemetery on the south and southwest side of the church. Along the way, on the side of the extension there were some graves located at 1.00-1.20m depth, but most were between 1.40m and 2.80m deep. 210 medieval tombs were found and researched, as well as 5 tombs (one double) from the Bronze Age (M.39-Cas.1/II, M.101, M.102, M.107, M.dublu110- Cas.1/I), a rarity for the plateau on the upper terrace of the Moldova River. The pottery discovered among the tombs and on the surface of the cemetery indicates, in addition to the known levels, an ancient layer, which, according to local and imported pottery, dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD, a settlement so far unknown on the terrace of this area.
EDITED by Lucian Munteanu
NUMISMATICS by Lucian Munteanu
Key words: Dacia, Drobeta, denarius serratus, perforation, ‟plugged” coin.
The hoard of Muncelu de Sus (Mogoșești-Siret Commune, Iași County) is the most important discovery from the Roman period in the eastern territory of the Carpathians. The deposit has been recovered in several batches over time and contains Roman silver and bronze artifacts and c. 2000 silver coins. In this paper we point out the oldest batch from the hoard of Muncelu de Sus (batch I), which was discovered accidentally, in May of 1963 and contains 364 silver coins, stored in a mug, which has not been preserved. The pieces are kept in the collection of the Institute of Archaeology Iași. The chronological structure of the batch is as follows: Republican denarii (15 pcs.), “legionary denarii” of Marcus Antonius (200 pcs.), imperial denarii (149 pcs.), from Nero - Antoninus Pius period and a Trajanic drachm from Lycia. Most of the coins are countermarked. An outstanding countermark which appears on four of the coins is “IMP•VES”, applied at Ephesus, between 74-79 AD. We suppose that five other denarii belong also to this batch, which were recorded in 1973 by V. Mihailescu-Bîrliba, in the collection of the School of Muncelu de Sus (2 pcs. Antoninus Pius, 1 pc. Vespasianus, 1 pc. Traianus, 1 pc. Marcus Aurelius). In this instance, the end date of our batch is in the time of Marcus Aurelius, as in the case of the other batches from the same hoard.
We believe that all four denarii have their origin in a hoard known from the literature. It was discovered by Vasile Gh. Leonte in his yard, on the "Leontești"/"Izvoare" hill in Ghindăoani. This monetary deposit belongs to a small group of hoards, from the territory of western Moldavia, ending with issues from the period Elagabalus - Severus Alexander.
Key words: Western Moldavia, ‟Poienești-Vârteșcoiu” sites, XRF analysis, cast imitations, Roman imperial denarii.
The collapse of a portion of the southern enclosure wall of the sanctuary determined the archaeological intervention in 2015. Besides the restoration of the enclosure wall, the aim was to construct an administrative building (in the courtyard behind the church), in an untouched investigation perimeter. It was researched by means of two extensions (marked Cas.1 and Cas.2), the first separated longitudinally by a modern stone foundation (reason for which it was renumbered Cas.1/I and Cas.1/II). Adjacently a sewer ditch was drawn, which crossed the entire orchard behind the church. Until the discovery of the features, it was found that the medieval and modern layers were partially affected by an addition of soil necessary for leveling the surface. Household (jar vessels, bowls, cups, mugs, plates, lids) and ornamental ceramics (tiles), along with other artifacts made of clay (candlesticks, smoking pipes), glass (fragmentary containers), bronze (religious objects) and iron (clothing pieces, tools, locks) indicated and dated the respective levels.
Starting with a depth of 1.40 m, in the perimeter of the extension Cas.1 were discovered the first graves of the cemetery on the south and southwest side of the church. Along the way, on the side of the extension there were some graves located at 1.00-1.20m depth, but most were between 1.40m and 2.80m deep. 210 medieval tombs were found and researched, as well as 5 tombs (one double) from the Bronze Age (M.39-Cas.1/II, M.101, M.102, M.107, M.dublu110- Cas.1/I), a rarity for the plateau on the upper terrace of the Moldova River. The pottery discovered among the tombs and on the surface of the cemetery indicates, in addition to the known levels, an ancient layer, which, according to local and imported pottery, dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD, a settlement so far unknown on the terrace of this area.
Key words: Dacia, Drobeta, denarius serratus, perforation, ‟plugged” coin.
The hoard of Muncelu de Sus (Mogoșești-Siret Commune, Iași County) is the most important discovery from the Roman period in the eastern territory of the Carpathians. The deposit has been recovered in several batches over time and contains Roman silver and bronze artifacts and c. 2000 silver coins. In this paper we point out the oldest batch from the hoard of Muncelu de Sus (batch I), which was discovered accidentally, in May of 1963 and contains 364 silver coins, stored in a mug, which has not been preserved. The pieces are kept in the collection of the Institute of Archaeology Iași. The chronological structure of the batch is as follows: Republican denarii (15 pcs.), “legionary denarii” of Marcus Antonius (200 pcs.), imperial denarii (149 pcs.), from Nero - Antoninus Pius period and a Trajanic drachm from Lycia. Most of the coins are countermarked. An outstanding countermark which appears on four of the coins is “IMP•VES”, applied at Ephesus, between 74-79 AD. We suppose that five other denarii belong also to this batch, which were recorded in 1973 by V. Mihailescu-Bîrliba, in the collection of the School of Muncelu de Sus (2 pcs. Antoninus Pius, 1 pc. Vespasianus, 1 pc. Traianus, 1 pc. Marcus Aurelius). In this instance, the end date of our batch is in the time of Marcus Aurelius, as in the case of the other batches from the same hoard.
We believe that all four denarii have their origin in a hoard known from the literature. It was discovered by Vasile Gh. Leonte in his yard, on the "Leontești"/"Izvoare" hill in Ghindăoani. This monetary deposit belongs to a small group of hoards, from the territory of western Moldavia, ending with issues from the period Elagabalus - Severus Alexander.
Key words: Western Moldavia, ‟Poienești-Vârteșcoiu” sites, XRF analysis, cast imitations, Roman imperial denarii.
Key words: Dumitreștii Gălății, cast imitations, Cu-Sn-(Zn-Pb) alloy, Western Moldavia, 3rd-4th centuries.
and recorded in museum documents in 1980 and it belongs to the well-known coin hoard from Fedești. The second coin is a posthumous bronze issueof Philip II with Apollo's head on the obverse. This coin is known to
have been discovered in the late 70's-early 80's of the last century, in a commune, in the vicinity of Bârlad. It is possible that it also belonged to the same hoard from Fedești, which we know also contained a coin of this kind. At this time, the situation of this important discovery is as follows: 402 AE Istros (from the "Apollo / Fedești" series), 1 AE Bottike, 2 AE Philip II ("Apollo"type) (?), 2 bracelets (one whole and one fragmentary), a bronze ring, and three little bronze balls.
to this institution in the 80's of the last century, by the student Marius Moraru. The monetary discovery from Făurei belongs to the group of Roman imperial coin hoards from Moldavia, concluded in the time of Septimius Severus (the most recent coin dates from 193-194 AD, RIC IV/1:14). This hoard has some particular features, such as: the rather
small size (44 pcs.), the very large number of denarii from Antoninus Pius (13 pcs., representing 34% of the hoard) and the absence of denarii issued by Commodus. We believe that these peculiarities are mainly due to the fact that the hoard from Făurei has not been fully recovered.
accessoire vestimentaire était confectionné de deux pièces de métal et il avait le pied trapézoïdal. C’est une pièce qui a de nombreuses correspondances surtout dans les territoires des Sarmates du Nord de la Mer Noire. En Roumanie il y a encore quelques exemples similaires, principalement en Munténie, mais aussi en Moldavie, sur le site de Poieneşti. Dans la zone de la découverte de la pièce, à Dobrovăţ, une recherche archéologique intrusive a également été déroulée dans la même année. Les fouilles ont révélé un complexe archéologique qui a été identifié comme un logement en terre crue. Celui-ci a permis aussi une datation pour la fibule, à la fin du IIIème siècle ou dans les premières décennies du siècle suivant.
The three pit-houses were part of a scattered village, placed on either side of a main road, located near the course of the Siret river. Most probably, the mediaeval artefacts discovered in the '60s of the last century (in the “Morărița” point) belong to the same settlement. The necropolis, from which only one tomb was unveiled (without inventory), may have developed in the south-eastern part of the mediaeval village. Exclusively on the basis of the archaeological material uncovered from the dwellings and the tomb, we can assume that the standard of living inside its community inhabitants was solely average.
Likewise, we attempted to find out the older name of the settlement, subject to archaeological investigation. For the Mediaeval and Premodern period, Săucești fell within the territorial limits of the nowadays village of Schineni or, equally, were geographically pointed out by comparison with other settlements (Sârbești or Cătălești). Since the end of the eighteenth century, the two villages, Săucești and Schineni (in certain cases, Spineni) had an autonomous evolution.
in the middle of 17th century, by the great vistiernic (treasurer) Iordache Cantacuzino, the brother-in-law of prince
Vasile Lupu. There was a cemetery around it, about which we also have information from contemporary sources.
In view of the consolidation works to be carried out on "Milescu" House, a heritage building, the Institute of
Archeology in Iasi provided the archaeological assistance. The excavations near the Talpalari church, conducted
in 2016 and 2017, led to the identification of the skeletal remains of 14 individuals in relatively certain funerary
contexts. It was also possible to estimate, based on minimum number of individuals calculation method, the
presence of 11 other individuals from which we have only disparate fragments due to repeated disturbance events.
The present paper presents a detailed analysis of the funerary features, from historical, archaeological and
anthropological points of view. The research focuses on both elements of funerary inventory (including potsherds),
and animal osteological remains identified in a secondary context.
Six coins have been identified as a grave goods. The excavation of the features has led to the finding of several
buttons and hook-eye fasteners. In particular, based on the interpretation of the numismatic material, we could see
that the graves corresponding to this level in the cemetery of the Talpalari church can be chronologically framed
between the last decades of the sixteenth century and the first decades of the next.
Therefore, the written sources of the time argue for the existence of Talpalari church in the seventeenth century,
however, the field research leads us to the hypothesis that this place of worship was preceded by another one that
operated in the previous century and which hosted the cemetery of that neighborhood.
Keywords: Iaşi, Talpalari church, medieval cemetery, anthropological analysis, grave goods.