Alexandru Berzovan

• Doctor of Archaeology
• scientific researcher at Romanian Academy

A rather short note about a silver link with twisted ends, discovered at Dobrovăț (Iași County)...

The present study aims to provide a series of clarifications regarding a hillfort vaguely mentioned in older literature and which has not been located on site. Recent research has allowed us to bring some clarifications in this regard.

The archaeological research carried out in 2021 in the perimeter of the archaeological site from Crivești-"Dealul Viei" (Strunga commune, Iași County) led to the discovery of 11 features, among which a grave, a pit with uncertain functionality, a hearth and eight household pits. All datable features belong to the first half of the Late Iron Age, be...

This study is part of a series of scientific articles presenting the history of some communes located in Iași county and in the neighborhood, meant to capitalize on the results of field research carried out by some members of the Institute of Archaeology in Iași in recent years. The history of rural communities in Moldova has been less discussed, o...

This study introduces a new aspect in the discussions regarding military campaigns conducted over time in the western region of the Transylvania’s Iron Gates. It pertains to a possible fortification discovered near Marga, Caraș-Severin County, South of the Bistra River, situated approximately 260 meters south-southwest of the DN68 and DJ684A inters...

Three new graves belonging to the Poienești-Lucașeuca Culture discovered at Mihoveni�Cahla Morii (Șcheia commune, Suceava County, Romania). In 2017, two Poienești�Lucașeuca type cremation burials were accidentally discovered in the Mihoveni-Cahla Morii site. Through this study, we want to introduce these discoveries into the specialised literature,...

This study is part of a larger initiative of the authors to present a series of elements of local history regarding the rural settlements of Iași County. The commune of Românești (comprising the villages Românești, Avântu and Ursoaia) is located N-V of Iași and has a long history and tradition, its roots being embedded in the Middle Ages. The autho...

The material comes from the Late Iron Age settlement of Dobrovăț-La Livadă in Iași County and represents food waste presenting butchering, burning, and disarticulation marks. Considering the total number of specifically identified mammals, 90.36% of them belong to domestic mammals and the rest of 9.64% belongs to the only identified wild mammals-Su...

The present study aims to discuss a series of aspects regardng the historical evolution of the Gorban commune in Iași County. With a long history and traditions begining in the 15th century, the teritory of Gorban witnessed many events from the Middle Ages to the horrors of the Second World War wich are still present in the memory of its inhabitant...

During the 5th and 3rd centuries BC period, a significant number of fortresses were built in the space between the Carpathians and the Dniester. On the territory of Romania, 37 objectives are currently known. The study aims to discuss all the known at the moment regarding religious and magical practices of the hillforts inhabitants. Up to this mome...

Collection of studies in honor of professor dr. Adrian Poruciuc

During the 5th and 3rd centuries BC period, a significant number of hillforts were built in the space between the Carpathians and the Dniester. Through this study, we shall discuss, synthetically, the data we have regarding the relations that the inhabitants of these hillforts had with other populations and more or less distant cultural areas, refl...

The paper is part of a longer series dedicated to the larger public, published in the journal Albanica, discussing the issue of Romanian and Albanian ethnogenesis.

Observations regarding the origin of the term "dornă". Abstract. The etymology of the Romanian term "dornă" has provoked multiple discussions over time, without reaching a unilaterally accepted solution. Through this study we set out to discuss some observations that we hope will prove useful in the future attempts to elucidate this puzzle. In Roma...

This paper examines the citadels and weaponry of the Dacians during the period of hostile contact with the Romans. In the first section, the authors discuss four Dacian fortresses along the Danube gorge, demonstrating that the Dacians adapted their citadels as a direct result of skirmishes and, ultimately, the dire threat of invasion by the Romans....

The fort of Albești–“Cetățuia” is located in the southern part of the Moldavian Plateau, more precisely, in the Fălciu Hills area. It occupies the high terrace on the right bank of the Cetățuia valley, bordered on the north by Mălăiești Hill and on the south by Ursoaia Hill. The southern‑southeastern part, towards the stream, is naturally protected...

The present study discusses a series of historical data regarding the Ungheni commune in Iași County, which has a long history, starting from the 15th century. The focus will partly be on some particulars regarding a series of lesser-known historical monuments, such as the iron rail-bridgebuilt by Gustave Eiffel or the old wooden church from Coada...

The volume provides an overview of the Early Late Iron Age hillforts located between the Eastern Carpathians and Prut River.

Adrian C. Florescu (1928-1986) was an archaeologist from Iași who dedicated a large part of his career to the research of the early Late Iron Age hillforts from the East Carpathian region of Romania. Starting from 1978 he prepared for publication a dedicated monograph on this subject, but unfortunately, due to unknown reasons, the manuscript was ne...

Through this study we attempt a general view of the history of research of the Late Iron Age hillforts from the East-Carpathian Area. From the very beginning we say that given the extent of the topic and the fairly consistent bibliography, we did not propose an exhaustive treatment, in which to discuss each particular written study, but we only int...

Începând cu anul 2020, în cadrul proiectului nostru dedicat arheologiei și topografiei din Epoca Târzie a Fierului din zona est-carpatică a României, am realizat o serie de cercetări de teren în zona de nord a Podișului Moldovei, mai precis pe teritoriul actualului județ Botoșani. Existența scanărilor LIDAR, puse la dispoziția Institutului de Arheo...

Fieldwork is an important segment of archaeological research, contributing to the better knowing and understanding of different historical periods. Publishing the results obtained and the archaeological materials discovered after such an initiative can complete the image already formed about the communities that lived in the past. In the present st...

Through this study we aimed to present two fortresses, Fundul Văii - Cetatea Zmeilor (com. Lipovăț), respectively Popeni - Valea Bujorani (com. Zorleni), both located on the territory of Vaslui County. Both fortresses, judging from the recovered materials as well as their characteristics, seem to belong to the Early Iron Age. The fort of Valea Bujo...

The issue of trade relations between local peoples who lived in the area between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester in the early Late Iron Age and the Mediterranean world is a topic amply debated in the literature. Through this paper we intend to bring into discussion a small batch of Greek amphorae fragments from the collection of the Ţibana...

The necropolis from Strahotin - Ponoare, Dângeni commune, Botoșani County is among the most representative monuments of the early Late Iron Age in the East Carpathian Area. It was excavated by the late Botoșani archaeologist, Paul Șadurschi. Its untimely death in 2010 prevented the publication of the finds. Considering the importance of the finds,...

The etymology of the Dacian word „dava” has preoccupied over the last century a large number of specialists. In the first in-depth etymological analysis of the term, W. Tomaschek proposed a derivation from Proto-Indo-European. A non-Indo-European Kartvelian solution was briefly mentioned but dismissed as random occurrence. The first hypothesis had...

Between the 5th and 3th centuries BC, at the turn between the Early and Late Iron Age, a significant number of fortresses were built in the in the East Carpathian area. A dynamic micro zone in this period is represented by the northern area of the Central Moldavian Plateau. In the analyzed area, we have 11 fortresses belonging to the 4th-3rd centur...

Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, at the turn of the Early and Late Iron Age, a significant number of fortresses were built in the Eastern Carpathian area, which still impresses today with their size, witnessing a large collective effort. These efforts were not only a simple response to the danger posed by the seasonal raids of the steppe nomad...

Fieldwork is an important segment of archaeological research, contributing to the better knowing and understanding of different historical periods. Publishing the results obtained and the archaeological materials discovered after such an initiative can complete the image already formed about the communities that lived in the past. In the present st...

Abstract: In the present paper we intend to address the problem of the dwellings existing within the Iron Age fortresses located between the Carpathians and the Prut. It is noted that there are forts with lower habitation density (Stânceşti, Cotnari, Cotu Copălău) as well as more intensely inhabited forts (Buneşti, maybe Bazga) As for the spatial d...

The problem of the fortresses raised at the turn of the Early and the Late Iron Age in the East-Carpathian space of Romania preoccupied us for a long time. Analyzing the results of LIDAR scans we observed in the Bucecea Low Ridge (Șaua Bucecii) area a number of anomalies - a possible fortification and possibly three tumular necropolises. The field...

The problem of fortifications from the 5th ‒ 3rd centuries BC located on Cetățuia Hill in Dobrovăț commune, had preoccupied us for a long time. During 2019 we decided to conduct a first archaeological test-dig to verify to what degree the archaeological structures were preserved. We had found the remains of a surface dwelling from which we recovere...

Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, at the turn between the Early and Late Iron Age, a significant number of fortresses were built in the East Carpathian Area. A dynamic micro zone in this period is represented by the northern area of the Central Moldavian Plateau. In the analysed area we have 11 such forts, most of them certainly dated in this p...

In the paper we have presented several monuments from the Banat and Cerna Mountains with signs and symbols. Some of these signs and symbols have a broad temporary coverage, dating from the Prehistory to the Middle Ages. By comparing these signs and symbols with those in our database we have presented a number of analogies. Some monuments could not...

At the turn of the Early Iron Age to the east of the Carpathian Mountains flourished the ancient culture of the Getae. The Getic tribes built massive hilltop forts, some of them covering extensive areas. One of the most interesting forts is the one from Cotnari - Dealul Cătălina. Despite the fact that this fort has benefited from archaeological dig...

The present article discusses two decorated sheats, one made of iron and the other of bronze, existing within the collections of the Târgu Frumos School Museum. While for the sheath made of iron we do not have any kind of information regarding its context of discovery, the bronze one was discovered accidentally in 2016 in the commune of Dobrovăț, I...

Preliminary considerations regarding the Geto-Dacian fortress of Todirel-Dealul Bobeica, Bârnova commune, Iași County, România. Our interest for the antiquities of the Late Iron Age in the East Carpathian Region of Romania has determined us to organise a number of field surveys on the teritory of Iași County. Trough the present study we aim to pres...

The present paper discusses a hoard of objects of Scythian tradition discovered during archaeological researches carried out in the two Getian forts of Stâncești (Botoșani County, Romania). Although it had benefited from some discussions in the literature since its discovery, there are still a number of issues concerning the origin, functionality a...

Studia in Honorem Vasile Chirica

In the present article we discuss the problem of the akinakai found in the East-Carpathian area of Rumania. Our intention is not to propose new typologies, but to discuss – from a functionalist point of view, the 49 artifacts known so far. Also, we attempted a discussion on the problem of the people who manufactured and used these weapons, starting...

Akinakai. Daggers, swords and scimitars in the east-Carpathian area of Romania (7th-5th centuries B.C) Abstract: In the east-Carpathian areas of Romania, some of the most representative artifacts in terms of their frequency and chronological value dating to the 7 th-5 th centuries B.C. are the so-called Akinakai. In this paper, we do not propose ne...

Roman Funerary Law on the Lower Danube: Theory and Practice in Romans - By thoroughly studying the ancient legal sources concerning the aspect of human burials, one could see in theory what were the regulations approved by law regarding funerary behaviour throughout the Roman Empire at a given time in history. On the other hand, by analysing the fu...

The present paper analyses a cluster of five Getic fortresses in the area of Cotnari (Iași County, Romania). The most important is the one of Cotnari - „Cătălina”, covering a total surface of about 70 ha. All other forts are in its view shed. The cluster of forts represents a defensive system built at the contact between the hilly woodlands of the...

The present article discusses the Getic fortress from Criveşti. Situated in a strategic location on a hill, it has an oval shape, approximately 190×120 meters. Archaeological materials allow it to be attributed to the period from 4th to 3rd centuries BC, and, therefore, it, at least in part, is a contemporary of other Getic fortress of the Moldavia...

The present analysis is dedicated to the linear fortification in Ţara Zarandului known as “Troianul”, “Calea lui Traian” (Trajan’s Way), “Drumul lui Traian” (Trajan’s Road), or “Iarcul” (The Ditch). S. Dumitrașcu, the archaeologist from Oradea who first mapped the landscape feature, expressed several hypotheses on this monument that is little known...

The construction of the Dacian Kingdom in the Transylvanian area would not have been possible without the favourable combination between the military and political infrastructure and the exceptional military capacities of certain warlords. The Roman Empire managed to install itself on the entire right bank of the Danube, as part of an Imperial poli...

The turn between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. was marked by prolonged military confrontations on the middle and lower Danube between the Romans and the warrior tribes of the Dacians. Eventually, the Empire ventured to the north in a series of punitive military actions directed at securing the Danubian frontier. Much discussed in th...

During the 1965–1985 period the archaeology of Arad experienced a special impetus in the research of the traces of the Dacian civilization. The investigations have mainly envisaged the fortifications and possible fortifications of the Dacians. Nevertheless, returning to the “rural” world one can note that almost no data is available. The present st...

Among the specific embodiments of the military phenomena, weapons occupy a leading role, as they are the most obvious physical representations. The arrival of Roman power on the lower Danube during Ist century A.D. generated a series of skirmishes in the region, with both the Dacian kingdom, as well as with various tribal factions, more or less und...

3D reconstruction of ancient pottery using drawn profiles. A case study: reconstructing a Dacian fruit bowl. Without any doubt, the last years had seen an increasing deal of interest towards the Dacian culture and civilization, not just in Romania, but also in other countries. Unfortunately, most of those who are outside academia or specialized ins...

Our interest in Dacian antiquities, especially those found in Arad county, have determinded us, over the course of the past years, to carry out fi eld research in specific locations in the county, reaserch which is meant to evidentiate new sites and to open up new possibilities for the approach and realization of micro and macro-regional analitical...

A clay pot with tamga signs discovered at Şiria (Arad county). Our interest regarding the ancient Dacian finds from the Arad county has determined us to make a systematization of all the available data and to re-asses the discoveries previsously known in the light of the informations available and novative directions of investigations. In this work...