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The Eneolithic Cemetery from Sultana-Malu Roşu (Călăraşi county, Romania)
Abstract and Figures
The Sultana-Malu Roşu Eneolithic tell is located 400 m North-East of Sultana village, commune of Mânăstirea, in the Călăraşi county, South-East Romania. This is a settlement from the second half
of the fifth millennium (Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI complex). Sultana-Malu Roşu was the first
Gumelniţa site to be submitted to scientific research, in the 1920s. After 1975 the site was researched almost entirely. The excavations were resumed by the National History Museum of Romania and the Lower Danube Museum Călăraşi in 2001. In 2002 new excavations were started on the terrace, near the tell. The goal of these new excavations was to discover the cemetery of the tell. It was not an easy task, because at the moment we don’t have a solid method for identification of cemeteries. The methodology used at the Sultana-Malu Roşu cemetery took into account the size of the terrace (about 3.5 ha) and the particular aspects posed by the research of a prehistoric cemetery. In 2003 a series of geo-magnetic prospects were conducted on the terrace, near the tell, in order to identify the necropolis. The area of terrace was divided in a grid of 50 m x 50 m units for a better management of the excavation. Between 2002-2007 we accomplished to dig 22 sections. In this sections we found 12 inhumations graves. The graves were from Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI period and contained human skeletons in crouched (fetal) position, laying on the left or on right side. Funerary inventory was found in four graves only. The burials from Sultana-Malu Roşu cemetery and the elements of funerary treatment identified here confirm similitude to the standard mortuary practices of the Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI complex.
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... Totodată, începând cu anul 2002 au fost deschise suprafețe de sondare pe terasa din apropierea tell-ului în vederea identificării necropolei 2003;2006;Lazăr et al. 2008). Zona vizată se află pe terasa înaltă a Iezerului Mostiștea din vecinătatea tell-ului ce ocupă o suprafață de cca. ...
... În paralel au continuat și sondajele de verificare arheologică. În anul 2006, după patru ani de căutări, s-a reușit identificarea necropolei aparținând așezării de la Sultana-Malu Roșu 2006;Lazăr et al. 2008;. De atunci până în prezent, au fost cercetate 99 de morminte de inhumație (Andreescu at al. 2016: 92). ...
... Începând cu anul 2002 au fost deschise suprafețe de sondare pe terasa din apropierea tellului în vederea identificării necropolei 2003;2006;Lazăr et al. 2008). Zona vizată se află pe terasa înaltă a Iezerului Mostiștea din vecinătatea tell-ului ce ocupă o suprafață de cca. ...
... We will also take into consideration the degree of preservation of the graves, and the taphonomic and post depositional processes.The Sultana – Malu Roşu cemetery is located in the northern area of the Balkan region, in the southeast of Romania, on the right bank of the old Mostiştea River, at about 7 km from the Danube River, near the border with Bulgaria (Figure 1). Administratively, the site is located in the Sultana village, Călărași County (Lazăr et al. 2008;2009).Regarding the cultural framework, the cemetery was used by two communities belonging to the Eneolithic period, more precisely to the Boian and Gumelnița cultures. The general chronology of these two cultures covers the period from the end of the 6th millennium BC up to the beginning of the 4th millennium BC (Lazăr, Voicu and Vasile 2012). ...
... Most of them are single primary inhumations with simple, irregular oval shaped pits, without other traces of funerary constructions, with the deceased laid out in the foetal position on the left side, E-W oriented. Secondary burials and graves with deliberate removal of some skeletal materials (especially skulls) were also documented (Lazăr et al. 2008;2009;Lazăr, Voicu and Vasile 2012). ...
... Most of the blades are fragmented. Only the long blade from grave 11 (Figure 4) was complete (Lazăr et al. 2008). ...
Most archaeologists agree that funerary practices are directly connected with beliefs in the existence of an afterlife, and that objects placed in graves are sometimes extremely helpful in reconstructing past social systems or other types of identities (economic, cultural, ethnic, racial, etc.). However, this assertion is only partially valid, because the archaeological context offers only a slice of past realities.
The aim of this paper is to explore the significance of the grave goods associated with human skeletons from Sultana – Malu Roşu cemetery, in relation to the archaeological contexts and various post-depositional processes that affected them over time.
Originally published in Homines, Funera, Astra 2 Life Beyond Death in Ancient Times (Romanian Case Studies) (ed. Kogălniceanu et al.) ISBN 9781784912062, Archaeopress 2015. This version published in Archaeopress Open Access 2015, available here. For more information regarding Archaeopress Open Access please visit the Archaeopress website.
... În final doresc să mai amintesc şi preocupările metodologice ale ultimilor ani, privind identificarea unor necropole preistorice, fie pe baza unor metode de prospectare geofizică (Sultana-Malu Roşu, Pietrele-Gorgana), fie prin aplicarea unor metode tradiţionale (Măriuţa-La Movilă) (Song 2006: 8;Lazăr şi Parnic 2007;Lazăr et al. 2008). În două dintre aceste cazuri (Sultana-Malu Roşu, Măriuţa-La Movilă), săpăturile efectuate au relevat existenţa cimitirelor eneolitice în apropierea aşezărilor de tip tell (Lazăr şi Parnic 2007;Lazăr et al. 2008). ...
... În final doresc să mai amintesc şi preocupările metodologice ale ultimilor ani, privind identificarea unor necropole preistorice, fie pe baza unor metode de prospectare geofizică (Sultana-Malu Roşu, Pietrele-Gorgana), fie prin aplicarea unor metode tradiţionale (Măriuţa-La Movilă) (Song 2006: 8;Lazăr şi Parnic 2007;Lazăr et al. 2008). În două dintre aceste cazuri (Sultana-Malu Roşu, Măriuţa-La Movilă), săpăturile efectuate au relevat existenţa cimitirelor eneolitice în apropierea aşezărilor de tip tell (Lazăr şi Parnic 2007;Lazăr et al. 2008). Acest demers poate marca începutul unei noi etape de cercetare a practicilor funerare neo-eneolitice. ...
This article reviews major archaeological contributions to the development of a theory of mortuary practice. We briefly present the principle theoretical directions of archaeology (culture-historical archaeology, processual archaeology, post-processual archaeology). During the last 100 years, the theoretical focus has shifted from the interpretation of mortuary practice as aligned exclusively with religion, to multivariate associations of mortuary practice with social variables such as subsistence, kinship, residence, and political stratification, and then to symbolic interpretation. The increase in archaeological data during the last century alongside the refinements made by archaeologists in method and technique, offer the resources for the development of a new theory of mortuary practice.
... This Eneolithic site is located on the bank of the Mostiştea River, about 15 km from the Danube (approximately 500 km from the Danube Gorges) (Lazăr et al., 2008). ...
While early Neolithic populations in Europe were largely descended from early Aegean farmers, there is also evidence of episodic gene flow from local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers into early Neolithic communities. Exactly how and where this occurred is still unknown. Here we report direct evidence for admixture between the two groups at the Danube Gorges in Serbia. Analysis of palaeogenomes recovered from skeletons revealed that second-generation mixed individuals were buried amidst individuals whose ancestry was either exclusively Aegean Neolithic or exclusively local Mesolithic. The mixed ancestry is also reflected in a corresponding mosaic of grave goods. With its deep sequence of occupation and its unique dwellings that suggest at least semi-sedentary occupation since the late Mesolithic, the area of the Danube Gorges has been at the center of the debate about the contribution of Mesolithic societies to the Neolithisation of Europe. As suggested by our data, which were processed exclusively with uncertainty-aware bioinformatic tools, it may have been precisely in such contexts that close interactions between these societies were established, and Mesolithic ancestry and cultural elements were assimilated.
... ( Todorova et al. 1975;Raduncheva 1976;Comşa 1980Comşa , 1995Ivanov 1982;Angelova 1991;Todorova 2002;Lazăr şi Parnic 2007;Kogălniceanu 2009;Lazăr et al. 2008Lazăr et al. , 2009. De asemenea, depunerea defuncţilor, în poziţie chircită, cu unele excepţii (de exemplu necropolele de la Cernica, Cernavoda, Durankulak, Varna I etc.) (Ivanov 1978;Comşa şi Cantacuzino 2001;Kogălniceanu 2009;Todorova 2002;Lazăr 2012), reprezintă o constantă a comunităţilor eneolitice din zona balcanică. ...
This article presents a new Eneolithic grave discovered at Orbeasca de Sus (Orbeasca commune, Teleorman County). The conditions of discovery, the inventory, the absolute and relative dating elements, and the results of the anthropological analyses are described. Moreover, the situation of the grave is correlated with the general context of the Neo-Eneolithic discoveries in the surrounding area in order to identify the meaning of this new funerary discovery.
... Ulterior, alte piese de metal au fost descoperite în timpul cercetărilor arheologice conduse de D. Berciu (1956Berciu ( , 1957Berciu ( , 1966, Gh. Cantacuzino şi S. Morintz (1963), E. Comşa (1961Comşa ( , 1965Comşa ( , 1974aComşa ( , 1974bComşa ( , 1978Comşa ( , 1979Comşa ( , 1990Comşa ( , 1995, D. Galbenu (1962), A. Vulpe (1973), D. Şerbănescu şi G. Trohani (1975), C. Hălcescu (1995), P. Haşotti (1997), C. Bem (1999Bem ( -2000, I. Mareş (2002), R. Andreescu (2009), C. Lazăr (Lazăr et al. 2008, Lazăr, Voicu şi Vasile 2012, Lazăr 2014) sau A. Ilie (2010). Majoritatea lucrărilor reprezintă rezultate ale cercetărilor arheologice sistematice, iar podoabele de metal au fost menţionate în măsura în care au fost identificate, alături de celelalte obiecte descoperite. ...
Abstract: This paper presents a synthesis of metal jewellery from the neo-Eneolithic period
in South-Eastern Romania. It considers technological, typological, morphological and functional
aspects, as well as the mineral ores used by prehistoric communities. Furthermore, the paper
discusses the frequency and distribution of metal jewellery finds in the area between the Carpathians
and the Balkans, the differences in archaeological contexts, and their importance in understanding the
meaning of the new materials used, the colour symbolism and the use of the objects.
Based on long bone lengths from 777 individuals as well as 992 d15N and d13C determinations, this paper compares stature and nutrition in the prehistory of the Aegean and the Balkans up to ca. 1000 BC.
Noile cercetări de pe tell-ul eneolitic „ Măgura Gorgana”, lângă satul Pietrele la Dunărea de Jos au început în anul 2002, printr-un proiect de colaborare între Institutul German de Arheologie, Secţia Eurasia, Institutul de Arheologie „ Vasile Pârvan” al Academiei Române şi Institutul de Geografie Fizică al Universităţii „ Johann Wolfgang Goethe” din Frankfurt a. M. Scopul cercetărilor este obţinerea de informaţii asupra cronologiei culturii Gumelniţa, asupra arhitecturii clădirilor, a organizării aşezării, cât şi asupra strategiilor economice şi a folosirii spaţiului de către locuitorii din a doua jumătate al mileniului V î. e. n. În cadrul săpăturilor au putut fi întreprinse cercetări geomagnetice pe tell precum şi în imediata apropiere a acestuia. Şirurile de clădiri de pe colină, vizibile în magnetogram, au fost verificate prin săpături. Neaşteptată a fost identificarea unei aşezări întinse la poalele tell-ului şi a unei necropole cu cel puţin 50 de morminte, la vest de tell. Pe o imagine de satelit Corona din 1967 a fost vizibilă o amenajare cu şanţ circular. Prospecţiunea geomagnetică a confirmat existenţa a trei şanţuri concentrice. Aşezarea a fost, deci, cu mult mai mare decât s-a presupus iniţial. Pluralitatea activităţilor specializate, documentate pe tell, sugerează existenţa unei populaţii mult mai numeroase. Descoperirea aşezării întinse din jurul tell-lui ridică o nouă serie de întrebări privind rolul aşezării de pe colină precum şi al locuitorilor săi şi va contribui la o revizuire fundamentală a imaginii asupra aşezărilor eneolitice de tip tell. Cercetările fluvial-morfologice au dus la o nouă cunoaştere a dezvoltării luncii Dunării şi a sistemului fluvial din zona Pietrele. Forajele şi măsurătorile geofizice din jurul tell-ului au arătat că prin sedimentele din zona inundabilă precum şi prin solurile şi sedimentele (coluviile) de pe terasele adiacente se află la îndemână arhive remarcabile, care permit afirmaţii fundamentate atât asupra potenţialului de folosinţă al spaţiului, dar şi asupra impactului uman asupra gospodăririi ţinutului, intensificat ulterior epocii neolitice.
The new discoveries from the Eneolithic site of Sultana-Malu Roșu made possible to obtaining new data about vegetal species used by prehistoric communities from here, but also to understand the paleoenvironment. By using and studying the plant remains from House no. 2 and House no. 5, we could identified the species as Chenopodium album (fat hen), Lithospermum arvense (field gromwell), Polygonum lapathifolium (pale persicaria), Corylus avellana (hazelnut) or Rosa sp. (dog-rose). A part of these species can demonstrate that this group of people knew and were able to farm. For instance, at some species like Triticum monococcum (wheat) or Hordeum sativum (green barley), althought with not so many descovered seeds, the findings of spikelet forks or base glumes may suggest processing the cereals before their consumption. Nevertheless, we mentioned the Vitis vinifera (grape vine) seeds for the first time in Sultana-Malu Roşu site. Rezumat: Noile descoperiri arheobotanice în situl eneolitic Sultana-Malu Roșu au permis obținerea de noi date despre speciile vegetale utilizate de către comunitățile preistorice de aici, dar și o imagine de ansamblu a mediului vegetal. Folosind macroresturile vegetale din locuințele L2 și L5 din tell-ul în discuție s-au putut identifica prezența speciilor de Chenopodium album (spanac sălbatic), Lithospermum arvense (mărgeluşe), Polygonum lapathifolium (iarbă roșie), Corylus avellana (alun) sau Rosa sp. (măceș). O parte din aceste specii pot dovedi că aceste populații eneolitice cunoșteau și practicau agricultura. În ceea ce priveşte descoperirile de cereale precum Triticum monococcum (grâu) sau Hordeum sativum (orz verde), deși slab repezentate prin cariopse, au fost identificate părți din spicul acestora precum spiculețul sau rahisul, ce pot sugera o pregătire în prealabil a cerealelor, înainte de a fi procesate. Nu în ultimul rând, au fost descoperite, pentru prima oară în acest sit, semințe de Vitis vinifera (viță de vie).
The new discoveries from the Eneolithic site of Sultana-Malu Roșu made possible to obtaining new data about vegetal species used by prehistoric communities from here, but also to understand the paleoenvironment. By using and studying the plant remains from House no. 2 and House no. 5, we could identified the species as Chenopodium album (fat hen), Lithospermum arvense (field gromwell), Polygonum lapathifolium (pale persicaria), Corylus avellana (hazelnut) or Rosa sp. (dog-rose). A part of these species can demonstrate that this group of people knew and were able to farm. For instance, at some species like Triticum monococcum (wheat) or Hordeum sativum (green barley), althought with not so many descovered seeds, the findings of spikelet forks or base glumes may suggest processing the cereals before their consumption. Nevertheless, we mentioned the Vitis vinifera (grape vine) seeds for the first time in Sultana-Malu Roşu site. Rezumat: Noile descoperiri arheobotanice în situl eneolitic Sultana-Malu Roșu au permis obținerea de noi date despre speciile vegetale utilizate de către comunitățile preistorice de aici, dar și o imagine de ansamblu a mediului vegetal. Folosind macroresturile vegetale din locuințele L2 și L5 din tell-ul în discuție s-au putut identifica prezența speciilor de Chenopodium album (spanac sălbatic), Lithospermum arvense (mărgeluşe), Polygonum lapathifolium (iarbă roșie), Corylus avellana (alun) sau Rosa sp. (măceș). O parte din aceste specii pot dovedi că aceste populații eneolitice cunoșteau și practicau agricultura. În ceea ce priveşte descoperirile de cereale precum Triticum monococcum (grâu) sau Hordeum sativum (orz verde), deși slab repezentate prin cariopse, au fost identificate părți din spicul acestora precum spiculețul sau rahisul, ce pot sugera o pregătire în prealabil a cerealelor, înainte de a fi procesate. Nu în ultimul rând, au fost descoperite, pentru prima oară în acest sit, semințe de Vitis vinifera (viță de vie). Studiile arheobotanice reprezintă un instrument important în cadrul demersului arheologic, ce ajută la dezvoltarea unor ipoteze de lucru privind comunitățile umane din vechime și interacțiunea acestora cu mediul înconjurător. Resturile vegetale provenite din situri arheologice preistorice de pe teritorul României au fost analizate în diverse lucrări de specialitate (M. Cârciumaru 1996; B. Ciută 2008), fără însă ca acestea să fie suficiente. De asemenea, precizăm că respectivele abordări s-au realizat mai ales din punct de vedere taxonomic, fără a se prezenta explicit legătura dintre mediu și societățile umane. Acest articol își propune o prezentare exhaustivă a principalelor resturi arheobotanice descoperite în așezarea de tip tell de la Sultana-Malu Roșu, jud. Călărași (R. Andreescu, C. Lazăr 2008), prin integrarea datelor carpologice în cadrul mai larg al mediului specific perioadei eneolitice. ² Geografia și istoricul sitului
The eneolithic tell Măriuţa-La Movilă is situated at 200 m north-west by Măriuţa village in the
Călăraşi County. This is a settlement from second half of the fifth millennium (Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI complex). The first research of the tell was started in the period 1984-1990 by Mihai Şimon. In the year 2000 the excavations were resumed by The Lower Danube Museum Călăraşi. In the year 2004 new excavations were started on the terrace, near the tell. The goal of this new excavations, was to detect the cemetery of the tell. It was very complex and complicated, because at this moment we don’t have a concrete method for identification of cemeteries. The only dates we have are from Bulgaria, where we have some examples of cemeteries. Eleven extramural eneolithic (Vinica, Goljamo Delčevo, Durankulak, Devnja, Varna I, Tărgovište, Liljak, Radingrad, Omurtag, Demir Baba Teke - Sboryanovo, Pomoštica) and three intramural (Kubrat, Ruse, Junacite) cemeteries on the territory of Bulgaria have been partially or completely studied. In Romania are known just ten extramural cemeteries (Vărăşti-Grădiştea Ulmilor, Gumelniţa, Gumelniţa-Valea Mare, Chirnogi-Terasa Rudarilor, Cetatea Veche-Grădiştea, Chirnogi-Şuviţa Iorgulescu, Căscioarele-D’aia Parte, Radovanu, Dridu, Sultana-Malu Roşu) belonging to this culture. As it would now appear, the location of extramural cemeteries was generally established within a range of 300 m of the settlement, on the high places (especially terraces), non-floodable. In most cases the cemetery was situated to the west (Goljamo Delčevo, Radingrad, Demir Baba Teke - Sboryanovo, Tărgovište, Radovanu, Sultana-Malu Roşu etc.), north-west (Pomoštica, Căscioarele-D’aia Parte, Vărăşti-Grădiştea Ulmilor), south-west (Durankulak), south-east (Vinica) or east (Gumelniţa) of the settlement.
Pointing out these examples we started our research on the high terrace of Mostiştea River near the settlement. The terrace is at 100 m north-east range of the tell. The area of terrace was divided in a grid of twenty-one 20 x 20 m units for a better management of the excavation. Excavation methodology consist in sondages of different dimensions (3 x 1 m, 9 x 1 m or 8 x 2 m) situated at 10-15 m range one of the other, in order to cover a wider surface. During the period 2004-2006 we accomplish 22 sondages, and we researched a surface of 134 m2 of the terrace. In this sondages we found five inhumations graves. Four of this graves (M1, M3, M4, M5) are from Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI period and last one (M2) is a sarmatic burial. The eneolithic graves contain skeletal in contracted position on left side (M3, M4, M5) and on right side (M1). The legs were moderately or strongly flexed. Orientation was ESE 109° – VNV 239° (M1), E 99°– V 279° (M3), ENE 65°– VSV 245°(M4) and E 95°– V 275° (M5). Funerary gifts were found in just two graves: M4 – a stone chisel, a cooper tool and a flint blade; M5 – a fragmentary flint blade. In grave M1, near the skull, we found a funerary offering (one animal vertebra). In grave M4 it was discovered red ochre, on the left hand. The burials from Măriuţa-La Movilă cemetery and the elements of funerary treatment identified here confirm similitude to the same standard mortuary practices of the Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI complex.
The present article provides an anthropological research regarding 12 graves from Sultana - Malu Roşu (Călăraşi County), excavated in 2006 and 2007. Eleven of the 12 analysed individuals were adults (5 males and 6 females) and one was an infans I. The purpose of the research was to highlight paleopathological aspects of this neolithic individuals sample, by studying some pathological conditions in the human skeleton (like teeth problems, cranial infectious reactions, the presence of osteoperiostitis or degenerative joint diseases). Rezumat: Acest articol rezumă cercetarea antropologică a 12 morminte descoperite la Sultana - Malu Roşu (jud. Călăraşi), în campaniile 2006 şi 2007. Dintre indivizii analizaţi 11 sunt adulţi (5 bărbaţi şi 6 femei) şi unul este un infans I. Scopul cercetării l-a reprezentat evidenţierea unor aspecte de paleopatologie ale acestui grup de indivizi, pornind de la identificarea unor indici specifici (precum afecţiuni ale danturii, patologie craniană, prezenţa osteoperiostitei sau a afecţiunilor degenerative ale articulaţiilor).
Après avoir passé en revue les théories archéologiques récentes concernant la mort, nous analysons la transformation culturelle des vivants en morts, telle qu'elle est exprimée dans les aspects matériels des pratiques mortuaires dans sept sociétés des monts Mandara (Mafa, Sirak, Cuvok, Hide, Wula, Mabas et Gemjek). Les facteurs idéologiques, sociologiques et autres (par exemple, le sexe, la cause de la mort) responsable de la variabilité rencontrée sont déterminés et comparés. Il est démontré que l'idéologie fonctionne de chacune des trois manières signalées par Anthony Giddens : identificafion d'intérêts propres à une section de société comme des intérêts universels, négation de contradictions et naturalisation du présent. Malgré la variabilité de leur expression, les prémisses idéologiques des pratiques mortuaires sont communes aux sept groupes considérés, ce qui témoigne de l'existence d'un réservoir de symboles dans lequel ces sociétés et leurs prédécesseurs ont puisé depuis presque deux millénaires. Nous terminons en signalant quelques implications pour l'interprétation de données archéologiques. (Résumé d'auteur)
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