Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 29/3. (2009)

Rezi Botond, Nagy József-Gábor: Rescue Excavations at Chinari "Mociar" (Mureş County)

RESCUE EXCAVATIONS AT CEiINARI "MOCIAR"

(MURE§ COUNTY)*

rezi botond

Mure$ County Museum, Tärgu Mure$

NAGY JÓZSEF-GÁBOR

Cluj-Napoca

Research History

In the spring of 2007, Márton Orbán from Chinari (Mure§ County), who made surface collections in the area, offered the archaeological materials to the Mure§ County Museum. At the end of April, Berecki Sándor and Rezi Botond, archaeologists at the Mure§ County Museum, made a systematic surface survey in the area and found various pottery fragments belonging to different historical periods: prehistory, medieval and modern age. They managed to determine the area and the extent of the prehistoric settlement. The Early Iron Age settlement is located on the right bank of the Mure§ River, on a promontory that stretches several hundred meters and overlooks the village of Chinari1. The toponym “Mociar” from Chinari (Fig. I), is unknown in the literature of specialty, it doesn’t appear in the Mure§ County Repertory.

The archaeological research was со financed by the Mure§ County Council and Säntana de Mure§ town hall. Fieldwork was carried out at the end of June, by Berecki Sándor, responsible for the rescue excavation, Rezi Botond and Németh Rita, archaeologists from the Mure§ County Museum.

Excavation Description

Being an unknown site, the main objective was to determine its archaeological potential. In order to establish the presence of a settlement five sections were dug. The research strategy, focused on the extent and stratigraphy, had to be adapted to the site. The sections had to be marked on the lots without crops. Three sections have been laid out before the magnetometer surveys and soil resistivity measurements, according to the information’s from the surface

We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Valentin Vasiliev and Dr. Florin Gogältan for the help in analyzing and dating the archaeological material, for the literature offered regarding this period and for the meaningful conversations. We would also like to thank Dr. Berecki Sándor for offering the material for study.

1 On the promontory lie the remains of an earth fortification, researched by A. Dankanits and A. Zrínyi in 1963, but didn’t offer any dating elements.

M ARISI A XXIX, p.87-129