Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 30/1. (2010)
Book Review
222 Book Review The analysis of the material found in the cemeteries starts with the jewellery. The analysis of the “hair-rings” is more thoroughly discussed (p. 51-60). Another important group consists of the weapons, the curbing girdles and their accessories, the articles for use and harness. The analysis of the pottery found in graves, beside its low occurrence, is laconic and insignificant (p. 91-92). This is followed by the group of coins found in the graves which even if relative they illustrate the time of use of the parts of the cemeteries. A separate chapter deals with the analysis of the grave goods and sporadic finds from the cemeteries from Cluj-Napoca, in which the authors based on the type-chronology of the finds, attempt to classify the cemeteries into a relative chronology. In the conclusions the authors state that from archaeological point of view continuity between the cemeteries of Cluj-Napoca and its surroundings cannot be proven. The presence of large quantity of weapons and the varied burial rituals in the tenth century cemeteries (Szántó and Zápolya street) allude to the material finds of a heterogeneous origin of a military suite and reject the popular idea in Hungarian scholarship according to which the twelfth century gens had a tenth century occupation. The presence of the later dated cemeteries (Cluj Mänä^tur and Main Square) is connected to the settlings of the eleventh and twelfth centuries and to the organization of these into counties. The catalogue constitutes a significant part of the volume (p. 109-156) with the description of the finds from all the ten finding places from Cluj-Napoca. The quality of the volume is decreased by the fact that frequently the reference to the tables is incorrect. The presence of the anthropological and archaeozoological analysis as well as the eight pages Romanian and English abstract count as novelty. Notable is the good quality of the tables although the complicated systematization and frequent clerical errors make it hard to follow. The absence of the reference to the last three good quality maps at the end of the volume can also be attributed to inaccuracy (map 1, 2, 4). Taking into consideration the title of the book The Birth of Cluj. Historical Data related to the city’s history from the 10th to the 13th century it is a better sounding and a bit forced because of the lack of the thirteenth century finds. Even so from the point of view of approach to the topic, systematization, posing problems and the detailed analysis of cemeteries we deal with a valuable book which counts as a pioneer work in Transylvanian archaeology.1 Translated by Dnige Bencze.
