Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
222 R. ZÄGREANU-ZS. NYÁRÁDI blacksmith’s workshop (Ferenczi-Ferenczi 1958,25). Some of the intact Roman pots were erroneously dated to the 13th— 14th century (Ferenczi-Ferenczi 1958, 28). In the south-eastern part, outside the city, under the Szarkakő the traces of roman towers were discovered. The old roman road and the medieval road left the city in this direction. A few hundred meters away, at the beginning of the hillside descending to the city, a small hill with a diameter of 8 meters has been observed. Strongly burned wall seams (adobe from walls) were found, but no ceramic fragments. A few hundred meters further east, in a similar position, a slightly larger mound was found. On its surface, rock blocks were identified, also without any archaeological material (Ferenczi-Ferenczi 1958, 91-92). These two roman burgi probably were in touch with the ones from Bade Homorod. In October 1987, during the excavation of the foundation of a building on the 1 Mai Boulevard in the southern area of the municipium, behind the ‘Olimpia movie theatre, an inscribed lime-stone funerary stela was found (Ardevan EtAl. 1992,195; Petolescu 2005,183, no. 437) (PI. 17/10-11). The piece was in a secondary position, probably being re-used in modern times as material in one of the buildings. So far it is the only roman lapidary inscription discovered in this area. The text has been strongly corroded. The monument is dedicated to a veteran, a former centurion, Aelius Equester, and to his wife, Aurelia Iuiunus, taken as a virgin; they lived together for 60 years (Ardevan Et Al. 1992, 198). We are probably dealing with a veteran of the Cohors I Ubiorum, roman citizen and former centurion. His wife must have also been a Roman citizen; the name Aurelia and the general data suggest a family that received the citizenship through Constitutio Antoniniana. The authors date the stela earliest in the second quarter of the 3rd century AD (Ardevan Et Al. 1992, 198). The cognomen Iuiunis (Husar 1999, 64) is unique in Dacia. The only mention of this cognomen in the Roman Empire is in Pannonia (CIL III 12034). This name of possibly Celtic origins shows the original region of the troops camped here, recruited from the Rhine area, a territory of interference between Celts and Germans. It was supplemented in the 3rd century AD with troops from Dacia and the neighbouring provinces (Falileyev 2007, 94),4 the inscription being a proof that the Pannonian and Celtic-Noric colonists were integrated in the provincial society (Kraft 1951, 50; Protase 1980, 133-134; Mitrofan 1981, 108-109).5 In 2008 Zs. Nyárádi in a study regarding the history of Odorheiu Secuiesc analyzed a private collection of archaeological materials originating from the territory of the city, including every historical era and culture known in this region (Nyárádi 2008, 75-98). The pieces reviewed in this article completed the Roman discoveries from Odorheiu Secuiesc and helped us to form a historical view on the roman settlement. In 1995-2006, when introducing the sewer-system and on the occasion of digging the foundations of buildings, rich archaeological materials were found. In this time the museum had no archaeologists, therefore these excavations were made without archaeological supervision. The only available data are due to V. Szász, passionate by history and archaeology.6 He took a stand against the multiple disturbances of the archaeological layers and he saved a part of the excavated archaeological material. With these artefacts an archaeological collection was grounded, which has been analysed scientifically in 2005-2007 (Nyárádi 2008, 75-98). The fragments were taken from already disturbed piles of dirt, therefore they are mixed and there is no information 4 The author is not convinced that this name is Celtic, rather suggesting Tuiuni for reading. 5 It seems that across the Tárnave valley abounds settlers who came from Pannonia and Noricum with a strong provincial feature. 6 On this occasion we would like to thank again to V. Szász, true passionate for archaeology; without his contribution this paper would not be complete.
