Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 33/4. (2013)
Articles
Churchyards in the Transylvanian Basin from the IIth to the first half of the 13th centuries 153 in Däbäca-Castle Area IV can be accepted, on the other hand, we can assume that the depths of medieval graves were between 40-120 cm at the time of digging. 11.4. The orientation of the graves (PI. 7-9, PI. 20, PI. 22, PI. 31, PL 35. B, PL 40, PL 41.2, PL 43-44, Pi. 49, PL 51.2.A) One of the most characteristic features of the burial rites is the orientation of the graves. Most 11th-13th century graves in the Carpathian Basin are oriented W-E, or the variations of this. However, some questions arise in connection with both the cemetery in Däbäca-Castle Area IV and other cemeteries, namely, how can we evaluate the divergences within 45° from the dominant orientation (in this case it is W-E)? There are only few graves whose orientation differs from the dominant one. Among the 577 graves (with 679 skeletons) registered in the cemetery from Däbäca-Castle Area IV the orientation of 453 graves have been registered. There were only 20 graves with axis different from the W-E axis to a higher degree, i. e. 14.9 % of the 453 graves. SWNE orientation was registered in 6 cases, NW-SE in 12 cases, NNW-SSE in 2 cases. From the Cl\x)-Mänästur cemetery we knew 3 graves which are oriented in the NNW-SSE direction. According to a widely accepted view in the literature written on burial customs, they can be explained by objective reasons, namely by their connection with the position of the sun in different seasons. However, in Däbäca it is strange that these different orientations were found in a low percentage, approximately 4.19% of the burials. Scanning the cemetery map it becomes strange that NNESSE orientations are exclusively found in the SE zone of the cemetery with one exception; whereas graves Fig. 7. The average grave depths in the churchyard cemetery from Däbäca-Casf/e Area IV on a scale of 20-30 cm and their number Fig. 8. The average grave depth in the churchyard cemetery from Chij-Napoca-Mmásfur on a scale of 10 cm and their number Fig. 9. The average grave depth in the churchyard cemetery from Cluj-Napoca-Mänästur on a scale of 50 cm and their number Fig. 6. The average grave depth in the churchyard cemetery from Däbäca-Casf/e Area IV on a scale of 10 cm and their number
