Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 33/4. (2013)
Articles
Churchyards in the Transylvanian Basin from the 11th to the first half of the 13th centuries 179 During the construction of the 12th century round church and the 19th century church, the eairlier one datable to the 1 lth-12th centuries was probably demolished. According to the cemetery map, the very sparse burials found in trenches IX, XII-XIV, XVII in the western section of the castle area indicating the edge of the cemetery. The second grave cluster was excavated in the SW section of the castle area. Here an even greater number of overlapping graves was observed. It might be connected to the fact that the earliest coin found here was the H9 coin of Andrew I (1046-1060). This cluster is dated by a coin of Ladislaus I and anonym denarii from the 12th century (besides, in a grave was found a coin of Andrew I), among a lot of hair rings with S-shaped and grooved ends. Unfortunately, due to the wrong excavation methodology a lot of data lost forever. However, in the western part of the two trenches (trenches XV a-b) no graves were dug, the fence of the cemetery must have been there. In the E part of the cemetery some walls of precisely unidentifiable building walls of constructions were found, but they must have been built later in the Middle Ages. The above mentioned clusters of graves on the map of the cemetery might also indicate that N of them, some sporadic graves in trenches XII and XIII might have belonged to another cemetery. To clarify the situation a new excavation should be carried out both to the N and to the S. According to these clusters of graves and after a careful study of the cemetery map, one may assume that there might have been two churches in the castle, around which cemeteries were established from the second half of the 1 llh century. The second cluster of graves and the five graves registered in trenches XII-XIII (Graves 42-45, 48) may lead to the assumption that Grave Cluster 2 and these graves belonged to two different cemeteries, although they were used at the same time chronologically. According to the finds in both clusters, it seems that the cemeteries were used from the second half of the 11th century. 13.1.3. The case of Sighisoara-Dealul Viilor (Fig. 30-33) As in the other cases, the Sighisoara cemetery has not been excavated completely either. However, in this case it is not the strategy of the excavation, which can be blamed but the road constructed in the 19th or 20th century leading right in the middle of the cemetery. As can be seen on the cemetery map of the cemetery, in the case of Sighisoara, the two edges of the cemetery could have been excavated. As opposed to the above mentioned two cemeteries at Cluj-Napoca-Mdnasfur and Däbäca-Casf/e Area IV, overlapping graves can be observed at the adges of the Sighisoara cemetery too, which clearly indicates the fact that the cemetery area was fixed and it might have been encircled by a garden (above in the analysis of cemetery gardens). Following this approach, we tried to systematise those situations where overlapping burials have been registered. These are the following ones in the northern part of the cemetery: Fig. 30. Overlapping burials in the churchyard By combining the two analytical methods, can be observed three grave horizons. (Fig. 31) This method was used in the southern part of the cemetery too. However, in this case we could observe the same phenomena as in other cases, namely that in the southern part of the churchyard there are much more graves .178 Grave-groups Burial horizon I Burial horizon II Burial horizon III First graves-row__________________________Graves 169, 158, 156, 151, 120/165________ Grave 157, Grave 151 Second graves-row__________________Graves 153, 170, 173 Grave 152.A-C Graves 145, 148 and 149 Isolated-separately graves Graves 129 and 134 Grave group in the E part of the Graves 164, 126, 135a, „ Graves 61, 70, 71, 155, cemetery 135a, 135/137 127, 133.A-В and 144 Fig. 31. Grave groups and chronological horizons in the northern part of the churchyard 178 Ritoók 2010, 482, notes 84-85.
