Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 34-35. (2014-2015)
Articles
Late Iron Age Finds from the Collection of István Dénes 19 Fig. 1. За-Rustoiu type silver ring from cave no. 36. 1. Drawing made by István Dénes; 2. Photo of the ring (S.-J. Sztáncsuj). with overlapped and coiled ends is in fact made of silver (Fig. 1). These rings appeared at the end of the Late Iron Age, they are known to be made of bronze, silver and gold too and they were used as chain buckles, necklace or chain links, or as independent jewellery such as hair hoops or finger rings.5 From cave 1200/57 (Alagút), besides the Bronze Age and Medieval pottery, only two Late Iron Age potsherds were found: the base of a wheel-thrown pitcher and the rim of a hand-made pot (PI. 4/5-6). The grey pitcher was slime tempered; the brown pot was tempered with coarse sand and decorated with impressed cordon and boss. In the cave 1200/80 (Vízfeletti) five greyish hand-made pot fragments decorated with impressed cordon and covered by intensive calcareous remains were found (PL 4/7-11). From cave 1200/87 (Kőcsűr), 86 prehistoric and Migration Period fragments are kept in the collection; among them eleven (eight rim and three body fragments) Late Iron Age hand-made fragments of pots (Pi. 5/1-7). The brown coloured pottery was tempered with crushed potsherds, sand, coarse sand and in one case with organic materials. In the case of three rim fragments, traces of secondary burning could be observed on the inside. The decorations consisted of incisions, impressions on the rim or body, impressed cordons and impressed bosses. According to the report of the “Kőbezárt világ”, during a smaller excavation undertaken on 12th September and 9th October 1999, besides Late Iron Age potsherds, the pieces from the walls of an iron melting furnace and slags were unearthed. In cave 1200/106 Copper Age, Bronze Age and two Late Iron Age pottery fragments were found. Both rim fragments belonged to pots; they are hand-made, grey coloured and were tempered with coarse sand. One fragment was ornamented with impressed cordon. 5 Rustoiu 1996,107. In the collection of István Dénes there were also Copper Age, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and Late Iron Age materials from the known site at Merenti-Pipások dombja (Kőmező) situated in the foreground of the Värghi§ Ravine, half a kilometre from the Almási Cave (Orbán Balázs Cave). The majority of the thirty-nine Late Iron Age fragments are atypical, brick red or grey, sometimes with traces of secondary burning (Pi. 6/1-5). Only two wheel-thrown fragments were found, the major part of the material is hand-made. On the rim (diameter: 440/330 mm) of a wheel-thrown, grey coloured, slime tempered footed bowl, a pair of polished waved lines could be observed. The hand-made, brown, greyish brown or yellowish brown pots tempered with coarse sand and crushed potsherds were decorated with impressed cordons and cut rims; one pot’s rim presented traces of secondary burning on the exterior surface. The site is known due to the field walks of István Ferenczi and the archaeological excavations of Viorica Cri^an from 1984-1993.6 The 3 hectare settlement dated between the middle of the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD was terraced in several places, it was defended on three sides by ravines and steep slopes, while the north-eastern side was secured by a 330 m long ditch and rampart; this latter place is also known as Tatársánc (in translation: Tatar rampart). The earliest Late Iron Age finds date from the end of the second century BC. During the excavations, on terrace no. 5 traces of a fire from the middle of the first century BC were observed.7 The researches from 1994 revealed evidences of metalworking.8 The archaeological surveys unearthed a number of good quality painted pottery with linear and geometrical patterns - shallow bowls, kantharoi and pitchers - some of these wares are documenting the influences of the workshops along the Siret River, in other cases, they might have been Roman imports.9 From the site Rácodul de Sus-Kápolnaoldala István Dénes collected materials in 1997; on this occasion seven brown and grey coloured hand-made body fragments were found, tempered with coarse sand and crushed potsherds, together with a hand-made base and a wheel-thrown, brick red body fragment. All the fragments are atypical and undecorated. 6 Ferenczi - Ferenczi 1979, 415; Cri§an - Ferenczi 1994, 377. 7 Cavruc 2000, 139-143; Cri§an 2000, 54-56. 8Cri?an 1995, 361. 9 Florea 1998, 71.
