Virag, Cristian: Situl neolitic Halmeu - Vamă (Satu Mare, 2015)
Abridged version
The internal organization of the settlement The geographical environment has an impact on the economy and behaviour of human communities by its landforms that are crucial in defining the type of community and the nature of economic activities. The presence of flowing or standing waters and their quality - freshwaters or salt waters - signals the duration of habitation or the activities related to plant cultivation, animal husbandry, hunting, and fishing. Nature and climatic variations have a marking role in the design of dwellings and settlements. It should be mentioned the quantity of rainwater, the nature and direction of the wind, etc. as paramount factors. The geological environment influences the duration of the settlement and the nature of crafts - salt and lithic raw material resources, types of soils, important for agriculture, grazing, and making pottery1. In this regard, we mention the preference of the Neolithic communities for chernozem and loess zones, a fact proved by the agglomeration of settlements in these areas2. The Neolithic communities in northwestern Romania tend to choose their settlements on river courses, on a number of positive geological forms, of small heights that look like hills and on others that are alike terraces and only 4 -5 m higher than the overall area3. These positive forms lack peat beds and take the shape of un-floodable islands or liable to temporary inundations in the middle of the swamp. In this regard, we note that the limit of the Ecedea marsh is located on the line Berveni, Cămin, Căpleni, Domăneşti, Moffinu Mare, Ghilvaci, Dóba, Boghiş and continues in the Hungarian villages across the border. This limit-line hosts many settlements of the Pişcolt group: Cămin4 (Căpleni commune), a Late Neolithic settlement from the final phase of the Pişcolt group; Căpleni - a Neolithic settlement, located on a small terrace remnant (65 x 60 m); Căpleni- Togul lui Reok5 - situated on a wider terrace remnant, at about 1.5 km in the direction of Cămin; Moffinu Mic - Pescărie Bb located on a huge hill, with a slight inclination towards the former marsh. Other settlements of the group of Pişcolt are located on terraces of the Ier Valley: Dindeşti7, Pişcolt - Lutărie8; - Cărămidărie9; -Nisipărie10, Săcuieni11 (located on the sand dune named How), Tiream12, Văşad13, Unimăt14. The Neolithic settlement from Halmeu is on the floodable terrace of the Egherul Mare Valley, which is a tributary of the Tour River (fig. 1-4, 11). The site is on the western side of the valley, which is drained now but which remains a marshy area in the rainy periods. Thus, this site used to have a natural protection on the eastern side. The entire area of the site has a wide alluvial deposit of about 20 cm thick that overlaps the Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation levels. The observations on the internal organization of the settlement, on the display of the features, are incomplete and influenced by the preventive archaeological research that were carried out in small areas (fig. 5). The intensely studied areas are located on both sides of the road due to the works of construction of shops (2000 - fig. 12; 2008 - fig. 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 102) and the veterinary checkpoint (2006 - fig. 61). Abriged version 1 Maxim 1999, p. 12. 2 Comşa 1987, p. 14. 3 Bogdan 1957, p. 108. 4 Németi 1987, p. 23, 46, fig 16/2; Németi 1999, p. 76. 5 Iercoşan 1993; Németi 1999, p. 77-78. 6 Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 21-22; Németi 1986-1987, p. 101-137. 7 Németi 1999, p. 29; Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 21; Ciarnău/Lazarovici 1985, p. 15-24. 8 Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 21-22; Németi 1986-1987, p. 15. 9 Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 22; Németi 1986-1987, p. 18-19. 10 Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 22. 11 Comşa/Nanaşi 1971, p. 633-636; Comşa/Nanaşi 1972, p. 3-17; Luca/Iercoşan 1997, p. 11-13. 12 Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 24; Ciarnău/Lazarovici 1985, p. 20; Németi 1986-1987, p. 15. 13 D. Ignat 1973, p.16; Lazarovici/Németi 1983, p. 24; Németi 1986-1987, p. 20-21. 14 Dumitraşcau 1969, p. 41-47; Dumitraşcu/Luca 1995, p. 45-49. 105
