Marta, Liviu: The Late Bronze Age Settlements of Petea-Csengersima (Satu Mare, 2009)
III. Habitation of te Suciu de Sus Archaeological Culture
Age. The wheels of clay wagons discovered in the setdement may also be connected with expressions of religious ideas. III. 7. Dating the Habitation in the Suciu de Sus Archaeological Culture The bronze needles with disc and protuberances from Petea—Csengersima have a reduced chronological dating. A great number of these were found in the Upper Tisa Basin, all being present only in the BzD stage296. Although the bronze finds were discovered in association with pottery, the link between them and the Suciu de Sus culture is well indicated within the grave from Nyírkarász-Gyulaháza and the settlement at Seini. The bronze needle deposit from Petea—Csengersima establishes a tight link between the evolution of the Suciu de Sus settlement and the Uriu-Opályi type deposits: in a certain moment during the evolution of the setdement, in its border, in an area where other ritual deposits are also present, characteristic finds of Uriu-Opályi type deposits were buried. The problem concerning the time interval in which the settlement at Petea— Csengersima functioned remains open to debate, as well as that of establishing its beginning and end. For the assessment of these problems one needs to resort to the results obtained from the typological analyses of the pottery and from its comparison with the pottery of other archaeological sites attributed to the Suciu de Sus culture. In this comparison the generally accepted premise was that the transformations that the Suciu de Sus pottery underwent during its long evolution are the result of an internal evolution/ process. So, it is likely that these transformations take place gradually by means of adopting and generalizing new forms and decorative elements and abandoning older ones during a longer or shorter time span. The quantification of all the elements of form and decoration of the pottery from the archaeological complexes discovered within the setdement of Petea—Csengersima and its comparison with the pottery from other sites provide new information regarding the way in which these transformations take place. Through the analyses of vessel types and their variants or from the decoration present on the vessels at Petea-Csengersima numerous analogies had been found in the settlement at Culciu Mare. This situation can be explained by the connection of both these settlements with the BzD period, the settlement at Culciu Mare being considered the reference site for the late period of the culture297. By comparing the vessel repertoires it became clear that each of the published ceramic forms from Culciu Mare298 can be found within the settlement at Petea-Csengersima. However there are some vessel types, subtypes and variants that are present at Petea-Csengersima and absent in Culciu Mare: amphora types 1, 2A and 3, pot types lAa, IBa, IBb, 2B, 3, 4 and 5, bowl types IB, 2B, 3B, 4B and 5, cup types lAb, 2, 3 and 5. In the case of pot type 5 and bowl type 5 we are dealing with unique vessels within the culture, a fact that does not allow them to be definitely attributed to this culture. Pots with lobed rims (variants IBa, lBb) and bowls/dishes with lobed rims (subtypes IB, 2B, 3B and 4B), and type 4 pots and type 4 cups respectively are also vessels with reduced or 296 Hochstetter 1981, p. 254; Kobal’ 1998, p. 40, Marta 2005, p. 80-81. 297 An axe with disc and spike is given as an argument for the date (Bader 1978, p. 75). Till 1986 107 bronze finds and moulds had been discovered within the settlement (three axes with disc and spike, axes, bracelets, knives, pendants etc.). With the occasion of the publishing of an axe with disc and spike of B1 type discovered accidentally on the surface of the setdement its relation with the settlement and its possible role in the settlements dating were not discussed. (Bader 1996, p. 265-266, 271, pi. 12/2). 298 Bader 1972, taf. 1/1,3,5,7-9, II-XII; Bader 1978, pi. L/l-7, 9-12,14, LI, LII, LIII/1-2, 4-9; Bader 1979, p. 16- 20, taf. 7/1-7,9-12,14, 8-9, 10/1-2,4-9; Bader - Lazin 1980, fig. 11 (sus), 12-15. 48
