Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
A Copper Age Settlement from Tärgu Mures. Aspects of Chronology and Relations of the Ariusd Culture 57 from the Tiszapolgár, Tiszapolgár-Bodrogkeresztúr or Late Tisza cultures. Even if these finds, in most of the cases, appear from unclear contexts, without a clear stratigraphic relationship, they - differently interpreted as proves of similar evolution period with the extra Carpathian Cucuteni area (Székely 1973, 38-39) or just as “intrusion elements”, without a development in the Ariusd culture (Zaharia-Székely 1988, 108) - seemed to indicate a longer evolution of the Transylvanian aspect, which exceeded the chronological limits of the Cucuteni A phase.9 Also confirmed by the re-evaluation of older materials, such as the hoards of prestige goods from Ariusd (Dumitrescu EtAl. 1954, 452-454; Sztáncsuj 2005, 99-100; Sztáncsuj 2007, 58-59), the hypothesis is also supported by the presence of fragments with Scheibenhenkel unearthed in the upper Copper Age level from the eponym site, as well as in incidental discoveries from probably also Ariusd cultural milieu at Feldioara-Deu/u/ Cetátii, Cheile Vá rg h is u 1 u i - Pes te ra Mare/ Orbán Balázs and Cheile Várghisului-Lócsűr (Roman 1971, 102, Abb. 33/1; Boroffka 1994, Taf. 96/7; László-Sztáncsuj 2010, 171-173, pl. 1/1-4; 2/4-5). These discoveries have analogies in a wider chronological interval corresponding to the Herculane II-Bodrogkeresztúr and Herculane III-Hunyadi-halom-Pecica-£anfuI Mare (the inferior level)-Cheile Turzii periods, which synchronize with the evolved phases (A-В and the beginning of B) of the Cucuteni culture (László-Sztáncsuj 2010,174-182). The presence of Cucuteni A-В and the Scheibenhenkel materials in Ariusd milieu had been analyzed in details. In the present state of the research there seem to be sufficient pieces of evidence that the evolution of the western branch of the Ariusd- Cucuteni-Tripolie cultural complex in the eastern and south-eastern regions of Transylvania was longer than it was affirmed earlier, probably surviving till a contemporaneous chronological sequence with the end of the Cucuteni A-В phase, the B1 period of this culture (László-Sztáncsuj 2010, 180-182). The cultural connections with the Bodrogkeresztúr culture can be justified in this late period, therefore the place - and role - of the discoveries from Tärgu Mures and other related sites from Transylvania should be seen from this perspective. Settlements of the Ariusd culture with archaeological materials more or less similar to those from Tärgu Mures are known in Transylvania from Cristuru Secuiesc, Mugeni or Reci- Telek and the list continues with unpublished discoveries from Moacsa-Maksahátl Falu-határ (Hotarul satului), Reci-Márton-tag (Pämäntul lui Márton) or §imonesti-Bef/en. These sites generally were investigated by reduced ranged excavations and the results were summarily published. For example, at Cristuru Secuiesc and Reci several houses were discovered with Bodrogkeresztúr materials along with Ariusd and Cucuteni A-В pottery. But in the succinct reports of these investigations the materials were not entirely presented, only the ones considered important, without mentioning the features to which they belonged. Therefore, it is impossible to establish how and in what quantity these cultural elements were associated in the different features. Notwithstanding, based on the published information and study of materials kept in the museums from Cristuru Secuiesc, Odorheiu Secuiesc and Sfäntu Gheorghe, one can ascertain that they generally present the same characteristics as the ones from the Tornakert. The majority of the pottery typologically belongs to the Ariusd culture. There can be outlined the presence of biconical vessels with channelled and impressed shoulder (Székely 1983, 32-33, nr. 8, pl. III/5, Cristuru Secuiesc, the fragment was interpreted erroneously as belonging to a shallow bowl with inverted rim assigned to the Bodrogkeresztúr culture), the simple cups or pedestaled cups (Székely 1983, pl. 1/3-4, Cristuru Secuiesc; Ferenczi-Ferenczi 1975, pl. 1/2, 8, Mugeni), the shallow bowls with 9 For a recent overview of the Ariusd culture’s chronology, see: László 2006; 2009.
