Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 1. (2019)
Sándor Berecki, Attila Nándor Hágó: A neolithic Settlement from Tărgu Mureş. I. The Courtyard of the Fortress
10 S. Berecki - A. N. Hágó Deep bowls are of different dimensions, however, small and medium sized bowls predominate. This wares are semi-fine or fine with smoothened and sometimes polished surface, tempered with sand, chaff, crushed sherds, and their combination. The shape of their profile is truncated or straight, the rims are straight or slightly everted. The most frequent ornaments are the circular impressions under the rim (Pl. III/2, 5-8; VII/9; X/14-16), finger impressions (Pl. VII/19), finger pinches (Pl. V/24; XI/3), short cuts (Pl. XI/17) and simple or network incisions (Pl. V/4). However, most of the deep bowls are not ornamented (Pl. III/14—16, 19; IV/6, 10; VI/1; VII/2, 13-14; VIII/3, 12, 15, 20-21, 30-31; IX/3-5; X/5-6, 11; XII/10, 12, 19). The large and medium sized shallow bowls with the diameter of the mouth ranging between 100 and 320 mm occur relatively rarely in this settlement. These semi-fine wares with wellsmoothened and sometimes slippery surface are made of a good quality clay, tempered with sand, mica or crushed sherds. In rare cases, when they were ornamented, incised lines and finger impressions occur (Pi. XII/17; XIII/12, 21-22, 26). Both deep and shallow bowls were widely used in all sites of the Cri§ culture both in Transylvania (Gura Baciului, Galda de Jos, Hunedoara, Nandru, Sebe§, etc.) and Banat but in eastern Hungary as well.13 From the Neolithic site in Tärgu Mure§ two pots with foot-ring are known, which occur rarely in this period of the Cri§ culture.14 Because of their fragmentary state the dimension or shape of the semi-fine ware with smoothened surface and tempered with crushed sherds, chaff and mica could not be reconstructed (Pl. IV/2, 8). Somewhat more numerous are the semi-fine fragments of stemmed cups, made from good quality clay, with smoothened and sometimes polished surface, tempered with chaff fine and coarse sand, mica or crushed sherds. Based on their size cups with small foot and cups with high foot could be distinguished, while according to the shape of the foot there are cups with circular or simple straight bottom (Pl. IV/4, 9; VI/10-13; XII/11; XIII/14, 28). Unfortunately, in all cases the upper part of the container is missing which in this period of the culture are usually flat or globular.15 This type of vessel is largely spread throughout the territory of the culture.16 Miniature vessels are specific for the Early Neolithic sites. They reproduce almost accurately the shape of middle and large sized pottery (especially pots, bowls and stemmed cups), at a scale which does not exceed a certain height or volume, nevertheless apparently they have a certain predefined function.17 At Tärgu Mure§ such object were not identified in closed features but in other contemporaneous settlements they appeared in houses, graves, and refuse pits. In this site they reproduce the shape of bowls at lower scale (Pl. IV/1, 5; IX/7; XI/7; XIII/7, 25). They are well smoothened, made from a good quality clay, tempered with chaff, fine sand, oxidizing and rarely reducing firing. Their colour is brownish-red, brick-red and different shades of brown. Most pieces are not decorated, only two fragments present impressions. These artefacts were interpreted as toys, object made during the learning process of pottery, cultic elements of the domestic sanctuaries, medicinal recipients or cups used in alcohol consumption.18 Although, in the chronological level of the Transylvanian Cri§ culture in which the Neolithic settlement from Tärgu Мше^-Cetate falls into, generally the pottery was ornamented also with painted patterns, however, such decorations were not documented for this site. Among the known ornaments one can find finger pinches 13 Lazarovici 1979, 65-66; Dra^ovean 1981, 39; Lazarovici-Maxim 1995, 96-99; 102; Makkay-Starnini 2008, fig. 3, type IB4. 14 Makkay-Starnini 2008, fig. 16/1-5. 15 Lazarovici 1979, 48. pl. VII/C 9,12; VII/G 4,13-14. 16 Lazarovici 1979,65-66; Dra^ovean 1981,39; Lazarovici-Maxim 1995,96-99,102; Ciutä 2002, fig. 7-8; Makkay- Starnini 2008, fig. 5,12, Types II. 17 Lazarovici 1979, 65-66; Dra^ovean 1981, 39; Urem-Kotsu et al. 2002, 109-118; Tomaz 2005, 263; Makkay- Starnini 2008, fig. 9, Type XI; Bacuej-Cri$an 2013, 70. 18 Bánffy 1991, 209-217; Raczky et al. 1994, 233; Karmanski 2005, 67, 69, fig. 42/1; Tomaz 2005, 265-266; Bacuej- Cri§an 2013, 70; Kalicz-Koós 2014, 39.
