Astaloş, Ciprian (szerk.): Satu Mare. Studii şi comunicări. Seria arheologie 28/1. (2012)
Bogdan Petru Niculică: Tre bronze sword of Costâna (Todireşti commune, Suceava county)
Bogdan Petru Niculică As for the votive character of the one item-depositions in the case of the swords of Costâna and Măneuţi, this cannot be doubted44. In our view, these two cases represent depositions of bronze items in the 2-3 m meadow terrace of Suceava river. Although, obviously, one cannot speak of intentional depositions in water (Flußfund), they are topographically close to the humid environment45. Consequently, taking into account the discovery conditions of the items of Măneuţi and Costâna, we consider that these two discoveries must be understood and interpreted also considering the vicinity of the aquatic environment. Geomorphologically, the swords of Costâna and Măneuţi were discovered in the floodplain of Suceava river(PI. 10); they represent a modality of deposition of bronze items intentionally undertaken by the people of the Grăniceşti cultural group, in direct connection with the natural environment: dry environment. Still, we do not exclude the possibility that from a certain point of view there might be an intentional relation to the aquatic environment too (the vicinity of water, the frequent flooding of the meadow levels during flashfloods, the presence of confluences). Consequently, we could consider we are in front of two bronze items that were deposited in an intermediary environment, represented by the floodplain of a river. As topographic position, one can easily notice the difference between a land deposition of bronze items (on a height or on a hill slope) and a deposition situated in a low land, such as the floodplain of a river. On the other side, we are interested whether the positioning of the bronze deposits in the northeastern Carpathian space, in the area of certain confluences, has a certain meaning. The recent mapping of 14 bronze deposits on the territory of historical Bucovina province, belonging to the Gáva- Holihrady culture, clearly shows us this characteristic46. If we take into account, with the due prudence, what was told during our field research in north of Bucovina, in the spring of 2011, by the inhabitants of the Voloca village (Hliboca district, Chernovtsy region), it seems that along the years, certain bronze items were found in the waters of Derelui, right-hand affluent of the Prut47. The northeastern Carpathian region, especially the Suceava Plateau, represents a peripheral space, but of very powerful manifestation of the Gáva-Holihrady culture; we use the term peripheral thinking only to the geographic space, not to the cultural „quality” or „consistency”, under the aspect of the various and complex daily manifestations. More precisely, it is here that one should find the southeastern „frontier” of the culture, area for which we could enumerate sufficient fortified centers: Preuteşti48, Şiret49, Suceveni, Vârvata, Voloca, Volovăţ50 etc., tumuli necropolises51, as well as a considerable number of unfortified sites. Maybe in some of these centers, or in their vicinity, some of the bronze items we know now in the northeastern Carpathian spaces were produced, this affirmation being sustained by a series of discoveries52. We do not exclude the possibility that the association and concentration of an important number of fortified and unfortified settlements and of deposits of bronze items would represent the 44 Within the Suceava County there were discovered in total four bronze swords: Costâna (Todireşti commune), Măneuţi (Frătăuţii Vechi commune) (whole items), Botoşana (Botoşana commune) (blade fragment) and Siliştea Nouă (Dolhasca commune). This last item is earlier, being associated to the Noua culture (Bader 1991, 56-57, nr. 32, Taf. 8/32). 45 See alos: Torbrügge 1970-1971, 1-146; Soroceanu 1995, 15-80; Hansen 1997, 29-34; Bratu 2009, 126-133. 46 Niculică 2011a. 47 We would like to thank prof. S. Pivovarov PhD and PhD student Mikola Il’kiv (Jurij Fedkovici University, Chernivitsi), as well as PhD student Nicolai Bodnariuc, for the support provided to our researches. 48 Ursulescu/ Manea 1981,171-172,175; Popovici/ Ursulescu 1981, 54-57; Popovici/ Ursulescu 1982,23-27; Popovici/ Ursulescu 1983, 25-32; Ursulescu/ Popovici 1984, 81-84; Ursulescu/ Popovici 1986, 37-41; Ursulescu/ Popovici 1997, 52-57, with previous bibliography (notes 10 and 16 of page 52) and sq. 49 Ursulescu/ Andronic/ Hău 1988, 90-92, nr. XIII; László/ Mareş/ Niculică 1999, 107-108; László et al 2002, 289-291; László et al 2003, 293-295; László et al 2004, 311-312; László et al 2005, 348-350; Mareş et al 2008, 81-112. 50 Niculică 2011, 390; Niculică 2013. 51 Ignat 1978, 107-140. 52 Mention should be made of a mold for casting small earless celts, casting drops, celts, a bronze link, fragments of knife blades, discovered in the fortification of Şiret-Dealul Ruina (Suceava county) and the surroundings (Ignat 2000, 19-21; 60, no. 23, 30; 64, no. 30). A spoon for casting the metal was discovered in the eponymous settlement of Grăniceşti (Suceava County) (László 1994,143, fig. 13/1; Ignat 2000, 21). 242
