Szőcs Péter Levente (szerk.): Berveni. Ghid cultural şi istoric (Satu Mare, 2009)
Archaeological discoveries
the village on an island surrounded by what used to be a swamp, called Cetate. It is a huge island, situated at cca. 500 m from the original bank of the old swamp. A small artificial hill is visible in the central part of the island, with a diameter of 25-30 m, surrounded by a deep ditch which is believed to be dug in the Middle Ages in order to fortify a part of the island. That is why the locals call the island “fortress”. In fact, it does not seem like a regular medieval earth castle, but rather a guard tower, which probably belonged to the castle of Ecedea, situated in the proximity, on the territory of Hungary. The guard point comprises a watchtower and a few barracks providing shelter, all made of wooden beams. The earth removed from the ditch was thrown inside the fortification in order to make the ground higher. This explains the presence of a thick layer of whitish clay on the surface of the fortress that contains a lot of limestone concretions originating from the bottom of the ditch. The archaeological survey carried out in 1986 identified depositions of Early Bronze Age (Sanislău culture) under the artificial small hill, at 1,60 m in depth. These finds were both inside and outside the ditch. The island used to be ideal for habitation, as it was inhabited for a long time in prehistory. The first level of habitation is attested by the reddish pottery decorated with white stripes, characteristic to the Pişcolt III phase dating from the Late Neolithic Age. Ceramic fragments, specific to a habitation of the type Cernavoda III - Boleraz, dating from the Late Copper Age, were found at margins of the island. As it was mentioned, the habitation here lasted until the Early Bronze Age, when a significant part of the island was occupied by Capac de vas din epoca bronzului Bronzkori fedő Bronz Age lid Vase din epoca bronzului, de la Râtul Caprei Bronzkori edények a Kecskerét lelőhelyről Bronze Age vessels from the Râtul Caprei site 5
