Virag, Cristian: Situl neolitic Halmeu - Vamă (Satu Mare, 2015)
Abridged version
at a depth of 0.30 m, while in the east it went down to 0.90 m under the shape of a pit with inclined walls and then it extended like a beehive. The bottom was inclined and reached the maximum depth of 1.20 m from the rim (fig. 61,68). The fill of the pit had a lot of ceramic fragments and stone pieces (axes, querns). The discovery from the top of the fill, near the eastern margin is worth special attention as there was a deposition of three complete vessels: a lying footed cup, a pot on the bottom of the pit with a small vessel on top of it like a lid. The bottom of the pit revealed a bowl painted with bitumen; Cx. 32 was a pit with a slightly oval contour (2.30 x 2.15 m) and dark fill. The irregular walls with steps here and there were generally inclined inwards; the bottom was slightly arched; its maximum depth went down to 0.80 m (fig. 61,70). The inventory comprised a lot of ceramic fragments and several fragments of querns; Cx. 33 was a pit with a slightly oval contour (3.30 x 3.00 m) with dark brown fill. The walls of the pit were oblique or slightly arched. The bottom was flat, slightly alveolar to the southern side. Its maximum depth was 0.90 m (fig. 61,70). At 0.15 m above the bottom there was a fruit bowl, laid upside down, and at a distance of 1 m, there were the lower parts of two pots. A large quantity of pottery and lithic material was discovered there (polished axes and quern fragments); Cx. 22 (Ml)rectangular feature (2.37 x 0.96 m) that overlapped an older round pit (22 - 1.57 x 1.55 m). The rectangular pit was oriented SSE -NNW (fig. 61,65). Few bones were preserved except isolated, small fragments of bones and teeth that were hardly noticeable. Their damaged condition prevented from identifying their belonging; On the south-southeast side of the feature there was a broken ceramic pot. Two boar tusks were probably pendants, but their poor condition did not allow further assessment. The inventory comprised different pieces of stone: two axes, a hammer (scepter?), three polishers of which two were grooved, all made of polished stone, and 12 pieces of chipped stone (blades and bladelets, blades and bladelets with retouched truncation, of which one presents traces of gloss, an endscraper and a core). The bottom of the pit revealed charred wood. The shape of the feature and its inventory suggests a funerary context. The lack of human bones may be due to soil acidity; Cx. 24 (=M 2) rectangular pit (fig. 61, 64), oriented SE - NW (1.40 x 0.65 m). No bones were preserved, except for small isolated fragments of calcined bones that might be of an animal. The inventory comprised three ceramic vessels and 10 lithic pieces. Among the latter, one was polished (an ax) and 9 are chipped (blades, bladelets with retouched truncation, endscrapers, a flake; of all these, four pieces present sickle gloss). 2008 Duty Free Shop, SC SIGNUS DRINKS SRL (Su 1/2008; 150 m2) Cx. 3 is a Neolithic feature with irregular shape, partially captured (14 x 4 m) that ends in Cx. 4/B (fig. 90). The fill was dark brown with ceramic fragments and scattered daub. Its walls were oblique and the bottom flat. The feature uncovered an impressive amount of ceramic and lithic pieces (axes). Six vessels are worth mentioning. They were discovered grouped and two of them had incised decoration. The amount of decorated pottery (either by painting or by incision) was small, representing less than 10% of all pottery discovered. The maximum depth was 1.70 m from the trampled surface; Cx. 4/A is a V-shaped ditch, observed along the width of the investigated area (5 x 3 m) with a maximum opening of 3 m in the upper part and the lower part with a width of 0.40 m. The fill was dark brown (fig. 90, 91,148/a). The feature revealed Neolithic pottery and lithic materials. The maximum depth was 2.30 m from the current trampling surface; Abriged version 85
