Marta, Liviu: The Late Bronze Age Settlements of Petea-Csengersima (Satu Mare, 2009)
III. Habitation of te Suciu de Sus Archaeological Culture
in shape and had a flat base56. Some of the cylindrical pits had special purposes, as revealed by their inventory and by the way objects were laid in it. d) Irregular, amorphous pits57. Some pits containing specific materials of the Suciu de Sus culture had an irregular contour, the walls with different inclinations and irregular base. Their surfaces and depths varied a lot. It is believed they were excavated only for clay extraction because of the carelessness in their excavation, and because of the holed walls. The clay was used in constructions or for restoring/refreshing the walls, the floor and the hearths. Nine of the pits at Petea-Csengersima had drawn attention by their large size, as that their excavation provided a large quantity of clay. Two amorphous pits (S26 complex 1 and S27 complex 4) were situated nearby the dwelling S26 complex 2 (Fig. 8, 9), and another one (pit 189) was nearby the dwelling 22 (Fig. 16, 18). The location of these amorphous pits nearby two dwellings allowed the association between the clay extracted from the pits with the clay used in building the walls58 59. The fill of the amorphous pits which contained animal bones, ceramic fragments—often grey coloured, pointed to the fact that they were used for storing waste. Scattered fragments in the fill of the pits as well as the noticeable quantity of ceramic fragments originating from a large number of vessels strengthen the hypothesis that these pits were used for waste storage. e) Post holes. Small pits. A large number of small pits spread over the surface of the settlement. According to their shape, some of them seemed to be post holes. Several were assigned to the Suciu de Sus culture because they contained small ceramic fragments specific of this culture39 or because they were located in an area exclusively assigned to the Suciu de Sus culture60. Most post holes can not be assigned to a culture because they lack in inventory. There is no doubt that many of them dated the subsequent ages, especially the Roman Age, when the settlements in the area uncovered many constructions with posts. There were many cases when a hole was present near a large pit61. In the case of the storage pits, we could bring up the hypothesis that the small pits belonged to some posts that held a light roof or a protection screen for the store. The role of the post holes within the fired clay platforms of the surface dwellings is uncertain. Assemblies of some post holes outlined the ground-plan of two situations in the surface 3762 and of two cases in area V63. It is almost certain that not all holes in the settlements at Petea—Csengersima were used as post holes. Among the numerous purposes that could generate the digging of holes in the settlement was also cooking/ boiling food64. The walls of the pits offered not only protection from wind, but also a shorter process of boiling with reduced consumption of fuel by controlling the fire towards the container. This aspect was proved by the ash layer on the base of several small pits at Petea—Csengersima65. 56 V. Szabó 2004, p. 86, abb. 10, 1-2; Marta 2007, p. 4-17. 57 S26 complex 1, S27 complex 4 (Fig. 8, 9), S 37 complex 3 (Fig. 10), SA complex 1 (Fig. 12), complex 131 (Fig. 19), 189 (Fig. 20), complex 506 (Fig. 24). 58 The association between a large pit, amorphous and a near dwelling occurred in the settlement at Jánoshida (V. Szabó 2004, p. 139-140). 59 Several may be later pits and the prehistoric fragments were laid in secondary position, as they slipped down from the layer. The situation was illustrated by many situations when pits at Petea—Csengersima uncovered prehistoric ceramic fragments together with Roman Age fragments. 60 On a narrow zones on both sides of the state border (Fig. 2). 61 S27 complex 2, S33 complex 3 (Fig. 8, 9), S37 complex 15, S37 complex 23 (Fig. 8, 10), 353, 389 (Fig. 22), 768b (Fig. 26). 62 The assembly contained pits S37 complex 15, S37 complex 17, S37 complex 18, S37 complex 29 (Fig. 8, 28) 63 Complex 63, complex 75, complex 71, complex 73, complex 143, complex 145, complex 146, complex 147, complex 67, complex 66 (Fig. 16, 28) and the pits assigned to complex 496 (Fig. 16) 64 O' Kelly 1954, p. 144. 65 S20 complex 1, S21 complex 5 (Fig. 6). 19
