Marta, Liviu: The Late Bronze Age Settlements of Petea-Csengersima (Satu Mare, 2009)
Contents
Notes from the author This work is the result of the archaeological rescue excavations carried out within the extensions made in the northernmost customs point on the Romanian - Hungarian border. Intensive work was carried out in the period between 1998 and 1999, and continued at a smaller rate until 2004. The investigations in the Hungarian territory were conducted by the archaeologists Eszter Istvánovits and Katalin Almássy from the Museum Jósa András of Nyíregyháza. The excavated surface had 32.384 m2 in area, and the entire surface that was to be occupied by buildings had been laid bare. An area of 6.874 m2 was investigated in the vicinity of the Romanian site. It represented only a part of the area affected by construction works. We carried out investigations over a small surface in the Romanian area because of our lack in experience with the rescue excavations besides other objective causes. Habitations in different areas of the site were uncovered, dating from four periods: the Middle Bronze Age (the Suciu de Sus culture, phase I), the Late Bronze Age (phase II of the Suciu de Sus culture and Lăpuş II-Gáva I horizon), the Roman Age (2nd-4,h centuries AD) and the Arpadian Age (the 11th century AD). The archaeological excavation in the Petea— Csengersima site for the period of the Late Bronze Age allow the publication of the widest areas excavated so far in a settlement of the Suciu de Sus culture and in a settlement with material of the type Lăpuş II-Gáva 1. The few information about the two cultural aspects, and the close relationship between them were reasons why we considered necessary to present and illustrate each archaeological complex in this work. In addition, I found necessary to list every ceramic item identified and presented within their own archaeological complex. A great number of archaeological materials have been illustrated in order to stand for the analyses and conclusions elaborated in this work. I would like to thank several individuals and institutions for their contribution to making possible the publication of this archaeological material. First, I would like to thank my colleagues Eszter Istvánovits and Katalin Almássy, who in their generosity and trusting in me offered me for publication the result of a laborious work that took more than a year. They both are a model to me for their abnegation in finalizing the challenging excavation at Petea—Csengersima and for their accuracy in making the documentation. I thank my colleague Robert Gindele for his support throughout the excavations. I also thank my colleagues Cristian Virág, Ciprian Astaloş and Zoltán Kádas for their help in the fieldwork and for their cooperation in processing the materials. I feel honored to thank Prof. Valentin Vasiliev and Dr. János Németi who throughout the processing of the archaeological material from Petea-Csengersima have provided me significant scientific support. For consultations and exchange of ideas on the material of his work I thank Dan Pop, Florin Gogâltan, Louis Nebelsick and Gábor Szabó. The scholarship Domus Hungarica offered me an important support enabling me to study materials from Nyíregyháza warehouse for two months. An essential merit in the publication of the work has the PHARE Program, through the Romanian-Hungarian project 2006. I thank Péter Levente Szőcs, the manager of this project, for his confidence to include this work in its preliminary stage of elaboration in the project. The processing of the archaeological materials was completed under this project, as well as the processing of faunal remains, the translation and the publication of this work. The book also includes the contribution of Adriana Costin and Rosa Erika Feleg, the authors of the English translation, of Toma Barbu, Zamfir Şomcutean, Gavril Moldovan, Adrian Sulyok and János Bakay who made the drawings of the archaeological material. The restorers Szinyéri Péterné, Takácsné Varga Agnes and Németh Erika from the Jósa András Museum of Nyíregyháza, as well as Eva Puskás and Roxana Cobusceanu from the Museum of Satu Mare had an important contribution. Thank you all! Satu Mare, the 6th of September 2009 6
