Trough the Hillfort's Gate: the Defensive Features of Fortified sites in the Middle Dniester Region in the Fourth and Third Centuries BC. PDF

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Studia Praehistorica et Antiqua Miscellanea in honorem Silvia Teodor Ro manian Academy Inst it ut e of Archaeo logy Ia şi Studia Praehistorica et Antiqua Miscellanea in honorem Silvia Teodor Edidit Alexandru Berzovan EDITURA UNIVERSITĂŢII „ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA” DIN IAŞI 2020 Alexandru Berzovan (b. 1...

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Studia Praehistorica et Antiqua Miscellanea in honorem Silvia Teodor

Ro manian Academy Inst it ut e of Archaeo logy Ia şi

Studia Praehistorica et Antiqua Miscellanea in honorem

Silvia Teodor Edidit Alexandru Berzovan

EDITURA UNIVERSITĂŢII „ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA” DIN IAŞI 2020

Alexandru Berzovan (b. 1986, Caransebeş), scientific researcher at the Romanian Academy Iaşi Branch, Institute of Archeology Iaşi; PhD in history in 2015 with the thesis Bazinul Mureşului Inferior şi sud-vestul Munţilor Apuseni în perioada clasică a Daciei preromane, held at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iaşi. He has concerns about the Late Iron Age, currently dealing with the East-Carpathian Romanian space. Participant in numerous national and international conferences, published several books, volumes and studies at prestigious publishing houses and journals in the country and abroad (see vol. Bazinul Mureşului Inferior şi sud-vestul Munţilor Apuseni în perioada clasică a Daciei Preromane, Ed. Mega, ClujNapoca, 2017). In 2018 was awarded the excellency prize of the Iaşi Branch of the Romanian Academy.

Referees: Acad. dr. Victor Spinei, Romanian Academy, Professor Emeritus at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Iaşi Scientific reasearcher dr. Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici, Romanian Academy, Institute of Archaeology Iaşi Book editor: Dana ZĂMOSTEANU Cover design: Manuela OBOROCEANU Page layout: Luminiţa RĂDUCANU NOTE: The responsibility for the scientific content of the studies belongs exclusively to the authors.

ISBN: 978-606-714-587-8

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României Studia Praehistorica et Antiqua : Miscellanea in honorem Silvia Teodor / edidit: Alexandru Berzovan. – Iaşi : Editura Universităţii „Al. I. Cuza”, 2020 Conţine bibliografie ISBN 978-606-714-587-8 I. Berzovan, Alexandru (ed.) 902

© Editura Universităţii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iaşi, 2020 700109 – Iaşi, str. Pinului, nr. 1A, tel. /fax: (0232) 314947 http://www. editura. uaic. ro e-mail: editura@uaic. ro

Contents Tabula gratulatoria ....................................................................................................... 9 List of abbreviations................................................................................................... 11 Silvia Teodor’s publications ....................................................................................... 13 Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici A distinguished Lady of Romanian Archaeology ................................................... 19 Gheorghe Lazarovici, Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici Archaeoastronomy, Ethnoastronomy. Sun – Moon – Light (Part 1) ....................... 25 Senica Ţurcanu Notes Regarding the Painted Zoomorphic Statuettes in the Area of the CucuteniTripolye Civilisation ............................................................................................ 57 Adela Kovács Context and Symbolism of an Old Discovery. The Cross-Shaped Hearth from Ştefăneşti – Stânca Doamnei, Botoşani County, Romania ..................................... 81 Aurel Zanoci, Mihail Băţ Through the Hillfort’s Gate: The Defensive Features of Fortified sites in the Middle Dniester Region in the Fourth and Third Centuries BC ............................ 111 Octavian Munteanu, Vasile Iarmulschi An Iron Winged Axe Discovered in the Horodca Mică Getae Fortification. Chronological and Functional Landmarks .......................................................... 131 Aurel Rustoiu Cultural Connections on Both Sides of the Eastern Carpathians in the 3rd Century BC. Mobility of the Metal Craftsmen ...................................................... 155 George Dan Hânceanu The Dacian Gardening Tool Discovered at Roşiori – Dulceşti (Neamţ County)..... 169 Daniel Spânu Two Leontomorphic Fibulae from Poiana ........................................................... 175 Cătălin Borangic The Padea-Panagjurski Kolonii Phenomenon in the Area North of the Danube. Colonization or Cultural Dispersion? ................................................................. 189 Alexandru Berzovan, Lavinia Grumeza, Marian Lie, Cristina-Elena Cordoş A Sântana de Mureş – Černjachov Settlement and an „Enigmatic” Fortress at Bobuleşti – Zamoca Veche, Ştefăneşti Commune, Botoşani County ...................... 211

Through the Hillfort’s Gate: The Defensive Features of Fortified sites in the Middle Dniester Region in the Fourth and Third Centuries BC*

A U R E L Z AN O C I * * , M I H AI L B ĂȚ * * *

Abstract: The field investigations, surveys and archaeological researches in the region of the Middle Dniester has revealed about 40 fortifications belonging to the Getae communities from the 4th-3rd centuries BC. As a rule, during their study, increased attention was paid to the location and structure of the defensive elements. However, less interest has been given to the entrance ways and retreat in and from these fortified sites. Nowadays, we have information about the presence of entrance gates and/or access roads at only 11 fortifications in this area, and the degree of their research is different. This article presents the repertoire of these sites, together with a description and classification of the entrance gates and entrance ways. As a result of the research it was found that the Getae communities in the Middle Dniester Region had good knowledge in the field of military architecture. Keywords: The Middle Dniester region, the Iron Age, Getae, hillforts, entrance gates, entrance ways, bastions, towers.

Introduction Thanks to the physical and geographical conditions, the southern part of the Dniester region has been populated since oldest times, mainly by sedentary communities. However, a real “demographic explosion” is witnessed in this space in the 4th-3rd centuries BC, when there were about 40 hillforts and about 58 open settlements (Fig. 1) concentrated in three micro-zones: Dniester-Ciorna1,

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This research was conducted within the Project 20.80009.1606.14 “The archeological heritage of the Iron Age in the Middle Dniester region and the Cogâlnic River basin: interdisciplinary research and scientific development”. Moldova State University, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, [email protected]. Moldova State University, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, [email protected]. A. Zanoci, I. Niculiţă, M. Băţ, On the guard of the eastern border of the Getic world: Fortified sites in the Middle Dniester Basin, in V. Sîrbu, C. Schuster, D. Hortopan (eds.), Border Guards of the Passes, from the Fortresses and the Graves. The Bronze and Iron Ages. Proceedings of the 17th International Colloquium of Funerary Archaeology Târgu Jiu, Gorj County (Romania) 4th-7th October 2018, Târgu Jiu – Brăila, 2019, p. 313-340.

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Saharna2 and Horodişte-Ţipova3. The fortifications from all the three microzones in the Dniester basin have a series of common features which can be observed in site topography, types and techniques for building defensive constructions, entrance gates and access routes, etc. History of research The first Getae fortifications (Saharna Mare, Saharna Mică, Saharna „La Revechin”, Ofatinţi etc.) from the Middle Dniester Region are known starting with the second half of the ‘40ies of the 20th century thanks to the archaeological surveys made by G. Smirnov4. It was also him who conducted the first archaeological excavations at the sites Saharna Mare and Saharna Mică5. In the ‘50ies and ‘60ies of the last century surface surveys were conducted by V. Marchevici, Gh. Fedorov, T. Zlatkovskaia and others, whose efforts resulted with the discovery of several fortifications in the basin of the Ciorna River, a right affluent of the Dniester River (Olişcani “Roata Turcilor”, Parcani “Zanova”, Glinjeni “La Şanţ” and Mateuţi “La Şanţuri”)6. During the same period, N. Chetraru identifies the hillforts of Raşcov and

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I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Habitatul din mileniul I a. Chr. în regiunea Nistrului Mijlociu (siturile din zona Saharna), Chișinău, 2008; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Thraco-Getic fortifications in Middle Dniester region. Sites from Saharna micro-zone, in A. Zanoci, P. Ettel, M. Băţ (eds.), Fortified sites from the 1st millennium BC in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Materials of the Moldovan-Romanian-German Colloquium (Saharna, July 24th-26th, 2014), Chișinău, 2015, p. 21-46; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului din microzona Saharna în epoca fierului, Chișinău, 2016. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Cercetări geospaţiale şi arheologice în microzona Horodişte-Ţipova, in Tyragetia N.S., VIII/1, 2014, p. 235-252; A. Zanoci, I. Niculiţă, M. Băţ, Fortifications and open settlements of the 1st millennium BC in the micro-zone of Horodişte-Ţipova, in A. Zanoci, P. Ettel, M. Băţ (Eds.), Fortified sites from the 1st millennium BC in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Materials of the Moldovan-RomanianGerman Colloquium (Saharna, July 24th-26th, 2014), Chișinău, 2015, p. 81-100. G.D. Smirnov, Itogi arheologicheskih issledovanii v Moldavii v 1946 g., in Uchenye zapiski Instituta Istorii Iazyka i Literatury, vyp. II, Kishinev, 1949, p. 189-202. G. Smirnov, in his publications, classified the discovered fortifications as belonging to the Scythians. G.D. Smirnov, Skifskoe gorodishche i selishche „Bolshaia Saharna”, in Kratkie soobshcheniia Instituta Istorii Materialnoi Kultury, vyp. XXVI, Moscow, 1949, p. 93-96. V.I. Marchevici, Arheologicheskie pamiatniki v baseine nizhnego techeniia reki Ciorna, in Izvestia Moldavskogo Filiala Akademii Nauk SSSR, 5 (25), Kishinev, 1955, p. 139-142; T.D. Zlatkovskaia, Gorodishche Mateutsy, in Novoe v Sovetskoi arheologii, Moscow, 1965, p. 220-225.

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Caterinovca, on the left bank of Dniester7. A considerable number of fortified sites (Saharna “La Şanţ”, Stohnaia III, Saharna “Dealul Grimidon”, Buciuşca, Horodişte “La Cot” etc.) were discovered during the years 2003-2016 due to extensive researches in the Dniester region conducted by a group of researchers from the Moldova State University8. Although today there is an impressive number (40) of discovered fortifications in the southern part of the Dniester region (Fig. 1), only eight sites have undergone systematic archaeological research – Saharna Mare9, Saharna Mică 10, Saharna “La Şanţ”11, Saharna “La Revechin”12, Glinjeni “La Şanţ”13 etc. In 10 of them (Stohnaia III14, Saharna “La Şanţ” I15, Buciuşca16, Horodişte “La Cot”17, etc.) were conducted surveys, in particular, the defensive elements were investigated and the collected artifacts allowed the attribution of these fortifications to the Getae communities. The rest, 22 fortifications (Raşcov, Stroieşti, Caterinovca, Curătura, 7

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T.D. Zlatkovskaia, L.L. Polevoi, Gorodishcha Pruto-Dnestrovskogo mezhdurechia IV-III vv. do n.e. i voprosy politicheskoi istorii getov, in Drevnie frakiitsy v Severnom Prichernomorii, Moscow, 1969, p. 37. A. Zanoci, V. Moldovan, Getic citadel Saharna-„La Şanţ”, in I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ (eds.), Thracians and Circumpontic World. Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Thracology, Chișinău – Vadul lui Vodă, 6-11 september 2004, II, Chișinău, 2004, p. 130-138; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Cercetări geospaţiale…; A. Zanoci, I. Niculiţă, M. Băţ, Fortifications and open settlements…; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 305-374; A. Zanoci, I. Niculiţă, M. Băţ, Situri din epoca fierului în bazinul râului Ciorna / Iron Ages sites in the Ciorna River basin, in A. Zanoci, V. Sîrbu, M. Băţ (eds.), Iron Age fortifications on the Tisa-Dniestr spase. Proceedings of Saharna Summer Colloquium (July 14th-17th, 2016), Chișinău – Brăila, 2017, p. 7-46. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Habitatul…, p. 69-150; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 19-248. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Habitatul…, p. 13-50; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 249-304. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Habitatul…, p. 151-162; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 305-328. A. Levinschi, Fortificaţia getică „Saharna − La Revichin” (cercetările din anii 2000-2002), in Cercetări arheologice în Republica Moldova (2000-2003), Chișinău, 2004, p. 64-80. N.V. Goltseva, M.T. Kashuba, Glinjeni II. Mnogosloinyi pamiatnik Srednego Podnestrovia, Tiraspol, 1995. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Noi situri din epoca fierului descoperite în prejma satului Stohnaia, raionul Rezina, Republica Moldova / Newly discoverd Iron Age sites near the village of Stohnaia, Rezina district, Republic of Moldova, in Istros, XXI, 2015, 153-176. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 354-358. Ibidem, p. 370-372. A. Zanoci, I. Niculiţă, M. Băţ, Fortifications and open settlements…, p. 82-88.

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Hulboaca, Buciuşca II, Ţipova III etc.) remain known only as a result of surface surveys18. The fortifications in this area are the subject of research in several general publications focusing on the Getae communities either on the entire territory of their habitation19, either from the East Carpathian region20 or from the Middle Dniester region21. Although there is a rather big number of publications devoted to the Getae fortifications in the Dniester basin, the subject related to the gates and entrance ways to these sites remains to be less studied. Nowadays, we have information about the existence of entrance gates and/or access roads to only 11 fortifications in this area, with a different degree of research and documentation. Through archaeological research was studied the space adjacent to the entrance gates at the sites Saharna Mare, Saharna Mică and Stohnaia III. For the rest of the fortifications, gates and entrance ways are assumed to exist based on field observations. Hillfort entrances of Middle Dniester Region The hillfort Saharna Mare was built on a trapezoidal-shaped promontory, which is part of the high terrace (about 130 m altitude from the riverbed) of the right bank of the Dniester (Fig. 2). The enclosure, with a surface of about 6 ha, was surrounded by a defensive system, composed of several defense elements 22. The gates were placed on the western side and were protected by a “rampart” with an adjacent ditch with a length of about 385 m. They appear as three interruptions 18

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T.D. Zlatkovskaia, L.L. Polevoi, op. cit., p. 37, 45; V.L. Lapushnian, I.T. Niculiţă, M.A. Romanovskaia, Pamiatniki rannego zheleznogo veka. Arheologicheskaia karta Moldavskoi SSR, vyp. 4, Kishinev, 1974, p. 41-45; M. Kašuba, V. Haheu, O. Leviţki, Vestigii traco-getice pe Nistrul Mijlociu, Bucureşti, 2000, p. 119-130; S. Fidelsky, Fortified settlements of the Iron Age on the left bank of the Middle Dniester, in A. Zanoci, V. Sîrbu, M. Băţ (Eds.), Iron Age fortifications on the Tisa-Dniestr spase. Proceedings of Saharna Summer Colloquium (July 14th-17th, 2016), Chișinău – Brăila, 2017, p. 50-64. I. Niculiţă, Severnye frakitsy v VI-III vv do n.e., Kishinev, 1987, p. 85-88; A. Zanoci, Fortificaţiile geto-dacice din spaţiul extracarpatic în secolele VII-III a. Chr., Bucureşti, 1998. I. Niculiţă, Gety IV-III vv do n.e. v Dnestrovsko-Karpatskih zemliah, Kishinev, 1977, p. 26-43; T. Arnăut, Vestigii ale sec. VII-III a. Chr. în spaţiul de la răsărit de Carpaţi, Chișinău, 2003, p. 13-31; V. Haheu, Sisteme de fortificaţii traco-getice la est de Carpaţi, Chișinău, 2008. M. Kašuba, V. Haheu, O. Leviţki, op. cit.; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 388-396; A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, The specific features of the Getic fortifications in the Middle Dniester region (the Saharna and Horodişte-Ţipova micro-zones), in Plural, V/2, 2017, p. 6-31; A. Zanoci, I. Niculiţă, M. Băţ, On the guard…, p. 313-340. For more details, see: Niculiţă, Zanoci, Arnăut, Habitatul…, p. 89-99, pl. 5-7, photo 13-26; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 155-171, fig. 103-114.

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in the “rampart” line, one in the central part and two on the flanks. In front of each such “interruption” was built a bastion, with their own defense ditches. The central bastion was shaped like a “horseshoe” with the dimensions of about 38×43 m (Fig. 2-3). Its related “rampart” has, in the present, about 23 m width at the base and about 3.2 m height. The archaeological excavations revealed that the “rampart” represents the remains of a “wall” with a width of 6.8 m, made of a beamed structure, arranged vertically and horizontally, filled with stone, gravel and earth. In front of the “wall”, separated from a berm with a width of about 2.7 m, was a ditch with a width of about 19 m and a depth of about −3.7 m23. Another bastion (Fig. 2-3) was placed in front of the gate on the southern flank of the hillfort. It had the shape of a “horseshoe” with the dimensions of about 27×30 m. At present the „rampart” of the bastion has a width of about 18 m and a height of about 2.8 m. The archaeological research revealed that the “rampart” are the remains of a “wall” with a width of about 6.8-7.0 m, consisting of cassettes of wooden beams, filled with stone, gravel and earth. At a distance of about 2 m in front of the bastion was a ditch with a width of about 12 m and a depth of about −2.5 m24. The third bastion is in front of the gate on the northern flank. Regretfully, it was not preserved, being destroyed in the ‘50ies during the construction of an access road to the citadel. However, its existence is proven by a photograph made by G. Smirnov in the years 1946-194725. On the hypsometric map of the Saharna Mare site (Fig. 2b), in front of the defensive ditch on the west side, between the southern and the central bastions, there is an anomaly that indicates the presence of a defensive construction. In this space, G. Smirnov26 discovered a small ditch, considered by him as meant to further protect the fortification from the west. The same ditch was also certified during the excavations of 2005-2008, and which was identified as a place for the beams of a palisade that defended the Saharna Mare promontory in the 6 th-5th centuries BC 27. We can assume that this defensive construction was contemporaneous with the “rampart”, the ditch and the bastions on the west side. A 23 24 25

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I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Habitatul…, p. 96-97, pl. 5, photo 20-26. Ibidem, p. 92-96, pl. 6, photo 16-19. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Sistemul defensiv al cetăţii din epoca fierului – Saharna Mare, in Tyragetia, N.S., I/1, 2007, p. 56, fig. 27. G.D. Smirnov, Otchetnye materialy po arheologicheskim issledovaniiam Moldavii za 1946-1953 gody, Kishinev, 1953, p. 30. Arhiva MNIM, inv. nr. 507; T. Arnăut, Aşezarea fortificată „Saharna Mare” – raion Rezina, in M. Iacob, E. OberländerTârnoveanu, Fl. Topoleanu (eds.), Istro-Pontica, Muzeul tulcean la 50-a aniversare, Tulcea, 2000, p. 94, fig. 1. I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, T. Arnăut, Habitatul…, p. 60-61, 87-88, fig. 51; I. Niculiţă, A. Zanoci, M. Băţ, Evoluţia habitatului…, p. 150-152, fig. 100-101.

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“corridor” was formed between the palisade in front of the defense ditch and the “wall” of the precinct, thus connecting the central and southern bastions. Recently, as a result of new field researches, a gate was also discovered on the north side of the fortification28. It was about 9 m wide and was placed between the north end of the “wall” on the west side and the west end of the “wall” on the north side. In front o...