The team of archaeologists from the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology, from the University of West Timișoara, carried out in the 2020-2021 academic year an extensive rescue and conservation activity of the archaeological heritage, carrying out over 100 archaeological diagnostic works, specialized supervision , as well as rescue archaeological excavations. Among these, we present to you some of the results of the most spectacular excavation works in Timișoara and its surroundings.
Timisoara, Str. Oituz 4c, Lenau High School
(coord. arch. spec. dr. Stavilă Andrei)
The opening of an area of approximately 4000 m2 in the center of Timișoara represented an extraordinary chance for archaeologists to complete the history of the city. Complexes were thus investigated which confirmed the extension in this area of the Palanca Mare neighborhood, a suburb of the city of Timișoara from the period of Ottoman rule. At the same time, parts of the bastion fortification of Timișoara from the modern period were captured. Residential complexes, outbuildings or wells have been investigated from the late medieval settlement. The dwellings were of the boarding house type, having a circular shape and a relatively small area. Between these were arranged the so-called household annexes, pits where the supplies needed for daily living were stored. Also important are the wells researched in the area, one of which is equipped with a wooden guide. This component has been poorly preserved.
The numerous cannonballs identified during the research are related to the events of 1716, when the Palanca Mare neighborhood came to an end. In the years following the conquest, the city was systematized and fortified. The research here allowed us to document the foundations of the escarpment and those of the counter-escarpment of Contragarde IX. Also from the modern period, we also mention the three graves, one of which is collective.
Dudești Vechi, Sonde, Nis Petrol
(coord. arch. spec. dr. Rogozea Octavian)
Preventive archaeological research in the winter of 2020 led to the discovery of a necropolis ethno-culturally attributed to the Yazigi Sarmatians (a population of Iranian origin). The Sarmatians enter our area at the end of the century. I BC - the beginning of the century II BC and persists until the century. V BC, when the Huns appear in this space. From an economic point of view, the Sarmatian population dealt with agriculture and shepherding, they being famous in antiquity especially for horse breeding (the knowledge of the Sarmatians related to horse breeding was recorded in the veterinary medicine treatise of Apsyrtos (ca. 280 – 337) from which reserved Veterinariae Medicinae Libri Duo, which was the basis of the Byzantine horse breeding treaty Hippiatric).
Research from the Old Dudestii Vechi has revealed important aspects related to the funeral rite and ritual of this population of the Western Plains. 9 inhumation graves were discovered, with the deceased lying on his back, hands on the basin or lying next to the body. In these graves, personal items that were likely to be used in the afterlife were deposited, along with the deceased: iron knives, copper coins covered with a thin layer of silver, fibulae (bronze or iron pieces, with decorative but also functional, similar to contemporary safety pins) spindles, (pieces used as counterweights in the process of producing textile threads), limestone beads (2-3 cm) discovered on the left side of the chest of a deceased (probably found in the form of string, on a string) and small glass or chalcedony beads (0,5-0,7 mm). The beads were discovered as clumps in the area of the left tibia or in the area of the left collarbone. The concentrated discovery of these pieces seems to indicate their deposition in pouches of organic material (leather?, textile?). Small vessels were also discovered in the graves in the area of the head or feet, which most likely contained liquids (for the afterlife). In the case of one individual, animal bones were also discovered (in the area of the knees), as a meat offering.
In ancient history, the Yazigi Sarmatians stand out, among other things, by participating alongside the Marcomani (Germanic tribes) in the Marcomani wars (166-180 AD), in which the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, together with his co-regent Commodus, fought against them. This conflict ended with the peace concluded by Commodus in 180 AD (Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies the same year at Vindobona/Vienna).
Dudeștii Noi, Strada Dealului
(coord. arch. spec. dr. Stavilă Andrei)
The archeological point of Dudeștii Noi - "Strada Dealului" is located 0,7 km SSW from the Orthodox church in the locality of Dudeștii Noi, in the central area of the village. The Dudeștii Noi-Strada Dealului archaeological site occupies a high terrace on the interfluve formed by the Niarad River to the south and Surduc to the north. The discoveries here refer to two complexes from the Bronze Age (Pl.1/4-5) and a necropolis from the 1th century (Pl.1/3-10). Both the settlement and the 0,42th century cemetery were identified on the high terrace opening to the Surduc stream valley. The terrace descends steeply towards the mentioned valley, the difference in level being 0,21 m absolute altitude. The position is favorable from the point of view of the location of a settlement, visibility and access to basic resources being easy. As for the prehistoric settlement, the complexes documented here refer to a pit of circular shape, with a diameter of 3,7 cm and a depth of 2,3 m, and to a dwelling of the bard type. The dwelling has a circular shape, with dimensions of 1 × 2 m. The fill was stratified, two layers being identified as follows: (1) loamy, light gray, loosened soil rich in archaeological materials; (4) loamy-sandy soil, light brown, loosely pigmented with calcareous concretions (Pl.5/XNUMX-XNUMX). The other complex is represented by a small pit whose function cannot be specified.
As for the necropolis that can be placed in the 91th century, it was discovered along Dealului Street, on the segment between Paris and Viilor Streets. 50 inhumation graves were investigated in this way, all with a NE-SW orientation. Their deviation from the general NS direction was in most cases between 70° and 1°. Graves that can be attributed to children predominate (Pl.3/1), but there are also those of adults (Pl.2/XNUMX). The deceased were laid supine, usually with their hands clasped in the pelvis area. There were also documented cases in which the hands were placed on the chest. The graves were poor in inventory, except for a few cases where fragments of fabric or clothing ornaments made of metal thread covered with greenish oxide were identified. The presence of two pendants covered with greenish oxide, as well as a bead made of wood, can also be noted.
Timișoara, Calea Torontalului, Timișoara site 37
(coord. arch. spec. dr. Craiovan Bogdan)
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Despite an atypical and difficult year 2021, still conditioned by the pandemic, archeology still offers us an escape from the everyday. As we have become accustomed to in recent years, the real estate development around Timișoara once again generated a whole series of preventive archaeological research in the peri-urban area of the city on the Bega. Starting from March of this year, the preventive archaeological research of the site known in the specialized bibliography as "Timisoara 37" was started in the northwestern area of Timișoara. Thus, following these invasive investigations, an entire settlement dating from late antiquity, more precisely from the period between the III-IV centuries AD, was brought to light. The discoveries made by the archaeologists of the Western University of Timișoara, illustrate the image of a dynamic settlement, located in the wasteland of Banat when this region was under the administration of the Roman Empire, and later, when it was on the border of the same empire but under barbarian rule. The inhabitants of this settlement lived in bordeia or deep dwellings, built most likely of wood, lined on the outside with adobe and heated with the help of hearths discovered inside these structures. Various household annexes were also uncovered, such as provision pits, household pits, wells, water drainage ditches and household ovens. Following the discoveries from the Late Antiquity period, the researched dwellings and structures from the Middle Ages, more precisely from the period between XII-XIII AD, they most likely belong to a small seasonal settlement. The archaeological research in the "Timișoara 37" site is far from being completed, currently archaeologists are investigating the traces of the cemetery belonging to the settlement from the century. III-IV AD
Timisoara, Dermatology Hospital
(coord. arch. exp. dr. Micle Dorel)
The West University of Timișoara these days is completing a preventive archaeological excavation in the area of the Dermatology Hospital, research located in the area of a future elevator shaft and stairwell, the investigated area having a length of approx. 16m and width of approx. 5 m. The work is carried out by SC Constructim SA and is proof of the good collaboration between the contractor, the archaeological service provider (UVT) and the Timiș County Culture Directorate, in order to save the archaeological heritage of the city. Until now, the archaeological research has been carried out on 7 successive plans in depth. The first archaeological wooden structures appear from the first archaeological research plan, and already in the 2nd and 3rd plan the entire wooden structure of a large dwelling can be observed. In the archaeological section, the dwelling is captured with a dimension of 9 meters long and approximately 5 meters wide, captured on its southern side. Remains of another dwelling were observed on the northern side of the section, but the archaeological section captures a small portion of it (approx. 2×1 meters). In the preliminary analysis of this house, at least three rooms were identified, two of which are to the north (toward the street) and a larger room to the south. The two rooms facing the street were possible living spaces, which is evident from the significant amount of archaeological material specific to domestic activities (jugs, bowls, knives, pipes, leather shoes, etc.). The room on the southern side represented, from a functional point of view, a shelter area for animals, because the filling was specific to a stable (straw and reeds).
Between these two houses, on plan 4, a very well-preserved wooden street was identified on an area of 5,40m wide and captured in the section for a length of approx. 6m, oriented in the NW-SE direction. The floors of the street were placed on three rows of beams, and between the beams there were two rows of pillars to support the street. Between the beams, under the pavement, a thick layer of sand and gravel was used as filling, for water drainage.
