The Western University of Timișoara, in collaboration with the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization in Deva and the Dacian Foundation, organizes, between May 2-6, 2022, The non-formal school of interdisciplinary archeology in Valea Alunului, Hunedoara county, followed by a round table to which specialists from other scientific fields are invited, in the workshop Interdisciplinary research of movable and immovable cultural heritage, between May 6-8, 2022. Activities include lectures, practical workshops and visits to archaeological sites in the area of ​​the Șureanu Mountains.

UVT rector, Marilen Gabriel Pirtea: The cultural-didactic event organized by the non-formal School of Interdisciplinary Archeology in Valea Alunului has as its main beneficiaries the first-year students, majoring in archaeology, from the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology of the West University of Timișoara. The organizers aim to increase the degree of applied knowledge of the students, regarding the ancient civilizations of the area, through the analysis and study of the movable and immovable cultural heritage of the area.

The coordination of the event is ensured by the Western University of Timișoara, and for the practical applications there are also specialists from the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization Deva, the Dacian Foundation, as well as unaffiliated specialists and artists such as Emanuel Bezerita, a well-known traditional blacksmith, specialized in Dacian weaponry, or Marius Barbu, specialist in the technique of archaic processing of stone, bone and horn.

The activities carried out with the students during the first three days of theoretical applications and provided for:

Day 1:

• Dr. Iosif Vasile Ferencz, researcher at the Dacian and Roman Civilization Museum in Deva and associate professor at the Western University in Timișoara, chose, for the beginning of the meeting, a topic centered on the school, the importance of the school and the individual training of yesterday's students, from today and tomorrow. The pretext was provided by an incursion into the environment of the court of the king of Macedonia, Philip II, with the title: "School of generals" at the court of the kings of Macedonia.

• Dr. Aurora Pețan, representing the Dacian Foundation, the host of the event, presented the specifics of the area and the main archaeological and historical objectives in the entire Area of ​​the capital of the Kingdom of Dacia.

• The series of presentations on the first evening ended with a practical application under the heading: Archaic tool-making techniques in pre- and proto-history. Dr. Marius Barbu, archaeologist at the Dacian and Roman Civilization Museum in Deva, introduced the university audience to another fascinating field: experimental archaeology. The presentation had two components, aimed at theoretical and practical training. The second had the role of strengthening skills in a field less addressed in the traditional school, namely lithic debitage.

Day 2:

• The second day of the Non-Formal School of Interdisciplinary Archeology in Valea Alunului, Hunedoara County, started with a hike to the Dacian Citadel on the top of Piatra Roșie. Recently, this objective was included, along with five other complexes of this kind, on the UNESCO world heritage list.

• The guide was provided by Dr. Aurora Pețan, representing the Dacian Foundation, and the students of the Western University of Timișoara had the opportunity to experience a first contact with a Dacian fortress, discovering one by one the component structures, the construction techniques specific to the ensembles of the Șureanu Mountains .

• Upon returning from the study trip, the students met Emanuel Bezerita, also known as the Dacian blacksmith - Komakiza, who prepared his workshop where he will present the way the Dacians made weapons.

• After lunch, back in the library, the students attended a new series of lectures. The two school sites organized in collaboration by the two institutions were presented: the University of the West in Timișoara and the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization Deva, at Ardeu, in Hunedoara county and at Unip, in Timiș county. Both sites are school archaeological sites for the first-year students of our university, and the lectures were given by Asst. university Dr. Andrei Stavilă, from the Western University of Timișoara, as well as Dr. IV Ferencz, from the Deva Dacian and Roman Civilization Museum.

Day 3:

• The third day began with a visit to the most important archaeological site in the area, Sarmizegetusa Regia. After a short theoretical presentation at the headquarters of the Dacian Foundation, the students were able to visit and understand on the spot, the main military and religious architectural elements that were still preserved after the Daco-Roman conflicts of 105-106 AD. The hosts and guides were, as usual, Mrs. Dr. Aurora Pețan and Mr. Dr. IV Ferencz. The history of research and the functionality of all the objectives kept and conserved by archaeologists were presented, but especially the role and importance of this spiritual center from the Dacian era.

• In the afternoon, the students returned to the library of the Dacica Foundation to continue their classes. Dr. Aurora Pețan made a foray into the Archeology of Archives, a novel approach to a lesser-known aspect of the archaeologist's documentation work. The case study presented, namely the documentation of the first excavations at Gradistea Muncelului, since the Habsburg period (XNUMXth century), proves the fact that at Sarmizegetusa Regia (more or less scientific) researches were carried out in about the same period as the from Pompeii and Herculaneum, i.e. the first in Europe.

• the second presentation concerned a terminological but also a conceptual problem: Can we talk about Dacian fortresses or castles? Dr. IV Ferencz from the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization Deva answered this question.

• The most anticipated meeting of the evening followed: a practical application with the blacksmith Komakiza (Mr. Emanuel Bezerita), who presented the students live, how a Dacian sika is made. Moreover, it was a real foray into the art and technique of Dacian warfare, with examples of all the weapons used by the Dacians in battle. The collection of weapons, but also the experimentation of hand-to-hand combat techniques, made the delight of a unique approach within this project of experimental archeology and reenactment.