EPHEMERI S NAPOCENSI S

XXI I
201 2
ROMANIAN ACADEMY
INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF ART CLUJ-NAPOCA
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor: Coriolan Horaiu Opreanu
Members: Sorin Coci, Vlad-Andrei Lzrescu, Ioan Stanciu
ADVISORY BOARD
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Poland); Falko Daim (Mainz, Germany); Andreas Lippert (Vienna, Austria); Bernd Pfgen (Munich,
Germany); Marius Porumb (Cluj-Napoca, Romania); Alexander Rubel (Iai, Romania); Peter Scherrer
(Graz, Austria); Alexandru Vulpe (Bucharest, Romania).
Responsible of the volume: Ioan Stanciu
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INSTITUTUL DE ARHEOLOGIE I ISTORIA ARTEI
EPHEMERI S
NAPOCENSIS
XXI I
2 0 1 2
EDITURA ACADEMIEI ROMNE
SOMMAIRE CONTENTS INHALT

STUDIES
FLORIN GOGLTAN
Ritual Aspects of the Bronze Age Tell-Settlements in the Carpathian Basin.
A Methodological Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ALEXANDRA GVAN
Metallurgy and Bronze Age Tell-Settlements from Western Romania (I) . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
DVID PETRU
Everyday Life in the Research Concerning the Roman Army in the Western European
Part of the Empire and the Province of Dacia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
CORIOLAN HORAIU OPREANU
From to Colonia Dacica Sarmizegetusa. A File of the Problem . . . . . . . . 113
CLIN COSMA
Ethnische und politische Gegebenheiten im Westen und Nordwesten Rumniens
im 8.10. Jh. n.Chr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND EPIGRAPHICAL NOTES
AUREL RUSTOIU
Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
VITALIE BRC
Some Remarks on Metal Cups with Zoomorphic Handles
in the Sarmatian Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
FLORIN FODOREAN
Spa Vignettes in Tabula Peutingeriana. Travelling Ad Aquas: thermal Water Resources
in Roman Dacia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
DAN AUGUSTIN DEAC
Note on Apis Bull Representations in Roman Dacia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
SILVIA MUSTA, SORIN COCI, VALENTIN VOIIAN
Instrumentum Balnei from Roman Napoca. Two Iron Vessels Discovered on the Site
from Victor Deleu Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
IOAN STANCIU
About the Use of the So-Called Clay Breadcakes in the Milieu of the Early Slav
Settlements (6
th
7
th
Centuries) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
DAN BCUE-CRIAN
Contributions to the Study of Elites and Power Centers in Transylvania during the second
Half of the 9
th
frst Half of the 10
th
Centuries. Proposal of Identifcation Criteria Based
on archaeological Discoveries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
ADRIANA ISAC, ERWIN GLL, SZILRD GL
A 12
th
Century Cemetery Fragment from Gilu (Cluj County) (Germ.: Julmarkt;
Hung.: Gyalu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
ADRIAN ANDREI RUSU
Stove Tiles with the Royal Coat of Arms of King Matthias I Corvinus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
REVIEWS
IULIAN MOGA, Culte solare i lunare n Asia Mic n timpul Principatului/Solar and Lunar Cults in
Asia Minor in the Age of the Principate, Editura Universitii Alexandru Ioan Cuza Iai (Iai
2011), 752 p.(Szab Csaba) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
DAN GH. TEODOR, Un centru meteugresc din evul mediu timpuriu. Cercetrile arheologice de la
Lozna-Botoani/An Artisan centre from the Early Middle Ages. Te archaeological research from
Lozna-Botoani, Bibliotheca Archaeologica Moldaviae XV, Academia Romn Filiala Iai,
Institutul de Arheologie, Editura Istros (Brila 2011), 200 p.(including 118 fgures), abstract
and list of fgures in French (Ioan Stanciu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
CLIN COSMA, Funerary Pottery in Transylvania of the 7
th
10
th
Centuries, Series Ethnic and
Cultural Interferences in the 1
st
Millenium B.C. to the 1
st
Millenium AD. 18, Romanian
Academy Institute of Archaeology and Art History Cluj-Napoca, Mega Publishing House
(Cluj-Napoca 2011), 183 p., 49 plates (Aurel Dragot) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Crossing the Boundaries. Remodeling Cultural Identities at the End of Antiquity in Central and Eastern
Europe. A Case Study (Coriolan H.Oprean, Vlad-Andrei Lzrescu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Warriors and military retainers in Transylvania of the 7
th
9
th
centuries (Clin Cosma) . . . . . . . . . 349
Seeing the Unseen. Landscape Archaeology on the Northern Frontier of the Roman Empire at Porolissvm
(Romania) (Coriolan H.Oprean, Vlad-Andrei Lzrescu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Abbreviations that can not be found in Bericht der Rmisch-Germanische Kommission . . . . . 363
Guidelines for Ephemeris Napocensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
COMMENTARIA ARCHAEOLOGICA ET HISTORICA (I)
Aurel Rustoiu
1
Abstract: Te frst note is discussing the Celtic grave with a helmet from Ciumeti and the signifcance of
the Greek bronze greaves which belong to this burial. During the 50 years which passed since its discovery,
the aforementioned grave generated numerous comments, interpretations and scientifc debates. Te note
is a synthesis of the information regarding its context of discovery, the stages of publication of the inventory
and the successive theories concerning the chronology and interpretation of the grave. A recent analysis has
demonstrated that the burial can be dated to the LT B2-C1 (or more likely only to the LT C1) and very
probably belonged to a Celtic warrior from the Carpathian Basin who was a mercenary in the eastern
Mediterranean region in the second half of the 3
rd
century BC. Starting from these aspects, the Greek bronze
greaves belonging to the funerary inventory, alongside other items of LT military equipment, are analysed
in detail. Te artefacts played an important role in defning a particular warlike identity in comparison
with the military elites of the eastern Mediterranean.
Te second note comprises an evaluation of the older or more recent Transylvanian discoveries belonging
to the Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group: funerary contexts or isolated fnds including specifc weaponry or
harness fttings. Tey illustrate a concentration of the burials of Padea-Panagjurski kolonii type in south-
western Transylvania, more precisely in an area related to the centre of power of the Dacian kingdom
prior to and during the rule of Burebista. At the same time, some burials point to an extension of this
phenomenon in farther areas from central or northern Transylvania, up to the upper Tisza, these regions
being very probably taken over and controlled by Dacian kings. Chronologically, most of these discoveries
can be dated to the LT D1, the latest dated burials belonging to the Augustan period.
Keywords: Ciumeti, graves, greaves, helmets, sica, Padea-Panagjurski kolonii
1. Te grave with a helmet from Ciumeti 50 years from its discovery.
Comments on the greaves
2
Te well-known grave from Ciumeti (Satu Mare County, Romania), containing an
iron helmet having a realistic-made bronze bird of prey ftted on the calotte, was discovered 50
years ago, on 10 August 1961. Te helmet is a unique artefact amongst the La Tne fnds from
Europe due to its outstanding features. As a consequence it was included in numerous exhibi-
tions and catalogues, as well as in syntheses concerning Celtic art and civilization. Unfortunately
theburial was incidentally discovered and its inventory was recovered and published in successive
stages. Tis situation led to the appearance and perpetuation of several confusions regarding the
1
Institute of Archaeology and History of Art Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Academy Cluj Branch, M.Koglniceanu
str.1214, 400084, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj county, RO; e-mail: aurelrustoiu@yahoo.com.
2
Tis work was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientifc Research, CNCS
UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0278.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND EPIGRAPHICAL NOTES
Ephemeris Napocensis, XXII, 2012, p. 159183
160 Aurel Rustoiu
interpretation of the grave from Ciumeti. Te main stages in the recovering of archaeological
information and the subsequent chronological and cultural interpretation of this outstanding
discovery are presented below.
Te frst group of fnds recovered from the inventory arrived in the Museum of Baia
Mare, being later published by M.Rusu
3
. It included the iron helmet with the bronze bird, two
bronze greaves, an iron javelin head and an iron chainmail (Fig.1). M.Rusu noted that all of
these artefacts lacked burning traces and, according to the information collected from discov-
erers, burnt remains or human bones (cremated or not) were not seen in the burial pit (having
a circular shape and a diameter of about 1.21.5 m). Te context suggested a symbolic burial
(cenotaph), or a ritual deposition. As concerning the chronological aspect, M.Rusu considered
that the inventory could be dated towards the end of the 4
th
century BC (La Tne B).
Shortly after the publication J.V.S.Megaw remarked the typological resemblance of
the helmet from Ciumeti with the one from Batina, as well as the depiction of a similar helmet
on the weapons frieze from Pergamon. Megaw also made some pertinent observations about
the entire inventory
4
, but these were ignored by Romanian specialist literature. A few years
later U.Schaaf, analysing Celtic iron helmets, added the fnd from Ciumeti to a type specifc
to the eastern Celts (Helme mit verstrkte Kalotte), known in the area between Slovenia and
Transylvania, although some examples reached Asia Minor, according to the depictions from
the temple of Athena Nikephoros from Pergamon
5
. Later discoveries confrmed the distribution
of such helmets towards the Balkans, for example the fnds identifed in Bulgaria, Albania and
Macedonia (FYROM)
6
.
Still, the grave from Ciumeti was not an isolated deposition, but a part of a larger
LaTne cemetery. Tus its discovery led to the investigation of this site. Systematic archaeo-
logical excavations were carried out on the entire area of the cemetery (Fig.3/1), as well as in the
contemporaneous settlement from its vicinity (Fig.3/24). Te investigations were done in the
following years (1962, 19641965), being published by V.Zirra
7
. In total were uncovered 32
graves seven of inhumation, 21 of cremation in pit and four of cremation in urn. Other three
cremation graves in urn, initially considered as belonging to the La Tne cemetery, being ascribed
to the indigenous population
8
, are earlier dated and belong to the Early Iron Age
9
. V. Zirra
considered that despite some early artefacts the cemetery should be dated only in the La Tne
C, with an absolute date-range from around 230 to 130 BC
10
. At the same time I.H.Crian
11

continued to sustain an earlier dating in the La Tne B2. K.Horedt
12
also remarked that the
Ciumeti cemetery began in the La Tne B2 (after 275 BC), but most of the burials belonged
to the La Tne C1 sub-phase. Today it is accepted that in general the entire cemetery can be
3
RUSU 1969; RUSU/BANDULA 1970.
4
MEGAW 1970, 133134.
5
SCHAAFF 1974, 171173, Fig.25 (distribution map); SCHAAFF 1988, 300301, Fig.14 (distribution map).
6
RUSTOIU 2006, 4849, Fig. 4; RUSTOIU 2008, 2125, Fig. 7 (distribution map); GUTIN 2011,
123124, Fig. 2 (the most recent distribution map). GUTIN/KUZMAN/MALENKO 2011 published a grave
belonging to a Celtic mercenary from Ohrid, dated to the La Tne C1, and having in inventory a helmet of the same
type to the one from Ciumeti, again confrming the dating of the Transylvanian burial (I am grateful to M.Gutin
for allowing me to read the manuscript before publication). See below.
7
ZIRRA 1967 (cemetery); ZIRRA 1980 (settlement). Te research team also included M.Rusu (1962), I.Nmeti
and M.Zdroba for the cemetery, while I.H.Crian participated in the investigations from the settlement (19641965).
8
CRIAN 1966, 522; ZIRRA 1967, 4852.
9
NMETI 20002001, 62; NMETI 2003, 164.
10
ZIRRA 1967, 114. See also ZIRRA 1991, 382, this time providing a date-range between 240 and 130 BC.
11
CRIAN 1966, 41; CRIAN 1971, 70.
12
HOREDT 1973, 299303.
161 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
2
4
1
3
Fig. 1. Ciumeti grave with helmet. Te fnds published by M. Rusu (after RUSU 1969).
162 Aurel Rustoiu
dated to the La Tne B2bC1 sub-phases
13
, being contemporaneous with the horizons IIIIV
ofthecemetery from Picolt, in the same region
14
. Te mentioned chronological limits raised
some doubts about the too early dating of the rich grave that belonged to a Celtic warrior.
Te chronological problem came again into discussion during the following years.
Another part of the graves inventory remained in the possession of a local man who partici-
pated in the works of 1961 leading to the discovery of the grave. Te artefacts were recovered
in 1973 by T.Bader (from the Museum of Satu Mare on that time) and published two years
later by I.Nmeti
15
. Te remaining inventory includes an iron belt with lanceolated buckle,
the spring of an iron brooch, fragments from the chainmail, and another fragment of a cheek-
piece belonging to the iron helmet, a large bi-truncated vessel and a bowl (Fig.2). Somefnds
have burning traces, whereas the person who had them afrmed that in the pit were also
cremated human bones. Tese new data demonstrate that the grave was of cremation in a
pit. I.Nmeti opted for a dating in the La Tne B2bC1 sub-phases, similar to the one of
theentire cemetery.
4
1
2
3
5
Fig. 2. Ciumeti grave with helmet. Te fnds published by I. Nmeti (after KULL 1997).
13
In Transylvania the absolute dating for the LT B2b is around 280/277250 BC, while that of the LT C1
is around 250175 BC. See HOREDT 1973, 302; RUSTOIU 2000, 182184; RUSTOIU/EGRI 2010, 218;
RUSTOIU/EGRI 2011, 18.
14
According to NMETI 1975, 244245; NMETI 1992b, 110.
15
NMETI 1975, 243245.
163 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
1
3 4
2
Fig. 3. 1 Te plan of the cemetery from Ciumeti (after RUSU 1969) (1 limits of the excavations; 2 limit of the
sand dune; 3 limit of the area destroyed before the beginning of systematic excavations; 4 modern constructions;
5 grave with helmet; 6 La Tne cremation graves; 7 La Tne inhumation graves; 8 cremation graves of the Early Iron
Age). 2 Te plan of the settlement from Ciumeti (after ZIRRA 1980). 3, 4 Dwellings from the settlement from
Ciumeti (after ZIRRA 1980).
In 1984 T. Bader published another piece found on the area of the cemetery an
iron horse-bit belonging to a common type from the northern Balkans
16
. However, there is
no evidence that the piece belonged to this grave
17
, as B.Kull has suggested
18
. Te horse-bit is
nevertheless important as evidence of the connections between the Celts from Ciumeti and the
northern Balkans. Lastly, while re-drawing the fnds from the Museum of Satu Mare, B.Kull
added another fragmentary iron object, probably a scissors
19
. Still the artefact is not belonging
to the grave with helmet
20
.
16
BADER 1984.
17
NMETI 1992a, 139 afrmed that the horse-bit was found on the cemeterys area after the end of the excavations.
18
KULL 1997, Fig.38/8. Te horse-bit is also included in the inventory by TELEAG 2008, 15, no.49.
19
KULL 1997, 280281, Fig.38.
20
I. Nmeti made me aware that the mentioned scissors was placed in the permanent exhibition of the Museum
of Satu Mare in the same showcase with other artefacts from the grave with helmet from Ciumeti. For this reason
the German specialist got the impression that all of the artefacts from the showcase belonged to the same grave, but
the scissors has a diferent provenance.
164 Aurel Rustoiu
Recently I have comprehensively discussed the problem of the grave with helmet
from Ciumeti
21
. After analysing the entire archaeological dossier my conclusion was that
the burial is quite clearly of cremation in a pit. Te burnt traces are missing on several objects
(helmet, greaves and javelin head), while the chainmail was folded before being placed in the
pit. Tese observations suggest that some of the grave goods did not accompany the deceased
on the pyre, being laid in the pit separately from the cinerary remains. Chronologically an
early dating in the 4
th
century BC cannot be sustained anymore. Te analysis of the funerary
inventory indicates that the dating should be placed in the La Tne B2bC1 sub-phases,
or more likely only in the La Tne C1. At the same time, the presence of the iron chain-
belt made of eight-shaped segments, commonly encountered in feminine graves from the
Carpathian Basin, suggests a double burial.
Another important aspect concerns the identity of the warrior interred at Ciumeti.
Te rich funerary inventory indicates that the deceased was an important person in
thelocal community, a representative of the warlike Celtic elites from the Carpathian Basin
of the second half of the 3
rd
century BC. More than that, the mentioned recent analysis
suggests that the warrior from Ciumeti was a mercenary on the battlefelds from the eastern
Mediterranean in a period in which the recruitment of Celtic troops by various Hellenistic
rulers became a habit.
In this context the presence of the bronze greaves in the assemblage of military equipment
is relevant. Tese pieces were each made from a single sheet of bronze (with a high percentage
of tin). Tey were carefully hammered to copy the anatomic details of the legs
22
(Fig.4). Similar
items, made according to the anatomic characteristics of the owner, appeared in Greece at the
end of the Archaic period, and were used during the Classical period
23
and occasionally later in
the Hellenistic times
24
. Te right greave from Ciumeti, better preserved, has a length of 46cm
25
,
which suggest a tall owner of about 1.801.90 m. For example the greaves from Olympia (dated
to the Classical period) have lengths of about 3941 cm
26
, pointing to some anthropological
diferences between the two mentioned regions.
Tese greaves were not simple imported goods. J.V.S.Megaw noted four decades ago
that they have a Hellenistic origin and seem to be the prize of some foray into the southern
Balkans
27
. Still, their manufacturing required the precise measurements of the dimensions
and anatomic characteristics of the owners, and this could have only been done by specialised
craftsmen. Te two gilded greaves from the so-called grave of Philip II from Vergina, whichhave
21
RUSTOIU 2006; RUSTOIU 2008, 1363.
22
RUSU 1969, 278279, Fig.6; RUSU/BANDULA 1970, 8, 13, Pl.13.
23
KUNZE 1991, 7680 (gr. IV); JARVA 1995, 9697 (the anatomy group).
24
See for example the fnds from the northern Black Sea region: GALANINA 1965.
25
RUSU 1969, 279, Fig.6; RUSU/BANDULA 1970, 8, Pl: II; XIII. TELEAG 2008, 442, no.953, lists a
length of 42 cm and 42.5 cm respectively (!?). I am wondering if these diferences are resulting from the way in
which the artefacts were restored in the laboratory and preserved in the stores of the Museum of Baia Mare during
the last decades (some diferences can be observed between the images published by M.Rusu and the more recent
ones). Still, even if the new dimensions are taken into consideration, the greaves from Ciumeti are amongst those
which exceed the upper limit of the size of similar artefacts from the Mediterranean region.
26
KUNZE 1991, 117120. Some pairs of greaves which exceed the size of the commonly found ones in
the Greek region are also known from graves from the northern Pontic region, dated to the 4
th
3
rd
centuries BC.
Forexample in diferent graves from Pervomaevka they have a length of 4646.5 cm, while in another grave from
Kertch they reach a length of 47 cm. On the other hand there are also pairs of greaves which are well below the limit.
For example a pair of greaves from Aksjutincy has a length of only 33 cm (ERNENKO 2006, 102103, no.649,
666667, 681). All these variations demonstrate a wide range of anthropological dimensions which had to be taken
into consideration by the craftsmen who made such objects.
27
MEGAW 1970, 133 no.211.
165 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
Fig. 4. Greaves from Ciumeti. County Museum of History and Archaeology, Baia Mare
(photos Zamfr omcutean Baia Mare).
166 Aurel Rustoiu
diferent dimensions, being made for a crippled man, are a signifcant example
28
(Fig. 5/1).
Atthe same time the dimensional variations of the greaves discovered in diferent geo-cultural
areas, previously mentioned, also support their made-to-order manufacturing. It is less probable
that a Greek artisan could have made such objects in the Carpathian Basin to orders of some
local aristocrats, since the greaves from Ciumeti are unique not only in this region but across
the whole Celtic area. Te activity of such a specialised Greek artisan would have left more
archaeological traces in the region. Tus it is almost sure that the warrior from Ciumeti ordered
and got the greaves from a Greek workshop in the Mediterranean area. Tis was possible only
because the warrior himself travelled in the mentioned region. In the 3
rd
century BC the mobility
of certain groups from temperate Europe was often related to the mercenary activities. Due to
this reason my presumption is that the warrior from Ciumeti went to the Mediterranean as
mercenary and this happened in the second half of the 3
rd
century BC
29
.
Recently E.Teleag has published a vast work regarding the Greek imports recovered
from cemeteries of the 6
th
3
rd
centuries BC in the lower Danube basin. Te author
catalogued and classifed numerous artefacts discovered in funerary contexts, also bringing
into discussion the fnds from other archaeological contexts (settlements, depositions etc)
and from outside the mentioned area, for example those found in graves from Transylvania
30
.
Te book, despite some errors regarding the cultural identifcation and chronology probably
resulting from the huge quantity of data collected
31
, will remain a reference work for this
subject. Writing about the grave with helmet from Ciumeti, E. Teleag has suggested a
dating around 300 BC, despite the general dating of the cemetery at the end of the LaTne
B2 and in the La Tne C1
32
. Tis dating is leading to an earlier dating of the funerary
inventory and implicitly of the greaves, which are dated after 450 BC
33
. Tus the proposed
dating is wrong, as it will be shown below.
Te presence of some Greek artefacts in contexts which are later dated than their regular
period of use is theoretically possible. An episode from 274 BC is relevant in this context. During
the campaign of Pyrrhus in Macedonia against Antigonos Gonatas, Celtic mercenaries of the king
of Epirus pillaged the royal Macedonian cemetery from Aegae (Plutarch, Pyrrhus 26. 6)
34
. Trough
such actions a Celtic mercenary could have gained some older prestige objects, brought afterwards
home. Still, as previously demonstrated, the grave from Ciumeti belongs to the second half of the
3
rd
century BC and the greaves were made in the same period by a Greek artisan who measured
the anatomic characteristics of the person who ordered the objects. Tus the dating proposed by
E.Teleag is incorrect, so the interpretation has to turn to another direction.
28
ANDRONICOS 1984, 186189, Fig.150.
29
RUSTOIU 2006; RUSTOIU 2008, 3649.
30
TELEAG 2008.
31
For example TELEAG 2008, 256257 no.2, Karte 45, wrongly localizes Bene (nowadays Dobroselie in
Trans-Carpathian Ukraine) in Transdanubia (in Hungary). More than that, probably the bronze vessel discovered
at Bene, which arrived in the Museum of Cluj at the beginning of the 20
th
century, was found in a funerary context
(see POPOVICH 19951996, 86). At the same time, while the funerary inventories from the Carpathian Basin are
discussed, a series of important discoveries are missing, for example the oenochoe dated to the end of the 4
th
century
BC and coming from a grave from Peine cemetery (PAROVIPEIKAN 1993, 1243, Fig.: 1/4; 3/23) etc.
32
TELEAG 2008, 15 no.49.
33
TELEAG 2008, 249, 442 no.953, Pl.133/14.
34
And after getting Aegae into his power, besides other seventies exercised upon its inhabitants he left as a
garrison in the city some of the Gauls who were making the campaign with him. But the Gauls, a race insatiable of
wealth, set themselves to digging up the tombs of the kings who had been buried there; the treasure they plundered,
the bones they insolently cast to the four winds. (Translation PERRIN 1920). Plutarch. Plutarchs Lives. with an
English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann
Ltd. 1920. See also GRIFFITH 1968, 63.
167 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
1
2
3 4 5
Fig. 5. 1 Greaves from the grave of Philip II from Vergina (after ANDRONICOS 1984). 2 Silver plaque
from Letnica. 3, 4 Greaves from Agighiol. 5 Greave from Vraca (all after KULL 1997). 6 Greave from
Malomirovo (after SRBU 2006).
168 Aurel Rustoiu
Te greaves were very popular in Greece during the Archaic and Classical periods, being
part of the hoplites equipment
35
. Tey are discovered in archaeological contexts (graves or sanctu-
aries), but are also depicted on numerous monuments or painted vessels, underlining the role and
signifcance of these artefacts in the assemblages of defensive military equipment. In the same
period, and also in the 4
th
3
rd
centuries BC, the anatomic variants of the Greek greaves became
popular amongst Tracian populations from the Balkans or Scythian tribes from the northern
Black Sea region
36
(in the latter area the latest dated examples belong to the 2
nd
century BC
37
).
In the lower Danube basin, at Agighiol and Vraca, and more recently at Malomirovo in Bulgaria,
were found local variants made of silver and richly decorated
38
(Fig.5/36). Aside from that on an
appliqu from the Letnica hoard (Bulgaria) is shown a hunting scene in which a rider wears such
greaves
39
(Fig.5/2), pointing to the role of status symbol of these objects for the aristocracy of the
northern Balkans, together with the remaining elements of the military equipment.
In Greece, greaves continued to be used in the Hellenistic period, but their symbolic role
was modifed. A grave with funerary chamber discovered at Lefkadia in Macedonia, and built around
200 BC or slightly later, is relevant from this point of view. Te burial belonged to the brothers Lyson
and Kallikles, but it was designed to also hold the funerary urns of an entire series of descendants.
On one of the walls is painted a panoply of arms having a Macedonian shield in the middle, fanked
by two swords (a Macedonian one and another of western type), while two helmets and a pair of
greaves are depicted below (Fig.6). On the opposite wall the shield and the two swords are accom-
panied by two body armours and two helmets
40
. Te images of weapons on funerary monuments
from Greece originate from earlier traditions of displaying real objects
41
. Teir painting in a realistic
manner, as in the case of the grave from Lefkadia, indicates that the intention was to present the real
panoplies of arms of the deceased
42
. Tey belonged to a class of lower local warlike aristocrats who
increased their status, accumulated fortunes through military activities and expressed their social
position and identity a few generations after the death of Alexander the Great
43
. Te panoplies of
arms consisting of defensive items (including the greaves) and ofensive weapons were true emblems
of their status within the society. More than that, the weapons depicted in the grave also played a
symbolic role for their descendants, as they reiterated the right to inherit the same privileged status.
Te greaves, together with other weapons, were also shown on a series of public monuments.
Probably the best known example is the weapons frieze from the stoa of the temple of Athena
Nikephoros from Pergamon (Fig.6). Te relief was probably made during the reign of Eumenes II
(after the defeat of Antiochus III at Magnesia in 190 BC) and shows the weapons captured from
the enemy, both the Hellenistic ones and the weapons of Celtic mercenaries hired by the Seleucid
king
44
. Tey were represented in a realistic manner, the military equipment being easily recognizable
in detail. Amongst the well known and most relevant examples belonging to the La Tne panoply
of arms can be mentioned: a helmet having a morphology similar to the one from Batina and
belonging to the same type as the helmet from Ciumeti; the typical Celtic oval shields with iron
bosses; the chainmails with a closing system identical to those discovered in the Balkans (Fig.7) etc.
35
SNODGRASS 1964, 88; SNODGRASS 1967, 58.
36
TELEAG 2008, 249251, Karte 43; ERNENKO 2006, 98105.
37
ERNENKO 2006, 105 no.694.
38
See for example BERCIU 1974, 5255, Fig.89; KULL 1997, 291292,Fig. 46/13; TORBOV 2005, 59,
167, 193, Pl.8, 21; SRBU 2006, 89 Fig.59/2.
39
KULL 1997, 291 Fig.4/12; SRBU 2006, Fig.53/1.
40
SAKELLARIOU 1983, 150151 Fig.9697; POLITO 1998, 7576 Fig.34.
41
POLITO 1998, 97.
42
POLITO 1998, 76.
43
It is signifcant that in the royal cemetery from Vergina such images are missing, and real weapons were placed
in graves. See also POLITO 1998, 77.
44
A synthesis of the current debates regarding the dating of the monument from Pergamon in POLITO 1998,
9195.
169 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
In comparison with the frequency of other types of weapons shown on the weapons frieze from
Pergamon, the greaves were seldom depicted (Fig.6). Tis diference may suggest a selective use
of them, only by certain individuals, probably high rank ofcers. A similar phenomenon has been
noted in the Republican Roman army when only centurions and superior ofcers worn greaves
45
.
Fig. 6. Detail of the painting on the wall of the grave belonging to brothers Lyson and Kallikles from Lefkadia
above (after SAKELLARIOU 1983); fragment of the weapons frieze from Pergamon, on which a pair of greaves is
depicted bellow (after BOHN 1885).
45
FEUGRE 2002, 76.
170 Aurel Rustoiu
1
2
3
4
5
6
Fig. 7. Pieces of military equipment and their representation on the weapons frieze from Pergamon. 1 Helmet
from Batina, Croatia (after SCHAAFF 1988). 2 Shield-boss from Fntnele-Dealul Popii, Transylvania
(after RUSTOIU 2008). 3, 4 Closing systems of some chainmails from Smochan (3) and Trnava (4), Bulgaria
(after TORBOV 2004). 5, 6 Pergamon (after BOHN 1885).
171 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
Te monument from Pergamon is also important for the chronological aspect of this
discussion. Its decorative panels illustrate a large range of weapons and military equipment,
Hellenistic and Barbarian, some of them older but still in use at the beginning of the
2
nd
centuryBC, others new and archaeologically documented up to the end of the 2
nd
century
or the beginning of the 1
st
century BC.
In conclusion, returning to the warrior buried at Ciumeti, it has to be noted that the
funerary inventory points to his belonging to a warlike elite displaying well defned and visible
signs of status. Still, these have to be interpreted from two diferent perspectives.
Te chainmail and the helmet decorated with a bird of prey were symbolic elements
designed to set him apart within the group of warriors from both its own community and on a
wider area in the Carpathian Basin. Te remaining graves with weapons from Ciumeti (no.9
and 12) contain standard panoplies of weapons of the period, commonly encountered in other
cemeteries from the Carpathian Basin or other areas in temperate Europe: sword (sometimes
with the chain-belt), spear head and shield
46
. For this reason the military equipment of the
mentioned deceased can be considered insignia of a chieftain having a signifcant authority in
his community, and perhaps even on a larger area.
On the other hand the greaves were also symbols of his rank, but of diferent nature
than the local traditional equipment. It may be presumed that during his peregrinations in the
eastern Mediterranean, and the military actions in which he was involved, the warrior from
Ciumeti, as head of a unit of mercenaries, must have compared himself with the Greek ofcers
fghting alongside him. Aiming to be perceived as equal to these ofcers (perhaps also merce-
naries hired by the same master), he adopted the insignia of the prominent military function
which were comprehended and acknowledged as such by his Greek colleagues.
Lastly, it has to be noted that in the 50 years which passed since the discovery, thegrave
with helmet from Ciumeti continues to determine numerous scientifc debates and to attract
the public interest whenever it is presented in exhibitions, catalogues or books of general interest,
due to its spectacular inventory.
2. Te Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group in Transylvania. Old and new discoveries
Nearly four decades ago Z.Woniak noted the spread of some cremation graves containing
panoplies of weapons consisting of swords of La Tne type, spears, shields and curved daggers
(sometimes decorated) on the territory of today Bulgaria (mainly in the north and north-west) and
Romania (mainly in Oltenia). In many cases the inventories also contained horse-bits of local type,
indicating that the graves belonged to riders. Te entire phenomenon was named Padea-Panagjurski
kolonii and was dated mainly to the 2
nd
1
st
centuries BC
47
. Still it was noted that during this period
some elements of the funerary rite and ritual were diferent from a zone to another (tumuli in
north-western Bulgaria, cremation graves in pit, sometimes with the burnt remains placed in urns in
Oltenia etc), suggesting the existence of diferent traditions and ethnic origins of the members of the
warlike elites which used an otherwise unitary, typologically and functionally, military equipment.
Later discoveries revealed that the mentioned phenomenon was extended over a wider
area, including both banks of the Danube in the Iron Gates region, areas in western and southern
Muntenia, and south-western Transylvania
48
.
46
ZIRRA 1967, 2428 (Grave 9 complete panoply), 2932 (Grave 12 only a sword).
47
WONIAK 1974, 74138; WONIAK 1976, 388394. It was later noted that sometimes the military
equipment also contained helmets and chainmails: RUSTOIU 1994a, 3435; RUSTOIU 1996, 36, 147150 etc.
48
RUSTOIU 1994a; RUSTOIU 1994b; SRBU/RUSTOIU 1999 (with bibliography); RUSTOIU 2002,
1123; RUSTOIU 2005, 110 Fig.1; RUSTOIU 2008, 147 Fig.73 (distribution map).
172 Aurel Rustoiu
1
2
3
0 7
cm
(1, 2)
Fig. 8. 1 Curved dagger from Deva (after BAJUSZ 2005). 2 Curved dagger from Berghin
(drawing A. Rustoiu). 3 Iron horse-bit from Media (photos S. Berecki).
As concerning the fnds from Transylvania, they consist of several burials identifed on
themiddle Mure basin: cremation graves in pit at Teleac
49
, Blandiana
50
and Trtria
51
, to which
49
MOGA 1982; RUSTOIU 2005, 112113 Fig.68.
50
CIUGUDEAN 1980.
51
CIUGUDEAN D./CIUGUDEAN H.1993.
173 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
were recently added those from Hunedoara
52
, or tumuli at Cugir
53
and Clan
54
. During the last two
decades I have shown that these burials concentrated in south-western Transylvania are later dated
than the Celtic horizon (La Tne B2C1) in the region. Tis fact may indicate a northward migration
of a warlike elite from areas south of the Carpathians, which replaced the Celtic domination in
Transylvania and later led to the appearance of the Dacian Kingdom. Tese burials are located in
the vicinity of some Dacian settlements, sometimes fortifed, and the ceramic inventories are local
55
.
Te publication of certain older and previously unpublished discoveries, as well as the graves
more recently uncovered across the entire area of the Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group, enriched
the archaeological dossier and led to the appearance of some new contributions to this subject
56
.
Archaeological repertoire of Transylvania can be also enlarged through an analysis of the information
concerning older discoveries and a re-evaluation of the recent ones, which are further discussed.
Te recent publication of the archaeological notes of Istvn Tgls, a collector from
Turda who worked in the second half of the 19
th
century and at the beginning of the 20
th
century,
facilitated the recovery of some important scientifc data. Te Turda collector assembled a reper-
toire and drew numerous sketches of many artefacts from various Transylvanian collections or
collected by himself from some archaeological sites. A part of these fnds ended in some of the
modern museums, but others were lost forever
57
.
Amongst the fnds which in the last quarter of the 19
th
century were in the collection of
Gbor Tgls from Deva (a gymnasium teacher, historian, archaeologist and collector of antiquities;
despite the similar surname the two collectors were unrelated)
58
was a curved dagger discovered in
the same locality and having the morphological characteristics of a sica
59
(Fig. 8/1). Te presumably
lost dagger (perhaps it still exist in the older collections of the Museum of Deva?) preserved a part
of the scabbard (on about 20 cm of the blade). Te total length of the artefact was of 50 cm, being
amongst the largest daggers of this type. Te piece from Deva has numerous analogies inthe area of
the Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group. Te shape of the hilt is also encountered on other examples
discovered in graves from Cetate
60
in Oltenia, Trnava
61
and Vinograd
62
in Bulgaria, all of them being
dated to the LT D1. Te perfect state of conservation, according to the drawing made by I.Tgls,
as well as the presence of the scabbard, suggests that the dagger probably belonged to afunerary
52
SRBU/LUCA/ROMAN 2007.
53
CRIAN 1980; RUSTOIU 2008, 161162, Fig.81.
54
RUSTOIU/SRBU/FERENCZ 20012002.
55
RUSTOIU 1994a, 35; RUSTOIU 1994b; RUSTOIU 2002, 2540; RUSTOIU 2005; RUSTOIU 2008,
142163 etc.
56
ERBNESCU 2006, 168171; TORBOV/ANASTASSOV 2008; ANASTASSOV 2011, 230231 Fig.1112;
BONDOC 2008; BONDOC 20082009 etc. See mostly UCZKIEWICZ/SCHNFELDER 2008, with important
comments regarding the entire phenomenon. Te recently recovered artefacts coming from destroyed graves from
Hrtkovci, in the vicinity of the Scordiscian settlement at Gomolava (a sword, a curved dagger decorated with face-to-face
birds of prey on the blade, spear heads, a Tracian horse-bit, chariot parts similar to those discovered in tumulus 2 from
Cugir, late Republican bronze vessels etc), can be ascribed to the Padea Panagjurski kolonii group. Tey illustrate the
westward extension of the authority of the Dacian Kingdom under Burebista. See DAUTOVA RUEVLJAN/VUJOVI
2006, Fig.: 24; 29; 50; 5253; 54; 63 etc, with numerous errors regarding the dating and cultural identifcation.
57
BAJUSZ 1980; BAJUSZ 2005.
58
See WOLLMANN 1983, 262; RUSTOIU 1991.
59
BAJUSZ 2005, 134 no.69, Fig.18/141/3. During the last years several curved knifes from pre-Roman Dacia
were published, completing the repertoire of discoveries. Still, some of these pieces are not curved daggers from a
morphological and functional point of view. For example amongst the artefacts coming from Slaj, and published by
POP/BORANGIC 2009, only the piece from imleu Silvaniei (op. cit., Fig.2/1) is a true sica. For the morphology
and functionality of the curved daggers see RUSTOIU 2007a.
60
NICOLESCU-PLOPOR 19451947, 19, Pl.3/6.
61
THEODOSSIEV/TORBOV 1995, Fig.21.
62
UCZKIEWICZ/SCHNFELDER 2008, Fig.24.
174 Aurel Rustoiu
inventory. Around Deva were documented numerous traces of habitation from thesameperiod of
the 2
nd
1
st
centuries BC (the fortress from Cozia Piatra Coziei and probably theone from Deva
Cetate are the most signifcant)
63
which may sustain this hypothesis.
Another curved dagger (sica) comes from Berghin (Alba County). Te piece was
identifed in the Museum of Sighioara and belonged to the old collections accumulated in the
19
th
century
64
(Fig.8/2). Te blade is fragmentary and has blood channels
65
. Te hilt was broken
in ancient times, but a part of the guard is still preserved. Te preserved length of the piece is
of 20 cm. Tis dagger probably was also part of a funerary inventory. Te hilt might have been
damaged when the weapon was ritually bent before being placed in grave, as it is the case of
the fnds from Rast
66
in Oltenia. From Berghin are known, from various plots, Dacian ceramic
fragments, a Greek coin, a Roman Republican denarius and an attachment of a situla of E 18
type, which may suggest the existence of some settlements from the 1
st
century BC
67
.
From Media comes an assemblage of iron objects discovered in 1891, which could have
belonged to some funerary inventories. Tey are preserved in the Brukenthal Museum Sibiu
68
.
Amongst them is a Tracian horse-bit and fragments belonging to another similar piece
69

(Fig.8/3). Te horse-bit was frst published by V.Zirra
70
and then by W.M.Werner
71
, whereas
the fragments of the second piece remained unknown. W.M.Werner included the horse-bit from
Media in the XVI type (Hebelstangentrensen mit zweiteilingen Mundstck), variant 3 (birnenfr-
miges Seitenteil). Te lateral rings were decorated with incised lines, similarly to some pieces from
Bulgaria
72
. Te examples belonging to this type are the most frequent in funerary inventories from
the area of the Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group
73
. Te artefacts from Media might have come
from diferent graves, or from a single one. In certain situations, for example in the tumulus 2 from
Cugir or in the tumulus from Clan, in the same grave were placed horse-bits from many horses
74
.
Te older or more recent discoveries from Piatra Craivii (Craiva, Cricu commune, Alba
County) indicate the existence of a small familial cemetery, similar to the one from Cugir, close to
the well-known Dacian fortress. Some fnds belonging to a burial were recovered at the end of the
19
th
century. Te inventory included, according the reconstruction recently provided by C.I.Popa,
a long sword and two spear heads
75
. Very probably from the same grave comes a curved dagger
having an intricate decoration on the blade
76
(Fig.9/1). Te decoration has close analogies on a
curved dagger discovered in a grave from Mala Vrbica-Ajmana
77
(Fig.9/2), on the right bank of the
Danube, in the Iron Gates region, and on another coming from Popitsa
78
in north-western Bulgaria
(Fig.9/3). Te structure of ornamentation indicates the distribution across a wider area of an elabo-
rated iconographic repertoire, having symbolic and ideological meanings specifc to the mentioned
warlike elites. Te widespread distribution of these symbols was determined by the mobility which
63
GHEORGHIU 2005, 33 no.33, 3637 no.43.
64
Unpublished. Museum of Sighioara, inv. no.598.
65
Multiple blood channels, although rarely encountered, can be also seen on other daggers, for example on a
piece from Komarevo, in Bulgaria: TORBOV 2005, 693694, Pl.1/2.
66
TUDOR 1968.
67
GHEORGHIU 2005, 26 no.8.
68
An iron bridle and a disk published by NESTOR 19371940, 177178, Fig.7/12.
69
Brukenthal Museum Sibiu. Information and drawings by S.Berecki to whom I would like to thank.
70
ZIRRA 1981, 128 Fig.5/3.
71
WERNER 1988, 9192 no.297, Pl.46/297.
72
TORBOV 2005, 696 Pl.3/1.
73
RUSTOIU 2002, 5153, Fig.36 (distribution).
74
RUSTOIU 2002, 52.
75
POPA 2008.
76
RUSTOIU 2007b, 8384, Fig.1/1.
77
STALIO 1986, 33, Fig.42.
78
TORBOV 1997, Pl.3/1; TORBOV 2005, 695 Pl.2/3.
175 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
characterised this group, but also by the mobility of the craftsmen who followed the aristocratic
courts and created the entire panoply of arms and the prestige insignia of the military elite.
1
2
3
4
0 5
cm
(1-3)
0 5
cm
(4)
Fig. 9. Curved daggers with decorated blade from Craiva Piatra Craivii (1), Mala Vrbica-Ajmana (2) and
Popitsa (3); iron brooch from Craiva Piatra Craivii (4) (1 after RUSTOIU 2007b; 2 after STALIO 1986;
3 after TORBOV 1997; 4 after RUSTOIU/GHEORGHIU 2009).
Te older or more recent discoveries from Piatra Craivii (Craiva, Cricu commune, Alba
County) indicate the existence of a small familial cemetery, similar to the one from Cugir, close to
the well-known Dacian fortress. Some fnds belonging to a burial were recovered at the end of the
19
th
century. Te inventory included, according the reconstruction recently provided by C.I.Popa,
176 Aurel Rustoiu
a long sword and two spear heads
79
. Very probably from the same grave comes a curved dagger
having an intricate decoration on the blade
80
(Fig.9/1). Te decoration has close analogies on a
curved dagger discovered in a grave from Mala Vrbica-Ajmana
81
(Fig.9/2), on the right bank of the
Danube, in the Iron Gates region, and on another coming from Popitsa
82
in north-western Bulgaria
(Fig.9/3). Te structure of ornamentation indicates the distribution across a wider area of an elabo-
rated iconographic repertoire, having symbolic and ideological meanings specifc to the mentioned
warlike elites. Te widespread distribution of these symbols was determined by the mobility which
characterised this group, but also by the mobility of the craftsmen who followed the aristocratic
courts and created the entire panoply of arms and the prestige insignia of the military elite.
Recently another funerary inventory was also recovered from Piatra Craivii. Te assem-
blage consists of a spear head, a curved dagger, a late La Tne (Vincovci type
83
) brooch and a hybrid
brooch, all of them made of iron. Te inventory might have included a long sword of La Tne
type, probably lost
84
. Te hybrid brooch is chronologically very important (Fig.9/4). Te spring
and the bow are morphologically similar to those of the Jezerine brooches, whereas the shape of
the foot and catch-plate is encountered on the late La Tne brooches. Due to these morphological
characteristics the brooch from Piatra Craivii cam be dated to the end of the 1
st
century BC, the
respective grave being one of the latest dated funerary discoveries of this kind, thus representing a
chronological reference point for the end of the Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group in Transylvania.
Lastly, the recent discoveries from Malaja Kopanja in Trans-Carpathian Ukraine have to
be mentioned. A series of cremation burials in pit, many of them destroyed, have been found in
the close vicinity of the Dacian fortifed settlement, on Cellenitza site. Teir inventories (Fig.10)
consist of weaponry and military equipment (La Tne swords, spear heads, curved daggers, shield
bosses, a fragment of a chainmail etc), riding equipment (Tracian and Getic horse-bits, buckles,
rings, spurs etc) and garment accessories (the brooches of middle La Tne scheme being important
for dating), which can be ascribed to the frst half of the 1
st
century BC (Fig.10). Graves containing
artefacts belonging to the feminine costume were also found
85
. In another closely located fnd-spot
(Seredni Grunok) were discovered other cremation graves in pit, containing goods of local origin
and others specifc to the Przeworsk culture (including typical weaponry: shield bosses, swords
etc). Tese graves are dated to the second half of the 1
st
century AD and the frst half of the
following century
86
. Tus, despite the summarily published archaeological reports, it can be noted
that the cemetery from Malaja Kopanja began in the frst half of the 1
st
century BC. Te oldest
graves belonged to individuals who used panoplies of arms resembling those from the area of the
Padea-Panagjurski kolonii group. Tis fact may suggest that the appearance of the Dacian fortress
from Malaja Kopanja was determined by the northward expansion of the military elites during
the reign of Burebista. Still, unlike the situation from the rest of Dacia, as it is known today, a
signifcant number of graves containing feminine inventories appear here, pointing to a regional
feature of this cultural phenomenon characterising the northern extremity of the area of the Padea
Panagjurski kolonii group. Later in the 1
st
century AD, in the same region arrived groups of
Germanic populations, bringing artefacts belonging to the Przeworsk culture, and interring their
deceased in the close vicinity of the older cemetery. From this point of view the situation is similar
to the one encountered in the cemetery at Zemplin
87
.
79
POPA 2008.
80
RUSTOIU 2007b, 8384, Fig.1/1.
81
STALIO 1986, 33, Fig.42.
82
TORBOV 1997, Pl.3/1; TORBOV 2005, 695 Pl.2/3.
83
For the type see MAJNARI-PANDI 2009, 238240 and DIZDAR 2003.
84
RUSTOIU/GHEORGHIU 2009; RUSTOIU/GHEORGHIU 2010.
85
KOTIGOROKO 2007; KOTIGOROKO 2011.
86
KOTIGOROKO ET AL. 20002004; KOTIGOROKO ET AL. 20062007.
87
BUDINSK-KRIKA/LAMIOV-SCHMIEDLOV 1990; SRBU/RUSTOIU 2006, 205, Fig.1315.
177 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
5
1
2
3 4
5a
5b
0 5
cm
(1)
0
cm
(3)
Fig. 10. Weapons and horse-bits from the cemetery at Malaja Kopanja (after KOTIGOROKO 2011).
178 Aurel Rustoiu
In conclusion, the re-evaluation of the older or more recent discoveries illustrates a concen-
tration of the funerary contexts of Padea-Panagjurski kolonii type in south-western Transylvania,
more precisely in the surroundings of the centre of power of the Dacian Kingdom prior to and
during the reign of Burebista (Fig.11). At the same time a series of graves indicates the extension
of the phenomenon on distant territories in central or northern Transylvania, up to the upper Tisza
basin, these regions probably being brought under the authority of the Dacian kings.
Chronologically, these
burials probably appeared in
the LT C2, succeeding the
Celtic horizon in Transylvania.
Te majority of the discov-
eries belong to the La Tne D1
sub-phase (from the end of the
2
nd
century to the frst half of
the 1
st
century BC). Te grave
from Piatra Craivii dated to
the Augustan period marks
the end of this phenomenon.
Te military elites from the
northern Balkans, having
diferent ethnic origins and
funerary traditions, created in
the 2
nd
1
st
centuries BC sets
of symbolic elements seeking
to express a privileged status
within their communities.
Amongst these sets the military
panoply, having a typologi-
cally and functionally unitary character, played an important role. In the 1
st
century AD these
elements were modifed. Te elites abandoned the traditional funerary practices and some of
the weapons included in the usual panoply, but continued to use the curved daggers which
probably had an important symbolic role within the local practices. Te later modifcations were
maintained until the conquest of Dacia by the Romans.
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Dan Pop and Z.omcutean (Baia Mare) for
providing information and images of the greaves from Ciumesti, S.Berecki (Trgu-Mure) for
information and photos of the fnds from Media, Florin Gogltan (Cluj-Napoca), Liviu Marta
(Sat Mare), J.Emilov (Sofa) and M.Gutin (Koper) for bibliographic information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANASTASSOV 2011
J. ANASTASSOV, Te Celtic presence in Trace during the 3
rd
century BC in light of new
archaeological data. In: M. Gutin/M. Jevti (Eds.), Te Eastern Celts. Te communities
between the Alps and the Black Sea (Koper/Beograd 2011), 227239.
ANDRONICOS 1984
M. ANDRONICOS, Vergina. Te royal tombs and the ancient city (Athens 1984).
BADER 1984
T. BADER, O zbal din a doua perioad a epocii ferului descoperit la Ciumeti. Stud. i Cerc.
Istor. Veche 35/1, 1984, 8590.
Fig. 11. Map of the Padea-Panagjurski kolonii funerary discoveries
from Transylvania: 1 Berghin (?). 2 Blandiana. 3 Clan. 4 Craiva
Piatra Craivii. 5 Cugir. 6 Deva (?). 7 HunedoaraGrdina Castelului.
8Malaja Kopanja. 9 Media (?). 10 Trtria. 11 Teleac.
179 Commentaria Archaeologica et Historica (I)
BAJUSZ 1980
I. BAJUSZ, Colecia de antichiti a lui Tgls Istvn din Turda. Acta Mus. Porolissensis 4,
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