Bozna | Comuna: Treznea | Judeţ: Sălaj | Punct: La Vraniţă | Anul: 2015
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Instituții și
Persoane implicate:
Persoane implicate:
| Nume | Prenume | Rol | Instituție |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deac | Dan | participant | Muzeul Judeţean de Istorie şi Artă, Zalău |
| Marcu | Felix | participant | Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a Transilvaniei, Cluj-Napoca |
| Cupcea | George | participant | Universitatea "Babeş - Bolyai", Cluj-Napoca |
| De Sena | Eric Charles | participant | Transylvania Alive Association for Cultural Heritage |
Raport:
Beginning and end of the campaign: July 27th-3rd of August 2015.
Felix Marcu and George Cupcea conducted a magnetometry survey over an area of ca. 1.2 hectares on the Vraniţa Hill, assisted by Transylvania Alive field school students, Lauren Hampson and Olivia Seymour. The team also continued walkover surveys on the hill and the surrounding area, still seeking Roman remains that may have been observed by K. Torma and published in the 19th century. The magnetometry survey suggested a number of features below ground surface, including several rectilinear features.
Dr. Marcu obtained a permit to excavate, and during the weeks of July 27 and August 3, we investigated two small areas of interest. The excavation supervisors consisted of E. De Sena and D. Deac, who were assisted by Horatiu Cocis and field school students, Valerie Charbonneau, Lauran Earl, Lauren Hampson, Dara Keller, Annie Lane, Olivia Seymour, and Sean Troyer.
Trenches 1A and 1B, each measuring 5x2 meters with a 1 meter balk in between, are situated in the east-central area of the surveyed area. This area was selected based upon magnetometry results, which indicated an L-shaped feature. Trench 2 is situated at the top of a slope at the eastern corner of the surveyed area, where a distinctive ridge protrudes perpendicularly from the slope and magnetometry indicated a moderately high signal.
Trench 1A (5 x 2 m.) was excavated to an average depth of 35 cm and a maximum depth of 65 cm without encountering sterile soil. Topsoil (SU 1) was 12-20 cm thick and contained many small examples of cultural material, primarily Hallstatt, but also modern artifacts, including a rifle shell from WWII. Below the topsoil, from M. 0 - 4,45, was a layer of dense dark brown clay with little artifactual material (SU 2). The exception occurred at the SW end of the trench, where the excavation team revealed fragments of a Gava-style biconical ceramic vessel with a fine, black exterior and a reddish brown interior. SU 3, first noted at the SW end of the trench at a depth of 12 cm and noted between M. 1,5 - 5,0, consisted of a dense artificial layer of yellowish brown clay mixed with crushed fossilized shell, which is abundant on the Vraniţa Hill. There was a small lens of limestone fragments and clay embedded in SU 3 devoid of artifacts between M. 4,5 - 4,7 (SU 4). 1,5 meters at the NE end of the trench were excavated deeper than 35 cm. A layer of yellow clay with sparse shell and dark organic material (SU 5) underlies SU 3 and was investigated in the NE area of Trench 1A. Underlying SU 3 and overlying part of SU 5 was a small area of ca. 0,5 m2 consisting of hard gray clay (SU 6). This likely represented a preserved section of an unfired daub wall as some of the fragments displayed the impressions of reeds or branches. SU 7 is a lens of coarse yellow- brown clay in the N corner of the trench.
Trench 1B (5 x 2 m.) was excavated to an average depth of 40 cm with a maximum depth of 50 cm, without encountering sterile soil. The topsoil (SU 1) was 18-20 cm thick and contained many small examples of cultural material, primarily Hallstatt, as well as modern artifacts and also including a rifle shell from WWII. Below the topsoil was a layer of dense dark brown clay with little artifactual material with an average thickness of 20 cm (SU 2). SU 3 is represented by a ridge at the SW end of the trench identical with SU 3 in Trench 1A, consisting of a dense artificial layer of yellowish brown clay mixed with crushed fossilized shell. Between M. 0,4 - 4,6 was SU 5, the floor of a dwelling consisting of yellowish clay mixed with fragments of fossilized shell; the edge of the floor was encountered on the NE side of the trench, suggesting an ovoid hut whose dimensions are roughly 4 x 3 meters. A post hole with a diameter of ca. 30 cm was revealed in the center of the trench. SU 4 is a small deposit consisting of dark earth excavated within the post hole. A layer of dense yellow clay with abundant residues of organic material (SU 6) was encountered between M. 0 and the edge of the floor; this layer appears to extend below the floor.
Trench 2 (4 x 1,5 m.) was intended to investigate a section of a low ridge that surrounds much of the site as well as a mound that extends some 6 meters from the ridge. Vasiliev demonstrated that the ridges represented a component of the Hallstatt period settlement’s fortification. The topsoil (SU 1) contained some cultural material pertaining to the Hallstatt period. SU 2 is represented by a layer of small limestone rocks within a matrix of dark earth that runs along the ridge; there is a short perpendicular extension at the middle of the trench. To the west of SU 2 to the north and south of the perpendicular extension was a deposit of dark earth (SU 3). Below SU 3, SU 4 is represented by a thin layer of decomposed lime. The deepest level explored, SU 5, consisted of dark brown clay. Hallstatt period ceramics were unearthed in all layers.
Conclusions. The excavations added to our knowledge of the Gava settlement investigated primarily by Vasiliev in the 1980s. The excavation of trenches 1A and 1B revealed the floor of a Gava culture dwelling as well as a section of unfired daub. The fragments
of about half of a biconical container dating to the early Hallstatt period yield a likely date for the dwelling. The deposits encountered in Trench 2 did not reveal impressive evidence of the Hallstatt period fortification.
The excavations did not reveal any evidence of a Roman phase. The walkover surveys, however, identified two or three known Roman watchtowers, two on a parallel hill in the town of Agrij and one on the SE slope of Vraniţa Hill, some 500 meters from the excavated area.
Bibliografie: