Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 141-149 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-8 Ioan PISO   ABSTRACT The starting point for the discussion is a newly discovered inscription from Abrud in the ‘Golden Quadrangle’ of the Western Carpathians, recently published by G. Cupcea, F. Marcu and A. Rustoiu. The most important piece of news is that the dedicant, a beneficiarius, refers to himself as a beneficiarius consularis in 163, whereas according to general opinion this title only seems to have been known in Dacia from 168/170 onwards. The author attempts to explain how the title bf. cos. came to be used in a praetorian province. The result is the redating of several beneficiarius inscriptions, including those from Alburnus Maior. REZUMAT Punctul de plecare al discuției îl reprezintă o inscripție recent descoperită de la Abrud în „Patrulaterul de Aur” al Carpaților Occidentali, publicată recent de G. Cupcea, F. Marcu și A. Rustoiu. Cea mai importantă noutate(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 107-133 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-7 Francisco Javier HEREDERO BERZOSA   ABSTRACT One of the most common types of marks on Dressel 20 amphorae before firing, the so-called numeral graffiti, serves as a sample to analyse the production regime of this type of packaging in the Roman province of Baetica. Through this article they analyse the characteristics of these marks and their relationship with Roman numerals, taking into account their origin and evolution, to find relationships with these graffiti. Likewise, through these inscriptions, both the organization and the productive capacity of a pottery workshop are also defined by the dimensions of its drying sheds. REZUMAT Unul dintre cele mai comune tipuri de marcaje pe amforele Dressel 20 înainte de ardere, așa-numitele graffiti numerice, servește ca eșantion pentru analiza regimului de producție al acestui tip de ambalaj în provincia romană Baetica. Prin acest articol, autorul analizează caracteristicile acestor marcaje(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 79-106 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-6 Ángel ALEIXANDRE BLASCO   ABSTRACT Camero Nuevo (La Rioja, Spain) preserves a group of Roman-period funerary stelae featuring anthropomorphic decoration, traditionally interpreted as funerary portraits. This study offers an iconographic and iconological analysis of their most representative elements: the triadic grouping of figures, the bust-like depiction, the emphasis on the head, and the radiate disc. Two of the tombstones, from Ortigosa and Villoslada, depict the figures with female attributions through the schematic representation of breasts. We propose a new interpretation, considering the Celtic substratum and the attested cult of the Matres and other plural female deities in the same area. This analysis offers a deeper insight into the iconography associated with sovereign deities governing both this life and the afterlife, as well as certain dance-related rituals linked to the renewal of nature. REZUMAT El Camero Nuevo (La Rioja, Spania) păstrează un grup(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 65-77 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-5 Lee FRATANTUONO   ABSTRACT The article argues that Virgil’s Aeneid contains subtle allusions to Sextus Pompeius, a rival of Octavian. These references appear in several key episodes, including the storms faced by Aeneas’s fleet, which mirror Octavian’s naval disasters against Sextus. The deaths of Aeneas’s companions, Palinurus and Misenus, are also seen as symbolic of Octavian’s losses, given their names are tied to real-world locations from the conflict. Furthermore, the episode where the Trojan women attempt to burn Aeneas’s ships is interpreted as a metaphor for Sextus’s later attempts to burn his rival’s fleet. The article concludes that Virgil intentionally used these veiled references to depict Octavian’s victory over Sextus, a sensitive topic for Augustan propaganda due to the civil nature of the war REZUMAT Articolul susține că Eneida lui Virgiliu conține aluzii subtile la Sextus Pompeius, un rival al lui Octavian.(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 53-64 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-4 Larisa PECHATNOVA   ABSTRACT The article examines sources that mention a detachment of seven hundred hoplites from the Boeotian city of Thespiae, who, together with three hundred Spartans, took part in the Battle of Thermopylae and died heroically (480 BC).  The author analyzes the reasons for the complete or partial hushing up of the role of the Thespians in the heroic resistance to the Persians. Already in Herodotus, the Spartan tradition completely dominates in his story about this battle. The concentration of attention on the Spartans is explained by the firm intention of Spartan ideologists to glorify the feat of Leonidas and his detachment exclusively, leaving the merits of the Thespians in the shadows. The Spartans’ efforts were not in vain: the European tradition has taken root in the idea of ​​the Spartans as the only heroes of Thermopylae. The article attempts(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 43-51 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-3 Florin MOȚEI   ABSTRACT The main objective of the present study is to bring to light a small treasure discovered in 2014, near the city of Braşov, dated in Halstatt B1 and consisting of four indented links of the Brăduţ type. The treasure is analyzed along with other similar discoveries from Transylvania. The links were researched in order to determine the specific characteristics regarding decoration, weight, dimensions, shape, technology, decoration techniques, and metallographic composition. REZUMAT Principalul obiectiv al prezentului studiu de față este cel de ilustrare a unei mici comori descoperite în anul 2014, în apropierea municipiului Braşov, datată în Halstatt B1 şi formată din patru verigi indentate de tip Brăduţ. Comoara este analizată alături de alte descoperiri similare din Transilvania. Piesele în cauză au fost investigate în vederea determinării caracteristicilor specifice privind decorarea, greutatea, dimensiunile, forma, tehnologia, tehnicile de decorare și(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 23-41 DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-2 Yusuf POLAT, Rahşan TAMSÜ POLAT   ABSTRACT Since prehistoric times, people have preferred to settle near water sources. Because of its importance for human life, water has been given deep meaning in different periods and cultures, considered ‘sacred’ and playing a key role in religious life, becoming the centerpiece of rituals. In the religious life of the Phrygians, one of the Iron Age civilizations in Central Anatolia, water and water sources also occupied a privileged place. However, there is currently a lack of direct information on the relationship of water to the religion and religious practices of the Phrygians. In this article, Phrygian rock monuments, sacred sites and a group of reliefs depicting the Mother Goddess Matar in the form of stelae, and the ritual actions of the goddess called Kybele and Magna Matar, who was revered as the Phrygian Goddess in(…)

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 31(1): 5-21 Guram CHKHATARASHVILI, Giorgi TAVAMAISHVILI, Maia CHICHINADZE, Eliso KVAVADZE, Nikoloz TSKVITINIDZE DOI: 10.47743/saa-2025-31-1-1   ABSTRACT Khutsubani is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the Kintrishi Gorge, offering crucial insights into the mobility of people inhabiting Ajara (Western Georgia) during the Early Holocene period. The site provides valuable information on the paleoenvironment, activities, stone processing techniques, and connections with the Middle East. In 2024, an expedition from the Kobuleti Museum conducted extensive archaeological fieldwork at the Khutsubani settlement. Excavations revealed flint and obsidian tools, remnants of tool production, basalt tools, various types of pits, and more. Through interdisciplinary research, absolute dating was achieved, and the ancient paleoclimatic environment was reconstructed. However, the most important discovery was the artifact connected with fishing and organic remains preserved on it, which indicates the existence of fishing and, presumably, an early stage of weaving in the region, along(…)