LATEST ARTICLES IN STUDIA ANTIQUA ET ARCHAEOLOGICA

Oswald Spengler und der Streitwagen: ein Plädoyer für Universalgeschichte

Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) was one of the most influential philosophers of history between WW I and WW II. His book “The Decline of the West” (1918) made him famous. In this book Spengler attested that the phase of the West as a productive culture is over and that the phase of civilization has started. In the years after the publication of his main work Spengler started to get more and more interested in Ancient History in its broadest sense. He argued against a Eurocentric view of history and suggested to reconsider our common understanding of history and its epochs. In the last part of the paper I try to show how Spengler conceptualized his universal history by the example of a lecture given by him on the war chariot and its influence on world history..

Some Noua settlements without ash-mounds from the Eastern part of Romania (with emphasis on the region of the Bârlad basin)

The aim of this paper is to draw the attention to some Noua settlements for which no ash-mounds were revealed during the excavations. Though, I focus in the first place on the Basin of the Bârlad River, I will also look for parallels in the Eastern part of Romania. A small number of excavations were performed in Late Bronze Age settlements from the Bârlad Basin; in three cases, the small scale soundings revealed levels without ash-mounds. The comparison between layers with and without ash-mounds allowed some preliminary observations to be made, though further reinforcement is needed. I intend to present those particular cases and to bring into discussion some of the remarks the researchers made. Also, an objective of this approach is to establish a starting point of a discussion about Noua settlements without ash-mounds.

Preliminary notes concerning Middle Bronze Ages pottery analysis from Costişa-Cetățuia, Neamț County

The Costișa archaeological culture has been known for more than half a century and it has been categorized as belonging to the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Carpathian area. From the very beginning it was supposed to be the result of local connections with southern Monteoru-type elements and northern ones such as Komariw-Bialy-Potik. This assessment was made on the basis of a comparative analysis of the known archaeological investigation methods (stratigraphy and pottery typology). The present contribution employs another type of analysis of the pottery from the eponymous site. Thus, starting from the archaeological database consisting of seven pottery shards, the following scientific investigations were performed: SEM-EDS analysis, optical spectroscopy, and chemical modules analysis. The aim was to cover all the steps followed during modern pottery investigation, from the archaeological description of the artefacts and the initial macroscopic evaluation, to the integration by the archaeologist of the data obtained from the other types of analysis. The results of these analyses could provide multiple coherent answers regarding the history of a site, the ceramic technology, the relations between the local community and the Monteoru ones.

Greeks, Phoenicians and the alphabet

The invention of the alphabet is still a problem for the contemporary historiography, archaeology and linguistics. This study emphasizes some of the most important aspects of this process. After a critical review of the most important theories, the author takes into consideration the issue of the author and the reason of inventing the vowels. The latter is presented here as a linguistic necessity.

Aspects concernant l’organisation des associations professionnelles dans l’Egypte hellénistique et romain. Règlements statutaires

In this paper we set out to analyze the internal organization of professional associations based on statutory provisions. These statutes include information about how an association was founded, the terms on which different people could be admitted or could leave the group, the duties of the president, the identity of the members of the associations, the regulations regarding the conduct of the members, the mutual assistance given to members in difficulty, the payment of contributions to the functioning of the association, the joint payment of the fees for the right to exercise one’s profession, attending meetings and banquets, as well as the coercive measures imposed on those who break the rules agreed on by statute. The analysis of associative structures based on statutory provisions proves that, in Egypt, these bodies functioned in the same manner even before the Greek and Roman rule.

North Italic settlers along the “Amber Route”

During the late Republic and the early Principate, the area under the direct control of Rome expanded considerably beyond the Alps, including a large portion of the north-werstern Danube basin. The situation offered the Aquileian trading families new opportunities to extend their sphere of activity. In this period, Italic merchants, most of them coming from Aquileian families, settled in the Roman centres along the “Amber Route”, establishing trade relationships with their hometown. The study of epigraphic evidence provides relevant elements in order to define the economic role of these families.

L’origine des légionnaires de Mésie Inférieure. La Ve légion Macedonica à Troesmis

In the last decades the growing number of studies on the origin of Roman soldiers revealed new information concerning the mobility of the legions, the recruitment policy in the Roman Empire and also the role played by soldiers and veterans in the provincial society. The discovery of new sources changed the perception over the Roman army, its mobility and adaptability. In this context, this study analyzes the inscriptions of the Legio V Macedonica discovered at Troesmis in which the origin of the soldiers is clearly stated. The aims of this paper are to identify the legionaries’ origin and to highlight the main aspects of a possible recruitment pattern specific to Moesia Inferior.

Age rounding and social status in Moesia Inferior

The study overall concerns the age-rounding process in the Latin inscriptions, which has triggered the interest of the researchers starting with the 19th century. The first part of this study deals with the age-rounding process in the province of Moesia Inferior, by comparing the data with those provided for other Lower Danube provinces, differentiated on gender. The second part of this study presents the age-rounding process depending on the legal status of the deceased by using Whipple’s Index. The values of age rounding are close to those obtained for the other Lower Danube provinces. It is worth mentioning that there are more ages ending in 0 and 5 than in other digits. Concerning the legal status, the age-rounding process is less accentuated in the case of citizens and militaries

Two inscriptions from Sarmizegetusa revisited

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 19(1): 79-86 Rada Varga, Centre for Roman Studies, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, ABSTRACT The current work deals with two funerary inscriptions from Sarmizegetusa and the identity of their dedicator. Based on text details, as well as on stylistic and functional characteristics of the monuments, we got to the conclusion that the dedicator of the two epitaphs is the same person: Herculanus, imperial verna and adiutor tabularii in the capital of Dacia. Articolul de faţă are ca obiect de studiu două inscripţii funerare de la Sarmizegetusa şi identitatea dedicantului lor. Bazându-ne pe date extrase din conţinutul textelor, precum şi pe caracteristici stilistice şi funcţionale ale monumentelor, am ajuns la concluzia că cele două epitafuri au acelaşi dedicant : Herculanus, verna imperial şi adiutor tabularii în capitala Daciei.   KEYWORDS CIL III 1468, AE 1959 303, libertus, family relations FULL ARTICLE Download PDF (free)

The ambos of the Christian basilicas within the province of Scythia

Considered an element of Oriental tradition, the ambo is a rare presence within the liturgical furniture in the Christian basilicas of this province situated between the Danube and the Black Sea. The archaeological discoveries have underlined the presence of this essential element within the Christian service, mostly in the centres situated along the western Black Sea coast, both Romanian and Bulgarian (Histria, Tomis, Bizone, Topola). Hence, traces of certain ambos in the paving of some Christian basilicas (Histria, Zaldapa) have been discovered, as well as a series of elements from balustrades, made of Proconnesus marble and decorated with Christian symbols (Tomis). This study underlines the presence of the axial, Constantinopolitan ambo, diffused mainly in the 6th century AD.

Quelques considérations sur la configuration de l’espace urbain dans la ville pré-moderne de Iași

The morphology analysis of the pre-modern town in the East-European space is encumbered by the lack of maps and zoning plans, as well as by the small quantity of preserved documentary sources. In the case of Iași, the Russian military maps of the 18th century, together with the General plan of Iași made by the French engineer Joseph Bayardi, creates the base for analysis, corroborated by the historical documentary sources recently edited. The general analysis we carry out considers the origins, emergence, evolution and distribution of the town quarters/cores, the streets configuration as well as the size, distribution and evolution of urban plots. The analysis uses both cartographic and documentary sources, supported by analogies with the similar situations in the rest of Moldavia, which are documented by archaeology, and in Central and Western Europe, when the analogy is appropriate