The authors’ intention is to bring to the notice of specialists a decorated disc-butted axe recently discovered east of the Carpathians, in the Moldavian Plateau. This type of axe (A1, according to the established typologies), with few known items, is a typical discovery (mainly as a component of hoards or as an individual find) for the Middle Bronze Age from the area west of the Carpathians — the Wietenberg, Suciu de Sus and Otomani-Füzesabony cultures. The microscopic investigations on the decoration techniques prove the ability of the metallurgical craftsmen to handle complex alloys, as well as a refined artistic sense, qualities used to achieve a certain impressive appearance. The corroboration of all available data on this artefact offers new possibilities for revealing the social and symbolic function of the disc-butted axes of the Bronze Age.
Middle Bronze Age
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.