Radu Popa. Studii Și Articole I.

Radu PoPa
Studii i aRticole (i)
Volum aprut cu sprijinul

Asociaiei Culturale Hieronymus, Braov
Consultani: dr. Daniela Tnase, dr. Dana Jenei

Traduceri n limba englez: Delia Maria Tatu, Sebastian Dobrot
Corectura textelor n limba englez: Daniela Marcu Istrate, Sebastian Dobrot
Corectura textelor germane, franceze i maghiare: Gabriele Samietz, Adina Lohmller, Zoltn Katocz
Tehnoredactare, prelucrarea imaginilor: Irinel Merluc
Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a Romniei

Radu Popa. Studii i articole. Editura 2013
ISBN
Radu PoPa
Studii i aRticole (i)
ediie ngRijit de
daniela MaRcu iStRate i adRian ioni
editura
2014
nota editoRiloR
olumul de fa continu reeditarea operei tiiniice a istoricului i arheologului

Radu Popa (1933-1993) prin publicarea a 23 de articole editate n intervalul
1965-1993. Spre deosebire de volumul anterior (La nceputurile evului mediu
romnesc, Alba Iulia, 2008), care respecta o selecie fcut de Radu Popa, n acest
volum selecia aparine editorilor.
Articolele sunt grupate tematic astfel: 1. Cercetri n ara Haegului. 2. Materiale
arheologice. 3. Studii generale. n prima parte am inclus acele studii despre ara
Haegului care nu au fost publicate n 2008. Partea a doua conine majoritatea
articolelor referitoare la obiecte arheologice, iar la inal sunt grupate lucrri cu
un caracter general, ie c sunt studii sau simple note. Din pcate nu am reuit s
identiicm toate articolele care s-ar i ncadrat n aceast ultim seciune, unele
publicaii iind imposibil de accesat n perioada n care am pregtit volumul.
Trebuie s subliniem faptul c nu am intenionat s realizm o ediie critic, ci
o simpl reeditare a acestor articole, fcndu-le astfel mai accesibile celor interesai.
Din acest motiv am respectat ad literam publicaia originar, opernd n text corecturi
sumare, n mare majoritate de ortograie. Am pstrat de asemenea sublinierile
autorului, marcate prin caractere distincte i am ncercat s pstrm ilustraia.
Aa cum am subliniat i n introducerea volumului din 2008, n arhiva Radu Popa
(oicial i personal) nu se pstreaz forma primar a articolelor de unde s putem
prelua ilustraia, nici desenele i nici fotograiile. n aceste condiii nu am avut alt
soluie dect s ncercm s mbuntim varianta publicat, intervenind doar acolo
unde rezultatul nu a fost mulumitor. Unele desene au fost refcute, cteva fotograii
au fost nlocuite (1 - ig. 2, 6; 13 - ig. 2; 14 - ig. 1, 4, 6, 7; 15 - ig. 3, 4, 6, 9; 18 - ig.
5; 19 - ig. 2-4, 6), iar n cteva cazuri a trebuit s nlocuim fotograiile de sptur
cu desene care relectau aproximativ aceeai situaie (12 - ig. 3; 15 - ig. 2, 5, 8). Am
reuit n felul acesta s pstrm imaginea general a articolelor.
n ceea ce privete notele, am eliminat unele precizri care nu mai erau de
actualitate i am completat trimiterile la lucrri care n momentul respectiv se alau
sub tipar (de exemplu cele din articolul referitor la biserica din Streisngeorgiu, la
monograia rii Haegului etc.). Am ncercat s eliminm abrevierile din trimiterile
bibliograice, prefernd titlul ntreg pentru periodice.
Articolele publicate n limba romn sunt nsoite de o traducere n limba englez
(dar ilustraia a fost paginat doar n varianta romneasc), iar articolele publicate n
francez sau german au fost preluate ca atare.
Braov, 24 martie 2014
editoRS note
he present volume continues the republishing of the scientiic work of the historian
and archaeologist Radu Popa (1933-1993) by reprinting 23 articles written between
1965 and 1993. Unlike the previous tome (La nceputurile evului mediu romnesc, Alba
Iulia, 2008), which followed a selection made by Radu Popa, in this volume the selection
belongs to the editors.
he articles are thematically grouped as follows: 1. Studies concerning the Land
of Haeg. 2. Articles regarding archaeological artefacts. 3. Assorted articles. In the
irst part, we included those studies pertaining to the Land of Haeg that were not
published in the 2008 volume. he second part includes almost all studies focused on
archaeological artefacts while the last part consists of varied works, be them studies or
simple notes. Unfortunately, we could not recover all the articles that would belong in
this last category, since some publications could not be accessed in the timeframe of this
volumes preparation.
We must underline the fact that we had no intent to publish a critical edition, but only
to reprint these articles, thus allowing the interested parties a better access to them. For
this reason we followed to the letter the previously published text, making only minor
modiications, generally because of the orthography currently in use. Weve retained the
authors own highlighting, marked through distinct characters, and weve tried to be
true to the original illustration. However, as weve already stated in the foreword of the
2008 volume, the Radu Popa archives oicial or private alike do not preserve the
original documentation of the articles, so we could not recover the initial illustration
drawings or photographs. As such, our only option was to try to improve the published
variant, making changes only when the result could not be considered satisfying. Some
drawings had to be redone, several photographs had to be replaced (1 - ig. 2, 6; 13 - ig. 2;
14 - ig. 1, 4, 6, 7; 15 - ig. 3, 4, 6, 9; 18 - ig. 5; 19 - ig. 2-4, 6) and in a few cases we
were forced to substitute the photographs made during the excavations with drawings
illustrating approximately the same situation (12 - ig. 3; 15 - ig. 2, 5, 8). his way we
ensured that all articles preserve their original design.
Regarding the notes, weve removed some out-of-date comments and weve improved
the references to works that at the time were not published yet (such as the article about
the church in Streisngeorgiu or the Land of Haeg monograph). In the bibliographical
references unlike the originally published text weve tried to use the whole title for
the diferent publications.
he articles initially published in Romanian are accompanied by an English translation
(although the igures appear only in the Romanian variant). he articles written from
the start in French or German are published as such, with no English translation.
Braov, 24 martie 2014
ceRcetRI
N ARA HAEGULUI I.
cetile din
aRa Haegului *
eche i nsemnat ar romneasc din sudul Transilvaniei, ntinzndu-se de-a

lungul cursului superior al Streiului i al aluenilor si, cu limite naturale
precizate de masivele muntoase ce-l nconjoar, Haegul continu s reprezinte pentru
istoriograia noastr medieval, sub multe aspecte, o zon puin cunoscut. Izvoarele
scrise de care dispunem ofer pentru secolul al XIII-lea doar dou-trei puncte de
reper i prin urmare permit o reconstituire istoric n cea mai mare parte ipotetic.
Pentru veacul al XIV-lea tirile se nmulesc i reconstituirea devine astfel sensibil
mai detaliat, dei n multe privine nc lacunar. Abia pentru secolul al XV-lea
dispunem de suiciente informaii pentru cunoaterea temeinic a istoriei locale.
Toponimia haegan a fost pus la contribuie pentru reconstituirea unora dintre
aspectele locale ale nceputurilor Evului Mediu, printre rezultatele mai importante
iind cele referitoare la oglindirea fenomenelor de istorie social n rspndirea
anumitor nume topice sau legturile dintre onomastica veche romneasc de pe cele
dou versante ale Carpailor sudici1. Importantul grup de vechi biserici romneti
din piatr, conser vate n aceast zon, a fost la rndul su obiectul unor studii
orientate prevalent n direcia istoriei de arhitectur i de art2, valoriicarea acestor
mrturii pentru cunoaterea istoriei social-politice a romnilor haegani din secolele
XIII-XIV, vreme din care dateaz monumentele, rmnnd a i fcut de aici nainte.
La nceputurile cercetrilor arheologice pe care le-am ntreprins n ara
Haegului, respectnd o metod despre care a fost vorba mai pe larg cu alt prilej,
aceea a reconstituirilor regresive din cuprinsul aa numitelor ri medievale
romneti3, ne propunem prezentarea i luarea n discuie a unui alt grup de
monumente, cetile haegane sau, ntr-un sens mai larg, fortiicaiile medievale din
ara Haegului. Obiectivele de care ne ocupm sunt n bun parte cunoscute, dar
1.
2.
3.
I. Conea, Basarabii din Arge. Despre originea lor teritorial i etnic, Bucureti, 1935, extras din
Rnduiala, an I, nr. 2. Cf. i R. Vuia, ara Haegului i regiunea Pdurenilor, n Lucrrile Institutului de
Geograie din Cluj, 1926, p. 55 i urm.
Vezi n special V. Vtianu, Vechile biserici de piatr romneti din judeul Hunedoara, n Anuarul
Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice. Transilvania, Cluj, 1930 i mai nou n sinteza aceluiai, Istoria artei feudale
n rile romne, I, Bucureti, 1959. Cf. de asemenea V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti,
1968. Pentru pictura bisericilor haegane, cu datri foarte timpurii, vezi I. D. tefnescu, La peinture
religieuse en Valachie et en Transylvanie depuis les origines jusqu au XIXe sicle, Paris, 1932.
R. Popa, Cnezatul Marei. Studii documentare i arheologice n Maramureul istoric, Baia Mare, 1969, p. 5-6,
precum i n capitolul introductiv al lucrrii noastre ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti,
1970.
Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, XLI, 1972, 3, p. 54-66
1.
10
CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI
ele nu s-au bucurat nc, cu dou excepii azi depite4, de o publicare propriu-zis
n literatura de specialitate.
mprejurarea potrivit creia interesul artat pn acum cetilor din Haeg s-a
manifestat prin considerarea individual a monumentelor respective, desprinse din
contextul de istorie social-politic, tratate independent de particularitile geograice
locale i totodat desprinse din grupul cetilor haegane, neles ca un ansamblu
coerent, a mpiedicat n mod practic valoriicarea acestor mrturii pentru istoria
regiunii. Dar n realitate i faptul nu mai trebuie demonstrat cetile medievale
nu i-au fcut apariia n afara unor stricte condiionri. Mai mult dect la oricare
alt gen de monumente, data construciei, locul ales, apartenena sau forma cetilor,
au reprezentat relexul unora dintre cele mai intime particulariti ale mecanismului
social-politic dintr-o regiune dat. Considerarea cetilor din Haeg ca un ansamblu
de monumente, iecare cu semniicaia sa dar toate determinate de realitile istorice
locale, poate contribui la precizarea etapelor i a formelor speciice de evoluie a
societii haegane. Acestea sunt aspectele pe care vom ncerca s le tratm n
paginile urmtoare.
Dup cum este cunoscut, cea mai veche meniune din izvoarele medievale
referitoare la ara Haegului dateaz din 1247 i se al n celebra Diplom a
cavalerilor Ioanii. Ea oglindete, dei n forme greu de reconstituit, o anumit
legtur, probabil i cu aspecte politice, ntre ara Haegului i formaiile statale de
la sud de Carpai, de pe teritoriul Olteniei5.
Urmtoarea meniune documentar este cu trei decenii mai trzie, din 1276 i
se refer la un Petru comite de Haeg6. Precizm c la nceputurile organizrii sale
politico-administrative n cadrul regatului medieval maghiar, ara Haegului este
desemnat cnd drept comitat, cnd drept district, pentru ca abia ulterior regiunea
s-i deinitiveze statutul de district al comitatului de Hunedoara7. Oricum,
pomenitul comite Petru era, n acelai timp i n primul rnd, mare comis al curii
regale8, el iind deci un nalt dregtor din preajma regelui, cu o nsrcinare special
n ara Haegului.
Cea mai veche cetate medieval de piatr cunoscut azi n regiune, castrul regal
de deasupra localitii Haeg, trebuie pus n legtur cu aceast meniune. Pentru
datarea nceputurilor ei n deceniul opt al veacului al XIII-lea pledeaz i o alt
mprejurare. n primii ani ai domniei lui Ladislau IV Cumanul s-a produs aciunea
voievodului Litovoi, de airmare a independenei i de ocupare a unor regiuni
innd de autoritatea regal, urmat la scurt vreme de expediia militar care s-a
ncheiat cu nfrngerea i uciderea voievodului din Oltenia i cu luarea n prinsoare a
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Este vorba de prezentrile succinte fcute n urm cu opt decenii cetii Col i turnului de la Crivadia de
ctre Szinte Gbor, cu planuri i desene bune dar cu datri eronate; cf. mai jos notele sub monumentele
respective.
Documenta Romaniae Historica, B, ara Romneasc, vol. I, p. 4.
Documente privind istoria Romniei., C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 179, o traducere incomplet
dup un regest din Hurmuzaki, Documente, I, p. 410, ntemeiat pe o transcriere din 1291. Titlul exact al
personajului este Petrus magister agasonum nostrorum comes de Haczak, cf. ntz Geza, Die Baukunst
Transsilvaniens im 11.-13. Jahrhundert, n Acta Historiae Artium, tom XIV, Budapesta, 1968, p. 167.
Pesty Frigyes, Az eltnt rgi vrmegyk, vol. I, Budapesta, 1880, p. 9. La 1390 era nc vorba de comitatus
et districtus Hachsak; cf. Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a Hunyadiak korban, vol. V, Budapesta,
1913, p. 45-46.
Vezi nota 6.
fratelui su Brbat9. Pe temeiul relatrilor diplomei acordate n 1285 conductorului

expediiei, aceasta din urm a fost datat la 127710. Pe de alt parte, dei izvoarele
documentare referitoare la campania mpotriva lui Litovoi precizeaz c teritoriile
dependente de coroana maghiar pe care le-a ocupat voievodul oltean se alau
dincolo de Carpai, au existat istorici care au socotit ara Haegului ca alndu-se
printre motivele confruntrii sau care au localizat luptele n Haeg11, inluenai
probabil i de existena pe valea Streiului a satului Ru-Brbat atestat prima oar
la un secol dup aceste evenimente.
Dincolo de detaliile discuiei, aciunea n Haeg a comitelui Petru, conlictul

urmat de expediia militar mpotriva lui Litovoi i nceputurile de organizare a
rii Haegului n cuprinsul regatului medieval maghiar, materializate printre
altele n construirea cetii de la Haeg, au fcut parte din acelai moment istoric
i s-au condiionat reciproc. Cetatea se al pe ultima dintre culmile mpdurite ce
formeaz, geograic vorbind, limita de nord a rii Haegului. De la o nlime de
cca 200 m, cetatea domin conluena principalelor trei cursuri de ap ale regiunii:
Streiul, Rul Mare i Galbena sau Frcdinul. Locul ales de constructori permite o
9.
10 .
11 .
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 272. O discuie detaliat asupra
documentului la A. Sacerdoeanu, Comentarii la diploma din 1285 privind pe magistrul Gheorghe, n
Analele Universitii C. I. Parhon-Bucureti, Seria tiine sociale, istorie, 9, 1957, p. 27-43.
Istoria Romniei, vol. II, p. 146-147.
Pentru asemenea opinii n lucrri mai vechi, vezi la A. Sacerdoeanu, op. cit.; cf. de asemenea M.
Constantinescu C. Daicoviciu t. Pascu, Istoria Romniei-compendiu, Bucureti, 1969, p. 128.
Fig. 1.
ara Haegului
hart cu cetile
medievale
11
12
larg privelite asupra ntregii depresiuni, att spre Poarta de Fier, pe unde drumul
venea din Banat, ct i spre izvoarele Streiului pe unde, peste pasul Merior-Bnia,
se ajungea pe valea Jiului. Particularitatea excepional a amplasamentului cetii
const n posibilitatea de a vedea de aici, peste un umr de deal, i nspre nord, de-a
lungul vii inferioare a Streiului pn n valea Mureului.
Din cetate nu s-au mai pstrat dect poriuni de zidrie nconjurate pe trei laturi
de un an adnc de aprare cu traseu semicircular. Diametrul mare al cetii a fost de
cca. 60-70 m. Orice ncercare de reconstituire a planului monumentului pe temeiul
urmelor de ziduri, azi acoperite n cea mai mare parte de moloz i vegetaie, ni se
pare riscant. n orice caz, cetatea a fost de dimensiuni mici, o imagine sugestiv
iindu-ne oferit de un desen din secolul trecut, din epoca n care zidurile erau mult
mai bine conservate, desen ce pare s respecte n linii mari conturul construciilor
chiar dac opereaz cu rvn romantic asupra detaliilor topograice12. Ar rezulta din
acest desen existena unui bastion circular nspre nord, a unui turn-donjon central,
probabil cel din care s-a pstrat un fragment de zid nalt de cca. 6 m (ig. 3) i a altor
construcii mai puin importante pe latura de sud.
Prima meniune documentar a cetii propriu-zise pare a i din anul 1317 cnd
unul dintre cei cinci ii ai lui Nicolaie, iul lui Iwanka din neamul Bolugh (familia
Szechy), rspltii de regele Carol Robert pentru slujbe credincioase, este pomenit
ca Nicolaus de Hatzak comite i castelan al regelui13. Cu toate rezervele exprimate
deja pe marginea meniunii14 sau a acelora care s-ar mai putea formula, faptul c
Nicolae Szechy a participat n acest an la o lupt ante castrum Dewa mpotriva
adversarilor regelui angevin, ce ineau pe atunci n minile lor aceast din urm
cetate, pledeaz pentru calitatea sa efectiv de castelan al nvecinatei ceti regale
din Haeg.
Urmtoarea meniune documentar, de aceast dat sigur, referitoare la cetatea
regal de la Haeg, este de la mijlocul veacului al XIV-lea. n 1360 alm c un
numr de moii coniscate de Andrei Lcki, fostul voievod al Transilvaniei, au fost
alipite domeniului cetii Haeg15. Or, Andrei Lcki a fost voievod al Transilvaniei
ntre 1356 i 135916. Pe de alt parte, Petru de Iara i de Oarda, vicevoievod al
Transilvaniei, poart tot n 1360 i titlul de castelan de Haeg17. De la aceast dat
nainte, meniunile documentare ale cetii se nmulesc iar la 1421 alm despre o
lupt cu turcii petrecut sub castro Haczok18. Episodul a avut loc n toamna anului
1420, n timpul primei incursiuni otomane n aceste pri ale Transilvaniei.
n afar de cetatea regal, la Haeg sau lng Haeg a existat i un domus regis
despre care avem cea mai veche tire din anul 1402 cnd castelanii cetii Haeg
12 .
13 .
14 .
15 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
N. Nagy de Fogaraschi, Ansicht des Hatzeger Tales, stamp din colecia Dr. Emmerich Borger, reprodus
n volumul Siebenbrgen, I, Bucureti, 1943, p. 428.
Gyorfy Gy., Adatok a romnok XIII. szzadi trtnethez s a romn llam kezdeteihez, n Trtnelmi
Szemle, 1964, p. 547.
M. Holban, Despre raporturile lui Basarab cu Ungaria angevin i despre relectarea campaniei din 1330
n diplomele regale i n Cronica pictat, n Studii, I, tom 20, 1967, p. 8-9.
Castrum nostrum de Hathchak; E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria
illustrantia usque ad annum 1400 p. Christ., Budapesta, 1941, p. 144.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, Introducere, vol. I, p. 501.
A Hunyadmegyei Trtnelmi s Rgszeti Trsulat Evknyve, I, p. 60-62.
Hurmuzaki, Documente, I2, p. 515.
judec in Haczak in domo regia19 dar care este cu siguran mai vechi. nc din
1349, regele Ungariei Ludovic I n drumul su prin Transilvania se oprete la Haeg
i acord aici o diplom de ntrire20 iar n anul urmtor, n timp ce vicevoievodul
Transilvaniei participa la campania din Italia, soia lui i avea reedina la Haeg i
ddea de aici porunci n numele soului ei21.
Cu alte cuvinte, dac cetatea regal de la Haeg a avut de la nceput rosturi strict
militare, putnd adposti o garnizoan permanent de cca. 20-30 lupttori, ea nu
a depit niciodat acest caracter. Rolul de centru administrativ al districtului i
de reedin a castelanului, uneori identic cu comitele, alteori un reprezentant al
acestuia, l-a avut de fapt domus regis de la poalele cetii, ce a fost construit foarte
probabil n acelai timp cu cetatea. n acest fel privind lucrurile, credem c acel turris
lapidea pe care regele Matei Corvin l druiete n 1462 iilor lui loan Cnde din
Ru de Mori mpreun cu satul Varalja (Subcetate) de lng Haeg22, nu este altceva
dect chiar fosta cetate regal. Dania nu afecta funcionarea n continuare a centrului
administrativ regal de la Haeg. De altfel, n 1496 este vorba ntr-un document de
castrum... Haczakwara, aparinnd unui descendent al familiei, Mihail Kendefy23.
Prin mprejurrile construirii i prin funcia pe care a ndeplinit-o mai bine de
150 de ani, cetatea regal de lng Haeg are valoarea unui unicat printre cetile
medievale din ara Haegului. Situaia se prezint deosebit pentru alte patru
monumente de care ne ocupm n cele ce urmeaz.
La 20 km vest de Haeg, n colul de nord-vest al rii Haegului, se al cetatea
de la Rchitova. Monument pn acum n mod practic necunoscut, semnalat doar
ca turn de paz ntr-un ghid local24, cetatea de la Rchitova domin centrul actual
al satului de pe un pinten de deal nalt de 70-80 m deasupra vii cu acelai nume.
Cetatea se compune dintr-un turn de piatr cu zidul gros de aproape 2 m, de plan
ptrat, cu latura de 8,40 m, avnd iniial trei sau patru nivele deasupra unei pivniedepozit i dintr-o incint de plan oval, cu diametrele de 45 i 35 m, mrginit de un
val de pmnt, i pe direcia de acces, de un an de aprare (ig. 4-6).
Spturile arheologice iniiate n vara anului 1970 la Rchitova25 nu au dat nc
rezultate care s poat i considerate deinitive. Menionm totui c a fost surprins
armtura din stlpi de lemn a valului i un an de aprare mai vechi, situat la numai
10 m distan de turn, an astupat n momentul amenajrii incintei actuale. Puinele
fragmente ceramice i piese de metal surprinse n sptur se dateaz din secolul al
XIV-lea pn n secolul al XVI-lea.
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
24 .
25 .
Mlyusz Elemr, Zsigmondkori oklevltr, Budapesta, 1951-1958, vol. II1, nr. 1877.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C,Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. IV, p. 491.
Idem, p. 526.
Szabo Kroly, A Kendeiek, n Szzadok, 1868, p. 38; cf. i Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 5253. Satul Subcetate este situat ntre dealul pe care se al castrul regal i rul Strei. Opinia ultimului autor
citat, dup care ar i vorba de un turn oarecare, altul dect castrul regal, este nefondat. Pentru 1496-1499,
Csnki citeaz un document din care reiese c de acest turn a inut din vechime pdurea Balomirului
(op. cit., loc. cit.); compar cu nota urmtoare!
Silva ... balamer vocata ad castrum suum Haczakwara vocatum pertinente; ntz, op. cit., p. 167. Este evident
c documente contemporane folosesc pentru cetatea regal cnd denumirea de turris cnd pe aceea de
castrum, datorit probabil dimensiunilor mici ale cetii.
Octavian Floca, Hunedoara. Ghid al judeului, Deva, 1969, p. 224.
Cercetri organizate de Muzeul Judeean din Deva n colaborare cu Institutul de Arheologie din
Bucureti, sub conducerea autorului. Din colectiv au mai fcut parte Gh. Lazin, C. lonescu i M. Grigore.
13
14
Fig.2.
Cetatea de
la Mlieti,
vedere de
ansamblu
Cea mai veche tire documentar privind Rchitova este din anul 1360 i se
datoreaz unui proces purtat ntre familia cnezial din Densu i nepoii de bunic ai
unui oarecare Costea de-o parte, i o a treia familie cnezial pe care deocamdat nu
ncercm s o localizm, pe de alt parte26. Familia cnezial din Densu, reprezentat
prin Stoyan i Bolyen, iii lui Musana, airm cu acest prilej c satul a fost ntemeiat
de amintitul Costea cu ajutorul lui Musana, tire care ar plasa nceputurile Rchitovei
ca sat cel mai trziu pe la 1310-1320. Ei obin ntrire n stpnirea a dou treimi
din moia Rchitova, moie care, aa dup cum rezult din document, o stpneau
de facto i pn atunci. Densuul se al peste deal de Rchitova, la o distan de 4-5
km, pe o vale paralel i aluent
rului Galbena.
Din
deceniile
urmtoare
posedm cteva tiri care atest
moia Rchitova ca alndu-se n
continuare n stpnirea familiei
cneziale din Densu, mpreun
cu alte sate din aceast parte a
rii Haegului i din nvecinata
vale a Cernei27, dar cetatea nu
este pomenit n nici unul dintre
documentele accesibile nou28.
La o distan de aproape 20
km de Rchitova, n colul de
sud-vest al rii Haegului, la
captul dinspre munte al satului
Suseni innd de nvecinatul Ru
de Mori, se al unul lng altul dou monumente relativ binecunoscute n literatura
de specialitate.
La piciorul ultimelor creste ale Retezatului, exact n punctul n care valea ngust
a Ruorului iese dintre muni, pe un tpan de pe partea stng a apei, se pstreaz o
construcie cu o siluet particular. Este vorba de o biseric sal, de dimensiuni mici,
cu altarul rectangular nclecat de un turn masiv ce cuprinde trei etaje ncoronate
de piramida de piatr a acoperiului29. n ordinea noastr de preocupri, ne limitm
aici la descrierea turnului, de plan aproape rectangular, cu laturile de 7,00x6,80 m,
la al crui prim etaj, compus dintr-o camer spaioas, se ajungea n exterior, pe o
scar de lemn azi disprut, situat pe latura sudic. Al doilea etaj cuprinde o alt
ncpere, cu ferestre pe trei dintre laturi iar deasupra acesteia, nglobnd i spaiul
din interiorul coifului de piatr, se ala o ncpere prevzut cu zece ferestre mici de
tragere. Coiful acoperiului este strbtut de un co de fum care dovedete existena
sobelor n ncperi.
26 .
27 .
28 .
29 .
Hunyadmegyei ... vknyve, I, p. 60-62.

Documenta Valachorum, p. 268, 285 i 321; Zsigmondkori oklevltr,II, nr. 3362 i 5873.
Nici Csnki n a sa foarte amnunit Magyarorszg ... fldrajza,V, nu are cunotin de existena cetii.
Monumentul a fost publicat nc din secolul trecut de Szinte Gbor, Koloszvr, n Hunyadmegyei ...
vknyve, VII, p. 69-73; mai recent, vezi la V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 121-122 i la V. Drgu,
op. cit., p. 25-26.
Pe criterii stilistice, monumentul a fost datat la nceputul veacului al XIV-lea,

epoca n care, n Transilvania au coexistat romanicul trziu i goticul timpuriu30.
ntr-adevr, att altarul de plan rectangular ct i coiful de piatr al turnului
ncadreaz monumentul n grupul bisericilor haegane din a doua jumtate a veacului
al XIII-lea i de la nceputul veacului urmtor, grup din care cele mai vechi
monumente pstrate sunt cele de la Densu, Sntmria-Orlea i Strei.
La cca. 70 m de monumentul n discuie, se al ruinele nc necercetate ale
unei curi nobiliare31, mprejurare ce ne permite s airmm c una dintre funciile
sale a fost aceea de biseric de curte. Precizarea celei de-a doua funcii necesit
prezentarea prealabil a tuturor monumentelor din aceast categorie i de aceea vom
reveni asupra ei mai jos.
Dincolo de apa Ruorului, pe o teras situat pe coasta muntelui la o nlime de
cca 200 m deasupra irului vii, cu o perspectiv larg asupra ntregii pri apusene a
rii Haegului, se al cetatea Col (ig. 8). Avnd un plan aproximativ triunghiular,
an de aprare i dou bastioane adosate zidului de incint, cetatea cuprinde n
curtea interioar un turn-donjon de plan ptrat, cu latura de 7,50 m, construit chiar
pe colul de stnc de deasupra abisului. nalt i azi de cca 12 m, turnul a avut dou
sau trei nivele deasupra unui parter folosit ca depozit (ig. 8). Transformrile pe care
le-a suferit ngreuneaz stabilirea locului n care a fost intrarea iniial i pun sub
semnul ntrebrii existena de la origine a actualei intrri la parter.
n literatura de specialitate, dei a fost subliniat n repetate rnduri existena la
cetatea Col a mai multor faze de construcie, s-a opinat fr excepie pentru nlarea
de la nceput att a turnului-donjon ct i a zidului de incint32. Dar innd seama de
analogia oferit de monumentul de
la Rchitova, de constatarea c zidul
de incint nu a fost esut cu acela al
turnului-donjon, ci numai adosat,
ca i de materialele de construcie
deosebite folosite la zidul de incint
i la zidul turnului, este evident c
din prima faz dateaz doar turnuldonjon. tirile documentare sunt
i de aceast dat destul de srace
i relativ trzii, cu toate c arhivele
familiei Cnde din Ru de Mori,
devenit ulterior Kendefy, stpn a
acestor locuri, sunt cele mai bogate
dintre arhivele familiilor din regiune.
30 .
31 .
32 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, loc. cit.

Semnalate nc de Szinte Gbor, op. cit., p. 74, pe vremea cnd zidurile se pstrau mai bine. Pentru
meniunea documentar a curii, vezi mai jos nota 38.
Szinte, op. cit., p. 74 i urm.; Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 268-269; V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 24. Numai
Csnki airm c iniial a existat doar un turn, transformat n cetate ntre 1501 i 1519, ntemeindu-se
pe modiicarea termenilor folosii de documente (turris n 1501, castrum n 1519, vezi mai jos, precum
i nota 38). Argumentul nu este decisiv, deoarece meniunea din 1501 s-ar putea referi la turnul de pe
altarul bisericii Col i, mai ales, deoarece i pentru cetatea regal din Haeg, aa cum am avut prilejul s
artm, se folosete termenul de turris. Credem c zidul de incint al cetii Col dateaz cel mai trziu
din prima jumtate a veacului XV.
Fig. 3.
Ruinele cetii
regale din
Haeg
15
16
Fig. 4.
Cetatea de
la Rchitova.
Turnul-locuin
cu incinta
mrginit de
val i an de
aprare
La 1359, moia Ru de Mori i alte dou sate innd de ea, coniscate nainte vreme
de la Mihail zis Cnde, sunt napoiate vduvei lui Mihail din porunca regelui
Ludovic33. Coniscarea s-a produs foarte probabil cu doi-trei ani mai devreme, cu
prilejul represiunilor iniiate de Andrei Lcki, voievod al Transilvaniei, mpotriva
feudalitii romneti din ara Haegului, cnd Mihail Cnde i ali cneji romni au
fost executai34. Tot din acest document alm c tatl lui Mihail se numea Nicolae
zis Cnde din Ru de Mori. Acesta din urm, cel mai vechi personaj cunoscut al
familiei, poate i deci plasat pe la anul 1300.
n 1394, alm despre alte dou generaii ale
familiei, Ioan i Cnde, iii lui Cnde, iul lui Mihail35,
deci nepoii i iul celui executat nainte de 1359.
De la aceast dat nainte, tirile privind familia se
nmulesc iar Cndetii cunosc sub Sigismund de
Luxemburg, Ioan de Hunedoara i Matia Corvin, o
ascensiune excepional36.
Abia de la sfritul veacului al XV-lea posedm
informaii documentare referitoare la monumentele
ce ne intereseaz. n 1493 este vorba de un turris
supra possessionem Malomwyz (Ru de Mori), n
1501 se vorbete de rul sub quadam turri Kolcz
nuncupata intra metas possessionis Zyzen... decurrens
(Suseni), iar o cercetare din 1519 pomenete de
domus Ladislai Kendefy in Malomwyz, de domus
Nicolai et Michaelis Kendefy in Koch habita, curia
scilicet nobilitaris i apoi din nou de domus curiaque
nobilitaris Ladislai necnon Nicolai et Michaelis
Kendefy in (possessiones) Malomwyz ac Kolch subtus
castrum similiter Kolch... habita et adiacens37. Primele
dou meniuni care ne sunt accesibile doar prin
intermediul citatelor desprinse din contextul rmas inedit, ar putea s se refere ie
la cetate, ie la turnul de pe altarul bisericii Col38. Meniunea din 1519 se refer
cert la cetate caliicnd-o drept castrum i precizeaz n plus existena a dou curi
nobiliare distincte, una n Suseni, lng care se ala capela cu turn pe altar, a doua n
Ru de Mori, satul originar al familiei. Pe temeiul documentelor mai vechi, epoca
la care familia Cndetilor s-a desprit n dou ramuri distincte se plaseaz spre
sfritul veacului al XIV-lea i nceputul celui urmtor, cnd fraii Ioan i Cnde,
reprezentnd a patra generaie cunoscut a familiei, ncep s apar n diplome ca
avnd drepturi patrimoniale distincte39.
33 .
34 .
35 .
36 .
37 .
38 .
39 .
Documenta Valachorum, p. 143.

M. Holban, Deposedri i judeci n Haeg pe vremea angevinilor, n St udii, 5, an XIII, 1960, p. 151.
Hunyadmegyei ... vknyve, II, p. 21.
Pe lng istoria familiei ntocmit de Szabo K., citat mai sus, vezi i V. Motogna, Familia Cnde n
documentele veacului XIV-XVI, n Revista istoric, 1926, p. 68-80.
Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldraiza, V, p. 51-52.
Vezi i observaiile de la nota 32.
nc din timpul lui Sigismund de Luxemburg cunoatem danii de care beneiciaz doar unul dintre frai;
Szabo, op. cit., p. 26.
Notm de asemenea un document sugestiv din 1511 n care este vorba de un

furt produs prin violen n 1493 n turnul Cndetilor, cnd acestora li s-au luat de
acolo 3000 lorini n bani precum i bijuterii i argintrie n valoare de 400 lorini40.
Al patrulea monument din aceeai categorie se al la Mlieti, nu departe de Ru
de Mori, tot la poalele Retezatului, dar pe latura de nord-est a masivului muntos. i
de aceast dat monumentul este foarte puin cunoscut n literatura de specialitate,
el fcnd obiectul unei atenii mai struitoare abia n urm cu patru ani41.
Cetatea de la Mlieti se al la marginea actual a satului, la captul unui platou
triunghiular determinat de conluena a dou vi. Regsim aici, ca i la Rchitova
sau la Col, acelai turn-donjon masiv, cu laturile de 6,60x6,70 m i grosimea
zidului de 1,35-1,50 m, pstrnd pn azi nlimea de peste 12 m (ig. 2). Turnul
cuprindea, deasupra unui parter-pivni cu pereii ngroai, cel puin patru nivele,
al doilea dintre ele comunicnd cu exteriorul prin intermediul unei ui de pe latura
de vest, la care ducea o scar de lemn azi disprut. Pe paramentele turnului-donjon
se distinge clar c ultimul nivel, cuprinznd fragmente de crmid n zidrie, a fost
adugat ulterior.
n jurul turnului-donjon, un zid gros de 1,20 m, cu traseu circular, conservat
doar pe anumite poriuni, delimiteaz o mic incint cu diametrele de 22/20 m (ig.
9). Zidul de incint, la construirea cruia se remarc folosirea acelorai buci de
crmid, a avut nlimea iniial de cca 6 m dar el a suferit o refacere, cnd s-au
astupat crenelurile vechi i i s-a adugat pe creast o nou poriune de zidrie, pn
la nlimea de 8 m. Pe partea dinspre nord-est a incintei se mai disting urmele unui
turn exterior (nu igureaz n plan) despre care nu se poate deocamdat preciza dac
face parte din prima sau din a doua faz a zidului de incint.
Chiar dac legarea ultimului nivel al turnului-donjon de prima sau de a doua faz
a zidului de incint trebuie amnat pn la efectuarea unor spturi, materialele
diferite folosite n construcie i
exemplele pe care le-am discutat
ne permit s airmm, fr teama
de a grei, c i la Mlieti
turnul-donjon a reprezentat cea
mai veche faz de construcie a
monumentului, urmat n timp
de zidul de incint cu cele dou
etape ale sale. Dac pe traseul
acestuia din urm s-ar descoperi
resturile unui mai vechi val de
pmnt, analogia cu Rchitova ar
i perfect.
n ncercarea de a gsi
informaiile scrise care s poat lmuri istoria monumentului, trebuie s inem
seama de faptul c satul Mlieti se al fa de nvecinatul Slaul de Sus n acelai
raport topograic n care se al Suseni fa de Ru de Mori. Or, la Slaul de Sus,
40 .
41 .
Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 52. Atacul s-a putut produce ie asupra turnului de pe altarul
bisericii, ie asupra cetii.
V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 34.
Fig. 5.
Cetatea de
la Rchitova.
Releveu arh.
C. Ionescu
17
18
suntem informai despre existena unei puternice familii cneziale iar n 1453, cnd
avem prima tire scris sigur despre possessio Malaesd, aceasta aparine tocmai
cnezilor din Sla42. Despre acetia din urm posedm tiri nc din 1360 cnd un
Konztantyn de Zallas face parte dintre cei 12 cnezi romni ce asist ca jurai, la
Haeg, pe vicevoievodul Transilvaniei ntr-un proces privind stpniri romneti din
ara Haegului43.
Un document destul de ciudat, din 1392, se refer la un schimb de moii ntre
doi cnezi nrudii, desemnai ca iind amndoi din Strei-Sngiorgiu (Kendres ilio
Gregorii de Zenthgeorgh i Lachk ilio Nicolai de eadem), localitate situat pe cursul
inferior al Streiului, n care una dintre persoane cedeaz prile sale de stpnire
in possessionibus Zalaspathaka et Fenyalath vocatis in districtu Hathzak existentes44.
Prima moie este Slaul iar cea de a doua, semniicnd n traducere Sub brazi, nu
mai apare sub acest nume n nici un document ulterior, ea putnd i deci identic
cu Mlieti. O anumit rezerv pstrm numai n msura n care cele dou sate
Sla existente azi, -de Jos i -de Sus, apar precizate cu adjectivul respectiv abia cu
ncepere de la mijlocul veacului al XV-lea i astfel, acel Fenyalath de la 1392 ar
putea i numele mai vechi al unuia dintre Slauri.
n poida pomenitului schimb de moii, aceleai persoane cu rudele lor (Kenderes
et Barb, iliis Gregorii nec non Kozta ilio Nicolai, Keneziis de Hattzagh precum i
Laczk ilio Nicola de Zentgewrgy ilio ejusdem Kenderes) sunt ntrite la 1404 n
stpnirea quandam possessionem seu Keneziatum Zalaspataka vocatum, in comitatu
Hunyad existentem45. Documentele ulterioare oglindind ascensiunea familiei, ntr-o
oarecare msur asemntoare celei parcurse de Cndeti, ne intereseaz aici mai
puin. Oricum, cetatea de la Mlieti nu este atestat n documentele din veacul al
XV-lea accesibile nou46.
Interpretate ndeobte ca turnuri de observaie, ca turnuri de paz sau puse n
legtur cu drumurile ce treceau peste munte, monumentele la care ne-am referit,
n cea mai simpl i mai veche form a lor, nu au fost altceva dect turnuri-locuin,
exemplare ale Wohntrme-lor sau donjoanelor izolate cum li spune n literatura
de specialitate, rspndite pe aproape ntreaga suprafa a Europei din primele 2-3
veacuri ale mileniului nostru. Nici turnul de la Col i nici cel de la Mlieti nu
aveau de pzit vreun drum, pentru simplul motiv c cei care s-ar i ncumetat s
treac, clare sau pe jos, peste crestele Retezatului nspre versantul oltean, puteau
foarte bine s o ia pe oricare dintre vile nvecinate, lipsite de turnuri. Nici nu se
poate pune de altfel problema existenei unor garnizoane permanente n aceste
cetui n vremea n care ele iinau doar ca turnuri, ci poate doar a unui paznic,
familiar al cneazului proprietar. Spaiul limitat la dou-trei ncperi suprapuse, lipsa
sursei de ap, atestarea satelor lng care se al turnurile ca iind n veacurile XIV42 .
43 .
44 .
45 .
46 .
Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 109.

Documenta Valachorum, p. 429-430. Ni se pare important faptul c persoane desemnate ca iind originare
din afara rii Haegului stpnesc moii n aceast ar i, mai mult, sunt numite n alte documente
chiar cnezi din Haeg (vezi mai jos). Cazul citat nu este unic. Vom reveni asupra problemei privind
limitele istorico-geograice ale rii Haegului, ntr-un studiu alat n pregtire.
Hurmuzaki, Documente, I2, p. 428. n regestul din Mlyusz, Zsigmondkori oklevltr, II1, nr. 3368, Costea
este desemnat ca iu al lui Jaroslaus.
i de aceast dat ni se pare semniicativ c la Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, cetatea de la Mlieti
nu este pomenit, dovad c lipsesc meniuni asupra ei n documentele inedite consultate de autor.
XV n stpnirea familiilor cneziale precum i analogiile

de care dispunem, pledeaz toate n acest sens.
Cele patru monumente de care a fost vorba au
reprezentat locuine fortiicate, cu caracter temporar,
folosite n momente de primejdie de ctre familiile
cneziale romneti din ara Haegului i totodat ca loc
de pstrare a unor bunuri de valoare deosebit.
n ordinea ireasc a preocuprilor, trebuie s ne
ntrebm sub impulsul crui exemplu i cnd au aprut
n mediul romnesc haegan aceste monumente.
Judecnd dup izvoarele scrise dar i dup
monumentele pstrate, epoca de rspndire n
Transilvania a turnurilor-locuin se plaseaz n a
doua jumtate a veacului al XIII-lea i la nceputul
celui urmtor. Se pare c o contribuie important la
introducerea lor n peisajul arhitecturii transilvnene au
avut-o greavii, ptur conductoare a colonitilor sai. n orice caz, cea mai veche
meniune documentar referitoare la un asemenea turn-locuin privete un turris
lapidea et domus lignea apud turim et curiam circummunitam, desemnate toate i cu
termenul de castrum, stpnite nainte de 1268 la Rodna de un comes Hench mannus
i vndute la aceast dat de fratele su, comitele Rotho47.
Turnul-locuin de la Clnic, din apropierea Sebeului (ig. 10), cu plan
rectangular de 9x12 m, a fost ridicat prin deceniul apte al veacului al XIII-lea
de ctre familia de greavi din care Chyl de villa Kelnuk, cel mai vechi personaj
cunoscut al familiei, apare nc din 1264 ca partizan al regelui tnr tefan V alat
n conlict cu printele su Bela IV48. n imediata apropiere a Clnicului, la Grbova
(Urwegen), se pstreaz un alt turn-locuin (ig. 11), de plan ptrat, cu laturile de
9,60x9,80 m, construit cam n aceeai vreme de o alt familie de greavi49. i aici zidul
de incint a fost adugat ulterior, probabil de comunitatea steasc n vremea n care
aceasta a intrat n stpnirea turnului.
i nobilii maghiari sau feudalii eclesiastici au ridicat asemenea turnuri-locuin.
Monumente reprezentative s-au pstrat, printre altele, la Cheresig lng Oradea,
unde donjonul izolat de plan poligonal construit din crmid este anterior anului
128950, sau la Ciacova, n Banat, unde partea mai veche a cetii atestate la nceputul
47 .
48 .
49 .
50 .
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. X I I I , vol. II, p. 498.

Ibidem, p. 118-119. Documentul este din 1269 dar se refer la evenimente din 1264. Pentru monument,
vezi R. Heitel, Cetatea din Clnic, Bucureti, 1968. Autorul ne-a comunicat c socotete foarte probabil
existena iniial a turnului-locuin izolat, fr incint.
K. Horedt, Zur siebenbrgischen Burgenforschung, n Sdost-Forschungen, Mnchen, VI, 1941, p. 607
i V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 17.
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 19. Datarea se ntemeiaz pe faptul c n 1289 regele Ladislau IV
ntreprindea un asediu la Cheresig (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol.
II, p. 357), iar n anul urmtor acelai rege este ucis prope castrum Kereszeg (Izvoarele istoriei romnilor,
XI, Cronica pictat de la Viena, ed. G. Popa-Lisseanu, Bucureti, 1937, p. 98). Donjonul a fost nc de pe
atunci, foarte probabil, nconjurat de o palisad cu an de aprare. La nceputul veacului XIV, n 1313,
este vorba de castelanul din Cheresig (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol.
I, p. 220), de cucerirea unui castrum din Cheresig de ctre Carol Robert (Idem, p. 295) iar n 1321 este
vorba de castelanul regelui de la Cheresig (Idem, vol. II, p. 4). Fr spturi arheologice este diicil a stabili
dac donjonul a fost ulterior nconjurat de ziduri din piatr i data la care s-a produs aceasta.
Fig. 6.
Cetatea de
la Rchitova.
Latura de est
a turnului
locuin
19
20
Fig. 7.
Cetatea Col.
Releveu
din arhiva
Institutului de
arhitectur
I. Mincu din
Bucureti
veacului al XlV-lea n stpnirea familiei Chaak

(Csnki) este un turn-locuin de plan rectangular cu
laturile de 9x10 m51.
Putem cita aici i un document sugestiv din 1278,
o scrisoare a episcopului din Oradea ctre regele
Ladislau IV, raportnd c Petru iul lui Drug a
distrus cldirile mnstirii din Igged (lng Diosig)
iar pietrele acelora i pietrele pe care le-a drmat
din mnstire precum i pietrele care au fost tiate
din coloanele acelei mnstiri, a pus ... s ie duse n
Diosig unde i-a cldit un turn din pietrele din acele
cldiri52. n aprecierea actului trebuie s inem seama
de faptul c la Diosig, ca i la Cheresig, localiti
situate n cmpie, piatra se gsea cu destul greutate.
Din aceeai categorie de monumente a fcut parte
iniial i cetatea de la Tui, n apropiere de Alba
lulia, a crei construcie a nceput la 1276 sau scurt
53
vreme dup aceea . Nucleul vechi al acestei ceti episcopale este reprezentat de
un turn-locuin54. Numrul acestor exemple s-ar putea nmuli. Mai important ni
se pare faptul c apariia turnurilor i a altor ntrituri construite de ctre nobili a
devenit, n epoca de anarhie care a nsoit ultimele decenii ale dinastiei arpadiene,
un fenomen att de frecvent nct reglementrile din 1291 ale regelui Andrei al
III-lea prevd n mod expres ca ,,s se drme cu desvrire turnurile sau ntriturile
(turres sive castra) ridicate deasupra bisericilor sau nlate n alte locuri, n scop de
vtmare55 iar aa-zisa constituie din 1298 a aceluiai rege prevede i ea drmarea
fortiicaiilor (munitiones et castella) nou cldite fr nvoire regal, precum i a celor
anterioare din care se pricinuiesc sau s-ar putea pricinui pagube, sau a fortiicaiilor
mici ridicate pe biserici i mnstiri56.
Revenind la o regiune mai apropiat de ara Haegului, notm o tire din 1309,
din epoca agitat a nceputurilor domniei lui Carol Robert, dup care n provincia
Sibiului heutonici de partibus illis destruxerunt turreset fortalitia quarumdam nobilium
de partibus illis, quae impediebant bonum statum et pacem provinciae57.
Desigur c nu toate monumentele pe care le-am adus aici n discuie au avut, ie
i numai iniial, funcia de turnuri-locuin cu utilizare temporar, situate distinct
de reedinele familiilor de feudali. Printre ele au fost i turnuri de paz propriu-zise,
ridicate de nobilii ce stpneau locuri de vam, n preajma acestora58, dup cum
51 .
52 .
53 .
54 .
55 .
56 .
57 .
58 .
T. Trpcea, Despre unele ceti medievale din Banat, n Studii de istorie a Banatului, Timioara, 1969, p.
65-66.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. X I I I , vol. II, p. 192-193.
Idem, p. 180.
Gh. Anghel I. Berciu, Ceti medievale din sud-vestul Transilvaniei, Bucureti, 1968, p. 21 i urm., vezi
n special p. 47 i planul la p. 54.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 363 i 507.
Idem, p. 445.
K. Horedt, op. cit., p. 608; cf. i Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. I, p. 142.
Se pare c un asemenea turn, ridicat de familia Gutkeled la Arie, la locul de vam al srii ce cobora
pe Some (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 390-391), a fost
transformat ulterior n cetatea regal atestat n secolul XIV.
altele trebuie s i fost turnuri construite n cuprinsul unor curi locuite permanent,
aa cum sugereaz exemplul citat la Rodna. O mprire pe categorii a acestui gen
de monumente necesit cercetri temeinice i analiza iecrui caz particular, n
contextul tirilor documentare i mai ales a situaiei sale topograice. n ceea ce ne
privete, socotim important faptul c n grupul acestor monumente transilvnene
se gseau, n a doua jumtate a veacului al XIII-lea, destule exemplare care s poat
servi drept model pentru turnurile-locuin ale cnejilor haegani.
Analogiile pe care le putem ncerca nu se limiteaz doar la mediul feudalitii
catolice laice sau eclesiastice, de origine german sau maghiar. Dispunem de un
monument asemntor i n mediul romnesc din Maramure, unde la Onceti,
pe valea Izei, cetatea situat pe vrful unui deal, la cca 3 km de sat, se compune
dintr-un turn-locuin de plan ptrat, cu latura de 7,50 m i dintr-un val de pmnt
cu traseu circular, cu diametrul de cca 60 m (ig. 12)59. Cetatea de la Onceti are
i o form mai veche de existen, dar turnul de piatr dateaz cu certitudine din
prima jumtate a veacului al XIV-lea iar proprietarii ei au fost cnejii din Onceti60.
Asemnarea cu turnul-locuin de la Rchitova este n toate privinele perfect.
Bineneles c nu avem n vedere o legtur direct ntre cele dou monumente, ci
vrem doar s subliniem c n condiii social-politice
asemntoare, de conservare a unei autonomii
mai mult sau mai puin largi n zonele mrginae
ale Transilvaniei, feudalitatea romneasc s-a
manifestat identic.
i pentru c tot am luat n discuie o analogie
din Maramure, putem aminti aici c reedina
fortiicat a bogdnetilor de la Cuhea, distrus pe la
1359, cuprindea n incint o cldire cu dimensiunile
de 9x12 m, deci exact ct turnul-locuin al greavilor
din Clnic. Este adevrat c, spre deosebire de
turnul din Clnic, cldirea bogdnetilor a fost din
lemn i pmnt, pe o temelie din bolovani de ru,
dar grosimea de peste un metru a pereilor ei i
constatarea c parterul a fost folosit ca depozit ofer
sugestii pentru aprecierea nlimii construciei i
reconstituirea elevaiei sale61.
n legtur cu grupul de monumente haegane
la care ne-am oprit, credem c trebuie s lum n
discuie i una dintre cetile rii Romneti,
aceea de la Poenari-Arge. Aa cum s-a airmat
59 .
60 .
61 .
H. Daicoviciu O. Bandula I. Glodariu, Cercetrile de la Onceti, din Maramure, Baia Mare, 1965, p. 8
i 25-26.
Despre cetatea de la Onceti, vezi i R. Popa, ara Maramureului, p. 161-162 i 233-234 precum i Idem,
Noi cercetri de arheologie medieval n Maramure. antierul Srsu, n Studii i Cercetri de Istorie
Veche, 4, tom 22, 1971.
Complexul de la Cuhea publicat de R. Popa M. Zdroba, antierul arheologic Cuhea. Un centru voievodal
din veacul al XIV-lea, Baia Mare, 1966, p. 8 i urm. Am revenit cu precizri n plus n lucrarea nostr, ara
Maramureului, p. 235-237. Datorit analogiilor aici discutate, nu putem exclude posibilitatea ca aceast
cldire s i avut mai multe nivele construite din lemn apropiindu-se deci de forma obinuit a turnuluilocuin, dar cu utilizare permanent.
Fig. 8.
Cetatea Col.
Latura de vest
a turnului
locuin
21
22
n literatura de specialitate62 i s-a demonstrat prin spturile recente prilejuite de

consolidarea monumentului, partea veche a cetii se compune dintr-un turn de
plan ptrat, cu parterul utilizat ca depozit i cu dou sau trei etaje formate din cte
o ncpere63. Locul ales pentru construirea acestui turn, la o nlime considerabil
deasupra cheilor Argeului i deasupra unui drum care nu a fost totui n Evul
Mediu o cale de comunicaie, deoarece duce nspre crestele Fgraului, exclude
dup prerea noastr posibilitatea ca aceast construcie s i avut rolul unui turn
de paz. Cel care s-ar i ncumetat s treac peste crestele Fgraului, acoperite
cu zpad apte-opt luni pe an (iind un att de bun cunosctor al regiunii nct s
poat ntreprinde pe jos sau clare un asemenea drum) putea fr ndoial s aleag
oricare alta dintre zecile de vi i poteci ce duc spre munte.
Pe temeiul celor stabilite n paginile anterioare i a exemplelor aduse n discuie,
credem c nu greim socotind cetatea Poenari, n faza iniial a existenei sale, drept
turn-locuin al unuia dintre stpnii feudali ai satelor situate la poalele cetii, folosit
temporar de familie n momente de primejdie. Ulterior, dup ce a ajuns n stpnirea
domniei, turnul-locuin a fost transformat n cetate domneasc, devenind nucleul
zidurilor nou construite. Dac acest lucru s-a petrecut nc n epoca lui Mircea cel
Btrn, sau abia n aceea a lui Vlad epe, cum airm tradiia pstrat n izvoarele
narative64, are mai puin importan n ordinea de preocupri pe care o urmrim aici.
Important ni se pare faptul c din Maramure i pn n ara Romneasc ntlnim
unul i acelai tip de monument construit i folosit de feudalitatea romneasc.
Dac am evitat stabilirea unei legturi directe ntre cetuia de la Rchitova i
aceea din Oncetii Maramureului, credem n schimb c o asemenea legtur poate i
fcut ntre turnurile-locuin din ara Haegului i faza iniial a cetii Poenari. n
acest sens pledeaz nu numai apropierea geograic dar i mrturia izvoarelor scrise.
Astfel, un document din 1377 se refer la un cneaz Cnde de pe valea Streiului, ale
crui sate au fost coniscate dup executarea sa prin spnzurare, foarte probabil n
timpul represiunilor ntreprinse n aceast regiune de Andrei Lcki n 1356-1359,
i ai crui ii refugiai n ara Romneasc mai produceau nc la data documentului
quamplurimas inidelitates de partibus Transsalpinis domino nostro regio65. Desigur c
nu considerm neaprat pe iii lui Cnde de pe Strei ca iniiatori ai turnului de la
Poenari, dar documentul citat dovedete c dup cum n tot cursul veacului al XIVlea, n funcie de eforturile centralizatoare ale domniei rii Romneti, s-au produs
emigrri nspre Transilvania ale unor familii feudale66, la fel i din Transilvania i
mai ales din prile ei sudice, n momentele de accentuare a presiunii aparatului
62 .
63 .
64 .
65 .
66 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 131-132, cu bibliograia mai veche.

Cercetri datorate lui Gh. I. Cantacuzino de la Direcia Monumentelor Istorice i de Art. Autorul
a fcut o prim prezentare a rezultatelor ntr-un referat la Institutul de arheologie n ianuarie 1969.
Consemnarea lor ntr-un studiu al aceluiai, Cetatea Poenari, n Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 2, tom
22, 1971, p. 263 i urm.
Istoria rii Romneti, 1290-1690, Letopiseul cantacuzinesc, ediia C. Grecescu i D. Simonescu,
Bucureti, 1960, p. 4
Documenta Valachorum, p. 271-272. Potrivirea de nume i de destin ca i faptul c mai ntlnim cazuri
de familii cneziale romneti stpnind sate att din ara Haegului ct i pe cursul inferior al Streiului
(vezi mai sus nota 45) face posibil ca acest Cnde, de la care s-au coniscat cele dou Chitiduri i Ocoliul
(Mic?), s ie identic cu Mihail Cnde din Ru de Mori. Numele de Cnde este totui destul de rspndit
la cnezii romni din Transilvania; cf. Documenta Valachorum, p. 294, pentru prile Albei i R. Popa, ara
Maramureului..., p. 111.
politico-administrativ angevin, unele familii cneziale romneti s-au refugiat la sud

de Carpai. Aceasta pare a i cea mai logic explicaie a apariiei turnului-locuin
de la Poenari (ig. 13).
Urmeaz s lum n discuie problema
datrii turnurilor-locuin din ara
Haegului. Ea s-a desprins oarecum,
implicit, din cele spuse pn aici. Dar
n lipsa unor referiri documentare
directe asupra monumentelor i n
lipsa, deocamdat, a unor argumente
rezultate din spturile arheologice,
datarea pe care o putem propune are un
anumit coeicient ipotetic. Vom ncerca
precizarea limitelor acestui coeicient.
Dup cum am artat, istoria familiilor cneziale romneti din ara Haegului
nu poate i reconstituit n perioada dinaintea nceputului veacului al XIV-lea,
dup cum nsui cadrul istoric general al regiunii n secolul al XIII-lea poate i abia
schiat. Ceea ce tim cu siguran este faptul c nc nainte de 1300 cnezii haegani
au construit biserici din piatr, adaptnd n acest scop modele trziu-romanice i
timpuriu-gotice de provenien occidental la necesitile culturale i spirituale
ale unui mediu ortodox romnesc. Totodat, tim c modelele necesare construirii
turnurilor-locuin existau i ele, nc din a doua jumtate a veacului al XIII-lea, n
multe dintre zonele Transilvaniei.
Pe de alt parte, deoarece construirea unei fortiicaii, ie i numai a unui modest
turn de piatr, a reprezentat n tot evul mediu un act cu implicaii politice, fa de
care autoritatea central a statului nu putea rmne indiferent, este iresc s ne
ntrebm cnd au existat n Transilvania condiii prielnice pentru construirea de
ctre cnezii haegani a unor fortiicaii de piatr, n toat perioada pe care o putem
avea n vedere, de la mijlocul veacului al XIII-lea i pn la mijlocul veacului al XVlea67. Asemenea condiii au existat numai n ultimele decenii ale veacului al XIII-lea
i primele dou decenii ale veacului urmtor, deci n perioada de anarhie feudal care
a nsoit stingerea dinastiei arpadiene, prelungindu-se pn la consolidarea domniei
lui Carol Robert68 i, ntr-o mic msur, n ultimele dou decenii ale veacului al
XIV-lea, la nceputurile domniei lui Sigismund de Luxemburg69.
67 .
68 .
69 .
Acesta ni se pare a i o limit ante quem pentru construirea unor monumente att de simple, aparinnd
unui mod de via caracteristic nceputurilor Evului Mediu. De altfel, la mijlocul veacului al XV-lea s-a
produs trecerea la catolicism a principalelor familii cneziale romneti din ara Haegului iar acestea
din urm, transformate n familii de nobili, nu mai puteau construi asemenea turnuri-locuin primitive.
Curtea fortiicat de la Sntmria-Orlea, ridicat dup 1447 de Cndeti (vezi mai jos notele 75 i 81)
ar putea ilustra noua serie de construcii datorate descendenilor cnezilor haegani.
Adic pn ctre 1320. n 1317, cetatea regal de la Haeg pare a se ala n stpnirea regelui angevin
(vezi notele 13 i 14) i nu este exclus ca cnejii haegani s i luptat de partea lui Carol Robert sub
conducerea castelanului din Haeg, la fel ca i cnejii maramureeni pe Tisa superioar (R. Popa, ara
Maramureului..., p. 239-240).
Spre mijlocul veacului al XIV-lea, n epoca de centralizare care a culminat n aceast regiune cu represiunile
iniiate de Andrei Lackfy, construirea cetuilor ni se pare exclus. Dup moartea lui Ludovic I i pn
ctre 1404, raporturile mai stabile cu ara Romneasc i rolul militar din ce n ce mai important al
cnejilor haegani, au creat din nou condiii pentru airmarea unor anumite veleiti ale acestora.
Fig. 9.
Cetatea de la
Mlieti.
Releveu
arh. Olga Bzu
23
24
Fig. 10.
Cetatea de la
Clnic. Turnullocuin
Ct privete elementele pe care ni le ofer

monumentele nsei, considerate din punctul de
vedere al istoriei arhitecturii, reamintim datarea
ndeobte acceptat la nceputul veacului al
XIV-lea a capelei cu turn-locuin deasupra
altarului de la Col. Unele pietre cioplite, cum
sunt chenarele de fereastr de la turnul din
Rchitova, au proilaturi simple, aparinnd
goticului, probabil fazei de nceput a acestuia,
gsindu-i de altfel analogia la acelai monument
de la Col. Fr ndoial c datarea va trebui fcut
difereniat de la monument la monument, dup
cercetri arheologice prealabile, dar trsturile
comune ale celor patru turnuri-locuin ca i argumentele despre care a fost vorba
pn aici, ne permit s lum n consideraie, pentru datarea monumentelor, nceputul
veacului al XIV-lea.
Nu este lipsit de interes nici aducerea n discuie a unei alte mprejurri care
pledeaz pentru apariia practic simultan a celor patru monumente de care ne
ocupm aici. Ele au fost construite i au aparinut principalelor familii feudale
romneti din ara Haegului. Urmrind documentele din secolele XIV-XV, i
ntlnim pe cnejii din Densu ntr-o situaie preponderent pe valea Galbenei i n
zona de nord-vest a regiunii, pe Cndetii din Ru de Mori n aceeai situaie pe
valea Rului Mare i tot la fel pe cnejii din Sla n zona central a rii Haegului.
Mai mult, aceste trei familii sunt cele ce primesc n veacul al XIV-lea conirmri
n stpnirea satelor lor, ceilali cneji iind atestai pn la 1400, cu dou excepii,
nu ca stpni ai satelor, recunoscui ca atare de ctre rege, ci doar ca participani la
procedurile interne, patrimonial-juridice, ale rii Haegului.
Cele dou excepii se plaseaz teritorial n dou coluri opuse ale regiunii. Este
vorba de o familie care stpnea Britonia (Brtunia?) i alte sate, probabil n partea
de vest a rii Haegului70 i de o alt familie cnezial din colul de sud-est al
regiunii, n zona Ru Alb-Ru Brbat71. Dac modul nostru de a interpreta
informaia istoric existent se dovedete a i corect, atunci cel puin n legtur cu
una dintre aceste familii ne putem atepta la descoperirea resturilor unui monument
asemntor. Ne gndim n primul rnd la a doua dintre excepiile citate, adic la
zona dinspre izvoarele rului Strei72.
70 .
71 .
72 .
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. I, p. 406-409; Documenta Valachorum,
p. 143-144, 268-269 (in aliis possessionibus ad eandem possessionem Brittonia pertinentibus) i p. 321-322;
cf. i comentariile lui M. Holban, Deposedri i judeci n Haeg, p. 149-153. Localizarea Britoniei
n colul de vest al rii Haegului (Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V) se ntemeiaz n principal
pe meniunea din 1366 dup care possessio Brithonia se nvecineaz cu possessio olachalis Brazua
(Documenta Valachorum, p. 206-207), ultima identiicat cu Breazova. Dar despre aceeai nvecinare, textul
documentului precizeaz c este a parte civitatis Hachzak iar Haegul este departe de Breazova, ntre cele
dou localiti alndu-se alte dou sau trei sate. Aceast ultim precizare se potrivete mai bine cu poziia
satului Bretea-Strei, de lng Haeg. Din toate aceste motive pstrm o anumit rezerv n localizarea
Britoniei.
Documenta Valachorum, p. 401-402 i p. 508.
Pe valea Rului Alb, mai sus de satul cu acelai nume, la locul numit Cetate, se mai desluete pe
teren existena unor temelii ocupnd o suprafa cu diametrul de cca. 30 m. Orice precizare n plus este
imposibil nainte de efectuarea unor spturi.
Oricum, indiferent de perspectivele cercetrii

i de descoperirea unor noi monumente, o
concluzie ni se pare evident. Monumentele
de care a fost vorba i repartizarea lor pe
teritoriul rii Haegului oglindesc, alturi
de tirile scrise i cel puin pentru nivelul de
dezvoltare corespunztor veacului al XlV-lea,
o anumit stratiicare a feudalitii haegane,
n sensul existenei ctorva familii cu o situaie
social-politic predominant. Analogia cu
cnezatele de vale din Maramure, organisme
complexe cu trsturi social-patrimoniale i
politice73, se impune de la sine.
Curile nobiliare din ara Haegului
reprezint a treia categorie de fortiicaii, nelese
ns de aceast dat ntr-o accepiune foarte
larg a termenului. Pe temeiul documentelor i
mai ales a monumentelor sau ruinelor pstrate,
putem aprecia c aspectul lor a fost foarte variat,
determinat de epoca de construcie sau de
importana i de resursele materiale ale familiilor
respective. Alturi de adevrate ceti, cu ziduri de
incint i anuri de aprare, ntlnim numeroase
construcii datnd n special din epoci mai noi,
la care existena iniial a unor amenajri cu scop
de fortiicare abia se mai poate deslui sau unde
preexistena unei curi ntrite este doar ipotetic. Din aceast ultim categorie face
parte i castelul Kendefy de la Sntmria-Orlea, situat pe locul unei construcii mai
vechi ale crei ziduri cu bastioane au fost refolosite, n parte la temelii, n parte la
amenajarea unei terase nalte. Dar cum documentele ne informeaz c familia Cnde
a primit trgul Sntmria-Orlea de la Ioan de Hunedoara abia n anul 144774 iar
localitatea este atestat n veacul al XIV-lea ca sat catolic75, vechea curte ntrit
73 .
74 .
75 .
R. Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 150 i urm.

Hurmuzaki, Documente, I2, p. 741; oppidum regale Bodogasszonyfalwa vocatum, simul cum foro annuali et
telonio.
Preotul Ioan de villa Sancte Marie care reprezint n 1315 capitlul din Alba lulia la o introducere n
stpnirea moiei Britonia (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. I, p. 407;
pentru localizarea Britoniei, vezi mai sus nota 71) nu poate i dect parohul din Sntmria-Orlea. Aceeai
villa Sancte Marie n socoteala decimelor papale pe anul 1332, enumerarea satelor catolice fcndu-se n
ordine topograic de la vrsarea Streiului n sus (Idem, vol. III, p. 129) localizarea iind cert. n schimb
moia Bodoghazzonyfalwa aparinnd n 1346 nobililor din Pesti (Idem, vol. IV, p. 654-655), numit
n 1444 possessio ... Wolachica Bodogazzonfalwa nu este Sntmria-Orlea, cum crede ntz, op. cit., p.
157, ci Sntmria de Piatr, sat romnesc de pe cursul inferior al Streiului. Credem c SntmriaOrlea reprezint una dintre cele dou comuniti catolice ptrunse ctre sfritul secolului al XIII-lea n
ara Haegului, probabil n legtur cu momentul 1275-1277 discutat mai sus. Aceast dat corespunde
perfect datrii propuse de V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 77 pentru biserica din Sntmria-Orlea. Pe
temeiul informaiilor scrise, nu putem deocamdat explica prezena n aceast biseric a unui decor pictat
aparinnd iconograiei ortodoxe, datat de specialiti, fr excepie, mai devreme dect mijlocul veacului
al XV-lea.
Fig. 11.
Cetatea de
la Grbova.
Turnul-locuin
transformat n
sec. XIX
25
26
Fig. 12.
Cetatea de
la Onceti.
Releveu dup
H. Daicoviciu
i colab.
Fig. 13.
Cetatea de
la Poenari.
Releveu din
arhiva D.M.I.
a Cndetilor din acest loc nu poate i

anterioar mijlocului veacului al XV-lea.
Ne oprim n schimb la dou complexe
care, dup mrturia izvoarelor scrise, sunt
sensibil mai vechi i, mai ales, trebuie s i
fost precedate, pe acelai loc, de reedine
fortiicate cneziale propriu-zise.
Primul dintre acestea este aa numita
cetate de la Slaul de Sus. Aspectul ruinelor
pstrate explic denumirea sub care este
cunoscut complexul, dei n realitate
nu este vorba dect de o curte nobiliar
fortiicat. Incinta dreptunghiular, cu laturile de aproximativ 95x55 m, se al la
marginea de jos a satului, pe un teren practic plan, iind nconjurat de un zid gros de
1-1,10 m, pstrat azi doar pe dou dintre laturi, pn la o nlime de 1,50-3 m. Pe
anumite poriuni se mai distinge traseul unui an de aprare. Se pare c la colurile
incintei ca i pe laturile ei au existat turnuri. n interior, relieful trdeaz existena
unor cldiri ruinate, acoperite de moloz
i vegetaie. Foarte interesant este ruina
destul de bine pstrat a unei capele de
curte (ig. 14) avnd un altar pentagonal
cu unghi n ax, o nav mai mult lat dect
lung (lungime exterioar 7,50 m; lime
exterioar 14 m) i un turn cu primul
etaj transformat n tribun, la care se
ajungea din exterior. Pe temeiul planului
i a elementelor conservate, capela nu
poate i mai nou dect prima jumtate
a veacului al XV-lea, dar zidurile ruinate
atest cel puin dou faze de construcie sau transformare a monumentului76.
Cele mai vechi tiri documentare referitoare la familia cnezial din Sla au fost
expuse mai sus, n legtur cu cetatea din nvecinatul Mlieti77. Pentru etapa mai
veche a istoriei acestei familii, tirile sunt valabile i n ceea ce privete curtea ntrit
a acesteia. n orice caz, ntregul complex ateapt s ie cercetat att pentru stabilirea
datei exacte a construciilor azi nc vizibile ct i, mai ales, pentru cunoaterea fazei
mai vechi, a crei existen o putem socoti aici ca cert.
n centrul comunei Ru de Mori s-a conservat o parte din zidurile unei curi
ntrite, asemntoare, dei aici construciile ulterioare i transformrile recente au
alterat mult nfiarea veche. Din aceast curte a familiei Cnde se mai vd astzi (ig.
16) un fragment din zidul de incint i o capel ruinat, cu nav dreptunghiular i
altar poligonal cu unghiul n ax, asemntor ntr-o oarecare msur altarului capelei
din Slaul de Sus. n subsolurile unor cldiri refcute se mai pstreaz pereii i
bolile unor pivnie vechi78.
76 .
77 .
78 .
O prezentare succint a complexului la V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 34.

Cf. mai sus notele 43-46.
Vezi i V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 22-23.
Ne-am ocupat mai sus de

primele meniuni documentare
referitoare la Cndeti79. Ct
privete legtura dintre aceste
meniuni i curtea din Ru de
Mori, credem c aceasta din
urm nu este mai veche dect
prima jumtate a veacului al
XV-lea, o asemenea datare iind
conirmat parial prin informaii
referitoare la istoria familiei n
secolul numit80. Nu este desigur
exclus ca tot n acest loc s se
ale i resturile unor construcii
mai vechi. Dar tot datorit acestor informaii tim c la sfritul secolului XV mai
exista o alt curte a Cndetilor n imediata apropiere a bisericii Col, la captul
dinspre munte al nvecinatului sat Suseni, iar faptul c aceast biseric, ce a servit
de capel curii respective, dateaz de la nceputul veacului al XIV-lea, deschide
perspective interesante att asupra locului curii iniiale a cnezilor Cnde ct i a
vechimii acesteia.
A patra i deocamdat ultima categorie de ceti medievale haegane cuprinde,
dup cte tim astzi, un singur monument. Turnul de la Crivadia (ig. 17), situat
n trectoarea Merior-Bnia, a fcut obiectul unor datri i atribuiri variate i
contradictorii81 pn cnd, n 1961-1962, cercetrile efectuate n timpul lucrrilor
de consolidare au dovedit originea sa medieval82.
De plan circular, cu diametrul interior de 13,30 m i cu zid gros de 1,90 m,
turnul era prevzut iniial cu apte ferestre de tragere la nivelul unui parter nalt
(ig. 15). Printr-o scar exterioar de lemn, azi distrus, se ajungea la intrarea situat
la o nlime de cca 4 m, n partea opus ferestrelor de tragere. Turnul avea i un
coronament uor scos n consol i, foarte probabil, creneluri la care se ajungea pe
un drum de straje din lemn83.
Construit pe marginea unui perete de stnc ce coboar vertical mai bine de 100
m pn la fundul cheilor prului Merior, turnul domina drumul din ara Haegului
spre depresiunea Petroanilor. De altfel i ferestrele de tragere sunt ndreptate n
direcia acestui drum, singura parte din care putea i atacat fortiicaia. Suprafaa
interioar de aproape 140 mp permitea amenajarea unor construcii din lemn sau
paiant pentru adpostirea unui numr de 20-25 lupttori, ct era necesar aprrii
turnului n cazul unui atac, dar n vremuri linitite paza i controlul drumului se
79 .
80 .
81 .
82 .
83 .
Cf. mai sus notele 33-41.

Credem c anul 1447, cnd familia Cnde a primit trgul Sntmria-Orlea de lng Haeg (vezi nota
75), are valoare de termen ante quem pentru construirea curii de piatr de la Ru de Mori.
Szinte G., Kerek erd Krivdia fltt, n Archeologiai rtesit, Budapest u.f., XIV, 1894, p. 110-114,
cu datare n sec. II; Tegls G., Hunyadvrmegye fldjnek trtnete az skortl a honfoglalsig, I, Budapesta,
1902, p. 158-159.
O. Floca, op. cit., p. 184-185.
Consolidrile recente au deformat parial monumentul avnd ca urmare, printre altele, i transformarea n
poart a unei ferestre de tragere. Desenul publicat de Szinte G., n lucrarea citat, red cu destul idelitate
aspectul monumentului de la sfritul secolului trecut.
Fig. 14.
Curtea ntrit
din Slaul de
Sus. Ruinele
capelei
27
28
Fig. 15.
Turnul de paz
de la Crivadia.
Releveu arh.
Eugenia
Greceanu
fcea desigur printr-un numr mult mai mic

de ostai. Acest monument a fost un turn de
paz propriu-zis, att prin dimensiuni ct
mai ales prin amplasare.
Forma ferestrelor de tragere indic o epoc
relativ trzie, de progrese n folosirea armelor
de foc, cu alte cuvinte secolul al XV-lea. Ne
gndim la vremea lui Ioan de Hunedoara i
a lui Matei Corvin. Un document important
de la sfritul acestui veac ne ncredineaz
c familia Cndetilor nu a fost strin de
construirea turnului. Printre domeniile pe
care regele Vladislav le ntrete n 1493 lui
Mihail Kendefy, cu meniunea c au fost
stpnite ,,ab antiquo de ctre familie, se
al i un Murylowar alturi de pmnturile
din ntreaga depresiune a Petroanilor84.
Indiferent dac citirea corect a numelui este
Murilorvar n care -var are sens de cetate,
sau mai degrab Murisowar, adic Merior,
numele prului i al satului alat azi sub
cetate85, este evident c aceast regiune s-a
alat n a doua jumtate a veacului al XV-lea, poate i mai devreme, n stpnirea i
sub controlul familiei Cnde. Turnul de la Crivadia a fost construit de Cndeti n
calitate de stpni feudali ai locului sau n aceea de dregtori ai regatului, pentru paza
drumului ducnd spre Oltenia, mpotriva unor incursiuni turceti sau n condiiile
unor relaii politice ncordate cu vecinii din ara Romneasc. Este foarte probabil ca
un turn asemntor s i fost construit, tot cam n aceeai vreme i tot de Cndeti, la
cealalt intrare important a rii Haegului,
la Poarta de Fier a Transilvaniei86.
*
*
Prezentarea tuturor cetilor medievale

cunoscute din ara Haegului evideniaz
faptul c aceste monumente, diferite ca
epoc, form, destinaie sau apartenen, nu
au format funcional un sistem unitar, dar c
ansamblul monumentelor este totui coerent
deoarece oglindete n felul su etapele
Fig. 16.
Ru de Mori.
Ruinele curii
ntrite
84 .
85 .
86 .
Cs nk i , Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 109-110; V. Motogna, op. cit., p. 76-77.

Cf. i C. Suciu, Dicionar istoric al localitilor din Transilvania, I, Bucureti, 1967, p. 391.
Trectoarea a fost druit Cndetilor nc din 1430 de regele Sigismund cu obligaia de a ntreine
drumul n schimbul a 5000 bolovani de sare primii anual de la cmara din Ocna Sibiului (Hurmuzaki,
Documente, I2, p. 655-656; Szabo, op. cit., p. 26). Informaia se pstreaz datorit unei ntriri din 1439,
dup distrugerea diplomei iniiale. Evident c o danie de asemenea importan implica pentru beneiciari
i obligaia pazei trectorii i de aceea credem c un turn de paz se ala i n Poarta de Fier a Transilvaniei.
generale i totodat particularitile

dezvoltrii istorice din aceast regiune.
Principalul rezultat al cercetrii
const n mbogirea repertoriului
de monumente medievale romneti
din Transilvania i, credem, dintr-o
mai bun cunoatere a semniicaiei
acestora. Turnurile-locuin haegane
dovedesc o dat n plus c ptura
conductoare a societii medievale
romneti din Transilvania, cnejii,
a constituit o ptur de feudali n
sensul propriu al cuvntului.
Cunoaterea cetilor azi pstrate n ara Haegului reprezint n acelai timp o
etap necesar i un punct de plecare pentru cercetarea epocii i a monumentelor
care au precedat apariia arhitecturii militare de piatr din aceast regiune.
Fig. 17.
Turnul de paz
de la Crivadia
29
tHe FoRtReSSeS oF
tHe land oF Haeg *
n old and important Romanian land in southern Transylvania, laying on

the upper course of the Strei River and its tributaries, with natural borders
established by the surrounding groups of mountains, the Land of Haeg (ara
Haegului, Terra Hatzeg) is still, from many points of view, an area uncharted by
our medieval historiography. he extant written sources give us for the thirteenth
century just two or three landmarks, therefore permitting at best a hypothetical
historical reconstruction. he documents relating to the fourteenth century are
slightly more numerous, allowing for a more thorough reconstruction, although still
lacking in details. Only from the ifteenth century onwards the data provided by the
documents proves adequate for a comprehensive understanding of the local history.
he toponymy of Haeg also contributed to the reconstruction of some of the local
aspects from the Early Middle Ages, important results being obtained by identifying
historical social phenomena through the distribution of certain designations or
through the connections that existed between the old Romanian names used on the
two sides of the Southern Carpathian Mountains1. he important group of stone
Romanian churches preserved in the area was also the object of studies, mainly
oriented toward architectural and art history2. Now it is up to us to use this data
for the study of the social and political history of the Haeg Romanians during the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Since the beginning of my archaeological study of the Land of Haeg I have
followed a method of which I have previously spoken: the method of regressive
reconstructions on the territory of the so-called medieval Romanian lands3. I
propose here the presentation and discussion of a particular kind of monuments,
the fortresses of Haeg, or, in a broad sense, the medieval fortiications of the Land
1.
2.
3.
I. Conea, Basarabii din Arge. Despre originea lor teritorial i etnic, Bucureti, 1935, excerpt from
Rnduiala, I, n. 2. According likewise to R. Vuia, ara Haegului i regiunea Pdurenilor, in Lucrrile
Institutului de Geograie din Cluj, 1926, p. 55f.
Especially see V. Vtianu, Vechile biserici de piatr romneti din judeul Hunedoara, in Anuarul
Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice, Transilvania, Cluj, 1930 and later in his synthesis Istoria artei feudale n
rile romne, I, Bucureti, 1959. According likewise to V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti,
1968. For the very early dating of some church paintings in the Land of Haeg see I. D. tefnescu, La
peinture religieuse en Valachie et en Transylvanie depuis les origines jusquau XIXe sicle, Paris, 1932.
R. Popa, Cnezatul Marei. Studii documentare i arheologice n Maramureul istoric, Baia Mare, 1969, p. 5-6,
and the introduction of R. Popa, ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970.
Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, XLI, 1972, 3, p. 54-66
1.
32
THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG
of Haeg. hese are known to a degree but of yet they were not properly published
in specialty literature (with two outdated exceptions4).
A sensible way of inding out more about the regional history was hindered by
studying the fortresses of Haeg as separate entities, detached from their social and
political context, treated independently from their local geographical particularities,
without considering all the fortresses of this area as a coherent group. In reality
and this statement no longer needs to be demonstrated medieval fortresses
did not appear outside some strict conditionings. More than on any other kind
of monument the fortresses date of construction, choice of place, ownership and
shape, were the retort of some of the most intimate particularities of the social and
political mechanisms of a given region. If we think about the fortresses of Haeg
as a group, each with its signiicance, but all of them moulded by the same local
historical realities, we may better understand the speciic shapes taken by Haegs
society during its evolution. hese are the aspects I intend to approach in this paper.
*
*
We know that the Land of Haegs oldest mention in medieval documents is

from 1247, in the famous Diploma of the Knights of Saint John. It mirrors a certain
connection, probably with political aspects as well, between the Land of Haeg and
the socio-political entities south of the Carpathians, on the territory of Oltenia,
although its speciic aspects are hard to reconstruct5.
he next documentary mention is three decades later, in 1276, and it refers to a
Peter, count of Haeg6. It should be mentioned that at its beginnings as a political
and administrative region of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, the Land of Haeg
is designated sometimes as a county and sometimes as a district; only later on was
the region deinitively designated as a district of the Hunedoara County7. Either
way, the aforementioned count Peter was at the time, irst and foremost, a high
count of the royal court8, thus a person close to the king, with a special mission in
the Land of Haeg.
he oldest stone fortress in the region - of which we know of today, the royal
castrum above the town of Haeg, must be connected to the aforementioned
document. For the dating of this fortress early period during the eight decade of
the thirteenth century points yet another set of events: during the early years of the
reign of Ladislas IV the Cuman, voivode Litovoi tried to airm his independence
and to occupy some regions that belonged to the crown; before long ensued the
military expedition that ended with the Oltenian voivode defeated and killed and
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Succinct presentations, eight decades ago, of the fortress in Col and the tower in Crivadia by Szinte
Gbor, with reliable plans and drawings but wrong dating; see further on, the notes refering to the
respective monuments.
Documenta Romaniae Historica, B, ara Romneasc, vol., I, p. 4.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 179, an incomplete translation
after a regest from Hurmuzaki, Documente, I, p.410, based on a transcription from 1291. he exact title
of the person is Petrus magister agasonum nostrorum comes de Haczak, according to Entz Geza, Die
Baukunst Transsilvaniens im 11-13 Jahrhundert, in Acta Historiae Artium, tom XIV, Budapest, 1968, p.
167.
Pesty Frigyes, Az eltnt rgi vrmegyk, vol. I, Budapest, 1880, p. 9. In 1390 it was still named comitatus
et districtus Hachsak, according to Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a Hunyadiak korban, vol. V,
Budapest, 1913, p. 45-46.
See note 6.
his brother Brbat taken in captivity9. his expedition has been dated in 127710, based
on the Diploma granted in 1285 to its leader. Even though the documents related
to the campaign against Litovoi place on the southern side of the Carpathians the
territories dependent to the Hungarian crown which the voivode had invaded, there
are some historians who consider the Land of Haeg as one of the disputes reasons,
or who localize the ighting in Haeg11, probably inluenced by the existence on the
Strei Valley of the village Ru-Brbat, mentioned for the irst time a century after
these events.
Beyond the details of the discussion, it is clear that Peters actions in Haeg, the
conlict followed by the military expedition against voivode Litovoi and the initial
development of the Land of Haeg as part of the Hungarian Kingdom, (implied,
among other signs, by the founding of the fortress of Haeg), were part of the same
historical moment and were reciprocally conditioned.
he fortress was built on the last of the forested hills that geographically form
the northern border of the Land of Haeg. From a height of about 200 meters the
fortress dominates the conluence of the three main waterways of the region: Strei,
Rul Mare and Galbena or Frcdin. his place afords a large view over the entire
depression, both toward the Iron Gates of Transylvania (Poarta de Fier), with the
road from Banat, and toward the Strei headwaters from where, through the MeriorBnia Pass one would reach the Jiu Valley. he exceptional quality of this place is that
one would observe, over the hill and northward, the entire lower valley of the Strei
River, all the way to the Mure River.
Only some portions of wall remain of the fortress, surrounded on three sides by
a deep semicircular moat. he larger diameter of the fortress used to be of about 6070 m. Any attempt in reconstructing the monuments plan is risky, because today
even what little remains of the walls is covered by debris and vegetation. In any case,
we know that the fortress was small. A suggestive image is given by a nineteenth
century drawing, made in a time when the walls were better preserved; although the
topographic details are approached with a lot of Romantic eagerness, it seems to
respect the constructions contour12. he drawing points to the existence of a circular
bastion to the north, of a central donjon (which is probably preserved to this day as a
6 m tall wall fragment ig. 3) and of several less important buildings on the southern
side.
he actual fortress was mentioned for the irst time in 1317, when one of the ive
sons of Nicolae, son of Iwanka of the Bolugh family (the Szechy family), who were
rewarded by King Charles Robert for faithful services, is mentioned as Nicolaus de
Hatzak, count and castellan of the king13. Although some doubts were and can still
9.
10 .
11 .
12 .
13 .
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 272. A detailed discussion on the
document: A. Sacerdoeanu, Comentarii la diploma din 1285 privind pe magistrul Gheorghe, in Analele
Universitii C. I. Parhon-Bucureti, Seria tiine sociale, istorie, 9, 1957, p. 27-43.
Istoria Romniei, vol. II, p. 146-147.
For such opinions in older papers see A. Sacerdoeanu, op. cit.; according likewise to M. Constantinescu
C. Daicoviciu t. Pascu, Istoria Romniei, Bucureti, 1969, p. 128.
N. Nagy de Fogaraschi, Ansicht des Hatzeger Tales, engraving from the collection of Dr. Emmerich Borger,
reproduced in Siebenbrgen, I, Bucureti, 1943, p. 428.
Gyrfy Gy., Adatok a romnok XIII. szzadi trtnethez s a romn llam kezdeteihez in Trtnelmi
Szemle, 1964, p. 547.
33
34
be expressed about this mention14 it is a fact that Nicolae Szechy took part that year
in a battle ante castrum Dewa, against the Angevin kings adversaries (enemies that
at the time were holding this fortress), which supports the assumption that he actually
was castellan of the neighbouring royal fortress of Haeg.
he next written reference to the royal fortress of Haeg, this time a sure one, is
from mid-fourteenth century. In 1360 some estates coniscated by Andrew Lcki, the
former voivode of Transylvania, were attached to the domain of the Haeg fortress15.
Or Andrew Lcki was voivode of Transylvania between 1356 and 135916. In the same
1360, Petru of Iara and of Oarda, vice-voivode of Transylvania, is also mentioned as
castellan of Haeg17. From this date on we have more and more documents concerning
the fortress and in 1421 is even mentioned a battle against the Turks that happened
sub castro Haczok18. he incident happened in the fall of 1420, during the irst
Ottoman incursion in these parts of Transylvania.
Apart from the royal fortress, in Haeg or near Haeg there was also a domus regis of
which the oldest piece of information is from 1402, when the castellans of the Haeg
fortress passed judgment in Haczak in domo regia19, but which has to be older than
the actual mention. In 1349 Louis I, king of Hungary, en route through Transylvania,
stops in Haeg, where he signs a diploma of conirmation20, and in the following year,
when the vice-voivode of Transylvania took part in the Italian campaign, his wife was
residing in Haeg, from where she was ruling in her husbands name21.
In other words, if the royal fortress in Haeg had, from its beginnings, a strictly
military purpose, able to support a permanent garrison of about 20-30 ighters, it
never went beyond this nature. he role of district administrative centre and residence
of the castellan (sometimes the same as the count, sometimes his representative)
actually belonged to the nearby domus regis, probably built at the same time. I think
therefore that the turris lapidea that king Matthias Corvinus donated in 1462 to the
sons of Ioan Cnde of Ru de Mori together with the village Varalja (Subcetate) near
Haeg22 is none other than the former royal fortress. he donation did not afect the
continuous functionality of the royal administrative centre of Haeg. More to the
point, from 1496 dates a document mentioning that castrum... Haczakwara is being
held by a descendant of the Cnde family, Mihail Kendefy23.
14 .
15 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
M. Holban, Despre raporturile lui Basarab cu Ungaria angevin i despre relectarea campaniei din 1330
n diplomele regale i n Cronica pictat, in Studii, I, 20, 1967, p. 8-9.
Castrum nostrum de Hathchak; E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria
illustrantia usque ad annum 1400 p. Christ, Budapest, 1941, p. 144.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, Introduction, vol. I, p. 501.
A Hunyadmegyei Trtnelmi s Rgszeti Trsulat Evknyve, I, p. 60-62.
Mlyusz Elemr, Zsigmondkori oklevltr, Budapesta, 1951-1958, vol. II1, nr. 1877.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. IV, p. 491.
Ibid., p. 526.
Szab Kroly, A Kendeiek, in Szzadok, 1868, p. 38; according likewise to Csnki, Magyarorszg ...
fldrajza, V, p. 52-53. he village Subcetate is between the hill with the royal castrum and the river Strei.
he later authors opinion, according to which this is just a regular tower, other than the royal castrum,
is ungrounded. For the years 1496-1499, Csnki cites a document stating that the forest of Balomir
depended of old on this tower (op. cit., loc. cit.); compare with following note!
Silva ... balamer vocata ad castrum suum Haczakwara vocatum pertinente; Entz, op. cit., p. 167. It is obvious
that contemporary documents use for the royal fortress the names turris and castrum alternatively,
probably because of the small size of this fortress.
*
*
hrough the circumstances of its building and the function it had fulilled for
more than 150 years, the royal fortress near Haeg has a unique value among the
medieval fortresses of the Land of Haeg. he situation is completely diferent for
the following four fortresses we expound upon in this paper.
Twenty kilometres west of Haeg, in the north-western corner of the Land of
Haeg, we ind the fortress of Rchitova. It is a practically unknown monument,
signalled only as a watch tower in a local guide24. he Rchitova fortress dominates
the current village centre from a 70-80 m high hill, well above the homonymous
valley. It consists of a stone tower, with almost 2 m thick walls. he tower has a
square plan with the side 8.4 m long. It initially had three or four levels above an
underground store. he tower was surrounded by an oval enclosure, with diameters
of 45 and 35 m. he enclosure was further protected by an earthen rampart and, on
its access point, by a moat (ig. 4-6).
Up till now the archaeological excavations started during the summer of 1970 in
Rchitova25 havent provided any conclusive results. Nevertheless, we may note the
discovery of a structure of wooden poles that reinforced the earthen rampart and of
an older moat, only 10 m away from the tower, which was illed-in when the current
enclosure was created. he few pottery fragments and metallic objects discovered in
the excavation date from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries.
he oldest written reference to Rchitova dates from 1360 and we owe it to a
process between the kneaz family of Densu and the grandsons of a certain Costea,
on one side, and a third kneaz family (with an unknown location) on the other
side26. he kneaz family of Densu, represented by Stoyan and Bolyen, sons of
Musana, claimed that the village was founded by Costea with the help of Musana.
his would place the beginnings of Rchitova as a village around 1310-1320 at the
latest. he family from Densu obtained thru the lawsuit a conirmation of their
rule over two thirds of the Rchitova estate, which, as stated in the document, they
already ruled over de facto. Densu is over the hill from Rchitova, 4-5 km away, on
a parallel valley, tributary to the Galbena River.
From the following decades we have some bits of information which mention
that the estate of Rchitova was still owned by the family of Densu, as well as other
estates from this side of the Land of Haeg and in the neighbouring Cerna Valley27.
However the fortress is not mentioned by any of these documents28.
Two monuments that are relatively well documented in the bibliography lie, in
close proximity, almost 20 km away from Rchitova, in the south-western corner
of the Land of Haeg, at the mountain end of the village Suseni belonging to the
neighbouring Ru de Mori.
Near the last summits of the Retezat Mountains, in the exact point where the
narrow Ruor Valley exits the mountains, on a slightly sloped terrace of the left
24 .
25 .
26 .
27 .
28 .
Octavian Floca, Hunedoara. Ghid al judeului, Deva, 1969, p. 224.

Investigation organized by the Deva County Museum with the Bucharest Institute of Archaeology. he
team was coordinated by me and consisted of Gh. Lazin, C. lonescu and M. Grigore.
Documenta Valachorum, p. 268, 285 and 321; Zsigmondkori oklevltr, II, no. 3362 and 5873.
Csnki, in his very detailed Magyarorszg ... fldrajza,V, does not know of this fortress.
35
36
water bank, one can see a building with a very particular silhouette. It is a small
single nave-church, with a rectangular sanctuary topped by a massive three-levelled
tower with a pyramidal stone roof29. Because of the nature of this study, I shall only
describe the churchs tower. It presents an almost rectangular plan, with sides of 7.0,
respectively 6.8 m. he access to the irst level housing a spacious room was from
outside, on a wooden ladder nowadays gone, initially located on the southern side. he
second level, housing yet another room, presents windows on three of its sides. Above
it is another room with ten arrow slits, which also includes the space inside the stone
roof. he roof is pierced by a chimney, proving the existence of stoves inside the rooms.
Stylistically, this monument was dated at the beginning of the fourteenth century,
a time when in Transylvania the late Romanesque and the early Gothic styles
coexisted30. Both the rectangular sanctuary and the towers pyramidal stone roof
place the monument in a group of Haeg churches dated from the second half of the
thirteenth century to the beginning of the fourteenth century. he oldest preserved
churches of this group are the ones from Densu, Sntmria-Orlea and Strei.
About 70 m away from this church there are the still un-investigated ruins of a
noble residence31, which leads to the hypothesis that one of the churchs functions was
of court chapel. Presenting its second functionality would require the presentation of
all the monuments from this group and therefore I will come back to it.
On the other bank of Ruor, on a terrace 200 m high on the mountain slope,
with a wide view over the entire western side of the Land of Haeg, lies the fortress
Col (ig. 8). he fortress presents an approximately triangular plan, a moat and two
bastions attached to the curtain wall. In the inner yard there is a square planned
donjon, with the side 7.5 m long, built right on the crag overlooking the abyss. Even
today this donjon stands about 12 m high, and initially it had two or three storeys
above a ground loor used for storage (ig. 8). he transformations over the years make
diicult to establish the place of the initial entrance and make us wonder if the current
ground loor entrance existed since the beginning.
In the bibliography it has been repeatedly underlined that the construction of Col
fortress was made in several stages but, without exception, it has been stated that the
donjon and the curtain wall were built from the beginning32. Taking into account the
analogy ofered by the monument from Rchitova, the observation that the curtain
wall is not interlinked with that of the donjon (the two only stand one next to the
other) and the fact that the construction materials of the curtain wall are not similar
to the ones used to build the donjon, it is obvious that only the donjon dates from the
irst stage of construction.
29 .
30 .
31 .
32 .
he monument was published since the nineteenth century by Szinte Gbor, Koloszvr, in Hunyadmegyei
... vknyve, VII, p. 69-73; more recent, see V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 121-122 and V. Drgu,
op. cit., p. 25-26.
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, loc. cit.
Signalled by Szinte Gbor, op. cit., p. 74, at a time when the walls were better preserved. For the mention
of the court see note 38.
Szinte, op. cit., p. 74f.; Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 268-269; V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 24. Only Csnki
stated that initially there was only one tower transformed into a fortress between 1501 and 1519, based
on the changing of the terms used in documents (turris in 1501, castrum in 1519, see bellow and note
38). his argument is not decisive since the mention in 1501 could refer to the tower over the sanctuary
of the church in Col and especially since the royal fortress in Haeg is also named turris, as Ive already
mentioned. I believe that the curtain wall of the Col fortress dates at the latest from the irst half of the
ifteenth century.
he documents are once more rather scarce and quite late even though the archives
of the Cnde family of Ru de Mori, later Kendefy, owners of these lands, are the
regions richest family archives. In 1359, the Ru de Mori estate, as well as two other
villages that belonged to it, earlier coniscated from Mihail, also known as Cnde,
was returned to Mihails widow by order of King Louis33. he estate was probably
coniscated two or three years earlier, during voivode Andrew Lckfys repressions
against the Haeg Romanian nobility, when Mihail Cnde and other Romanian
kneazes were executed34. From the aforementioned document we also ind out that
Mihails father was named Nicolae, also known as Cnde of Ru de Mori. his Nicolae,
the oldest known member of the family, was probably living around the year 1300.
In 1394 we learn about two more generations of the family, Ioan and Cnde, sons
of Cnde, son of Mihail35, therefore the grandchildren and the son of the Mihail
executed before 1359. From this date onwards the news about the family are more
numerous and in the time of Sigismund of Luxemburg, John Hunyadi and Matthias
Corvinus the Cndes advance on the social ladder to remarkable positions36.
he aforementioned two monuments belonging to the Cnde family appear in
documents only at the end of the ifteenth century. A documentary mention relating
to the year 1493 refers to a turris supra possessionem Malomwyz (Ru de Mori), while
another one related to the year 1501 talks about the river sub quadam turri Kolcz
nuncupata intra metas possessionis Zyzen... decurrens (Suseni), a survey from 1519
mentions domus Ladislai Kendefy in Malomwyz, domus Nicolai et Michaelis Kendefy
in Koch habita, curia scilicet nobilitaris and then again domus curiaque nobilitaris
Ladislai necnon Nicolai et Michaelis Kendefy in (possessiones) Malomwyz ac Kolch subtus
castrum similiter Kolch... habita et adiacens37. he irst two references, available to us
only through quotes (their context being unpublished up till now), may refer either
to the fortress, either to the tower over the Col church sanctuary38. he one from
1519 certainly refers to the fortress, classifying it as a castrum, and also specifying
the existence of two distinct noble courts: one in Suseni (in vicinity was the chapel
with the tower topping the sanctuary), and a second one in Ru de Mori, the primary
village held by the family. Older documents show that the Cndes had separated into
two distinctive branches between the end of the fourteenth century and the beginning
of the next one, when the brothers Ioan and Cnde, the fourth known generation of
the family, start to appear in diplomas as holders of distinctive patrimonial rights39.
Wed also point out a suggestive document from 1511, talking about a brutal
robbery from the tower of the Cnde kin, happened in 1493, when 3,000 lorins in
money and 400 lorins worth of jewellery and silverware40 were stolen.
33 .
34 .
35 .
36 .
37 .
38 .
39 .
40 .
Documenta Valachorum, p. 143.

M. Holban, Deposedri i judeci in Haeg pe vremea angevinilor, in Studii, 5, an XIII, 1960, p. 151.
Hunyadmegyei ... vknyve, II, p. 21.
With Szabo K.s family history, cited above, also see V. Motogna, Familia Cnde n documentele veacului
XIV-XVI, in Revista istoric, 1926, p. 68-80.
Csnki, Magyarorszg... fldrajza, V, p. 51-52.
Also see the observations on note 32.
Since Sigismund de Luxemburgs rule we know of donations whose beneiciary is only one of the brothers;
Szabo, op. cit., p. 26.
Csnki, Magyarorszg .... fldrajza, V, p. 52. he attack could have targeted either the tower above the
sanctuary, either the fortress.
37
38
he fourth monument in this group is in Mlieti, not far away from Ru de

Mori, also on the north-eastern foothills of Retezat Mountains. he bibliography
ofers very little information for this monument, as only during the last four years it
had been the subject of a closer scrutiny41.
he fortress in Mlieti lies beside the existing village, at the end of a triangular
plateau shaped by the conluence of two valleys. Here we ind again, just as in
Rchitova or Col, a massive donjon, with sides 6.6 by 6.7 m long and 1.35-1.5 m
thick walls, preserved to this day at a height of over 12 m (ig. 2). Above a basement/
ground loor with thickened walls, used for storage, it had at least four levels. he
second loor had an entrance on the western side, accessible by a wooden ladder that
nowadays has disappeared. It is obvious on the walls of the donjon that the last level,
whose masonry contains brick fragments, was added at a later stage.
Around the donjon a 1.2 m thick circular wall, only partially preserved, delimitates
a small enclosure with a diameter of 22 by 20 m (ig. 9). he curtain wall, also with
pieces of brick in the masonry, initially had a height of about 6 m but at a certain
point it was altered by covering the old battlements and by adding new portions of
masonry, up to a height of about 8 m. On the north-eastern side of the enclosure
(not presented in the plan) one can still see traces of an outer tower about which we
cannot say for now if it was built during the irst or the second stage of construction.
Even though connecting the last level of the donjon to the irst or the second
phase of the curtain wall needs to be postponed until it will be properly examined,
the diferent materials used for the construction and the examples we already
discussed allow us to state for certain that in Mlieti the donjon represents the
oldest stage of construction, followed by the enclosure wall with its two phases.
If we would ind along the wall the older traces of an earthen rampart, then the
analogy with Rchitova would be perfect.
When searching for pieces of written information able to elucidate this
monuments history, we must keep in mind the fact that the village of Mlieti is,
in relation to the neighbouring Slaul de Sus, in the same topographical relation
as Suseni to Ru de Mori. Furthermore, we know about the existence of a powerful
kneaz family in Slaul de Sus and in 1453, when it is irst mentioned, possessio
Malaesd actually belongs to the kneazes of Sla42. hese are attested ever since
1360, when a Konztantyn de Zallas numbers among the twelve Romanian kneazes
who, in Haeg, assist the vice-voivode of Transylvania as juries in a trial concerning
the Romanian holdings in the Land of Haeg 43.
A rather peculiar document from 1392 refers to a trade of estates between two
blood-related kneazes, both of them designated as of Streisngiorgiu (Kendres ilio
Gregorii de Zenthgeorgh and Lachk ilio Nicolai de eadem), a village on the lower
Strei River; according to the document one of them ceded his parts of the holding in
possessionibus Zalaspathaka et Fenyalath vocatis in districtu Hathzak existentes44. he
41 .
42 .
43 .
44 .
V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 34.

Csnki, Magyarorszg .... fldrajza, V, p. 109.
Documenta Valachorum, p. 429-430. It seems important that persons speciically mentioned as originating
outside the Land of Haeg own estates in this land and, furthermore, they are even called in other
documents kneazes of Haeg (see below). he case is not singular. I shall come back on the problem of
the Land of Haegs historical and geographical boundaries in another study.
irst estate is Sla but the name of the second, in translation Below Fir Trees (Sub
brazi), never again appears in later documents, thus it may very well correspond to
Mlieti. We airm this not without a certain reluctance, since the two villages of
Sla existing nowadays, -de Jos (Lower) and -de Sus (Upper), are designated with
the respective adjectives only since the middle of the ifteenth century, therefore the
Fenyalath from 1392 could be an older name for one of the Sla villages.
Despite the aforementioned estate trade, the same persons and their relatives
(Kenderes et Barb, iliis Gregorii nec non Kozta ilio Nicolai, Keneziis de Hattzagh and
also Laczk ilio Nicolai de Zentgewrgy ilio ejusdem Kenderes) are conirmed in 1404
in holding quandam possessionem seu Keneziatum Zalaspataka vocatum, in comitatu
Hunyad existentem45. Later documents, mirroring the familys ascension, much like
that of the Cnde family, are of little interest for our subject. Either way, the fortress
in Mlieti is not attested in accessible ifteenth century documents46.
Most of the time interpreted as observation towers, as guard towers or connected
to the roads crossing over the mountain, the above mentioned monuments, in their
simplest and older form, were nothing more than dwelling-towers; such Wohntrme
or isolated donjons, as they are named in literature, spread over the entirety of
Europe during the irst two or three centuries of our millennium. he towers of Col
or Mlieti didnt have any roads to guard since the ones who dared to cross the
Retezat Mountains, on horseback or on foot, could opt to pass through any of the
nearby valleys, which lacked towers. Also, we shouldnt even begin to imagine that
these fortresses had a permanent garrison at the time when they consisted solely of
towers, but at most a lonely watchman, a close familiar of the title-holding kneaz.
he space, limited to two or three overlapping rooms, the lack of a source of water,
the fact that the villages around them were under the rule of kneaz families during
the fourteenth and the ifteenth centuries, all plead for this interpretation, as do the
extant analogies.
hese four abovementioned monuments were fortiied residences, with a
temporary character, used in times of danger by the Romanian kneaz families of the
Land of Haeg and, at the same time, a safe place for valuables assets.
Following the natural low of study, we need to ponder now when and under the
inluence of what previous models did these monuments appeared in the Romanian
society of the Land of Haeg of those times.
Judging on the base of the written documents but also taking into account the
preserved monuments, the dwelling-tower trend spreads throughout Transylvania
during the second half of the thirteenth century and at the beginning of the next.
It appears that a big contribution at introducing them in Transylvanias architecture
panoply should be attributed to the greaves, leaders of the Saxon colonists. In
any case, the oldest documented mention of such a dwelling-tower speaks of
turris lapidea et domus lignea apud turim et curiam circummunitam, all of them
also designated with the term of castrum, owned before 1268 in Rodna by a comes
Henchmannus and sold at the time by his brother, Count Rotho47.
45 .
46 .
47 .
Hurmuzaki, Documente, I2, p. 428. In the regest in Mlyusz, Zsigmondkori oklevltr, II1, nr. 3368, Costea
is mentioned as son of Jaroslaus.
It seem important again that in Csnki, Magyarorszg ...fldrajza, V, there is no discussion of the fortress
in Mlieti , which proves that in the novelty documents seen by him this fortress is never mentioned.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 498.
39
40
he dwelling-tower in Clnic, in the vicinity of Sebe (ig. 10), with a rectangular

plan of 9 by 12 m, was built around the seventh decade of the thirteenth century by
a greav family of which the earliest known family member is Chyl de villa Kelnuk,
who already appears in 1264 as a supporter of the young King Steven V in his
conlict with his father, Bela IV48. In the immediate vicinity of Clnic, at Grbova
(Urwegen), is preserved yet another dwelling-tower (ig. 11), with a square plan of
9.6 by 9.8 m, built at about the same time by another greav family49. Here too the
enclosure wall was added later on, probably by the village community, at the time
when it came in the possession of the tower.
Hungarian nobles and ecclesiastical landlords also built such dwelling-towers.
Some surviving representative monuments can be seen at Cheresig, near Oradea
(where the isolated donjon has a polygonal plan, built in brick before the year
128950), or at Ciacova, in Banat, irst attested at the beginning of the fourteenth
century as a holding of the Chaak (Csnki) family, where the oldest part of the
fortress consists of a dwelling-tower with a rectangular plan of 9 by 10 m51.
We may quote here a very suggestive document from 1278, a letter of the Bishop
of Oradea to King Ladislaus IV, where he reports that Peter, son of Drug, had
destroyed the buildings of the monastery in Igged (near Diosig) and those stones
and the stones he tore down from the monastery and the stones that were cut from
the columns of that monastery he had ... taken to Diosig, where he built himself
a tower from the stones of those buildings52. When reading the account we must
remember that in Diosig, as well as in Cheresig, places located on the plain, it was
quite hard to ind stone.
he fortress in Tui, near Alba Iulia, whose construction had begun in 1276 or
shortly thereafter53, belonged at the beginning to the same category of monuments.
he old core of this Episcopal fortress consists of a dwelling-tower54.
he number of examples could be even bigger. More importantly it seems to us
that these towers and other fortiications built by the nobility have become, during
the anarchy of the last decades of the Arpad dynasty, such a frequent phenomena
that in 1291 King Andrew III expressly commands to be brought down without
delay the towers or fortiications (turres sive castra) built above churches or erected
48 .
49 .
50 .
51 .
52 .
53 .
54 .
Ibid., p. 118-119. he document is dated in 1269 but refers to events from 1264. For the monument also
see R. Heitel, Cetatea din Clnic, Bucureti, 1968. he author told us that he considers very plausible the
existence of the isolated, initial dwelling-tower, without enclosure.
K. Horedt, Zur siebenbrgischen Burgenforschung, in Sdost-Forschungen, Mnchen, VI, 1941, p. 607
and V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 17.
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 19. his dating is based on the fact that in 1289 King Ladislaus IV
was laying siege to Cheresig (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p.
357), and the next year the same king is killed prope castrum Kereszeg (Izvoarele istoriei romnilor, XI,
Cronica pictat de la Viena, ed. G. Popa-Lisseanu, Bucureti, 1937, p. 98). Probably the donjon was already
surrounded by a palisade and a moat. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, in 1313, a document
speaks of the castellan of Cheresig (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. I, p.
220), then of the conquest of a castrum in Cheresig by King Charles Robert (Idem, p. 295) and in 1321
it speaks about the kings castellan in Cheresig (Idem, vol. II, p. 4). Without archaeological excavations it
is diicult to establish if the donjon was later on surrounded with stone walls and when.
T. Trpcea, Despre unele ceti medievale din Banat, in Studii de istorie a Banatului, Timioara, 1969,
p. 65-66.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 192-193.
Ibid., p. 180.
Gh. Anghel I. Berciu, Ceti medievale din sud-vestul Transilvaniei, Bucureti, 1968, p. 21f. especially see
p. 47 and the plan on p. 54.
in other places with the intent of harm55 and his so called constitution of 1298
reiterates that the fortiications (munitiones et castella) that were built anew without
royal permission and those older ones from where harm spreads or may spread
through the land, as well as the small fortiications built on churches and monasteries
should be demolished56.
Returning to an area closer to the Land of Haeg, we have some information
from 1309, the agitated era of King Charles Roberts early reign, according to
which, in the province of Sibiu, heutonici de partibus illis destruxerunt turreset
fortalitia quarumdam nobilium de partibus illis, quae impediebant bonum statum et
pacem provinciae57.
Of course, not all the monuments discussed here even initially functioned as
dwelling-towers, used temporarily, situated elsewhere than the nobles regular
residences. Among them are actual guard towers, constructed near custom points
by the noble families that owned them58, while others must have been towers built
inside permanently lived courts, as suggested by the aforementioned example from
Rodna. To categorize these monuments would necessitate a thorough investigation
and analyzing each particular case according to what we know of from documents
and especially in its topographical context. From our point of view, we believe
signiicant that among these Transylvanian monuments were, during the second
half of the thirteenth century, enough specimens that could serve as models for the
dwelling-towers of the kneazes of the Land of Haeg.
he analogies are not limited to the Catholic, laic or ecclesiastical nobility
environ of Saxon or Hungarian origin. here is such a monument in the Romanian
society of Maramure, at Onceti, on Iza Valley. he fortress, built on a hill, about
3 km away from the village, consists of a square dwelling-tower, with 7.5 m long
sides, and of a circular earthen rampart, about 60 m in diameter (ig. 12)59. It has an
even older form of existence but the stone tower most certainly dates from the irst
half of the fourteenth century and its owners were the kneaz family of Onceti60.
Its similarities with the donjon from Rchitova are close to perfect. Of course, we
do not try to establish a direct connection between these two monuments, we only
want to underline that in similar socio-political conditions (of preserving a more
or less large autonomy in Transylvanias border areas) the Romanian landed gentry
manifested identically.
Since weve already mentioned an analogy from Maramure, we could point out
here the fortiied residence of the Bogdan family in Cuhea, destroyed around 1359,
which included a building sized 9 by 12 m, the exact dimensions of the dwelling55 .
56 .
57 .
58 .
59 .
60 .
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 363 and 507.
Ibid., p. 445.
K. Horedt, op. cit., p. 608; according to Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol.
I, p. 142 as well.
It seems that such a tower was built by the Gutkeled family in Arie, at a custom point for the salt coming
on the Some River (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIII, vol. II, p. 390-391) and
was later transformed into the royal fortress attested in the fourteenth century.
H. Daicoviciu O. Bandula I. Glodariu, Cercetrile de la Onceti, din Maramure, Baia Mare, 1965, p. 8
and 25-26.
On the fortress in Onceti, also see R. Popa, ara Maramureului, p. 161-162 and 233-234 and Idem, Noi
cercetri de arheologie medieval n Maramure. antierul Srsu, in Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche,
4, tom. 22, 1971.
41
42
tower held by the greaves of Clnic. True, unlike the tower in Clnic, this residence
was built of earth and wood on a river stone foundation, but the over 1 m thick walls
and its ground loor used for storage purposes do more than just suggest the height
and elevation of the structure61.
In connection with the group of monuments from the Land of Haeg, I reckon
that a fortress from Wallachia should be considered as well: the one in PoenariArge. As already stated in the bibliography62 and recently demonstrated through
archaeological investigations (executed with the occasion of the monuments
consolidation), the old part of this fortress consists of a square tower, with a ground
loor used for storage purposes and two or three other storeys with one room
respectively63. he place chosen for the construction of this tower, at a considerable
height above the Arge gorge and above a road that during the Middle Ages was
not an important route since it led to the crest of Fgra, excludes, in our opinion,
the possibility that this construction could have served as a guard tower. Whoever
would have dared cross the crest, covered in snow for seven or eight month a year,
or would have known the region so well as to actually journey on this road, on horse
or on foot, would, without a doubt, have been capable of choosing any of the other
numerous valleys or paths toward the mountain.
Based on the facts established above and on the consulted examples, we believe
adequate to consider that in its initial phase the Poenari fortress was the dwellingtower of one of the feudal potentates who exercised their authority over the nearby
villages, temporarily used by the family in times of need. Later on, after it became
the property of the voivodes, the dwelling-tower was converted into a royal fortress,
the donjon becoming the core of the newly built walls. Whether this has happened
during the time of Mircea cel Btrn or only during Vlad epe reign, as asserts the
tradition preserved by the written sources64, is less important for this paper. What
is important is that from Maramure to Wallachia we meet with the same type of
monuments, built and used by the Romanian noble class.
While we avoided pointing to a direct connection between the stronghold
in Rchitova and the one in Onceti, in Maramure, we do believe that such a
connection may exist between the dwelling-towers of the Land of Haeg and the
initial phase of the fortress of Poenari. he geographical closeness and the data
provided by the written documents both support this assumption. hus, a document
from 1377 mentions a kneaz Cnde from the Strei Valley, executed by hanging,
most likely during Andrew Lckis repercussions in this region (1356-1359), whose
villages were coniscated and his sons, refugees in Wallachia, were still committing
at the time when the document was written quamplurimas inidelitates de partibus
61 .
62 .
63 .
64 .
he compound in Cuhea was published by R. Popa M. Zdroba, antierul arheologic Cuhea. Un

centru voievodal din veacul al XIV-lea, Baia Mare, 1966, p. 8f. Further observations in R. Popa, ara
Maramureului, p. 235-237. Because of the discussed analogies I will not exclude the possibility that the
Bogdan family residence would have had several wooden storeys, looking more like a regular dwellingtower, although one permanently used.
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 131-132, with the older bibliography.
Investigated by Gh. I. Cantacuzino from the Commission of Historical and Art Monuments. He has irst
presented the results in a lecture at the Institute for Archaeology in January 1969. hey also appear in his
study, Cetatea Poenari, in Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 2, tom 22, 1971, p. 263f.
Istoria rii Romneti, 1290-1690, Letopiseul cantacuzinesc, ediia C. Grecescu i D. Simonescu,
Bucureti, 1960, p. 4
Transsalpinis domino nostro regio65. Obviously, there is no need to imagine the sons
of Cnde from the Strei coming with the idea of the Poenari tower, but the quoted
document proves that there were not only noble lines taking shelter in Transylvania
during the fourteenth century (course of action interconnected to Wallachias
attempts at state centralization)66. In the same way, from Transylvania, especially
from its southern regions, in those moments when the pressure of the Angevin
administrative and political apparatus hardened its pressure, some Romanian kneaz
families took shelter south of the Carpathians. his seems to be the most logical
explanation for the appearance of the dwelling-tower of Poenari (ig. 13).
Next well be approaching the timeframe of the dwelling-towers from the Land
of Haeg. It already seems somehow obvious after all these considerations. But
because we lack unequivocal written references on the monuments and because
the archaeological examination of the area has yet to bring strong arguments, the
proposed dating should be considered for now within the limits of a hypothetical
statement. hese limits are what well be trying to deine further on.
As pointed out before, the history of the Romanian kneaz families of the Land
of Haeg cannot be reconstructed prior to the beginning of the fourteenth century,
much like how the general historical frame of this region is only sketchy during
the thirteenth century. What we do certainly know is that since before 1300 the
kneazes from Haeg have built stone churches, adapting late-Romanesque and
Early-Gothic western models to the cultural and spiritual needs of a Romanian
Orthodox environment. Also we know that the design of the dwelling-towers was
in use since the second half of the thirteenth century in many areas of Transylvania.
On the other hand, since building a fortress, even a modest stone tower, was
during the entire Midde Ages a political action toward which the state central
authority would not be indiferent, it is natural to wonder when, in the time frame
we may take into account (from mid-thirteenth century to mid-ifteenth century67),
were the conditions auspicious in Transylvania for the Romanian kneazes of Haeg
to build stone fortiications. he conditions were met only during the last decades
of the thirteenth century and the irst two decades of the next one, thus during the
time of the feudal anarchy that accompanied the extinction of the Arpad dynasty,
followed by the consolidation of Charles Roberts reign68 and to a lesser extent
65 .
66 .
67 .
68 .
Documenta Valachorum, p. 271-272. he match in name and destiny and the fact that we see similar cases
of Romanian kneaz families owning villages both in the Land of Haeg and on the lower Strei (see above,
note 45) makes it possible that this Cnde, from which were coniscated the two Chitids and Ocoliul
(Mic ?), was the same as Mihail Cnde of Ru de Mori. Still, the name of Cnde is quite spread among
the Romanian kneazes from Transylvania; according to Documenta Valachorum, p. 294; for Alba see as well
R. Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 111.
his seems like an ante quem limit for the building of such simple monuments that are characteristic for
the early Middle Ages. At the middle of the ifteenth century the principal Romanian kneaz families of
the Land of Haeg converted to Catholicism and, once counted among the true nobles of the kingdom,
they wouldnt build such primitive dwelling-towers anymore. he fortiied court from Sntmria-Orlea,
erected after 1447 by the Cndes (see notes 75, 81) could illustrate a new series of constructions founded
by the descendants of the Haeg kneazes.
I mean until about 1320. In 1317 the royal fortress in Haeg seems to be owned by the Angevin king
(see notes 13 and 14) and it is not excluded that the Haeg kneazes fought on Charles Robert side, under
the command of the castellan of Haeg, just like the Maramure kneazes did on the upper Tisa River
(R. Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 239-240).
43
44
during the last two decades of the fourteenth century, in the early reign of Sigismund
de Luxemburg69.
As for dating elements provided by the monuments proper, considered from
the point of view of architectural history, we remind of the general accepted dating
at the beginning of the fourteenth century of the chapel in Col, with a dwellingtower above the sanctuary. Some of the carved stones, such as the window frames
of the tower in Rchitova, have simple shapes, in a Gothic style, probably from one
of its early stages, in fact possessing good analogies with the monument in Col.
Obviously the dating will have to be made diferently for each monument, preceded
by archaeological investigations, but the common traits of the four dwelling-towers,
and the aforementioned arguments, allow us to date the monuments somewhere at
the beginning of the fourteenth century.
A very interesting discussion could be made about another situation that advocates
for the almost simultaneous apparition of the four scrutinized monuments. hey
were built and belonged to the most preeminent Romanian feudal families of the
Land of Haeg. hrough the documents from the fourteenth and ifteenth centuries
we encounter the kneazes of Densu lording on the Galbena Valley and in the northwestern side of the region, the Cnde family of Ru de Mori in a similar position on
the valley of Ru Mare while the kneazes of Sla did the same in the central area of
the Land of Haeg. Moreover, these three families are the ones that receive, in the
fourteenth century, conirmations of their village holdings while the other kneazes
are being attested until 1400 (with two exceptions) not as masters over villages,
acknowledged as such by the king, but only as attendants to the internal patrimonial
and legal procedures of the Land of Haeg.
he two exceptions are geographically placed on opposite corners of the region.
A family that ruled Britonia (Brtunia?) as well as other villages, probably in the
western Land of Haeg70, and another family from the north-eastern corner of the
region, in the area of Ru Alb-Ru Brbat71. If our way of interpreting the historical
information presented here proves to be correct, then we should expect to discover
the remains of a similar monument at least on the domain of one of these two
69 .
70 .
71 .
Toward the middle of the ifteenth century, an age of centralization culminating with Andrew Lckfys
repercussions, it seems impossible for these fortresses to be built. After the death of Louis I until toward
1404, the more stable relations with Wallachia and the more and more important military role of the
Haeg kneazes have created again favourable conditions for them to act according to their own particular
plans.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. XIV, vol. I, p. 406-409; Documenta
Valachorum, p. 143-144, 268-269 (in aliis possessionibus ad eandem possessionem Brittonia
pertinentibus) and p. 321-322; according to M. Holbans comments, Deposedri i judeci
in Haeg, p. 149-153. Britonias location in the western corner of the Land of Haeg (Csnki,
Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V) is mainly based on the 1366 mention according to which the
possessio Brithonia is neighbouring the possessio olachalis Brazua (Documenta Valachorum,
p. 206-207), which was identiied with Breazova. But about the same boundary the document states that
Britonia is a parte civitatis Hachzak although the town of Haeg is far away from Breazova and two
or three other villages can be found in-between. So this inal documentary statement better its to the
position of the village Bretea-Strei, near Haeg. For all these reasons I maintain certain doubts when it
comes to locate Britonia.
Documenta Valachorum, p. 401-402 and p. 508.
families. We primarily suspect the latter exception, that of the area near the Strei
headwaters72.
Either way, regardless of the research perspectives and discovery of other
monuments, a logical and obvious conclusion comes into view. he presented
monuments and their repartition on the territory of the Land of Haeg mirror,
together with the written documents, (at least for the development level of the
fourteenth century) a certain stratiication of the medieval Haeg society through
the existence of a few families with social and political pre-eminence. he analogy
with the lands ruled by kneazes in the valleys of Maramure, complex political
organisms with socio-patrimonial and political traits73, is logical.
*
*
he courts in the Land of Haeg represent a third category of fortiications,

although this time the term has to be used in a very general sense. Based on
documents and mostly on the preserved monuments or ruins, we may assess
that their aspect was a varied one, determined by the building period or by the
importance and resources of the concerned families. Alongside true fortresses with
curtain walls and moats we see numerous constructions, dating mostly from newer
times, whose initial phase as defensive arrangements is barely discernible or where
the pre-existence of a fortiied court is only hypothetical. To this latter category
belongs the Kendefy castle in Sntmria-Orlea, placed on an older construction
whose walls and bastions were partly re-used as foundations, partly for setting up
a high terrace. But the documents inform us that the Cnde family received the
borough Sntmria-Orlea from John Hunyadi only in 144774 and the locality is
attested in the fourteenth century as a Catholic village75, thus here the old fortiied
court of the Cndes cannot be dated before the middle of the ifteenth century.
Instead we will discuss two sites that, as proven by documents, are sensibly older
and must have been preceded, on the same place, by proper kneaz fortiied residences.
his irst case is that of the so-called fortress of Slaul de Sus. he preserved
ruins explain why it is denominated as a fortress although it is really only a fortiied
noble court. It consists of a rectangular enclosure, 95 by 55 m, built at the lower
72 .
73 .
74 .
75 .
On the Rul Alb valley, upstream from the village with the same name, on the place called Cetate
(Fortress), one may still see some foundations on a surface with a 30 m diameter. Anything more is
farfetched before excavating the place.
R. Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 150f.
Hurmuzaki, Documente, I2, p. 741; oppidum regale Bodogasszonyfalwa vocatum, simul cum foro annuali et
telonio.
he Priest Ioan de villa Sancte Marie, who represents in 1315 the Chapter in Alba Iulia at the gathering
that establishes the ownership of the Britonia estate (Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania,
sec. XIV, vol. I, p. 407; for the location of Britonia see above, note 71) cannot be other than the vicar
of Sntmria-Orlea. he same villa Sancte Marie appears in the papal registers in 1332, where the
Catholic villages are named topographically from the mouth of Strei upstream (Idem, vol. III, p. 129)
therefore its location is certain. But the Bodoghazzonyfalwa estate, belonging in 1346 to the nobles of
Pesti (Idem, vol. IV, p. 654-655), named in 1444 possessio ... Wolachica Bodogazzonfalwa is not the same
as Sntmria-Orlea, as Entz thinks in op. cit., p. 157, but Sntmria de Piatr, a Romanian village on
the lower Strei. I believe that Sntmria-Orlea was one of the two Catholic communities settled toward
the end of the thirteenth century in the Land of Haeg, probably in connection with the events of 12751277 discussed above. his date perfectly corresponds with the one proposed by V. Vtianu, Istoria artei
feudale, p. 77 for the church in Sntmria-Orlea. Based on written documents alone we cannot for now
explain the presence in this church of mural paintings in accordance with the Orthodox iconography,
dated by specialists, with no exceptions, earlier than the middle of the ifteenth century.
45
46
end of the village on a lat terrain, surrounded by a 1-1.1 m thick wall, preserved
today on only two of the sides, at a height of 1.5 to 3 m. On certain portions one
may still see the traces of a moat. It seems that there were towers on the corners and
sides of the enclosure. Inside it the ground outline points to the existence of some
ruined buildings covered by debris and vegetation. Most interesting are the rather
well preserved ruins of a court chapel (ig. 14) with a polygonal sanctuary closed in
a sharp angle, a nave wider than its length (exterior length 7.5 m; exterior width
14 m) and of a tower with the irst loor transformed into a tribune, which could be
accessed from the exterior. Based on its plan and preserved elements the chapel cannot
be newer than the irst half of the ifteenth century but the ruined walls attest to at
least two stages of construction or transformation of the monument76.
he oldest documentary pieces of information referring to the family of Sla were
referred to earlier on, in connection to the neighbouring fortress in Mlieti77. During
the eldest phase of this familys history this information is valid for its fortiied court
too. In any case, the site waits for an archaeological investigation to establish the exact
dating of the still extant buildings and especially to explore the older phase, whose
existence we may now regard as a certainty.
Right in the middle of the Ru de Mori commune still stand segments of the walls
of a similar fortiied court, although here later constructions and recent alterations
have greatly modiied the old appearance. his court, belonging to the Cnde family,
preserves to this day (ig. 16) a fragment of the enclosure wall and a ruined chapel
with a rectangular nave and a polygonal sanctuary, somewhat similar to the altar of
the chapel in Slaul de Sus. In the basements of some newer buildings, the walls and
vaults of older cellars are still preserved78.
Weve dealt above with the oldest documentary evidences concerning the Cnde
family79. As for the connection between these mentions and the court in Ru de
Mori, we think the latter isnt older that the irst half of the ifteenth century, such
a date being at least partially conirmed by the information we have regarding the
familys history during this century80. here is of course the possibility that some older
constructions exist here as well. But the very same evidence grants us the knowledge
that at the end of the ifteenth century the Cndes had yet another residence close to
the church in Col, between the mountain and the neighbouring Suseni village. he
fact that this church, which also functioned as a chapel for the court, dates from the
beginning of the fourteenth century, allows for an interesting approach regarding both
the place and the time of the Cnde kneazes original court.
*
*
he fourth, and currently last, category of medieval fortresses of the Land of Haeg
consists, as far as we know today, of only one monument. he tower of Crivadia (ig.
17), in the Merior-Bnia Pass, was the subject of contradictory dating and debates
76 .
77 .
78 .
79 .
80 .
A succinct presentation of the archaeological feature in V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 34.

See above notes 43-46.
Also see V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 22-23.
See above notes 33-41.
I believe that the year 1447, when the Cnde family receives the borough of Sntmria-Orlea near
Haeg (see note 75), is a terminus ante quem for the construction of the stone court in Ru de Mori.
over the ownership81 until 1961-1962, when investigations performed during its
consolidation works have proven its medieval origin82.
he tower has a circular plan, with an inner diameter of 13.3 m and a 1.9 m thick
wall. It initially had seven embrasures placed on a high ground loor (ig. 15). he
entrance, placed at a height of about 4 m on the opposite side of the embrasures,
was reachable through an exterior wooden ladder, destroyed today. he tower also
had a bracketed crown and most likely crenellations reachable through a wooden
parapet walk83.
Built on the side of a stone wall descending vertically for over 100 m to the
bottom of the Merior canyon, the tower dominated the road from the Land of
Haeg to the Petroani depression. Whats more, the embrasures are oriented
toward this road, the only side from where the fortiication could be assaulted. he
inner surface, of almost 140 sq m, allowed for enough wooden or adobe buildings to
accommodate 20-25 ighters, a number more than enough to defend the tower in
the eventually of an attack, but, in times of peace, it is obvious that fewer sentinels
secured and controlled the road. his monument functioned, by size and placement,
as an actual guard tower.
he shape of the embrasures indicates a relatively late era of construction, when
the use of ire arms was spreading, namely the ifteenth century. We allude to the
time of John Hunyadi and Matthias Corvinus. An important document from the
end of the century tells us that the Cnde family was involved in building this tower.
Among the domains that King Vladislav conirms in 1493 to Mihail Kendefy,
mentioning they were ruled ab antiquo by his family, is a Murylowar to be found
next to the lands in the Petroani depression84. No matter if the correct reading
of said name is Murilorvar, in which -var means fortress, or more likely
Murisowar, meaning Merior, the name of the stream and of the village nowadays
to be found beneath the fortress85, it is obvious that this region was, in the midifteenth century and maybe even earlier, under the rule and control of the Cnde
family. he tower from Crivadia was built by the Cndes as landlords of this region
or as grand nobles of the kingdom, to guard the road leading toward Oltenia, either
against Turkish strikes or at a time of tense political relations with neighbouring
Wallachia. It is very possible that, at the same time, a similar tower was built by the
Cndes in the Iron Gates of Transylvania (Poarta de Fier a Transilvaniei), the other
important entrance into the Land of Haeg86.
81 .
82 .
83 .
84 .
85 .
86 .
Szinte G., Kerek erd Krivdia fltt, in Archeologiai rtesit, Budapest, u.f., XIV, 1894, p. 110-114;
Tegls G., Hunyadvrmegye fldjnek trtnete az skortl a honfoglalsig, I, Budapest, 1902, p. 158-159.
O. Floca, op. cit., p. 184-185.
Recent consolidation works have partially deformed the monument, such as transforming one of the
embrasures into a gate. he drawing published by Szinte G. in the quoted paper presents rather accurately
the monuments physiognomy at the end of the nineteenth century.
Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 109-110; V. Motogna, op. cit., p. 76-77.
According to C. Suciu, Dicionar istoric al localitilor din Transilvania, I, Bucureti, 1967, p. 391.
he pass had been donated to the Cnde family ever since 1430 by King Sigismund, with the obligation
of maintaining the road in exchange for receiving annually 5,000 blocks of rock salt from Ocna Sibiului
(Hurmuzaki, Documente, I2, p. 655-656; Szabo, op. cit., p. 26). his information is preserved because of
a conirmation from 1439, after the destruction of the initial diploma. Obviously, such an important
donation would imply that the beneiciaries also had to safeguard the pass and this is why I believe a
guard tower must exist in the Iron Gates of Transylvania as well.
47
48
*
*
his presentation of all the medieval fortresses known in the Land of Haeg
highlights the fact that these monuments, dissimilar in age, shape, purpose or
ownership, did not form a unitary functioning system but also that the ensemble
of the monuments is a coherent one since it mirrors in its peculiar way the general
stages and features of the regions historical development.
he main results of this study are that the repertoire of Transylvanias Romanian
medieval monuments was enriched and that, in our opinion, the signiicance of
these monuments is now better known. he dwelling-towers of Haeg prove once
again that the Romanian ruling class of Transylvania, the kneazes, were during the
Middle Ages actually established nobles.
Knowledge of the preserved fortresses from the Land of Haeg is a necessary
step and also a starting point in the study of the era and of the monuments that
preceded the apparition of the stone-built military architecture of this region.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
he Land of Haeg, map showing the medieval fortresses.

he fortress in Mlieti, general view.
he ruins of the royal fortress of Haeg.
he fortress in Rchitova. he dwelling-tower and the enclosure with its moat and
earth rampart.
he fortress in Rchitova. Ground plan by C. Ionescu.
he fortress in Rchitova. he eastern side of the dwelling-tower.
Col fortress. Ground plan from the archive of the I. Mincu Architecture Institute,
Bucharest.
Col fortress. he western side of the dwelling-tower.
he fortress in Mlieti. Ground plan by Olga Bzu.
he fortress in Clnic. he dwelling-tower.
Grbova fortress. he dwelling-tower, as it was altered in the 19th century.
he fortress in Onceti. Ground plan by H. Daicoviciu and collaborators.
Poenari fortress. Ground plan from the D.M.I. archive.
he fortiied court in Slaul de Sus. he chapel ruins.
he guard tower in Crivadia. Ground plan by Eugenia Greceanu.
Ru de Mori. he ruins of the fortiied court.
he guard tower in Crivadia.
SPtuRi ntR-o Villa RuStica

de lng Haeg *
u prilejul cercetrilor de suprafa ntreprinse n ultimii ani n partea de sud a
judeului Hunedoara i mai ales n ara Haegului, pentru identiicarea unor
complexe timpurii-feudale, atenia ne-a fost atras i de un punct situat ntre oraul
Haeg i comuna sntmria-orlea, pe partea stng a oselei ducnd spre subcetate.
Locul este cunoscut sub numele de Grindanu i se prezint ca o teras nalt de 3-4
m, cuprins ntre lunca Rului Mare
i lunca Galbenei, cu vrful
ndreptat spre conluena celor
dou ruri. ntreaga suprafa ce
se ntinde de aici pn la marginile
oraului Haeg, tiat de calea
ferat subcetate-Caransebe, are
azi destinaia de teren agricol.
Excepie face o mic poriune de la
marginea dinspre sntmria-orlea
a terasei (situat administrativ n
hotarul acestei comune), lung de
cca. 150 m i lat de 15-40 m, unde
denivelrile datorate unor ziduri
ruinate, azi acoperite de sol vegetal,
au mpiedicat intrarea uneltelor agricole mecanizate. Ruinele altor dou sau trei cldiri
cu ziduri de piatr, situate la distane de 60-150 m de punctul amintit, au fost incluse n
perimetrul agricol i sunt pe cale de a i deinitiv distruse (ig. 1).
Locul a mai fost semnalat n literatur. La mijlocul veacului trecut, vicarul tefan
Moldovan nota n locul Pe Grindanu urmele unei incinte rectangulare cuprinznd
cldiri ruinate, pe care o identiica cu o cetate1. La nceputul veacului nostru, Iacob
Radu a consemnat tradiia dup care vechea vatr a Haegului s-ar i alat pe acest
loc, la conluena Galbenei cu Rul Mare, unde se mai vedeau urme de ziduri2.
n sfrit, obiectivul a fost semnalat mai recent i de C. Daicoviciu care, pe bun
dreptate, l nseriaz printre vestigiile de epoc roman3.
2.
1.
2.
3.
t. Moldovan, Adnotaiuni despre Tieara Haiegului, VII, Cetatea Sergidava, n Foaie pentru minte,
inim i literatur, Braov, 1854, nr. 36; Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, XIV, 1963, p. 411-418.
Iacob Radu, Istoria vicariatului greco-catolic al Haegului, Lugoj, 1913, p. 215-216.
C. Daicoviciu, Neue Mitteilungen aus Dazien. Funde und Einzeluntersuchungen, n Dacia, VII-VIII,
1937-1940, p. 312. Cf. i Tabula Imperii Romani, L,. 34, Budapest, 1968, sub Haeg i Sntmria-Orlea.
Acta Musei Napocensis, IX, 1972, p. 439-447
Fig. 1.
Zona de la
conluena
rurilor Galbena
i Rul Mare,
cu punctul
Grindanu
50
sPTURI NTR-o VILLA RUsTICA DE LNG HAEG
n primvara anului 1970, pe terenul proaspt arat, am putut culege ceramic

roman, fragmente de igle i crmizi romane i chiar o moned roman de argint4
(ig. 3). Cteva zone n care apreau multe buci de mortar i pietre de carier
indicau existena unor ziduri rscolite de ierul plugului. Totodat, am cules de la
suprafaa solului i cteva fragmente ceramice feudale timpurii. Acestea din urm,
precum i particularitile topograice ale locului ne-au determinat s includem
obiectivul n planul de sondaje.
Fig. 2.
Planurile
spturilor de
pe Grindanu
Fig. 3.
Denar de la
Septimius
Severus
Terasa Grindanu este dominat, de dincolo de apa Galbenei, de ctre dealul

Orlea, pe vrful cruia se mai pstreaz ruinele cetii regale a Haegului. Cetatea
dateaz din deceniul opt al veacului al XIII-lea, iind probabil contemporan cu
biserica din Sntmria-Orlea, alat i ea n imediat apropiere, dincolo de apa
Rului Mare5. Pe de alt parte, documentele atest existena, tot aici, a unei domus
regia, care a fost nlat tot la sfritul veacului al XIII-lea6. Locul ei exact este
deocamdat greu de ixat, poate n cuprinsul
actual al oraului Haeg sau poate chiar undeva pe
Grindanu. n orice caz, ea nu putea i prea departe
de cetatea regal, de care era strns legat prin
semniicaia i rosturile sale.
Aceste trei monumente, dintre care unul
mai rmne de localizat, au marcat momentul
ptrunderii n ara Haegului a autoritii efective
a statului arpadian. Importana cercetrii i
4.
5.
6.
Un denar de la Septimius Sever ntr-o stare de conservare excepional; British Museum Catalogue of
Coins of the Roman Empire, Roma, V, 375, anii 201-210. La una dintre cercetrile de teren a participat i
Gheorghe Lazin de la Muzeul Judeean Hunedoara-Deva.
R. Popa, "Cetile din ara Haegului", n Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 3, 1972.
Ibidem.
cunoaterii lor nu mai trebuie subliniat,

deoarece ele reprezint punctul de plecare
pentru reconstituirea realitilor haegane
de dinainte de acest moment.
*
*
Cercetrile arheologice de pe Grindanu

s-au desfurat ntre 21 iunie i 24 iulie
19717. Datorit timpului nefavorabil,
fondurilor limitate8 i mai ales greutii
de a gsi for de munc, cercetrile nu
au depit cu mult amploarea unui sondaj.
Suprafaa pe care am putut face spturi
s-a limitat la poriunea de teren cu iarb de
la marginea terasei nsumnd cca. 3000 m2,
pe care se mai deslueau traseele temeliilor
a dou cldiri.
Am cercetat aceast suprafa printr-o
seciune longitudinal est-vest discontinu
(S I) i prin trei seciuni transversale (S
II-S IV). O poriune din cldirea mai
mare, surprins de seciuni, a fost dezvelit
prin dou suprafee (ig. 2).
Situaia stratigrafic
Solul viu de pe Grindanu se al la o
adncime medie de 0,40-0,50 m i este
reprezentat de pietri cu bolovani de ru,
de origine aluvionar. Deasupra lui, dar
fr a constitui un nivel continuu, apare
un strat subire de pmnt castaniudeschis, de 0,05-0,10 m, coninnd urme
de locuire din comuna primitiv (ig. 4).
n zona cldirilor romane, stratul a fost
complet distrus de lucrrile de amenajare
a solului fcute de constructori. Cele
cteva fragmente ceramice gsite n acest
strat pledeaz pentru ncadrarea locuirii
7.
8.
La spturi a participat i Victor Eskenasy

student.
Fonduri puse la dispoziie de Institutul de
Arheologie din Bucureti, precum i o contribuie
a Muzeului judeean Hunedoara-Deva.
Fig. 4.
Proile din
seciunile
de pe
Grindanu:
A. Proilul
vestic al lui S.
II. B. Poriune
din proilul
nordic al lui
S.I.
51
52
Fig. 5.
Fragmente
ceramice
gsite n
nivelul
din epoca
bronzului
n bronzul timpuriu9 (ig. 5). ntr-un punct de lng zidurile cldirii romane au
aprut i cteva fragmente ceramice hallstattiene, provenind probabil dintr-un mic
complex distrus de constructorii romani10. n afara acestui punct, nu am mai gsit
alte urme din prima epoc a ierului i nici n proile nu a putut i surprins un nivel
de depuneri corespunznd acestei epoci.
Deasupra solului viu i pe alocuri
deasupra nivelului din epoca
bronzului, a aprut pretutindeni
un strat de pmnt castaniunchis,
coninnd
ceramic
roman i crbune, gros de 0,100,20 m. El s-a format n timpul
locuirii romane din acest loc. n
apropierea zidurilor, acest nivel
roman cuprinde la baz lentile
de pmnt cu sau fr mortar,
rezultate din amenajarea anurilor
de fundaie a zidurilor sau din
nivelri.
Anumite indicii stratigraice
furnizate de proilele din interiorul
cldirii mari (stratul de umplutur
dintre cele dou plci de mortar
vezi ig. 4 A) atest o refacere
sau o modiicare a construciei. Indiciile se conirm prin observaiile fcute asupra
zidurilor i asupra altor amenajri interioare, despre care va i vorba mai jos. Prin
dezvelirea n suprafa a mai putut i surprins i o a treia faz a locuirii romane,
de dup ruinarea parial a cldirii, dar aceast faz nu i gsete corespondena pe
proilele pe care le-am putut realiza. De altfel, n exteriorul cldirii amintite, nici a
doua faz de construcie i nici aceast ultim faz de locuire roman nu au putut i
identiicate stratigraic, nivelul respectiv iind unitar.
n interiorul celor dou cldiri parial cercetate precum i pn la o distan de
3-4 m n exteriorul lor, nivelul urmtor este reprezentat de molozul rezultat din
drmarea zidurilor. n proilurile realizate prin cldirea mare, existena unui strat
compact de igle i olane, alat n grosimea sau deasupra molozului, strat ce se
ntinde i peste o temelie de zid (vezi proilul), dovedete ruinarea iniial a zidurilor
interioare, urmat n timp de prbuirea acoperiului. A treia faz a locuirii romane,
despre care a fost vorba mai sus, se al deasupra unui strat de moloz i sub stratul
de igle i olane.
n sfrit, ntr-o epoc ulterioar, n exteriorul cldirilor s-a depus un strat de
pmnt negru-castaniu, acoperit azi de solul vegetal, iar n interiorul construciei
mari s-au spat mai multe gropi, desigur pentru strngerea unor materiale de
9.
10 .
Pare a i vorba de ceramic aparinnd culturii Wietenberg, cu elemente de tradiie Coofeni. Mulumim
colegilor S. Morintz i A. Vulpe care au studiat materialele.
Urmele se leag foarte probabil de marea cetate hallstatian alat la cca 500 m spre nord-est, dincolo de
rul Galbena; cf. M. Moga, n Sargetia, II, 1941, p. 151 i urm.
construcie, gropi ce au distrus parial zidurile i au rscolit molozul. Ceramica

timpuriu-feudal gsit n partea superioar a molozului i n zona gropilor ixeaz
n aceast din urm epoc momentul n care ruinele romane de pe Grindanu au
devenit loc de exploatare a materialelor de construcie11.
Cldirile romane
A. Cea mai mare dintre cele dou construcii aprute n sptur are un plan
dreptunghiular cu laturile de 22/15,80 m, iind orientat cu axul lung aproape riguros
pe direcia est-vest. Dei toate patru laturile cldirii au fost cel puin surprinse prin
seciuni, dac nu dezvelite parial sau integral, nu este totui exclus ca pe exteriorul
dreptunghiular s mai i existat anumite anexe. Rezerva este valabil n special pentru
colul de nord-est al cldirii,unde zidul de est pare a continua n direcia nord (vezi ig.6)
pentru a delimita o ncpere de dimensiuni mici (praefurnium?) sau pentru a se lega
de ruinele unei cldiri alate la cca 120 m distan. n acest din urm caz ar i vorba
11 .
Puinele materiale feudale timpurii descoperite, asupra crora vom reveni cu alt prilej, par a data din
secolul al XIII-lea i deocamdat nclinm s le punem n legtur cu construirea n vecintate a cetii
regale i a bisericii din Sntmria-Orlea. Nu este totui exclus ca celelalte ruine ale complexului roman
s rezerve surprize, n sensul refolosirii lor pentru o locuire din aceast epoc. Datorit culturilor agricole,
nu am putut face sondaje.
Fig. 6.
Poriunea
cercetat din
cldirea mare
cu hipocaust
53
54
Fig. 7.
Partea estic a
cldirii mari,
dup dezvelire
Fig. 8.
Caseta de
zidrie n S II a
de un zid de incint, la colul cruia s-a alipit cldirea discutat12. Urmele pstrate
la suprafaa terenului nu ofer suiciente indicii, iar condiiile concrete ale cercetrii,
despre care a fost vorba, ne-au mpiedicat s stabilim cu exactitate situaia din acest
col al cldirii ca i din cel opus, de sud-vest.
Temeliile i poriunile de pn la
nlimea pstrat a zidurilor cldirii
sunt construite din piatr de carier
i bolovani de ru, cu mortar din
pietri mrunt, nisip i var, n opus
incertum. Fa de nivelul de clcare
al constructorilor, temeliile nu se
adncesc n sol dect cu 0,20-0,30 m.
Consistena solului viu fcea inutil
sparea unor anuri de fundaie mai
adnci.
La zidurile exterioare ale cldirii,
groase de 0,60-0,65 m, temelia se
lrgete pe ambele fee prin crepide
pn la 0,75-0,80 m. Zidurile interioare sunt groase de 0,40-0,50 m i au aproape
pretutindeni aceleai crepide ce lrgesc temeliile (vezi ig. 3-4).
Au fost degajate trei ncperi, dou integral, iar una doar parial, care compuneau
partea de est a cldirii. ncperea din colul de nord-est are un plan riguros ptrat,
cu latura de 3,70 m. Judecnd dup temeliile pstrate,
ea comunica printr-o u cu spaiul nvecinat dinspre
vest. ncperea urmtoare, de pe mijlocul laturii de est
a cldirii, are un plan dreptunghiular cu laturile de 4,35
i 3,70 m. O u lat de 0,90 m o lega de ncperea din
colul de sud-est a cldirii.
Aceast din urm ncpere este cea mai mare dintre
cele descoperite, avnd una dintre laturi de 5,40 m. Ea
cuprinde totodat o instalaie de hipocaust, amenajat
de-a lungul peretelui de sud al cldirii. Au aprut trei
rnduri de picioare de hipocaust, iecare format din cte
ase picioare, n majoritate conservate (ig. 9). Chiar i la
picioarele disprute (probabil spoliate n epoc feudaltimpurie) se mai observ amprenta lor pe podeaua de
mortar (cocciopesto) care formeaz baza ntregii instalaii.
Dac ncperea are aceeai lrgime de 3,70 m ca i cele
dou anterior descrise, ceea ce pare probabil, atunci
hipocaustul cuprinde cte 7 picioare pe iecare rnd,
deci 21 de picioare.
12 .
Din descrierea fcut cu mai bine de un veac n urm de t. Moldovan (op. cit.) rezult c atunci se mai
vedea conturul unei incinte (ceti) cu laturile de 120 pe 80 (stnjeni? deci circa 220/150 m)
cuprinznd n interior cinci locuri mai ridicate de form patrat-oblong. n exteriorul incintei, pe latura
de est, s-ar mai i vzut urmele unui turn rotund. Citnd aceast descriere, I. Marian, Repertoriu arheologic
pentru Ardeal, Bistria, 1920, p. 35, vorbete de o incint cu circumferina de 680 m.
Distana dintre dou picioare ale hipocaustului variaz ntre 0,25 i 0,35 m.
Fiecare picior are la baz cte o crmid ptrat cu latura de 0,30 m, groas de 0,06
m, deasupra creia au fost cldite, cu legtur de mortar, crmizi de aceeai grosime
i de aceeai form ptrat dar ceva mai mici, cu latura
de 0,20 m. Piciorul cel mai bine conservat este compus,
n afara crmizii de baz, din nc apte crmizi, iind
nalt de 0,52 m. Deoarece picioarele de hipocaust aveau
n partea superioar cte o crmid de dimensiuni mai
mari care facilita amenajarea podelei ncperii, putem
airma c aceasta din urm se ala la nlimea de cel
puin 0,60-0,65 m deasupra fundului hipocaustului.
O crmid alat la limita superioar pstrat a
unui picior de hipocaust a fost obinut prin ajustarea
la dimensiunile necesare a unei crmizi mai mari,
aparinnd altui tip, prevzut pe una dintre fee cu
un ornament erpuit adncit n past crud. i aceast
obser vaie reprezint un indiciu asupra existenei unei
a doua faze de construcie la cldirea alat n discuie.
Tot instalaiei de hipocaust i aparin crmizile cu
picior (tegulae mammatae) care au aprut n numr mare
n molozul din ncpere (ig. 10), n special n apropierea
peretelui de sud, pe care au fost desigur montate.
Partea de nord a ncperii cu hipocaust se prezint
n plan ca un coridor lung de 3 m i lat de 1,80 m, alat n continuarea uii dinspre
camera nvecinat. Coridorul este delimitat de dou ziduri construite ca nite
casete (ig. 8-9), umplute cu pmnt i care au fost acoperite, la o nlime cu puin
mai mare dect aceea pstrat, cu o plac de mortar coninnd mult crmid
sfrmat. Aceast plac s-a pstrat parial n proilul de deasupra casetei dinspre
vest (vezi ig. 4). Pe zidria casetei opuse s-a pstrat in situ la adncimea de 0,05 m
o crmid mare, aezat pe un strat de mortar rou coninnd aceeai sfrmtur
de crmid. Din proil rezult c plcile de mortar acoperite cu crmizi, ce se alau
deasupra celor dou casete, erau cu cca. 0,75 m mai sus dect fundul hipocaustului.
Nu se poate totui preciza dac ele constituiau un fel de platforme mai nalte dect
podeaua camerei, sau dac ele se continuau nemijlocit cu pavimentul de deasupra
hipocaustului. n a doua dintre soluii, coridorul din partea de nord a ncperii
discutate nu ar i altceva dect o rezolvare a amenajrii substruciilor.
n orice caz, cele dou casete au fost zidite (sau refcute?) n a doua faz de
construcie a cldirii, deoarece zidul uneia dintre ele acoper o mic poriune de
tencuial de pe peretele nordic al ncperii. Pe lng faptul c observaia contribuie
la precizarea existenei acestei faze de construcie, ulterioare celei iniiale, ea ne
permite s airmm c interioarele cldirii erau acoperite cu o tencuial de mortar
din nisip in i var.
n legtur cu alte compartimentri ale cldirii nu putem semnala dect urmele
foarte slab conservate ale unei temelii de zid interior, orientat transversal n raport
cu axul lung al cldirii, la 4,80 m distan de peretele ei vestic. Acest zid sugereaz
Fig. 9.
Caseta de
zidrie i
picioarele
hipocaustului
n S II
55
56
Fig. 10.
Olan, tegulae
mammatae i
crmizi (de
paviment?)
Fig. 11.
igle din
molozul
cldirii mari
existena n partea de vest a casei a unei alte niruiri

de dou sau trei ncperi i, poate, a unei mari ncperi
(curte interioar?) centrale.
Dintre materialele care au aparinut construciei i
care s-au gsit n sptur, notm n primul rnd cuiele
i piroanele de ier, de dimensiuni variate, de la 0,06
pn la 0,35 m lungime, precum i cteva scoabe, tot
din ier, ce par a proveni de la ui (ig. 12). O importan
deosebit ni se pare a avea consemnarea formei, a
dimensiunilor i a celorlalte particulariti pe care le
prezint crmizile, iglele i olanele descoperite printre
ruine. Pe temeiul lor ar putea i precizate anumite ateliere
care au activat n aceast parte a provinciei romane. Pe
de alt parte, deoarece monumentele medievale din
ara Haegului cuprind n multe cazuri crmizi sau
plci ceramice folosite la frizele cornielor, la portaluri,
la pardoseli sau chiar n ziduri, un catalog ct mai amplu
al materialelor romane de construcie alate n regiune
ar uura identiicarea spolierilor.
Fragmentele de olane i cele cteva olane ntregi gsite n moloz fac parte din
acelai tip, lung de 0,44 m i lat de 0,18 m la captul superior, iar la captul inferior
de 0,16 m. Olanele sunt groase de 0,02 m i au nlimea maxim a curburii de 0,08
m. Ele sunt lipsite de ornamente, dar au pe faa superioar enuiri supericiale,
dispuse longitudinal, provenite de la tiparele de lemn n care au fost confecionate
(ig. 10).
iglele sunt de form dreptunghiular i au
dimensiunile mari, iind lungi de 0,52 m, late de 0,38
m i groase de 0,025 m. Au margini ridicate, late de
0,02 m i nalte de 0,055-0,06 m. n scopul mbucrii
iglelor din rndurile succesive, marginile lipsesc n
partea superioar pe o lungime de 0,05-0,06 m, iar n
partea inferioar, pe spate, exist dou teituri cu aceeai
lungime. iglele au pe fa i un decor, adncit n pasta
crud, dispus n partea inferioar i avnd ie aspectul a
trei mici semicercuri concentrice13, cu raza de 0,035 m,
ie a unui triunghi trasat cu dou degete (ig. 11).
Notm ca apariie izolat o igl de acelai tip,
prevzut n partea superioar cu o perforaie practicat
secundar, n care s-a pstrat un cui cu loarea lat,
pentru ixarea iglei pe scheletul de lemn al acoperiului
(ig. 11). Piesa pare a atesta o reparaie, deoarece restul
iglelor nu au asemenea oriicii.
13 .
Un fragment de igl cu decor identic ntr-o villa rustica de lng Aiud; I. Winkler V. Vasiliev T. Chiu A. Borda, Villa Rustica de la Aiud. Cteva observaii privind villae-le rusticae din Dacia
Superior, n Sargetia, V, 1968, ig. 8/9.
Printre fragmentele de crmizi gsite n moloz au putut i deosebite, n afara

celor provenind de la picioarele hipocaustului, unele ce fac parte dintr-un tip de
dimensiuni mari, de form dreptunghiular, lungi de 0,42 m, late de 0,28 m i groase
de 0,05 m. Pe una dintre fee, ele au un ornament n form de S cu buclele foarte
strnse, adncit n pasta crud cu dou linii paralele trasate cu degetele alturate (ig.
10). Acest tip de crmid pare a i fost folosit pentru pavimentele din ncperi.
B. A doua cldire se afl la cca. 40 m spre vest de prima, axele lor lungi fiind
aproape n prelungire. Judecnd dup alveolrile terenului, cldirea a avut un
plan dreptunghiular cu dimensiunile de aproximativ 23/15 m (vezi ig. 2).
Zidul ei de nord, surprins n seciune (ig. 13), are temelia lat de 0,90 m,
construit ntr-o tehnic diferit de aceea a primei cldiri. Feele zidului sunt din
bolovani de ru i pietre mari de carier, cu un emplecton din pietre mici cu puin
mortar. Zidul de sud al construciei nu a putut i surprins n seciune, iind n acel
loc (S III) distrus i rscolit pn la temelie, dar molozul rmas i atest amplasarea
i orientarea. n cazul n care, aa cum s-a discutat mai sus, ntregul complex ar i
avut un zid de incint, atunci acest din urm zid
forma latura sudic a cldirii de care ne ocupm.
Mai exact, n acest caz cldirea ar i adosat la
zidul de incint, pe care l folosete drept unul
dintre perei.
Deoarece seciunile nu au dat la iveal, n
interiorul cldirii, nici o urm de podea sau de
materiale provenind de la pavimente, credem c
aceast construcie a avut rosturi gospodreti,
iind folosit ca hambar, ca magazie de unelte
sau poate ca grajd. n schimb acoperiul ei
era ntru totul asemntor cu acela al cldirii
prezentate anterior, dup cum o dovedesc iglele
i olanele aparinnd acelorai tipuri, gsite n
numr mare n apropierea zidurilor i n moloz.
Materiale descoperite n
spturi
A. Piese din ier.
Dintre obiectele din aceast categorie atrage
atenia un lan de dimensiuni mari, compus din
dou zale alungite i o verig triunghiular cu
colurile rotunjite, avnd lungimea total de 0,69 m (ig. 12). Asemenea lanuri par
a i relativ rare printre descoperirile din complexele romane i, datorit masivitii
lor neobinuite, au fost interpretate ca lanuri de traciune14. Piesa noastr a aprut
n exteriorul cldirii mari, pe latura ei de est.
14.
I. Winkler i colab., op. cit., p. 72, ig. 12/2 i nota 20. Autorii cunosc trei exemplare descoperite n provincia
Dacia. Pentru un exemplar identic descoperit n Pannonia, tot ntr-o villa rustica, cf. E. homas, Rmische
Villen in Pannonien, Budapesta, 1964, pl. LXXXVI.
Fig. 12.
Obiecte din
ier, greutate
din lut i pies
din corn de
cerb
57
58
Fig. 13.
Zidul de nord
al cldirii mici
surprins n
seciune
Fig. 14.
Ceramic din
villa rustica de
lng Haeg
O pies ornamental (?), pstrat

fragmentar, este compus din dou
vergele de ier cu capetele alipite prin
batere la cald, prima dreapt, iar a doua
erpuit cu patru meandre (ig. 12). Are
n prezent lungimea de 0,31 m i, pentru
cazul n care a fost iniial simetric a
avut lungimea de 0,42 m. Pe temeiul
urmelor pstrate pe pies, este posibil ca
la origine ea s i fost compus din trei
vergele, aceea dreapt iind ncadrat de
dou erpuite. Pare a proveni de la un
grilaj de fereastr sau de la o u, iind gsit n molozul din ncperea din colul de
nord-est al cldirii mari.
n afara cuielor, a piroanelor i a scoabelor despre care a fost vorba n legtur cu
cldirile, din inventarul de obiecte din ier mai face parte un vrf de sgeat cu spin
simplu i tub de nmnuare, lung de 0,065 m (ig. 12).
B. Ceramica.
S-a descoperit o cantitate apreciabil de fragmente ceramice provenind de la vase
de forme i mrimi diferite, n special n interiorul cldirii mari i n apropierea ei. Un
numr mai mic de asemenea materiale
a aprut i n interiorul celei de a doua
cldiri sau n grosimea nivelului roman
de pe Grindanu. Fragmentele sunt din
pcate destul de mici, iar faptul c nu am
dezvelit integral ruinele cldirilor reduce
mult posibilitatea recuperrii unor forme
sau proile complete. Ne limitm din
aceast cauz la cteva observaii asupra
materialelor de acest gen i la prezentarea
unor piese mai caracteristice.
n molozul din interiorul cldirii
mari, alturi de ceramic provincial
roman, s-au gsit cteva fragmente
de ceramic cenuie dacic, lucrat la
roat, printre care i o buz de fructier
(ig. 14 a). Prezena ceramicii dacice n
villae rusticae, atestat i n alte locuri din
provincie15, pare a i aproape o regul.
Fragmentele
ceramice
romane
provin, cu puine excepii, de la vase de
uz comun. Ele se mpart, n procente
aproximativ egale, ntre ceramica roie ars oxidant, ceramica cenuie propriu-zis,
15 .
O. Floca - M. Valea, Villa rustica i necropola daco-roman de la Cinci, n Acta Musei Napocensis, II,
1965, p. 163 i urm., J. Winkler i colab., op. cit., p. 72 i ig. 7.
ars reductor i ceramica neagr-roietic ars ntr-o tehnic mixt sau, mai degrab, ntr-o tehnic imperfect. Aproape toate vasele sunt produse n ateliere locale,
caracteristic iind n cazul multor fragmente utilizarea aceleiai paste, cu nisip i
pietricele ca degresant, ca i la confecionarea crmizilor i a iglelor. Remarcm
totui c multe fragmente ceramice
cenuii, provenind n special de la
castroane, dar i cteva fragmente
de oale arse la rou se caracterizeaz
printr-o past coninnd foarte
mult mic.
Ceramica in este reprezentat
prin cteva fragmente provenind
de la vase mici, din past omogen
ars oxidant, acoperit cu culoare
roie. S-au gsit i cteva fragmente
de ceramic in cenuie. Forma
predominant n cadrul ceramicii de
lux este strachina mic i bolul, cu
baz inelar (Standring) (ig. 15 a).
n cuprinsul ceramicii arse
la rou, au aprut fragmente de
la cteva amfore cu mnu de
seciune rotund i de la vase mari
de provizii. Oalele de dimensiuni
mijlocii i mici au gtul scund i
buza mult ngroat, rsfrnt n
afar i teit pe partea superioar
(ig. 14 b, c, d). Din aceeai categorie
ceramic fac parte cteva fragmente
purtnd decor executat cu rotia (ig.
14 p), precum i un capac mare de oal cu marginea desfcut n dou benzi ce au
fost unite din loc n loc prin apsarea cu degetele (ig. 15 c). Amndou procedeele
decorative se rentlnesc n ceramica medieval.
Au aprut n numr destul de mare fragmente de la capace simple de oal, avnd
n partea superioar un buton circular gol n interior (ig. 15 b). Diametrele lor
variaz ntre 0,12 i 0,16 m. Ele se ncadreaz n special n categoria ceramicii
negre-roietice.
n categoria ceramicii cenuii, n afara unor fragmente de oale cu toart purtnd
pe umr caneluri dese i avnd coaste pe perei n interior, caracteristice sunt mai
ales fragmentele provenind de la castroane. Acestea din urm, perfect circulare, au
fundul cu diametrul de cca. 0,20 m, pereii uor nclinai n exterior, nali de cca.
0,05 m, iar buza ie rotunjit i ngroat spre interior (ig. 15 d-f, i, j), ie lit spre
exterior i cu marginea superioar, dreapt, purtnd n unele cazuri dou caneluri
adnci (ig. 15 g, h). Ultimul dintre tipurile amintite ale buzelor de castron se
ntlnete i pe cteva fragmente de oale cenuii (ig. 14 h).
Fig. 15.
Ceramic din
villa rustica de
lng Haeg
59
60
Pentru a ncheia prezentarea ceramicii, menionm c n cuprinsul ei nu s-au

putut surprinde diferenieri cu valoare cronologic, corespunztoare fazelor de
construcie i de locuire stabilite stratigraic i planimetric la cldirea mare, faze
despre care a fost vorba mai sus. Cu alte cuvinte, materialele gsite pe nivelul de
clcare al primelor construcii sau n grosimea molozului rezultat din prbuirea
pereilor interiori sunt ntru totul asemntoare celor din complexul reprezentnd
ultima faz a locuirii romane din acest loc, complex format din fragmente ceramice,
oase i crbuni, situat deasupra molozului i acoperit de stratul de igle i olane.
C. Alte piese.
n aceast categorie includem cteva fragmente mici de la vase de sticl i dou
piese de form circular aplatizat, perforate n ax. Prima dintre ele este din lut ars
la rou, lucrat din aceeai past cu pietricele din care sunt confecionate i unele
oale mari de uz comun. Are marginile rotunjite, diametrul de 0,085 m, grosimea
de 0,03 m, iar oriiciul perfect circular din ax are diametrul de 0,015 m (ig. 12). A
fost gsit n interiorul cldirii mici i pare a i folosit ca greutate, poate la un rzboi
vertical de esut.
A doua pies a fost gsit n complexul din ultima faz a locuirii romane i este
lucrat dintr-o felie tiat de la rdcina unui corn de cerb. Oriiciul central, bine
lustruit prin folosire ndelungat, are forma vag triunghiular i diametrul de 0,02 m
(ig. 12). A fost folosit probabil pentru reunirea a trei legturi de curea.
D. Materialul osteologic.
Dei nu foarte numeros, consemnm totui identiicrile16 fcute asupra acestui
material pe care l considerm important pentru cunoaterea unor aspecte de via
zilnic n cuprinsul villae-lor rusticae. Oasele gsite pe fundul hipocaustului i n
grosimea molozului din interiorul cldirii mari provin de la cteva exemplare de
porc domestic (Sus scrofa), de la cel puin dou bovidee tinere (Bos taurus), o capr
(Capra hircus) i poate de la o oaie (Ovis aries). S-au gsit i cteva fragmente de
oase de pasre, nedeterminabile. Singurul rest de animal slbatic este un corn de
cerb (Cervus elaphus).
n complexul datnd din ultima faz a locuirii romane sunt reprezentate aproape
riguros aceleai specii: oase de la exemplare tinere de bovideu i porc domestic, oase
de oaie i cteva oase de pasre.
Consideraii finale
La ncheierea spturilor am astupat seciunile i suprafeele n scopul conservrii
ruinelor pn la data la care condiiile vor permite dezvelirea i conservarea ntregului
complex roman. n ceea ce privete concluziile de ordin mai general pe care le putem
formula, ele sunt destul de reduse, pe msura amploarei spturilor noastre.
Includerea construciilor romane de pe Grindanu n seria de villae rusticae
cunoscute din provincia Dacia nu se ntemeiaz pe vreun argument decisiv. Dar toate
indiciile care pot i luate n considerare pledeaz pentru considerarea complexului
16 .
Datorm identiicrile colegei A. Bolomey, creia i mulumim i aici.
ca avnd acest caracter. Ne referim la dimensiunile, particularitile i amplasarea

cldirilor, la inventarul descoperit, la lipsa unor urme care s poat i legate de o
unitate militar precum i, nu n ultimul rnd, la dispunerea topograic a ntregului
complex.
Ruinele de pe Grindanu se al la marginea unei mari suprafee de teren agricol,
cel mai rodnic teren din ntreaga zon, nsumnd cteva sute de hectare mrginite
de rurile Galbena i Rul Mare. Acest teren a avut fr ndoial aceeai destinaie
agricol i n epoca roman. Nu tim pe unde treceau atunci limitele proprietilor
dar, exceptnd ruinele romane semnalate dincolo de cursul Rului Mare17, cele
mai apropiate vestigii romane se al la o distan de cca. 3 km, pe terasa nalt de
la marginea de vest a oraului Haeg18. Aceasta nseamn c terenul agricol care
depindea de complexul cercetat era de o ntindere apreciabil.
De altfel, judecnd dup numrul cldirilor i dup suprafaa pe care ele sunt
repartizate, suprafa care dup cum am artat a fost probabil delimitat printrun zid de incint, aezarea de pe Grindanu apare ca iind cea mai mare i mai
important villa rustica dintre cele cunoscute pn acum n provincia Dacia19.
Ct privete datarea mai strns a complexului, dispunem de o singur moned,
gsit i aceea n afara spturii. Nu am putea prin urmare pune prea mare temei pe
ea, dac data pe care o ofer (anii 201-210) nu ar coincide cu a celorlalte descoperiri
monetare fcute n villae-le rusticae din Dacia, indicnd toate perioada de la sfritul
secolului II i prima jumtate a secolului III e.n.20.
Se pare aadar c nici complexul de lng Haeg nu face excepie de la cele ce
tim n momentul de fa despre epoca de nlorire a villae-lor rusticae n provincia
Dacia.
Pentru data de sfrit a aezrii, rezultatele spturii pot i interpretate n cel
puin dou feluri. Am vzut c n cldirea mare au fost surprinse urme de via,
tot de epoc roman, ulterioare ruinrii pariale a construciei. Observaia ar pleda
pentru datarea momentului n care villa rustica a ncetat s-i mai ndeplineasc
funcia iniial, de centru al unei mari exploatri agricole, cu o anumit perioad
nainte de sfritul provinciei, probabil ctre mijlocul secolului III. Dar cum nu tim
dac urmele de via amintite sunt ulterioare datei la care ntregul complex de cldiri
a nceput s se ruineze i dac cumva situaia respectiv se limiteaz la cldirea
parial cercetat, villa rustica continund deci s funcioneze ca atare pn n ultimii
ani ai provinciei, un rspuns sigur nu va i posibil dect dup cercetarea metodic a
ntregului complex.
17 .
18 .
19 .
20 .
Nu am reuit s identiicm locul exact, el este consemnat de t. Moldovan, op. cit., loc. cit. n Tabula
Imperii Romani, sub Sntmria-Orlea se precizeaz o ,,lndliche Siedlung vicus cum vestigiis, fr
localizare mai exact, dar n bibliograia citat este vorba att de urmele de pe malul drept al Rului Mare,
ct i de cele de pe malul opus.
Identiicare de teren fcut n 1970 mpreun cu Gh. Lazin. Nu tim dac lndliche Siedlung vicus
cum vestigiis, din Tabula Imperii Romani de sub Haeg, se refer la acest punct sau la Grindanu. n orice
caz, conducta roman consemnat n Tabula se al la vest de oraul Haeg; cf. Anuarul Comisiunii
monumentelor istorice. Secia pentru Transilvania, 1926-1928, p. 175.
I. Winkler i colab., op. cit., ig. 14 i bibliograia.
Ibidem, p. 80. Monedele pe care le-am gsit n villa rustica dezvelit parial cu prilejul cercetrilor de la
biserica din Strei-Clan, ntinzndu-se de la Antoninus Pius pn la Caracalla-Elagabal, se nscriu n
aceeai perioad. Rezultatele de la Strei-Clan sunt n curs de publicare.
61
eXcaVationS in a
Villa RuStica neaR Haeg *
hile surveying the southern side of Hunedoara County, especially the Land
of Haeg, in order to identify some early medieval archaeological features,
my attention was also drawn by a site between the town of Haeg and SntmriaOrlea on the left side of the road that leads to Subcetate. he place is known as
Grindanu, standing as a 3-4 m high terrace between the watersides of Rul Mare
and Galbena, its peak facing the junction of these two rivers. he area from here to the
outskirts of Haeg Town, over the Subcetate-Caransebe railroad, is nowadays used
as agricultural terrain. here is one small exception, a small portion of the terrace,
toward Sntmria-Orlea, inside the administrative boundaries of this commune,
about 150 m long, 15-40 m wide, where the uneven terrain, hiding ruined walls now
covered in top soil, prevented the usage of large agricultural machines. he ruins of
two or three other stone buildings, about 60-150 m away from the aforementioned
point, were incorporated in the agricultural area and are about to be completely
destroyed (ig. 1).
he place is already mentioned in the bibliography. At the middle of the nineteenth
century Vicar tefan Moldovan was noting on the point Pe Grindanu traces of a
rectangular enclosure with ruined buildings, which he identiied as a fortress1. At the
beginning of the twentieth century Iacob Radu had noted the tradition according to
which the old centre of Haeg was here, at the junction between Galbena and Rul
Mare, a place where one could still see traces of walls2. Recently C. Daicoviciu has
also signalled the point and rightfully enumerated it among the Roman vestiges3.
In the spring of 1970, I found Roman pottery on the freshly ploughed terrain,
fragments of Roman tiles and bricks and even a Roman silver coin4 (ig. 3). Several
areas where I found numerous fragments of mortar and quarry stones indicated
the existence of walls damaged by the iron plough. At the same time I was able to
ind in the same area several early medieval pot shards. hese and the topographic
particularities of the area have convinced me to include it in an excavation project.
1.
2.
3.
4.
t. Moldovan, Adnotaiuni despre Tieara Haiegului, VII, Cetatea Sergidava, in Foaie pentru minte,
inim i literatur, Braov, 1854, nr. 36; Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, XIV, 1963, p. 411-418.
Iacob Radu, Istoria vicariatului greco-catolic al Haegului, Lugoj, 1913, p. 215-216.
C. Daicoviciu, Neue Mitteilungen aus Dazien. Funde und Einzeluntersuchungen, in Dacia, VII-VIII,
1937-1940, p. 312. Also Tabula Imperii Romani, L,. 34, Budapest, Budapest, 1968, under Haeg and
Sntmria-Orlea.
A denarius from Septimius Severus exceptionally well preserved; British Museum Catalogue of Coins of the
Roman Empire, Roma, V, 375, years 201-210. Gheorghe Lazin from the County Museum of HunedoaraDeva also took part at one of the surface surveys.
Acta Musei Napocensis, IX, 1972, p. 439-447
2.
64
EXCAVATIoNs IN A VILLA RUsTICA NEAR HAEG
Grindanu terrace is dominated, from beyond the waters of Galbena, by the

hill named Orlea, whose top still preserves the ruins of the royal fortress of Haeg.
he fortress dates from the eighth decade of the thirteenth century, probably
contemporary with the church in Sntmria-Orlea, located nearby, across the river
Rul Mare5. Moreover, the documents attest here a domus regia, also erected at the
end of the thirteenth century6. Its exact location is hard to pinpoint at the moment,
maybe somewhere in the current town of Haeg or maybe even somewhere on
Grindanu. In any case, it couldnt have been far from the royal fortress, to which it
was strongly connected through signiicance and purposes.
hese three monuments, of which only one remains to be located, mark the
beginnings of the Arpadian Kingdoms concrete authority over the Land of Haeg.
he importance of their study and knowledge must not be underlined again, since
they represent the starting point for any reconstruction of the realities from the
Land of Haeg before that moment.
*
*
he archaeological investigations on Grindanu were conducted between 21

June and 24 July 19717. Because of unfavourable meteorological conditions, limited
funds8 and especially because it was hard to ind workers, the investigation barely
exceeded the extent of a stratigraphic survey. he area where we could place our
excavations was limited to a grass covered portion on the edge of the terrace of
about 3,000 m2, where we could still recognize the foundations of two buildings.
his surface was investigated by a longitudinal discontinuous trench, oriented
east to west (S I) and three transversal trenches (S II-S IV). he east side of the
larger building, initially identiied by our trench, was uncovered thru other two
excavations (ig. 2).
The Stratigraphic Sequence
he natural subsoil on Grindanu is at an average depth of 0.4-0.5 m and
consists of gravel mixed with river stones of an alluvial origin. Above it, but without
being a continuous stratum, is a thin layer of light brown soil, 0.50-0.1 m thick,
with traces of prehistoric habitation (ig. 4). In the area of the Roman buildings this
layer was completely destroyed during the construction works. he few potsherds
found in this layer point to an Early Bronze Age habitation9 (ig. 5). In a spot near
the walls of the Roman building we also found several Hallstatt ceramic fragments,
probably from a small complex destroyed by the Roman builders10. Except for this,
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10 .
R. Popa, Cetile din ara Haegului, in Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 3, 1972.

Ibid.
Victor Eskenasy student was also involved in the excavations.
he funds were given by the Archaeological Institute from Bucharest and the County Museum of
Hunedoara-Deva.
his seems to be pottery belonging to the Wietenberg culture, with elements from the Coofeni culture.
I thank my colleagues S. Morintz and A. Vulpe, who have studied these materials.
he traces are most likely connected with the great Hallstatt fortress, about 500 m north, across the
Galbena River; according to M. Moga, in Sargetia, II, 1941, p. 151f.
we couldnt ind other traces from the First Iron Age nor could we see a layer that
corresponds to this era in our trench.
Above the natural subsoil and, in places, overlapping the Bronze Age layer, over
the entire investigated surface there was a layer of dark brown soil, 0.1-0.2 m thick,
with Roman pottery and charcoal. It had formed during the Roman habitation of
the area. Near the walls this Roman layer also contains, on its lower part, lenses
of soil with or without mortar, lenses resulted from digging the walls foundation
ditches or from levelling.
Certain stratigraphic clues provided by the trench proiles inside the large
building (the illing layer between the two beds of mortar see ig. 4 A) testify for a
modiication or restoration of this building. he clues are conirmed by observations
on the walls and other interior arrangements, of which I will talk later. he further
unveiling of the surface revealed a third stage of Roman habitation, after the building
had partially fell into ruin, but this stage doesnt have a correspondence in the proiles
of the trenches we were able to dig. As a matter of fact, outside the Roman building,
we couldnt stratigraphically identify the second phase of construction or this last
stage of habitation, since they represented a unitary level.
Inside the two partially investigated buildings and 3-4 m outside them the next
level is represented by rubble resulted from the ruining of the walls. In the interior
proiles of the large building, a compact layer of roof tiles (both lat - tegulae and
concave - imbrices) located in the mortar layer or above it but also found over a
wall foundation (see the drawing of the proile) proves that the inner walls crumbled
irst, followed in time by the roof collapsing. he aforementioned third stage of
Roman habitation settles over a mortar layer and is overlapped by the bed of roof
tiles.
Finally, in a subsequent epoch, outside the buildings took shape a stratum of
chestnut-black soil, today covered by the vegetal soil, while inside the building
several pits were dug up, obviously for recuperating construction materials. hese pits
have partially destroyed the walls and stirred the rubble layer. he Early Medieval
pottery we found in the upper level of the rubble and in the area of the pits locates
in time the moment when the Roman ruins on Grindanu were exploited for their
construction material11.
The Roman buildings
A. he larger of the two buildings uncovered by the excavations presents a
rectangular plan, with sides 22 by 15.8 m long and its long axis is almost rigorously
east to west oriented. Although all four sides of the building were partially or
entirely unveiled by our excavation, we do not exclude the potential existence of
other annexes outside of the rectangle. his could especially be the case in the northeastern corner of the building, where the eastern wall seems to continue northward
(ig. 6) in order to mark a smaller room (praefurnium?) or to connect this building to
11 .
he very few early medieval materials (which I intend to approach another time) seem to date from the
thirteenth century and for now I tend to connect them to the nearby establishment of the royal fortress
and of the church in Sntmria-Orlea. It is not excluded that the other ruins of the Roman complex
may still surprise us with signs of having been re-used and inhabited during this period. Because of the
farming on the area we couldnt perform excavations.
65
66
another one, about 120 m away, in which case we are dealing with an enclosure wall
at whose corner the building was erected12. he surface traces do not ofer enough
clues and the already mentioned conditions in which the investigation took place
did not allow us to establish exactly the situation in this corner and in the opposite,
south-western one.
he foundations and the preserved elevation of the walls are built from quarry
and river stones, with mortar of lime, sand and small grained gravel, in the opus
incertum manner. According to the constructors ground level the foundation ditch
is only 0.2-0.3 m deep because the consistency of the natural subsoil would make
digging deeper ditches useless.
he exterior walls of the building are 0.6-0.65 m thick but their foundations
grow thicker on both sides, to 0.75-0.8 m wide. he inner walls of the building are
0.4-0.5 m wide and almost everywhere their foundations thicken (ig. 3-4).
We unveiled three rooms, two completely and one partially, which formed the
eastern side of the building. he room in the north-eastern corner has a rigorously
square plan, with sides 3.7 m long. Judging by the preserved foundations, this room
communicated with the nearby western space through a door. he next room, located
in the middle of the eastern side of the building, presents a rectangular plan with
the sides 4.35 m and 3.7 m long. A 0.9 m wide door led from it to the room in the
south-eastern corner of the building.
his last room is the largest discovered, one of the sides being 5.4 m long. It
also had a hypocaust installation alongside the southern wall of the building. We
discovered three rows of hypocaust pillars, each row with six pillars, most of them
preserved (ig. 9). he pillars that disappeared (probably taken during the Early
Middle Ages) have left their prints in the mortar loor (cocciopesto) that forms
the basis of the entire installation. If the room had the same 3.7 m width as the
aforementioned ones, then the hypocaust was actually made of rows of seven pillars,
21 in total.
he distance between two hypocaust pillars varies between 0.25 and 0.35 m.
Each pillar stands on a square brick, 0.3 m long and 0.06 m thick, above which were
laid in mortar other square bricks, just as thick as the large one, but with shorter
sides, of only 0.2 m. he best preserved pillar is made of the basis larger brick and
seven other bricks, making it 0.52 m tall. Since hypocaust pillars had at the top yet
another bigger brick that would better sustain the looring we may estimate that the
loor of the room was at least 0.6-0.65 m above the bottom of the hypocaust.
One of the bricks on the upper side of one pillar was made by adjusting to the
necessary size a larger brick, of a diferent type, which presents on one of the sides a
meandering impression imprinted in the crude paste. his fact is another clue that
this building underwent a second stage of construction.
A large amount of bricks with conical projections (tegulae mammatae) that were
discovered in the rubble inside the room (ig. 10) used to belong to the hypocaust,
12 .
t. Moldovans description from over a century ago (op. cit.) states that the contour of an enclosure
(fortress) was still visible; its sides were 120 by 80 (the measurement is probably in stnjeni
therefore about 220 by 150 m) with ive more elevated places shaped like an oblong square inside.
Outside the enclosure, on its eastern side there were still visible the traces of a round tower. When
quoting this description I. Marian, in Repertoriu arheologic pentru Ardeal, Bistria, 1920, p. 35, talks of an
enclosure measuring 680 m in circumference.
especially considering that they appeared mostly along the southern wall, where we
already established the existence of the installation.
he northern side of the hypocaust room is planned like a 3 m long and 1.8 m
wide corridor, in which opens the door of the neighbouring room. he corridor is
delimited by two walls built like boxes (ig. 8-9), illed with earth and covered
with a mortar slab (containing a large amount of crushed brick) at a slightly higher
level than their preserved height. his slab was partially preserved in the proile
above the western box (ig. 4). On the wall of the opposite box we uncovered
in situ, 0.05 m deep, a large brick set on a layer of red mortar that contained the
same crushed bricks. Studying the proile we could see that the mortar slabs with
bricks set on top which covered the two boxes were about 0.75 m higher than the
bottom of the hypocaust. I couldnt say if these boxes were some sort of platforms
higher than the loor of the room or whether they were actually connected with the
pavement above the hypocaust. If the second solution proves to be true, then the
corridor in the northern side of the room is nothing more than an arrangement of
the substructures.
What is certain is that the two boxes were raised (or reconstructed?) during
the building second stage of construction because one of their walls covers a small
portion of plaster on the northern side of the room. More than conirming the
existence of a second stage of construction, this observation also allows us to state
that the inner walls of the building were covered with a coating of mortar made
from ine sand and lime.
As for the other compartments of the building, we can only signal the poorly
preserved traces of an inner wall foundation, transversally orientated as reported to
the longer axis of the building, 4.8 m away from its western wall. his wall suggests
that in the western side of the house there was another set of two or three rooms,
maybe also a large central one (a peristyle?).
From the materials attributable to the construction uncovered by the excavations
irst of all we mention the iron nails and spikes, of variable sizes, from 0.06 m to
0.35 m long, and several iron clamps that seem to have belonged to the doors (ig.
12). In my opinion we should especially note the shapes, sizes and other peculiarities
of the bricks and roof tiles discovered among the ruins. With their help we could
specify certain workshops that were producing such items at the time in this part of
the Roman province. Otherwise, as many medieval monuments from the Land of
Haeg use bricks or ceramic slabs on their cornices, portals, loors and even walls, an
extensive catalogue of the Roman construction materials found in this region would
help identify the spolia.
he imbrex fragments and the few whole ones discovered among the rubble are
of the same type, 0.44 m long, 0.18 m wide on the upper edge and 0.16 m on the
lower edge. he imbrices are 0.02 m thick and have the maximum height of the
curvature of 0.08 m. hey are not decorated but present on the upper side supericial
grooves from the wooden moulds where they were made (ig. 10).
he tegulae are rectangular and big, 0.52 m long, 0.38 m wide and 0.025 m thick.
he edges are erected, 0.02 m wide and 0.055-0.06 m high. For their joint ixation
in successive rows, the tiles lack the elevated edges in the upper side on a length of
0.05-0.06 m and in the lower side, on the back, present two similarly sized stubs.
he tegulae are decorated on the upper inferior side with three small concentric
67
68
semicircles (0.035 m radius) done in the crude paste13, or with a triangle traced with
two ingers (ig. 11).
An isolated discovery is a roof tile from the same type that was perforated on the
upper side, oriice done secondary that preserves an umbrella head rooing nail that
would have aixed it on the wooden skeleton of the roof (ig. 11). Since the other
roof tiles did not present such oriices, this one in particular seems to have been
repaired.
Among the brick fragments found in the rubble, apart from the ones of the
hypocaust pillars, we could distinguish some large, rectangular ones, 0.42 m long,
0.28 m wide and 0.05 m thick. On one of the sides they present an S shaped
ornament, with tight curls, traced in the crude paste with two ingers, resulting two
parallel lines (ig. 10). his type of brick seems to have been used for the pavements
inside the rooms.
B. he second building is about 40 m west of the irst one, their longer axis
being almost extensions of each other. Judging by the appearance of the terrain, this
building had a rectangular plan, with sides approximately 32 and 15 m long (ig. 2).
his buildings northern wall, uncovered in a trench (ig. 13), had 0.9 m wide
foundations, showing a construction technique that difers from the one employed
for the other building. he walls outer faces are made of river stones and large
quarry stones while the emplecton is made of tiny stones and a small quantity of
mortar. We couldnt unveil the southern wall of this building as in Trench III it
was destroyed and spoiled down to the very last remains of foundation, but the
rubble that remains in its place attests its position and orientation. If, as I have
already alluded, the entire complex had an enclosure wall then this wall included
the southern side of building B. More to the point, in this case the building was
constructed against the enclosure, using it as one of its walls.
Since no trace of loor or pavement materials were found inside this building, I
believe it had served a domestic purpose, being probably used as a barn, tool shed or
stable. In contrast, the roof was altogether similar to the one of the other building, as
proven by the matching roof tiles (both imbrices and tegulae) that we found in large
amounts next to the walls and in the rubble.
Materials discovered during the excavation
A. Iron objects.
Among the objects of this category draws attention a large chain, made of two
elongated links and of a triangular loop with rounded corners, with a total length of
0.69 m (ig. 12). Such chains seem to be rare inds in Roman complexes and, because
of their unusual massiveness, were interpreted as traction chains14. Our piece was
discovered outside the larger building, on its eastern side.
An ornamental (?) fragmentary object is made of two iron rods with their ends
13 .
14 .
A roof tile fragment with the same decor was discovered in a villa rustica near Aiud; I. Winkler - V.
Vasiliev - L. Chiu - A. Borda, Villa Rustica de la Aiud. Cteva observaii privind villae-le rusticae din
Dacia Superior, in Sargeia, V, 1968, ig. 8/9.
I. Winkler et al., op. cit., p. 72, ig. 12/2 and note 20. he author knows of three such pieces discovered in
the Province of Dacia. An identical piece was discovered in Pannonia, again in a villa rustica, according
to E. homas, Rmische Villen in Pannonien, Budapesta, 1964, pl. LXXXVI
ixed together through hot tapping; the irst rod is straight while the second one
is winding, with four meanders (ig. 12). Its length is now of 0.31 m but it must
have been 0.42 m long, assuming that it was initially symmetrical. Based on traces
preserved on it, this item seems to have been made of three rods, the straight one
framed by two winding ones. It could belong to a window grille or to a door, since
it was discovered in the rubble inside the north-eastern room of the larger building.
Other than the nails, spikes and clamps we already talked about, we have also
found a fragmentary arrowhead with a simple tang and a socket; total length
0.065 m (ig. 12).
B. Pottery
We found a large amount of ceramic fragments from vessels of diferent shapes
and sizes, especially inside and close to the larger building. A smaller amount
of such artefacts appeared inside the second building or in the Roman layer on
Grindanu. Unfortunately the fragments are rather small and because we were not
able to completely excavate the ruined buildings there is little chance of recovering
complete shapes or proiles. Such being the case we will make only some general
observations on the material and present a few characteristic pieces.
In the rubble inside the larger building, together with provincial Roman potsherds,
we also found several fragments of gray Dacian ware, wheel-thrown, among them
the rim of a fruit dish (ig. 14 a). he presence of Dacian ware in villae rusticae, also
attested in other places of the province15, seems to be almost a rule.
he Roman potsherds belong, with few exceptions, to vessels of common use.
he various types listed below appear in almost equal proportions: red pottery, ired
in an oxidation atmosphere; gray pottery, ired in a reduction atmosphere; reddishblack pottery, ired in mixed atmospheres, or, more likely, in an imperfect technique.
Almost all the vessels were produced in local workshops, and a notable characteristic
is that in many cases the paste, tempered with sand and pebbles, is the same one as
for the bricks and roof tiles. Nonetheless, we should take notice that many of the
gray fragments, especially from bowls, and several red fragments were made from a
paste tempered with a lot of mica.
he ine ware is represented by several fragments of small vessels, of a homogeneous
paste, ired in an oxidation atmosphere, covered with a red slip. We also discovered
several fragments of ine, gray ware. he predominant shape of the luxury pottery
is the small shallow dish and the bowl, both with ring-shaped footing (Standring)
(ig. 15 a).
We found red pottery fragments of several amphorae with round section handles
and large supplies vessels. he middle-sized and small pots present a short neck
and have the rim highly thickened, splayed and blunted on the upper side (ig.
14 b, c, d). From the same ceramic category we found some fragments that were
decorated with incised lines made with a small wheel (ig. 14 p) and a large pot
lid with the edge opened into two bands that were united from place to place by
applying pressure with the ingers (ig. 15 c). Both decorative procedures are also to
be found on medieval pottery.
15 .
O. Floca M. Valea, Villa rustica i necropola daco-roman de la Cinci, in Acta Musei Napocensis, II,
1965, p. 163f, J. Winkler et al., op. cit., p. 72 and ig. 7.
69
70
We also found quite a large number of fragments from simple pot lids, with a
circular, hollow button on the upper side (ig. 15 b). heir diameters vary between
0.12 and 0.16 m. hey belong mostly to the category of reddish-black pottery.
Belonging to the category of gray pottery we found some fragments of pots
with handles, decorated on the shoulder with thick cannelures and ribs inside the
walls, but we especially found bowls. hese were perfectly circular, with about 0.2 m
bottom diameter and about 0.05 m high walls, slightly inclined toward the exterior;
the rim was either rounded and thickened inwardly (ig. 15 d-f, i, j), or widened
outwardly, with a straight upper edge; in some cases the rim presented two deep
cannelures (ig. 15 g, h). his inal type of rims is also found on several of the gray
pot fragments (ig. 14 h).
To put an end to the ceramic chapter, we point out that we could not ind any
chronological diferentiations that would correspond to the aforementioned stages
of construction and habitation of the larger building. he materials we found on the
ground level of the irst construction and in the layer of rubble from the destruction
of the inner walls are identical to the ones we found in the feature representing the
last stage of Roman habitation, namely a stratum of potsherds, animal bones and
charcoal, located above the rubble and covered with the layer of roof tiles.
C. Other materials
In this category we include several small fragments of glass vessels and two
lattened, circular pieces, perforated on the axis. he irst is made of clay, ired to a
red colour, of the same paste tempered with pebbles as some of the large common
pots. It presents rounded edges, a 0.085 m diameter and it is 0.03 m thick; the
perfectly circular oriice has a diameter of 0.015 m (ig. 12). his piece was found
inside the smaller building and it seems to have been used as a weight, maybe on a
vertical loom.
he second piece was discovered in the stratum of the last stage of Roman
habitation and it was made of a single slice cut from the root of a deer antler. he
central oriice, polished through long use has a vaguely triangular shape and a
diameter of 0.02 m (ig. 12). It was likely used to join together three diferent strings,
probably as part of a belt.
D. Osteological material
Although we couldnt ind a lot of animal bones, I still want to present here
the identiied material16, important for the knowledge of the day to day life in a
villa rustica. he animal bones discovered on the bottom of the hypocaust and in
the rubble inside the larger building belong to several animals: domestic pigs (Sus
scrofa), at least two juvenile bovines (Bos taurus), one goat (Capra hircus) and perhaps
a sheep (Ovis aries). We also found several fragments of unidentiiable bird bones.
he only part of wildlife discovered is a deer antler (Cervus elaphus).
In the complex from the last stage of Roman habitation we found remains from
almost the same species: juvenile bovines and domestic pigs, sheep and several bird
bones.
16 .
he identiication was made by my colleague A. Bolomey, to whom I thank here also.
Conclusions
At the end of our investigation we have covered the trenches in order to preserve
the ruins until such times when the whole Roman compound could be fully
excavated and preserved. As for the general conclusions, they are pretty reduced, as
beits the extent of our excavations.
here are no decisive arguments to place the Roman constructions on Grindanu
among province Dacias villae rusticae. But all the clues lead to this conclusion:
the dimensions, the particularities and placement of the buildings, the discovered
inventory, the lack of any kind of traces that could be related to a military unit and,
last but not least, the topography of the entire complex.
he ruins on Grindanu are at the edge of a great agricultural area, the most
fruitful in the region, encompassing several hundred hectares bordered by the rivers
Galbena and Rul Mare. here is no doubt that the terrain had the same agricultural
purpose during the Roman period. We do not know where the boundaries between
properties were at the time, but the closest Roman vestiges (except the ones signalled
across Rul Mare17), are 3 km away, on a high terrace near the western edge of Haeg
City18. his signiies that the agricultural terrain administrated from the investigated
compound had a considerable expanse.
Judging by the number of buildings and the surface they occupy (surface which,
as shown, was probably delimited by an enclosure), the complex on Grindanu
seems to be the largest and most important villa rustica known so far in the Province
of Dacia19.
Only one coin allows us to date this complex more thoroughly, although it was
found outside the actual dig. We cannot really rely on it, but the date when it was
minted (between 201 and 210) coincides with other coins discovered in Dacian
villae rusticae, all of them indicating a period from the end of the second century
and the irst half of the third century20.
So it would seem that the compound near Haeg is not an exception from what
we know of the lourishing period of villae rusticae in the province of Dacia.
As for the date when this complex ended, we could interpret the results provided
by the diggings in two ways. As shown, in the larger building we uncovered traces
of Roman habitation even after the partial downfall of the construction. his
would date the moment when the villa stopped fulilling its intended function, as
the administrative centre of a great farming area, sometime before the end of the
province, probably at the middle of the third century. We do not know if the last
traces of habitation are later than the date when the entire complex fell into ruin or
17 .
18 .
19 .
20 .
I couldnt identify the exact location, mentioned by t. Moldovan, op. cit., loc. cit. In Tabula Imperii Romani,
under Sntmria-Orlea he speciies a lndliche Siedlung vicus cum vestigiis, without a more speciic
location but the cited bibliography notes traces both on the left and on the right bank of Rul Mare.
Identiication made in the ield in 1970 together with Gh. Lazin. I do not know if the lndliche
Siedlung vicus cum vestigiis, from Tabula Imperii Romani under Haeg was referring to this point or
to Grindanu. In any case, the Roman pipe noted in the Tabula is west of Haeg; according to Anuarul
Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice. Transilvania, 1926-1928, p. 175.
I. Winkler et al., op. cit., ig. 14 and the bibliography.
Ibid. p. 80. he coins we have uncovered in the partially excavated villa rustica near the church in StreiClan, minted in a period from Antoninus Pius to Caracalla-Elagabalus, are from the same period. he
results form Strei-Clan are waiting to be published.
71
72
if the situation is limited to the partially investigated building, therefore the villa
rustica actually functioning as such until the last years of the Province. he answer
will be provided only by the methodical investigation of the entire complex.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 he area where the rivers Galbena and Rul Mare join waters, with the Grindanu
site.
Fig. 2 he plan of the Grindanu excavations.
Fig. 3 Denarius from Septimus Severus.
Fig. 4 Stratigraphic sequences in the Grindanu excavations: A. he western side of S II; B.
Part of the northern side of S I.
a) Sterile soil. b) Light brown soil. c) Backill with earth and rocks. d) Brown earth with a
lot of mortar. e) Mortar plaque. f ) Mortar loor. g) Stone pavement. h) Roman age strata. i)
Mortar plaque with crumbled brick. j) Rubble. k) Layer of roof tiles. j) Chestnut black soil.
m) Topsoil.
Fig. 5 Pottery shards uncovered in the Bronze Age strata.
Fig. 6 he uncovered area of the large, hypocaust building.
a) Exterior wall. b) Mortar loor. c) Stone pavement. d) Pit. e) Irregularities of the loor. f )
Interior wall belonging to phase I. g) Interior wall belonging to phase II.
Fig. 7 he eastern side of the large building, brought out in the open.
Fig. 8 he masonry box in S II a.
Fig. 9 he masonry box and the hypocaust pillars in S II.
Fig. 10 Concave roof tile, tegulae mammatae and (pavement?) bricks.
Fig. 11 Flat roof tiles found in the rubble of the large building.
Fig. 12 Iron objects, clay weight and an item made of deer antler.
Fig. 13 he northern wall of the small building, as it appeared in the excavation.
Fig. 14 Pottery found the villa rustica near Haeg.
Fig. 15 Pottery found the villa rustica near Haeg.
oBSeRVaii PRiVind
ZiduRile cu MoRtaR din
cetile dacice HunedoRene *
eschiderea discuiei pe marginea unor ncheieri acceptate anterior i nvestite

cu autoritatea ce decurge din includerea lor n lucrrile de sintez, nu face
parte nici dintre cele mai uoare i nici dintre cele mai atrgtoare acte ale cercetrii
istorice. Dar posibilitatea de a ne apropia, pe aceast cale, de o mai bun i mai
exact cunoatere a documentelor trecutului i, mai ales, de a contribui la nlturarea
unor judeci care, prin lipsa lor de temei, pot ajunge s frneze progresul cercetrii,
justiic totui o asemenea ntreprindere.
Cercetrile arheologice ntreprinse cu aproape trei decenii n urm la cetatea
dacic de la Piatra Roie au dus la descoperirea unui zid construit din pietre legate
cu mortar. Este vorba de o poriune din zidul care mrginete spre est incinta
exterioar a cetii. n poriunea de cca. 15 m lungime n care s-a constatat folosirea
mortarului, zidul are o grosime de 1,80 m i este construit din blocuri mici de piatr
cioplit. Ni se pare important de subliniat c acelai zid, n poriunile n care nu s-a
constatat folosirea mortarului, are o grosime sensibil mai mare1.
Pn la apariia acestui zid, exista un consens asupra faptului c dacii nu au folosit
mortarul pentru ridicarea zidurilor de ceti, consens ntrit prin dovedirea originii
medievale a unor ziduri de cetate legate cu mortar atribuite anterior epocii dacice2.
Desigur c din aceast cauz, acceptnd n urma analizelor de laborator realitatea
existenei mortarului3, nvatul clujan nclin s considere situaia ca excepional,
datnd totodat zidul ctre sfritul existenei statului dac4.
Civa ani mai trziu i tot n prile hunedorene, la o alt cetate dacic, a fost
descoperit un alt zid de piatr legat cu mortar. Este vorba de cetatea de la BniaDealul Bolii situat, dup cum se tie, la ieirea sudic a pasului Merior-Bnia,
trectoare ce asigur legtura dintre ara Haegului i depresiunea de la izvoarele
Jiurilor. Chiar dac cercetrile de la Bnia nc nu au fost pe larg sau exhaustiv
1.
2.
3.
4.
C. Daicoviciu, Cetatea dacic de la Piatra Roie, Bucureti, 1954, p. 61-63.

Vezi n acest sens, printre altele, situaia de la Jigodin-Miercurea Ciuc: M. Macrea i colab., n Studii i
Cercetri de Istorie Veche, II, 1, 1951, p. 307 i urm.
ntr-un prim raport de spturi, s-a opinat pentru explicarea mortarului ca iind un conglomerat provocat
de agenii naturali (Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, I, 1, 1950, p. 146 i nota), pentru ca n urma analizei
din laboratorul de petrograie al Universitii din Cluj, s se precizeze caracterul de mortar al liantului
(C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 62: cf. i Istoria Romniei, vol. I, 1960, p. 321). n aceast situaie, surprinde
prerea lui H. Daicoviciu, Dacii de la Burebista la cucerirea roman, Cluj, 1972, p. 133, dup care la zidul
respectiv, contrar prerilor exprimate anterior, mortarul nu a fost deloc folosit.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit, p. 63. i H. Daicoviciu, op. cit., loc. cit., dateaz zidul n preajma rzboaielor dacoromane, considerndu-l ridicat n grab.
Sargetia, XIII, 1977, p. 277-284
3.
74
oBsERVAII PRIVIND ZIDURILE CU MoRTAR DIN CETILE DACICE HUNEDoRENE
valoriicate, datele publicate i puse astfel n circulaie5 sunt totui suiciente pentru
a ti c i aici, ca i la Piatra Roie, zidul legat cu mortar delimiteaz o incint
exterioar. Lung de peste 60 m i gros de 0,85-0,95 m, zidul legat cu mortar pare a i
avut la cele dou extremiti cte un turn de lemn. La fel ca i la cetatea de la Piatra
Roie, cercetrile de la Bnia au stabilit c n zidul legat cu mortar au fost folosite
i spolii, pietre fuite provenind de la construcii mai vechi6.
n ceea ce ne privete, n ncercarea veche de civa ani de a face inventarul
fortiicaiilor medievale din ara Haegului i de a deslui semniicaia istoric a
acestora7, am lsat n afara ateniei noastre zidurile legate cu mortar de la cetile
dacice. Cercetri ntreprinse ulterior la faa locului i analiza unor materiale
arheologice, inedite sau publicate, provenind de la Bnia i Piatra Roie, justiic
atenia acordat de medievist acestor obiective.
Zidul legat cu mortar din cetatea dacic de la Bnia, vizibil azi la suprafaa
terenului doar pe o lungime de civa metri i pstrat pe o nlime care ajunge pn
la 1,5 m, se al ntr-o stare de conservare foarte precar ce mpiedic reconstituirea
sigur a aspectului paramentelor sale. Se poate totui spune c, n poriunea vizibil,
el a fost construit din piatr de carier de mrime mijlocie, provenind din coasta
muntelui pe care se al. Pentru cel familiarizat cu arhitectura militar medieval
transilvnean i n mod special pentru cine a vzut cetile medievale din ara
Haegului, frapeaz de la bun nceput asemnarea dintre zidurile acestora din urm
i zidul legat cu mortar de la Bnia. Nici din punctul de vedere al consistenei i
compoziiei mortarului, fcut din nisip i var, i nici din acela al modului de a pune
piatra n oper, nu pot i stabilite deosebiri notabile ntre zidurile medievale i zidul
presupus a i din epoca dacic.
Pe de alt parte, n patrimoniul Muzeului din Deva se al mai multe fragmente
ceramice care provin de la cercetrile efectuate n cetatea de la Bnia8 (pl. II). Stadiul
la care se ala n urm cu 15 ani cunoaterea ceramicei medievale transilvnene
explic cum a fost posibil ca aceste materiale s nu atrag atenia la data descoperirii
lor. Este vorba de fragmente de buz sau de umr de la oale modelate pe roata
de mn cu nvrtire rapid sau chiar pe roata de picior, dintr-o past destul de
omogen n care s-a folosit ca degresant nisipul, decorate cu caneluri simple sau
cu succesiuni de linii n val. Aceste fragmente dateaz din secolele XIII-XIV, mai
probabil din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea i nceputul secolului urmtor.
Descoperirea acestor materiale n cetatea de la Bnia dovedete c locul a fost
folosit i n epoca mai sus precizat. Dar n acest caz, se pune justiicata ntrebare
dac zidul legat cu mortar nu reprezint cumva urmarea folosirii n secolele XIIIXIV a cetii dacice ruinate. Din simpla examinare a zidului de la Bnia dar i din
luarea n considerare a unor analogii9, suntem nclinai s rspundem airmativ.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Oct. Floca, Cetatea dacic de la Bnia, n M. Macrea Oct. Floca N. Lupu I. Berciu, Ceti dacice din
sudul Transilvaniei, Bucureti, 1966, p. 26-27.
Ibidem; C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 63.
R. Popa, Cetile medievale din ara Haegului, n Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, XLI, nr. 3, 1972, p.
54 i urm.; Idem, ber die Burgen der Terra Hatzeg, n Dacia, N.S., XVI, 1972, p. 243 i urm.
Fragmentele au numerele de inventar: 14.081, 14.122, 14.846, 14.971, 15.250, i 15.460. Mulumim i
aici directorului Muzeului din Deva, dr. Mircea Valea, care ne-a permis studierea i publicarea acestor
materiale.
Dintre numeroasele ceti dacice refolosite ca fortiicaii la nceputurile evului mediu, amintim aici, alturi
de Jigodin-Miercurea Ciuc (vezi mai sus nota 2) pe aceea de la Btca Doamnei-Piatra Neam (A. Niu i
colab., n Materiale,VI, 1959, p. 356-366; N. Gostar, Ceti dacice din Moldova, Bucureti, 1969, p. 11-12)
unde reamenajarea fortiicaiei pare a i fost fcut fr construirea unor ziduri legate cu mortar.
Poriunea de zid cu legtur de mortar ce delimiteaz incinta exterioar a cetii

Piatra Roie, nu poate i vzut deasupra solului. De pe traseul ei pot i ns recoltate
fragmente de mortar a cror examinare ntrete concluziile analizei de laborator10.
Dar i la Piatra Roie, ca i la Bnia, au aprut cu prilejul cercetrilor arheologice
materiale medievale.Unele dintre acestea au fost consemnate ca atare n volumul monograic dedicat monumentului,
precizate ca datnd foarte
probabil din epoc prefeudal
sau de la nceputul epocii
feudale iar prezena lor pe
cetate a fost explicat prin
aducerea ceramicii de ctre
pstori11.
Faptul c la Piatra
Roie s-a descoperit numai
ceramic feudal timpurie, nu
i fragmente mai trzii, din
secolele XIV-XVIII, trezete
de la bun nceput ndoiala
asupra aducerii ei de ctre
pstori n mod accidental, ie i
numai pentru faptul c pstori
au trecut pe acolo n toate
timpurile. Este regretabil c,
n afara informaiilor privind
repartizarea topograic a
descoperirilor de ceramic
medieval, nu dispunem i de
precizri privind raporturile
stratigraice n care au aprut
respectivele materiale12. Pe
de alt parte, n planele cu
ceramic din volumul monograic amintit, se mai al i
alte fragmente care, cu toat
diicultatea aprecierii unor
astfel de materiale doar dup
desene, par a aparine tot epocii feudale timpurii, databile deci cel mai trziu la
nceputul secolului al XIV-lea13. Desigur c, n aceast ordine de idei, i unele piese
din metal, n special de ier, al cror caracter dacic nu este asigurat de trsturi
tipologice speciice, ar putea aparine eventual locuirii de la nceputurile evului
10 .
11 .
12 .
13 .
Am putut culege asemenea fragmente n cercetrile de teren efectuate acolo n anul 1975.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit. p. 101-102 i pl. XVIII/16-18.
Ibidem: pe platoul superior la sud de incint i n turnul B, indicaii mult prea sumare pentru aprecierea
condiiilor de descoperire.
Vezi de exemplu, C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., pl. XX/7, 10, 13.
Fig. 1.
ara Haegului
cu localitile
i punctele
amintite n
text
75
76
Fig. 2.
Fragmente
ceramice
medievale
(sec. XIII -XIV)
descoperite n
cetatea dacic
de la Bnia
mediu, locuire care ni se pare n afara oricrei ndoieli i n cetatea dacic de la

Piatra Roie.
Exist deci, n lumina celor spuse pn aici, toate motivele pentru ca s ne ndoim
de caracterul dacic al zidurilor legate cu mortar din cetile de la Piatra Roie i
Bnia. De vreme ce materialele descoperite atest n amndou cetile o locuire
feudal timpurie ce pare a nu i depit n timp nceputul secolului al XIV-lea, este
iresc ca s nu considerm aceast locuire ca accidental sau ca avnd un caracter
civil-pstoresc deoarece nsi condiiile terenului, vrfurile de munte pe care se al
cetile respective i prezena la
acea vreme a zidurilor dacice ruinate, a valurilor sau a terasrilor,
confereau implicit aezrilor
de acolo un caracter fortiicat
sau militar. Este n logica
reconstituirilor istorice ca, pn
la apariia unor probe contrarii,
zidurile legate cu mortar despre
care a fost vorba s ie interpretate
drept adogiri sau refaceri din
epoc medieval, prilejuite de
refolosirea cetilor dacice.
Fcnd un pas mai departe
i folosind informaiile, attea
cte le avem, din izvoarele scrise
referitoare la condiiile istoriei
rii Haegului n secolele
XIII-XIV, putem chiar avansa,
desigur doar cu titlu de ipotez, o
explicaie privind rosturile celor
dou fortiicaii medievale rezultate de pe urma refolosirii cetilor dacice. Aceste
rosturi par a i diferite de la un obiectiv la cellalt, deoarece cu totul diferit este i
amplasarea lor n cuprinsul zonei.
Cetatea de la Bnia-Dealul Bolii, situat n gura unei trectori ce pare s i
reprezentat principala cale de legtur dintre sud-vestul transilvnean i Oltenia14,
trebuie s i fost refolosit n epoca medieval pentru aprarea acestei trectori. Ipoteza
cea mai plauzibil este deci aceea c reamenajarea i refolosirea cetii oglindesc
o aciune a reprezentantului local al coroanei maghiare, destinat prentmpinrii
unui pericol venit dinspre sud. Evenimentele din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIIIlea, cnd regatul arpadian a reuit s smulg ara Haegului din zona de autoritate
a voievodatului oltenesc niinnd pentru aceasta, pentru un timp, un comitat al
Haegului, justiic plasarea la Bnia a unei garnizoane permanente innd de
cetatea regal de la Haeg15. Toate tirile de care dispunem ne ndreapt atenia
14 .
15 .
Pasul Merior-Bnia se continu spre sud cu pasul Vlcanului prin care se ajunge la Schela, la nord
de Trgu-Jiu. Urmtoarea trectoare situat spre est, legnd sudul Transilvaniei de partea rsritean a
Olteniei, se al ntre izvoarele Sebeului i Novaci.
Pentru comitatul Haegului de la sfritul secolului al XIII-lea i cetatea regal de la Haeg, vezi R. Popa,
Cetile din ara Haegului, p. 55-56 i Idem, Structures socio-politiques roumaines au sud de la
Transylvanie aux commencements du Moyen ge, n Revue Roumaine d'Histoire, XIV, 1975, nr. 2, p. 299.
asupra deceniului al VIII-lea al veacului numit, deceniu n care se plaseaz atestarea

demnitii de comite al Haegului n titulatura unui mare dregtor regal16 i n care
a avut loc revolta voievodului Litovoi cu scopul uniicrii voievodatelor romneti de
la sud de Carpai i scuturrii suzeranitii maghiare, urmat de campania militar
condus de magistrul Gheorghe Baksa de pe urma creia i-a pierdut viaa voievodul
Litovoi17. Este important de subliniat c materialele medievale descoperite la Bnia
sprijin o asemenea datare i, prin urmare, ntresc ipoteza noastr.
Cu totul alta este situaia topograic a cetii Piatra Roie. n secolul I e.n.
ea controla i apra accesul pe un drum important, drumul care ducea din valea
inferioar a Streiului, urcnd de-a lungul Vii Luncanilor, spre inima i capitala
de la Sarmizegetusa a statului dac18. Dar la nceputurile evului mediu i n epoc
medieval, pe aici nu treceau drumuri pentru a cror supraveghere sau aprare s se
justiice reamenajarea cetii dacice i instalarea n ea a unei garnizoane permanente
i costisitoare. Nvlitori strini nu veneau peste creste de munte iar localnicii, buni
cunosctori ai zonei, puteau lesne face ineicient o ipotetic garnizoan instalat
acolo mpotriva lor, folosind un alt drum de creast sau o vale nvecinat pe care s
treac peste munte nspre prile Hunedoarei sau spre Mure.
n funcie de raporturile din secolele XIII-XIV, singura justiicare pentru
eventuala prezen n cetatea dacic de la Piatra Roie a unei garnizoane depinznd
de autoritatea regal ar putea i existena n aceast zon muntoas a unui mare
numr de aezri romneti, ctune i gospodrii izolate, pentru a cror supraveghere
i inere sub ascultare s se i adoptat o asemenea soluie. Dar chiar dac este de
presupus c i la nceputurile Evului Mediu, la fel ca i astzi, zona muntoas din
sudul Hunedoarei era intens locuit de romni pn la o altitudine de 1000-1200
m, o garnizoan instalat la Piatra Roie ar i avut o raz de aciune foarte limitat
teritorial. Pentru supravegherea de ctre autoritile regatului a unei astfel de
locuiri, ar i trebuit mpnzii cu fortiicaii i garnizoane toi munii, soluie desigur
imposibil n condiiile de atunci.
Situaia topograic a cetii Piatra Roie n raport cu drumurile, cu satele i cu
centrele de organizare social-politic ale rii Haegului de la nceputurile evului
mediu, ndreptesc s punem reamenajarea i refolosirea ei n legtur cu societatea
romneasc haegan. Pledeaz n acest sens i materialele medievale descoperite
acolo cu prilejul spturilor, materiale printre care se al i un fragment ceramic
databil n secolele IX-X19 alturi de altele ceva mai trzii. Pn la eventuala reluare
a cercetrilor de la Piatra Roie, nu putem preciza n ce anume a constat refolosirea
cetii dacice, dac s-a refcut doar o poriune a zidului incintei exterioare, dac
exist urme ale unor construcii de lemn n incinta principal care s dateze din
epoc medieval sau dac anumite ziduri sau construcii dacice au fost refolosite,
poate pentru o locuin fortiicat, transformnd astfel cetatea dacic ruinat ntr-o
cetuie de refugiu medieval.
Dispunem n schimb de cteva informaii documentare ce atest prezena pe
Valea Luncanilor, nainte de mijlocul secolului al XIV-lea, a unei familii importante
de cnezi romni, care stpneau aici cel puin dou dac nu trei sate, Chitidul de Jos
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
R. Popa, ber die Burgen ..., p. 244.

Ibidem.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 31 i passim; H. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 133.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit, pl. XVIII/16, fragment decorat cu fascicol de linii trasate cu pieptenul pe umrul
oalei.
77
78
(actualul Chitid), Chitidul de Sus (probabil actualul Boorod) i Ocoliul (Mic?)20.

Am ncercat cu alt prilej s artm c cneazul cu numele de Cndea de pe Valea
Luncanilor este unul dintre personajele cunoscute documentar n puternica i
importanta familie cnezial romneasc a cndetilor din Ru de Mori21. n acest fel,
refolosirea n epoc medieval a cetii dacice de la Piatra Roie ar duce la apariia
pe harta rii Haegului a unei alte fortiicaii romneti cu funciunea de cetate
de refugiu, asemntoare celei pe care au avut-o cetuile de la Rchitova, Ru de
Mori-Suseni sau Mlieti22.
Nu putem ncheia fr a sublinia, nc odat, caracterul de ipotez de lucru pe
care l au observaiile noastre. Un rspuns deinitiv l vor da doar spturi care s
precizeze poziia stratigraic n care se gsesc materialele medievale de la cetile
Bnia i Piatra Roie. Dar i pn atunci, exist suiciente temeiuri pentru a pune
sub semnul ntrebrii caracterul dacic al zidurilor legate cu mortar care se al n
cuprinsul celor dou ceti.
20 .
21 .
22 .
R. Popa, O spad medieval din valea Streiului i cteva consideraii istorice legate de ea, n Sargeia,
IX, 1972, p. 78-79; pe larg: Idem, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des 11.-14.
Jahrhunderts im Sden Transilvaniens, n Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 39-40.
Ibidem, p. 42.
R. Popa, ber die Burgen ..., p. 249 i urm.
coMMentS on tHe
MoRtaR WallS oF HunedoaRaS
dacian FoRtReSSeS *
discussion on a subject with conclusions already accepted and included in

synthesis papers is not one of the easiest or most attractive endeavours of
historical research. But such an approach is justiiable if we look to improve our
knowledge and understanding of the past, and especially if we thus aid in abolishing
some prejudiced ideas that, by their lack of fundament would otherwise prevent the
research progress.
he archaeological investigations done almost three decades ago in the Dacian
fortress of Piatra Roie have led to the discovery of a wall made of stones bound
with mortar. It is a 15 m portion of the wall that closes eastward the fortress outer
enclosure. he wall fragment that uses mortar is 1.8 m thick and is built of small
carved stone blocks. It is worth mentioning that in the portions where the builders
did not use mortar the wall is sensibly thicker1.
Until the discovery of this wall, all scientists agreed that the Dacians did not
use mortar to erect their fortresses. Furthermore, this consensus was sanctioned by
the fact that previously thought Dacian walls with mortar proved to be medieval2.
Finally accepting the reality of the mortar used for the wall at Piatra Roie3, after
samples of it were analyzed in a laboratory, my esteemed colleague from Cluj thinks
this situation is an exceptional one and dates the wall at the end of the existence of
the Dacian state4.
Several years later, still in Hunedoara area, yet another wall with mortar was
discovered in a diferent Dacian fortress. he fortress is in Bnia-Dealul Bolii,
placed at the southern exit of the Merior-Bnia Pass, which connects the Land of
Haeg with the depression of the Jiu headwaters. he results provided by the Bnia
investigations are not completely in print yet but the published data5 is suicient
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
C. Daicoviciu, Cetatea dacic de la Piatra Roie, Bucureti, 1954, p. 61-63.

See, among others, the situation at Jigodin-Miercurea Ciuc: M. Macrea et al., in Studii i Cercetri de
Istorie Veche, II, 1, 1951, p. 307 and following.
In a irst excavations report the mortar was explained as a conglomerate produced by natural agents
(Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, I, 1, 1950, p. 146 and note), afterward the mortar was analyzed by the
Petrographic Laboratory of the Cluj University and proven as such (C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 62: also
Istoria Romniei, vol. I, 1960, p. 321). In this case H. Daicovicius opinion is surprising in Dacii de la
Burebista la cucerirea roman, Cluj, 1972, p. 133. He states here that the wall, contrary to earlier expressed
opinions, never had mortar.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit, p. 63 and H. Daicoviciu, op. cit., loc. cit., date the wall around the Roman-Dacian
wars and consider it as hurriedly built.
Oct. Floca, Cetatea dacic de la Bnia, in M. Macrea Oct. Floca N. Lupu I. Berciu, Ceti dacice
din sudul Transilvaniei, Bucureti, 1966, p. 26-27.
Sargetia, XIII, 1977, p. 277-284
3.
80
CoMMENTs oN THE MoRTAR WALLs oF HUNEDoARAs DACIAN FoRTREssEs
to let us know that here also, as is the case at Piatra Roie, the mortar wall delimits
an outer enclosure. he wall, over 60 m long and 0.85-0.9 m thick, seems to have
had wooden towers at each of the two extremities. As in Piatra Roie, the Bnia
investigation proves that spolia processed stones from older buildings were used
while erecting the mortar wall6.
In my earlier efort to describe the medieval fortresses of the Land of Haeg
and clarify their historical signiicance7, I did not approach the mortar walls of the
Dacian fortresses. My attention as a medievalist toward this problem was roused
later on by investigations conducted on the site and after analyzing some novelty or
published artefacts from Bnia and Piatra Roie.
he mortar wall of Bnia is visible today above the ground for only several meters
and preserved up to 1.5 m high. Its state of conservation is precarious, therefore an
accurate reconstitution of its paraments is almost impossible. Still, it can be stated,
on account of the still distinguishable part, that the wall was built of mid-sized local
quarry stone extracted from the side of the same mountain. For someone familiar
with the medieval military Transylvanian architecture and especially for someone
who had seen the medieval fortresses of the Land of Haeg it is striking how alike
are the medieval walls with the mortar wall of Bnia. Taking into account the
consistency and composition of the mortar as well as how the stones were placed
into the wall, one cannot establish notable diferences between the medieval walls
and the one assumed to be Dacian.
On the other hand, the Museum in Deva holds in custody several pottery shards
discovered in the fortress of Bnia8 (ig. 2). Considering the stage of research in
studying medieval Transylvanian pottery ifteen years ago, it is understandable that
these ceramic fragments did not attract anyones attention at the time of discovery.
here are rim and shoulder fragments of pots thrown on hand or even foot powered
fast wheels. he paste is homogenous, tempered with sand, and the decoration
consisted of simple grooves or successions of waving lines. hese pot fragments date
from the thirteenth to the fourteenth centuries, more speciically from the end of
the thirteenth century and the beginning of the next one.
he discovery of the aforementioned fragments proves that the fortress in
Bnia was used in that period. In this case, a very justiied question is whether the
mortar wall exists due to the reclamation of the ruined Dacian fortresses during the
thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries. By simply examining the wall in Bnia, but
also by considering some analogies9, I am inclined to say yes.
he wall fragment that delimits the outer enclosure of the fortress in Piatra
Roie cannot be seen above ground but along its trail we could collect some
fragments of mortar whose examination conirms the conclusions of the laboratory
6.
7.
8.
9.
Ibid., C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 63.

R. Popa, Cetile medievale din ara Haegului, in Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, XLI, nr. 3, 1972, p.
54f.; Idem, ber die Burgen der Terra Hatzeg, in Dacia, N.S., XVI, 1972, p. 243f.
he shards have the following inventory numbers: 14.081, 14.122, 14.846, 14.971, 15.250 and 15.460. I
would like to thank here also the manager of the Deva Museum, Dr. Mircea Valea, who allowed me to
study and publish the materials.
Among numerous Dacian fortresses re-used as fortiications at the beginning of the Middle Ages we
would mention here, alongside Jigodin-Miercurea Ciuc (see note 2), the one at Btca Doamnei-Piatra
Neam (A. Niu et alii, in Materiale,VI, 1959, p. 356-366; N. Gostar, Ceti dacice din Moldova, Bucureti,
1969, p. 11-12) where the remodelling seems to have been made without using mortar.
analysis10. But, just as at Bnia, some medieval materials were uncovered during
the archaeological excavations in Piatra Roie. Some of them were recorded in the
monograph dedicated to the monument, dated very likely from the pre-feudal era
or from the beginning of the feudal era and their presence in the fortress was
explained by the fact that they were brought here by shepherds11.
he fact that the pottery from Piatra Roie dates only from the Early Middle
Ages and never later, from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, makes me
doubt that it was brought accidentally by shepherds as shepherds have used this
route during all epochs. Unfortunately, even though we are told the topographic
repartition of the medieval pottery, the stratigraphic conditions of their discovery are
not speciied12. On the other hand, among the drawings of pottery in the mentioned
monograph there are some sherds that seem to date from the Middle Ages as well,
dating at the latest at the beginning of the fourteenth century, though is diicult
to appreciate such materials only from drawings13. Following this train of thought,
it is very possible that some of the metallic objects, especially the iron ones whose
Dacian character is not sustained by speciic typological traits, could actually belong
to the medieval habitation that seems a certainty in the former Dacian fortress of
Piatra Roie.
In the light of all that was said here, we have all the reasons to doubt that the
mortar walls of Piatra Roie and Bnia are Dacian. Since the uncovered materials
attest an early medieval habitation in both fortresses, presence that seems to end at
the beginning of the fourteenth century, we have no reason to suspect an accidental
habitation or a shepherding settlement because the condition of the terrain, the
mountain peaks where the fortresses were built, the presence of the ruined Dacian
walls, of the earthen ramparts and the terraces would implicitly give to any settlement
in the respective locations a fortiied or military character. It is historically logical
to consider the mortar walls as additions or restorations made during the medieval
resettlement of the Dacian fortresses, at least until some further archaeological
investigations may provide some contrary evidence.
Taking things a step further and using bits of information, scarce as they are, from
written sources concerning the history of the Land of Haeg during the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, we could even advance a hypothesis on the purpose of
these two medieval fortiications, re-used ruined Dacian fortresses. hey seemed
to have had diferent functions since their layout in the surrounding area is also
diferent.
he fortress in Bnia-Dealul Bolii, located at the end of a pass that seems to
have represented the main route between south-western Transylvania and Oltenia14,
must have been used during the Middle Ages to defend the aforementioned gap.
hus the most plausible hypothesis is that the fortress was refurnished and re-used
10 .
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
I was able to ind such fragments during the 1975 area survey.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 101-102 and pl. XVIII/16-18.
Ibid. on the upper plateau, south of the enclosure and in tower B. hese indications are too vague to
properly attest the conditions of the discoveries.
See for example C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., pl. XX/7, 10, 13.
he Merior-Bnia Pass is continued southward by the Vlcan Pass which leads to Schela, north of
Trgu-Jiu. he next pass to the east that connects southern Transylvania to the eastern side of Oltenia is
between the Sebe headwaters and Novaci.
81
82
by a local representative of the Hungarian Crown against some danger coming

from the south. his its with the events of the second half of the thirteenth century,
when the Arpadian Kingdom managed to take out the Land of Haeg from the
authority of the voivode of Oltenia. To this purpose the Kingdom organized a
temporary county of Haeg that justify the presence in Bnia of a permanent
garrison commanded from the royal fortress of Haeg15. he available evidence
points toward the eighth decade of the thirteenth century when a grand oicial of
the Court is mentioned with the count of Haeg title16 and when Voivode Litovoi
rebelled, attempting to unify the Romanian lands south of the Carpathians and
free himself from the Hungarian suzerainty. It followed in short succession the
military campaign led by Magister Georgius Baksa, ended with Litovois demise17.
It is important to remember that the archaeological materials uncovered in Bnia
endorse such a dating and therefore support our hypothesis.
he fortress of Piatra Roie presents a very diferent topographical situation.
During the irst century A.D. it controlled a very important route: from the lower
Strei Valley, along the Valley of Luncani, toward Sarmizegetusa, the heart and
capital of the Dacian Kingdom18. But during the early or middle phases of the
medieval period there were no important roads here whose supervision or protection
could justify the restoration of the Dacian fortress or the need for a permanent,
costly garrison. Foreign invaders wouldnt attack over mountain peaks and the local
population, knowing the area very well, would easily turn a garrison useless by using
another ridge road during their travels to the lands of Hunedoara or the Mure valley.
According to what documents tell us about the thirteenth and the fourteenth
centuries, there would be only one reason for installing a garrison dependant on
the kings authority in the former Dacian fortress of Piatra Roie: the existence in
this mountainous area of a large number of Romanian dwelling places, hamlets or
secluded households that needed to be supervised and controlled. Even if we assume
that at the beginning of the Middle Ages, just like today, the mountainous area
south of Hunedoara was densely inhabited by Romanians up to an altitude of 10001200 m, a garrison in Piatra Roie would have had a very territorially limited action
range. For such a type of habitation to be supervised by the kingdoms authorities,
all the mountains would have had to be covered in fortresses and garrisons, which
of course would have been impossible at the time.
he topographical situation of Piatra Roie fortress at the beginning of the
Middle Ages, its relation with the roads, villages and socio-political power centres
of the Land of Haeg, entitle us to connect its remodelling and re-usage with the
Romanian society of Haeg. his hypothesis is supported by the medieval artefacts
discovered during the excavations, among which a pottery fragment datable during
the ninth or tenth centuries19 and several later ones. Until further investigations will
15 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
For the Haeg county at the end of the thirteenth century and the royal fortress in Haeg, see R. Popa,
Cetile din ara Haegului, p. 55-56 and Idem, Structures sociopolitiques roumaines au sud de la
Transylvanie aux commencements du Moyen ge, in Revue Roumaine d'Histoire, XIV, 1975, nr. 2, p. 299.
R. Popa, ber die Burgen..., p. 244.
Ibid.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 31 and passim; H. Daicoviciu, op. cit., p. 133.
C. Daicoviciu, op. cit, pl. XVIII/16, fragment decorated with a fascicle of lines traced with a comb on the
shoulder of the pot.
eventually take place at Piatra Roie we cannot determine how the former Dacian
fortress was re-used, whether only a portion of the outer wall was reconstructed,
whether there are traces of wooden buildings in the main enclosure that would date
from the Middle Ages or whether certain Dacian walls or buildings were re-used
during the Middle Ages, maybe for a fortiied residence, thus transforming the
ruined Dacian fortress into a medieval refuge fortress.
Instead we do have several documents that speak of the presence in the valley
of Luncani, since before the middle fourteenth century, of an important Romanian
kneaz family who ruled over at least two or even three villages: Chitidul de Jos
(currently Chitid), Chitidul de Sus (probably currently named Boorod) and Ocoliul
(Mic?)20. I have tried elsewhere to demonstrate that the kneaz named Cndea of
Valea Luncanilor is one of the documented members of the powerful and important
kneaz family Cnde of Ru de Mori21. If the former Dacian fortress of Piatra Roie
was indeed re-used by this family, it would take its place on the map of the Land of
Haeg as a novel Romanian fortress functioning as a refuge keep, much like the ones
in Rchitova, Ru de Mori-Suseni or Mlieti22.
I will end this paper underlining again that my observations here are still just
working hypotheses. Only further excavations would provide a deinitive answer
by specifying the stratigraphic contexts of the medieval materials uncovered in the
fortresses of Bnia and Piatra Roie. Until then we still have suicient grounds for
questioning whether the walls with mortar found in the two fortresses are actually
Dacian.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 he Land of Haeg, including the localities and the places mentioned in the text.
Fig. 2 Medieval sherds (sec. XIII XIV) uncovered in the Dacian fortress of Bnia.
20 .
21 .
22 .
R. Popa, O spad medieval din valea Streiului i cteva consideraii istorice legate de ea, in Sargeia,
IX, 1972, p. 78-79 and in more detail: Idem, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des
11.-14. Jahrhunderts im Sden Transilvaniens, in Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 39-40.
Ibid., p. 42.
R. Popa, ber die Burgen ..., p. 249f.
83
StReiSngeoRgiu. MRtuRii de
iStoRie RoMneaSc
din Secolele Xi-XiV n Sudul
tRanSilVaniei *
trecut o jumtate de veac de cnd Nicolae Iorga, printr-o comunicare prezentat

la Academie i apoi publicat ntre Memoriile Seciunii Istorice, scotea din
anonimat o mic biseric romneasc de zid din prile hunedorene, aceea de la
Streisngeorgiu1, cu hramul Sfntului Gheorghe. Monumentul se al la marginea
terasei nalte de pe malul drept al Streiului, pe cursul inferior al rului, la numai cca.
15 km de vrsarea acestuia n Mure (ig. 1). Chiar sub locul unde se al biserica,
Streiul primete ca aluent valea Luncanilor, tot pe partea dreapt, vale care coboar
din Munii ureanului. Desprit de valea larg a Mureului prin creasta dealului
Mgura (592 m), microzona al crei centru se dovedete a i fost Streisngeorgiu, iar
astzi oraul Clan, reprezint una dintre marginile rii Haegului sau, pentru
a folosi termenul consemnat de redactorul Diplomei cavalerilor ioanii, una dintre
pertinenele medievale ale rii Haegului2.
Calitatea de cea mai veche ctitorie de nemei romni din Transilvania pe care
marele nvat a atribuit-o monumentului de la Streisngeorgiu se ntemeia pe
pisania zugrvit n cuprinsul tabloului votiv (ig. 2), alat pe peretele de rsrit al
unui mic turn interior, n nava bisericii. Scris n limba slavon, pisania precizeaz c
aceast biseric ( ) a fost zidit () de jupanul Cndre cu
jupania sa Nistora i cu iii si i c a fost isprvit i zugrvit (
) n zilele craiului Sigismund i voievozilor Ardealului Ioan Tamsi
i Iacob Lcki, n anul 6917 (1408-1409) octombrie 2. n afara jupanului Cndre
precizat suplimentar cu calitatea de ,,ctitor a Nistorei i a lui Vlaicu, iul lui
Cndre, tabloul votiv l mai cuprinde i pe un personaj numit jupan Laco.
Tot n tabloul votiv, sub chivotul bisericii inute n mini de ctitori dar deasupra
pisaniei, se mai al cteva cuvinte, zugrvite cu aceeai culoare alb, pe care Iorga
le-a citit ca traducndu-le prin moul lor Litovoi
deac3 dar care, la o examinare foarte atent, trebuie citite ca
. Nu ne oprim aici asupra acestei din urm nsemnri deoarece
cuvntul aparine slavitilor i deoarece, aa cum observa i Nicolae Iorga, tabloul
votiv mpreun cu pisania au fost repictate la 1743. Acest din urm an igureaz pe
o alt pisanie, zugrvit pe stlpul de sud al turnului, n care se spune c noitu-s-au
1.
2.
3.
N. Iorga, Cea mai veche ctitorie de nemei romni din Ardeal (1408-1409), n Academia Romn.
Memoriile Seciunii Istorice, seria III, tom VI, 1927, p. 171 i urm.
1247: ,,terra Harszoc cum pertinentibus suis, n Documenta Romaniae Historica, B, vol. I, p. 4.
N. Iorga, op. cit., p. 172.
Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor - Monumente Istorice i de Art, XLVII, 1978, 1, p. 9-32
4.
86
sTREIsNGEoRGIU. MRTURII DE IsToRIE RoMNEAsC
Fig. 1.
Cursul inferior
al Streiului i
zona central
a rii
Haegului,
cu localitile
menionate n
text
aceste chipuri. Tot din anul 1743 i tot din penelul zugravilor Gheorghe i andru
ot Fgra sunt i o parte a scenelor care constituiau pn n urm cu doi ani decorul
pictat din interiorul bisericii, att n nav ct i n altar4.
Dar repictarea pisaniei, chiar dac
a putut modiica unele litere pe care
zugravii din 1743 nu le-au neles, nu
a alterat totui nici numele personajelor
i nici data consemnat de text. n acest
sens, Nicolae Iorga observa pe bun
dreptate c jupanii Cndre i Laco
ne sunt cunoscui i din documente
contemporane pisaniei, invocnd trei
diplome regale din anul 1404 printre
care i aceea n care Cndre i Lacu
din Streisngeorgiu apar ca oameni
ai regelui pentru nvecinatul sat Strei,
alat la numai 2 km, dincolo de apa
Streiului5.
Acceptarea ideii c un monument
nlat n primii ani ai secolului al XVlea ar i cea mai veche ctitorie cnezial
romneasc din Transilvania, nu fcea
dect s relecte stadiul la care se ala,
n urm cu cincizeci de ani, cunoaterea istoriei romnilor transilvneni.
ntemeindu-se ulterior pe criterii
stilistice, istoricii de art au atras atenia
asupra vechimii mai mari a unora dintre
monumentele romneti transilvnene
de zid, datndu-le n secolul al XIV-lea
i chiar n a doua jumtate a secolului al
XIII-lea. N-au lipsit nici datrile nc
mai timpurii, lipsite ns de o argumentare satisfctoare.
Principalul merit n aceste cercetri i revine profesorului clujan Virgil Vtianu
care, nc din anul 1929, a plasat vechile biserici romneti din prile hunedorene
ntre limite cronologice mai realiste, datndu-le din secolul al XIII-lea i pn n
secolul al XV-lea6. n ceea ce privete monumentul din Streisngeorgiu, el s-a oprit
iniial asupra secolului al XIV-lea, dar n mai recenta sa lucrare de sintez, a inclus
biserica n grupul celor datnd de la sfritul secolului al XIII-lea7. n argumentarea
4.
5.
6.
7.
Cu observaia c n altarul bisericii exist i scene datate n anul 1858, dat pictat pe bolta acestuia. n
legtur cu decorul pictat al monumentului, vezi studiul semnat de Oliviu Boldura i colectiv, n Revista
Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978.
Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente privitoare la istoria romnilor, vol. I2, p. 434-435.
V. Vtianu, Vechile biserici de piatr romneti din judeul Hunedoara, n Anuarul Comisiei
Monumentelor Istorice pentru Transilvania, Cluj, 1929, p. 195.
Idem, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, vol. I, Bucureti, 1959, p. 82.
sa, V. Vtianu a emis ipoteza existenei unui altar prevzut iniial cu o absid
semicircular, nlocuit abia n secolul al XVIII-lea cu actualul altar dreptunghiular.
Asupra datrii bisericii din Streisngeorgiu la sfritul secolului al XIII-lea,
n dezacord cu airmaia att de categoric a pisaniei, s-au pronunat i Grigore
Ionescu8 sau Vasile Drgu9 alturi de ali istorici de art, din rndul crora merit
a i amintit i numele profesorului budapestan ntz Geza10. O datare mai timpurie
a monumentului, n epoca anterioar invaziei ttreti din 1241, a propus, dup
cunotinele noastre, doar I. D. tefnescu, argumentnd cu analiza iconograic a
picturilor murale11.
Tendina unor datri mai timpurii a monumentelor romneti s-a fcut dealtfel
tot mai tare simit n ultimul timp i, fr a i vorba n mod special de biserica de
la Streisngeorgiu, trebuie s consemnm recentele ipoteze ale existenei nc din
secolul al IX-lea a unor monumente medievale de zid n sudul Transilvaniei12. O
atare ipotez nu poate i respins aprioric, condiiile istorice din secolul al IX-lea i
tirile consemnate de izvoarele scrise de mai trziu permind luarea n considerare
a posibilitii ca maturizarea relaiilor feudale s i dus la apariia unor monumente
de piatr sau de crmid nc din secolul al IX-lea13. Dar producerea argumentelor
necesare depinde exclusiv de surprinderea unor situaii concludente sub raport
arheologic i n acest sens rspunsurile sunt de ateptat de la viitoarele cercetri.
Revenind la biserica din Streisngeorgiu, suntem datori de la bun nceput cu o
scurt descriere a monumentului n starea de dinainte de nceperea cercetrilor (ig.
3, 4). De dimensiuni foarte mici, biserica este compus din pronaos (tind), naos
(nav) i altar. Tinda este o adugire recent, din secolul al XIX-lea, fapt relevat
de toi cercettorii i conirmat de spturi, astfel nct ea poate iei din discuia
noastr. Nava bisericii este o ncpere al crei plan se apropie de acela al unui ptrat
cu dimensiunile interioare de 4,60/4,20 m. n nav, pe laturile ei lungi, se al doi
pilatri masivi plasai la distana de numai 0,70 m de limita dinspre altar a ncperii.
Pilatri susin un arc dublou. De la acest arc spre vest, nava este acoperit cu o bolt
nalt semicilindric. La est de pomenitul arc, pornind de pe dou console de zidrie,
se al o bolt distinct, tot semicilindric, dar mai joas. Acest fapt a contribuit la
considerarea prii de rsrit a navei ca iind o ncpere distinct, n genul unui cor14.
n partea de vest a navei se gsete turnul interior cu pisania din 1408 - 1409,
sprijinit pe doi stlpi de zidrie, legai printr-un arc, precum i pe zidul de vest
al navei. ntre stlpi i acest din urm zid au fost montate dou brne din lemn
de stejar pe care se reazem zidurile laterale ale turnului. De la nlimea de cca.
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
Gr. Ionescu, Istoria arhitecturii n Romnia, vol. I, Bucureti, 1963, p. 100-104.

V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti, 1968, p. 43-44 .
G. ntz, Die Baukunst Transsilvaniens im 11-13. Jahrhundert, n Acta Historiae Artium, XIV,
Budapesta, 1968, p. 31.
I. D. tefnescu, Das Zeugnis der Denkmler religiser Kunst, n Siebenbrgen, vol. I, Bucureti, 1940,
p. 293.
Corina Nicolescu, Considrations sur lanciennet des monuments roumains de Transylvanie, n Revue
Roumaine dHistoire, 1962, 1, p. 419 i urm.; R. Heitel, Archologische Beitrge zur Geschichte der
romanischen Baudenkmler in Siebenbrgen, (II), n Revue Roumaine dHistoire de lArt. Serie BeauxArts, XII, 1975, p. 6.
Avem n vedere n primul rnd, desigur, monumente de cult, fr a exclude totui refolosirea sau
reconstrucia, n scopuri laice, a unor monumente romane ruinate de la Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa,
Apulum sau din alte locuri.
Gr. Ionescu, op. cit., p. 104.
87
88
3 m, turnul se ngusteaz uor, ca un co i strbate bolta pentru a iei deasupra

acoperiului, adpostind la partea superioar clopotele. Existena turnului a fost
unul dintre argumentele principale pentru datarea timpurie a monumentului
deoarece asemenea turnuri interioare, adpostind de obicei o tribun la etaj, se
gsesc n Transilvania la capele de curte datnd din secolul al XIII-lea15. Evident
c datorit dimensiunilor sale interioare de numai 1,20x0,70 m, turnul bisericii din
Streisngeorgiu nu putea cuprinde o tribun, aici iind vorba doar de adaptarea unui
anumit program constructiv la necesitatea crerii unui spaiu adecvat adpostirii
clopotelor.
Desprit de nav printr-un arc de triumf prevzut cu dou console de zidrie
care imit stngaci capitele, ncperea altarului are un plan dreptunghiular care se
apropie i el de ptrat. Cu lungimea interioar de 3,20 m i cu limea de 2,80
m, altarul este disproporionat de mare n raport cu nava, prezentnd n plus
particularitatea unei evidente dezaxri.
Zidurile monumentului i cu aceasta introducem n prezentare datele ctigate
prin cercetrile abia ncheiate au grosimea apreciabil de 0,80-0,90 m i sunt
prevzute cu o temelie din bolovani de ru cldii n amestec cu mortar ntr-un an
de fundaie adnc de numai 0,60 m. Dup decaparea tencuielilor exterioare s-a putut
constata c, zidurile sunt compuse n partea inferioar din patru sau cinci rnduri
de blocuri mari de piatr cioplit, scoase dintr-un monument roman alat undeva n
vecintate, iar n partea lor superioar din crmid confecionat de constructori.
Golurile dintre blocuri au fost completate tot cu zidrie de crmid. Pentru golurile
ferestrelor originale, dou pe peretele de sud al navei, n partea de vest a acesteia i
dou n altar, pe peretele lui sudic i n ax, au fost folosite aceleai blocuri de piatr,
cioplite cu stngcie (ig. 4, 5). Adugnd faptul c dou contraforturi situate pe
cele dou laturi ale navei, aproximativ n dreptul arcului dublou susinut de pilatri,
sunt rezultatul unor transformri ulterioare, socotim ncheiat succinta prezentare
a monumentului i ne ndreptm n continuare atenia asupra tirilor din izvoarele
scrise referitoare la Streisngeorgiu i la familia de ctitori.
n urm cu cincizeci de ani, Nicolae Iorga nu dispunea de documente mai vechi
de anul 1400 privind satul i familia de nemei romni care-1 stpneau. Au mai
aprut de atunci cteva informaii ceva mai vechi. Prima este din anul 1377 i const
dintr-o danie, din 15 iunie, a voievodului Transilvaniei, Ladislau de Losoncz fcut
la Deva lui Petru, iul lui Zicu din Strei (numele maghiar al satului este Zeykfalva
satul lui Zicu; n document, personajul este desemnat ca iind din districtul rului
Strei) i vrului su Nicolaie, iul lui Ladislau din Streisngeorgiu16. Dania este
ntrit trei zile mai trziu, n 18 iunie 1377, de regele Ludovic I la Cluj i const
din stpnirea cu drept cnezial (more et consuetudine kenezyatus) a trei sate romneti
(villae volakalae) numite Chitidu de Sus, Chitidu de Jos i Ocoli (... videlicet duas
Kytid, superiorem et inferiorem ac Oklus). Despre aceste trei sate se precizeaz c se
alau n cuprinsul a dou stpniri de drept cnezial distincte (sub duobus kenezyatis
existentes) i c au fost stpnite nainte vreme de un rposat cneaz cu numele
Cndea (Kend) i de iii si, dar c au ajuns n stpnirea regal dup executarea prin
15 .
16 .
V. Drgu, op. cit., loc cit.; G. ntz, op. cit., loc cit.
E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria illustrantia ..., Budapesta, 1941, p.
271-273.
treang, pentru necredin, a acelui Cndea. Alm de asemenea c iii lui Cndea,
fugii n ara Romneasc, mai continuau la data daniei s svreasc acte ostile
fa de autoritatea regelui maghiar17.
Identiicarea celor trei sate comport unele diiculti. Pe valea Luncanilor la
deal exist azi un singur sat cu numele Chitid, desprit de Streisngeorgiu prin
hotarul satului Ohaba Streiului. Deoarece Ohaba Streiului inea pe atunci de
Streisngeorgiu18, vecintatea cu Chitidul a beneiciarilor daniei poate i considerat
ca nemijlocit. Pentru al doilea sat cu numele de Chitid, trebuie s alegem ntre
identiicarea cu Boorod, care este satul urmtor pe valea Luncanilor la deal, sau
cu vatra vreunui alt sat disprut, situat tot acolo. Prima soluie pare mai probabil19. n sfrit, un Ocoliul Mic exist azi n vecintatea Chitidului, pe o vale
secundar, iar un Ocoliul Mare pe malul opus al rului Strei, n imediata vecintate
a satului Strei unde rezida primul dintre beneiciarii daniei. Pentru villa ... Oklus
identiicarea rmne prin urmare nesigur, cu att mai mult cu ct nu ne este clar
semniicaia expresiei sub duobus kenezyatis existentes prin care este desemnat
situaia (topograic?; patrimonial?) a celor trei sate20.
Reinem oricum din acest episod nrudirea apropiat la 1377 dintre cnezii de
la Strei i Streisngeorgiu, foarte probabil descendeni din acelai bunic anonim,
precum i existena nainte de 1377, n vecintatea acestor sate i pe acelai curs
inferior al Streiului, a unor stpniri de sate romneti exercitate de familia unui
cneaz cu numele Cndea.
Dac dania voievodal i ntrirea regal din 1377 au reprezentat, de la acest
an nainte, temeiul legal, al stpnirii celor dou Chitiduri i a Ocoliului de ctre
cnezii nrudii din Strei i Streisngeorgiu21, nu tim n schimb care era temeiul
juridic, dup normele regatului angevin, prin care aceiai cnezi i stpneau satele
proprii. Un document din anul 1392, pe care l considerm ca avnd o valoare cu
totul ieit din comun22, ne ncredineaz c acest temei nu era altul dect starea de
fapt, motenit de la naintai i acceptat tacit de coroana arpadian i apoi de aceea
angevin23.
Documentul din 1392, n aparen o tranzacie imobiliar ncheiat ntre dou
rude, n tabra pe Dunre, n timpul campaniei mpotriva turcilor i ntrit de regele
Sigismund de Luxemburg, nu este n realitate altceva dect o cale ocolit pentru
17 .
18 .
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
Ibidem; vezi comentariul episodului la R. Popa, O spad medieval din valea Streiului i cteva
consideraii istorice legate de ea, n Sargetia, IX, Deva, 1972, p. 77 i urm.
La prima apariie documentar, cu numele de Zabadfalva (sat liber ohab), satul este stpnit de
familia cnezial din Streisngeorgiu; D. Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a Hunyadiak korban,
vol. V, Budapesta, 1913, p. 117.
Dou sate cu numele de Chitid sunt atestate documentar pn n secolul al XVI-lea, n timp ce Boorod
apare n documente, cu acest nume, n secolul al XVIII-lea; vezi C. Suciu, Dicionar istoric al localitilor
din Transilvania, I, Bucureti, 1967, p. 97 i 144. Deoarece informaia autorului este lacunar pentru
perioada 1526-1733, este probabil ca n cuprinsul ei s se i produs schimbarea numelui sau restructurarea
topograic a unor aezri mai mici din aceast parte a vii Luncanilor.
Pentru problemele stpnirii cu drept cnezial n secolele XIV-XV, vezi R. Popa, ara Maramureului n
veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970, p. 168 i urm., cu bibliograia mai veche.
Temei legal care nu a putut mpiedica totui druirea ulterioar a acelorai sate, cu drept nobiliar, familiei
de nobili din Binini (azi Aurel Vlaicu); Documenta Valachorum, p. 404-405. A fost vorba desigur de o
cotropire, facilitat i de faptul c demnitatea de castelan al Haegului a aparinut acestei familii.
Documenta Valachorum, p. 429-430.
n legtur cu aceast problem vezi, printre altele, Maria Holban, Deposedri i judeci n Haeg pe
vremea angevinilor, n Studii, XIII, 1960, 5, p. 148 i urm.; R. Popa, ara Maramureului, p. 168 i urm.
89
90
Fig. 2.
Detaliu din
tabloul votiv
cu pisania din
1408 - 1409
obinerea, abia acum, a unui act regal care s apere juridic stpniri de drept cnezial
exercitate n virtutea unei situaii de fapt. Locul i momentul demersului, excluznd
desigur procedurile complicate i obinuitele veriicri, nu puteau i mai favorabile.
S-a adugat la aceasta i sprijinul lui Drag, iul lui Sas, voievodul Maramureului,
care a intervenit pe lng rege n favoarea celor doi cnezi haegani ce par a i luat
parte la campanie sub ordinele lui24.
Dar s vedem ce spune documentul. Cndre, iul lui Grigore din Streisngeorgiu
(de Zenthgeorgh), i Lacu, iul lui Nicolae din acelai Streisngeorgiu (de eadem /
Zenthgeorgh/) foarte probabil identici cu cei doi jupani zugrvii n partea stng
a tabloului votiv din 1408-1409 fac un schimb de pri de sate, cu adaosul ca n
cazul morii unuia dintre ei, cel rmas n via s l moteneasc.
Satele n care cei doi cnezi stpneau pri de moie sunt situate n dou zone
distincte ale rii Haegului. n schimbul consemnat de document, Cndre cedeaz
prile sale din satul (moia) Sla (n text: portiones suas in possessionibus Zalaspataka
et... echivalent cu valea Slaului, pe
care se al azi patru sate: Ohaba de sub
Piatr, Slau de Jos, Slau de Sus i
Mlieti) i dintr-un sat numit Sub Brazi
(n text: Fenyalath, poate identic cu
Mlieti unde se al turnul locuin al
cnezilor cu reedina n curtea azi ruinat
din nvecinatul Slau de Sus, dac nu
este vorba de un alt sat din vecintate,
disprut sau purtnd azi alt nume)25,
situate sub Munii Retezatului, n inima
rii Haegului. Pe de alt parte, Lacu
cedeaz prile pe care le stpnea n satele
Streisngeorgiu, Valea Sngeorgiului, Grid
i Strei-Scel (Zentgeorgh.... Pathak, Gred
et Kysfalu), grupate toate ntr-un singur
trup pe malul drept al cursului inferior al
Streiului.
C schimbul a fost ictiv i c nu a avut
alt scop dect consemnarea satelor ntr-un
act regal, o dovedete cu prisosin situaia
pe care o constatm cu 12 ani mai trziu,
la 1404, n documentul pe care 1-a folosit
i Nicolae Iorga. Este vorba, de aceast dat, de o adevrat ntrire a stpnirii unor
sate, acordat n formele consacrate prin practica din acei ani a cancelariei regale i
care se nscrie ntr-un grup mai mare de diplome, date tot n 1404 unor cnezi romni
din Haeg sau din alte pri ale Transilvaniei26. Diploma la care ne referim i care
ne este cunoscut doar sub forma mandatului de introducere n stpnire, adresat
24 .
25 .
26 .
Pe document se al nsemnarea relatio domini Drag Woyuode.

Pentru identiicri, vezi R. Popa, ber die Burgen der Terra Hatzeg, n Dacia, N. S., XVI, 1972,
p. 256-257.
E. Mlyusz, Zsigmondkori oklevltr, vol. II1, sub anul 1404.
de rege capitlului din Alba lulia27, privete stapnirea cu drept cnezial (possessio
seu keneziatus) a vii Slaului (Zallaspataka) de ctre o familie de cnezi haegani
(keneziis de Hathzagh) dintre care sunt pomenii Cndre (Kenderes) i Barbu, iii
lui Grigore, Costea (Koztha), iul lui Jaroslaus, i Lacu, iul lui Nicolaie, ultimul
precizat ca iind din Streisngeorgiu (de Zenthgurgh). Tot despre acest din urm
cneaz ni se spune c ar i nepotul de iu al pomenitului Cndre, iul lui Grigore,
ceea ce, dac nu se datoreaz unei greeli de copist, ngreuaz mult reconstituirea
genealogic28.
Oricum, Cndre, iul lui Grigore, i Lacu, iul lui Nicolae, din 1404, sunt cele
dou nume pomenite i n schimbul de moii din 1392 care, dup cum se vede,
nu a avut urmri reale n ceea ce privete repartizarea stpnirilor de sate n cadrul
familiei.
Pentru Streisngeorgiu i satele innd de el, nu ni s-a pstrat din aceti ani de la
nceputul secolului al XV-lea o ntrire regal, asemntoare celei mai sus pomenite,
privind valea Slaului sau celei acordate, tot n 1404, ramurii din Strei a familiei29.
Se poate totui airma, fr teama de a grei, c o asemenea diplom a existat. n
prima jumtate a secolului al XV-lea, urmaii lui Cndre sunt precizai ca iind
din Streisngeorgiu, satele din jurul Streisngeorgiului apar ca iind n stpnirea
acestei familii iar nirarea Streisngeorgiului printre satele care aparineau la 1453
cetii Deva30 nu are alt semniicaie dect precizarea condiiei juridice sub care
era stpnit satul. ntr-adevr, exercitarea unei stpniri cu drept cnezial implica
predarea unor produse i prestarea de slujbe ctre cetatea regal i, din aceast
cauz, pomenirea tuturor satelor ntrite sub asemenea condiie, ca fcnd parte din
domeniul cetii, este ct se poate de ireasc31.
Oprindu-ne n continuare asupra legturilor genealogice care pot i reconstituite
pe temeiul documentelor invocate ca i pe temeiul altor ctorva documente din
prima jumtate a secolului al XV-lea32, constatm existena a trei linii distincte ale
familiei, avnd toate legturi cu Streisngeorgiul. Facem aici abstracie de persoanele
pomenite doar n legtur cu valea Slaului, ca stpnind acolo n devlmie cu
familia cnezial din Streisngeorgiu, deoarece aceast devlmie se datoreaz unor
condiii de istorie social-politic haegan a cror evocare depete cadrul pe care
ni l-am propus n studiul de fa33. Cele trei linii ale familiei se prezint astfel (vezi
ilustraia arborelui genealogic).
Dup cum se vede, izvoarele scrise de care dispunem nu permit coborrea
reconstituirilor mai jos dect mijlocul secolului al XIV-lea iar temeiurile nrudirii
dintre cele trei linii familiare rmn n bun msur nesigure. Important este totui
27 .
28 .
29 .
30 .
31 .
32 .
33 .
Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente, I2, p. 428; E. Mlyusz, op. cit., nr. 3368.
Vezi mai jos tabloul genealogic.
Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente, I2, p. 434.
Ibidem, II2, p. 35.
Domeniul cetii avnd prin urmare nu att sensul de moii ale cetii ci acela de venituri ale cetii.
O monograie istoric i arheologic a rii Haegului, pe care o avem n manuscris, folosete informaiile
scrise de pn dup mijlocul secolului al XV-lea. (n.ed. Ulterior monograia a fost publicat: La nceputurile
evului mediu romnesc. ara Haegului, Bucureti, 1988)
Pentru existena i n ara Haegului a dou categorii de cnezi, una a cnezilor de vale din care fcea parte i
familia cnezial din Streisngeorgiu i alta, subordonat, a cnezilor de sat, vezi R. Popa, Structures sociopolitiques roumaines au sud de la Transylvanie aux commencements du Moyen ge, n Revue Roumaine
dHistoire, XIV, 1975, 2, p. 300 i urm.
91
92
certitudinea faptului c persoanele mai sus pomenite erau nrudite, aa cum o airm
rspicat documentele i cum o conirm tabloul votiv din 1408-1409, precum i,
pe planul mai larg al reconstituirilor de istorie a rii Haegului, prezena familiei
cneziale din Streisngeorgiu, n calitate de stpn de sate sau de pri de sate, pe
valea Slaului sub Munii Retezatului.
Aceast din urm constatare ne d dreptul s propunem identiicarea cneazului

Cndea, cel care nainte de 1377 stpnea trei sate n vecintatea Streisngeorgiului
i care a fost executat tot nainte de acest an, cu cel de-al doilea dintre personajele
cunoscute n familia Cndetilor din Ru de Mori. Este vorba de Mihail zis Cndea
(dictus Kende), iul lui Nicolae zis Cndea, executat prin anii 1357-1359 i despre
care tim c i s-au coniscat atunci satele34. Potrivirii de nume i de destin i poate
i adugat acum i argumentul topograic, decurgnd din vecintatea de stpniri n
dou zone distincte ale rii Haegului, pe cursul inferior al Streiului i sub Munii
Retezatului. ntr-adevr, dat iind c satele Cndetilor din jurul Rului de Mori
sunt nemijlocit nvecinate cu satele de pe valea Slaului, este iresc ca n cnezii vecini
cu Streisngeorgiul s i identiicm pe aceiai Cndeti. Dar aceast problem va i
reluat altdat, ntr-un cadru de reconstituiri istorice mai largi.
Dac documentele de cancelarie ajunse pn la noi nu sunt de foarte mare folos
pentru reconstituirea vechimii reale a bisericii din Streisngeorgiu, ele conirmnd
cel mult punctul de vedere al istoricilor de art i arhitectur dup care anul 1408
nu poate i cel al construirii monumentului ie i numai pentru faptul c satul este
atestat nc din 1377 cu nume care se justiic prin hramul bisericii n schimb
cercetrile arheologice iniiate aici n anii 1975-1976 au constatat o situaie cu
totul excepional. Precizm de la bun nceput c excepional nu se refer att la
34 .
Documenta Valachorum p. 143; asupra familiei Cndea din Ru de Mori, vezi i R. Popa, O spad ..., p.
80-81 precum i Idem, ber die Burgen ..., p. 252 i urm.
vechimea sau la caracterul monumentului, ct la posibilitile unor reconstituiri certe,

bazate pe materiale semniicative descoperite n condiii clare. Avem certitudinea c
i alte monumente romneti sunt la fel de vechi ca i biserica din Streisngeorgiu
sau chiar nc mai vechi, dar datarea lor precis ntmpin de multe ori diiculti
datorit distrugerii n timp a documentelor arheologice.
Organizate de ctre fosta Direcie a Patrimoniului Cultural Naional n colaborare
cu Institutul de Arheologie i cu alte instituii de proil, ca etap pregtitoare a
lucrrilor de restaurare a monumentului, cercetrile arheologice s-au ntins pe o
perioad de 11 sptmni35. Ele au constat din investigarea tuturor suprafeelor
disponibile n interiorul i n jurul monumentului precum i din surprinderea i
cercetarea altor ctorva complexe arheologice din zona nconjurtoare, pe teritoriul
actualului Ora Nou al Clanului,
al crui cartier a devenit n ultimul
timp i fostul sat Streisngeorgiu.
Prezentul studiu i propune
valoriicarea rezultatelor cercetrilor
arheologice din sectorul Biseric
al antierului Streisngeorgiu i
interpretarea lor n contextul tirilor
din izvoarele scrise. Studii separate
privind materialul antropologic i
podoabele din secolele XIV-XVIII,
provenind din acelai sector, au
fost redactate de ali membri ai
colectivului36. Pentru alte sectoare
ale antierului i pentru problemele
legate de arhitectura monumentului sau de cercetrile privind conservarea i restaurarea decorului pictat, au fost ntocmite studii speciale37. O parte a rezultatelor
cercetrilor din prima campanie de spturi a fost deja valoriicat sub aspect
tiiniic38, aceste pagini aducnd unele precizri suplimentare i completri
substaniale la publicrile anterioare.
Planul spturilor
Biserica din Streisngeorgiu este situat n mijlocul unui cimitir i a fost folosit
ca monument de cult pn la data nceperii cercetrilor. Morminte foarte noi se
al chiar lng zidurile monumentului. Din aceast cauz, n exteriorul bisericii,
sptura a trebuit s se limiteze la o singur seciune mai mare i la casete de numai
35 .
36 .
37 .
38 .
n 1975 ntre 9-28 iunie i 21 iulie-6 august iar n 1976 ntre 7 mai-6 iunie.
Vezi studiile separate din Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 47, 1978,
1. Din colectivul antierului au mai fcut parte, n diferite perioade: Gh. Baltag, Dan Busuioc, Victor
Eskenasy, Ioachim Lazr, Mircea Lazr, Larisa Nemoianu i Adrian Rusu.
Proiectul de restaurare i conducerea lucrrilor se datoreaz arhitectului erban Popescu-Dolj iar
cercetrile asupra picturii i restaurarea ei aparin unui colectiv condus de Marius Popescu i Oliviu
Boldura. Le mulumim i aici tuturor pentru informaiile pe care ni le-au dat.
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des 11.-14. Jahrhunderts im Sden
Transilvaniens, n Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 37 i urm. Prezentul studiu cuprinde i rezultatele obinute
n 1976, aducnd unele ndreptri la cele publicate anterior, ndreptri ce vor i menionate expres.
Fig. 3.
Biserica din
Streisngeorgiu
naintea
lucrrilor din
1975 - 1977.
Vedere dinspre
sud-est
93
94
3-5 m, care n punctele unde au aprut morminte recente nu au mai putut i adncite
pn la solul viu.
Interiorul monumentului a putut i n schimb cercetat integral, nti printr-o
seciune longitudinal plasat n axul bisericii i apoi prin casete (ig. 6). Martorii
lsai pentru veriicri ulterioare la sfritul campaniei 1975 n interiorul prii vechi
a monumentului au fost desiinai n anul 1976 pentru a permite montarea noilor
pardoseli.
n cuprinsul cimitirului actual, n afara seciunii trasate perpendicular pe latura
de nord a navei bisericii, s-a mai ncercat practicarea a dou seciuni, una la est i
una la nord-vest de monument, pentru veriicarea extinderii celei mai vechi faze a
necropolei. n sfrit, prelungirea spre vest a seciunii trasate pe axul bisericii a permis
precizarea faptului c biserica a fost construit iniial chiar la marginea terasei i c
actuala platform din faa intrrii se datoreaz unor nivelri recente.
Stratigrafia
Fig. 4.
Biserica din
Streisngeorgiu.
Latura estic a
altarului
Cu toate c mormintele mai noi au rscolit ntregul teren din jurul monumentului,
pn la adncimi situate cu mult sub cota solului viu, s-au gsit totui cteva puncte
n special n partea de vest a navei unde absena interveniilor ulterioare a permis
reconstituirea clar a succesiunii de straturi (ig. 7).
Solul viu se al la adncimea de 0,45-0,50 m
fa de nivelul actual de clcare, iind constituit din
pietri galben-roietic foarte compact i, la limita
superioar a acestuia, dintr-un strat de pmnt
lutos castaniu, gros de cca 0,50 m, lipsit i el de
orice material arheologic. De altfel, constructorii
bisericii s-au mulumit, pentru aezarea temeliilor,
s strpung acest strat lutos de culoare castanie
i s plaseze talpa fundaiei zidurilor pe pietriul
compact despre care a fost vorba.
Deasupra solului viu a fost surprins, n cteva
locuri i doar pe distane foarte mici, un strat
distinct de sol castaniu, gros de numai 2-3 cm,
reprezentnd solul vegetal de la nceputurile locuirii
medievale din acest loc. Pe proilul transversal
obinut n nav (ig. 8), acest strat este acoperit
parial de o lentil de pmnt roietic, pe care o
interpretm ca reprezentnd nivelul podelei bisericii de lemn care a precedat pe acelai loc actualul
monument de zid, biseric de lemn despre care va
i vorba la locul cuvenit. Aceast lentil roiatic cuprinde i pigmeni de crbune. Pe
alte mici poriuni, n locul lentilei roiatice apare o lentil distinct de lut castaniu pe
care am interpretat-o ca iind pmnt scos din anul de fundaie al bisericii de zid39.
39 .
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis ..., p. 34; observaiile stratigraice din 1976 au fost mai
concludente pentru existena iniial a unui monument de lemn.
Nici un material arheologic, util plasrii n timp a momentului construirii bisericii, nu

a fost descoperit n acest strat sau n lentilele care se leag de el.
Urmtoarele niveluri se leag de pavimentele din piatr i din crmid sau de
podelele de lemn care au fost succesiv montate n interiorul bisericii. Comparnd
situaia din nav cu aceea din altar, unde nu s-a pstrat nici o poriune nederanjat a
solului vegetal antic dar unde s-au conser vat in situ cteva lespezi de piatr aparinnd
unei refaceri a celui mai vechi paviment, rezult c acesta din urm este reprezentat
de o plac de zidrie din mortar cu pietre mici de ru, care a fost adosat, nainte
de ntrirea mortarului, feelor interioare ale blocurilor mari de piatr cioplit de
la limita superioar a temeliei. Aceast plac de zidrie s-a mai pstrat sub forma
unor ,,musti, uneori destul de late, att n nav ct i n altar. Plcii de zidrie
i corespunde, doar n nav i numai n locurile n care nu s-au produs intervenii
ulterioare, un strat subire de mortar alb care are valoarea de nivel de construcie
a bisericii de zid. Acest prim strat de mortar alb se lipete direct de temelia stlpului de
sud al turnului dovedind, n afara oricrei ndoieli, c stlpii au fost construii odat cu
zidurile monumentului40.
Tot n nav, aezate direct pe stratul de mortar alb al constructorilor bisericii,
s-au mai pstrat in situ cteva lespezi mici de piatr. Rezult din toate acestea, n
mod nendoielnic, c cel mai vechi
paviment din biseric a fost din
lespezi de piatr aezate pe placa de
zidrie mai sus amintit sau pe stratul
de mortar al constructorilor i c n
altar, dup practicarea unor gropi
care i-au rscolit ntreaga suprafa
pn la o adncime de 0,60-0,65 m,
pavimentul de lespezi a fost refcut
deasupra umpluturii. Aceast din
urm operaie explic i gsirea n
altar a lespezilor pavimentului la o
cot mai joas dect aceea a plcii
de zidrie, deoarece umplutura s-a
tasat n decursul timpului.
Deasupra
pavimentului
de
lespezi a aprut n cteva locuri,
mai ales n altar, un strat subire de
pmnt negru, coninnd arsur i crbune. Pare s ie vorba de urmele, nu ndeajuns
de bine ndeprtate, ale unui incendiu. Acestui strat de pmnt negru i urmeaz cel
de-al doilea paviment, amenajat din crmizi cu dimensiunile de 0,32x0,16-0,18 m
i grosimea de 0,055-0,06 m. Crmizile sunt identice ca dimensiuni celor folosite
la zidurile monumentului. Pavimentul de crmizi este aezat pe un pat de mortar
format din dou foi, mortar roiatic cu sfrmtur de crmid n partea inferioar
i mortar alb n partea superioar. Acest paviment de crmid este prezent att n
nav ct i n altar. Patul pe care a fost montat pledeaz pentru legarea lui de lucrrile
40 .
Situaia stratigraic este mai puin clar la temelia stlpului de nord unde o musta de mortar las
impresia unei refaceri mai radicale a zidriei, poate chiar pn n temelia ei.
Fig. 5.
Biserica din
Streisngeorgiu.
Latura sudic
a navei
95
96
Fig. 6. Planul cercetrilor arheologice din 1975 - 1976 de la biserica din Streisngeorgiu. Legenda: 1. Ziduri; 2. Plombe
de zidrie adugate n spatele pilatrilor; 3. Placa de zidrie a primului paviment; 4. Gropi; 5. Umplutura gropilor
mormintelor anterioare bisericii de zid; 6. Nivel de arsur; 7. Lespezi de piatr, pietre, blocuri de temelie i margini ale
temeliei de zidrie; 8. Crmizi din paviment; 9. Limite de gropi de morminte; 10. Piese de podoab; 11. Monede.
Toate adncimile se raporteaz la o cot 0, alat cu 1 m sub pragul exterior al ferestrei altarului (vezi i proil)
unei etape de refaceri a monumentului,

eventual de modiicri ale bolilor, deoarece
asemenea lucrri ar explica prezena
sfrmturilor de crmid n mortar.
Pavimentul urmtor este compus tot din
crmizi dar, n acest caz, n majoritate din
spolii romane, avnd intercalate pe alocuri
i pietre sau lespezi mici. n unele poriuni
a fost surprins i un strat de mortar situat
la baza acestui al treilea paviment, fapt care
ne oblig s l punem n legtur cu o alt
etap de transformri a monumentului. n
sfrit, urmele mai vechi ale unei podele de
lemn se leag mai mult dect probabil de
construirea pronaosului sau a tindei de zid
(n interiorul creia nu s-au gsit urme ale
unor pavimente de piatr sau de crmid),
data acestei podele iind, pare-se, anul
1858 n care s-au executat i unele picturi
pe bolta din altar. Deasupra acestor urme
se al podeaua de lemn actual, aezat pe
nivelri cu nisip i pmnt galben.
Aceasta iind situaia stratigraic din
interiorul prii vechi a monumentului,
adugm c la vest de acesta, adic n
interiorul pronaosului sau al tindei, unde
morminte mai noi sau mai vechi (dar nu
mai vechi dect secolul al XV-lea) au dus
la dispariia nivelului de clcare al primilor
constructori, a putut i totui surprins
un strat de incendiu care, cobornd n
pant spre vest, acoper cele mai timpurii
morminte din aceast zon. Stratul de
incendiu trebuie pus n legtur cu un
pronaos de lemn care a iinat cndva, prin
secolele XV-XVII.
Dintre proilele casetelor practicate
pe laturile exterioare ale monumentului,
trebuie menionat acela estic al casetei S
Fig. 7. Profilul nordic al seciunii axiale (S.I.). Legenda: 1. Pietri glbui
- rocat, sol viu; 2. Lut castaniu - glbui, sol viu; 3. Sol castaniu;
4. Mortar alb; 5. Lespezi i pietre; 6. Pmnt negru; 7. Mortar
rou; 8. Crmizi; 9. Pmnt negru cu crbune; 10. Umplutur
din gropi de morminte; 11. Gropi cu pmnt amestecat;
12. Umplutur de gropi cu pmnt negru - castaniu; 13. Lut
galben de nivelare; 14. Pmnt galben cu moloz; 15. Pmnt
galben cu moloz i nisip; 16. Nisip de nivelare; 17. Sol vegetal
actual; 18. Pavaj recent; 19. Podea de lemn; 20. Blocuri din zid;
21. Temelia din zidrie; 22. Placa de zidrie a primului paviment
97
98
VIII a/1976 pe care, fr a se putea face raportri la nivelul de construcie al bisericii

de piatr, a putut i totui identiicat o succesiune de nmormntri care se ntinde
n timp din vremea existenei monumentului de lemn i pn n secolul al XVIII-lea
(ig. 9). Dar despre aceste nmormntri i despre datarea lor, pe temeiul inventarului
funerar, va i vorba mai pe larg atunci cnd ne vom ocupa de necropol.
observaii privind planimetria i zidurile
monumentului
Aa cum s-a mai spus n treact, doar cele dou contraforturi i pronaosul sau
tinda constituie adugiri ulterioare la planul monumentului iniial. Toate celelalte
pri ale sale, cu toate detaliile lor planimetrice, dateaz de la origine i au fost realizate
ntr-o singur etap de construcie. Temeliile prii vechi a monumentului, cercetate
pe ntregul lor traseu i n toate punctele de intersecie a zidurilor, sunt perfect esute
i, mai mult, arat c au fost cldite dintr-o dat ntr-un an de fundaie continuu,
umplut pe toat lrgimea lui cu rnduri de bolovani de ru i cu mortar.
n raport cu zidurile vizibile la suprafa, s-a mai gsit nc un zid, situat ntre
nav i altar. Este vorba de fapt de zidul de est al navei, prevzut cu o temelie cu ceva
mai puin adnc (numai 0,35-0,40 m fa de nivelul de clcare al constructorilor,
n timp ce temeliile zidurilor perimetrale sunt adnci de 0,50-0,60 m) i care, dup
aezarea pe temelie a unui rnd de blocuri de piatr foarte mari, nu a mai fost
continuat n nlime, lsnd deschis trecerea din nav n altar prin intermediul
unei trepte. Dar i temeliile acestui zid lat de 0,80 m sunt perfect esute cu temeliile
de contur ale monumentului i, mai mult, pe blocurile lui se sprijin att picioarele
arcului de triumf ct i pintenii de zidrie din partea de est a navei.
n exterior, biserica are un soclu format din dou rnduri de blocuri de piatr
cioplit, rndul superior iind prevzut i cu un proil n plan nclinat (ig. 10).
Cele mai mari dintre aceste blocuri, provenind toate de la ruina unui monument
roman, au dimensiunile de 1,30x0,60 m. Pe cteva blocuri sunt vizibile lcaurile
scoabelor de ier folosite de constructorii romani. Blocurile proilate au fost spoliate
ca piese gata cioplite deoarece, n cteva locuri, n care aceste blocuri nu au ajuns,
constructorii medievali au recurs la imitarea proilului soclului cu mortar. Cteva
blocuri din rndul inferior al soclului lipsesc, iind nlocuite cu zidrie din bolovani
de ru asemntoare zidriei din temelie. Acest rnd inferior de blocuri, care iniial
nu a stat cu toat nlimea sa deasupra nivelului de clcare din jurul bisericii, are
n interiorul monumentului drept corespondent un alt rnd de blocuri care iese cu
0,10-0,30 m n raport cu verticala zidurilor.
Una dintre cele mai importante observaii privind planimetria i zidurile
monumentului este constatarea c biserica are n temelii un plan cu mult mai regulat
dect n elevaie. Diferena dintre verticala zidului i faa temeliei ajunge n unele
locuri, ntr-un sens sau ntr-altul, pn la 0,30-0,35 m. Un plan pe care s-ar trece
doar traseul temeliilor, ar i foarte apropiat de un plan simetric i logic. Aceasta ne
oblig s explicm cea mai mare parte a ciudeniilor i asimetriei planului elevaiei
ca datorndu-se diicultilor utilizrii, de ctre constructorii medievali, a unor
blocuri gata cioplite, luate de la alt monument, n cazul nostru de la un monument
roman ruinat.
Pe paramentele exterioare ale bisericii,

deasupra soclului, zidurile sunt formate
din nc unul sau dou rnduri de blocuri
de piatr, intercalate n unele locuri cu
poriuni de zidrie din crmid. De aici
n sus apare zidrie omogen de crmid
care, examinat la nivelul acoperiului
sau n adncimea ctorva sondaje, se
dovedete a i realizat cu dou fee
cldite ngrijit i cu emplecton din crmid, piatr i mortar. Blocuri de piatr
mai apar doar n dreptul ferestrelor: pe
faada estic a altarului, de la soclu i
pn deasupra golului ferestrei iar pe
faada sudic a monumentului, doar
n jurul golurilor ferestrelor. Cioplirea
cu stngcie a arcurilor ferestrelor n
grosimea acestor blocuri se datoreaz
desigur constructorilor medievali.
Crmizile confecionate de ctre
constructori au dimensiunile de 0,300,32x0,15-0,16 cm i grosimea de 0,050,06 cm. Crmizi romane i pietre mici
de carier sau de ru au fost folosite la
paramente doar n locurile n care s-au
produs refaceri sau reparaii ale zidriei:
la colurile estice ale navei i la limita
superioar a pereilor acesteia. Trebuie
de asemenea adugat c n casetele
practicate n jurul monumentului au
aprut numeroase fragmente de igle cu
grosimea de 0,015 m i cu limea de 0,18
m, prevzute cu un cioc proeminent
de 0,025 m; lungimea lor este incert.
Particularitatea acestor igle const din
prezena, pe faa lor superioar, a unor
dungi paralele realizate cu degetele trase
pe pasta moale, asemntoare enuirilor
de pe crmizile i iglele romane. iglele
gsite n jurul monumentului sunt
totui cu siguran medievale i provin,
foarte probabil, de la primul acoperi al
monumentului41.
41 .
Nu cunoatem deocamdat analogii pentru

acest tip de igle. Pasta din care sunt lucrate este
identic cu aceea a crmizilor din ziduri.
Fig. 8.
Profil sud
- nord n
interiorul
navei, n
dreptul
stlpilor
turnului.
Legenda:
1. Pietri glbui
- rocat, sol viu;
2. Lut castaniu
- glbui, sol viu;
3. Sol castaniu;
4. Strat de
mortar alb;
5. Lespezi de
piatr;
6. Sol castaniu
- roietic cu
arsur;
7. Sol castaniu
cu pigmeni de
mortar; 8. Strat
de mortar rou;
9. Mortar rou
cu fragmente
mari de
crmid;
10. Sol castaniu
purtat;
11. Crmizi;
12. Umplutur
n gropi;
13. Nivelare
cu lut.
14. Urme de
podea;
15 Nivelare cu
nisip;
16. Bloc de
piatr n zid;
17. Zidrie
99
100
Cteva observaii privind materialele romane

descoperite la biserica din Streisngeorgiu
Fig. 9.
Proilul estic al
casetei
VIIIa /1976.
Legend:
1. Sol viu;
2. Sol decapat
n 1976
Ca la toate celelalte monumente medievale de zid din ara Haegului, i la Streisngeorgiu constatm c ne alm i aici n inima provinciei romane Dacia, ntr-o
zon n care la nceputurile Evului Mediu se mai pstrau foarte multe ruine romane
cu ziduri destul de nalte i poate chiar cu detalii arhitectonice nc destul de bine
conservate deasupra solului. Credem a nu
grei socotind c i aici, n ara Haegului,
ca i n alte pri, dispariia din peisaj a
ruinelor romane s-a datorat n bun msur
activitii constructorilor medievali, care le-au
transformat n adevrate cariere de materiale
gata fasonate.
n afara blocurilor de piatr folosite la
partea inferioar a zidurilor i a unui capitel
roman refolosit n zidul de est al navei,
precum i n afara crmizilor folosite pentru
pavimentul trziu sau pentru reparaii ale
zidurilor, la monumentul din Streisngeorgiu
s-au mai descoperit unele materiale romane
asupra crora trebuie s zbovim, ie i n
treact. Este vorba n primul rnd de cteva
altare romane, utilizate n interiorul bisericii.
Unul dintre ele a servit ca picior al mesei din altar, altul, mai scund dar mai masiv,
ca mas innd loc de diaconicon lng peretele sudic iar al treilea singurul cu
inscripie42 tot n altar dar alipit peretelui de nord, era ncastrat ntr-o zidrie mai
nou i inea loc de mas a proscomidiei. Dou pietre romane de dimensiuni mari au
fost refolosite n ultimul paviment, de dinainte de montarea podelei de scnduri, n
acelai altar al bisericii. Una dintre ele, cu dimensiunile de 1,15x0,90 m i grosimea
de 0,30 m, este lucrat din marmur alb-cenuie i decorat pe o fa cu arcade, lori
de acant i delini. Ea provine de la partea superioar a unei stele funerare.
Este probabil ca blocul roman de form paralelipipedic, decorat cu elemente
vegetale i scobit ulterior pentru a i transformat n jil, alat la intrarea n biseric, s
i fost folosit nainte vreme undeva n nav.
Chiar fr s avem probe directe, credem c aceste pietre romane au fost aduse n
biseric ntr-o epoc foarte timpurie dac nu chiar n vremea zidirii monumentului,
iind apoi tot mereu refolosite pentru amenajri funcionale cu prilejul refacerilor i
al transformrilor interioare. Alte pietre romane au putut i aduse aici ntr-o epoc
mai nou, iind folosite n exterior ca lespezi de mormnt, cum este cazul unui
alt altar roman, fr inscripie, gsit lng zidul de nord al bisericii. Cu prilejul
construirii actualului pronaos, nu mult dup mijlocul secolului trecut, mai multe
42 .
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, III, 7892. Calitatea de decurio coloniae a personajului pomenit n inscripie
justiic opinia dup care complexul roman, alat n vecintate i folosit pentru scoaterea de materiale de
construcie, cuprindea cldiri mai importante.
pietre romane de mari dimensiuni fragmente de altare, un fragment de inscripie

etc. care par a se i alat n jurul bisericii, au fost incluse la baza zidriei acestuia.
Printre ele se al i un bloc purtnd pe fa un decor asupra semniicaiei cruia
vom reveni mai jos.
Acest mare numr de blocuri de piatr romane provenind n principal de la
dou genuri de construcii (de la un zid monumental al unei construcii de mari
dimensiuni i de la monumente funerare) ridic problema existenei n vecintate
a unor asemenea vestigii romane. Cercetrile arheologice ntreprinse la cca. 60
m nord-vest de biseric, pe marginea terasei, au evideniat existena n acel loc a
unei necropole romane43 i este foarte probabil ca mcar o parte dintre pietrele cu
caracter funerar refolosite la biserica din Streisngeorgiu s provin de la aceast
necropol. La distana de cca. 150 m vest de biseric, pe marginea terasei inferioare
a vii Luncanilor, se al urmele unei construcii romane, foarte probabil villa rustica
de care se leag i necropola abia amintit. Pn la efectuarea unor sondaje n
respectivele ruine, socotim posibil ca o parte a materialelor de construcie folosite la
monumentul medieval s provin din acest loc. Adugm totui c n mprejurimi,
pe o raz de civa kilometri, numrul ruinelor romane azi sesizabile pe teren este
destul de mare44 fapt cu totul explicabil innd seama de imediata vecintate cu
staiunea balnear roman de la Aquae, alat la o distan de numai 4 km pe malul
opus al rului Strei.
Apariia necropolei romane de la vest de biserica din Streisngeorgiu uureaz
i explicarea descoperirii n interiorul monumentului medieval a unor fragmente
ceramice romane. Ele s-au gsit n special n solul rscolit din altar precum i n
mai mic msur n umplutura gropilor de mormnt de lng zidurile bisericii.
Fragmentele provin aproape exclusiv de la vase mici din ceramic roie de factur
superioar, obinuite n inventarele funerare. Dou asemenea vase au putut i parial
ntregite din fragmentele gsite n umplutur. Este vorba deci, foarte probabil, de
vase ntregi gsite nc din Evul Mediu n morminte romane, poate chiar cu prilejul
scoaterii unor materiale de construcie pentru biseric, vase care au putut i chiar
folosite ca recipiente n altar i care apoi s-au spart.
Explicaia pe care o dm apariiei fragmentelor ceramice romane la biserica din
Streisngeorgiu i precizm c nu este vorba dect de fragmente provenind de
la maximum 4-5 vase mici vine n concordan cu observaia dup care pe locul
monumentului medieval nu a existat nici o locuire anterioar construirii bisericii de lemn
i practicrii primelor ngropri n necropola medieval.
Relieful cretin de la Streisngeorgiu
Cu prilejul demolrii n vara anului 1976 a pronaosului adugat bisericii dup
mijlocul secolului trecut, n afara pietrelor romane despre care a fost vorba puin mai
sus i a unor materiale obinuite de construcie crmizi moderne i pietre mici
43 .
44 .
V. Eskenasy, Date preliminare despre necropola roman de la Stresngeorgiu, jud. Hunedoara, n Studii
i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, XXVII, 1977, 4, p. 603 i urm.
Un repertoriu arheologic al judeului Hunedoara se al n prezent n pregtire prin grija colectivului
Muzeului din Deva.
101
102
Fig. 10.
Temelia
i soclul
monumentului
n colul de
sud-est al
atarului
de carier i de ru au mai aprut i trei piese care merit o atenie special. Dou
dintre ele sunt fragmente de pietre funerare cu inscripia n limba maghiar, datate
1847 i 1849, utile pentru ixarea unui termen post quem al construirii pronaosului.
O piatr funerar cu textul inscripiei tot n limba maghiar i cu data 1812 a fost
gsit sub strana cantorului, folosit acolo ca un fel de podium. Dei n cuprinsul
cimitirului din jurul bisericii nu exist alte pietre de mormnt dect cele romneti
ortodoxe, nu excludem eventualitatea ca ntr-un col al acestui cimitir s se i alat
mormintele slujitorilor de rit reformat de la curtea nobiliar din Streisngeorgiu45 i
ca aceste morminte s i fost dezafectate la 1858. Ni se pare totui mai probabil ca
pietrele de mormnt cu inscripii maghiare s provin de la o necropol distinct,
alat n jurul capelei din cuprinsul curii nobiliare situate la cca. 160 m spre sud, pe
malul vii Luncanilor, capel a crei amintire se mai pstreaz n sat46.
Discuia privind proveniena pietrelor
de mormnt cu inscripii maghiare a fost
necesar pentru a nu lsa n afara ateniei
nici una dintre ipotezele care s explice
apariia celei de-a treia piese, refolosite
i ea ca material de construcie n aceeai
zidrie a pronaosului. Este vorba de un bloc
de calcar cenuiu-glbui, identic ca factur
i ca roc cu celelalte pietre romane de la
Streisngeorgiu47, de form aproximativ
paralelipipedic dar cu marginile, feele
laterale i faa posterioar foarte neregulate, pare-se ca urmare a unor degradri
suferite n timp. Faa anterioar a blocului
are dimensiunile de cca 0,56/0,48 m iar
grosimea lui este de aproximativ 0,30-0,32 m.
Decorul feei anterioare (ig. 11), ieit puin n relief dar realizat totui, n
principal, prin adncirea suprafeelor dintre elementele sale, const dintr-o cruce cu
braele aproape egale, uor lite la capete, plasat n vrful unui fronton triunghiular
cu laturile ascendente puin arcuite. Aceste laturi sunt formate din cte un ir de ove
alungite, prevzute iecare cu o adncitur central, ncadrate de cte dou benzi
liniare. Ovele descresc ca dimensiuni de la baz spre vrf iar cele dou ove de la
vrful triunghiului se leag de piciorul crucii. Aceasta din urm se al ntr-un nimb
circular ale crui capete se sprijin pe benzile cu ove.
Motivul triunghiular ncadreaz o adncitur practicat n grosimea blocului,
adncitur a crei nlime descrete treptat, pe msura ndeprtrii de la faa pietrei.
Toate aceste elemente, decor i adncitur triunghiular, sunt sensibil dezaxate
45 .
46 .
47 .
Dup cum jumtatea nordic a cimitirului vechi din Strei pare s i aparinut n secolele XVIII-XIX
cultului reformat. Adugm ns c pe atunci exista la Strei, adosat laturii nordice a bisericii romneti
din secolul al XIII-lea, o capel reformat cldit la 1717.
n legtur cu aceast curte, vezi studiul semnat de V. Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice pe
teritoriul aezrii medievale de la Streisngeorgiu, n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente
Istorice i de Art, 47, 1978, 1, p. 57 i urm.
Toate aceste pietre par a proveni din cariera ale crei urme sunt vizibile pe creasta dealului Mgura, la o
distan de numai cca. 4 km spre nord.
spre stnga n raport cu centrul blocului de piatr. O alt adncitur, tot de form
aproximativ triunghiular dar mult mai mic, a fost practicat la limita superioar
a blocului, prezentnd aceeai descretere n nlime pe msura ptrunderii ei n
grosimea pietrei. Ea pare a se datora unei intervenii ulterioare executrii decorului,
deoarece nu este simetric cu adncitura din partea inferioar i, mai ales, deoarece
taie o parte a nimbului crucii. Aceast a doua adncitur este mai bine axat n
raport cu centrul blocului de piatr i s-ar putea explica prin folosirea acestuia din
urm, la un moment dat, ca greutate atrnat. Trebuie totui adugat c, datorit
deteriorrii marginilor blocului de piatr, observaiile privind dispunerea pe faa lui
a elementelor decorative au o valoare destul de relativ.
Dei limita inferioar a blocului este acum foarte neregulat, pare sigur c el se
asambla iniial cu nc cel puin un alt bloc, plasat dedesubtul lui, pe care se continua
att adncitura triunghiular ct i, poate, benzile decorate cu ove alungite care apar
acum ca formnd un fronton. n funcie de acest al doilea bloc de piatr, pe care din
pcate nu l-am gsit i eventual n funcie i de alte blocuri pierdute i ele, s-ar putea
preciza cu siguran de la ce fel de construcie provine blocul descoperit. n lipsa lor,
soluiile nu pot i dect ipotetice.
Cercetarea riguroas executat asupra paramentelor exterioare i interioare ale
bisericii din Streisngeorgiu exclude eventualitatea ca blocul de piatr s i fost
ncastrat cndva n zidurile monumentului, ca limit superioar a unei iride sau a
unei ferestre. Nu s-a gsit pe aceste paramente nici un loc din care s i fost extras
cndva blocul de piatr cu relief cretin. De altfel, nici sub aspect stilistic nu gsim
pentru decorul descris analogiile necesare n sculptura n piatr romanic sau gotic
timpurie din Transilvania.
Este mai uor de acceptat ipoteza ca blocul de piatr n discuie s provin de
la capela alat n cadrul curii nobiliare trzii din Streisngeorgiu, curte care pare
a-i avea nceputurile n secolul al XV-lea48 i n cuprinsul creia a putut aprea
cndva n secolele XV-XVII respectiva capel, demolat eventual imediat dup
1850, atunci cnd au fost luate din preajma ei i pietrele de mormnt aduse ca
material de construcie la biserica cu hramul Sf. Gheorghe. Evident c i n acest
caz ar urma s acceptm folosirea la fosta capel a curii nobiliare a unor blocuri de
piatr provenind de la ruine romane deoarece piatra de care ne ocupm are aspectul
unui bloc roman refolosit. S-ar putea gsi, nu fr diicultate, n arta steasc din
Transilvania secolelor XVI-XVII, unele analogii pentru asemenea reliefuri cioplite
cu stngcie, n care se combin elemente preluate din goticul trziu cu rudimente
de decoruri clasiciste preluate din repertoriul Renaterii49.
Dar pe blocul de piatr de la Streisngeorgiu se observ foarte clar c faa acestuia
ca i elementele decorului prezint enuiri verticale, adnci de la civa milimetri
pn la un centimetru i chiar mai mult, produse n mod evident ca urmare a curgerii
apelor de ploaie care au dizolvat treptat calcarul. Aceste urme dovedesc n mod
nendoielnic c blocul a stat mult vreme ntr-un loc expus intemperiilor i, mai
mult, c el a stat n poziie vertical. Asemenea nuiri datorate curgerii apei nu se
48 .
49 .
V. Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice..., p. 62.

Vezi, de exemplu, J. Kepeczi Sebestyen, Rgi szkely npi eredet memlkeink, n Erdlyi Tudomnyos
Fzetek, 126, Cluj, 1941, p. 14-15.
103
104
pot produce n timp scurt i nu pot aprea pe o piatr adpostit ntr-o ncpere sau
sub o streain.
Din aceste motive i innd seama i de trsturile stilistice ale decorului sau
de tehnica execuiei sale, nu putem evita impresia c blocul descoperit la Streisngeorgiu este n realitate mult mai vechi i c provine de la o stel funerar cretin
care a stat mult vreme sub cerul liber undeva n zona din mprejurimile sau din
preajma monumentului. Crucea cu braele egale nscris n nimb circular, cu capetele
braelor uor lite, precum i benzile cu ove se ntlnesc frecvent n arta antichitii trzii50, iar stelele funerare cu nie i chiar apariia arcului frnt i gsesc i ele
corespondente n aceeai epoc51. Este adevrat c o analogie foarte apropiat de
decorul blocului descoperit la Streisngeorgiu nu ne st la ndemn n literatura care
ne-a fost accesibil dar, pentru cazul n care piesa ar i cu adevrat mult anterioar
datei construirii bisericii, gsirea de analogii i plasarea ei n evoluia artei vechi
cretine ar ntmpina oricum mari diiculti datorit faptului c ne alm n faa
unei lucrri foarte rudimentare. Pentru datarea i atribuirea unor asemenea lucrri
modeste i periferice, problema se pune cu totul altfel dect pentru importurile
venite din cuprinsul Imperiului trziu.
Dincolo de aceste consideraii i pn la gsirea unei interpretri sigure a reliefului
cretin gsit la Streisngeorgiu, se impune cercetarea cu deosebit atenie a acestei
zone.
unele ipoteze privind elevaia monumentului
Cele care urmeaz au mai puin legtur cu cercetarea arheologic dar
reprezint totui probleme care nu pot i ocolite, datorit faptului c observaiile
realizate n sptur au ridicat anumite semne de ntrebare asupra elevaiei iniiale
a monumentului. Ipotezele noastre au n principal scopul de a lrgi discuia n
jurul tipului de monument pe care l-a reprezentat la nceputurile sale biserica din
Streisngeorgiu52.
S-a artat mai sus c stlpii din nav ai turnului interior aparin, pe criterii
stratigraice incontestabile, etapei iniiale de construcie. Pe de alt parte, turnul care
se reazem pe aceti stlpi aparine n mod cert unei faze de reparaii i transformri
pe care a suferit-o monumentul, faz ce poate i datat fr rezerve n anii 14081409, de cnd este pisania de pe faa estic a turnului. Forma oarecum ciudat pe
care o are turnul, vizibil ngustat n partea superioar, faptul c zidria lui acoper un
strat mai vechi de pictur de pe peretele de vest al navei ca i observaiile realizate n
50 .
51 .
52 .
E. Kirschbaum (sub red.), Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie, II, 1970, sub Kreuz, cu bibliograia;
vezi, printre altele, i G. Jerphanion, La reprsentation de la Croix et du Cruciix aux origines de lart
chrtien, n La voix des monuments, Paris, 1930; W. F. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der Sptantike und des
frhen Mittelalters, Mainz, 1952; V. Besevliev, Sptgriechische und sptlateinische Inschriften aus Bulgarien,
Berlin, 1964.
E. Condurachi, Monumenti cristiani nellIllirico, n Ephemeris Dacoromana, IX, 1940, p. 64; V. Vtianu,
Istoria artei europene, Bucureti, 1968, p. 123; L. Barkczi A. Mcsy, Die rmischen Inschriften Ungarns,
I, Budapesta, 1972, pl. CXXX.
Vezi i erban Popescu-Dolj, Dosarul unei restaurri, n Arhitectura, XXV, 1974, 4, p. 56-58; Idem,
Rezultatele cercetrilor de arhitectur la Biserica din Streisngeorgiu, jud. Hunedoara, n Revista
Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 43-46.
podul bisericii, unde zidria turnului ncalec n trepte actuala limit superioar a
zidului vestic al navei, sunt toate concludente n acest sens.
Dar n acest caz, cei doi stlpi ai turnului au trebuit s aib iniial o alt funcie
i anume aceea de a susine o tribun adosat peretelui de vest al navei, la nlimea
de cca. 3 m deasupra pavimentului. Aceast ipotez mai are desigur nevoie de unele
veriicri pe pereii navei unde, sub tencuielile mai noi, s-ar putea gsi urmele de
inserie ale tribunei. Este de asemenea posibil ca partea superioar a tribunei s i
fost din lemn i ca ea s nu i lsat urme pe pereii navei.
n aceeai ordine de idei, prezena celor doi pilatri din partea de est a navei i
constatarea c ei au fost construii odat cu zidurile perimetrale ale monumentului,
deci nc de la nceput, cer o explicaie. Pilatrii susin acum un fel de arc dublou al
bolii, n punctul de alturare a celor dou boli semicilindrice cu nlimi diferite
care acoper nava, iar sondajele din podul bisericii au evideniat faptul c acest arc
dublou este format din bolari de piatr poroas, asemntoare tufului vulcanic. Arcul
susine un zid gros de 0,65-0,70 m care mparte podul navei n dou compartimente
i care prezint, ca i zidurile perimetrale ale monumentului, o tehnic de construcie
caracterizat prin existena a dou paramente ngrijite din crmid incluznd ntre
ele un emplecton din pietre de dimensiuni mici i fragmente de crmid nnecate n
mortar. Mai mult, la nlimea pstrat a zidurilor navei, se observ n mod evident
c, de la zidurile de nord i de sud ale navei la zidul de deasupra arcului dublou, cele
dou paramente de crmid i emplectonul dintre ele se continu i se es n mod
organic.
Pe de alt parte, poriunea estic, mai joas, a bolii din nav, rezemat pe dou
console de zidrie dintre care aceea dinspre sud pare refcut, se adoseaz spre vest
arcului dublou. n aceast zon, crmizile care alctuiesc bolta urmeaz riguros
traseul arcuit al bolarilor de piatr. Adugind la acestea prezena, la limita de est
a navei, a doi pinteni de zidrie care ncadreaz arcul de triumf fr a corespunde
planimetric zidurilor de nord i de sud ale altarului, pinteni care se reazem pe temelia
din blocuri mari de piatr de la limita dintre nav i altar i care pot i identiicai
i n podul bisericii unde par a i fost demontai pn la nivelul extradosului bolii,
este uor de neles rezerva cu care trebuie abordat orice ncercare de reconstituire
a elevaiei iniiale a monumentului din Streisngeorgiu.
Cu toate sondajele ntreprinse n zidria din podul bisericii, anumite probleme
rmn nc sub semnul ntrebrii, un ajutor substanial iind de ateptat de la
cercetrile fcute asupra straturilor succesive de tencuial i de decor pictat alate pe
perei, pe arcuri i pe boli53.
Dou ipoteze de lucru par a se impune. Pe de o parte, s-ar prea c poriunea
de est a navei, de la pilatri i pn la limita dinspre altar, a avut iniial o alt suprastructur, mai nalt, la susinerea creia participa att arcul dublou ce leag pilatri
ct i pintenii de zidrie amintii. Reconstituirea acestei suprastructuri n forma unei
boli semicilindrice nalte, cu axul orientat nord-sud, este doar o simpl sugestie
de reconstituire. Faptul c colurile de sud-est i de nord-est ale navei au suferit o
53 .
O. Boldura . Angelescu M. Rdulescu G. Mruczinschi, Rezultatul cercetrilor efectuate asupra

picturilor medievale romneti de la Streisngeorgiu, n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente
Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 47 i urm.
105
106
refacere mai important, desigur ca urmare a unei distrugeri provocate de sarcina pe

care au purtat-o, pledeaz n sensul ipotezei noastre.
Pe de alt parte, pare foarte probabil ca deasupra poriunii vestice a navei, pn
la pilatri i incluznd i zidul nord-sud de deasupra arcului pe care l sprijin aceti
pilatri, s se i alat un spaiu amenajat, cu dimensiunile interioare de 4/3,40 m,
mrginit pe trei laturi de ziduri groase de 0,85 m iar pe latura sa estic de un zid
gros de numai 0,60-0,65 m. Interpretarea acestui posibil spaiu ca iind o ncpere
de locuit, ca un fel de turn-locuin cu caracter fortiicat cum ne mai este cunoscut
n ara Haegului de la un alt monument la care respectivul turn se al deasupra
altarului bisericii de curte54, se nscrie pe aceeai linie a ipotezelor de lucru.
innd seama de faptul c actuala elevaie a bisericii din Streisngeorgiu a
rezultat n mare msur de pe urma lucrrilor din anii 1408-1409, avem convingerea
c nelegerea i reconstituirea aspectului iniial al monumentului depind n bun
msur de gsirea unor analogii concludente care s ie contemporane primei faze
de construcie55.
Pisania din 1313-1314
Dup ce am fcut de mai multe ori referiri, n rndurile anterioare, la vechimea
mai mare dect anii 1408-1409 a bisericii din Streisngeorgiu, lsnd s se neleag
c stabilirea vechimii reale a monumentului revine cercetrilor arheologice, am ajuns
la locul n care trebuie invocat un document care, chiar dac nu conine data primei
faze de construcie, coboar totui cu aproape un secol elementele cunoscute. Pisania
despre care va i vorba are desigur o valoare incomparabil mai mare dect aceea a
unei date pentru monumentul de care ne ocupm i nu ne propunem n nici un fel
abordarea ei ca document de limb. O analiz paleograic i lingvistic, cu caracter
preliminar, a vzut deja lumina tiparului56 i alte analize i vor urma cu siguran57.
Pentru a le uura, considerm necesar publicarea n acest loc, i n mod detaliat, a
respectivei pisanii.
Ea a fost descoperit n altarul bisericii n timpul unor sondaje asupra pereilor
acoperii cu tencuiala vruit, necesare veriicrii raporturilor dintre ziduri i niveluri
arheologice din acest loc. nainte de aceste sondaje, existena pisaniei nu putea i nici
mcar bnuit. Zugrvit cu culoare neagr ntins cu penelul pictorului, pisania se
al n centrul peretelui de est, chiar sub golul ferestrei din axul altarului. mpreun
cu chenarul, pisania are dimensiunile de 0,72/0,73 m58 (ig. 12).
Chenarul pisaniei este lat de 0,07-0,09 m i const dintr-un decor trasat n zigzag, ntre dou linii mai groase, cu aceeai culoare neagr, dublat pe aproape ntreg
54 .
55 .
56 .
57 .
58 .
Avem n vedere biserica fortiicat a curii cneziale de sub cetatea Col, ctitorit de Cndetii din Ru de
Mori; R. Popa, ber die Burgen ..., p. 251-254.
Avem n vedere nu numai eventualele analogii de pe teritoriul regatului arpadian ci i nordul i nordvestul Peninsulei Balcanice.
Ion Radu Mircea, Quelques considrations palographiques et linguistiques au sujet de linscription
votive de 1313-1314 Streisngeorgiu, n Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 63 i urm.
G. Mihil, Cele mai vechi inscripii cunoscute ale romnilor din Transilvania (1313-1314 i 1408,
Streisngeorgiu oraul Clan, jud. Hunedoara), n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente
Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 33-39.
La veriicarea, corectarea i completarea citirii pisaniei am fost ajutai de prof. I. R. Mircea, cruia i
mulumim i aici. Sugestii preioase am primit i de la Ioana Cristache-Panait.
traseul su de o linie trasat cu culoare roie. Elementul decorativ descris are o

vechime apreciabil i o larg rspndire, regsindu-se i n arta paleocretin59.
Cteva elemente vegetale stilizate, zugrvite att cu negru ct i cu rou n partea
stng-superioar a chenarului, continuate pe marginea superioar a acestuia, vin s
nclzeasc rceala geometric a compoziiei.
1) ()
2) () ()
3) ()
4) ()
5) ()
6) (?) ()
7)
8)
9)
10)
Fr a i uor de descifrat datorit tergerii, pare-se nc din vechime, a unor
anumite poriuni, datorit unor pete de substan uleioas neagr (smoal?) sau de
cear precum i datorit degradrii treptate n timp, pisania poate i totui citit
aproape integral. Ea are urmtorul coninut repartizat pe 10 rnduri:
adic, n traducere: La anul ase mii i opt sute i douzeci i doi, s-a nceput
biserica cu ajutorul Sfntului Gheorghe i al Maicii Domnului i al tuturor sinilor
pentru ajutorul i iertarea pcatelor cneazului Balea i pentru ajutorul i mntuirea
(!?) i iertarea pcatelor popii Nane (i ale lui ?) Teoil zugravul.
n legtur cu citirea textului i cu ntregirile propuse, se impun cteva observaii:
n rndul 2 unde o sprtur nu prea veche a distrus deinitiv o poriune de 7 cm
lungime a tencuielii, ntregirea ar putea s ie i (), pentru cazul n
care s-au folosit litere mai nguste. Aceeai sprtur a afectat parial i rndurile 1
i 3, fr a crea ns probleme de citire. Exist cel mult incertitudinea dac deasupra
cuvntului () se ala o titl sau captul de linie vizibil ar aparine unui T
mai nalt.
n rndul 5, cuvntul este nesigur. Urme vagi de vopsea par a sugera c acolo
a fost scris iniial un alt cuvnt, poate , asupra cruia s-a revenit. La sfritul
aceluiai rnd ar i posibil i citirea ; n acest caz, la nceputul rndului
6, unde primele dou litere sunt foarte terse, citirea ar trebui s ie .
n rndul 7, a treia i a patra liter din numele cneazului Balea sunt neclare, dar
nu att n sensul existenei lor ct n acela al ligaturii adoptate.
d) n rndul 8, crucea de la nceputul lui trezete nedumerire. Explicarea ei pare
s ie sugerat de modul n care a fost scris litera , ce i urmeaz. Acest las
impresia de a i fost scris peste alt cuvnt, foarte probabil peste un . n acest caz
am avea de a face cu o modiicare sau corectare a pisaniei de ctre chiar autorul ei,
care iniial a intenionat s o scrie n dou fraze distincte.
e) n rndul 10, la sfritul numelui zugravului, ultimele dou litere au fost citite
(i nu , ceea ce ar i dat numele de Teoit) datorit faptului c se vede un
59 .
Acelai decor la Sf. Soia din Constantinopol sau pe inscripii funerare paleocretine din zona rhenan;
W. Boppert, Die frhchristlichen Inschriften des Mittlelrheingebietes, Mainz, 1971, p. 15 i passim.
107
108
picior care sugereaz prezena literei i deoarece cuvntul urmtor, , se

termin n mod clar cu .
Ct privete coninutul textului pisaniei, ne mulumim cu acest prilej s relevm
doar dou elemente. n primul rnd, textul ne pune n fa numele unui personaj
pn acum necunoscut din familia cnezial de la Streisngeorgiu: cneazul Balea.
Numele este destul de rspndit la romnii transilvneni n secolele XIV-XV, iind
probabil folosit mai ales n familiile aparinnd pturii feudale60. Numele a fost pus
n legtur cu bl-alb (de unde i blan sau blai) dar i cu bal-iar slbatic (de
unde i balaur), pentru a nu pomeni aici dect opiniile mai rspndite61.
Din pcate, nu putem preciza n mod cert locul pe care l ocup acest cneaz Balea
n tabloul genealogic reconstituit mai sus, deoarece nu avem nici un indiciu asupra
vrstei sale n 1313-1314, atunci cnd a fost consemnat ca ctitor. Dac el ar i fost
la acea dat relativ tnr, am putea vedea n el pe tatl cnezilor Zicu din Strei i
Lacu din Streisngeorgiu, cei pomenii la 1377 pentru precizarea ascendenei iilor
lor. Dar dac Balea avea la 1313-1314 o vrst mai naintat, atunci el ar putea i
considerat drept bunic al cnezilor amintii. n orice caz, este n afara oricrei ndoieli
c avem de a face cu strmoul a cel puin dou dac nu a toate trei liniile familiare
despre care s-a vorbit mai sus.
A doua observaie privete airmaia pisaniei c biserica s-ar i nceput la data
indicat de text. Dac ntregirea i traducerea la care ne-am oprit sunt corecte,
atunci nu poate i vorba dect de exprimarea unei mentaliti proprii Evului Mediu
romnesc i nu numai romnesc, mentalitate pe care o regsim i n pisania tabloului
votiv din 1408-1409 i dup care o restaurare, transformare, adugire sau poate
numai zugrvirea unei biserici mai vechi, motenit de la naintai, erau socotite
ca o adevrat ctitorire a monumentului respectiv. Putem spune aceasta deoarece,
dincolo de argumentele strict arheologice despre care va i vorba, pisania din 13131314 i ansamblul de pictur mural care i corespunde nu se al pe cel mai vechi strat
de tencuial, ci pe cel de-al doilea strat. Chiar i n sprtura existent n cmpul pisaniei se vede, cu claritate, existena dedesubt a unui strat mai vechi de tencuial, cu
suprafaa ngrijit netezit.
Sptura arheologic nu a putut stabili dac n anul 1313-1314 s-au produs
lucrri care s afecteze elevaia monumentului de la Streisngeorgiu. S-ar putea ca
refacerea pavimentului de lespezi, refacere despre care a fost vorba n consideraiile
asupra stratigraiei, s dateze din acest an, dup cum s-ar putea de asemenea ca cel
mai vechi paviment de crmid s dateze din 1313-1314. Suntem nclinai mai
degrab pentru adoptarea celei de-a doua ipoteze i, din aceast cauz, nu excludem
eventualitatea ca ntre data nlrii monumentului i anul 1313-1314 s se mai i
produs o faz de transformri a monumentului62. Din punctul de vedere al criteriilor
strict arheologice, incertitudinea se datoreaz faptului c ntre pavimentele succesive
nu au fost gsite materiale care s le dateze cu precizie precum i mprejurrii c
60 .
61 .
62 .
Printre cei mai cunocui feudali romni cu acest nume, din sudul Transilvaniei, se numr jupanul Balea,
iul lui Boar din Criscior, atestat documentar la 1404 (Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente, I2, p. 433) i
reprezentat n tabloul votiv al bisericii de acolo (V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 47 i ig. 36, 38). Pentru acelai nume
la romnii din nordul Transilvaniei, vezi R. Popa, ara Maramureului, p. 87-89 i sub voce.
N. A. Constantinescu, Dicionar onomastic romnesc, Bucureti, 1963, p. 187-188.
Ipoteza aparine lui . Popescu-Dolj, care invoc n acest sens observaii fcute asupra bolilor din altar.
raporturile acestor pavimente cu diferitele poriuni ale zidurilor monumentului nu

sunt ntru totul concludente.
n ceea ce privete stratul mai vechi de tencuial care, sub rezerva cercetrilor
viitoare asupra decorului pictat, poate i considerat ca iind de la data nlrii
monumentului, poriunile din el, azi vizibile datorit sondajelor sau degradrilor
suferite de straturile ulterioare, sunt prea mici pentru a permite precizarea existenei
unor zugrveli iniiale sau eventual a unei pisanii mai vechi. Pe alocuri, el pare a
i acoperit cu o substan neagr, asemntoare funinginii, fapt ce sugereaz producerea nainte de 1313 a unui incendiu care ar putea i legat eventual de stratul
subire de pmnt negru, cu arsur i crbune, surprins deasupra vechiului paviment
de lespezi63. Dar pe acest mai vechi strat de tencuial se vd foarte clar, pe piciorul de
nord al arcului de triumf, cteva litere din alfabetul chirilic, zgriate acolo nainte de
depunerea peliculei negricioase ce ar putea reprezenta urmele unui incendiu. Ele ne
ncredineaz, la fel ca i continuitatea nentrerupt a necropolei, c monumentul de
la Streisngeorgiu a aparinut de la nceput unei colectiviti care se exprima n scris prin
intermediul alfabetului i foarte probabil al limbii slavone. Pisania de la 1313-1314
i nsemnrile slavone din secolele XIV-XV zgriate pe pereii din altar dovedesc,
dac mai era nevoie, c aceast colectivitate era romneasc.
Necropola
Datorit marelui numr de nmormntri practicate succesiv n imediata
vecintate a monumentului, posibilitile de cercetare metodic a etapelor mai vechi
de funcionare a cimitirului au fost foarte limitate. Au fost individualizate n sptur,
numerotate i cercetate, un numr de 114 morminte, dar dintre acestea doar cteva
contribuie la stabilirea vechimii i a fazelor de evoluie a necropolei. Numrul redus
al acestor din urm morminte, care merit caliicativul de morminte-cheie, este
compensat de claritatea situaiilor surprinse i de certitudinea concluziilor.
Pe de alt parte, lsnd n afara ateniei noastre cele cteva zeci de morminte
recente, din ultimii 100-150 de ani, care au fost doar localizate topograic fr a
i numerotate sau cercetate, mai putem aduce n discuie un numr de cca. 20 de
morminte vechi, anterioare secolului al XIV-lea. Existena lor este atestat de piesele
de inventar funerar podoabe i monede gsite n pmntul de umplutur al
gropilor unor morminte mai noi. Desigur c toate aceste cifre, aceea a mormintelor
vechi, identiicate i individualizate prin schelete ntregi sau fragmentare, sau cea
a mormintelor distruse complet de ngroprile ulterioare, nu relect numrul real
al nmormntrilor practicate aici de-a lungul timpului. Acest numr nu poate i
stabilit datorit folosirii intense, pentru ngropri succesive, a unui teritoriu relativ
mic.
nainte de a ne ocupa de diferitele grupuri de morminte, se cere fcut o precizare
foarte important pentru aprecierea situaiei de ansamblu. n interiorul prii vechi
a monumentului, deci n nav i n altar, nu au existat dect patru morminte. Ele se
al pe un singur ir, n nav, oferind posibiliti de datare relativ precis. Cel mal
vechi dintre ele (M. 37 vezi pe plan) se ala n partea de nord a navei, la adncimea
de numai 0,60 m n raport, cu primul paviment i a avut, ca inventar, un inel de
63 .
Vezi mai sus, precum i proilul din ig. 7.
109
110
argint cu pecete de la sfritul secolului al XIV-lea sau nceputul celui urmtor64.

Este vorba foarte probabil de mormntul personajului la care se refer o lung
inscripie n limba slavon, zgriat n altar pe stratul de pictur din 1313-1314 de
pe peretele sudic al acestuia, inscripie n care se spune c ,,a rposat... Elina i s-a
ngropat n biseric...65. Textul indic ziua de 1 ianuarie, probabil pentru pomenire,
dar nu precizeaz anul. Alte trei morminte, mult mai adnci (M. 38, M. 39 i M. 12),
se alau la sud de cel abia pomenit, primul dintre ele tind pe jumtate groapa lui M.
37. Ele sunt relativ recente, de la sfritul secolului al XVIII-lea i de la nceputul
secolului al XIX-lea, datarea lor iind asigurat att de inelul de aur al lui M. 39 ct
i de resturi de mbrcminte. n afara acestor patru morminte nu s-a mai practicat
nici o alt ngropare n interiorul prii vechi a bisericii din Streisngeorgiu i totodat
nu s-a surprins n nici un loc o situaie care s ateste, prin observaii stratigraice sau
prin descoperiri de oase umane rvite, distrugerea unor morminte vechi prin sparea
anurilor de fundaie ale bisericii de piatr sau prin ngropri ulterioare.
Delimitnd nmormntrile prin criterii cronologice, un prim grup format din
6 morminte se plaseaz ntr-o epoc anterioar construirii bisericii de zid. Datarea
lor relativ, n raport cu momentul nlrii actualului monument, a fost posibil
datorit siturii acestora n imediata vecintate a temeliilor i se bazeaz att pe
constatarea c talpa temeliilor acoper o anumit poriune din umplutura gropilor
de mormnt ct i pe absena pigmenilor de mortar i de crmid din pmntul de
umplutur a gropilor. Este foarte probabil ca i alte morminte, situate mai departe
de zidurile bisericii, s-i ie anterioare, dar n acest sens nu s-au putut face observaii
stratigraice concludente care s suplineasc absena inventarului funerar.
Cinci dintre aceste morminte au aprut pe latura estic a altarului, n exteriorul
monumentului. Este vorba de fapt despre poriuni foarte mici din umplutura unor
gropi de morminte, mai adnci cu 0,10-0,15 m dect talpa temeliei bisericii, tiate
n cea mai mare parte de nmormntri ulterioare practicate n gropi mai adnci.
Una dintre aceste gropi de mormnt, coninnd cteva oase din scheletul unui copil
notat ca M. 56, pstrate in situ sub talpa temeliei altarului pe o adncime de cca.
0,40 m (limita de vest a gropii mormntului a putut i precizat lucrndu-se sub
temelie), a fost tiat de groapa lui M. 57 despre care va i vorba mai jos i care se
dateaz, prin inventarul su, n prima jumtate a secolului al XII-lea. Alt groap de
mormnt mai coninea un fragment de craniu, notat ca M. 16, fragment care a fost
gsit lipit de talpa temeliei. Este deci sigur c cei care au spat anul de fundaie al
temeliei au gsit n acest loc un mormnt mai vechi.
Singurul mormnt cu inventar funerar din acest grup de nmormntri anterioare
bisericii de zid a aprut pe latura de nord a navei i a fost notat ca M. 69. Groapa lui
a putut i surprins pe proilul estic al seciunii a VIII-a (vezi ig. 9). Din schelet nu
a mai rmas in situ dect craniul, restul iind tiat de morminte mai noi. Umplutura
gropii lui M. 69 a fost din pmnt negru cu fragmente de crbune, fr pigmeni
de mortar i fr bucele de crmid, deosebindu-se prin aceasta n mod clar de
umplutura gropilor mormintelor M. 64 i M. 63, care o suprapun. anul temeliei
64 .
65 .
Pentru podoabele din secolele XIV-XVIII gsite ca inventar funerar, vezi studiul lui Gh. Baltag, Podoabe
din secolele XIV-XVIII din inventarul necropolelor de la Streisngeorgiu i Strei, jud. Hunedoara, n
Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 53-57.
Textul a fost descifrat de prof. I. R. Mircea.
bisericii de zid a fost spat la 0,25 m sud de marginea gropii lui M. 69 n timp ce
gropile mormintelor M. 64 i M. 63 au fost spate chiar lng temelie, folosind-o ca
latur. Toate aceste observaii fac evident faptul c M. 69 este anterior bisericii de
zid n vreme ce M. 64 i M. 63 dateaz din
timpul existenei bisericii.
ntmplarea a fcut ca aceste trei
morminte suprapuse s aib toate
inventar funerar, care s conirme observaiile stratigraice. Ct privete cel mai
vechi dintre morminte, inventarul lui
a constat din dou inele de bucl din
argint cu captul ntors n form de
S, gsite amndou pe partea stng a
craniului. Unul dintre ele, pstrat ntreg,
confecionat din srm de argint de bun
calitate, groas de 1,2 mm, are diametrul
de 17 mm. Captul lit prin batere, pn
la 3,5 mm, este decorat cu patru caneluri
longitudinale i rsucit n forma literei S.
(vezi ig. 13/15-16).
Al doilea inel, identic ca dimensiuni,
are captul rupt puin mai sus de nceputul
decorului canelat, ceea ce ne asigur c
identitatea pieselor se extinde i la form
sau decor.
Anticipnd datarea fazelor necropolei
i a monumentului de zid, putem preciza c
inventarul mormntului M. 69 se plaseaz
n a doua jumtate a secolului al XI-lea
sau la nceputul secolului al XII-lea66.
Existena acestei prime faze a necropolei,
anterioar bisericii de zid, trebuie desigur
pus n legtur cu existena unui mai
vechi monument de lemn, despre care a fost vorba cu prilejul observaiilor privind
stratigraia din acest loc. Judecnd situaia n funcie de topograia descoperirilor,
putem merge chiar mai departe, airmnd c biserica de lemn a avut acelai plan i
aceleai dimensiuni ca i biserica de zid care i-a luat locul.
Este semniicativ, n acest sens, faptul c nici una dintre cele ase gropi de
morminte, determinate stratigraic ca iind mai vechi dect biserica de zid, nu este
tiat de anurile de fundaie ale acesteia din urm i c, n general, nu au fost
nicieri surprinse distrugeri de morminte produse cu prilejul sprii acestor anuri,
aa cum am subliniat-o puin mai sus. Faptul c gropile de morminte din prima
faz a necropolei, situate pe latura de est a altarului, au umplutura suprapus, pe
o distan de cteva zeci de centimetri, de ctre talpa fundaiei bisericii de zid, se
66 .
Aa cum se va arta n cele ce urmeaz, anii 1131-1141 reprezint un termen ante quem pentru inventarul
lui M. 69.
Fig. 11.
Relieful
cretin de la
Streisngeorgiu;
foto i desen
111
112
explic n mod logic prin nlocuirea unui perete de lemn anterior, sprijinit foarte
probabil pe o talp, gros de 0,30-0,40 m, cu un zid a czui temelie avea grosimea de
aproape un metru.
Mormintele din prima faz a necropolei sunt astfel dispuse nct las impresia c
respect planul bisericii de zid, deci planul unui monument ce le este ulterior. Continuitatea topograic dintre aceste morminte i cele aparinnd fazelor urmtoare,
din vremea existenei monumentului de zid, ne d dreptul s airmm c primul
monument, din lemn, ridicat pe acest loc, se compunea i el dintr-o nav rectangular i
un altar ptrat, cu dimensiuni n mod practic identice celor ale monumentului cu care a
fost nlocuit i care mai st i azi n picioare.
Al doilea grup de morminte este format din cele mai vechi nmormntri practicate
n jurul bisericii de zid. Plasm n mod convenional limita cronologic superioar a
mormintelor din acest grup n secolul al XIV-lea, pornind de la considerentul c, de
pe la mijlocul acestui secol nainte, datarea i particularitile stratigraice ale necropolei au o mai mic importan pentru concluziile noastre, datorit cunotinelor pe
care le avem deja asupra monumentului pe care l nconjoar. Mormintelor ulterioare
momentului construirii bisericii de zid i anterioare sfritului secolului al XIV-lea
trebuie n schimb s le acordm o atenie deosebit, att pentru a data cu ajutorul lor
ct mai strns zidirea monumentului ct i pentru a stabili continuitatea necropolei.
Numrul exact al mormintelor din acest al doilea grup rmne cu totul nesigur,
datorit faptului c doar o mic parte a nmormntrilor, sensibil mai mic dect
50%, s-a fcut cu inventar funerar precum i ca urmare a faptului c foarte puine
morminte fr inventar au putut i datate, pe criterii stratigraice67, n secolele XIIXIII. Putem totui preciza c, dintre mormintele individualizate prin schelete sau
fragmente de schelete gsite in situ n sptur i coninnd inventar funerar, cel
puin 12 aparin acestui grup. Lor li se adaug cele cca. 20 de morminte distruse
din care provin piesele de inventar funerar anterioare secolului al XIV-lea, gsite n
pmntul de umplutur al unor morminte mai noi precum i cteva morminte fr
inventar, datnd dinainte de secolul al XIV-lea pe temeiul faptului c sunt tiate
sau suprapuse de morminte cu inventar din secolele XIV-XV. Grupul cuprinde deci
cel puin 35 de morminte, dar condiiile evocate ca i descoperirea unor piese de
inventar din secolele XII-XIII i chiar a unor morminte din acest grup pn la o
distan de cca. 20 m de biseric68, fac ca cifra noastr s nu ie semniicativ nici
mcar ca ordine de valoare.
Datorit importanei lor deosebite, vom descrie n detaliu unele dintre aceste
morminte.
M. 24. ngropat la colul de sud-est al navei, n sicriu de lemn. Groapa lui cobora
cu 0,30 m mai jos dect talpa temeliei bisericii i intra sub temelie, n direcia
nord, cu 0,30-0,35 m. Este totui cu certitudine un mormnt practicat ulterior
construirii monumentului de zid deoarece n umplutura gropii s-au gsit, pn la
fund, fragmente de mortar care nu pot proveni dect de la perforarea nivelului de
construcie a bisericii. A avut ca inventar, lng tmpla stng, un inel de bucl
67 .
68 .
Criterii decurgnd din cronologia relativ a necropolei i, n puine cazuri, din posibilitatea de a integra
n aceast cronologie relativ cte un mormnt cu dat cert.
Revenim asupra celor consemnate n 1975, referitor la situarea tuturor mormintelor din secolele XII-XIII
numai n jurul prii de est a monumentului (R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu, Ein Zeugnis ..., p. 55). Pentru
topograia necropolei, vezi mai jos.
din srm de argint, cu unul dintre capete lit i ntors pe traseul unui semicerc
(ig. 13/6). S-au conservat doar membrele inferioare i o parte a craniului, restul
scheletului s-a calcinat.
M. 44. Craniu conservat in situ la 3,30 m sud-est de altar, restul scheletului
iind distrus de nmormntri ulterioare. Lng tmpla dreapt s-a gsit un inel
de bucl din argint cu captul lit i ntors n form de S, decorat cu dou nuiri
longitudinale (ig. 13/23). Srma din care este confecionat are grosimea de 1,2 mm
iar diametrul inelului (puin deformat) este de 17 mm. Poziia oaselor conservate
indic o orientare VNV-ESE care se abate cu 24 de la aceea normal, abatere ce
caracterizeaz cteva dintre nmormntrile practicate n aceast parte a necropolei
precum i dup cum se va arta mai jos unele morminte mai recente.
M. 46. Mormnt rvit de ngropri ulterioare, situat la 3,50 m sud-est de altar.
I-a aparinut ca inventar, fr a se putea preciza locul de depunere, o moned gurit
de la Bela II (1131-1141)69.
M. 51. Schelet ngropat la 0,80 m sud de altar, din care s-au pstrat in situ
membrele inferioare i bazinul, cu orientare ce respect riguros axul vest-est. Un
craniu gsit puin deplasat spre nord, pare de asemenea s-i aparin. ntre oasele
bazinului, acolo unde se ala una sau amndou minile, un inel cu capete apropiate
i lite prin batere, confecionat prin rsucirea a trei srme de argint (ig. 13/1). La
jumtatea nlimii femurelor, cte un inel de bucl din srm de argint groas de
1,2 mm, cu captul lit, prost conservat, dar care pare a indica totui apartenena la
tipul de inel de bucl cu captul rsucit simplu, pe traseul unui semicerc (ig. 13/12-13).
M. 57. Schelet ngropat pe latura estic a altarului, a crui temelie a servit drept
margine vestic a gropii mormntului. Groapa lui a secionat umplutura gropii lui M.
56 care este anterior bisericii de piatr i despre care a fost vorba mai sus. Scheletul
a fost la rndul lui tiat n bun msur de ngropri ulterioare, dar au rmas totui
in situ craniul cu cele dou humerusuri i cu o parte a coloanei vertebrale. A avut pe
maxilarul inferior, alunecat foarte probabil din gur, o moned de la Bela II (11311141)70. n umplutura gropii lui s-au gsit fragmente de mortar. Deasupra oaselor
s-a gsit mormntul notat cu M. 58 care a avut de asemenea inventar funerar i a
crui groap s-a oprit cu 0,35 m mai sus.
M. 58. Schelet de copil ngropat pe latura de est a altarului, exact deasupra gropii
lui M. 57. Deranjat parial de ngropri ulterioare. Aproape de cretetul craniului s-a
gsit un inel de bucl din srm de argint groas de 1,4 mm, cu captul mult lit
(4,5 mm), decorat cu patru nuiri longitudinale i ntors n form de S (ig. 13/24).
Diametrul inelului este de 18 mm.
M. 64. Mormnt practicat pe latura de nord a navei, groapa lui folosind temelia
zidului ca margine de sud. Coninea fragmente de mortar i bucele mici de crmid n umplutura gropii. Din schelet nu s-a pstrat in situ dect craniul, restul
a fost distrus de nmormntri ulterioare. Scheletul pare a i aparinut unui copil
(feti ?) de 8-10 ani. Lng craniu s-au gsit dou inele de bucl din srm de
argint, groas de 1,2 mm. Unul dintre ele a avut captul lit dar acesta s-a rupt.
69 .
70 .
E. Unger, Magyar remhatroz, Budapesta, 1960, I, nr. 52. Datorm toate determinrile numismatice
Elenei Iscescu de la Cabinetul Numismatic al Bibliotecii Academiei R. S. Romnia, creia i mulumim
i pe aceast cale.
Ibidem.
113
114
Al doilea inel de bucl are captul lit prin batere pn la 4,2 mm, decorat cu trei
enuiri longitudinale i ntors n form de S. Diametrele celor dou inele variaz
ntre 19 i 24 mm dar amndou piesele sunt deformate (ig. 13/17-18). Groapa
mormntului acoperea, n proil, pe aceea a lui M. 69, anterior bisericii de zid i era
suprapus la rndul ei de groapa lui M. 63, datat cu dou monede n a doua jumtate
a secolului al XVI-lea (ig. 9).
M. 85. Mormnt situat la cca 20 m nord de biseric. Din schelet s-au conservat
doar fragmente de craniu, un humerus i membrele inferioare, restul s-a calcinat.
Aproape de tmpla dreapt s-a gsit un inel de bucl din srm de argint groas de
1,3 mm, cu unul dintre capete lit pn la 6 mm, lipsit de decor i ntors n form
de S. Diametrul inelului este de 25 mm (ig. 13/19).
M. 93. Mormnt situat la 3,70 m nord de nava bisericii. Nu s-a conservat in
situ dect craniul, restul scheletului s-a calcinat sau a fost distrus de nmormntri
ulterioare. Sub craniu s-a gsit o moned de la Ladislau IV (1272-1290)71.
M. 95. Mormnt situat la 22 m nord de biseric. S-a dezvelit doar o poriune a
craniului, rmas in situ la marginea unei gropi ulterioare de mormnt. La 0,20 m
de tmpla stng s-a gsit un inel de bucl din srm de argint groas de 1,1 mm, cu
unul dintre capete puin lit, tiat n unghi ascuit i ntors pe traseul unui semicerc.
Diametrul inelului este de numai 16 mm (ig. 13/11).
M. 98. Mormnt situat la cca. 21 m nord de biseric. Din schelet s-a pstrat
in situ doar o poriune din zona bazinului, restul a fost distrus de nmormntri
ulterioare. Pe o falang de deget s-a gsit un inel mic confecionat dintr-o singur
bucat de tabl subire de aram, avnd placa circular decorat cu un motiv radiar
(element vegetal sau cruce stilizat?). Pe poriunile din verig care ncadreaz placa
sunt gravate motive decorative liniare foarte prost conservate72.
Acest al doilea grup de morminte, al crui cel mai vechi element sigur de datare
l reprezint moneda din 1131-1141, este ulterior datei construirii monumentului
de zid. La aceast ncheiere ne duc mai multe observaii convergente i clare. Grupul
de morminte ne ofer un termen ante quem pentru data la care biserica de lemn
a fost nlocuit cu monumentul pstrat pn azi. Biserica de zid a fost prin urmare
construit nainte de mijlocul secolului al XII-lea sau, dac acceptm opiniile privind
scurta circulaie n timp a monedelor arpadiene, cel trziu n deceniul patru al secolului
numit.
Din morminte distruse integral de nmormntri ulterioare, provin piese de
inventar funerar datnd din secolele XII-XIV i care se cuvin menionate tot aici
deoarece contribuie la completarea imaginii acestei a doua faze a necropolei. Nu
putem desigur exclude eventualitatea ca unele dintre aceste piese s provin din
morminte anterioare bisericii de zid, fcnd deci parte din primul grup de morminte.
Inel de bronz confecionat prin rsucirea a trei srme, cu capetele libere,
uor deformat rombic, cu diametrul mare de 25 mm (ig. 13/2).
Captul unei brri sau al unui colier de bronz, confecionat din trei srme
rsucite (ig. 13/3).
71 .
72 .
I. Rengjeo, Corpus der mittelalterlichen Mnzen von Kroatien, Slavonien, Dalmatien und Bosnien, Graz,
1959, p. 23.
Vezi studiul lui Gh. Baltag, Podoabe din secolele XIV-XVIII din inventarul necropolelor de la
Streisngeorgiu i Strei, jud. Hunedoara, n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de
Art, 1, 1978, p. 53-57.
5 inele de bucl din srm de argint cu unul dintre capete lit i ntors scurt,
pe traseul unui semicerc. La trei dintre piese, captul este decorat cu cte
dou nuiri longitudinale. Starea de conservare foarte bun a dou dintre
piese exclude orice posibilitate de confuzie cu inele de bucl cu captul n
form de S, de la care s se i rupt eventual capetele (ig. 13/7-10).
Inel de bucl din srm de bronz groas de 1,8 mm, cu captul puin lit
i ntors scurt, pe traseul unui semicerc. Diametrul inelului este de 24 mm
(ig. 13/14).
Inel de bucl din srm de argint groas de 1,2 mm, cu diametrul de 18,5
mm, cu captul lit, fr decor vizibil, ntors n form de S (ig. 13/25).
2 inele de bucl din srm de bronz, cu unul dintre capete lit i ntors n
form de S. Un inel este ntreg i are diametrul de 32 mm (ig. 13/21), al
doilea fragmentar, are captul lit decorat cu trei nuiri longitudinale
(ig. 13/20).
3 inele de bucl simple, din srm subire de bronz, cu capetele apropiate
(ig. 13/28-30).
Aplic trilobat din tabl de aur, cu lobii uor concavi i diametrul maxim
de 11 mm (ig. 13/4).
Fragment dintr-o plcu (circular ?) de argint, cu marginea decorat cu
dou iruri concentrice de incizii liniare (ig. 13/5).
Fragmente de la alte cca 10 inele de bucl sau diferite podoabe, din argint
sau bronz, prea mici pentru reconstituirea graic a pieselor de la care
provin, dar ncadrndu-se, foarte probabil, n tipurile descrise mai sus.
Inel (de bucl ?) din srm de argint groas de 2 mm, cu capetele simple
apropiate i diametrul de 25 mm (ig. 13/26).
14 monede din secolele XII-XIV, dintre care 2 din secolul al XII-lea, 4 din
secolul al XIII-lea i 8 din secolul al XIV-lea73.
La toate aceste materiale, care acoper perioada de timp cuprins ntre domnia lui
Bela al II-lea (1131-1141) i a doua jumtate a secolului al XIV-lea, se mai adaug
unele fragmente ceramice datnd din aceeai vreme. Ele sunt prezentate mpreun
cu ceramica gsit n complexul reedinei cneziale cercetate la cca. 60 m vest de
monument74. Facem excepie cu fragmentele unei cldri de lut, gsite n altarul
bisericii, care pot i luate n discuie pentru datarea construirii monumentului.
Aa cum s-a precizat, ntreg interiorul altarului a fost rscolit de gropi astfel
nct poziia stratigraic a materialelor gsite acolo este nesigur. Dar deoarece
fragmentele de cldare de lut gsite n pmntul de umplutur provin toate de la
aceeai pies, care de altfel s-a i ntregit parial (ig. 14 b), este mai mult dect
probabil prezena respectivei cldri, ca pies ntreag, n altar. Cunoatem pentru
o asemenea situaie i o analogie foarte convingtoare. O cldare de lut ntreag a
fost ngropat n altarul bisericii din secolul al XII-lea de la Chotin (reg. Komarno)
n Slovacia, unde a fost descoperit de cercetrile arheologice75.
73 .
74 .
75 .
De la tefan III (1162-1172), tefan V (1270-1272), Ladislau IV (1272-1290), Carol Robert

(1307-1342), Ludovic I (1342-1382), Maria (1382-1387) i Sigismund (1387-1437); Unger, I, 81, 87,
288, 315 i Sclavonia, 11.
V. Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice... p. 59 i urm.
A. Habovstiak, Nlezy stredovekch hlinenich kotlikov na Slovensku, n Zbornik Bratislava, 48, 1974,
Historia, 14, p. 134.
115
116
Fig. 12.
Pisania din
1313 - 1314
n ceea ce privete datarea cldrii

de lut gsite n altarul bisericii din
Streisngeorgiu i pe care o putem
pune n legtur cu momentul
construirii bisericii de zid, fr ns
a exclude posibilitatea prezenei sale
acolo nc dinainte, n altarul bisericii
de lemn, cercetrile privind acest gen
de materiale nu sunt nc att de
avansate nct s permit ncadrri
cronologice foarte strnse76. Oricum,
perioada cuprins ntre sfritul
secolului al XI-lea i mijlocul secolului
al XII-lea ni se pare cea mai potrivit
pentru datarea piesei.
Tot n altarul bisericii, n sol rscolit
de gropi trzii i alturi de fragmentele
cldrii de lut, s-au gsit patru pandantive de sticl albastr care au fcut obiectul
unei descrieri amnunite n studiul publicat, dup campania de spturi din 1975, i
pe care le-am datat, cu oarecari rezerve, n epoca construirii monumentului de zid77.
n campania de cercetri din 1976 s-a gsit un alt pandantiv foarte asemntor, tot
din sticl albastr, lucrat cu aceleai matrie ca i primele patru. El este ntr-o stare
mai bun de conservare, pstrnd aproape integral toarta de agare care, dup cum
se poate observa pe aceast pies, a avut forma unui crlig rsucit, cu un singur punct
de prindere pe corpul pandantivului. Diametrele pandantivului sunt de 5,2 i 4,2 cm
(ig. 14 a).
Pandantivul gsit n 1976 a servit drept inventar funerar ntr-un mormnt situat
pe latura de nord a navei, n exteriorul bisericii (M. 27). El a fost depus sub craniul
scheletului. Mormntul nu a putut i datat prin nici o alt observaie n afara aceleia
c, datorit prezenei fragmentelor de mortar n pmntul de umplutur al gropii, el
aparine n mod cert epocii de dup construirea bisericii de zid.
Referitor la datarea n secolul al XII-lea a pandantivelor de sticl albastr de la
Streisngeorgiu, datare asupra creia ne-am oprit iniial, suntem obligai s revenim.
Conservarea n biserica din Brior (Baiu Mic) a unei candele mari de sticl, produs
de manufactur, pe corpul creia sunt ixate n urechiue lipite cteva pandantive
destul de asemntoare celor de la Streisngeorgiu, le dateaz i pe acestea din urm
ntr-o epoc relativ trzie, probabil n secolele XVII-XVIII.
Revenind la mormintele din necropola bisericii din Streisngeorgiu, socotim c
prezentarea celei de-a treia grupe cronologice de nmormntri, datnd din secolele
76 .
77 .
n legtur cu atribuirea acestor cldri pecenegilor (P. Diaconu, Cu privire la problema cldrilor de lut
n epoca feudal timpurie (sec. X- XIII), n Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, VII, 3-4, 1956, p. 421 i urm.
iar mai recent, dar cu nuanri i rezerve, A. Habovstiak, op. cit., p. 123 i urm.), trebuie obser vat c la
stadiul actual al cercetrilor, aceste materiale nu pot i puse n Transilvania pe seama unui anumit etnic.
Exceptnd anumite zone periferice ale Transilvaniei, cldrile de lut par a nu lipsi din nici o aezare datnd
din secolele XI-XIII. Rmne de stabilit dac apariia acestor materiale n interiorul arcului carpatic poate
i pus eventual n legtur cu pecenegii. Dar pentru aceasta ar trebui mult mai bine cunoscut tipologia
cldrilor de lut i datarea lor foarte strns.
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu, Ein Zeugnis ..., p. 55 i urm.
XV-XVIII, poate i limitat la

cteva observaii cu caracter mai
general.
Inventar funerar s-a gsit n cca.
28% dintre mormintele cercetate i
atribuite acestei grupe. El const
din monede, inele i, ca excepie,
din piese de costum catarame
i copci. Monedele au fost depuse
de regul cte una n mormnt,
iind gsite n mn, pe pieptul sau
lng craniul scheletului. n mod
excepional a aprut i o moned
aezat n gura unui mort. n trei
dintre cazuri, s-au gsit cte dou
monede ntr-un mormnt. Inelele
s-au descoperit, fr excepie, n
regiunea minilor. Destul de multe
monede i inele din secolele XVXVII au fost gsite n pmntul
rvit de ngropri mai noi.
Orientarea mormintelor se
abate n destule cazuri de la axul
vest-est. Mormintele cu abateri de
ax se al n special la sud-est de
altar (abaterea constnd aici din
orientarea picioarelor spre sud-est), la nord-est de altar (picioarele orientate spre
nord-est) i la vest de biserica veche, n interiorul pronaosului adugat n secolul
al XIX-lea, unde a aprut un mormnt (M. 18) datat cu dou monede n prima
jumtate a secolului al XVI-lea, ale crui picioare se abat cu 42 spre sud-est i altul
(M. 112) ale crui picioare se abat cu 70 spre nord-nord-est. Asemenea orientri
particulare ale mormintelor relativ trzii continu, ca situaie, abaterea de orientare
constatat la unul dintre mormintele din secolul al XII-lea (M. 44, vezi mai sus),
subliniind deci i sub acest aspect continuitatea necropolei.
n mai mult de jumtate dintre mormintele aparinnd acestui grup cronologic
s-au gsit resturi de sicriu constnd ie din fragmente de lemn, ie din cuie i piroane.
Probabil c i ntr-o bun parte a mormintelor n care nu s-au descoperit asemenea
resturi, au existat totui sicrie de lemn.
Poziia braelor scheletelor este foarte variat i nu permite stabilirea de tipuri
clare care s corespund unei evoluii n timp. Se adaug la aceasta i faptul c
ntr-o necropol ca aceea de la Streisngeorgiu, cu foarte multe morminte lipsite
de datare sau parial deranjate, obser vaiile privind aceast problem sunt destul de
puin concludente. Se poate airma totui c braele ndoite din cot i aduse pe piept,
pe zona ventral sau pe bazin, n mod simetric sau asimetric, precum i schelete cu
unul sau amndou braele ntinse paralel cu corpul, apar n morminte fr a avea o
legtur cu datarea acestora. Braele dispuse paralel cu corpul, interpretate de obicei
Fig. 13.
Piese de
podoab din
morminte
117
118
ca un indiciu pentru datarea mai timpurie a mormintelor, apar la Streisngeorgiu

n morminte trzii, datate cu monede n secolele XVII-XVIII sau, pentru cele
nedatate, ulterioare din punct de vedere stratigraic unor morminte din secolele
XII-XIV, cum ar i M. 19, M. 27, M. 47, M. 102 sau M. 112. n aceste condiii,
poziia braelor scheletului nu poate servi ca element de ncadrare cronologic, cu
att mai mult cu ct n cazul mormintelor cu sicrie, credem c nu se poate exclude
eventualitatea deplasrii ulterioare a braelor, pe durata transportului sicriului sau a
tasrii pmntului.
Raporturile stratigraice dintre unele morminte datate, situate pe latura de vest a
bisericii vechi de zid i stratul de arsur surprins n acest loc, strat provenit de la un
pronaos de lemn cruia i-a luat locul n secolul al XIX-lea actualul pronaos de zid78,
permit datarea construciei de lemn la sfritul secolului al XV-lea sau n secolul
al XVI-lea. Un mic tezaur format din 10 monede de argint din secolul al XVI-lea,
ngropat pe la sfritul secolului al XVI-lea79, gsit rspndit la fundul umpluturii
unei gropi adnci de 1,20 m din interiorul fostului pronaos de lemn, ar putea i pus
n legtur cu construirea lui sau mai degrab cu epoca existenei lui.
n ceea ce privete topograia necropolei, aa cum s-a subliniat i mai sus, cele
precizate la sfritul campaniei din anul 1975, cu privire la faptul c nmormntrile
au fost practicate de la bun nceput n jurul unei biserici80, s-au veriicat ntru totul.
Vrem s spunem c la Streisngeorgiu nu avem de a face cu apariia unui monument
de cult n interiorul i nici chiar n marginea unei necropole anterioare, aa cum se
constat la foarte multe dintre necropolele din secolele XI-XIII.
ncheierea pe care am formulat-o n 1975 asupra prezenei mormintelor din
secolele XI-XIII numai n jurul bisericii de lemn i apoi a celei de zid, trebuie n schimb
revizuit. Apariia la cca. 20-24 m nord de monument a unui grup de cel puin 3
morminte, din secolele XII-XIII sau chiar din secolele XI-XIII81, duce la concluzia
c de la bun nceput necropola a fost mai mare, ntinzndu-se de la marginea terasei,
adic de la locul unde se al biserica, spre nord. Amploarea iniial a acestei necropole
nu poate i stabilit datorit prezenei, pe o suprafa apreciabil, a mormintelor
recente. Chiar i surprinderea grupului de 3 morminte vechi s_a datorat ntmplrii
c ntre mormintele azi vizibile a existat spaiul necesar trasrii unei seciuni.
Pe de alt parte, necropola iniial pare a i avut mormintele dispuse pe rnduri i
grupate topograic pe familii, deoarece doar astfel se explic apariia pe o suprafa
mic a trei morminte relativ contemporane, mult mai vechi dect mormintele gsite
la nord sau la sud de ele. Existena n cimitir a unor zone precizate, care s aparin
unor anumite familii, se mai pstreaz ca amintire n sat, chiar dac aceast regul
nu mai este azi aproape deloc respectat.
78 .
79 .
80 .
81 .
Vezi mai sus, ig. 7.

Tezaurul era compus dintr-o jumtate de gro polonez de la Sigismund I cu data 1507, 3 dinari de la
Ferdinand I (1526-1564), 4 dinari de la Maximilian II (1564-1576) i 2 dinari de la Rudolf II din 1591.
Nu putem exclude eventualitatea ca tezaurul s i fost mai mare i s i fost grupat ntr-o oal sau n alt
recipient, monedele gsite rmnnd accidental n pmnt cu prilejul scoaterii tezaurului.
Cu observaia fcut mai sus (nota 68) c cele mai vechi morminte nu se grupeaz doar n imediata
vecintate a monumentului.
M. 85, M. 95 i M. 98. Din motive tehnice, nu am putut include n planul publicat aici poriunea din S.
III n care au aprut aceste morminte.
Rezult din aceasta c necropola de la Streisngeorgiu nu a avut iniial un caracter

strict familial i c nu a devenit cimitir al comunitii steti abia n sec. XV-XVI82,
ci a fost necropola comunitii nc din momentul n care s-a ridicat biserica de la
marginea terasei.
Cteva ncheieri de ordin arheologic i istoric
Constatrile pe care le-au prilejuit cercetrile arheologice de la Streisngeorgiu
au relevat o situaie att de nou n raport cu cele cunoscute pn acum despre
cultura material i spiritual a romnilor transilvneni din primele dou-trei
secole ale mileniului nostru, nct formularea unor ncheieri cu caracter deinitiv
este deosebit de diicil. Cu toate acestea, unele concluzii de ordin arheologic se
impun de pe acum, n timp ce valoriicarea istoric deplin a informaiilor ctigate
la Streisngeorgiu se cere fcut n contextul problemelor speciice ale trecutului
ntregii ri a Haegului.
O prim constatare ce se cere subliniat este aceea c la Streisngeorgiu ne alm
n faa celui mai vechi monument medieval sigur datat i pstrat n picioare de pe ntreg
teritoriul rii, monument care i-a pstrat pn astzi destinaia sa originar. Desigur
c este posibil ca n urma cercetrilor viitoare s poat i reconstituite acte de vechime
la fel de ndeprtate sau nc mai ndeprtate i pentru alte monumente dintre cele
care ni s-au pstrat. n acest sens, rezultatele de la Steisngeorgiu sunt ncurajatoare
dar oblig totodat la pruden i la judecarea monumentelor noastre pe baza unor
cercetri complexe prealabile.
Din punctul de vedere al istoriei artei i arhitecturii medievale, situaia de la
Streisngeorgiu conirm i ilustreaz ideea transpunerii n piatr, la nceputurile
Evului Mediu, a unor monumente mai vechi din lemn. Sub acest aspect, interesul
rezultatelor cercetrii depete n mod apreciabil cadrul strict local. Valoarea
observaiilor noastre trebuie ns limitat la planimetria monumentelor. Exist
destule motive pentru a se lsa n afara tentaiilor de generalizare ntregul grup al
bisericilor-sal transilvnene cu altarul dreptunghiular boltit n cruce, reprezentat i
de biserica din satul nvecinat Strei, unde cercetrile arheologice nc inedite, din
anii 1969-1970, nu au produs argumente pentru datarea monumentului nainte de
a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea83.
Credem deci c, pe de o parte, rezultatele cercetrilor de la Streisngeorgiu nu
vin n contradicie cu opinia dup care rspndirea n Transilvania, ca n general n
interiorul arcului carpatic, a bisericilor-sal cu altar dreptunghiular i cu elemente
gotice timpurii s-a produs n a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea84. Dar pe de
alt parte, n afara sugestiilor noi i n primul rnd a inluenelor exercitate de
82 .
83 .
84 .
Rolul pe care l-au avut n viaa spiritual a comunitilor steti aceste capele cneziale de curte n
vremea ctitoririi lor, va trebui urmrit prin cercetrile viitoare, cu cel mai mare folos pentru cunoaterea
nceputurilor feudalismului romnesc.
O moned de la tefan I (1000-1038) gsit in poziie secundar nu departe de biserica din Strei, precum
i cteva fragmente ceramice din secolele XI-XIII gsite tot acolo, nu pot servi pentru datarea monumentului i nici chiar pentru certitudinea existenei n acel loc a unei necropole anterioare mijlocului secolului
al XIII-lea.
V. Drgu, Biserica din Strei, n Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei, 12, 1965, 2, p. 299-305; Idem,
Contribuii privind arhitectura goticului timpuriu n Transilvania, n Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei,
15, 1968, 1, p. 41 i urm. Acelai punct de vedere la K. Kozk, A nyiradonyi premontrei prpostsg, n A
Debreceni Dri Mzeum vknyve, 18, 1974, p. 272 cu bibliograia.
119
120
antierele cisterciene din perioada imediat premergtoare invaziei mongole, trebuie

inut seama i de existena, de acum nainte cert, a unor izvoare locale mai vechi,
descinznd din arhitectura tradiional n lemn i din transpunerea n zid a formelor
acesteia. ntrebarea dac acest izvor mai vechi poate i considerat drept preromanic
i poate i pus n legtur cu arhitectura de zid balcano-bizantin sau cu aceea a
Moraviei Mari, aa cum s-a propus, deci dac poate i neles n afara condiionrilor
din cadrul evoluiei arhitecturii romanice din statul arpadian, rmne deocamdat
n domeniul ipotezelor de lucru. Pentru a da un rspuns n aceast direcie, ar trebui
s tim mai multe despre monumentele transilvnene de zid din secolul al X-lea,
pe care le cunoatem deocamdat doar din izvoarele scrise sau a cror existen ne
ndreptete s o presupunem n contextul istoric mai general.
Dimensiunile foarte mici ale monumentului iniial din lemn de la Streisngeorgiu
ca i ale celui din zid care i-a luat locul, situarea lui la numai civa zeci de metri de
resturile curii cneziale, existena tribunei n prima faz a bisericii de zid ca i pisaniile
i tabloul votiv din 1313-1314 i 1408-1409, ne oblig s considerm monumentul ca
iind, cel puin pn n secolul al XV-lea, o capel de curte. Aceast capel de curte a
putut servi i pentru nevoile spirituale ale obtii steti din Streisngeorgiu dar avem
toate motivele s ne ndoim asupra prezenei, n cei cca. 16 m2 ai navei, a ntregii
colectiviti steti85. Chiar dac necropola din jurul bisericii a fost folosit nc din
secolele XI-XII de ntreaga comunitate, credem c aceasta nu modiic caracterul
i funcia iniial a monumentului. n toat ara Haegului nu cunoatem de altfel,
pn n secolul al XV-lea, cu o singur excepie86, dect biserici de dimensiuni mici
ctitorite de familii cneziale care pot i interpretate ca reprezentnd capele de curte.
Pe marginea acestor consideraii se ridic dou ntrebri. Prima privete originea
tribunei bisericii din Streisngeorgiu, care apare ca iind mai timpurie dect tot ce se
cunoate deocamdat n Transilvania n domeniul bisericilor de curte. Putem totui
invoca n acest sens, ca analogie contemporan i chiar cu puin mai veche, prima
dintre bisericile de curte ale complexului nc inedit de la Snnicolau de Beiu, pe
Criul Negru, datnd de la sfritul secolului al XI-lea sau cel trziu de pe la anul
110087. Monumentul a aparinut foarte probabil familiei Bora care a jucat un rol
de frunte n Bihor n secolele XI-XIII. Indiferent de faptul c evoluia arhitecturii
romanice din Bihor a devansat cu cel puin cteva decenii pe aceea din centrul sau
sudul Transilvaniei, prezena monumentului de la Snnicolau de Beiu ne d dreptul
s presupunem c la nceputul secolului al XII-lea existau i pe cursul mijlociu al
Mureului, n vecintatea rii Haegului, capele de curte care s conin modelul
tribunei monumentului din Streisngeorgiu.
A doua ntrebare se leag de precizarea momentului la care diferenierea social
produs n interiorul mediului romnesc transilvnean a avut ca urmare desprinderea
izic a feudalitii n raport cu obtile steti. Sub acest aspect, biserica de curte de la
85 .
86 .
87 .
Pentru comparaie, nava bisericii din Strei are o suprafa dubl (31,80 m2), aceea a bisericii din Densu
are aproape 40 m2 iar nava bisericii din Sntmria-Orlea, biseric parohial prin excelen, este de peste
100 m2.
Avem n vedere biserica din Nucoara, sat aparinnd Cndetilor din nvecinatul Ru de Mori i unde nu
este atestat nici o familie cnezial. Sntmria-Orlea era la sfritul secolului al XIII-lea o comunitate
catolic; vezi R. Popa, ber die Burgen ..., p. 264.
Cercetrile de la Snnicolau de Beiu, nc inedite, au fost iniiate n 1971 de un colectiv compus din
autor, N. Chidioan i A. Avram. (N.ed. Au fost publicate ulterior: R. Popa N. Chidioan A. Lukcs,O
reedin feudal din secolele XI-XII la Snnicolaul de Beiu. Contribuii la istoria Bihorului medieval,
n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 15, 1984, 2, p. 21-34).
Streisngeorgiu ne ofer o dat timpurie, a crei

importan nu mai este nevoie s ie subliniat.
Data pare timpurie doar n raport cu cele care se
cunoteau pn acum despre manifestrile feudalitii romneti n calitatea ei de clas social
dominant, de stpn a satelor precum i doar n
raport cu acele opinii care i consider pe cnezii
romni drept o categorie de-abia difereniat de
fruntai ai satelor, categorie a crei ascensiune
social-politic s-a datorat iniiativelor coroanei
maghiare sau colaborrii cu reprezentanii locali
ai acesteia. Data oferit de complexul cercetat este
n schimb cu totul ireasc pentru cazul n care i
considerm pe cnezii romni din Transilvania ca
reprezentnd, n epoca anterioar decderii lor, o
feudalitate autentic desprins din comunitile
steti n urma unui ndelungat proces intern
de difereniere social-economic. Existena unei
capele de curte cneziale de la cumpna secolelor
XI i XII reprezint o dovad solid pentru
caracterul de feudalitate prestatal pe care 1-a
avut aceast categorie social cu cel puin dou
secole nainte de a i consemnat ca atare n
izvoarele scrise.
Inventarul funerar descoperit n necropola de
la Streisngeorgiu este i el de natur s modiice
anumite opinii destul de puternic nrdcinate n
arheologia feudalismului timpuriu transilvnean.
O parte a obiectelor de podoab descoperite, i
n mod special inelele de bucl cu captul ntors
n form de S, sunt caracteristice pentru aa numitele necropole de tip Bjelo-Brdo.
Dup cum se tie, aceste necropole apar n interiorul arcului carpatic spre sfritul
secolului al X-lea i evolueaz pn n secolul al XII-lea suscitnd, n ceea ce privete
atribuirea lor etnic, o lung discuie care este nc departe de a i ncheiat88. Pe
teritoriul Transilvaniei, necropolele de tip Bjelo-Brdo au fost atribuite cu precdere
populaiei maghiare sau ,,slavo-maghiare. Aceast atribuire este acceptabil pn
la un anumit punct, n sensul interpretrii respectivelor cimitire ca oglindind n
principal simbioza etnic, produs de pe la mijlocul secolului al X-lea nainte, dintre
maghiarii sedentarizai i n curs de a se cretina pe de o parte, i unele populaii
premaghiare, n primul rnd slavi, pe de alt parte.
S-a fcut ns n mod curent greeala de a se interpreta gsirea ntmpltoare a
unor piese caracteristice inventarului acestor cimitire ca iind dovada existenei n
88 .
Discuia a fost reluat, cu un sfert de veac n urm, de ctre Zd. Va, Madai a Slovan ve svtle
archeologickch nlezu X.-XII. stoleti, n Slovensk Archeolgia, 2, 1954, p. 51-104; de atunci, bibliograia
problemei a crescut necontenit, n special datorit contribuiei cercettorilor maghiari. Vezi i R. Heitel,
Archologische Beitrge zu den romanischen Baudenkmlern aus Sdsiebenbrgen, n Revue Roumaine
d'Histoire de l'Art. Srie Beaux Arts, 2, IX, 1972, p. 142 i urm. cu bibliograia mai nou.
Fig. 14.
a) pandantiv
de sticl
albastr din
mormntul 27;
b) fragment
de cldare de
lut gsit n
altar
121
122
acel loc a unui cimitir de tip Bjelo-Brdo89, fr a se ine seama de faptul c aceste
podoabe apar la sfritul secolului al XI-lea i n secolul al XII-lea i n necropole
situate n jurul unor biserici. Cimitirele de tip Bjelo-Brdo pentru c de o cultur cu
acest nume nu poate i vorba nu se caracterizeaz numai, i nici n primul rnd, prin
inventarul funerar. Mult mai semniicativ este, n cazul lor, lipsa monumentului de
cult n jurul cruia s ie dispuse mormintele ca i existena unei anumite topograii
interne, pe rnduri i pe grupuri de morminte, relectnd structura familial,
particularitile sociale i stadiul de organizare al comunitilor care le-au folosit.
Dispus de la bun nceput n jurul unei biserici, necropola de la Streisngeorgiu
nu este de tip Bjelo-Brdo iar piesele de podoab din inventarul mormintelor,
produse larg rspndite ale unor ateliere locale, au fost fr ndoial folosite i n
alte medii etnice dect acelea maghiare sau maghiaro-slave. Piesele de podoab
gsite la Streisngeorgiu demonstreaz imposibilitatea ntocmirii de hri ale
rspndirii necropolelor de tip Bjelo-Brdo pe baza unor descoperiri ntmpltoare
i pledeaz totodat mpotriva caracterului etnic al acestor podoabe n secolele XIXII n interiorul arcului carpatic. Obiceiul prinderii uvielor de pr n inele de
bucl este cu mult mai vechi dect data sosirii n aceste regiuni a triburilor maghiare.
Putem de altfel aduga c, la fel dup cum o parte a podoabelor ce caracterizeaz
inventarul necropolelor de tip Bjelo-Brdo se regsesc n secolele XI-XII sau nc
mai devreme la Dunrea de Jos i n Balcani n medii care nu au nici o legtur cu
maghiarii sau cu simbioza maghiaro-slav90, tot aa i unele dintre piesele aprute
la Streisngeorgiu i gsesc analogii apropiate n aceleai pri sud-estice ale rii
sau n nordul Peninsulei Balcanice91.
Trebuie subliniat i faptul c inelele de bucl de la Streisngeorgiu, care ne oblig
la aceast discuie asupra inventarului i a caracterului cimitirelor de tip Bjelo-Brdo,
se mpart n mod aproape egal ntre inele cu captul n form de S i inele cu captul
rsucit pe traseul unui semicerc. Observaiile din timpul cercetrii dovedesc c
cele dou tipuri sunt n mod practic contemporane. Or, inelele de bucl cu captul
ntors pe traseul unui semicerc sunt deocamdat foarte rare, dac nu chiar cu totul
excepionale, n descoperirile din secolele XI-XII din interiorul arcului carpatic92.
Informaiile de care dispunem sunt deocamdat insuiciente pentru a avansa ie i
numai o ipotez de lucru n legtur cu aceste din urm inele.
Nu ne putem pronuna asupra eventualitii ca, cel puin n unele zone, necropolele
de tip Bjelo-Brdo s acopere i colectiviti romneti intracarpatice. Avem ns
89 .
90 .
91 .
92 .
Ibidem, p. 143; G. Bako, Contribuii la istoria Transilvaniei de sud-est n secolele XI-XIII, n Studii i
Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 12, 1961, 1, p. 113 i urm.
Pentru inele mpletite din srm de argint sau bronz sau pentru brri cu capete zoomorfe, vezi Gh.
tefan i colab., Dinogetia I, Bucureti 1967, p. 277 i urm.; cf. i P. Gatev, Nakiti ot pogrebenia ot XI-XII
v., n Arheologhia Soia, 1977, 1, p. 30 i urm.
Gh. tefan i colab., op, cit., p. 288 i ig. 170-171. Faptul c inelul mpletit din srm de argint descoperit
la Streisngeorgiu a fcut parte din inventarul mormntului 51 mpreun cu dou inele de bucl cu
captul ntors pe traseul unui semicerc, asigur acestor din urm inele o datare n secolul al XII-lea. Ele
sunt prin urmare n mod practic contemporane inelelor de bucl cu captul ntors n form de S gsite
la Streisngeorgiu.
Am putut vedea, datorit amabilitii colegului Szke Bla Mikls jr. de la Institutul de Arheologie din
Budapesta, trei asemenea inele descoperite n cimitirul de tip Bjelo-Brdo de la Pusztaszentlszlo din
sud-vestul Ungariei (reprezentnd 5% din inelele de bucl gsite n necropol). Prin bunvoina colegei
Mariana Dumitrache alm c o asemenea pies a aprut i n necropola din secolul al XII-lea de la Viscri,
jud. Braov. Din inventarul clasic al necropolelor de acest tip pn acum publicate, asemenea piese
lipsesc.
acum certitudinea iar descoperirile de la Streisngeorgiu o demonstreaz c la

sfritul secolului al XI-lea i n secolul al XII-lea, romnii transilvneni foloseau i
ei podoabe caracteristice pentru inventarele funerare ale fazei trzii a necropolelor de
tip Bjelo-Brdo. S-ar putea, desigur, ca lucrurile s se prezinte diferit n alte zone ale
Transilvaniei i ca pe cursul inferior al vii Streiului s i existat condiii particulare
datorate unui contact mai strns dintre comunitile romneti i cele maghiare sau
slave n curs de maghiarizare nc din prima jumtate a secolului al XI-lea93. La
asemenea ntrebri vor da rspunsuri cercetrile viitoare.
Oricum ns, n sensul opiniilor aici exprimate poate i invocat i apariia n
secolele XIII-XV a unor inele de bucl n teritoriile din exteriorul arcului carpatic, n
zone locuite atunci de o populaie romneasc omogen94. Faptul c aceste din urm
inele de bucl, care pn acum nu au fcut nc obiectul unui studiu de ansamblu,
aparin unor altor tipuri dect cele caracteristice necropolelor de tip Bjelo-Brdo95,
ine fr ndoial de decalaje cronologice i de aspecte regionale.
n ncheierea acestor consideraii, ne oprim asupra repartizrii geograice a satelor
stpnite de familia cnezial care a ctitorit monumentul de la Streisngeorgiu. Cu
prilejul unei analize a sistemului de stpniri de sate romneti, am stabilit existena
i n ara Haegului a unei categorii superioare de cnezi, la fel ca i n Maramure
unde am propus desemnarea lor drept cnezi de vale96. Att familia cnezial de la
Streisngeorgiu ct i aceea nvecinat de la Ru de Mori au fcut parte din aceast
categorie superioar a feudalitii romneti.
Cu acelai prilej am pus ntrebarea dac ara Haegului, neleas n limitele ei
restrictive, corespunznd deci doar bazinului superior al Streiului, reprezint rezultatul
unei contractri sau condensri teritoriale sau dac, dimpotriv, ara Haegului
cu pertinenele sale reprezint istoricete rezultatul unui proces de dilatare
teritorial a unui organism social i etnic iniial mai restrns97. Descoperirile de la
Streisngeorgiu vin s conirme soluia spre care nclinam atunci din considerente
logice. Prezena nc din secolul al XI-lea a unei feudaliti romneti pe cursul
inferior al Streiului, n vecintatea Mureului, feudalitate ce se manifesta n aceast
calitate, ne d dreptul s considerm c districtul Haegului sau al cetii regale din
Haeg, n limitele restrnse n care el apare n secolul al XIV-lea, este rezultatul
retragerii spre munte i spre zonele mai ferite a unei pri a colectivitilor romneti
i a unor cadre social-politice ale acestora. ncepnd cu secolul al X-lea, romnii din
toate zonele deschise i mai accesibile ale Transilvaniei, deci i de pe cursul inferior
93 .
94 .
95 .
96 .
97 .
Pentru stabilirea unor comuniti maghiare n prima jumtate a secolului al XI-lea la vrsarea Streiului i
a Cernei n Mure i pentru ptrunderea acestor comuniti, tot n secolul al XI-lea, pe Cerna n sus, n
legtur desigur cu exploatarea ierului, vezi R. Popa, Structures ..., p. 298- 299.
Vezi, printre altele, I. Ioni, Spturile de salvare de la Trifeti, n Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice, VIII,
1962, p. 736-738; V. Spinei Rodica Popovici-Balt, n Din trecutul judeului Botoani, Botoani, 1974, p.
115 i urm.; V. Spinei, Necropola medieval de la Piatra Neam-Drmneti, n Memoria Antiquitatis,
I, 1969, p. 219; N. Constantinescu, Coconi. Un sat din Cmpia Romn n epoca lui Mircea cel Btrn,
Bucureti, 1972, p. 100 i pl. XIII/1. B. Mitrea I. Nestor i colab., antierul arheologic Suceava, n
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 4, 1953, 1-2, p. 363 i ig. 27, pentru inele de bucl cu captul rsucit n
spiral gsite ca inventar n morminte din secolul al XV-lea, respectivul tip iind mult mai timpuriu n
interiorul arcului carpatic. Dup informaiile pe care ni le-a oferit A. Artimon, inele de bucl cu captul
rsucit n form de S au aprut recent n necropola cercetat la Volov, n nordul Moldovei.
Avem n vedere inele de bucl cu captul ntors n form de S, dar o prelucrare regional i cronologic a
respectivelor materiale ar putea modiica aceast opinie.
R. Popa, Structures , p. 303 i urm.
Ibidem, p. 294.
123
124
al Streiului, au fost supui unei presiuni permanente i mereu crescnde. Aa se

explic cum cnezii din Streisngeorgiu, ca i nvecinaii Cndeti, stpneau un al
doilea grup de sate n zona de sub Munii Retezat.
Continuarea cercetrilor din ara Haegului prin iniierea unor noi spturi la
Slau de Sus, la Ru de Mori, la Ru Brbat sau la Sarmizegetusa roman, va aduce
n aceast privin, fr ndoial, informaii de cea mai mare importan pentru
reconstituirea istoriei romnilor transilvneni ca i pentru problema nceputurilor
statelor medievale romneti.
StReiSngeoRgiu.
inFoRMationS aBout tHe
RoManian HiStoRY
oF SoutHeRn tRanSYlVania.
tHe eleVentH to tHe
FouRteentH centuRieS *
t has been half a century since Nicolae Iorga, in a paper presented at the Academy,
then published in the Memories of the Historical Section, was pulling out of
its anonymity a small Romanian stone church from the Hunedoara area, the one
in Streisngeorgiu1, dedicated to Saint George. he monument is located on the
edge of the high terrace on the right bank of the Strei River, on its lower course,
about 15 km away from the point where it joins waters with the Mure (ig. 1).
Right under the place occupied by the church lows into the Strei its right side
tributary, Luncani, which descends from the ureanu Mountains. Separated from
the wide Mure Valley by the Mgura Hill (592 m altitude), the micro-area whose
centre was Streisngeorgiu (and today the town of Clan) represents one of the
edges of the Land of Haeg or, to use the term from the Diploma of the Knights
of Saint John, one of the medieval possessions of the Land of Haeg2.
he great scholar named the church in Streisngeorgiu the oldest religious
structure founded by a Romanian nemes (i.e. noble) family in Transylvania, based
on the founding inscription included in the votive painting (ig. 2) of the eastern
wall of a small inner tower, in the nave of the church. Written in Slavonic, the
inscription speciies that this church ( ) was built () by
Jupan Cndre, his wife Jupanitza Nistora and their sons and that it was inished
and painted ( ) in the days of King Sigismund
and of Transylvanias Voivodes Jnos Tamsi and Jakob Lcki, in the year 6917
(1408-1409) October 2. Besides Jupan Cndre once again speciied as founder
Nistora and Vlaicu, son of Cndre, the votive painting also pictures a character
designated as Jupan Laco.
Still in the votive picture, under the ark of the church supported by the founders
hands, but above the inscription, there are a few other words, painted in the same
white colour, which Iorga read as , translating
them as their forefather Litovoi3; examining these words carefully, I believe they
should be read as . I will not stop here over
this last statement because the inal word should belong to the experts specialized
in Slavonic writings and because, as Nicolae Iorga also noticed, the votive painting
1.
2.
3.
N. Iorga, Cea mai veche ctitorie de nemei romni din Ardeal (1408-1409), in Academia Romn.
Memoriile Seciunii Istorice, seria III, tom VI, 1927, p. 171f.
1247: terra Harszoc cum pertinentibus suis, in Documenta Romaniae Historica, B, vol. I, p. 4.
N. Iorga, op. cit., p. 172.
Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor - Monumente Istorice i de Art, XLVII, 1978, 1, p. 9-32
4.
126
sTREIsNGEoRGIU. INFoRMATIoNs ABoUT THE RoMANIAN HIsToRY
and its inscription were re-painted in 1743. his year also appears in another mural
inscription, on the southern pillar of the tower, who states that these icons were
renewed. Some of the scenes of the murals that until two years ago decorated the
inside of the church, both in the nave and in the altar, also date from 1743 and were
also illustrated by the hand of the painters Gheorghe and andru ot (from) Fgra4.
But the re-painting of the inscription, even if it may had modiied some letters
that the painters from 1743 did not understand, never altered the names of the
characters or the date of the older text. Concerning this, Nicolae Iorga rightfully
noticed that the jupans Cndre and Laco are also known from documents
contemporary to the inscription, invoking three royal charters from 1404, among
which the one naming Cndre and Lacu of Streisngeorgiu as kings-men for
the neighbouring village of Strei, which lies only 2 km away, across the Strei River5.
Accepting the idea that a monument erected during the irst years of the
ifteenth century would be the oldest kneazial Romanian building in Transylvania,
only relects the stage in the knowledge of Transylvanian Romanians history of ifty
years ago. Later, based on stylistic criteria, the art historians stated that some stone
Romanian monuments in Transylvania are even older than that, dating them back
to the fourteenth century and even earlier, during the second half of the thirteenth
century. Some even earlier timeframes have also been forwarded, although they lack
suitable arguments.
he main merit in this research belongs to Professor Virgil Vtianu from Cluj,
who, since 1929, placed the Romanian churches around Hunedoara within more
realistic chronological limits, dating them from the thirteenth to the ifteenth
centuries6. As for the monument in Streisngeorgiu, he initially dated it during the
fourteenth century, but in his recent synthesis he included this church in the group
dating from the end of the thirteenth century7. In his argumentation Vtianu
forwarded the hypothesis of an initial altar with a semicircular apse, replaced only
during the eighteenth century by the current rectangular altar.
Grigore Ionescu8 and Vasile Drgu9 dated the church in Streisngeorgiu at the
end of the thirteenth century, in complete disaccord with the inscription. he same
dating was also proposed by other art historians, of which is worth mentioning the
name of Professor ntz Geza10 from Budapest. An even earlier dating, before the
Tartar invasion in 1241, was proposed, to my knowledge, only by I. D. tefnescu,
his argument being the iconographic analysis of the murals11.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
With the observation that in the altar there are also scenes dated in 1858, year painted on the vault of
the altar. About the murals in the church see the study of Oliviu Boldura et al., in Revista Muzeelor i
Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 47, 1978, 1, p. 47-51.
Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente privitoare la istoria romnilor, vol. I2, p. 434-435.
V. Vtianu, Vechile biserici de piatr romneti din judeul Hunedoara, in Anuarul Comisiei
Monumentelor Istorice pentru Transilvania, Cluj, 1929, p. 195.
Idem, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, vol. I, Bucureti, 1959, p. 82.
Gr. Ionescu, Istoria arhitecturii n Romnia, vol. I, Bucureti, 1963, p. 100-104.
V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti, 1968, p. 43-44.
G. ntz, Die Baukunst Transsilvaniens im 11.-13. Jahrhundert, in Acta Historiae Artium, XIV,
Budapest, 1968, p. 31.
I. D. tefnescu, Das Zeugnis der Denkmler religiser Kunst, in Siebenbrgen, vol. I, Bucureti, 1940,
p. 293.
he tendency towards an earlier dating of Romanian monuments has become

more and more pronounced lately and, without especially talking about the church
in Streisngeorgiu, I must note the recent hypotheses of the existence since the
ninth century of some stone monuments in southern Transylvania12. Such an idea
mustnt be rejected from the start, the historical conditions of the ninth century
and the data from the later written documents allowing us to take into account
the possibility that the ripening feudal relations of the time could have caused the
apparition of stone or brick monuments even in the ninth century13. But producing
the arguments required to support these ideas depends on the identiication of
some speciic archaeological situations, and, in this regard, the answers must wait
for future research.
Back to the church in Streisngeorgiu, a short description of the monument
as it looked before the research started is required (ig. 3, 4). he church is very
small, containing a narthex, a nave and the altar. he narthex is recently added, in
the nineteenth century, a fact that all scientists agree upon and conirmed by the
excavations; therefore the narthex can be left out of this discussion. he nave is
almost square planned, with inner sizes of 4.6 by 4.2 m. Inside the nave, on its longer
sides, there are two massive pillars, placed only 0.7 m away from the naves limit
toward the altar. he pillars support a double arch. From this arch westward the nave
is covered with a high, semi-cylindrical vault. East from the above mentioned arch,
starting from two masonry brackets, there is a distinct vault, still semi-cylindrical
but lower. his contributed to considering the eastern side of the nave as being a
distinctive room, much like a choir14.
he western side of the nave holds the inner tower bearing the inscription from
1408-1409. he tower is supported by two masonry pillars, connected by an arch
and by the western wall of the nave. Between the two pillars and this last wall two
oak beams were set up to hold the side walls of the tower. From a height of about 3
m, the tower slightly narrows, much like a chimney, and pierces the vault in order to
exit above the roof, where its upper side accommodates the bells. his tower was one
of the main arguments for the early dating of the church, since such inner towers,
usually with a tribune on the irst loor, are found in Transylvanian court chapels
from the thirteenth century15. It is obvious that because of its inner size of only 1.2
by 0.7 m the tower from Streisngeorgiu wouldnt have had a tribune. We must talk
here of a simple adaptation of a certain constructive program to the necessity of
creating a space that would properly house the church bells.
Separated from the nave by a triumphal arch with two masonry consoles that
clumsy imitate some capitals, the altar room presents a rectangular, almost square
plan. he altars inner size is 3.2 m long and 2.8 m wide, making it disproportionately
large when compared with the nave. It is also obvious that the altar is of axis.
12 .
13 .
14 .
15 .
Corina Nicolescu, Considrations sur lanciennet des monuments roumains de Transylvanie, in

Revue Roumaine dHistoire, 1962, 1, p. 419f.; R. Heitel, Archologische Beitrge zur Geschichte der
romanischen Baudenkmler in Siebenbrgen, (II), in Revue Roumaine dHistoire de lArt. Serie BeauxArts, XII, 1975, p. 6.
Obviously, I am considering irst and foremost the religious monuments, although without utterly
excluding the possibility that some ruined Roman monuments from Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, Apulum
or other places were re-used for laic purposes.
Gr. Ionescu, op. cit., p. 104.
V. Drgu, op. cit., loc. cit.; G. ntz, op. cit., loc. cit.
127
128
he walls of the monument and with this I inally touch the results of the
recently inished investigation are rather thick (0.8-0.9 m) with foundations made
of river stone bound with mortar, in foundation ditches that are only 0.6 m deep.
After the exterior plastering has been removed, we could see that the lower side of
the walls is made of four or ive rows of large, carved stone blocks removed from
a Roman monument somewhere close while the upper side was erected out of
bricks manufactured by the mediaeval builders. he empty places between the stone
blocks were also illed-in with brick masonry. he original window frames, two on
the western part of the naves southern wall and two in the altar, on its southern wall
and its axis, are made of the same stone blocks, clumsily carved (ig. 4, 5). With the
mention of the two latter added buttresses, located on the opposite sides of the nave,
placed approximately in the same line with the double arch supported by pillars, I
consider this brief description of the monument inished and I will next discuss
what we know from literary sources about Streisngeorgiu and about the family that
built this church.
Nicolae Iorga did not had, 50 years ago, access to documents older than 1400
concerning the village and the Romanian nemes family that owned it. Since then
some older sources have been found. he irst one, from 1377, is a donation act
dated June 15, in Deva, from the Voivode of Transylvania Ladislau de Losoncz to
Petru, son of Zicu from Strei (the Hungarian name of the village is Zeykfalva
Zicus village; in the document the character is mentioned as from the Strei River
district) and to his cousin, Nicolae, son of Ladislau from Streisngeorgiu16. he
donation is conirmed, three days later, on June 18, 1377, in Cluj, by King Louis
I and gives the two aforementioned people the right to own, as kneazes (more et
consuetudine kenezyatus) three Romanian villages (villae volakalae): Chitidu de Sus,
Chitidu de Jos and Ocoli (... videlicet duas Kytid, superiorem et inferiorem ac Oklus).
he document states that these three villages were part of two distinct kneazial
possessions (sub duobus kenezyatis existentes) and that they used to be owned by a
now dead Kneaz Cndea (Kend) and by his sons, but they became the property
of the Crown after Cndeas execution by hanging for disloyalty. We also ind out
that Cndeas sons led to Wallachia and at the date of the document were still
committing hostile acts towards the Hungarian King17.
Identifying the three villages is somewhat diicult. Upstream on the Luncani
Valley today there is only one village named Chitid, separated from Streisngeorgiu
by the border of the village Ohaba Streiului. Because at the time of the document
Ohaba Streiului depended on Streisngeorgiu18, the proximity between Chitid and
the beneiciaries of the donation may be considered as a given fact. For the second
village named Chitid we must choose between indentifying it with Boorod, the next
village upstream on Luncani Valley, or with another village in the area, that today
16 .
17 .
18 .
E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta historiam Valacchorum in Hungaria illustrantia ..., Budapest, 1941,
p. 271-273.
Ibid.; see the commentary in R. Popa, O spad medieval din valea Streiului i cteva consideraii istorice
legate de ea, in Sargetia, IX, Deva, 1972, p. 77f.
When it was irst mentioned in a document it was named Zabadfalva (ohab free village) and was
ruled by the kneazes from Streisngeorgiu; D. Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a Huniadiak
karban, vol. V, Budapest, 1913, p. 117.
has disappeared. he irst solution seems more probable19. Finally, today there is an
Ocoliul Mic village neighbouring Chitid, on a secondary valley, and an Ocoliul
Mare on the opposite bank of the Strei River, very close to the village Strei, where
the irst of the beneiciaries in the donation was residing. We have no way of surely
indentifying villa ... Oklus, even more so since is not clear what exactly means
the expression that deines the three villages (topographic? patrimonial?) situation,
namely sub duobus kenezyatis existentes20.
In any case, we must remember from this document that in 1377 the kneazes
from Strei and Streisngeorgiu were closely related, probably sharing a common,
anonymous, grandfather, and that since before 1377, next to those villages, on the
same lower course of the Strei, several Romanian villages were part of the demesne
of a kneaz named Cndea.
he voivodal donation and its royal conirmation in 1377 represented, from that
year on, the legal grounds on which the related kneazes from Strei and Streisngeorgiu
held the demesne of the two Chitids and Ocoli21, but we do not know what was
the juridical grounds according to the laws of the Angevin Kingdom by which the
same kneazes possessed their own villages. A 1392 document, which I consider as
extremely valuable22, tells us that the legal background was no other than the de facto
state of things, inherited from their ancestors and tacitly accepted by the kings of
the Arpadian and afterwards of the Angevin dynasties23.
he document from 1392, conirmed by king Sigismund of Luxemburg, apparently
a real estate transaction between two relatives, both present in a military camp on the
Danube during an anti-Ottoman campaign, is actually just a subterfuge to obtain
(at this late point of time) a royal act that would legally protect kneazial possessions
that were held in the virtue of a de facto situation. he place and moment chosen for
this act, excluding of course the complicated procedures and usual controls, couldnt
have been more favourable. To these circumstances was added the support of Drag,
son of Sas, Voivode of Maramure, who approached the king in favour of the two
Haeg kneazes who seem to have been participating to the campaign under his
command24.
But let us see what the document tells us. Cndre, son of Grigore from
Streisngeorgiu (de Zenthgeorgh) and Lacu, son of Nicolae from the same village
(de eadem /Zenthgeorgh/) very likely the same two Jupans shown on the left side
of the votive painting from 1408-1409 exchange parts of villages, adding that if
one of them dies, the one left alive would inherit all the possessions.
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
24 .
Two villages named Chitid are mentioned in documents until the sixteenth century, while Boorod
appears in documents with this name during the eighteenth century; see C. Suciu, Dicionar istoric al
localitilor din Transilvania, I, Bucureti, 1967, p. 97 and 144. Because the information about the period
1526-1733 is incomplete, it is likely that during this time the name of the village changed or smaller
settlements on this side of the Luncani Valley were topographically reshaped.
For problems of kneazial ownership during the fourteenth and the ifteenth centuries see R. Popa, ara
Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970, p. 168f., with the older bibliography.
Legal grounds that couldnt stop the same villages to be later granted to the noble family of Binini
(today Aurel Vlaicu). Documenta Valachorum, p. 404-405. his was surely an invasion, facilitated by the fact
that the dignity of Haeg castellan belonged to this family.
Documenta Valachorum, p. 429-430.
About these problems see, among other, Maria Holban, Deposedri i judeci n Haeg pe vremea
angevinilor, in Studii, XIII, 1960, 5, p. 148f.; R. Popa, ara Maramureului, p. 168f.
On the document there is mentioned, relatio domini Drag Woyuode.
129
130
he villages where the two kneazes owned estates are in two separate areas of
the Land of Haeg. In the exchange mentioned by the document Cndre cedes
his parts of the village (estate) Sla (in the text: portiones suas in possessionibus
Zalaspataka et ... which is the equivalent of Sla Valley, on which we ind today
four villages: Ohaba de sub Piatr, Slau de Jos, Slau de Sus and Mlieti) and
of another village named Sub Brazi (in the text: Fenyalath, which may be identical
with Mlieti, where lies the dwelling-tower of the kneazes who resided in the
nowadays ruined court from neighbouring Slau de Sus, that is if the document
is not actually referring to another village in the area, disappeared today or bearing
another name)25. All these villages are located in the Retezat Mountains, at the
heart of the Land of Haeg. For his part, Lacu cedes the lands he owned in the
villages Streisngeorgiu, Valea Sngeorgiului, Grid and Strei-Scel (Zentgeorgh ...
Pathak, Gred et Kysfalu), all of them grouped on the right bank of the lower Strei.
hat the exchange was ictitious and had no other goal than to mention the
villages in a royal act is proven by the situation existing twelve years later, in 1404,
found in a document also used by Nicolae Iorga. his time the document truly
conirms, through consecrated forms of the royal chancellery, the ownership
of villages. he document is part of a larger group of charters, all from 1404,
conirming the ownership of estates, of some of the Romanian kneazes from Haeg
or elsewhere in Transylvania 26. he diploma in question for this subject is known to
us only in the form of the ownership mandate, addressed by the king to the Chapter
in Alba Iulia27, and concerns the kneazial possession (possessio seu keneziatus) of
the Sla Valley (Zallaspataka) by a family of kneazes from Haeg (keneziis de
Hathzagh) among whom are mentioned Cndre (Kenderes) and Barbu both
sons of Grigore, Costea (Koztha) son of Jaroslaus and Lacu son of Nicolae, the
latter one introduced as from Streisngeorgiu (de Zenthgurgh). his kneaz is also
mentioned as grandson, on his fathers side, of the aforementioned Cndre, son of
Grigore; this, if it is not in fact the mistake of a scribe, is making the genealogical
reconstruction much harder28.
Either way, Cndre, son of Grigore, and Lacu, son of Nicolae, from 1404 are
most deinitely the same ones from the 1392 estate trade, a trade that obviously
did not actually changed the repartition of the familys holdings.
We do not have any royal conirmation from the early ifteenth century for
Streisngeorgiu and the other villages depending on it, similar to the aforementioned
one, concerning the Sla Valley, or the other one from 1404, conirming the Strei
branch of the family in their possessions29. Still, one may state that such a charter
existed. During the irst half of the ifteenth century, Cndre descendants are
conirmed as hailing from Streisngeorgiu, the villages around Streisngeorgiu
appearing as being owned by this family and the enumeration of Streisngeorgiu
among the villages that belonged in 1453 to the fortress in Deva30 has no other
meaning than stating the judicial condition in which the village was owned. Indeed,
25 .
26 .
27 .
28 .
29 .
30 .
For identiications see R. Popa, ber die Burgen der Terra Hatzeg, in Dacia, N. S., XVI, 1972, p. 256-257.
E. Mlyusz, Zsigmondkori oklevtr, vol. II1, for the year 1404.
Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente, I2, p. 428; E. Mlyusz, op. cit., nr. 3368.
For the genealogy vide infra.
Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente, I2, p. 434.
Ibid., II2, p. 35.
a kneazial holding did indeed imply a certain amount of produces being given to
the royal fortress and also certain obligations toward the same fortress and because
of this, it is natural for all the villages granted under such terms to be enumerated
as part of the fortress domain31.
Based on the already invoked documents, and on a few others, dated during
the irst half of the ifteenth century32, the genealogical connections suggest three
distinct branches of the family, all of them connected with Streisngeorgiu. I will
not ponder here upon the people mentioned in connection with the Sla Valley
as only holding condominium with the kneaz family of Streisngeorgiu, because
this joint property is due to some social and political conditions from the Land of
Haeg who exceed this papers purpose33. he three branches of the family are thusly
presented (see the genealogic tree).
As seen, the written sources would not allow reconstructions earlier than midfourteenth century, and the relations between the three branches of the family are
still uncertain. It is important though that the aforementioned people were certainly
related, as stated in documents and conirmed by the votive painting from 1408 1409, and, within the larger idea of reconstructing the Land of Haeg history, it is
also important the presence of the kneaz family of Streisngeorgiu as holders of
villages or parts of villages on the Sla Valley, in the Retezat Mountains.
his gives us the right to propose identifying kneaz Cndea, the one who before
1377 used to own three villages neighbouring Streisngeorgiu and who was executed
before 1377, as the second known member of the Cnde family of Ru de Mori.
We are talking about Mihail, said Cndea (dictus Kende), the son of Nicolae said
Cndea, executed around 1357-1359 and of which we know that his villages were
coniscated at the time of his execution34. he name its, the destiny its, and we
may add to these the topographic argument: the proximity relations of the holdings
from two separate areas of the Land of Haeg, on the lower course of the Strei River
and in the Retezat Mountains. Considering that the Cndes villages around Ru
de Mori are neighbouring the villages on the Sla Valley, I indeed consider natural
to believe that the kneaz neighbours of Streisngeorgiu are the same Cnde family.
But this problem will be approached at a later date, in a larger frame of historical
reconstruction.
he chancery documents we know of so far are not very useful in establishing
the real age of the church in Streisngeorgiu but they do conirm the art and
architecture historians point of view that the year 1408 cannot be considered the
one when the church was built the most minor argument being that the village
is attested since 1377 with a name justiiable by the Patron Saint of the church.
he 1975-1976 excavations ascertain an exceptional situation. By exceptional I do
31 .
32 .
33 .
34 .
he term fortress domain seems to mean not as much possessions of the fortress as income of the fortress.
An unpublished historical and archaeological monograph about the Land of Haeg uses the written
documents up until after mid-ifteenth century. (Editors note: It was published later as La nceputurile
evului mediu romnesc. ara Haegului, Bucureti, 1988)
For the existence in the Land of Haeg as well of two categories of kneazes, one of the vale kneazes (from
which the nobles from Streisngeorgiu were also part of ) and another one, subordinated, of the village
kneazes see R. Popa, Structures socio-politiques roumaines au sud de la Transylvanie aux commencements
du Moyen ge, in Revue Roumaine dHistoire, XIV, 1975, 2, p. 300f.
Documenta Valachorum p. 143; on the Cndea family of Ru de Mori also see R. Popa, O spad , p.
80-81 and Idem, ber die Burgen, p. 252f.
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132
not mean the age or the character of the monument, but the possibility of certain
reconstructions, based on signiicant artefacts discovered in clear stratigraphic
conditions. I am certain of the fact that there are other Romanian monuments older
than or as old as the church in Streisngeorgiu but their precise dating is diicult
since the archaeological data was destroyed with the passing of time.
he excavations were organized by the former Committee of National Cultural
Patrimony, in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology and other institutions,
as a preliminary part of the restoration works on the monument, and lasted 11
weeks35. We investigated all the available areas inside and around the monument, as
well as other archaeological features close to the church, in the current territory of
Clans new town, the former village of Streisngeorgiu being today part of it.
his study aims to publish the results of the excavations from the Church sector
of the site and to interpret them in the information context provided by the literary
sources. Separate studies concerning the human remains and the fourteenth to
eighteenth centuries jewellery from the same sector were already written by other
team members36. Other studies were written concerning other sectors of the site, the
architecture of the monument or the researches for the preservation and restoration
of the paintings37. Some of the results of the excavations from the irst campaign
were already published38, these pages bringing further explanations and substantial
addenda to the earlier publishing.
The excavations plan
he church in Streisngeorgiu is surrounded by a cemetery and was used as a
worship place until the beginning of the excavations. here are very new graves
right next to the walls of the monument. Because of this, outside the church the
investigations were limited to one large trench and several small ones, of 3 by 5 m,
which, in the areas with recent burials, couldnt reach the natural subsoil.
On the contrary, the interior of the monument was completely investigated,
by a longitudinal trench placed on the church axis and then by smaller trenches
(ig. 6). he unexcavated portion, initially spared for further control, needed to be
taken down in 1976 in order to place the new pavement.
Within the current cemetery, other than the trench perpendicular on the northern
side of the church, we tried placing two more trenches, east and north-west of
the monument, in order to verify the limits of the oldest phase of the cemetery.
he western extension of the trench on the church axis allowed us to observe that
the church was initially built right on the edge of the terrace and that the current
platform in front of the entrance was done after recent terrain levelling.
35 .
36 .
37 .
38 .
9-28 June 1975, 21 July-16 August 1975, 7 May-6 June 1976.

See Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 47, 1978, 1. Team members (in
diferent periods): Gh. Baltag, Dan Busuioc, Victor Eskenasy, Ioachim Lazr, Mircea Lazr, Larisa
Nemoianu and Adrian Rusu.
Architect erban Popescu-Dolj is responsible for the restoration project and leader of the restoration
works. A team led by Marius Popescu and Oliviu Boldura is responsible for the study and restoration of
the paintings. I would like here to thank all of them for the precious information.
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des 11.-14. Jahrhunderts im Sden
Transilvaniens, in Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 37f. he present paper also includes the results of the 1976
campaign, with some corrections of several ideas published previously, corrections which I will point in
the text.
The stratigraphy
Even though the recent burials in the area around the monument have been cut
to depths much lower than the natural subsoil, we were still able to ind some points,
especially to the western side of the nave, where the absence of later interventions
allowed us to reconstruct a clear stratigraphic sequence (ig. 7).
he natural soil is 0.45-0.5 m deep (as measured from the current walking level)
and consists of compact reddish-yellow gravel, and on its upper limit, a layer of
clayish, auburn soil, about 0.5 m thick, that did not contain archaeological materials.
he constructors of the church cut only through this layer of auburn soil and placed
the wall foundations directly on the aforementioned gravel.
In several places, on small distances, above the natural subsoil we could see a
distinct layer of auburn soil, 2-3 cm thick, which represented the topsoil at the
beginning of the medieval habitation here. On the transversal proile in the nave (ig.
8) this layer is partially overlapped by a lens of reddish soil, which we interpret as
the loor of the wooden church that preceded the current stone monument, wooden
church about which we will speak at the appropriate time. he reddish lens also
contained charcoal pigment. On other small portions the reddish lens is replaced
by a lens of auburn clay which we interpret as soil removed from the foundation
ditches of the stone church39. We found no archaeological materials that would help
date the construction of the church in this layer or the lenses connected with it.
he following layers are connected with the stone or brick pavements or the
wooden loors that were successively placed inside the church. By comparing the
situation from the nave with the one from the altar, where the original topsoil did
not survived but where we found in situ several stone slabs belonging to a restoration
of the oldest pavement, we discovered that the oldest pavement consists of a layer
made of mortar and small river stones which was attached, before the mortar was
hardened, to the inner faces of the large carved stone blocks from the upper limit of
the foundation. his bed of masonry survives as spots, sometimes quite wide, both
in the nave and in the altar chamber. It also corresponds, just in the nave and only
in places unafected of later interventions, with a thin layer of white mortar, which
is the construction level of the masonry church. his irst mortar layer is attached to
the foundation of the southern pillar of the tower, proving without a doubt that the pillars
were built with the monuments walls40.
Also inside the nave several small stone slabs were preserved in situ, placed directly
over the layer of white mortar left behind by the churchs builders. From all these I
conclude that, without a doubt, the oldest pavement inside the church was made of
stone slabs placed over the abovementioned masonry bed or over the mortar layer
left behind by the constructors. Another conclusion is that in the altar, after several
pits were dug up, stirring the entire surface down to 0.6-0.65 m deep, the stone slab
pavement was reconstructed over the backill of those pits. his explains why, in the
39 .
40 .
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis , p. 34; the stratigraphic observations from 1976 were more
conclusive in proving the initial existence of a wooden church.
he stratigraphy is less clear around the foundation of the northern pillar, where a trace of mortar leaves
the impression of a radical restoration of the wall, maybe even down to the foundation.
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134
altar, the pavement was found lower than the masonry bed since the backill of the
pits sunk over time.
In several places and especially in the altar, above the pavement slabs appeared
a thin layer of black soil with traces of burning and pieces of charcoal. It seems to
be a layer remaining after a ire, which has not been completely evacuated. Above
this layer of black soil follows the second pavement, made of bricks with the sizes
0.32/0.16-0.18 m and 0.055-0.06 m thick. he bricks have the same size as the
ones used to build the walls of the monument. his pavement is set on a bed of two
mortar layers: reddish mortar, with bits of brick, on the lower side and white mortar
in the upper side. his brick pavement is present both in the nave and the altar. he
bed of mortar where it was set advocates for a connection with a stage when the
monument was remodelled, maybe by modifying the vaulting system, as this would
explain the presence of brick fragments in the mortar.
he following pavement is made again of bricks, but in this case most of them are
Roman spoliae, occasionally mixed with stones or small slabs. On some portions we
could also see a layer of mortar at the base of this third pavement, which I connect
with another phase of interventions on the monument. Yet another pavement, a
wooden one, is most likely connected with the building of the narthex (inside it we
found no traces of stone or brick pavements). he date of this wooden pavement
seems to be 1858, when some of the paintings on the altar vault were also added.
Over this pavement lies the current wooden one, set on a levelling with sand and
yellow soil.
his being said about the stratigraphical situation inside the old part of the
monument we may add that inside the current narthex, where older or newer
graves (but not newer than the ifteenth century) destroyed the ground level of
the irst builders, we could still see the traces of a great ire in a layer that, sloping
westward, covers the earliest graves in this area. his ire must be connected with a
wooden narthex that must have been in place sometime during the ifteenth to the
seventeenth centuries.
Among the proiles of the smaller trenches on the outer sides of the monument
I must note the eastern one of trench S VIII a/1976 on which, without being able
to see the construction level of the stone church, we could nevertheless identify a
succession of burials from the wooden stage of the monument until the eighteenth
century (ig. 9). hese burials and their dating will be detailed in the cemetery section
of the paper.
observations concerning the planimetric details and
the walls of the monument
As I briely stated before, only the two buttresses and the narthex were added to
the initial monument at a latter point in time. All its other parts, with their planimetric
details, date from the beginning and were built during a single construction phase. he
entire extent of the foundations of the monuments older parts was explored, as
were all wall intersections; they are perfectly woven and, even more, were built all
at once, in a single, continuous foundation ditch, illed-in with rows of river stone
and mortar.
Relating to the walls that can still be seen on the surface, we also found another
wall, between the nave and the altar. It is actually the eastern wall of the nave, with a
slightly shallower foundation (0.35-0.4 m deep, as measured from the constructors
ground level, while the perimeter walls foundations are 0.5-0.6 m deep). he wall in
question, after a row of very large blocks of stone was set on the foundation, was left
at this level, in order to allow access between the nave and the altar while marking
the crossing with a step. he foundations of this 0.8 m thick wall are perfectly woven
with those of the perimeter walls; furthermore its blocks support both the pillars of
the triumphant arch and the wall segments on the eastern side of the nave.
On the exterior the church has a plinth of two rows of carved stones, the upper
row with an angled proile (ig. 10). he largest of these blocks, all of them taken
from some ruined Roman monument, have a size of 1.3 by 0.6 m. Several of them
still preserve the slots for the iron clamps used by the Roman builders. he proiled
blocks were already carved into their present shapes when carried from their initial
site because, after they were used up, in the few places left empty, the medieval
builders could imitate the angle of the plinth only by using mortar. Several blocks
from the lower row are missing, replaced with river stones similar to the ones used
in the foundation. his irst row of blocks was not initially completely above the
ground. It corresponds inside the monument with another row of blocks that is 0.10.3 m thicker than the vertical line of the walls.
One of the most important observations is that the church has in its foundations
a much more regular plan than in its elevation. he diference between the vertical
line of the wall and the face of the foundations reaches in some places, one way
or the other, 0.3-0.35m. If one would draw only the plan of the foundations it
would be quite symmetrical and logical. We are forced therefore to explain most of
the weirdness and asymmetry of the elevation plan thru the diiculties caused to
the medieval builders by the readily carved blocks of stone fetched from another
monument, in this case a ruined Roman building.
he outer face of the wall, above the plinth, is made of one or two rows of stones,
with portions of brick masonry interposed in some places. From here on up the
walls are homogeneously made of brick which, examined at the roof level and
through several boreholes, proves to have two carefully set faces and an emplecton
of bricks, stones and mortar. Stone blocks appear only close to the windows: on
the eastern faade of the altar, from the footing to above the window and on the
southern faade of the monument, solely around the windows. he window frames
were clumsily carved into these stone blocks, obviously by the medieval builders.
he bricks made by the builders have a size of 0.3-0.32/0.15-0.16 cm and are
0.05-0.06 cm thick. Roman bricks and small quarry or river stones were used on
the faces of the walls only in those places that were repaired along the time: the
eastern corners of the nave and its upper wall limit. It should be mentioned that
we discovered numerous roof tiles in the trenches around the monument. hey are
0.015 m thick and 0.18 m wide, with prominent ixing knobs 0.025 m high, but
of an uncertain length. A particular trait of these roof tiles is that they have on
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136
their upper face parallel lines traced with the ingers in the soft clay, lines similar
to the grooves found on Roman bricks and roof tiles. However these tiles are most
certainly medieval and likely belonged to the initial roof of the monument41.
a few observations about the Roman findings from
the Streisngeorgiu church
At Streisngeorgiu, as at all the other medieval stone monuments in the Land
of Haeg, we are reminded that we are in the heart of the Roman province Dacia,
an area that still preserved at the beginning of the Middle Ages numerous Roman
ruins with walls tall enough to be seen above ground and even maybe with some
surviving architectonic features. I believe we are right to state that in the Land
of Haeg, as in other places, these Roman ruins have at least partly disappeared
because the medieval constructors used them as quarries of ready-made materials.
In addition to the aforementioned blocks of stone used on the lower side of
the walls, a capital re-used in the western wall of the nave and the bricks used in
the late pavement or for wall repairs at the Streisngeorgiu monument there are
other Roman indings that we should approach, or at least mention them. First and
foremost there are several Roman altars that were re-used inside the church. One of
them served as foot for the altar table, another one, shorter but more massive, was
used as a diaconicon table next to the southern wall while the third one the only
one bearing an inscription42 was used again in the altar, attached to the northern
wall, encased in newer masonry, as a proskomedia table. Two large Roman stones
were re-used in the last pavement, the one before the making of the wooden loor,
again in the church altar. One of them, measured 1.15/0.9 m, 0.3 m thick, was
carved from a block of greyish-white marble and was decorated on one face with
arcades, acanthus lowers and dolphins. It most likely came from the upper part of
a funerary stele.
Another Roman stone of a rectangular shape and decorated with vegetal elements
was later carved as a stall; nowadays it sits next to the entrance but it is possible that
it was used some time ago somewhere inside the nave.
Even without direct evidence I believe these Roman materials were brought into
the church at a very early stage, maybe even since its construction, later on being
re-used for functional arrangements during the successive interior remodelling and
transformation. Other Roman stones may have been brought here at a later age and
used outside as tombstones, such as another Roman altar, without an inscription,
that was discovered near the northern wall. When the current narthex was being
built, sometime after mid-nineteenth century, several large Roman stones - altar
fragments, an inscription fragment etc - that seem to have been lying around the
church were included in the base of the wall. Among them, a decorated block on
whose signiicance I will come back to later.
his large number of Roman stones that came mainly from two kinds of
41 .
42 .
I have no knowledge of analogies for this type of roof tiles. he paste is identical with the one from the
bricks in the walls.
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, III, 7892. he character mentioned in the inscription is a decurio coloniae
justifying the opinion according to which the Roman complex nearby, used for construction materials,
had important buildings.
constructions (from the monumental wall of a very large building and from funerary
monuments) raises the problem of the existence in the area of such Roman vestiges.
he archaeological investigations from the edge of the terrace, about 60 m northwest of the church have revealed the existence of a Roman necropolis43 and it is very
likely that at least some of the funerary monuments re-used in the Streisngeorgiu
church would actually originally belonged to this necropolis. Also, about 150 m
west of the church, on the inferior terrace of the Luncani Valley, there are traces of
a Roman building, very likely the villa rustica connected with the aforementioned
necropolis. Until further excavations will tell us more about these ruins, I think it
is possible that some of the materials used for the medieval monument originated
here. Still, in an area of several km radius, the number of Roman ruins still visible
today is a large one44, a given thing considering the closeness of the Roman resort
from Aquae, which is only 4 km away, on the opposite bank of the Strei River.
he existence of a Roman necropolis west of the Streisngeorgiu church also
explains the discovery of some Roman sherds inside the medieval monument. hey
mostly appeared from the stirred soil inside the altar and in a smaller quantity
from the backill of the graves next to the walls. he sherds belong almost exclusively
to small red vessels, of superior quality, common in funerary inventories. Two such
vessels could be partially completed from their fragments, so it is most likely that
complete vessels were found during the Middle Ages in the Roman tombs, maybe
when the construction materials were removed. hese vessels were maybe even used
in the church, as altar dishes, until they broke.
his explanation ofered for the apparition of Roman pottery in the Streisngeorgiu
church and again, we are only talking about fragments of a maximum of 4-5
small vessels is in accordance with the observation that on the place of the medieval
monument there was no anterior habitation that could predate the building of the irst
wooden church and the irst burials.
The Christian relief from Streisngeorgiu
In the summer of 1976 the late narthex added to the church after the middle of
the nineteenth century was demolished. In addition to the aforementioned Roman
stones and common building materials (modern bricks and small quarry and river
stones), were discovered three pieces that deserve special attention. Two of them are
fragmented tombstones with Hungarian inscriptions, dated in 1847 and 1849, that
are very useful in setting a terminus post quem of the narthex construction. Another
tombstone, again with a Hungarian inscription, dated in 1812 was discovered under
the cantors stall, used there as a podium of sorts. All around the church there are
no tombstones other than Romanian Orthodox ones, but I do not exclude the
possibility that a corner of the cemetery was used by the Reformate servants of the
Streisngeorgiu noble court45 and that these graves were disposed of in 1858. It
43 .
44 .
45 .
V. Eskenasy, Date preliminare despre necropola roman de la Stresngeorgiu, jud. Hunedoara, in Studii
i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, XXVII, 1977, 4, p. 603f.
An archaeological repertoire of Hunedoara County is being realised by the Deva Museum staf.
Similarly, the northern half of the cemetery in Strei seems to have belonged during the eighteenth and
the nineteenth centuries to the Reformate cult. But, at the time, in Strei, next to the northern side of the
Romanian thirteenth century church there was a Reformate chapel, built in 1717.
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138
seems more likely though that the tombstones bearing Hungarian inscriptions are
from a distinct cemetery, related to the chapel of the noble court, about 160 m south
from the church, on the bank of the Luncani Valley, chapel that is still remembered
by the villagers46.
he discussion about the tombstones with Hungarian inscriptions was necessary
in order not to exclude any of the hypotheses that would explain the presence of
a third piece, also re-used as construction material in the masonry of the narthex.
It is a limestone block, yellowish-gray, of the very same type as the other Roman
stones from Streisngeorgiu47. It has an approximately rectangular shape but with
the edges, lateral faces and posterior face extremely irregular, seemingly due to
degradations occurred in time. he anterior face is 0.56 m long, 0.48 m wide and
the block is 0.3-0.32 m thick.
he decor of the anterior face (ig. 11) is slightly bulged but mostly done by
deepening the surfaces between its elements. It consists of a cross with almost equal
arms, slightly widened at the ends, placed at the top of a triangular gable with
slightly arched ascending sides. he gables sides are each made of a row of elongated
ova, each with a central hollow, each framed by two linear bands. he ova decrease
in size from the base to the top and the two ova on the top are connected with the
foot of the cross. he cross is inside a circular halo whose ends are supported by the
bands with ova.
he triangular motif frames a hollow in the thickness of the block, hollow whose
height decreases as it moves away from the face of the block. All these elements,
decor, the triangular hollow, are sensibly of-axis, to the left, as reported to the centre
of the block. Another approximately triangular hollow, but much smaller, is on the
upper end of the block, again decreasing in height as it goes into the thickness of
the stone. his seems to be made during a later intervention, when the decor already
existed, because it is not symmetrical with the lower end hollow and especially since
it cuts part of the cross halo. his second hollow is much better centred as reported
to the centre of the block, and it may be explained by its use at a certain point as
a hanging weight. I have to add that because of the deterioration of the edges the
observations concerning the display of the decoration are rather relative.
Although the lower edge of the block is now very irregular, it seems certain that
initially it was pieced together with at least one other block, placed underneath,
which would continue the triangular hollow and maybe the bands decorated with
elongated ova that now seem to form a gable. Unfortunately we could not ind this
second stone block, or blocks, which would have given us an idea on what were they
part of. Without them the solutions are hypothetical at best.
A rigorous research of the inner and outer wall faces of the Streisngeorgiu church
excludes the possibility that this stone block was ever encased within the walls of
the monument as the upper edge of a niche or window. Nowhere on wall faces
could we ind a place where to it the stone block with Christian reliefs. Besides,
46 .
47 .
About this court see: V. Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice pe teritoriul aezrii medievale de la
Streisngeorgiu, in Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 47, 1978, 1, p. 57f.
All these stones seem to come from the quarry whose traces are still visible on Mgura Hill, about 4 km
away northward.
from a stylistic point of view, the decoration has no analogies with Transylvanias
Romanesque or Early Gothic stone carvings.
It is easier to accept that this stone block comes from the chapel within the late
Streisngeorgiu noble court, which seems to be founded at the beginning of the
ifteenth century48. Sometime during the ifteenth to the seventeenth century the
court chapel must have been erected, only to be demolished later on, right after
1850, when the tombstones surrounding it were brought to Saint George Church
and re-used as construction materials for the narthex. Obviously, if this were true,
then we would have to accept the fact that the former chapel of the noble court
also used stone from Roman ruins, since the stone block in question looks like a
re-used Roman piece. Within the village art from Transylvania of the sixteenth
to seventeenth centuries we might ind (although with diiculty) some analogies
for such clumsily carved relieves that combine elements of the Late Gothic with
rudiments of the Renaissance classic-like decoration49.
But the stone from Streisngeorgiu presents both on its face and on its decor
vertical grooves from several millimetres to several centimetres deep that were
obviously produced over time by the rain water dissolving the limestone. hese
prove beyond doubt that the stone was exposed to the elements for a long time and,
furthermore, that it stood vertically. Such grooves cannot be produced over a short
time and they cannot appear on a stone that was in a room or beneath the roof
ledges.
hese reasons, as well as the style and technique of the decor, have led me to
believe that the stone from Streisngeorgiu is in reality much older and that it was
a Christian tombstone that stood for a long time under the open sky, somewhere
closer or further from the monument. he cross with equal arms, with slightly
widened ends, inscribed in a circular halo and the bands with ova are frequent in
the art of late Antiquity50, while funerary stelae with niches and even the pointed
arch have correspondents in the same era51. It is true I could not ind close analogies
for the decor on the stone block from Streisngeorgiu in the literature available
to me but, if the piece is really much older than the church, inding analogies and
placing it within the evolution of the early Christian art would be diicult under
any circumstances given the fact that the piece is a very rudimentary work. In dating
and attributing such modest and peripheral works we cannot use the same type of
approach as when dealing with imports from the late Roman Empire.
Beyond these considerations and until we can ind a reliable interpretation of the
Christian relief from Streisngeorgiu, it is a sure fact that careful, further researches
of the area are mandatory.
48 .
49 .
50 .
51 .
V. Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice ..., p. 62.

See for example, J. Kepeczi Sebestyen, Rgi szkely npi eredt i memlkeink, in Erdlyi Tudomnyos
Fzetek, 126, Cluj, 1941, p. 14-15.
E. Kirschbaum (ed.), Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie, II, 1970, under Kreuz, with the bibliography;
see among others G. Jerphanion, La reprsentation de la Croix et du Cruciix aux origines de lart
Chrtien, in La voix des monuments, Paris, 1930; W. F. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der Sptantike und des
frhen Mittelalters, Mainz, 1952; V. Besevliev, Sptgriechische und sptlateinische Inschriften aus Bulgarien,
Berlin, 1964.
E. Condurachi, Monumenti cristiani nellIllirico, in Ephemeris Dacoromana, IX, 1940, p. 64; V. Vtianu,
Istoria artei europene, Bucureti, 1968, p. 123; L. Barkczi A. Mcsy, Die rmischen Inschriften Ungarns,
I, Budapesta, 1972, pl. CXXX.
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140
Some hypotheses concerning the elevation of the

monument
he following are less connected to the archaeological research but they are still
problems that need to be addressed since the observations made during the excavation
raised questions on the initial elevation of the monument. hese hypotheses mean
to enlarge the discussion around the type of monument initially represented by the
church in Streisngeorgiu52.
I showed above that the pillars in the nave supporting the inner tower belong
without a doubt, based on stratigraphy, to the initial construction phase. Contrariwise,
the tower most certainly belongs to a phase of repair works and transformations of
the monument, a phase that could be dated without reserve around 1408-1409, at
the time of the inscription on the eastern side of the tower. he somewhat peculiar
shape of the tower, visibly narrower toward its upper side, the fact that its masonry
covers an older layer of paintings on the western wall of the nave as well as the
observations made in the attic of the church, where the wall of the tower mounts in
steps the current upper limit of the naves western wall, are all conclusive arguments
for the towers dating.
But that means that the two pillars of the tower initially had a diferent
functionality, to support a tribune built against the western wall of the nave, about 3
m higher than the pavement. Of course, this supposition still needs some checking
on the western wall of the nave where, under the newer coatings, we might ind
traces of the insertions of the tribune. It is likewise possible that the tribune was
built in wood and that it did not leave any traces on the nave wall.
Following the same line of thought the presence of the two pillars in the eastern
side of the nave and the fact that they were built at the same time with the main walls
of the church - i.e. from the beginning - demand an explanation. hey now support
a sort of double arch on the vault, at the conjoining point of the two barrelled vaults
with diferent heights that cover the nave. Investigations in the attic have evidenced
that the arch was built of voussoirs made from a porous stone similar with the tuf.
his arch supports a 0.65-0.7 m thick wall that divides the naves attic into two
compartments; much like the main church walls, this one is made of two carefully
built, brick wall faces and an emplecton with small stones, brick fragments and a lot
of mortar. Furthermore, we also observed, at the current height of the naves walls,
the very obvious fact that the brick wall faces of the northern and southern walls of
the nave and of the wall supported by the double arch as well as the emplecton
inside are continuous and organically interconnected.
Contrariwise, the eastern, lower portion of the vault over the nave, supported
by two masonry consoles, of which the southern one seems to have been rebuilt,
is not interlinked with the western side of the double arch. Here the bricks of the
vault rigorously follow the arched trail of the stone voussoirs. At the eastern limit
of the nave there are two pilasters that frame the triumphant arch but without
52 .
Also see erban Popescu-Dolj, Dosarul unei restaurri, in Arhitectura, XXV, 1974, 4, p. 56-58; Idem,
Rezultatele cercetrilor de arhitectur la Biserica din Streisngeorgiu, jud. Hunedoara, in Revista
Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 43-46.
corresponding with the northern and southern walls of the altar. hese pilasters
are supported by the eastern wall of the nave, uncovered between the nave and
the altar. hey can also be identiied in the attic, where they seem to have been
demolished to the level of the back-vault. Considering all these factors, it should
be easily understood why a great amount of restraint should be exercised in any
attempt to reconstruct the initial form of the Streisngeorgiu church.
Several questions still remain unanswered even after the investigations made in
the attic of the church, so we can only expect answers by studying the successive
layers of plaster and the paintings on the walls, arches and vaults53.
It would seem we work with two hypotheses. On one side, it seems that the
eastern portion of the nave, from the pillars to the limit toward the altar, initially
had another, higher superstructure, supported by the double arch that connects the
pillars and by the aforementioned pilasters. One suggestion for this superstructures
reconstruction is a high barrelled vault, oriented north to south. An argument for
this hypothesis is the fact that the south-eastern and north-eastern corners of the
nave sufered important interventions, assuredly after a destruction caused by the
weight they carried.
On the other hand, it seems very likely that above the western side of the nave,
up to the pillars and including the wall above the north-southern side of the arch
supported by the pillars, there was a space, 4 m long and 3.4 m wide, with 0.85 m
thick walls on three of the sides and a 0.6-0.65 m thick wall on its eastern side. his
space could have functioned as a dwelling room, like a fortiied dwelling-tower of
sorts, as is the case at another monument in the Land of Haeg, where the tower is
above the altar chamber of the court chapel54.
Considering that the current elevation of the Streisngeorgiu church is largely
a result of the transformation works from 1408-1409, I am convinced that the
understanding and the reconstruction of the initial aspect of the monument largely
depend on inding some conclusive analogies contemporary with the irst stage of
construction55.
The inscription from 1313-1314
After so many references that the Streisngeorgiu church is older than 14081409 and mentions that the future archaeological research carries the responsibly of
establishing the real age of the monument, we need to deal with a document that,
even if it does not contain the date of the irst stage of construction, it still proves
that the church is older by almost a century. Of course the inscription is much more
valuable than just providing a dating of the monument but I do not propose here an
approach on its linguistic values. A preliminary palaeographic and linguistic analysis
53 .
54 .
55 .
O. Boldura . Angelescu M. Rdulescu G. Mruczinschi, Rezultatul cercetrilor efectuate asupra

picturilor medievale romneti de la Streisngeorgiu, in Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente
Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 47f.
I am thinking on the fortiied church of the court under the Col fortress, built by the Cndes of Ru de
Mori; R. Popa, ber die Burgen...,p. 251-254.
We are taking into account not only analogies from the territory of the Arpadian Kingdom, but also from
the territories in the northern and north-western Balkan Peninsula.
141
142
was already published56 and other analyses are sure to follow57. To facilitate their
apparition, we consider only appropriate to publish here, and in detail, the text of
the inscription.
It was discovered in the altar, when the whitewash plastered walls were investigated
in order to verify the connections between the walls and the stratigraphic sequence
of the space. Before these investigations the existence of the inscription was not even
suspected. Written in black paint, it is placed in the centre of the eastern wall, right
under the window frame on the altar axis. Together with its frame the inscription is
0.73 m long and 0.72 m wide58 (ig. 12).
he inscription frame is 0.07-0.09 m wide, a decor traced in zigzag between two
thicker lines, of the same black paint, doubled on almost its entire trail by a red line.
he described decorative element has an appreciable age and a wide circulation,
appearing even in the Paleo-Christian art59. A few stylized vegetal motifs, in black
and red paint, on the upper left side of the frame, continued on its upper edge,
enliven the geometrical frigidity of the design.
he text is not easy to read since some of it was erased. It was also smeared with a
black oily substance (maybe tar?) and wax, and it degraded over time. Nevertheless,
the text may be read almost completely, and has the following content disposed on
10 rows:
1) ()
2) () ()
3) ()
4) ()
5) ()
6) (?) ()
7)
8)
9)
10)
In translation: In the year six thousand eight hundred and twenty two, the
church was started, with the help of Saint George, Virgin Mary and all the saints,
for the help and forgiveness of sins of Kniaz Balea and for the help and salvation
(!?) and forgiveness of sins of priest Nane (and of ?) Teoil the painter.
Several observations are needed concerning the reading of the text and proposed
completions:
a) On row 2, where a not so old breach destroyed about 7 cm of the plastering,
the whole word might also be read (), if the writer used narrower
56 .
57 .
58 .
59 .
Ion Radu Mircea, Quelques considrations palographiques et linguistiques au sujet de linscription

votive de 1313-1314 Streisngeorgiu, in Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 63f.
See G. Mihil, Cele mai vechi inscripii cunoscute ale romnilor din Transilvania (1313-1314 i 1408,
Streisngeorgiu oraul Clan, jud. Hunedoara), in Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente
Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 33-39.
In checking, correcting and completing the inscription I was helped by Prof. I. R. Mircea, who I would
like to thank here also. Precious suggestions were received from Ioana Cristache-Panait as well.
he same decor is found in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople or on Paleo-Christian funerary inscriptions
from the Rhine area, W. Boppert, Die frhchristlichen Inschriften des Mittlelrheingebietes, Mainz, 1971,
p. 15 and passim.
letters. he same breach partially afected row 1 and 3, but without creating problems
in reading them. At most there is an uncertainty if above the word ()
there was a post or the visible end of the line belongs to a higher T.
b) In row 5, the word is uncertain. Vague traces of paint seem to suggest that
initially there was another word there, maybe , which was corrected. At the end of
the same row, it is possible to read as well; in that case, at the beginning
of row 6, where the irst two letters are almost erased, the reading should be .
c) In row 7 the third and fourth letters of the name of kneaz Balea are unclear, not
due to their actual preservation but because of the ligature used between the letters.
d) In row 8 the cross at the beginning is puzzling. Its presence seems suggested in
the way the following letter was written. his seems to have been written over
another word, very likely over a . In that case we are dealing with a modiication
or a correction of the inscription by its author, who initially wanted to write it in
two distinct phrases.
e) In row 10, at the end of the painters name, the last two letters were read (and
not , which would have changed the name to Teoit) because a foot that suggests
the letter is present and because the next word, , clearly ends with .
As for the content of the inscription, I will settle here in just presenting two
elements. First of all, the text mentions a person so far unknown from the kneazial
family of Streisngeorgiu: kneaz Balea. he name is rather largely spread among
the Transylvanian Romanians during the fourteenth and the ifteenth centuries,
probably mostly used by noble families60. he name was connected with bl i.e.
white (found at the root of the words blan i.e. blond and blai i.e. fair) but also
with bal i.e. wild beast (found at the root of the word balaur i.e. dragon) and
this to mention only the most widespread opinions61.
Unfortunately we could not place this kneaz Balea in the genealogy outlined
above since we have no clue about his age in 1313-1314, when he is recorded as
founder of the church. If he was relatively young at that time we could consider
him the father of the kneazes Zicu of Strei and Lacu of Streisngeorgiu, the ones
mentioned in 1377 in the parentage of their sons. But if Balea was at a ripe old
age in 1313-1314 then he may be the grandfather of the abovementioned kneazes.
In any case, it is beyond a shadow of doubt that we are dealing with one of the
forefathers of at least two (if not all three) family branches.
he second observation is the fact that the inscription states that the church was
started at the indicated date. If the text was read and rounded correctly then we
are dealing with the expression of a Romanian (and not only) medieval mentality,
the same found in the votive inscription from 1408-1409, according to which a
restoration, transformation, addition, or even only a re-painting of an older church,
inherited from the foregoers, was considered a true founding of the church. We can
state this, ignoring the archaeological arguments that we will discuss below, because
the inscription from 1313-1314, as well as the entire murals corresponding to it, are not
on the oldest coating of the walls, but on the second one. Even in the issure crossing the
60 .
61 .
Among the most famous Romanian nobles with this name in southern Transylvania is Jupan Balea, son
of Boar de Criscior, attested in 1404 by a document (Hurmuzaki Densuianu, Documente, I2, p. 433) and
represented in the votive painting in the church there (V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 47 and ig. 36, 38). For the
same name used by Romanians in northern Transylvania see R. Popa, ara Maramureului, p. 87-89.
N. A. Constantinescu, Dicionar onomastic romnesc, Bucureti, 1963, p. 187-188.
143
144
text of the inscription one may see clearly another, older layer of plastering, with a
carefully levelled surface.
he archaeological excavations could not establish if in 1313-1314 there were
works that would have afected the elevation of the Streisngeorgiu monument. It
is possible that the reconstruction of the stone slab pavement (mentioned during
the stratigraphic section) dates from that time, but it is possible as well to date the
oldest brick pavement to 1313-1314. I am more inclined to agree with this second
statement. herefore I will not exclude the possibility that between the time when
the monument was erected and 1313-1314 it was the subject of another set of
alterations62. From a strictly archaeological point of view this uncertainty is due to
the fact that between the successive pavements there were no materials that would
precisely date them and the fact that the connections of these pavements with the
diferent portions of the walls are not entirely conclusive.
As for the oldest layer of plastering, which may be considered as dating from the
time of the monuments construction (unless otherwise proven by further studies of
the wall coatings) at this time its visible portions (due to interventions during our
investigation or to the degradation of the ulterior coatings) are too small to state the
existence of murals or of an anterior founding inscription. In some places it seems
to be covered with a black substance, similar to soot, suggesting a possible ire before
1313, a ire possibly connected with the thin layer of black soil showing traces of
burning and containing charcoal that was discovered above the old slab pavement63.
But this older layer of plaster preserves, on the northern foot of the triumphant arch, a
few very clear Cyrillic letters, scratched there before the deposit of the black ilm that may
represent the traces of a ire. hese letters prove, together with the continuity of burials,
that since its beginnings the church in Streisngeorgiu belonged to a community who
used in writing the Cyrillic script, quite likely even the Slavonic language. he founding
inscription from 1313-1314 and the Slavonic graiti scratched on the walls of the
altar chamber during the fourteenth and the ifteenth centuries prove again, if that
was necessary, that this community was Romanian.
The necropolis
Because of the large number of successive burials around the monument our
possibilities of researching the earlier stages of the cemetery were extremely limited.
We identiied, catalogued and investigated 114 graves, but only a few of these help
us date and ascertain the evolution of the cemetery. he reduced number of these
key graves is compensated by the situations clarity and by the certainty of the
conclusions.
he several dozen recent graves, from the last 100-150 years, were only localized
topographically, without being numbered or investigated. Another sepulchre lot
is represented by about 20 older graves, dated before the fourteenth century. heir
existence is attested by the funerary inventory coins and jewellery that we discovered
in the backill of newer graves. Of course all these numbers the older graves identiied
and individualized by complete or fragmentary skeletons or the graves that were
62 .
63 .
his hypothesis belongs to . Popescu-Dolj, who bases his argumentation on the vaults in the altar.
See the stratigraphic sequence in ig. 7.
completely destroyed by newer burials do not relect the real number of graves dug
over time in the cemetery. he exact number of burials cannot be established because
of the intense use of a relatively small area for successive burials.
Before dealing with the diferent groups of graves it is very important to specify
some aspects of the general situation. here were only four burials inside the oldest
part of the monument (that is in the nave and altar). he graves were placed on
one row, inside the nave, and can be dated quite precisely. he oldest of them, M.
37 (see the plan) was in the northern side of the nave, only 0.6 m deep as reported
to the irst pavement and its inventory consisted of a silver signet ring dated at the
end of the fourteenth century or at the beginning of the next one64. It is very likely
that the tomb belonged to the person referred to in a long Slavonic inscription
that was scratched on the southern wall of the altar, on the layer of paintings from
1313-1314. he inscription tells us that deceased ... Elina and was buried in the
church...65 he text indicates the day, 1 January, perhaps for the commemoration
of the deceased, but it doesnt specify the year of Elinas passing. he other three
graves (M. 38, M. 39 and M. 12) were dug much deeper, south of the one mentioned
above and M. 38 half-cuts the M. 37 grave. hese graves are relatively recent, from
the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century, as
dated by the golden ring discovered in M. 39 and the traces of clothing. Beside these
four graves there were no other burials found inside the old part of the church and no
situation which, through stratigraphy or the presence of scattered human remains, might
stand witness for the destruction of some older graves by digging the foundation ditches of
the church or by ulterior burials.
By chronologically delimiting the burials we could see a group of six graves
dating from an age before the construction of the stone church. heir relative dating,
in relation with the building of the current church, was possible because they were
placed very close to the foundations and is based on the observation that the base
of the foundation covers a portion of the graves. Additionally, the backills lacked
pigments of mortar and brick. It is possible that other graves placed further away
from the walls are also older that the stone church but no conclusive stratigraphical
situations were found to compensate for the lack of funerary inventory.
Five of these older graves were discovered on the eastern side of the altar, outside
the monument. Actually only very small portions of them survive, at 0.1-0.15 m
below the basis of the foundation, mostly intercut by later graves. One of them still
preserved several bones of a child, noted as M. 56. he bones were found in situ
under the basis of the altar foundation. his grave, about 0.4 m deep (we found the
western limit under the foundation), was intercut by M. 57s grave (I will deal later
on with this burial that could be dated, on account of its inventory, during the irst
half of the twelfth century). Another grave contained only a skull fragment, noted
M. 16. his fragment was discovered clinging to the foundation basis, proving that
when the church foundation ditch was dug an older burial was found here.
In this group that is older than the stone church the only grave that contained
funerary inventory was discovered on the northern side of the nave, noted as M.
69. Its cut was visible on the eastern proile of trench VIII (ig. 9). he grave only
64 .
65 .
For the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries jewellery used as funerary inventory see Gh. Baltag,
Podoabe din secolele XIV-XVIII din inventarul necropolelor de la Streisngeorgiu i Strei, jud.
Hunedoara, in Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p. 53-57.
he text was deciphered by Prof. I. R. Mircea.
145
146
contained the skull, the rest of the skeleton being disturbed by posterior burials.
M. 69s grave backill consisted of black soil with charcoal pieces, without traces of
mortar or bits of brick, unlike the backill of M. 64 and M. 63 which overlap it. he
stone churchs foundation ditch was dug 0.25 m south of the edge of M. 69s grave
while the graves of M. 64 and M. 63 were dug right next to the foundation, using
it as one of their sides. All these observations evidence that fact that M. 69 is older
than the stone church while M. 64 and M. 63 date from a time when the stone
church already existed.
It so happened that all these three intercutting graves also contained funerary
inventories that conirmed the stratigraphic observations. he oldest graves
inventory consisted of two silver hair-rings with S-shaped twisted ends, both of
them discovered on the left side of the skull. One of them, entirely preserved, is
made of a 1.2 mm thick silver wire of good quality and has a 17 mm diameter. he
end, widened through hammering to 3.5 mm, is decorated with four longitudinal
cannelures and twisted in the shape of the letter S (ig. 13/15-16).
he second hair-ring, identical in size, has the end broken at the beginning of
the cannelated decor but it is a sure fact that the two hair-rings were also identical
in shape and decoration.
Before we attempt to date the necropolis and stone monuments evolution stages
we may mention here that M. 69s inventory is dated during the second half of
the eleventh century, or at the beginning of the twelfth century66. he existence
of this irst stage of the cemetery, prior to the stone church, must obviously be
connected with the existence here of an older wooden monument, which I already
mentioned during the stratigraphical considerations. Judging by the topography of
the discoveries, we could take the idea a bit further and state that the wooden church
had the same plan and size as the stone church that was later built in its place.
It is signiicant that none of the six graves stratigraphically determined as being
older than the current church are intercut by the foundation ditches and generally
no graves were disturbed by the digging of these ditches, as Ive already noted. he
fact that the graves from the irst stage of the cemetery, located on the eastern
side of the altar, have been overlapped, on a distance of a few dozen centimetres,
by the basis of the foundation could be logically explained by replacing an older
wooden 0.3-0.4 m thick wall, very likely supported by a footing, with a wall whose
foundation was almost 1 m thick.
he graves from the irst stage of the cemetery are placed in such a way that they
seem to respect the plan of the stone church, therefore the plan of a monument that
is younger than them. he topographic continuity between these graves and the
following ones, contemporary with the current church, gives us the right to state that
the irst wooden monument erected here also consisted of a rectangular nave and a square
altar, identical in size to the monument which replaced it and which still stands today.
he second burial group consists of the oldest interments made around the stone
church. I conventionally place the upper chronological limit of this group in the
fourteenth century because since around the middle of this century the stratigraphic
particularities of the cemetery are less important to this study due to the knowledge
we already possess on the monument. But the group of graves that were dug later than
the building of the current church and earlier than the end of the fourteenth century
66 .
As I will show further on, the years 1131-1141 represent a terminus ante quem for M. 69s inventory.
must be carefully interpreted since they would help in narrowing the date when the
current church was built and also establishing the continuity of the cemetery.
he exact number of graves from this second group is unsure because of the
fact that less than 50% of these burials were with funerary inventory and because
very few graves without inventory could be dated, through stratigraphy67, during
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Still, among the graves with complete or
fragmentary skeletons with funerary inventories, at least twelve certainly belong
into this second group. We may add to them about 20 destroyed graves from which
we discovered, in the backill of newer graves, inventory dated before the fourteenth
century, as well as several graves without inventory that were dated from before the
fourteenth century on account of their intercutting or overlaps with graves that
have fourteenth to ifteenth century inventories. his group therefore consists of at
least 35 burials but the aforementioned conditions, the discovery of inventory pieces
dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as well as the discovery of graves
from this group even 20 m away from the church68, make this total irrelevant for
their true number.
Due to the great importance of these graves I shall describe some of them in
detail.
M. 24. he deceased was buried at the south-eastern corner of the nave, in a
wooden coin. he graves bottom is lower by 0.3 m than the basis of the foundation
and enters under the foundation northward by 0.3-0.35 m. However, it is certainly
made after the construction of the stone monument as proven by the fact that its
entire backill contains fragments of mortar that could only come from cutting
through of the construction level of the church. Its inventory consisted of a silver
hair-ring, discovered next to the left temporal bone. One of the hair-rings ends was
widened and twisted in the shape of a semicircle (ig. 13/6). he skeleton preserved
only the legs and a fragment of the skull, the rest of the bones being decomposed.
M. 44. Cranium preserved in situ, 3.3 m south-east of the altar, the rest of the
skeleton being destroyed by later burials. Next to the right temporal bone we
discovered a silver hair-ring with a widened end, twisted in the shape of an S,
decorated with two longitudinal grooves (ig. 13/23). he hair-ring is made of a 1.2
mm in diameter silver wire; it is slightly deformed, with a 17 mm diameter. he
position of the preserved bones indicates a WNW-ESE orientation, a 24 degree
deviation from the normal orientation. Such a deviation characterizes several of the
burials from this area of the cemetery, including as I will show below some of
the more recent ones.
M. 46. Grave disturbed by later burials, 3.5 m south-east from the altar. As
inventory (without being able to state its exact placing) it had a perforated coin
from Bla II (1131-1141)69.
M. 51. From the deceased, buried 0.8 m south of the altar, are preserved in situ
the legs and pelvic bones that rigorously respect the west to east orientation. A
67 .
68 .
69 .
Criteria resulted from the relative chronology of the cemetery and, in very few cases, from the possibility
of integrating in this relative chronology a certainly dated grave.
In completion to the statements of 1975, referring to the placement of all the twelfth to the thirteenth
centuries graves only around the eastern side of the monument (R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis,
p. 55). For the cemeterys topography vide infra.
E. Unger, Magyar remhatroz, Budapest, 1960, I, no. 52. All the numismatic determinations were made
by Elena Iscescu from the Numismatic Cabinet of the Romanian Academy Library, whom I would like
to thank here as well.
147
148
skull slightly moved northward seems to belong to this grave too. Between the
pelvic bones, where one or both hands would have been placed was found a ring
with the ends broth near and widened through hammering, made of three twisted
silver wires (ig. 13/1). Halfway on each femur appeared a hair-ring made of a 1.2
mm thick silver wire; the ends of the hair-rings were widened, in a poor state of
preservation, but seem to indicate that the hair-rings were part of the group with
simple twisted ends, shaped like semicircles (ig. 13/12-13).
M. 57. he deceased was buried on the eastern side of the altar, whose foundation
served as the western side of the grave. It intercuts the backill of M. 56, which
is older than the current church and which was mentioned above. his grave was
also sectioned by later burials but it preserved in situ the cranium, both humeral
bones and part of the spine. On its mandible, very likely fallen from its mouth,
we discovered a coin from Bla II (1131-1141)70. he backill contained mortar
fragments. Above the bones of M. 57 was grave denominated M. 58, which also had
funerary inventory and whose bottom lies 0.35 m higher.
M. 58. A child buried on the eastern side of the altar, exactly above M. 57.
he grave was partially disturbed by later burials. Close to the top of the skull we
discovered a silver hair-ring made of a wire 1.4 m in diameter. he end was very
widened (4.5 mm), decorated with four longitudinal cannelures and twisted in the
shape of the letter S (ig. 13/24). he diameter of the hair-ring is of 18 mm.
M. 64. Burial made on the northern side of the nave, the grave using the
foundation as a southern side. he backill contained fragments of mortar and small
pieces of bricks. he skeleton preserved in situ only the skull, all the other bones
being destroyed by later burials. he skeleton seems to belong to an 8-10 years old
child (maybe a girl?). Next to the skull we discovered two silver hair-rings, made of
a wire 1.2 mm in diameter. One of the hair-rings had a widened end but it broke.
he other hair-ring had a 4.2 mm hammering widened end, decorated with three
longitudinal grooves, twisted in the shape of the letter S. he diameters of the
hair-rings vary from 19 to 24 mm, but both of them are deformed (ig. 13/17-18).
he grave covered, on the proile, the M. 69 burial, older than the current church,
and it was overlapped by M. 63 which was dated with two coins in the second half
of the sixteenth century (ig. 9).
M. 85. Grave located about 20 m north of the church. he skeleton preserved
only a few skull fragments, a humeral bone and the legs, all other parts being
decomposed. Close to the right temporal bone we found a silver hair-ring made
of a 1.3 m thick wire. One of its ends was widened to 6 mm, without a decoration
but twisted in the shape of the letter S. he hair-ring had a 25 mm diameter (ig.
13/19).
M. 93. Grave located 3.7 m north of the nave. he skeleton preserved in situ only
the skull. he other bones decomposed or were destroyed by later burials. Under the
skull was discovered a coin minted by Ladislaus IV (1272-1290)71.
M. 95. Grave located 22 m north of the church. It preserved only a fragment of
the skull, at the edge of a later grave. A silver hair-ring, made of a 1.1 mm thick wire,
70 .
71 .
Ibid.
I. Rengjeo, Corpus der mittelalterlichen Mnzen von Kroatien, Slavonien, Dalmatien und Bosnien, Graz,
1959, p. 23.
was discovered 0.2 m away from the left temporal bone. One of its ends was slightly
widened, cut in an acute angle and twisted to a semicircle. he hair-ring diameter is
of only 16 mm (ig. 13/11).
M. 98. Grave located 21 m north of the church. It preserves in situ only a couple
of bones in the pelvic region, the other ones being destroyed by later burials. On
a phalange was found a small ring, made of a thin copper sheet, with the circular
upper plate decorated with a radial motif (a vegetal element or a stylized cross?).
he circular portions that frame the plate are decorated with very poorly preserved
linear motifs72.
his second group of graves whose oldest certiiable dating element is the coin
minted in 1131-1141 postdates the construction of the current church. Quite a
few clear, convergent observations lead to this conclusion. he group of graves ofers
a terminus ante quem in stating the date when the wooden church was replaced by
the current monument. hus the stone church was built sometime before mid-twelfth
century or, if we accept the opinion according to which the Arpadian coins circulated over
a short period of time, at the latest in the fourth decade of that century.
From the graves that were completely destroyed by later burials come some
burial goods dating from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries that deserve to
be mentioned here since they contribute to the completion of the image of this
second stage of the cemetery. Of course, I cannot exclude the possibility that some
of these artefacts actually belong to graves that were older than the current church
and therefore have their place in the irst burial group.
A bronze ring, made of three twisted wires, with free ends, slightly
deformed to a rhomboid shape, with the large diameter of 25 mm
(ig. 13/2).
he end of a bronze bracelet or necklace made of three twisted wires
(ig. 13/3).
5 silver hair-rings with one of the ends widened and abruptly twisted in
the shape of a semicircle. hree of the hair-rings have their ends decorated
with two longitudinal grooves. he fact that two of the pieces are extremely
well preserved excludes the possibility of considering them S-shaped
ended hair-rings with broken terminations (ig. 13/7-10).
Bronze hair-ring, made of a 1.8 mm thick wire, with a slightly widened
end, abruptly twisted in the shape of a semicircle. he diameter of the
hair-ring is of 24 mm (ig. 13/14).
Silver hair-ring, made of a 1.2 mm thick wire, 18.5 mm in diameter, with
one end widened, without decoration, twisted in an S shape (ig. 13/25).
2 bronze hair-rings, one end an S shaped widened terminal. One of them
is complete, 32 mm in diameter (ig. 13/21); the second one is fragmentary,
with the widened end decorated with three longitudinal grooves
(ig. 13/20).
3 simple bronze hair-rings, with proximal ends (ig. 13/28-30).
Trefoil appliqu made of a gold sheet, with slightly concave lobes and the
maximum diameter of 11 mm (ig. 13/4).
72 .
See Gh. Baltag, Podoabe din secolele XIV-XVIII din inventarul necropolelor de la Streisngeorgiu i
Strei, jud. Hunedoara, in Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 1, 1978, p.
53-57.
149
150
Fragment of a (circular?) silver plate, with edges decorated with two

concentric rows of linear incisions (ig. 13/5).
Fragments of about 10 hair-rings or other kinds of jewellery made of silver
or bronze, too small for a graphic reconstruction, but very likely being
from the abovementioned types.
Silver ring (hair-ring?) made of a 2 mm thick wire, with simple, proximal
ends, 25 mm in diameter (ig. 13/26).
14 coins from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries; 2 from the twelfth,
4 from the thirteenth, 8 from the fourteenth centuries73.
To all those materials that cover a period of time from the reign of Bla II (11311141) to the second half of the fourteenth century could be added fragments of
pottery dating from the same timeframe. hey resemble the pottery discovered in
the kneazial court researched about 60 m north of the church74. I will present here
only the fragments of a clay cauldron discovered in the altar chamber, which may
help in dating the construction of the monument.
As stated before, the whole interior of the altar chamber was disturbed by ulterior
interventions, therefore the stratigraphic position of the materials we discovered
there is uncertain. But since the fragments of the clay cauldron were all found in
the backills and belong to the same piece, which was partially completed (ig. 14
b), it is very likely that the cauldron was present in the altar while still whole. his
situation also has a convincing analogy. A whole clay cauldron was buried in the
altar of the twelfth century church in Chotin (Komarno Region) in Slovakia and
then discovered during the archaeological investigation75.
As for the dating of the clay cauldron from Streisngeorgiu, which we may
connect with the moment when the stone church was built but without excluding
the possibility of its previous presence on the spot, in the altar of the wooden church,
the study of such type of pieces is not as advanced as to allow us to date it precisely76.
Either way, a period from the end of the eleventh century to mid-twelfth century
seems to be appropriate in dating this artefact.
In the church altar, in the soil shuled by later interventions, together with the
fragments from the clay cauldron, we also discovered four pendants made of blue
glass, which were described in the study published after the 1975 campaign, pendants
that I dated, hesitantly, at the time when the stone church was being built77. During
the 1976 campaign we discovered a very similar pendant, again made of blue glass,
made with the same moulds as the irst four. It presents a better state of preservation
73 .
74 .
75 .
76 .
77 .
From Steven III (1162-1172), Steven V (1270-1272), Ladislaus IV (1272-1290), Charles Robert (13071342), Louis I (1342-1382), Mary (1382-1387) and Sigismund (1387-1437); Unger, I, 81, 87, 288, 315
and Sclavonia, 11.
V. Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice... p. 59f.
A. Habovstiak, Nlezy stredovekch hlinenich kotlikov na Slovensku, in Zbornik Bratislava, 48, 1974,
Historia, 14, p. 134.
As for the attribution of these cauldrons to the Pechenegs (P. Diaconu, Cu privire la problema cldrilor de
lut n epoca feudal timpurie (sec. X- XIII), in Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, VII, 3-4, 1956, p. 421 and
more recently but with doubts, A. Habovstiak, op. cit., p. 123f.), we must notice that at the current stage
of research, these materials cannot be, in Transylvania, ethnically attributed. Excepting some border areas
of Transylvania, the clay cauldrons seem to be found in every eleventh to thirteenth centuries settlement.
We still need to establish whether these materials might be connected to the Pechenegs. But to that end
we would need to better know the typology of the clay cauldrons and their accurate dating.
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis , p. 55f.
with an almost complete attachment spike, shaped like a twisted hook, with a single
attachment point on the body of the pendant. he diameters of the pendant are 5.2
and 4.2 cm (ig. 14 a).
he pendant discovered in 1976 belongs to the funerary inventory of a grave
from the northern side of the nave, outside the church (M. 27). It was placed under
the skull. he grave could not be dated by any other observations other that, since
its backill contained fragments of mortar, so it must have been made after the
construction of the stone church.
I must now reconsider the initial twelfth century dating of the blue glass
pendants from Streisngeorgiu. In the church from Brior (Baiu Mic) it was
preserved a large glass lamp, produced in a workshop, on whose body are aixed
several pendants that look very similar to the ones from Streisngeorgiu. his lamp
dates the Streisngeorgiu pendants too in a late timeframe, during the seventeenth
or the eighteenth centuries.
Returning to the burials from the Streisngeorgiu church cemetery we reach
the subject of the third burial group, dating from the ifteenth to the eighteenth
centuries, whose presentation could be limited here to a few general observations.
We found funerary inventory in about 28% of the graves from this group: coins,
rings, on rare occasions even costume pieces buckles and clasps. he coins were
generally placed by one in a grave, discovered in the hand, on the chest or next to
the skeleton. In one exceptional case the coin was found in the mouth of a skeleton.
In three cases we discovered two coins in each grave. he rings were discovered,
without exception, in the hand area. A rather large amount of coins and rings dating
from the ifteenth to the seventeenth centuries were discovered in the soil shuled
by later burials.
Quite a lot of graves are not oriented precisely west to east. hese deviated graves
are mostly found south-east of the altar (in this area the legs of the deceased were
south to east oriented), north-east of the altar (legs oriented north to east) and to
the west of the old church, inside the narthex that was added during the nineteenth
century, were we found a grave noted M. 18, dated with two coins from the irst half
of the sixteenth century, whose legs are of axis by 42 to south-east, and another
grave, noted M.112, whose legs are of axis by 70 toward north-northeast. Such
particular orientations of the relatively late graves continue, as a situation, the
orientation deviation that we noticed on one of the twelfth century graves (M. 44,
see above), underlining again with this aspect the continuation of the cemetery.
In more than half of the graves from this third group we found traces of coins,
wooden fragments or iron nails and spikes. It is probable that other graves also had
wooden coins, even thou no traces of them could be found.
he positions of the skeletons arms vary so much that it doesnt allow establishing
clear types that would correspond to an evolution in time. Added to this, a cemetery
such as the one from Streisngeorgiu, with so many graves that lack dating elements
or who are partially disturbed, the observations on the skeletal positions are entirely
inconclusive. We may observe tough that the arms bended at the elbow, hands placed
on the chest, lumbar of pelvic areas, symmetrically or asymmetrically, as well as the
skeletons with one or both arms stretched next to the body appear in graves that
are not connected from a chronological point of view. he arms stretched parallel
151
152
with the body, which are generally used for an early dating of the burials, appear
in Streisngeorgiu in late graves, dated with coins from the seventeenth and the
eighteenth centuries or, in the case of the ones lacking dating elements, in graves
that are stratigraphically later than the twelfth-fourteenth centuries burials, such
as M. 19, M. 27, M. 47, M. 102 and M. 112. In these conditions the skeletons
arms position cannot serve as a dating element. Furthermore, in the case of graves
containing coins, I believe that the arms might have later moved, when the coin
was moved to the grave or when the soil compressed it.
he stratigraphic connections between some of the dated graves from the western
side of the church and the burned layer that we discovered on this area, a layer that
was left by a wooden narthex replaced during the nineteenth century by the stone
one78, allow the dating of the wooden narthex at the end of the ifteenth century or
during the sixteenth century. A small treasure of 10 silver coins dated during the
sixteenth century and buried at the end of said century79, was discovered spread
over the bottom of a 1.2 m deep pit, inside the former wooden narthex. he treasure
might be connected with the construction of this narthex or, more likely, to its
existence.
As for the topography of the cemetery, as I pointed above, my statements at the
end of 1975 that the burials were done from the beginning around a church80 were
entirely conirmed. At Streisngeorgiu we are not dealing with a church built inside
or at the edge of a previous burial area, as is the case with many cemeteries of the
eleventh to the thirteenth centuries.
But the 1975 conclusion, that the graves dated during the eleventh to the
thirteenth centuries were only present around the wooden church and then around
the stone one, must be revised. About 20-24 m north of the church we discovered
a group of at least three graves dated from the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, or even
from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries81. his means that from its beginning
the cemetery was larger, stretching from the edge of the terrace where lies the
church northward. he initial proportions of the cemetery cannot be established
because of the presence here, over a large area, of fresh burials. Even the discovery
of the three graves is because we happened to have enough room to place a trench
between visible tombs.
On the other side, the initial cemetery seems to have been organized with rows
of graves, grouped by family lots. his is the only explanation for the appearance
on a small surface of three relatively contemporary tombs that were much older
than the graves to their north or south sides. he villagers still remember that the
cemetery used to be divided into family lots even though this practice is almost no
longer in use today.
78 .
79 .
80 .
81 .
See ig . 7.
he hoard was made of a of Polish groschen from Sigismund I, minted in 1507, 3 dinars from Ferdinand
I (1526-1564), 4 dinars from Maximilian II (1564-1576) and 2 dinars from Rudolf II, minted in 1591.
We cannot exclude the possibility that the hoard was bigger, probably placed in a pot or some other kind
of recipient, and that the coins we found were accidentally left behind when the hoard was removed.
With the observation above (note 68) that the oldest graves are not grouped only very close to the
monument.
M. 85, M. 95 and M. 98. For technical reasons I could not include in the plan published here the portion
of trench S. III where we discovered these graves.
It appears therefore that the Streisngeorgiu cemetery did not initially belong
to one family and it did not become the cemetery of the village community during
the ifteenth to the sixteenth centuries; 82 it was a community cemetery since the
moment when the church was erected on the edge of the terrace.
Several archaeological and historical conclusions
he archaeological excavations at Streisngeorgiu have revealed such a new
situation, diferent from what we knew so far on the material and spiritual culture
of the Transylvanian Romanians from the second and third century of the second
millennium that it is very diicult to formulate some inal conclusions. Nevertheless,
some archaeological conclusions must be formulated at this point, while harnessing
the full historical potential of the data gathered at Streisngeorgiu needs to be made
in connection with the speciic past conditions of the whole Land of Haeg.
A irst ascertainment that needs to be made is that at Streisngeorgiu we are in the
presence of the oldest certainly dated, still surviving medieval monument from the entire
extent of our country (current day Romania), a monument that even today still fulils its
original function. It is of course possible that future research will discover that other
preserved monuments are contemporary or even older than this church. Taking this
into account, the results from Streisngeorgiu are heartening but they also force
us to be cautious and to judge our monuments only based on thorough previous
investigations.
From a medieval art and architecture point of view the Streisngeorgiu situation
conirms and illustrates the idea that at the beginning of the Middle Ages older
wooden churches were re-built with masonry walls. Considering only this, the
interest in the results of the excavation largely surpasses a strictly local cadre. But
the value of our observations must be conined to the planimetry of the monuments.
here are plenty of reasons not to succumb to the temptation of issuing a generalizing
statement about the entire Transylvanian group of single nave churches with
a rectangular altar covered with a crossed vault (a group also represented by the
church in the neighbouring village of Strei, where the still unpublished 1969-1970
excavations never produced arguments for the dating of the monument before the
second half of the thirteenth century) 83.
I think that on one side, the results from Streisngeorgiu do not contradict
the opinion according to which in Transylvania the single nave churches with a
rectangular altar and early Gothic elements proliferated during the second half of the
thirteenth century84. But on the other side, apart from the novel techniques, mostly
82 .
83 .
84 .
he role these court chapels had in the spiritual life of the village communities during the timeframe when
they were founded will have to be studied further, as it is of great interest for the better understanding of
the early Romanian medieval period.
A coin from Steven I (1000-1038) discovered in a secondary position not far from the church in Strei,
together with several eleventh to thirteenth centuries pottery fragments cannot be used to date the
monument, not even to ascertain that on that place there was a cemetery older than the thirteenth
century.
V. Drgu, Biserica din Strei, in Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei, 12, 1965, 2, p. 299-305; Idem,
Contribuii privind arhitectura goticului timpuriu n Transilvania, in Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei,
15, 1968, 1, p. 41f. Same point of view in K. Kozk, A Nyiradonyi premontrei prpostsg, in A Debreceni
Dri Mzeum vknyve, 18, 1974, p. 272 and bibliography.
153
154
inluences spread from the Cistercian worksites in the timeframe immediately prior
to the Tartar invasion, we should take into account the existence henceforth certain
of older local inluences that originated from the traditional wooden architecture
and its transposition into wall forms. A question that remains unanswered, about
which we can only make some preliminary hypothesis, is whether these older
inluences may be considered pre-Romanesque and connected with the BalkanByzantine masonry architecture or the one from the Greater Moravia, as proposed,
and thus if they can be understood without relating them to the speciic evolution
of the Romanesque architecture in the Arpadian Kingdom. In order to answer this
we should know more about the tenth century Transylvanian masonry monuments,
which, at the current time, we only know of from written documents or whose
existence is suggested by the general historic context.
he very small size of the initial wooden church from Streisngeorgiu, kept by
the stone one which replaced it, its placement only a few dozen meters away from
the remains of the kneazes court, the existence of the tribune during the irst stage of
the stone church, as well as the founding inscriptions and the votive paintings from
1313-1314 and 1408-1409 force me to consider the monument (at least until the
ifteenth century) as a court chapel. his court chapel could have additionally served
the spiritual needs of the Streisngeorgiu village community but I have every reason
to doubt that an entire village would it in the 16 sq m area of the nave85. Even if the
cemetery around the church was used ever since the eleventh and twelfth centuries
by the entire community, I believe this doesnt change that initial character and
functionality of the monument. After all, in the Land of Haeg, until the ifteenth
century, we know only with one exception86 small churches founded by kneazes,
most likely to function as their court chapels.
hese considerations raise two questions. One concerns the origin of the tribune
in the Streisngeorgiu church, which seems to be earlier than anything we know from
other Transylvanian court chapels. Still, one analogy, contemporary or even slightly
older, could be the irst of the court chapels of the compound from Snnicolau de
Beiu, on the Criul Negru River, dating from the end of the eleventh century, or
at the latest from 110087. he monument belonged most likely to the Bora family,
important in Bihor during the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries. No matter that
the Romanesque architecture from Bihor was ahead of the one in the centre of
Transylvania by at least a few decades, the monument in Snnicolau de Beiu gives
us the right to presume that at the beginning of the twelfth century there were on
the Mure River, close to the Land of Haeg, court chapels with tribunes able to
provide inspiration for the one of the Streisngeorgiu church.
he second question is when did the social diferentiation within the Romanian
Transylvanian environ produced the efective separation of the nobles from the gentry
85 .
86 .
87 .
By comparison, the nave of the church in Strei is twice as large (31.80 m2), the nave of the church in
Densu is almost 40 m2 and the nave of the church in Sntmria-Orlea, parish church par excellence, is
over 100 m2.
I am considering the church in Nucoara, a village belonging to the Cndes of the neighbouring Ru de
Mori, where no kneazial family was attested. Sntmria-Orlea was at the end of the thirteenth century
a Catholic community; see R. Popa, ber die Burgen, p. 264.
he research in Snnicolau de Beiu was started in 1971 by a team made of R. Popa, N. Chidioan and
A. Avram. (Editors note: Published later: R. Popa N. Chidioan A. Lukcs,O reedin feudal din
secolele XI-XII la Snnicolaul de Beiu. Contribuii la istoria Bihorului medieval, in Revista Muzeelor i
Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 15, 1984, 2, p. 21-34.)
of the village communities. In relation to this subject the church in Streisngeorgiu

ofers an early date whose importance doesnt need to be underlined. hat date seems
early only as reported to what we knew so far on the activities of the Romanian
feudal lords as a socially dominant class, ruling over villages and when reported to
the opinions that consider the Romanian kneazes as simple village leaders, a barely
diferentiated social class whose ascension was due to the initiatives taken by the
Hungarian Crown or to its collaboration with its local representatives. But the date
ofered by the situation uncovered at Streisngeorgiu is natural if we consider the
Romanian kneazes from Transylvanian as representing, in an age anterior to their
downfall, an authentic aristocracy, separated from the village community after a long
inner process of social-economical diferentiation. he existence of a court chapel of a
kneaz sometime at the edge between the eleventh and the twelfth centuries represents
a solid proof for the character of a pre-state aristocracy that this social class had at least
two centuries before it begins to appear as such in written documents.
he funerary inventory from the Streisngeorgiu cemetery should also modify
opinions that are quite strongly settled in the archaeological image of early medieval
Transylvania. Some of the discovered jewellery pieces, especially the hair-rings with
S-shaped terminations, are a characteristic feature of the so-called Bjelo-Brdo type
graveyards. As we know, these cemeteries appear inside the Carpathian arch at the end
of the tenth century and evolve until the twelfth century, rousing a discussion about
their ethnicity that is far from over88. In Transylvania the Bjelo-Brdo type graveyards
were mostly attributed to the Hungarian or Slavic-Hungarian population. his is
acceptable to a point interpreting the graveyards as mainly mirroring an ethnic
symbiosis from the mid-tenth century onward between the now sedentary Hungarians,
on the verge of becoming Christians, and some pre-Hungarian populations, mostly
Slavic.
here is a current mistake of interpreting the incidental indings of artefacts
characteristic to these graveyards as proof that in that place there was a Bjelo-Brdo
type cemetery89, without taking into account that these jewelleries appear at the end
of the eleventh century and during the twelfth century in cemeteries formed around
churches as well. he Bjelo-Brdo type graveyards (because we cannot actually talk of a
culture with this name) are not characterized only, not even foremost, by their funerary
inventory. heir most important feature is that they do not surround a church and that
they perpetuate an internal deployment on rows and groups of graves which relect
the familial structure, the social particularities and the organization of the community
which they served.
he Streisngeorgiu cemetery, formed from the beginning around church, was not
a Bjelo-Brdo type cemetery and the jewelleries from the graves inventory massproducts of diferent local workshops were without a doubt also used by people
belonging to other ethnic backgrounds than the Hungarian or Slavic-Hungarian
ones. hese pieces of jewellery from Streisngeorgiu demonstrate that it is impossible
to draw a map of the Bjelo-Brdo type graveyards based on incidental inds; also they
88 .
89 .
his was also discussed by Zd. Va, Madai a Slovan ve svtle archeologickch nlezu X.-XII. stoleti,
in Slovensk Archeolgia, 2, 1954, p. 51-104. Since then the bibliography on the problem developed greatly,
especially due to the contributions of Hungarian scientists. Also see R. Heitel, Archologische Beitrge
zu den romanischen Baudenkmlern aus Sdsiebenbrgen, in Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Srie
Beaux Arts, 2, IX, 1972, p. 142f., together with the newest bibliography.
Ibid., p. 143; G. Bako, Contribuii la istoria Transilvaniei de sud-est n secolele XI-XIII, in Studii i
Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 12, 1961, 1, p. 113ff.
155
156
testify against the ethnic character of these accessories during the eleventh and the
twelfth centuries inside the Carpathian arch. he fashion of fastening hair locks with
such rings is much older than the date when the Hungarians arrived in these regions.
I might add that, while part of the jewellery types characteristic for the Bjelo-Brdo
graveyards of the eleventh to twelfth centuries, or even earlier, appear in the Lower
Danube area and in the Balkans in environs non-related with the Hungarians or the
Hungarian-Slavic symbiosis90, some of the pieces from Streisngeorgiu have close
analogies in south-eastern Romania and in the northern Balkan Peninsula91.
I must underline the fact that the hair-rings from Streisngeorgiu, which force us
to this discussion about the inventory and character of the Bjelo-Brdo type graveyards,
are almost equally divided between hair-rings with S-shaped terminations and
rings whose end is twisted in the shape of a semicircle. he observations made
during the excavation have led to the conclusion that the two types of hair-rings
are practically contemporary. However, discoveries from the eleventh or twelfth
centuries of hair-rings with an end twisted to the shape of a semicircle are, for now,
very rare if not utterly exceptional inds in the area inside the Carpathian arch92.
Based on so little information we cannot state even an introductory hypothesis
about this type of rings.
I cannot make any inal assertions about the possibility that, at least in some areas,
the Bjelo-Brdo type graveyards would actually belong to some intra-Carpathian
Romanians communities. But I am certain, and the inds from Streisngeorgiu
prove it, that at the end of the eleventh century and during the twelfth century the
Transylvanian Romanians were also using jewellery pieces characteristic for the late
stage of the Bjelo-Brdo type graveyards. here is of course the possibility that the
situation is diferent in other areas of Transylvania and that the lower course of the
Strei Valley presented particular conditions due to a more close contact between
the Romanian communities and the Hungarian ones or the Slavic communities
that were progressively adopting the Hungarian customs, contacts existing since the
irst half of the eleventh century93. Future research should provide answers to these
questions.
In any case, to support the opinions expressed in this paper, I could mention
another situation, namely that during the thirteenth to the ifteenth centuries
such hair-rings were being used in the territories outside of the Carpathian arch,
90 .
91 .
92 .
93 .
For the rings made of twisted silver or bronze wires and for the bracelets with zoomorphic ends, see Gh.
tefan et al., in Dinogetia I, Bucureti 1967, p. 277f.; also according to P. Gatev, Nakiti ot pogrebenia ot
XI-XII, in Arheologhia, Soia, 1977, 1, p. 30f.
Gh. tefan et al., op, cit., p. 288 and ig. 170-171. he fact that the ring of twisted silver wire from
Streisngeorgiu was part of M. 51s inventory together with 2 hair-rings with ends twisted in the shape
of a semicircle dates the former during the twelfth century. hey are therefore nearly contemporary with
the hair-rings with S-shaped terminations from Streisngeorgiu.
I was able to study, thanks to Szke Bla Mikls jr. from the Archaeology Institute in Budapest, three such
rings, discovered in the Bjelo-Brdo type graveyard from Pusztaszentlszlo, in south-western Hungary
(representing 5% of the hair-rings discovered in the cemetery). My colleague Mariana Dumitrache tells
me that such a piece also appeared in the twelfth century cemetery from Viscri (Braov County). Such
pieces are missing from the so far published classic inventory of this type of graveyards.
For the settlement of Hungarian communities during the irst half of the eleventh century in the areas
where the rivers Strei and Cerna join waters with the Mure and for the movement of these communities,
still during the eleventh century, upstream on Cerna River, related with the exploitation of the iron ores,
see R. Popa, Structures , p. 298-299.
inhabited by a homogenous Romanian population94. hat the hair-rings (who still

wait to be included in a comprehensive study) belong to other types than the ones
characterising the Bjelo-Brdo graveyards95 is without a doubt connected to the
chronological delays and the regional features.
To bring an end to these observations, we should stop and ponder upon the
geographical repartition of the villages owned by the kneaz family that built the
church in Streisngeorgiu. When I analyzed the ownership system of the Romanian
villages I have established the existence in the Land of Haeg of a high class of kneazes,
much like the ones from Maramure where I proposed them to be designated cneji
de vale i.e. vale kneazes96. Both the kneazial family from Streisngeorgiu and the
neighbouring one from Ru de Mori were part of this upper class of the Romanian
aristocracy.
At that time I have asked myself whether the Land of Haeg understood
within its restrictive boundaries, corresponding only to the upper course of the
Strei River represents the results of a territorial contraction or concentration or,
on the contrary, the Land of Haeg with its appurtenances historically represents
the result of a territorial dilatation on an initially smaller social and ethnic
organism97. he indings from Streisngeorgiu conirm my then logical conclusion.
he presence since the eleventh century of a Romanian aristocracy on the lower
Strei, next to the Mure River, an aristocracy acting in that capacity, gives us the
right to consider the district of Haeg or of the royal fortress in Haeg, within its
limited boundaries presented in the fourteenth century, as the result of a withdrawal
toward the mountains and more secluded areas of several Romanian communities,
together with their socio-political organization. Starting with the tenth century the
Romanians from the open and more accessible areas of Transylvania including the
ones from the lower Strei were subjected to a permanent and increasing pressure.
his is how we could explain the fact that the kneazes from Streisngeorgiu and
their neighbours, the Cndes, owned a second group of villages in the area near the
Retezat Mountains.
Further investigations in the Land of Haeg by starting new excavations at Slau
de Sus, Ru de Mori, Ru Brbat or the Roman Sarmizegetusa will undoubtedly
bring new information of outmost importance for reconstructing the history of the
Romanians from Transylvania and for the problems surrounding the emergence of
the Romanian medieval countries.
94 .
95 .
96 .
97 .
See among others, I. Ioni, Spturile de salvare de la Trifeti, in Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice, VIII,
1962, p. 736-738; V. Spinei Rodica Popovici-Balt in Din trecutul judeului Botoani, Botoani, 1974,
p. 115f.; V. Spinei, Necropola medieval de la Piatra Neam-Drmneti, in Memoria Antiquitatis,
I, 1969, p. 219; N. Constantinescu, Coconi. Un sat din Cmpia Romn n epoca lui Mircea cel Btrn,
Bucureti, 1972, p. 100 and pl. XIII/1. B. Mitrea I. Nestor et al., antierul arheologic Suceava, Studii i
Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 4, 1953, 1-2 p. 363 and ig. 27, for the hair-rings with a spiral-shaped twisted end
discovered as funerary inventory in ifteenth century graves, this type being used much more early inside
the Carpathian arch. According to A. Artimon, hair-rings with S-shaped terminations were recently
discovered in the cemetery from Volov, in northern Moldavia.
I am thinking of the hair-rings with S-shaped terminations but a regional and chronological processing
of these materials might modify this opinion.
R. Popa, Structures ..., p. 303f.
Ibid., p. 294.
157
158
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 he lower Strei and the Land of Hategs central area, including the localities
mentioned in the text.
Fig. 2 Detail of the mural painting depicting the 1408-1409 founding inscription.
Fig. 3 he Streisngeorgiu church, as it could be seen from the south-east before the 19751977 works.
Fig. 4 he Streisngeorgiu church. he eastern side of the sanctuary.
Fig. 5 he Streisngeorgiu church. he southern side of the nave.
Fig. 6 Ground plan of the 1975-1977 archaeological investigation at the Streisngeorgiu
church. 1. walls; 2. masonry segments added behind the pilasters; 3. the masonry plate
of the irst pavement; 4. pits; 5. the backill of the pits older than the stone church;
6. burned layer; 7. stone slabs, rocks, foundation blocks and edges of the masonry
foundation; 8. pavement bricks; 9. grave edges; 10. jewellery items; 11. coins. All
depths are calculated from a standard zero depth, located one meter below the outer
edge of the sanctuary window (see the stratigraphic sequences too).
Fig. 7 he stratigraphic sequence of the axis trenchs northern side.
1. reddish-yellow gravel, sterile; 2. auburn-yellowish clay, sterile; 3. auburn soil; 4. white
mortar; 5. slabs and other stones; 6. black soil; 7. reddish mortar; 8. bricks; 9. black soil
and charcoal; 10. grave backills; 11. pits illed back with mixed soil; 12. dark auburn
pit backills; 13. yellowish clay levelling; 14. yellowish soil mixed with rubble; 15.
yellowish soil mixed with rubble and sand; 16. sand levelling; 17. current day topsoil;
18. recent pavement; 19. wooden loor; 20. wall blocks; 21. masonry foundation; 22.
the masonry plate of the irst pavement.
Fig. 8 North-south stratigraphic sequence through the nave, near the towers pillars.
1. reddish-yellow gravel, sterile; 2. auburn-yellowish clay, sterile; 3. auburn soil; 4. layer
of white mortar; 5. stone slabs; 6. burnt, auburn-reddish soil; 7. auburn soil with traces
of mortar; 8. layer of reddish mortar; 9. reddish mortar with large pieces of brick; 10.
auburn soil, moved from its initial place; 11. bricks; 12. pit backills; 13. clay levelling;
14. loor traces; 15. sand levelling; 16. stone block, in the wall; 17. masonry.
Fig. 9 he stratigraphic sequence of the eastern side of trench VIIIa/1976.
1, sterile; 2, layer excavated in 1976.
Fig. 10 he foundation and the plinth of the sanctuarys south-east corner.
Fig. 11 he Christian relief found at Streisngeorgiu photograph and drawing.
Fig. 12 he 1313-1314 founding inscription.
Fig. 13 Jewellery items found in the graves.
Fig. 14 a) he blue glass pendant found in grave 27 and b) fragment from a clay cauldron
uncovered in the sanctuary.
antieRul aRHeologic
SaRMiZegetuSa,
judeul HunedoaRa
(ePoca PoStRoMan).
RaPoRt PRiVind ReZultatele
ceRcetRiloR caMPaniei 1978 *
RADU POPA, TEFAN MATEI, VICTOR ESKENASY,
ION CHICIDEANU, GEORGETA IUGA
ercetrile care i-au propus identiicarea, studierea i valoriicarea vestigiilor

post-romane de la Sarmizegetusa, fosta capital a provinciei romane Dacia,
au pornit de la cteva premise foarte clare. Pe de o parte, dup cum se tie, la
Sarmizegetusa s-au produs n repetate rnduri descoperiri mai mult sau mai
puin ntmpltoare de materiale din secolele IV, VI-VII i VIII-IX, consemnate
n literatura de specialitate sau conservate n depozitele Muzeului din Deva. Este
vorba de monede izolate, despre un mic tezaur, de reamenajri sumare ale ruinelor
romane, despre podoabe caracteristice sau despre ceramic. Descoperirile la care ne
referim s-au produs n zona amiteatrului roman, a Templului Augustalilor sau n
locuri mai puin precizate.
Pe de alt parte, documentele din secolele XIV-XV care ni s-au pstrat atest
existena aezrii romneti medievale n secolele XIII-XIV sub numele de Britonia,
prezena aici a unei familii feudale romneti care deinea la 1315 demnitatea de
jude de Haeg (probabil al rii Haegului), familie care poate i urmrit n vechime pn pe la anul 1200, existena la 1377 a unei strzi principale orientate estvest care mprea satul n dou jumti i care pornea de la malul Ruorului spre
vest precum i existena, la est de Ruor i la nord de pomenita strad principal
(viam publicam per mediam eiusdem ville sew possessionis n document), a unei curia
a familiei de care a fost vorba.
Se adaug acestor premise menionarea la nceputul secolului al XVI-lea la
Vrhely (identic cu Grdite Sarmizegetusa Britonia) a unei ecclesia valachica
unde se alau inscripii romane, publicate de umanistul Mezerzius. La Sarmizegetusa
nu mai exist azi dect o singur biseric care dateaz, dup toate aparenele, din
secolul trecut. Tradiia local airm c ea ar i fost construit pe locul unei biserici
de lemn mai vechi. Poziia excentric a acestei biserici n raport cu partea veche a
satului, face foarte probabil aceast tire. nseamn c biserica din secolele XVXVI, desigur mult mai veche ca nceputuri dect aceste secole, a disprut n secolole
XVI-XVII fr urme, iind apoi nlocuit cu biserica de lemn.
n sfrit, o analiz ie i sumar a topograiei actuale a satului, dovedete c partea lui cea mai veche se al ntre Ruor i ulia care s-a creat pe traseul anului de
aprare dinspre vest al oraului roman. Acest nucleu vechi al Britoniei-Sarmizegetusa
*
Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice, 1979, p. 315-317
5.
160
ANTIERUL ARHEoLoGIC sARMIZEGETUsA, JUDEUL HUNEDoARA (EPoCA PosTRoMAN).
medievale se compune din ulie paralele i echidistante, att ele ntre ele ct i cu
zidurile oraului roman. Una dintre aceste ulie pare deci s i fost via publica din
secolul al XIV-lea, orientat est-vest.
n lumina acestor informaii, colectivul care i-a propus cercetarea epocii postromane de la Sarmizegetusa, a inclus n plan 3 obiective:
veriicarea coincidenei dintre cele 4 ulie orientate est-vest din nucleul vechi
al satului i strzile principale ale oraului roman;
identiicarea n zona de nord-vest a oraului roman, acolo unde s-a conservat
reeaua de strzi romane i unde se ala i satul romnesc din secolele XIIIXIV, a complexelor de locuire care s explice apariia repetat la Sarmizegetusa
a unor vestigii din secolele IV-IX;
identiicarea pe teren a urmelor curiei pomenite n secolul XIV i a vechii
biserici a satului, aceste dou construcii putnd i presupuse a se ala unul n
apropierea celuilalt deoarece n multe localiti din ara Haegului, fostele
capele de curte au devenit n secolele XV-XVI biserici parohiale romneti.
Colectivul care i-a propus aceste obiective, urmrite n paralel i totodat n
colaborare cu echipa clujano-napocens ce a reluat n ultimul timp cercetrile de
epoc roman de la Sarmizegetusa, a fost format din Radu Popa de la Institutul de
Arheologie, Matei tefan de la Muzeul de Istorie a Transilvaniei, Victor Eskenasy
de la Centrul de Studii i Cercetri de Istorie i Teorie Militar, Ion Chicideanu
de la Muzeul de Istorie a R. S. Romnia i Georgeta Iuga de la Muzeul Judeean
Maramure din Baia Mare. Lucrrile s-au desfurat pe durata lunii septembrie,
n condiii meteorologice foarte precare. Lipsa forei de munc a limitat de la bun
nceput amploarea cercetrilor. Ruinele oraului roman se ntind, dup cum se tie,
pe o suprafa de peste 40 ha, din care cca. 1/3 suprapuse de construcii moderne.
Stratul de moloz din interiorul incintei oraului roman este de cca. 1,20-l,50 m
grosime, iar natura i caracterul construciilor ruinate ce se pot descifra pe teren,
rmn n toate cazurile ipotetice. Aceasta cu att mai mult cu ct este de presupus
c locuirea post-roman i medieval timpurie a refolosit ruinele construciilor
romane din secolele II-III.
Din toate aceste motive, doar primul dintre obiectivele pe care ni le-am propus
a putut i ndeplinit n campania 1978. Este vorba de veriicarea corespondenei
dintre actuala reea stradal a localitii i strzile oraului roman. n dou dintre
seciunile pe care le-am trasat pe malul de rsrit al Ruorului, am surprins pe
marginea nordic a uliei cu nr. II (numrtoarea adoptat pornete de la nord spre
sud) marginea unei strzi romane, diferenele iind de ordinul 0,70-1,00 m, diferene
cu totul normale avndu-se n vedere traseul uor erpuit al actualelor ulie.
Cele dou seciuni pomenite au surprins temeliile a trei cldiri romane, aliniate n
raport cu strada din secolele II-III. Unele materiale ceramice descoperite n stratul
de moloz ar putea s aparin secolului al IV-lea, fr ca trsturile lor s ie suicient
de concludente pentru a permite ncheieri certe. n orice caz, construcia roman
situat la cca. 30 m est de malul Ruorului, pe latura nordic a strzii romane
identice ca traseu cu ulia actual, a fost divizat la un moment dat cu ajutorul unui
zid sec alctuit din pietre mari i din fragmente de pietre de construcie printre care
i un fragment de coloan cu urme de incendiu, pietre cldite fr legtur de lut.
Situaia amintete pe aceea consemnat de cercetrile de dup primul rzboi mondial
ANTIERUL ARHEoLoGIC sARMIZEGETUsA, JUDEUL HUNEDoARA (EPoCA PosTRoMAN).
din cuprinsul Templului Augustalilor. Nu am putut totui surprinde complexe de

via cu amenajri care s poat i datate cu siguran la sfritul secolului al III-lea
sau n epoca urmtoare. Este cazul s adugm c o seciune de sondaj pe direcia
sud-nord pe care am planiicat-o iniial de 120 m nu a putut i dus, din cauzele
artate, dect pe primii 10 m pn la solul viu.
Nici la vest de Ruor, unde din reeaua de seciuni pe care am plnuit-o nu am
putut efectua dect o singur seciune de 20 m lungime completat de o caset,
nu au aprut deocamdat complexe clare de locuire post-roman. Unele dintre
materialele gsite ar putea aparine secolului al IV-lea dar n acest sens lipsesc
deocamdat argumente concludente. Este oricum de reinut c ceramica lucrat cu
mna, caracteristic secolului al IV-lea i descoperit n ara Haegului la Strei n
complexe datate cu pieptene i ibule, lipsete de la Sarmizegetusa, cel puin dup
aceste prime sondaje din partea de nord-vest a oraului roman.
Sondajele ntreprinse pentru surprinderea strzii romane cu nr. I, prima dinspre
nord, nu au putut i destul de lungi pentru a oferi rezultate concludente.
Dintre rezultatele privind nivelele de epoc roman pe care le-am obinut n
subsidiar fa de obiectivele urmrite, merit a i menionat surprinderea, att la
vest ct i la est de Ruor, a unui nivel de incendiu datat cu monede de la Traian
n deceniul al 2-lea al secolului II, nivel cu trsturi caracteristice care pare deci a se
plasa n primii ani de existen a oraului roman.
Printre materialele ceramice aparinnd secolelor XII-XIII, trebuie consemnate
cele surprinse n zona de la nord de amiteatru de ctre colegii clujeni, n condiii
stratigraice tulburate de lucrri recente.
Un alt obiectiv,de mai mare amploare,pe care ni l-am propus,const din identiicarea
urmelor medievale ale celor 5 sate atestate documentar n secolul al XIV-lea ca
reprezentnd dependena (pertinenele) Britoniei-Sarmizegetusa: Breazova,
Hobia, Poiana Selii, Brdet i Vale (Brazua, Ohaba, huelyfalw, Bradach i Walie),
primele dou existente i azi cu acelai nume, al treilea disprut dar localizabil pe
teren, ultimele dou disprute sau identice cu sate actuale care poart alt nume.
Avem convingerea c istoria post-roman a Sarmizegetusei nu poate i reconstituit
n toate etapele i detaliile ei ntre zidurile oraului roman i c grupul de ase sate
romneti atestate documentar n acest col al rii Haegului ca reprezentnd
o unitate patrimonial, desigur i social-economic, reprezint o obte divizat
la aceast vreme n urma unui ndelungat proces de evoluie caracterizat de o
continuitate mobil. Rezultatele cercetrilor de suprafa sunt ncurajatoare i impun continuarea investigaiilor, cu mijloace materiale superioare i cu asigurarea
forei de munc necesare unor sondaje i spturi mai ample.
161
tHe aRcHaeological
Site SaRMiZegetuSa,
HunedoaRa countY
(tHe PoSt-RoMan age).
RePoRt on tHe ReSultS
oF tHe 1978 caMPaign *
RADU POPA, TEFAN MATEI, VICTOR ESKENASY,
ION CHICIDEANU, GEORGETA IUGA
he investigations that proposed the identiication, study and valoriication of

the post-Roman vestiges of Sarmizegetusa, the former capital of the Roman
province of Dacia, have started from very clear premises. On one side, as it is known,
in Sarmizegetusa there were repeated discoveries, more or less incidental, from the
fourth, sixth-seventh and eighth-ninth centuries, discoveries that were published or
preserved at the Museum in Deva. he inds consist of isolated coins, a small treasure,
hasty repairs of the Roman ruins, speciic jewellery and pottery. he artefacts were
found in the Roman amphitheatre, the Augustales Temple or in places less precise.
On the other side, the fourteenth and ifteenth centuries documents attest the
existence during the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries of a Romanian settlement
named Britonia and also the existence here of a noble Romanian family who, in 1315,
held the position of jude of Haeg (probably of the Land of Haeg). his family
can be traced backwards to around the 1200s. he documents also attest the existence
in 1377 of a main street, oriented east-west, that divided the village into two halves
and that started from the bank of Ruor Stream westward as well as the existence,
east of Ruor and north of said main street (viam publicam per mediam eiusdem ville
sew possessionis in the document) of the curia belonging to the abovementioned
family.
At the end of the sixteenth century in Vrhely (the same Grdite Sarmizegetusa
Britonia) is noted the existence of an ecclesia valachica with Roman inscriptions
published by the humanist Mezerzius. Today in Sarmizegetusa there is only one
church, which dates by all appearances from the nineteenth century. he local tradition
states that this church was built on the place of an older wooden church. he fact that
the churchs position does not correspond with the old part of the village makes this
information seem very probable. his means that the ifteenth-sixteenth centuries
church, of course founded earlier than this timeframe, has disappeared without a trace
during the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries and was later replaced with the wooden
church.
Even a hasty topographical analysis of the village proves that its old part is located
between Ruor and the lane formed alongside the western moat of the Roman
*
Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice, 1979, p. 315-317
5.
164
THE ARCHAEoLoGICAL sITE sARMIZEGETUsA, HUNEDoARA CoUNTY
city. his old core of the medieval Britonia-Sarmizegetusa consists of parallel and
equidistant lanes, both to each other and to the walls of the Roman town. So it would
seem that one of these lanes was the fourteenth century, east to west oriented, via
publica.
In light of these pieces of information the team investigating the post-Roman
Sarmizegetusa had in sight these three objectives: to verify the coincidence between
the four east to west oriented lanes from the old village core and the main streets
of the Roman city; to identify in the north-western area of the Roman city, where
the streets were still preserved and the thirteenth to fourteenth centuries Romanian
village was developed, habitation features that would explain the repeated appearance
in Sarmizegetusa of fourth to ninth centuries indings; to identify the remains of the
curia mentioned in the fourteenth century and of the old church, on the assumption
that these two constructions may have been close to each other as is often the case in
the Land of Haeg, where former court chapels became during the ifteenth and the
sixteenth centuries Romanian parish churches.
he team that followed these objectives in parallel, working together with the
archaeologists from Cluj-Napoca who have restarted lately the excavations in the
Roman Sarmizegetusa, was made of Radu Popa from the Institute of Archaeology,
Matei tefan from the History Museum of Transylvania, Victor Eskenasy from the
Centre of Studies and Researches in Military History and heory, Ion Chicideanu
from the History Museum of S. R. Romania and Georgeta Iuga from the County
Museum of Maramure in Baia Mare. he excavations took place in September,
during very poor weather conditions. From the very beginning the lack of workers
has conined their extent. he ruins of the Roman city are spread on a surface of over
40 ha, of which about 1/3 is overlapped by modern constructions. he layer of debris
inside the Roman city is about 1.2-1.5 m thick and the nature and character of the
ruined buildings that are still visible above ground are at best hypothetical. Even more
so since we presume that the post-Roman and early medieval habitations have reused the Roman ruins of the second and third centuries.
Because of all these reasons, only the irst of our objectives could be accomplished
during the 1978 campaign, namely to verify the correspondence between the current
street network of the village with the one of the Roman town. In two of the trenches
we placed on the eastern bank of the Ruor Stream, we managed to observe on the
northern edge of lane no. II (our count started from north southward) the edge of a
Roman street, the diference between the two being of 0.7-1 m, normal considering
the slightly meandering trail of the current lanes.
In the two mentioned trenches we also discovered the foundations of three Roman
buildings, aligned with the street from the second and the third centuries. Some of the
potshards we discovered in the debris layer might date from the fourth century, but
their features are not enough to draw deinitive conclusions. In any case, the Roman
construction placed about 30 m east of Ruor, on the northern side of the Roman
street (identical as trail with the current one) was divided at a certain time with a
wall made of large stones and reused materials (such as a column fragment bearing
traces of ire) without clay binder. his situation reminds of the one noticed during
the investigations performed after World War I in the Temple of the Augustales. We
could not ind habitation complexes with arrangements that could be dated beyond
THE ARCHAEoLoGICAL sITE sARMIZEGETUsA, HUNEDoARA CoUNTY
doubt at the end of the third century or in the following period. Unfortunately, because
of the speciied working conditions, a north-south trench that we initially planned to
be 120 m long was carried on until the natural subsoil on only 10 m.
West of Ruor, of the trenches we have planned, we managed to excavate only
one, 20 m long, and an adjoining small area, but we couldnt ind any clear habitation
complexes from the post-Roman age. Some of the materials we uncovered might
be dated during the fourth century, but we do not have any conclusive arguments at
the moment. We noticed that the hand-turned pottery characteristic to the fourth
century (discovered in the Land of Haeg, at Strei, in contexts dated with combs and
ibulae) is missing from Sarmizegetusa (or at least from these irst trenches placed on
the north-western side of the Roman city).
Our trenches placed in order to discover the Roman street no. I, the irst from the
north, could not be extended long enough to ofer conclusive results.
Among the results concerning the Roman levels we uncovered (unrelated to our
primary objectives) we mention here a burned layer (uncovered west and east of
Ruor) dated with coins from Trajan during the second decade of the second century,
a layer that seems to correspond to the irst years of the Roman citys existence.
Among the pottery dated during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries we have to
point out the ones discovered by our colleagues from Cluj-Napoca in the area north
of the amphitheatre, unfortunately in stratigraphical conditions disturbed by recent
works.
One of our larger-scale goals was to identify the traces of the ive medieval villages
attested in documents during the fourteenth century as possessions (appurtenances)
of Britonia-Sarmizegetusa: Breazova, Hobia, Poiana Selii, Brdet and Vale (Brazua,
Ohaba, huelyfalw, Bradach and Walie). he irst two still exist today under the same
name; the third one has disappeared but its location is still known; the last two have
either disappeared, either, under a diferent name, correspond with current villages.
I believe that the post-Roman history of Sarmizegetusa cannot be reconstructed in
all its stages and details by studying only the area within the walls of the Roman
city and that the six villages (attested by the literary sources as representing a single
patrimonial, social and economical unit in these parts of the Land of Haeg) are
a community that during this timeframe split itself as a result of a long evolution
characterized by a mobile continuity. he results of our ield surveys are incentive
and impose further investigations, with better funding and equipment and with an
adequate work force.
165
inFoRMaii noi i cteVa

conSideRaii iStoRice PRiVind
BiSeRica RoMneaSc
din guRaSada jud. HunedoaRa *
RADU POPA I ION CHICIDEANU
iserica cu hramul Sf. Arhanghel Mihail din Gurasada (sat i centru de

comun) din prile Hunedoarei, reprezint un monument singular n
arhitectura medieval romneasc. Situat la marginea oselei care coboar de-a
lungul Mureului, la mic distan de malul nordic al rului i nu departe de intrarea
acestuia n deileul de la Zam ce marcheaz hotarul dintre Transilvania propriu-zis
i Banat, biserica se numr printre cele mai accesibile i mai vizitate monumente
din sud-vestul transilvan. nfiarea ei actual i silueta particular, cu dou turnuri
masive ncoronnd volume de zidrie bine legate ntre ele, se datoreaz adogirii
treptate la nucleul iniial, pe parcursul secolelor, a unor elemente noi de construcie.
Aspectul acestui nucleu iniial, data la care a fost construit, succesiunea i aspectul
adogirilor ca i semniicaia lor istoric, au dat natere unor opinii diverse1.
n ceea ce privete informaia documentar, satul Gurasada este pomenit pentru
prima oar la 1292 n izvoarele de care dispunem. El aparinea atunci, sub numele
de terra Zad unei importante familii nobiliare descendent din neamul Akos, a
crei principal reedin se ala la Ilia, la 6 km n amonte i pe acelai mal nordic al
Mureului2. Documentul invocat este un privilegiu al regelui Andrei al III-lea care,
la cererea stpnului moiei, i permite s aeze i s opreasc romni pe pmnturile
sale de la Ilia, Gurasada i Brdet, ultimul dintre acestea iind un sat care a disprut
1.
2.
Despre monument, vezi n principal: V. Vtianu, Anuarul Comisiunii monumentelor istorice. Secia pentru
Transilvania, 1930, p. 43-47, 76-77 i 131-134; I. D. tefnescu, La peinture religieuse en Valachie et en
Transylvanie depuis les origines jusquau XIXe sicle, Paris, 1932, p. 261-263; V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale
n rile romne, I, Bucureti, 1959, p. 95; V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti, 1966, p.
54-56; G. Entz, Acta Historiae Artium, 14, Budapesta, 1968, p. 42; Vera Gervers-Molnr, A kzpkori
Magyarorszg rotundi. Budapesta, 1972, p. 59; V. Drgu, Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 41, 1972, 2,
p. 63-66; Eugenia Greceanu, tudes byzantines et post-byzantines, I, Bucureti, 1979, p. 202; Gr. Ionescu.
Arhitectura pe teritoriul Romniei de-a lungul veacurilor, Bucureti, 1981, p. 126.
Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIII, II, p. 389. Numele satului a fost explicat ca provenind
din gura + sada, primul cu sens de deschiderea vii (n valea larg a Mureului), iar al doilea cu sens de
,,loc plantat, grdin (I. Iordan, Toponimie romneasc, Bucureti, 1963, p. 27 i 72). Cum numele vechi,
folosit de localnici, este Gura Sadului, se pare mai degrab c toponimul stesc se datoreaz numelui vii
Sadului, aluent a Mureului n acest loc. Aceasta exclude i prerea dup care numele satului ar i un
pleonasm (sada explicat ca provenind din magh. szd-szj, cu sens de deschiztur-gur; I. Kniezsa,
Keletmagyarorszg helynevei, n Magyarok s romnok, I, Budapesta, 1943, p. 217). Pentru reedina de
la Ilia a descendenilor familiei Akos, vezi i Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIV, IV, p. 547549, un document din 1350 care descrie mprirea moiilor ntre dou ramuri ale familiei printr-un hotar
care urmeaz cursul vii Sadului (Nogzat).
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 35, 1984, 1, p. 54-67
6.
168
INFoRMAII NoI I CTEVA CoNsIDERAII IsToRICE PRIVIND BIsERICA RoMNEAsC
Fig. 1.
Biserica din
Gurasada.
Vedere
dinspre est
ntre timp3. Pe acest temei s-a considerat ndeobte

de ctre cercettori c monumentul a fost ridicat
n ultimii ani ai secolului al XIII-lea i la nceputul
secolului al XIV-lea4, datare ce implic opiunea
pentru considerarea lui drept biseric parohial a
comunitii ortodoxe romneti, comunitate de care
sau pentru care ar i fost de la bun nceput construit.
Aceast comunitate, pomenit n documentul din
1292 i format probabil din maximum 20-25
familii, dup mrimea de atunci a satelor, urma
abia de atunci nainte s se aeze la Gurasada sau
poate se ala deja acolo, n cazul n care actul regal
ar i consinit o situaie preexistent5
Biserica se compune dintr-un patrulob alungit
pe axa est-vest, trasat cu destul aproximaie
i lipsit de marcare planimetric a unui ptrat
central, cu toate c n elevaie spaiul central
este acoperit de o turl prismatic. Patrulobul
adpostete n prezent altarul i naosul. Spre vest
se al un pronaos scurt subdivizat n interior n
mai multe spaii prin intermediul unor stlpi i a bolilor care se reazem pe acetia.
n continuarea aceluiai ax principal, pe latura apusean a monumentului se ridic
turnul-clopotni prevzut sub acoperi cu o galerie de lemn.
Interiorul patrulobului, precum i o parte a bolilor din pronaos pstreaz un
ansamblu de pictur mural pe care o pisanie pictat l precizeaz ca iind din anul
1765 i ca reprezentnd opera zugravilor Ioan din Deva i Nicolae din Piteti6. n
mai multe locuri din naos se poate observa c picturile postbrncoveneti acoper
cel puin un strat de pictur mai veche, asupra a crui dat i nfiare rmnem cu
totul n domeniul ipotezelor.
*
*
Includerea n anul 1976 a bisericii din Gurasada n planul de lucrri al fostei

Direcii a Patrimoniului Cultural Naional, n scopul curirii i consolidrii
3.
4.
5.
6.
Olacos possit aggregare et aggregatos retinere; pentru sensul formulei, vezi mai jos nota 5. Satul Brdet
(Fenes) care trebuie s se i alat undeva sub deal, i-a schimbat ulterior numele sau a disprut.
Datarea monumentului n secolul al XIII-lea (V. Drgu, Vechi monumente...; G. Entz, op. cit.; Gr. Ionescu,
op. cit.) exlude implicit luarea n consideraie a documentului din 1292, care ar trebui s aib valoarea de
termen post quem. Plasnd monumentul la sfritul secolului al XIII-lea (Vera Gervers-Molnr, op. cit.)
sau n jurul anului 1300 (V. Vtianu, Istoria artei...), se ine seama de datarea documentului. Datarea
monumentului la sfritul secolului al XV-lea sau nceputul celui urmtor (I. D. tefnescu, op. cit.) nu
poate i reinut.
Permisiunea acordat de rege a fost desigur necesar datorit provenienei acelei comunitii romneti
dintr-o zon unde, trind pe aa-numitul domeniu regal, pltea coroanei (prin intermediul comitelui
hunedorean) impozite ce urmau s lipseasc de aici nainte din veniturile autoritilor regale. Aceasta
nu nseamn c nainte de 1292 nu a putut tri la Gurasada o alt comunitate romneasc sau c acea
comunitate care ieea la 1292, prin actul regal, de sub incidena autoritilor comitatense, nu putea s se
ale aici deja de o bucat de vreme, privilegiul consinind doar o situaie de fapt.
V. Drgu, Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 41, 1972, 2, p. 63 i urm.; autorul semnaleaz i stratul mai
vechi de picturi murale.
picturilor, a restaurrii zidurilor i bolilor, precum i a unei mai bune cunoateri a

monumentului, a determinat organizarea n anul 1977, ca etap preliminar, a unor
cercetri arheologice. Ele s-au desfurat n luna mai a acestui an i au constat din
sondarea parial a terenului din jurul bisericii, teren ocupat acum n cea mai mare
parte de morminte recente, precum i din cteva sondaje n interiorul pronaosului
i al turnului-clopotni7. Spturile nu au afectat interiorul patrulobului ocupat
acum de altar i naos. Datorit diicultilor de gsire a forei de munc, precum i
a sezonului foarte ploios, care a ridicat pnza apelor freatice la adncimea de numai
0,70-0,80 m, cercetrile au fost foarte limitate i s-au ntrerupt dup trei sptmni
cu intenia relurii i extinderii
lor asupra ntregului monument
n toamna trzie a aceluiai an.
Suspendarea n lunile urmtoare a
activitii antierului de restaurare
a determinat amnarea pentru o
perioad neprecizat a ncheierii
cercetrilor arheologice.
n aceast situaie, socotim ca
iind de datoria noastr introducerea
n circuitul tiiniic a observaiilor
obinute n mai 1977 la Gurasada
i totodat punerea n discuie a
unor ipoteze de lucru decurgnd din coroborarea acestor informaii cu tirile din
izvoarele scrise. Concluzii deinitive nu vor putea i formulate dect dup reluarea i
ncheierea cercetrii arheologice, n special n interiorul patrulobului. Dar cum acest
spaiu pare a i fost serios afectat de lucrrile de consolidare i de drenaj executate
n urm cu aproape un secol8, nu este exclus ca cercetarea arheologic integral
a monumentului s lase n continuare fr rspuns unele dintre ntrebrile care
ne preocup. n acest din urm caz, cunoaterea temeinic i sub toate aspectele a
bisericii din Gurasada va depinde de cercetarea sistematic a microzonei din care
monumentul face parte i de descoperiri care s permit integrarea lui n schema
evolutiv a arhitecturii medievale transilvnene, schem n care biserica este
deocamdat o apariie surprinztoare i izolat.
*
*
Spturile au conirmat opiniile exprimate anterior de ctre majoritatea

cercettorilor, dup care partea cea mai veche a monumentului este patrulobul ce
adpostete altarul i naosul. Dezvoltat n lungime pe axa est-vest, patrulobul are
planul uor neregulat9 cu diametrele interioare de 8,80/5,80 m i cu dimensiunile
exterioare de 10,60/8,50 m. Zidurile au grosimea apreciabil de 1-1,20 m. Loburile
7.
8.
9.
Colectivul antierului a fost format din R. Popa, I. Chicideanu i A. Nemoianu.

Lucrrile erau n curs sub supravegherea unui antreprenor italian n vara anului 1905, cnd monumentul
a fost vizitat de Nicolae Iorga care semnaleaz descoperirea (probabil n interiorul patrulobului, n absida
sudic) unei pietre de mormnt cu data 1618, fr a se putea citi numele personajului rposat (N. Iorga,
Neamul romnesc n Ardeal i ara Ungureasc, I, Bucureti, 1906, p. 337-336).
Datorm planul, ntocmit cu mult atenie, arhitectului Corneliu Ionescu cruia i mulumim i aici.
Fig. 2.
Temelia
lobului
nordic, n
exterior, dup
demontarea
canalului
de aerisire
realizat n
1905
169
170
dinspre nord i sud sunt aproximativ simetrice, n timp ce lobul estic, care adpostete
acum altarul bisericii, este puin mai lung dect cel vestic (3 m fa de 2,70 m) i
totodat ceva mai lat n interior, diferena de lime datorndu-se zidurilor mai
groase ale lobului vestic. Nu intrm n discuia privind elevaia acestui patrulob iniial,
deoarece nu s-au putut nc ntreprinde cercetri temeinice asupra zidurilor, dar se pare
c sistemul de boltire ca i actualele deschideri sunt cele de la origine. Deschiderile
constau dintr-o u n axul lobului vestic i din dou ferestre nguste, una n axul
lobului sudic i alta n lobul estic, uor dezaxat spre sud n raport cu axa de simetrie a
monumentului. Alte patru ferestre mici se al pe cele patru laturi ale turlei.
Spturile arheologice nu au putut preciza data la care s-a ridicat acest patrulob.
n seciunile i suprafeele trasate n exteriorul monumentului nu au aprut
poriuni nederanjate de nmormntri, n care s poat i surprins nivelul primilor
constructori, iar interiorul patrulobului, din motivele artate, nu a fcut nc obiectul
de cercetare. Asupra datrii i a ipotezelor care pot i formulate la stadiul actual al
cercetrii, vom reveni mai jos.
A doua faz de construcie de la biserica din Gurasada a putut i pentru prima dat
precizat cu certitudine. A fost vorba de ridicarea, pe latura de vest a patrulobului,
a unei ncperi aproximativ rectangulare, adosat exteriorului lobilor laterali n
punctele de diametru transversal maxim al patrulobului. Dimensiunile exterioare
ale acestei ncperi cu ziduri groase de 0,80 m, care a inclus n interiorul ei ntreaga
jumtate vestic a patrulobului, sunt de 8,30/9,20 m. Este foarte probabil ca acest
pronaos aprut n faza a doua de construcie s i fost tvnit. Resturile de boli care
se mai pstreaz n prezent n actualele ncperi laterale ale pronaosului se sprijin
pe ziduri mai trzii, aparinnd fazei a treia despre care va i vorba mai jos. n faza
a doua a existenei sale, biserica de la Gurasada a cptat un aspect exterior destul
de comun, prezentndu-se ca o biseric-sal ale crei particulariti planimetrice
interioare abia se puteau citi n racordarea arcuit dintre nav i altar sau n prezena
turlei deasupra zonei de contact dintre nav i altar. Monumentul aprea ca iind de
excepie n interior, datorit traseului lobat al zidului ce desprea pronaosul de naos
i datorit sistemelor de acoperire a spaiilor.
Intrarea n pronaosul adugat n faza a doua pare a se i alat tot pe latura de nord,
pe locul actualei intrri n lca. n orice caz, pe latura de vest nu au putut i surprinse
urmele unei intrri din aceast faz. Un semn de ntrebare, ca faz de construcie,
l pune temelia cu traseu arcuit ce s-a descoperit pe latura de nord a patrulobului,
nglobnd spaiul determinat de jonciunea lobului nordic cu cel estic. A existat
aici o ncpere foarte mic, ridicat ulterior patrulobului iniial i care trebuie s
i comunicat printr-o u cu interiorul lobului estic, deci cu spaiul devenit acum
altar. Aceast u va deveni vizibil dup decaparea tencuielilor exterioare. Este
posibil ca aceast ncpere, cu limea interioar maxim de numai 1,20 m, s aib
un corespondent simetric pe latura de sud a monumentului, pe locul pe care nc
nu l-am sondat. Dac aceast ipotez se veriic i innd seama i de dimensiunile
foarte mici ale ncperii descoperite, putem interpreta contrucia ca reprezentnd o
proscomidie la care se va aduga diaconiconul (vemntarul) de pe partea opus a
altarului. n caz contrar, rmne s vedem n aceast ncpere o sacristie. Nu avem din
pcate deocamdat nici argumente decisive pentru atribuirea acestei ncperi fazei
a doua de construcie. Ea ar putea aparine doar fazei a treia. Totui, compararea
Fig. 3.
Biserica din
Gurasada. Plan
cu amplasarea
spturilor
arheologice
i marcarea
etapelor de
construcie
calitilor mortarului folosit la temelii face probabil apartenena ncperii la faza

a doua. Data pn la care au stat n picioare zidurile acestei ncperi va putea i
precizat prin cercetri asupra tencuielilor exterioare.
A treia faz de construcie a monumentului a constat din mprirea interiorului
pronaosului n trei spaii longitudinale, asemntoare cu trei nave rudimentare.
Pentru aceasta au fost construii doi stlpi de zidrie adosai patrulobului iniial, n
stnga i n dreapta intrrii n patrulob. Ali doi stlpi de zidrie au fost construii
peste temelia vestic a pronaosului din faza a doua, dup demolarea cel puin
171
172
pe lrgimea noii nave centrale a stlpului acestui pronaos. Faptul c temeliile

acestor stlpi se sprijin pe fundaia anterioar, din faza a doua, observaie absolut cert
realizat n sptura arheologic, nu las nici un dubiu n ceea ce privete departajarea pe
care o facem ntre fazele doi i trei de construcie. Pe cele dou perechi de stlpi, legate
ntre ele pe direcia est-vest prin dou arcuri de zidrie, s-au construit zidurile care
separ fostul pronaos n trei nave scurte, boltite cilindric n axul lor. Nava central i
pstreaz bolta acoperit, la fel ca i pereii ei, de pictura din secolul al XVIII-lea. n
nava de nord s-a pstrat doar o mic poriune din pornirea bolii, la captul ei estic,
poriune ncastrat de constructorii fazei a treia n exteriorul zidriei patrulobului. n
nava sudic, poriunea bolii s-a conservat pe toat lungimea laturii dinspre interior.
Dispariia celorlalte zone de inserie ale bolilor navelor laterale se datoreaz refacerii
apreciabile n elevaie, cu prilejul lucrrilor din faza a patra, a zidurilor pronaosului
aparinnd fazei a doua de construcie.
La limita vestic a navei centrale din faza a treia de construcie, acolo unde se
al acum o deschidere larg spre parterul turnului-clopotni, exist unele indicii ce
sugereaz un program mai complex al lcaului din faza la care ne referim. La captul
bolii se pstreaz un fel de arc-dublou lat de 0,80 m i care corespunde pe vertical
temeliei vestice a pronaosului din faza a doua de construcie. Acest arc-dublou
pare deci c reprezint un rest din elevaia zidului de vest al pronaosului, sugernd
faptul c realizatorii fazei a treia au practicat aici o deschidere larg n zidul de vest
al pronaosului, pe lrgimea navei centrale pe care au amenajat-o. Veriicarea acestei
ipoteze este ngreunat de tencuielile cu pictur din secolul al XVIII-lea care acoper
adosrile de ziduri, ca i de lipsa unor cercetri asupra martorilor de zid din pod.
Pe de alt parte, stlpii de zidrie de la actuala limit vestic a navei centrale
prezint neregulariti care sugereaz c de pe ei porneau i spre vest dou arcuri i
c ea se continua, pe faada apusean a monumentului din faza a treia de construcie,
ca un spaiu zidit care a putut i un pridvor ngust sau chiar un turn-clopotni, altul
dect cel existent acum. Urmele retezate ale unui asemenea arc se citesc mai clar sub
tencuielile stlpului dinspre nord. n suprafaa afectat de spturile arheologice nu
s-au gsit totui urme ale tencuielii care s corespund acestei prelungiri spre vest a
navei centrale, cu excepia unui mic fragment de fundaie, nu foarte semniicativ sub
raport planimetric, aprut cu puin n afara temeliei turnului-clopotni din faza a
patra de construcie. n orice caz, situaia de pe latura de vest a monumentului din
faza a treia de construcie mai ridic semne de ntrebare pentru a cror rezolvare se
cere investigat prin spturi ntreaga zon din jurul actualului turn-clopotni.
Ultimei faze de construcie i corespund cteva elemente ce nu sunt n mod
cert toate din aceeai vreme, ci care au putut i realizate n mai multe etape. Este
vorba n primul rnd de turnul-clopotni din partea de vest, adosat n mod evident
pronaosului din faza a doua de construcie. Adosarea este vizibil n temelie i n
partea inferioar a zidurilor, n timp ce la nivelul etajului se observ cum zidria
refcut a pronaosului se adoseaz zidului turnului-clopotni. Eventualitatea ca
acest turn-clopotni s ie rezultatul a dou etape de construcie i ca galeria lui
de lemn s i aprut mai trziu, aa cum s-a propus10, rmne a i veriicat prin
cercetri asupra zidriei. Tot fazei a patra i aparine un contrafort situat pe latura
sudic a pronaosului din faza a doua de construcie, contrafort care a acoperit foarte
10 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei... p. 95.
probabil un gol de fereastr alat pe aceast parte. n orice caz, actualele dou ferestre
ce lumineaz spaiul de aici fosta nav lateral sudic a monumentului din faza a
treia sunt situate prea sus pentru a putea i n vremea din care respectivul spaiu
era boltit. Merit semnalat n acest sens soluia mult mai abil pe care au adoptat-o
constructorii din faza a doua cnd, pentru a nu obtura fereastra dinspre sud a
patrulobului iniial, s-a recurs la tratarea captului zidului pronaosului n form de
contrafort teit.
Un zid orientat nord-sud, situat n fosta nav lateral de nord i care desparte
o mic ncpere n partea ei rsritean, este de asemenea un adaos trziu, poate
chiar din secolul nostru. n sfrit, zidurile perimetrale ale pridvorului din faza a
doua de construcie au suferit i ele refaceri apreciabile cu conservarea temeliilor
vechi, refaceri care urmeaz s ie mai bine cunoscute dup decaparea tencuielilor
exterioare i care au dus la dispariia bolilor din faza a treia de construcie.
*
*
Cum era i de ateptat, ngroprile trzii din jurul monumentului, care mai
continu i azi, au determinat deranjarea situaiei stratigraice i distrugerea
n toate locurile sondate a nivelului de clcare al primilor constructori. Din cele
26 de morminte individualizate i dezvelite n exteriorul bisericii i n interiorul
pronaosului ei, nici unul nu cuprindea elemente de datare care s ie mai vechi dect
secolul al XVI-lea. Numeroase oase de la morminte mai vechi rvite de gropile
ulterioare au aprut pretutindeni, dar fr a oferi i elemente de datare.
Din pcate, datorit faptului c lucrrile de restaurare mai vechi au constat
din sparea unor anuri cotinui n exteriorul i interiorul patrulobului, n scopul
amenajrii unor drenaje i spaii de aerisire, este foarte probabil ca nici interiorul
patrulobului s nu mai pstreze suprafee cu stratigraia i mormintele vechi
nederanjate dect, poate, n zona lui central. Cercetarea arheologic dispune astfel
de foarte puine elemente, pentru stabilirea cronologiei absolute a monumentului din
Gurasada.
Cea mai veche moned descoperit ca inventar funerar, ntr-un mormnt de pe
latura de nord a bisericii, este un dinar de la Ferdinand I (1526-1564), iar dou
piese de podoab gsite tot la nord de biseric, n
pmnt rvit, nu pot i datate mai devreme dect
secolul al XIV-lea. Este vorba de un inel mic din
srm subire de argint, cu veriga ntrerupt, i de
un inel confecionat din tabl de aram cu capetele
lipite rudimentar, avnd un decor heraldic (?), incizat
pe chaton-ul realizat n forma unei liri a fiei de
tabl.
Nici ceramica descoperit n sptur fragmente
de oale roii i roii-cenuii, fragmente de capace cu
buton i fragmente de cahle nu prezint particulariti care s permit datri anterioare
secolelor XIV-XV. La 50 m nord de actuala biseric n cuprinsul actualului cimitir
exist o movil alungit cu diametrul de cca 15/10 m, nalt acum de 0,50-0,60 m.
Una dintre seciunile noastre a ajuns pn la aceast movil constatnd prezena
acolo a unor bolovani de ru de mrime mijlocie, provenind poate de la temelia
Fig. 4.
Piese de
podoab
gsite pe
latura nordic
a bisericii din
Gurasada
173
174
unei construcii de lemn. Mormintele recente au mpiedicat cercetarea sistematic a

movilei, iar n seciunea noastr nu au aprut materiale arheologice care s permit
datarea complexului. Pentru a ncheia cu observaiile arheologice, notm c la 100150 m de la biseric, n direcia prului Gurasada care se al acum la cca. 250
m distan, dar al crui curs medieval putea trece i mai aproape de monument,
au aprut n artur numeroase vestigii trdnd existena unei aezri medievale.
Materialele culese n suprafa aparin n special secolelor XIV-XV. Reluarea pe
scar mai larg a cercetrilor de la Gurasada va trebui s porneasc de la investigarea
acestei vetre de sat, ce pare a i aparinut colectivitii pomenite documentar la
129211.
*
*
n contextul arhitecturii medievale transilvnene, al vechilor biserici de pe

teritoriul Romniei i chiar n contextul monumentelor ecleziastice de la nceputul
mileniului nostru din aceast parte a Europei, biserica n form de patrulob alungit
longitudinal monumentul ridicat iniial la Gurasada reprezint o apariie care
nu poate primi n urma unui simplu sondaj explicaii clare i mulumitoare sub
toate aspectele. Putem n schimb s ne apropiem de adevr prin excluderea din
discuie a unor ipoteze cu totul neverosimile de datare i de atribuire a iniiativei
ctitoreti iniiale. Sub acest aspect, de la bun nceput ni se pare evident c patrulobul
de la Gurasada nu poate i biserica parohial de la nceputul anilor 1300 a unei
comuniti ortodoxe romneti aservite, comunitate care s se i instalat acolo, pe
malul Mureului, abia n ultimii ani ai secolului al XIII-lea. Dac ar i s admitem
c iobagii romni adui de familia Akos pe domeniul ei au putut ridica o biseric
de zid sau c nobilul catolic stpn al moiei ar i ridicat pentru folosina iobagilor
si, aparinnd bisericii ortodoxe, un lca de zid, atunci aceast biseric ar i
trebuit s semene celorlalte biserici romneti construite la aceast vreme n prile
Hunedoarei, s semene de pild cu biserica de la Lenic care dateaz din secolul al
XIV-lea, alndu-se la numai 12 km deprtare i nfindu-se ca o biseric-sal cu
altar rectangular12. Dar biserica din Lenic este ctitoria unei familii cneziale, stpn
a acelui sat13, iar biserici din zid care s i fost ridicate de colectiviti steti romneti
aservite nu cunoatem pentru secolele XIII-XIV nicieri n Transilvania14, la fel de
puin probabil iind i eventualitatea ctitoririi de ctre un mare nobil de rit apusean
a unui lca ortodox la marginea drumului mare ce ducea din Transilvania n Banat,
ntr-o vreme de lupt acerb ideologic i confesional.
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
Vezi mai sus nota 3 i observaiile de la nota 5.

V. Drgu, Vechi monumente... p. 51-53; vezi i Ecaterina Cincheza-Buculei, Studii i Cercetri de Istoria
Artei, 21, 1974, p. 45 i urm.
Familia cnezial din Lenic este atestat nc din 1386 (document inedit la Institutul de Istorie i
Arheologie din Cluj-Napoca, n colecia pregtit spre publicare, unde l-am putut consulta prin
bunvoina dr. Sabin Bellu) i apoi n 1394 (E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta historiam Valachorum in
Hungaria illustrantia, Budapesta, 1941, p. 481-482).
n prile Hunedoarei i Haegului, biserici romneti de dimensiuni mai mari, care s nu ie simple
capele de curte ale familiei cneziale, ci s ie biserici parohiale, ridicate de o colectivitate steasc n aezri
lipsite de cnezi (ca la Nucoara) sau s ie ridicate de familii cneziale pentru folosul ntregii obti (ca la
Snpetru), nu par s ie anterioare anului 1400.
O biseric n form de patrulob, cu sistemul su complicat de boltire, nu rspunde

nevoilor confesionale ale unei comuniti steti ortodoxe i reprezenta, n plus, o
soluie mult mai diicil i mai costisitoare dect o biseric-sal obinuit. Este de
subliniat n acest sens c n ara Haegului i n prile Hunedoarei, pretutindeni
unde foste capele de curte ale familiilor feudale romneti au ajuns n secolul al
XV-lea s serveasc drept biserici parohiale ale comunitilor steti, schimbarea
destinaiei monumentului iniial a avut drept urmare apariia unor pronaosuri
adugate navei originale. Aa s-a ntmplat la Densu sau la Strei i un fenomen
similar s-a petrecut desigur i la Gurasada. Chiar i numai din aceste observaii
rezult n mod convingtor c monumentul iniial de la Gurasada trebuie s ie
sensibil mai vechi dect anii din jurul lui 1300 i c el nu a fost ridicat ca biseric
parohial a unei comuniti steti aservite.
Pentru o vechime apreciabil a
monumentului pledeaz i observaiile
realizate cu prilejul cercetrilor. Faza a treia
de construcie, constnd din transformarea
pronaosului ntr-un corp trinavat, soluie
pretenioas de reorganizare a unui spaiu
interior tvnit, ne trimite la ambiana
romanicului, fapt care, pe drept cuvnt,
apare ca iind cel puin surprinztor.
Pentru datarea fazei a treia nu dispunem
dect de o observaie, cu valoare relativ.
n nava central amenajat n interiorul
pronaosului, n partea ei de sud, pictura de la 1765 nu se al pe cel mai vechi strat de
tencuieli interioare ci se vd pe alocuri i tencuieli anterioare. Cu alte cuvinte, anul
1765 poate i acceptat doar ca dat a celei de-a patra faze de construcie i n primul
rnd ca dat a ridicrii turnului-clopotni. Pare n schimb mai greu de cobort cu
faza a treia pn n epoca romanic, deoarece aceasta ar implica datarea nc mai
timpurie a pronaosului din faza a doua de construcie.
Dar chiar dac aspectul romanic al fazei a treia de construcie de la biserica din
Gurasada este neltor el aparinnd n realitate secolelor XIV-XVI i chiar
dac apariia pronaosului n faza a doua de construcie urmeaz a se data pe la anul
1300, relectnd preluarea sau adaptarea de ctre o colectivitate steasc ortodox
a patrulobului iniial, rmne s ne ntrebm cine i cnd a putut ctitori primul
monument din Gurasada. Nu tim cum va i artat biserica ridicat de familia Akos
n secolul al XIII-lea sau poate nc mai devreme n reedina ei principal din
nvecinata Ilia15 dup cum nici la Ulie, alt sat vecin n care este atestat o ramur
a aceleiai familii16, biserica veche nu s-a pstrat dect ca temelii n actualul cimitir.
Exist n schimb n regiune un alt monument care se leag de aceeai familie i care
se al n satul de reedin al unui domeniu creat pare-se ceva mai trziu pe malul
de nord al Mureului de aceast familie, domeniul de la Geoagiu de Jos17.
15 .
16 .
17 .
Atestat documentar pentru prima oar la 1266 Helya... i pmntul cu rul Mure care curge prin
mijlocul lui (Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIII, II, p. 88).
Ibidem, veac XIV, IV, p. 319; pentru familia Akos, vezi i D. Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a
Hunyadiak korban, V, Budapesta, 1913, p. 8-9. Colectivul antierului Gurasada a fcut n 1977 o cercetare
de suprafa la Ulie.
D. Csnki, op. cit., p. 12.
Fig. 5.
a) Rotonda de
la Geoagiu de
Jos (dup
Gh. Anghel); b)
Capela de sub
catedrala Sf.
Vit de la Praga
(dup
V. Richter);
c) Capela de la
Wawel Cracovia (dup
V. Richter)
175
176
Biserica romanic de la Geoagiu dateaz de la sfritul secolului al XII-lea sau din

secolul al XIII-lea18 i este o rotond clasic construit din piatr de carier i spolii
romane, cu o nav de plan circular avnd diametrul interior de 5,50 m i cu un mic
altar semicircular n partea de est, lung de 2 m i cu deschiderea spre nava de 3 m.
Rotonda din Geoagiu de Jos a familiei Akos este un tip de monument larg rspndit
n Europa Central n primele secole ale mileniului nostru, gsindu-i dealtfel bune
analogii i pe teritoriul Transilvaniei sau n cuprinsul regatului arpadian din secolele
XII-XIII19.
Spre deosebire de monumentul romanic de plan central din Geoagiu de Jos,
patrulobul din Gurasada nu-i gsete analogii nici n Transilvania i nici n regiunile
nvecinate. Toi autorii care s-au ocupat pn acum doar n treact de acest
monument, sunt de acord n a-i sublinia originea rsritean i relaiile cu arhitectura
bizantin, chiar dac inluenele invocate se ntind pe spaii i perioade foarte mari,
din Orientul paleocretin i pn la arhitectura rii Romneti20. Totui cel puin
dup cunotinele noastre, analogii concrete i convingtoare nc nu au fost citate.
Principala diicultate pentru ncadrarea monumentului din Gurasada printre
bisericile cu plan patrulobat din Europa Central i central-rsritean deriv din
faptul c cei patru lobi ai lcaului de care ne ocupm nu pornesc dintr-un spaiu
central deinit, circular sau ptrat. Pentru cazul n care ar exista la Gurasada un spaiu
central circular, analogiile cele mai ireti ale monumentului nostru s-ar gsi la Praga
i la Cracovia, unde asemenea monumente sunt datate naintea anului 100021. Cu
toate c turla care se ridic deasupra patrulobului de la Gurasada este de plan ptrat,
ni se pare c ea nu sugereaz caracterul de careu al spaiului pe care-l acoper, ci
reprezint mai degrab cea mai lesnicioas soluie de racordare a bolilor de pe lobi
n cadrul planului central22.
La stadiul actual al cercetrilor, excluznd din motivele deja artate eventualitatea
ca biserica din Gurasada s dateze de pe la anul 1300 i ca ea s ie ridicat ca biseric
parohial a unei comuniti steti, nu ne mai rmn pentru datarea i atribuirea ei
dect dou ipoteze de lucru. n prima dintre ele, ar urma s considerm monumentul
drept o ctitorie foarte timpurie a familiei Akos, de la sfritul secolului al X-lea sau
din secolul al XI-lea, din vremea n care Bizanul i biserica coustantinopolitan
mai reprezentau nc o posibil opiune pentru noua njghebare statal din Bazinul
18 .
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei... p. 88-89; vezi i Gh. Anghel, Apulum, 5, 1965, p. 615-624, unde monumentul
este publicat n mod detaliat dar fr ca autorul s-i pun problema ctitorilor acestei biserici, care nu
poate i dect de curte.
Vera Gervers-Molnr, op. cit., p. 32-37; vezi i R. Heitel, Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Srie Beaux
Arts, 9, 1972, 2, p. 151-152 i 12, 1975, p. 3 i urm.
V. Vtianu a relevat iniial posibilele inluene armene (Anuarul Comisiunii monumentelor istorice. Secia
pentru Transilvania, 1930, p. 132 i 188) pentru ca ulterior s aib n vedere contaminarea unui patrulob
clasic cu triconcul bizantin din ara Romneasc, poate cu inluena dispoziiei bisericii-sal pentru
explicarea alungirii pe axul est-vest, iar lipsa marcrii ptratului central l-a fcut s se gndeasc i la
planul trelat atestat la Niculiel n secolele XII-XIII (Idem, Istoria artei... p. 95). Vera Gervers-Molnr,
op., cit., p. 59, se gndete la un model bizantin venit n Transilvania prin intermediul rii Romneti,
dar precizeaz c nu se cunosc etapele intermediare ale unei asemenea transmisiuni. Ambele interpretri
au ca slbiciune datarea monumentului n jurul anului 1300.
Este vorba de prima capel ridicat pe la 930 pe locul catedralei Sf. Vit de la Praga i de patrulobul
descoperit pe Wawel, la Cracovia, datnd probabil din secolul al X-lea: V. Richter, n Magna Moravia,
Praga, 1965, p. 238 i 242.
Pentru bisericile de plan central cu patru lobi pe cele patru laturi ale unui spaiu rectangular, lipsite ns
de turl central, vezi Vera Gervers-Molnr, op. cit., p. 58-59.
Carpatic regatul creat de dinastia arpadian. Urmeaz desigur a se lmuri, pentru

cazul n care ipoteza se adeverete, data de la care s-au instalat antecesorii familiei
Akos n depresiunea de la Ilia de pe cursul mijlociu al Mureului i mai ales originea
acestora deoarece n legtur cu aceast din urm problem exist i preri dup care
ar i vorba de urmaii unor cpetenii pecenego-cumane, asimilai abia mai trziu
mediului feudalitii maghiare23.
Pentru ca ipoteza s se veriice, apare ns o diicultate principial, aceea ca un
lca de cult care a servit pe parcursul secolului al XIII-lea oicierii ritului apusean s
poat ajunge n folosina unei colectiviti ortodoxe. Din acest motiv, credem c nu
poate i ocolit nici alt ipotez. Ea are n vedere posibilitatea ca biserica s ie nc
mai veche, din secolul al IX-lea sau de la nceputul secolului al X-lea, situaie n care
ar face parte dintre acele monumente de zid premaghiare din teritoriile romneti
intracarpatice, monumente a cror existen a fost n repetate rnduri postulat din
considerente logice i care i ateapt nc conirmarea prin exempliicri concrete.
23 .
Opinia se ntemeiaz pe menionarea ctre sfritul secolului al XI-lea n Cronica pictat de la Viena a unei
cpetenii cumane cu numele de Akus; vezi M. Rusu, Revue Roumaine d'Histoire, 21, 1982, 3-4, p. 348.
177
neW data and SeVeRal

HiStoRical ReMaRkS on tHe
RoManian cHuRcH
in guRaSada,
HunedoaRa countY *
RADU POPA AND ION CHICIDEANU
he church dedicated to the Saint Archangel Michael in Gurasada (a village

and centre of a commune in Hunedoara County) is a singular monument in
the Romanian medieval architecture. he church sits on the road that follows the
Mure River, a short distance away from its northern bank and not far away from its
entrance into the Zam Gorge, which marks the border between Transylvania and
Banat. he church is one of the most accessible and visited monuments in southwestern Transylvania. Its current aspect and particular silhouette, with two massive
towers that crown well connected masonry, are due to the gradual addition, over the
centuries, of new elements to the initial core. he aspect of this initial core, the date
when it was built, the additions succession, aspect and historical signiicance have
generated diferent scientiic opinions1.
As for the documentary information, Gurasada village is mentioned for the irst
time in 1292. At the time the village, under the name of terra Zad, belonged to
an important noble family, descendant of the Akos kin, whose main residence was
at Ilia, six kilometres upstream, on the same northern bank of the Mure2. he
abovementioned document is a privilege of King Andrew III, emitted at the request
of the owner of the domain, which allows him to settle and bind Romanians on
1.
2.
About the monument see mainly: V. Vtianu, Anuarul Comisiunii monumentelor istorice. Secia pentru
Transilvania, 1930, p. 43-47, 76-77 and 131-134; I. D. tefnescu, La peinture religieuse en Valachie et
en Transylvanie depuis les origines jusquau XIXe sicle, Paris, 1932, p. 261-263; V. Vtianu, Istoria artei
feudale n rile romne, I, Bucureti, 1959, p. 95; V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti, 1966,
p. 54-56; G. Entz, Acta Historiae Artium, 14, Budapest, 1968, p. 42; Vera Gervers-Molnr, A kzpkori
Magyarorszg rotundai, Budapest, 1972, p. 59; V. Drgu, Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 41, 1972, 2, p.
63-66; Eugenia Greceanu, tudes byzantines et post-byzantines, I, Bucureti, 1979, p. 202; Gr. Ionescu.
Arhitectura pe teritoriul Romniei de-a lungul veacurilor, Bucureti, 1981, p. 126.
Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIII, II, p. 389. he name of the village was explained as
gura+sada, the irst meaning mouth of a valley (as it is the place where the large valley of the Mure
Rivers enters the pass) and the second one as planted place, garden (I. Iordan, Toponimie romneasc,
Bucureti, 1963, p. 27 and 72). But the traditional name used by the villagers is Gura Sadului, so it seems
more likely that the name is due to the Sadu Valley, which joins here with the Mure. his also excludes
the opinion that the name of the village is actually a pleonasm (through the assumption that sada comes
from the Hungarian szd-szj, meaning opening or mouth; I. Kniezsa, Keletmagyarorszg helynevei,
in Magyarok s romnok, I, Budapesta, 1943, p. 217). For the Ilia residence of the descendents of the Akos
family see also Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIV, IV, p. 547-549, a document dated 1350
which shows the estates being divided between two branches of the family by a boundary that follows the
Sadu Valley (Nogzat).
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 35, 1984, 1, p. 54-67
6.
180
NEW DATA AND sEVERAL HIsToRICAL REMARks oN THE RoMANIAN CHURCH
his lands in Ilia, Gurasada and Brdet, the latter a village meanwhile disappeared3.
Based on this document it was generally considered by scientists that the monument
in Gurasada was erected during the last years of the thirteenth century and at
the beginning of the fourteenth century4. hese are dates that imply it acted as a
parish church of the Romanian Orthodox community, for which or by which it was
constructed from its beginnings. his community, mentioned for the irst time in
the 1292 document, must have had a maximum of twenty to twenty ive families,
judging by the size of villages at the time, and was about to settle in Gurasada,
or maybe it was already settled there, in which case the royal document was only
reairming an already existing situation5.
he church is composed by a quatrelobe, elongated on its east-western axis,
rather approximately traced, without a planimetric marking of a central square,
even though in elevation the central space is covered by a prismatic steeple. he
quatrelobe currently contains the altar and the nave. A short narthex lays westward,
with its interior divided into several spaces by pillars that support vaults. Continuing
the same main axis, on the western side of the monument, there is the bell-tower
with a wooden gallery under the roof.
he quatrefoil and some of the vaults in the narthex preserve an ensemble of mural
painting with an inscription bearing the year 1765 and the names of the painters: Ioan
from Deva and Nicolae from Piteti6. One may notice that in several places inside the
narthex the post-Brancovan paintings cover at least one layer of an older fresco whose
date and aspect remain completely hypothetical for the time being.
*
*
he church in Gurasada was included in 1976 in the restoration plan of the

former Direction of Cultural National Heritage. he purpose was to clean and
consolidate the paintings, to restore the walls and vaults and deepen the knowledge
on the church. herefore an archaeological investigation was initiated in 1977, as
a preliminary stage of the restoration plan. he study was conducted in May 1977
and consisted of the partial investigation of the terrain surrounding the church
(which is nowadays mostly occupied by recent graves) and of several trenches in
the narthex and the bell-tower7. he excavations did not afect the interior of the
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Olacos possit aggregare et aggregatos retinere; for the meaning see bellow note 5. The village Brdet
(Fenes) must have been placed somewhere near the hill and later it changed its name or it disappeared.
Dating the monument during the thirteenth century (V. Drgu, Vechi monumente...; G. Entz, op. cit.;
Gr. Ionescu, op. cit.) implicitly excludes taking into account the document from 1292, a year which should
be considered as a terminus post quem. Placing the monument at the end of the thirteenth century
(Vera Gervers-Molnr, op. cit.) or around the year 1300 (V. Vtianu, Istoria artei...), actually takes into
account the aforementioned document. Dating the monument at the end of the ifteenth century or at
the beginning of the sixteenth century (I. D. tefnescu, op. cit.) cannot be taken into account.
he kings permission was, of course, necessary because this Romanian community came from the royal
domain, which meant that it previously paid taxes to the Crown (trough the count of Hunedoara), taxes
that it wouldnt pay anymore. his does not exclude the possibility that another Romanian community
was living in Gurasada before 1292, or that the community transferred in 1292 from under the countys
authority was not already living there for some time, the privilege therefore just acknowledging a given
situation.
V. Drgu, Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 41, 1972, 2, p. 63f. he author also signals the older layer of
mural paintings.
The archaeological team consisted of R. Popa, I. Chicideanu and A. Nemoianu.
quatrelobe, now occupied by the altar and the nave of the church. he archaeological
investigation was greatly restricted by the lack of workers and by the rainy season
which had elevated the groundwater to only 0.7-0.8 meters deep. he excavations
were therefore stopped after only three weeks of work with the intention of
restarting and extending them on the entire surface of the monument in the late fall
of the same year. However, during the next months the restoration works stopped
altogether, postponing the archaeological study of this monument indeinitely.
Given all of this, we consider it our duty to introduce to the scientiic community
the data obtained in May 1977 at Gurasada and to discuss some preliminary
hypotheses resulted from the corroboration of this data with documentary
information. We will be able to formulate some deinitive conclusions only after the
archaeological excavations have been resumed and brought to an end, especially the
ones inside the quatrelobe. Unfortunately this space seems to have been seriously
afected by the consolidation and drainage works done here almost a century ago8
therefore, even after the complete archaeological study of this monument, we may
not be able to answer some of these questions. In this case, a thorough knowledge of
the church in Gurasada in all its aspects will depend on the systematic research of
the micro-area surrounding it and on discoveries that will permit this monuments
integration into the scheme of the evolving medieval Transylvanian architecture, a
scheme where the church seems at the moment a surprising and isolated apparition.
*
*
he excavations have conirmed the opinions previously forwarded by most

scientists, according to which the oldest part of the monument is the quatrelobe
that houses the altar and the nave. he quatrelobes length corresponds with its eastwestern axis, and it has a slightly irregular plan9 with inner and exterior dimensions
of 8.8/ 5.8 m. and 10.6/ 8.5 m. respectively. he walls are 1-1.2 m. thick. he
northern and southern lobes are approximately symmetrical while the eastern lobe,
which currently houses the altar, is slightly longer and wider than the western one (3
m. as opposed to 2.7 m.). he diference in wideness of the two lobes is given by the
thicker walls of the western lobe. I will not discuss here the elevation of the initial
quatrelobe since we were not able to thoroughly study its walls, but it seems likely
that the vault and the openings are the original ones. he openings in the walls are a
door in the axis of the western lobe and two narrow windows, one in the axis of the
southern lobe and one in the eastern lobe, slightly of axis southwards as compared
to the monuments symmetry axis. Four more small windows are on the four sides
of the steeple.
he archaeological research was not able to pinpoint a date for the construction
of the quatrelobe. We could not ind the construction level in the trenches placed
outside, the entire area being disturbed by burials. Due to the aforementioned
8.
9.
he works were supervised by an Italian entrepreneur in the summer of 1905, when the monument was
visited by Nicolae Iorga who signals the discovery (probably in the quatrelobe, in the southern apse) of a
tombstone dated 1618, with an illegible name (N. Iorga, Neamul romnesc n Ardeal i ara Ungureasc, I,
Bucureti, 1906, p. 337-336).
The thorough plan was made by architect Corneliu Ionescu, to whom I thank here also.
181
182
conditions the interior of the quatrelobe could not be explored. I will come back to
the dating and hypotheses that can be emitted at this stage of research.
he second construction stage of the church in Gurasada was for the irst time
revealed with certainty. It consisted of building, on the western side of the quatrelobe,
an approximately rectangular room, leaning against the exterior of the side lobes, at
the points of the maximum transversal diameter of the quatrelobe. his room, with
0.8 m. thick walls, included the entire western half of the quatrelobe and its exterior
maximal size is 8.3/9.2 m. It is highly likely that this narthex built during the second
stage of construction initially had a lat ceiling. he traces of vaults still preserved in
the current side rooms of the narthex are supported by later walls, added during a
third stage of construction, which will be discussed below. During its second stage
of existence the church in Gurasada had gained a common outer aspect, that of a
single nave church whose inner particularities were barely discernable in the arched
connection between the nave and the altar or in the presence of the steeple over
the contact area between nave and altar. he monument seemed exceptional on the
inside because of the lobed outline of the wall that separated the narthex and the
nave and because of the rooing system.
he entrance into the narthex that was added during the second construction
stage seems to have been also on the northern side, on the place of the current
entrance. In any case, we could not observe any traces of a door from this stage on
the western side of the monument. We also wondered to which stage of construction
belonged a foundation with an arched plan discovered on the northern side of the
quatrelobe, where it enveloped the space resulted from the junction of the northern
lobe with the eastern one. his space represented a very small room, built after the
initial quatrelobe. his room must have communicated through a door with the
eastern lobe, which at this stage was the altar. his door will be visible when the
exterior wall coating is removed. It is possible that this room, with a maximum
inner width of 1.2 m, used to have a symmetrical correspondent on the southern
side of the monument, in a place that was not yet archaeologically investigated. If
this hypothesis proves correct, considering the very small size of the room, we may
interpret the constructions as a Proskomedia, with a Diaconicon on the opposite side
of the altar. If on the opposite side there isnt a similar room we will have to consider
the already discovered room as a sacristy. Unfortunately we dont even have decisive
arguments to attribute the room to the second construction stage. It could very well
belong to the third stage. Still, comparing the aspects of the mortar used in the
foundation, it is very likely that this room was built during the second construction
stage. When the exterior wall plasters will be thoroughly researched, we will be able
to ascertain the period when the walls of this room were still standing.
During the third construction stage the narthex was divided into three longitudinal
spaces, similar to three rudimentary naves. Two pillars were built in order to
accomplish this, abutted to the initial quatrelobe, to the right and left of its entrance.
Two more masonry pillars were built over the western foundation of the narthex.
he fact that the foundations of these two pillars are placed on the anterior foundation
(from the second stage of construction), an observation certiied by the excavations, leaves
no doubt in separating the second and the third stages of construction of the church. On
these two pairs of pillars connected east-west by two masonry arches were built the
walls that separate the former narthex into three short naves, covered with semicylindrical longitudinal vaults. he central nave preserved the vault and the walls,
all covered by the eighteenth century mural painting. he northern nave preserves
only a small portion of the vault, on its eastern end, a portion that the builders of
the third stage encased in the exterior wall of the quatrelobe. he southern nave
preserved part of the vault on its entire inner side. he other areas of the vaults
insertions in the lateral naves were lost during the fourth stage of constructions,
when the elevation of the narthex walls was considerably rebuilt.
At the western limit of the central nave belonging to the third construction stage,
where nowadays there is a large opening toward the ground loor of the bell tower,
there are some clues that suggest a more complex plan for this church during the time
of this construction stage. he area of the end of the vault preserves a double arch,
0.8 m. wide. It vertically corresponds with the western foundation of the narthex
from the second construction stage. It seems that this double arch represents a trace
of the elevation of the western narthex wall, suggesting that the builders of the third
phase made here a wide opening into the western wall of the narthex, on the width
of their central nave. his hypothesis is hard to verify because of the eighteenth
century coating and mural paintings that cover the connections between the walls
and also because of the lack of research on the walls in the attic.
On the other side, the masonry pillars from the current western limit of the
central nave present some irregularities that suggest they also supported two arches
to the west. his means either the central nave was longer or it was continued on
the western faade of the church by a walled space belonging to the third stage of
construction. It could have been a narrow porch or even a bell tower, diferent of the
current one. Traces of such an arch are more clearly visible under the plaster of the
northern pillar. In the excavations, we could not ind any traces of foundation that
would correspond to this westward prolongation of the central nave. he exception is
a small fragment, almost irrelevant for the general plan, not far from the foundation
of the bell tower built during the fourth construction stage (see the plan). he third
phase of the western side of the monument still presents questions that can be
answered only by excavating the entire area surrounding the current bell tower.
Some elements that may have been built over diferent time frames may be dated
during the last stage of construction of the monument. We are mostly talking about
the western bell tower, obviously added to the narthex of the second phase. he fact
that the two elements are abutted is visible in the foundations and in the lower part
of the walls, while in the irst loor, where the masonry of the narthex is rebuilt,
one can see that it leans upon the bell tower. It is a possibility that this bell tower is
actually the result of two separate stages of construction and its wooden gallery was
built later10, but the hypothesis needs to be veriied by investigating the parament.
A buttress was built on the southern side of the narthex during the fourth stage of
construction and it must have covered a windows opening on this side. he current
two windows here (lighting the former lateral southern nave of the third phase of
the church) are situated too high to have been built at the time when this space
was vaulted. It is noteworthy the skilful solution applied by the constructors of the
second phase, who built the end of the narthex wall as a buttress, in order to avoid
the obstruction of the southward window of the original quatrelobe.
10 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei..., p. 95.
183
184
A wall oriented north-south, located in the former lateral northern nave, separates
a small room on its eastern side. his wall is also a late addition, maybe even of the
twentieth century. Finally, the perimeter walls of the porch of the second phase,
while preserving the old foundations, have also been considerably modiied by the
ulterior alterations. When the exterior wall plastering will be removed we will know
more about these alterations done after the dismantling of the vaults of the third
phase.
*
*
As expected, the late burials around the monument, burials that are still practiced
to these days, have led to the alteration of the stratigraphy and the utter destruction
of the construction layer dating from the time of the irst builders. Of the 26 graves
unveiled outside the church and inside the narthex, none had dating elements older
than the sixteenth century. Numerous human remains that were disturbed by the
newer graves have been discovered throughout the area, but without any dating
elements.
Unfortunately, as the older restoration works consisted of digging continuous
airing and drainage ditches outside and inside the quatrelobe, it is very likely that
the stratigraphy and the older graves are disturbed inside the quatrelobe too, maybe
except for its central space. hus the archaeological research ofers few elements that
could help establish an absolute chronology of the monument in Gurasada.
he oldest coin discovered as funerary inventory in a grave on the northern side
of the church is a dinar minted by Ferdinand I (1526-1564) while two jewellery
pieces, also discovered on the northern side of the church, in disturbed layers, can
be dated no sooner than the fourteenth century. Both of them are rings: a small one
made of thin silver wire, with an interrupted link (ig. 4a) and another one, made
of copper plate, with rudimentary soldered ends and a possibly heraldic dcor (?)
incised on the chaton (ig. 4b).
he pottery discovered during the excavations sherds of red and greyish-red
pots, fragmentary lids with button and fragments of stove tiles doesnt show any
speciic features that could be dated before the fourteenth-ifteenth centuries. Fifty
meters north of the current church, inside the present-day graveyard, there is an
elongated heap, 15/10 m in diameter and currently 0.5-0.6 m tall. One of our trenches
cut through it and exposed medium sized river stones, maybe the foundation of a
wooden construction. he recent burials did not allow a systematic research of this
heap and our only trench did not reveal any archaeological material that would date
it. Now, to put an end to the archaeological observations, we mention that about
100-150 meters from the church, in the direction of the Gurasada stream (which
now lows about 250 m away from the church but whose medieval course could have
been closer to the monument) in the ploughed soil we discovered numerous pieces
that indicate the presence of a medieval settlement. he artefacts date especially
from the fourteenth and ifteenth centuries. Any future large scale archaeological
research should start with the investigation of this village that may belong to the
community mentioned in the 1292 by the sources11.
11 .
See above note 3 and the observations on note 5.
*
*
In the context of the medieval Transylvanian architecture, of the old churches

from the territory of current Romania and even in the context of the ecclesiastical
monuments from the beginning of the second millennia in this parts of Europe the
church with a quatrelobe plan that elongates longitudinally the initial monument
built in Gurasada is an apparition that cannot be explained clearly and thoroughly
by a simple, very limited archaeological excavation. But we can get closer to the
truth by excluding from this discussion some totally unreasonable hypotheses
concerning the dating and the founders of the church. In this regard, it seemed
obvious from the beginning that the quatrelobe in Gurasada cannot be the parish
church of an early 1300s Romanian serf community settled on the banks of the
Mure only during the last years of the thirteenth century. If we were to admit that
the Romanian serfs brought on its domain by the Akos family were actually able to
build a masonry church or that the Catholic noble had founded for his Orthodox
serfs a place of worship made of stone, then that church must have looked like the
other Romanian churches that were being built at that time in the Hunedoara area,
like, for example, the church in Lenic, only twelve kilometres away, dated in the
fourteenth century, which is a single nave church with a rectangular altar12. But the
church in Lenic was built by a kneaz family that also owned the village13 and we
do not know of any masonry church built by Romanian serf communities during
the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries anywhere in Transylvania14. It is also highly
unlikely that a Catholic great noble would build an Orthodox church on the side
of the road connecting Transylvania and Banat in a time of great ideological and
confessional turmoil.
A quatrelobe planed church, with a complicated vaulting system does not
correspond to the confessional needs of a rural Orthodox community and,
furthermore, it represented a much more complicated and expensive solution than
a regular single nave church. It must be mentioned here that in the Land of Haeg
and in the lands of Hunedoara, everywhere where the former court chapels of the
Romanian noble families had become parish churches for the rural communities
during the ifteenth century, the change of destination of the initial monument had
as a result narthexes added to the original naves. his is the situation in Densu or
Strei and it is a phenomenon that must have happened at Gurasada as well. Even
these observations are enough to support a convincing thesis that the initial church
in Gurasada must have been older than the 1300s and it wasnt built as a parish
church of a serf rural community.
12 .
13 .
14 .
V. Drgu, Vechi monumente..., p. 51-53; see also Ecaterina Cincheza-Buculei, Studii i Cercetri de
Istoria Artei, 21, 1974, p. 45ff.
he kneaz family in Lenic is attested in 1386 (unpublished document from the Historical and
Archaeological Institute in Cluj-Napoca, in a collection prepped for publication. Dr. Sabin Bellu was
kind enough to let me study this document) and then in 1394 (E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta
historiam Valachorum in Hungaria illustrantia, Budapest, 1941, p. 481-482).
In the lands of Hunedoara and Haeg all the older sizeable Romanian churches are simple court chapels
of the kneaz families. None of the parish churches built by a rural community in an settlement without
a local kneaz (such as Nucoara) or built by a kneaz family for the use of the entire community (such as
Snpetru) seem to be older than the year 1400.
185
186
he data resulted from the excavations also suggests an earlier dating of the
monument. he third construction stage, when the narthex was transformed into a
three-nave space, an ostentatious reorganizing solution of a space with a lat ceiling,
leads to a Romanesque ambiance, which is at least a surprising fact. As for the
dating of the third stage of construction we have a single clue, of relative value. In
the southern side of the older narthex central nave the paintings from 1765 are not
on the oldest layer of plastering and previous coatings can be seen here and there.
herefore the year 1765 dates at most the fourth phase of the church and especially
the construction of the bell tower. Yet it is quite diicult to place the third phase
of the church during the Romanesque period because this implies that the second
stage of construction is older still.
Even though the Romanesque aspect of the third construction stage of the
church in Gurasada is a false one this phase actually being dated during the
fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries and even if we accept to date around 1300
the second construction stage, interpreting it as the rural Orthodox community
taking over or adapting the initial quatrelobe, we still have to wonder who and when
could have founded the original church in Gurasada. We dont know how it looked
the church founded by the Akos family in the thirteenth century or even earlier
at their main residence in Ilia15. Similarly, in Ulie, another neighbouring village
where a branch of the family was attested16, the old church was preserved only as
foundations inside the current cemetery. However there is another monument in
the area connected with the same family, in the main village of a domain seemingly
created only later on the northern banks of the Mure, the domain of Geoagiu de
Jos17.
he Romanesque church in Geoagiu appears at the end of the twelfth century
or during the thirteenth century18 and it consists of a classic rotunda (ig. 5a) built
of quarry stone and Roman spolia, with a circular nave with an inner diameter of
5.5 m. In its eastern side there is a small semicircular altar, 2 m long and with a 3 m
wide opening into the nave. he Akos familys rotunda in Geoagiu de Jos belongs to
a type of church widely spread in Central Europe during the early centuries of the
second millennium, actually with sensible analogies in Transylvania or the 12th-13th
century Arpadian Kingdom19.
Unlike the Romanesque monument in Geoagiu de Jos, the quatrelobe from
Gurasada has no analogies in Transylvania or the neighbouring areas. All the authors
that have studied so far rather supericially this monument are in agreement
about an Eastern origin and point out its relations with the Byzantine architecture,
even if the invoked inluences are spread over very large periods of time and space,
15 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
Mentioned in the literary sources for the irst time in 1266 Helya ... and the land with the river Mure
which lows through its middle (Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIII, II, p. 88).
Ibid., veac XIV, IV, p. 319; for the Akos family see also D. Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a
Hunyadiak korban, V, Budapesta, 1913, p. 8-9. he same research team from Gurasada has performed a
surface survey in 1977 at Ulie.
D. Csnki, op. cit., p. 12.
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei..., p. 88-89; see also Gh. Anghel, Apulum, 5, 1965, p. 615-624, where the
monument has a detailed description but the author never considered the problem of the founders of this
church, which can be only a court chapel.
Vera Gervers-Molnr, op. cit., p. 32-37; see also R. Heitel, Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Srie Beaux
Arts, 9, 1972, 2, p. 151-152 and 12, 1975, p. 3f.
from the Paleo-Christian Orient to the Wallachian architecture20. However, as far

as I know, no concrete and convincing analogies have been mentioned yet.
he main diiculty in placing the church in Gurasada in the same category as
the churches with a quatrelobe plan in Central and Central-Eastern Europe is that
the four lobes of the monument in question do not start in a well deined, circular
or square central space. If there was a circular central space in Gurasada, the most
sensible analogies for it would be in Prague and Cracow, where such monuments
are dated before the year 1000 (ig. 5b-c)21. Even though the steeple covering the
quatrelobe in Gurasada has a square plan, this doesnt seem to deine the central
space as a square, but rather the easiest solution to connect the vaults of the lobes to
the central plan22.
In this current stage of research, excluding due to the aforementioned reasons
the possibility of dating the church around the year 1300 and the possibility to
be founded as the parish church of a rural community, we remain with only two
working hypotheses for its dating and attribution. he irst would be to consider
the monument as a very early church founded by the Akos family around the
end of the tenth century or during the eleventh century, in a time when aligning
with Byzantium and the Church of Constantinople was still a possible option for
the newly created state that included the Carpathian Basin the kingdom of the
Arpad dynasty. If this hypothesis is true we will have to establish the date when the
ancestors of the Akos family settled in the Ilia depression, on the middle course of
the river Mure, and especially their origin, as regarding this subject there are some
opinions according to which their ancestors are Petcheneg-Cuman warlords that
were later assimilated to the nobility of the Hungarian kingdom23.
here is a key impediment in the way of this hypothesis: a church that was in
the thirteenth century a Catholic church could hardly end up in the possession of
an Orthodox community. For this reason I think that we should not overlook the
second hypothesis. It is possible that the church is older still, from the ninth or the
beginning of the tenth century. If that is the case the church would be among the
category of masonry monuments that were built before the Hungarian conquest.
his kind of monuments was repeatedly said to have existed, based on logic, but we
are still awaiting their concrete conirmation.
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
V. Vtianu is the irst to reveal some Armenian inluences (Anuarul Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice,
Transilvania, 1930, p. 132 and 188) but later on he considered a possible contamination of a classic
quatrelobe plan by the Byzantine triconch from Wallachia, maybe also inluenced by the disposition of a
single nave church in order to explain the elongation on the east-western axis. he lack of markings for
the central square plan made him consider the trilobe plan used at Niculiel in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries (Idem, Istoria artei..., p. 95). Vera Gervers-Molnr, op., cit., p. 59 thinks of a Byzantine model
arrived in Transylvania via Wallachia, but mentions there are no known intermediary stages of these
transmition. Both of these interpretations have a weakness: dating this monument around the year 1300.
We are talking about the irst chapel built in 930 on the place of St. Vit cathedral in Prague and the
quatrelobe planned church discovered on Wawel, in Cracow, probably dating from the tenth century:
V. Richter, in Magna Moravia, Prague, 1965, p. 238 and 242.
For the churches with a circular plan with four lobes on the four sides of a rectangular space, without a
central steeple see Vera Gervers-Molnr, op. cit., p. 58-59.
his opinion is based on the mentioning toward the end of the eleventh century, in the Illuminated
Chronicle of Vienna, of a Cuman warlord named Akus; see M. Rusu, Revue Roumaine d'Histoire, 21, 1982,
3-4, p. 348.
187
188
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 he church in Gurasada as it can be seen from the east.
Fig. 2 he outside foundation of the northern lobe, after the removal of the 1905 ventilation
canal.
Fig. 3 he church in Gurasada. Ground plan showing the extent of the archeological
investigation and the varied construction stages.
( Stage I Stage II Stage III Stage IV Undeterminable stage Stones)
Fig. 4 Jewelry items uncovered in area north of the Gurasada church.
Fig. 5 a) he rotunda in Geoagiu de Jos (according to Gh. Anghel); b) he chapel underneath
the St. Vit cathedral in Prague (according to V. Richter); c) he chapel in Wawel
Krakow (according to V. Richter).
Viaa BiSeRiceaSc a RoMniloR

din SPaiul intRacaRPatic
n Secolele Xii-Xiii.
BiSeRica de la denSu *
a stadiul actual al cunotinelor noastre privind viaa bisericeasc a romnilor

transilvneni, etapa secolelor XII-XIII ne apare ca un moment de nnoiri pe
un drum vechi atunci de aproape un mileniu. Aceste nnoiri se relect n ridicarea
primelor biserici de zid de ctre romni, punct de pornire al unui proces de treptat
nlocuire a mai vechilor lcauri de lemn prin ctitorii durabile din piatr i crmid,
care vor nfrunta veacurile. Procesul la care ne referim se va prelungi, de altfel, cu
ritmuri schimbtoare dup mprejurri, pn n vremurile noastre, iar n anumite
zone el nc nu s-a ncheiat cu totul.
Este desigur posibil ca i nainte de secolele XII-XIII s i existat n Transilvania
biserici romneti din zid, posibilitate postulat de cercettori1 i ntr-un fel chiar
reclamat de informaiile din izvoarele scrise2, dar investigaiile de pn acum nu
au produs deocamdat dovezile necesare i n-au scos la lumin vestigiile acestor
monumente. Pe de alt parte, acceptnd ideea c aceste prime biserici de zid ale
romnilor, anterioare secolului al XII-lea, au reprezentat totui monumente de
excepie i c procesul de generalizare al unor asemenea ctitorii i are nceputurile
n secolele XII-XIII, se pune iresc ntrebarea care au fost motivele, transformrile
din domeniul organizrii i structurrii Bisericii romneti din Transilvania care
s explice introducerea pe un plan mai larg a arhitecturii de zid n manifestrile
de cultur i civilizaie medieval ale societii btinae transilvnene. tim din
pcate foarte puine lucruri despre modul n care a fost organizat i a funcionat
aceast Biseric nainte de vremea nmulirii izvoarelor scrise, despre centrele ei
ierarhice proprii sau despre centrele ierarhice mai ndeprtate de care a depins.
Progresele realizate n ultima vreme de cercetri, ca i lucrrile mai nou publicate3,
ne dau dreptul s considerm c romnii transilvneni au avut n secolele XII-XIII
1.
2.
3.
Astfel, de pild, rotonda din substruciile catedralei romano-catolice de la Alba Iulia a fost
datat cu rezerve n secolele IX-X, iar la Dbca s-a desco perit o biseric din secolul al XI-lea,
cu nava mprit n naos i pronaos, dup procedeul care a devenit propriu ritului rsritean;
vezi R. Heitel, Archologische Beitrge zur Geschichte der romanischen Baudenkmler in
Siebenbrgen, II, n Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Srie Beaux Arts, XII, 1975, p. 7 i
t. Pascu i colab., Cetatea Dbca, n Acta Musei Napocensis, V, 1968, p. 170.
Avem n vedere mnstirea cu hramul Sf. Ioan Boteztorul, dependent de Biserica
Constantinopolitan, existent pe la anul 1000 la Morisena-Cenad, vezi R. Theodorescu,
Bizan, Balcani, Occident la nceputurile culturii medievale rom neti (secolele X-XIV ),
Bucureti, 1974, p. 74 i urm.
Pr. Prof. M. Pcurariu, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne, I, Bucureti, 1980, p. 204 i urm.;
Idem, nceputurile Mitropoliei Transilvaniei, Bucureti, 1980, p. 19-22.
Episcopia ortodox romn de Alba Iulia. ndrumtor bisericesc, misionar i patriotic, XII, 1988, p. 12-16
7.
190
VIAA BIsERICEAsC A RoMNILoR DIN sPAIUL INTRACARPATIC
Fig. 1.
Biserica din
Densu
centre de via bisericeasc care, chiar dac nu au ndeplinit toate condiiile pentru
a putea i considerate drept foruri ierarhice de rang episcopal ndreptite canonic,
au avut n fapt atribuiile unor astfel de foruri. Avem n vedere n primul rnd micile
mnstiri din cuprinsul numeroaselor ri medievale romneti ce acoper mai bine
de jumtate din teritoriul Transilvaniei, aezminte relativ modeste ca amploare a
construciilor i numr de monahi, dar foarte importante prin extinderea teritorial
a autoritii i inluenei, ca i prin rolul lor n conservarea structurilor i tradiiilor
proprii de via spiritual. Cnd aceste aezminte apar n documente n secolul al
XIV-lea, informaiile ne ncredineaz c existena i rolul lor coboar cu mult n
trecut, iar spturile arheologice au dovedit relativ recent c asemenea mnstiri
i-au ndeplinit rosturile nc din secolul al XII-lea4.
Printre monumentele care ilustreaz aceast
etap din secolele XII-XIII a vieii bisericeti
la romnii transilvneni, ca i nceputurile
generalizrii arhitecturii de zid n mediul
romnesc, biserica de la Densu din ara
Haegului ocup fr ndoial un loc aparte.
Monument de excepie sub raportul arhitecturii
sale, biserica din Densu nc nu beneiciaz
din pcate de o datare ferm, cum este cazul cu
o vecin a ei, biserica cu hramul Sf. Gheorghe
de la Streisngeorgiu, din prima jumtate a
secolului al XII-lea5. Opiniile privind vechimea
monumentului de la Densu variaz ntre limite
foarte largi. Cercetrile arheologice ntreprinse
n urm cu peste dou decenii, prilejuite de
ultima restaurare a bisericii, nu au fost nc
valoriicate prin publicare6, astfel nct suntem n
continuare dependeni de informaiile care pot i
culese din documente i de observaiile care stau
la ndemn prin cercetarea zidurilor.
Monumentul este prea bine cunoscut pentru
a ne mai simi ndemnai la descrierea lui detaliat, iniiativ ce ar consuma de
altfel tot spaiul de care dispunem aici. Nava aproape rectangular, cu dimensiuni
interioare de 6,40-6,25 m, cuprinznd i patru stlpi masivi care susin turla, are o
suprafa util mai mic de 30 m2, ceea ce evideniaz de la bun nceput caracterul de
capel de curte pe care l-a avut monumentul iniial. Vemntarul adugat pe latura
de sud a altarului, construcia ce a servit probabil drept paraclis adugat pe aceeai
4.
5.
6.
Situaie constatat la Voivozi, n nordul Bihorului, pentru care vezi R. Popa, Cercetrile de
la Voivozi i contribuia lor la cunoaterea nceputurilor bisericii romnilor din Bihor, n
ndrumtor bisericesc, misionar i patriotic, IV, Oradea, 1987, p. 78-80; un raport definitiv al
cercetrilor n Crisia, 1987, p. 61-105.
R. Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Mrturii de istorie romneasc din secolele XI-XIV n sudul
Transilvaniei, n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, XLVII,
1978, nr. 1, p. 9-32.
Spturi din anii 1961-1963, nc inedite, care au redus sensibil posibilitile unor investigaii
viitoare.
latur a navei, ca i pronaosul adosat pe latura de vest a monumentului, marcheaz

toate etapele trzii de transformare a acestei biserici de curte n biseric parohial7.
Dac eliminm din discuie eventualitatea ca biserica din Densu s ie un
monument roman ruinat, orientat ntmpltor dup punctele cardinale i refolosit
ca biseric ipotez mai veche la care se mpotrivete hotrt modul neregulat
n care sunt dispuse pe paramente blocurile mari de piatr cioplit, acestea din
urm cu siguran de origine roman, dar spoliate de la monumente romane
ruinate atunci ntrebrile n legtur cu monumentul de la Densu se reduc la
dou: contemporaneitatea dintre nav i altarul semicircular, construit din piatr
neregulat de carier i raportul dintre nav i turla care o ncununeaz. Dac este
puin probabil ca biserica s i avut iniial un alt altar, de pild de plan rectangular,
dup cum ar i pretins folosirea la ridicarea lui a blocurilor mari de piatr cioplit
provenind de la vechi monumente romane, n schimb existena de la origine a turlei
de pe nav poate i pus sub semnul ntrebrii. Lipsa de simetrie ntre cei patru stlpi
pe care se sprijin turla i deschiderea dinspre altar, ca i adugarea cert ulterioar a
celor opt coloane cu rol de contraforturi, pe laturile exterioare ale navei i care par a
i servit consolidrii monumentului cu prilejul unor transformri n care includem
actualele pri superioare ale bisericii, pledeaz pentru o datare mai trzie a turlei
i a corniei navei. Rezolvarea acestui semn de ntrebare are o deosebit importan
deoarece decorul din crmizi dispuse n zig-zag, aa numita friz lombard, care
nclzete cromatic paramentele iind dispus la limita superioar a pereilor navei
i la articulaiile volumelor turlei centrale, are n ara Haegului o datare destul de
strns. El apare la biserica parohial de la Sntmria-Orlea, monument romanic
trziu, datat pe bun dreptate n deceniul 1270-12808. Cu alte cuvinte, dac respectivul decor este la Densu de la nceputurile monumentului, atunci el ar pleda pentru
datarea acestuia ctre sfritul secolului al XIII-lea.
n completarea acestor cteva consideraii pe marginea vechimii bisericii din
Densu, o privire aruncat n documentele pstrate referitoare la familia cnezial
din acest loc poate aduce i ea desluiri. Satul i cnezii si sunt pentru prima oar
pomenii n izvoarele scrise la anul 1360, cnd Stoian i Boian, iii lui Muana
de Densu, se judec mpreun cu rudele lor din Ciula Mare pentru stpnirea
Rchitovei i a Mesteacnului, reclamant n proces iind un oarecare Micu, iul lui
Murgu, cneaz dintr-unul din satele nvecinate9. n acelai document este pomenit
i preotul Dalc din Densu. Din alte numeroase documente, ce ne permit coborrea
legturilor genealogice pn pe la anul 1300, alm c familia cnezial a Densuenilor
se desprise cu cteva generaii mai devreme n dou ramuri principale, aceea ce
se trgea din cneazul Dua i aceea cobortoare din cneazul Muana10. Acest din
urm nume pare a putea i ndreptat n Muat, cu nelesul de frumos, nume de
dinastie domneasc n Moldova acelei vremi, deoarece n inscripiile slavone pictate
n biseric numele este redat n aceast din urm form: Crstea al lui Muat.
Pe de alt parte, documentele atest c familia cnezial de Densu stpnea, n
ntregime sau doar ca pri de sate, un numr de 20 aezri situate toate n partea
de nord-vest a rii Haegului, pe cursul superior al rului Cerna i n partea de sub
7.
8.
9.
10 .
Ne ocupm pe larg de monument n monografia noastr: La nceputurile Evului Mediu

romnesc. ara Haegului, Bucureti, 1988, p. 228-229.
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, I, Bucureti, 1959, p. 74 i urm.
Documenta Romaniae Historica, C, Transilvania, XI, p. 506-508.
Analiza detaliat a tuturor documentelor, n monografia noastr citat la nota 7.
191
192
masivul Poiana Rusci, reprezentnd o structur teritorial unitar cu suprafaa de

7-800 km2 de es, cu livezi i ogoare, deal cu fnee i pdure i munte cu pune11.
Aceast uria stpnire reprezenta de fapt, n secolele XII-XIII, unul dintre cele
nou sau zece cnezate de vale care toate la un loc compuneau ara Haegului, iar
familia cnezilor din Densu, care a ctitorit biserica la care ne referim, se ala n
fruntea ierarhiei lumeti a acestui col de ar romneasc. Este semniicativ faptul
c toate bisericile vechi i importante din ara Haegului se al n satele de reedin
ale acestor familii de cnezi de vale, vrfuri ale societii romneti haegane, dup
cum tot n acele sate sau n imediata lor vecintate se pstreaz i cetuile de zid
ale respectivelor familii. Cetatea cnejilor se al peste deal de sat, la Rchitova, sat
pomenit la 1360 ca iind n stpnirea Densuenilor.
Probabila refolosire a unor ruine romane pentru amenajarea de spaii necesare
cultului dac nu la Densu, atunci n alte sate din regiune , utilizarea frecvent
a materialului de construcii roman pentru ridicarea de biserici noi, rspndirea
timpurie n mediul romnesc a unor monumente bisericeti medievale din zid,
reprezint trsturi ce individualizeaz grupul de biserici romneti din prile
Haegului i Hunedoarei n contextul arhitecturii medievale transilvnene. Ele atest
rdcini adnc nipte n teritoriile nconjurate de Carpai i ateapt ca cercetrile
viitoare s duc la mai buna lor cunoatere i la valoriicarea lor ca documente de
veche istorie romneasc.
11 .
Ibidem.
tHe ReligiouS liFe oF

RoManianS inSide tHe
caRPatHian aRcH
duRing tHe tWelFtH and tHe
tHiRteentH centuRieS. tHe
cHuRcH in denSu *
n the current stage of research concerning the spiritual life of Transylvanian

Romanians, the timeframe between the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries
seems to be a moment of renewal on a then millennium old road. hese renewals
are relected in the construction of the irst masonry Romanian churches, a starting
point of a process of gradually replacing the older wooden churches with more
durable monuments in stone or brick that will survive over centuries. his process
will last, changing pace according to junctures, to these days, while in some areas it
didnt close yet.
It is of course possible that even before the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries
there were Romanian masonry churches in Transylvania, a possibility scientists have
postulated1 and, in a way, even implied by the written sources2, but the investigations
so far did not produce convincing evidence and did not reveal the ruins of those
monuments. On the other side, accepting the idea that these irst Romanian masonry
churches, older than the twelfth century, still represented exceptional monuments
and that such buildings began to spread only during the twelfth and the thirteenth
centuries, than we must ask ourselves which were the reasons, the transformations
within the organization and structure of the Romanian Church in Transylvania
that would explain the introduction on a larger area of a masonry architecture
in the manifestations of culture and civilization of the medieval autochthonous
Transylvanian society. Unfortunately we know very little on the way this church was
organized and functioned before the time when written documents became more
common, on its hierarchical centres or on the distant hierarchical centres it depended
on. he latest progress in researches and the newer published papers3 give us the
right to consider that the Transylvanian Romanians had during the twelfth and
the thirteenth centuries centres of church life that, even if they did not fulil all the
1.
2.
3.
For example the rotunda under the substructures of the Romano-Catholic cathedral in Alba Iulia was
dated, with a certain degree of doubt, during the ninth and tenth centuries while at Dbca was discovered
an eleventh century church with the nave divided into a nave and a narthex according to precepts
proper to the Eastern Rite; see R. Heitel, Archologische Beitrge zur Geschischte der romanischen
Baudenkmler in Siebenbrgen, II, in Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Srie Beaux Arts, XII, 1975, p.
7; t. Pascu et al, Cetatea Dbca, in AMN, V, 1968, p. 170.
I am considering here Saint John the Baptist Monastery, depending on the Church in Constantinople
which existed around the year 1000 in Morisena-Cenad; see R. heodorescu, Bizan, Balcani, Occident la
nceputurile culturii medievale romneti (secolele X-XIV), Bucharest, 1974, p. 74f.
Pr. Prof. M. Pcurariu, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Romne, I, Bucharest, 1980, p. 204f.; Idem, nceputurile
Mitropoliei Transilvaniei, Bucharest, 1980, p. 19-22.
Episcopia ortodox romn de Alba Iulia. ndrumtor bisericesc, misionar i patriotic, XII, 1988, p. 12-16
7.
194
THE RELIGIoUs LIFE oF RoMANIANs INsIDE THE CARPATHIAN ARCH
conditions in order to be considered canonical Episcopal hierarchical centres, they

actually had such attributions. I am referring irstly to the small monasteries from
the numerous Romanian medieval ri i.e. lands which covered more than
half of Transylvania, modest in regard to the size of the buildings and the number
of monks but very important for the territorial expansion of authority and inluence,
and for their role in preserving particular structures and traditions of spiritual life.
When these establishments appeared in the fourteenth century documents, the
sources suggest that they have been in existence, playing an important role, much
earlier, and the excavations have recently proven that such monasteries functioned
since the twelfth century4.
Among the monuments that illustrate this twelfth to thirteenth centuries stage
of the Transylvanian Romanian spiritual life as well as the spreading of the masonry
architecture within the Romanian environment, the church in Densu, in the Land
of Haeg, holds a special place. Densu is an exceptional architectural monument
but unfortunately one not clearly dated, as is the case with one of its neighbours,
Saint George church in Streisngeorgiu, dated during the irst half of the twelfth
century5. he opinions on the dating of Densu monument vary between very large
limits. he excavations from the 1960s when the church was restored, havent been
published yet6, so we still depend on pieces of information from documents and
observations deriving from the study of the walls.
he monument is so well-known that I will not describe it in detail, a description
that would otherwise occupy the whole extant of this paper. he nave is almost
rectangular, with inner sizes of 6.4 by 6.25 m, with four massive pillars which
support the steeple and it has a usable surface of less than 30 sq m7, which evidences
the churchs initial function as a court chapel. he vestry which was added on the
southern side of the altar, another construction which probably served as a chapel
(para-ekklesia) added on the same side and the narthex on the western side of the
monument mark all the later transformation stages of this court chapel into a parish
church.
If we eliminate from the discussion the possibility that the church in Densu was
a ruined Roman monument that happened to be oriented exactly in accordance with
the compass points and was thus re-used as a church (an older hypothesis decisively
negated by the irregular way in which the large blocks of stone were placed on the
faces of the walls, deinitely Roman stone blocks but which were re-used from other
ruined Roman monuments) than only two questions remain about the Densu
monument: the contemporaneousness between the nave and the semicircular altar,
which was built of irregular quarry stones, and the connection between the nave and
the steeple above it. It is unlikely that the church initially had a diferent altar, for
example a rectangular one (as demanded by the use in its making of the large blocks
4.
5.
6.
7.
A situation noticed in Voivozi, in northern Bihor; see R. Popa, Cercetrile de la Voivozi i contribuia lor
la cunoaterea nceputurilor bisericii romnilor din Bihor, in ndrumtor bisericesc, misionar i patriotic, IV,
Oradea, 1987, p. 78-80; a deinitive report of the researches in Crisia, 1987, p. 61-105.
R. Popa, Streisngiorgiu. Mrturii de istorie romneasc din secolele XI-XIV n sudul Transilvaniei, in
Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, XLVII, 1978, nr. 1, p. 9-32.
he 1961-1963 excavations, still unpublished, which have drastically reduced the possibility of future
investigations.
I present a thorough description of this monument in the monography: La nceputurile Evului Mediu
romnesc. ara Haegului, Bucharest, 1988, p. 228-229.
of stones from Roman monuments), but the existence since the beginning of the
steeple covering the nave might be questioned. he lack of symmetry between the
four pillars that support the steeple and the opening toward the altar, as well as the
obviously later addition of the eight columns serving as buttresses on the exterior
sides of the nave (which seem to have served to the consolidation of the church
during transformation works into which I include the current upper parts of the
monument), plead for a later dating of the steeple and of the cornice of the nave.
Answering this question is extremely important because the decoration with bricks
placed in zigzag, the so-called Lombard frieze which chromatically warms the
paraments, placed at the upper limit of the nave walls and at the articulations of the
steeple, has, in the Land of Haeg, a rather narrow dating. It appears at the parish
church in Sntmaria-Orlea, a late Romanesque monument dated in 1270-12808.
In other words, if the Lombard frieze from Densu dates from the beginning of
the monument it would imply that the church was erected toward the end of the
thirteenth century.
In addition to these several considerations concerning the age of the church in
Densu, a look over the documents referring to the kneaz family that owned it might
be of help. he village and its kneazes are mentioned for the irst time by the sources in
1360, when Stoian and Boian, sons of Muana of Densu, litigate with their relatives
from Ciula Mare for the holdings of Rchitova and Mesteacn, the plaintif in the
trial being a certain Micu son of Murgu, kneaz of one of the neighbouring villages9.
he same document mentions the priest Dalc from Densu. From other numerous
documents that allow us to start the genealogy at around 1300 we ind out
that the kneaz family of Densu separated itself several generations earlier into two
main branches, the one descending from kneaz Dua and the one originating from
kneaz Muana10. his name seems to be correctable to Muat, meaning beautiful/
handsome, a name also used at the time by the ruling dynasty of Moldavia, especially
if we consider that in the Slavonic inscriptions painted inside the church the name
appears as Crstea, son of Muat.
hen again, the documents attest the fact that the kneaz family of Densu owned
20 settlements, whole villages or only parts of them, all of them in the north-western
part of the Land of Haeg, on the upper course of the Cerna River and around the
Poiana Rusc Mountains, tallying to a unitary territorial structure of 700-800 km
of lowlands occupied by orchards and plough ields, highlands with hayields and
forests and inally mountainous grassland11. his huge holding was actually during
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries one of the nine or ten vale knezates that
comprised the Land of Haeg and the kneaz family of Densu, who founded this
church, was at the top of the secular social hierarchy of this Romanian borderland.
It is noteworthy the fact that all the oldest and most important churches in this area
are in the residential villages of these vale kneaz families, the elite of the Romanian
society in the Land of Haeg, much like how in the same villages, or in their
immediate neighbourhood, lie their stone family fortresses. he fortress of the local
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, I, Bucharest, 1959, p. 74f.

Documenta Romaniae Historica, C, Transilvania, XI, p. 506-508.
Detailed analysis of all the documents in the monograph mentioned at note 7.
Ibid.
195
196
kneazes is over the hill, in Rchitova, a village mentioned in 1360 as a possession of

the family of Densu.
he probable re-use of Roman ruins as worship places if not in Densu than
in other local villages the frequent use of Roman construction materials for
the construction of new churches, the early spread within the Romanian environ
of medieval masonry churches represent features that individualize the group
of Romanian medieval churches around Haeg and Hunedoara in the context
of Transylvanias medieval architecture. hey speak of deep roots in the lands
surrounded by the Carpathians and wait for future investigations to provide a better
knowledge and to harness their potential as witnesses of the old Romanian history.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 he church in Densu
SiedlungSVeRHltniSSe und
etHnodeMogRaPHie deS
HatZegeR landeS
iM 13.-14. jaHRHundeRt *
s ist allgemein bekannt, wenn auch nicht immer bercksichtigt worden, da

in smtlichen Epochen die demographischen Koordinaten einer Gesellschaft
und eines Gebietes einen groen Einlu auf die geschichtliche Entwicklung
hatten. Zu Beginn des europischen Mittelalters beeinluten diese Koordinaten
sowohl die wirtschaftlichen Vorgnge als auch den Rhythmus der Heranreifung der
sozial-politischen Strukturen feudaler Natur entscheidend1. Zahl und Gre der
Siedlungen, die Stabilitt der Dorfkerne als Werk mehrerer aufeinanderfolgender
Generationen oder nur als Anlagen, die sich im territorialen Weichbild des Ortes
befanden und von Zeit zu Zeit verlegt wurden, wie auch die Dichte dieser Besiedlung
in einer Landschaft haben die Herausbildung aller seaften Gesellschaften in
frhe Staatsformen in hohem Mae bedingt. Von diesem Sachverhalt wird in der
Chronik des Johannes von Kkll im Zusammenhang mit der Beschreibung
der Grndung des selbstndigen mittelalterlichen Staates der Moldau Mitte des
14. Jahrhunderts berichtet, indem er behauptet, da crescente magna numerositate
Olachorum, inhabitantium illam terram, [Moldavia] in regnum est dilatata2.
Andererseits kann eine der wichtigsten Fragen, wenn nicht sogar das
Hauptproblem der rumnischen Geschichtsschreibung, und zwar die Frage der
Kontinuitt vom Altertum bis zum Mittelalter und die Entstehung des rumnischen
Volkes in dem Raum, wo es heute lebt, nur in engem Zusammenhang mit den
demographischen Aspekten des Geschichtsverlaufes in der zweiten Hfte des
vergangenen Jahrtausends und zu Beginn unseres Jahrtausends errtert werden.
Gerade dies ist von der Forschung fr jene Epoche vorwiegend der archologischen
wie auch in zusammenfassenden Werken huig vernachlssigt worden. Das
Unterschtzen oder Umgehen der Fragen nach Anzahl, Gre, Stabilitt und
Dichte des Siedlungsnetzes in einem gewissen Raum und in seinen Untereinheiten
annulliert jedoch praktisch die Mglichkeit, die historischen Prozesse vom
Anfang des rumnischen Mittelalters zu verstehen und zu rekonstruieren. Auch
sind im Charakter der Besiedlung und in den demographischen Koordinaten der
bodenstndigen Bevlkerung in den Gebieten der rumnischen Ethnogenese
einerseits sowie in der Gre der fremden Volksgruppen andererseits, die sich
1.
2.
Fr die beraus reiche Literatur dieses Fachbereiches vgl. t. Pascu, Demograia istoric, in: Populaie
i societate, Bd. 1, Cluj 1972, S. 1-71; t. tefnescu Demograia, dimensiune a istoriei, Timioara 1974, S.
7-44.
I. de hwrocz, Chronica Hungarorum ab origine gentis inserta simul Chronica Ioannis archidiaconi de
Kikullew, hg. von I. G. Schwandtner, Scriptores rerum Hungaricarum, Bd. 1, Vindobonae, 1766, S. 245.
Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde, 31,1988, 2, p.19-33
8.
198
sIEDLUNGsVERHLTNIssE UND ETHNoDEMoGRAPHIE DEs HATZEGER LANDEs
sukzessive auf diesem Gebiet niederlieen, die zwei Gleichungen zu sehen, von
deren Lsung die wahre Rekonstruktion des andauernden historischen Prozesses
mit seinen drei Aspekten abhngt: der Kontinuitt des dako-rmischen Lebens,
der rumnischen Ethnogenese und der politischen Struktur der rumnischen
Gesellschaft bis zur Grndung der selbstndigen Feudalstaaten.
Die obigen Ausfhrungen haben nur die quantitative Bevlkerungsdichte zum
Gegenstand. Eine bedeutende Rolle spielen selbstverstndlich auch qualitative
Aspekte, die sich in den Traditionen der verschiedenen Gemeinschaften, ihrer eigenen
Zivilisation oder im Stadium ihrer Organisation widerspiegeln. Die Angaben der
qualitativen Demographie, die leichter aufzudecken und zu interpretieren sind
und erfahrungsgem ist dies auch die bliche Vorgangsweise drfen jedoch nicht
an erster Stelle stehen, denn das hiee, der historischen Darstellung eine wichtige
Basis zu entziehen.
In den rumnischen Gebieten innerhalb des Karpatenbogens ermglichen die
Quellen eine Rekonstruktion der historischen Demographie erst ab dem 13. und
14. Jahrhundert, mit dem zahlenmigen Anstieg der schriftlichen Urkunden und
seitdem die Kanzleien des mittelalterlichen Ungarnreiches auch die Verhltnisse
in den bewaldeten oder bergigen Randgebieten Siebenbrgens erwhnen.
Rekonstruktionen fr ltere Zeiten sind lediglich fr kleine Flchen mglich und
haben, soweit sie auf anfechtbaren Methodologien beruhen, nicht mehr als einen
hypothetischen Wert3. Die ersten Rekonstruktionen quantitativer Demographie,
die sich schon auf sicherem Boden beinden, stammen aus der Epoche der ltesten
Urbarien des 16.-17. Jahrhunderts4. Ausnahmsweise, indes nur fr gewisse ethnisch,
sozial und religis genau umgrenzte Gruppen, knnen auch ltere Informationen
aus dem 14.-15. Jahrhundert zu siedlungsgeschichtlichen Aspekten herangezogen
werden5. Ersatz fr die fehlenden Informationen und fr den Nachvollzug der beiden
historischen Koordinaten Besiedlung und Demographie einer lteren Epoche
bieten freilich andere Quellen, vor allem die archologischen. Daraus ergeben sich
in bezug auf Umfang und Grndlichkeit der Forschung Ansprche, denen diese im
heutigen Stadium noch nicht befriedigend nachkommen kann.
Im Zusammenhang mit diesen allgemeinen Feststellungen mchten wir unsere
Erkenntnisse aus der Untersuchung der Besiedlung und der ethno-demographischen
Koordinaten in einem der grten und wichtigsten rumnischen Lnder (terrae)
am Rande des Karpatenbogens, dem Hatzeger Land, zur Diskussion stellen6.
Umfang und Bedeutung dieses Landes liegen in der Anzahl seiner Drfer, in der
geschichtlichen Rolle des Hatzeger Elementes und nicht zuletzt in dem Umstand,
da das Land die Rolle einer Brcke zwischen drei groen historischen Provinzen
spielte: Siebenbrgen, Kleine Walachei und Banat.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In diesem Sinne vgl. Gy. Gyrfy, 1: Az Arpad-kori Magyarorszg trtneti fldrajza, Bd. 1, Budapest,
1966. Alle Gebiete, in denen vor den Jahren 1332-1337 keine Quellen vorliegen, werden als unbesiedelt
betrachtet. Der zweite Band dieses Werkes, wo auch das ehemalige Hunyader Komitat behandelt wird,
war uns nicht zugnglich.
t. Pascu, Bd. 2, a.a.O., S. 13 f.
Vor allem im Raum der schsischen Sthle; vgl. darber neuerdings P. Niedermaier, Zur
Bevlkerungsdichte und -bewegung im mittelalterlichen Siebenbrgen, in Forschungen zur Volks- und
Landeskunde, 1986, Bd. 29, H.1.S.17 u. f. mit der entsprechenden Fachliteratur.
Die vorliegende Studie fut auf den Schlufolgerungen meiner Monographie La nceputurile Evului
Mediu romnesc. ara Haegului, Kapitel VI, die 1988 erschienen ist.
Von Anfang an mssen wir darauf hinweisen, da eine Untersuchung dieser Art,
vor allem hinsichtlich des gesetzten Zieles, von der Festlegung eines entsprechenden
Gebietsumfanges abhngt. Das mittelalterliehe Hatzeger Land umfate nicht
nur die gleichnamige innerkarpatische Senke zwischen dem Retezat-, ureanund Poiana Rusca-Gebirge, also den Oberlauf des Strell und seiner Nebenlsse,
sondern auch die umliegenden Gebiete von der Quelle des Schil, des Banater
Bistra-Flusses, vom Tal der Hunyader Cerna und ihrer Nebenbche aus dem Poiana
Rusca-Masiv sowie auch vom Unterlauf des Strell bis an den Mieresch. Es ist nicht
belanglos, daran zu errinnern, da schon in der ersten unkundlichen Erwhnung des
Hatzeger Landes aus dem Jahre 1247, das Knigsdiplom von einer terra Harszoc
cum pertinentibus suis spricht7. Zhlt man diese Pertinentien hinzu, so beluft sich
der Raum, mit welchem wir uns befassen, auf fast 5.000 km2, der in drei gleichgroe
Reliefgebiete zerfllt: breite Tler und Ebenen der Senke (200-600 m Hhe); enge
Tler, Weiden, Laubwlder mit Niederalmen (600-1.000 m Hhe); Gebirgsmassive
mit Hochalmen. Die Betrachtung des Hatzeger Landes in einem erweiterten
Sinne bietet den Vorteil, die nderungen in der Besiedlung und die ethnodemographischen Aspekte in grerem Rahmen untersuchen zu knnen sowie den
Verlauf der Entwicklung in etwa zwei bis drei Jahrhunderten, die unmittelbar vor
den schriftlichen Quellen liegen, zu verfolgen. Gegeben ist auch die Mglichkeit,
die Etappen und die Umstnde der Ansiedlung fremder Gemeinschaften inmitten
oder rings um den rumnischen Siedlungsblock im Hatzeger Land des 13. und 14.
Jahrhunderts darzustellen.
Die genaue und umfassende Auswertung der vorhandenen Urkunden bis zur
Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts wie auch anderer Quellengattungen, in erster Linie
der archologischen, zu denen auch die Denkmler gehren, belegen fr das 14.
Jahrhundert das Vorhandensein von 195 Siedlungen in dem untersuchten Raum8.
Das selektive Heranziehen einiger Informationen aus der ersten Hlfte des
15. Jahrhunderts, um das Siedlungsnetz im 13.-14. Jahrhundert zu rekonstruieren,
knnte Widerspruch erregen. Deshalb mchten wir darauf hinweisen, da die Wahl
der ppstlichen Zehntverzeichnisse aus den Jahren 1332-1337 als oberes Datum
fr die Rekonstruktion der Verhltnisse whrend des 10.-13. Jahrhunderts, wie das
unlngst Gy. Gyrfy9 in seiner jngst verfentlichten Arbeit tat, bedeutet, da
im gesamten Hatzeger Land, mit seinen Pertinentien. d. h. auf einer Flche von
ber 4.000 km2 lediglich fnf oder sechs Siedlungen vorhanden gewesen wren10,
was noch einmal den fehlenden Ernst in der Verwendung dieser Methode bei
historischen Rekonstruktionen aufzeigt.
Die Zahl von 195 Siedlungen ist kein festliegender Wert. Es ist mglich, da
die Ungenauigkeit der Information dazu fhrte, da in das Verzeichnis auch
Siedlungen aufgenommen wurden, die erst nach 1400 entstanden sind; hingegen
ist es wahrscheinlich, da eine hnliche oder noch grere Anzahl von Siedlungen
des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts bei unserer Untersuchung nicht beachtet wurde. Mit
7.
8.
9.
10 .
Documenta Romaniae Historica, D, Relaii ntre rile romne, Bd. 1, Bucureti, 1977, S. 22.
Smtliche Daten fr diese Siedlungen im 13.-15. Jahrhundert sind im 6. Kapitel der erwhnten
Monographie, bei Anm.6. angegeben.
Vgl. oben Anm. 3.
Die drei Siedlungen der Hatzeger Senke, die urkundlich vor 1337 erwhnt sind, waren Hatzeg,
Sntmria-Orlea und Britonia-Grdite.
199
200
anderen Worten: Ziehen wir die Gesamtzahl der Drfer, die vor dem 15. Jahrhundert
bestanden haben in Betracht sowie auch die Dichte des Siedlungsnetzes der Drfer
im untersuchten Raum, so glauben wir, da etwa 200 Siedlungen im 14. Jahrhundert
unbedingt eine realistische Zahl darstellen.
Die rumliche Verteilung der lteren Drfer war in groem Mae von den
Relieformen bedingt. Die meisten Drfer beinden sich auf einer Hhe von 250400 m, am Unterlauf des Strell und der Cerna und in den dazwischenliegenden
Hgelgebieten sowie in der Hatzeger Senke. Am Oberlauf der beiden Flsse liegen
die Drfer bis zu einer Hhe von 5-600 m. Diese Siedlungsgrenze mit stndiger
Besiedlung wurde nur an wenigen Stellen berschritten im Poiana Rusca-Massiv,
im Gebiet der hheren Berge zwischen dem Oberlauf der Cerna und der Hatzeger
Senke, in der Senke der Schil-Quellen (560-650 m) und in weiteren zwei, drei Fllen.
In der rumlichen Verteilung der alten Siedlungen sind zwei Wesenszge
festzustellen. Einerseits, nrdlich und nordstlich von Hunyad, in dem Raum, wo
sich Drfer mit magyarischen Kleinadligen beinden, die aus Gemeinschaften von
Burgdienern (iobagiones castri) hervorgingen und von denen weiter unten noch die
Rede sein wird, liegen die Orte dicht beieinander. Wenn wir zu den alten Drfern,
die auch heute noch erhalten sind, die hier liegenden Wstungen hinzuzhlen,
so ergibt sich eine ungewhnliche Siedlungsdichte, selbst im Vergleich zu
siebenbrgischen Rumen mit besseren Siedlungsbedingungen, vergleichbar etwa
mit der Lage an beiden Ufern des mittleren Miereschlaufes. Die selbstverstndliche
Schlufolgerung ist, da es sich nicht um sehr groe Siedlungen handeln kann, ein
Umstand, der auch von anderen Informationen besttigt wird.
Indem wir, andererseits, bezglich der Aufteilung der Siedlungen ihrem Alter
nach und je nach der Bedeutung der rumnischen Drfer im Hatzeger Land
vorgreifen, knnen wir feststellen, da in der Hatzeger Senke smtliche alte Drfer
mit angesehenen Knesenfamilien an der Spitze sich am Rande, unterhalb der Berge
beinden, auf Gemarkungen, die eine mhelose Benutzung sowohl der Ackerlnder
in der Ebene und auf niedrigen (400-600 m hohen) Plattformen ermglichten als
auch der Wlder und Gebirgsweiden, die zur unmittelbaren Gemarkung der Drfer
gehrten. Von Hatzeg trefen wir, einen Kreis beschreibend, unter den Bergen und
Gebirgen, am Rande der Senke, die Drfer Frcdinul de Sus, Tutea, Ciula Mare,
Densu, Peteana, Britonia-Grdite, Clopotiva, Ru de Mori und Slau de Sus
an11. Die inmitten der Senke gelegenen Drfer erscheinen, falls nicht als neuere
eingeschtzt (die Bezeichnung neues Dorf kann bei jener relativen Unstabilitt der
Besiedlung vor dem 14. Jahrhundert allerdings nur bedingt gebraucht werden), als
auf einer tieferen Stufe im Organisationssystem des Hatzeger Landes gelegen. Die
Einteilung der Hatzeger Dorfsiedlungen nach ihrer Bedeutung kann aufgrund des
Besitzersystems und der Familienzugehrigkeit der Knesen vorgenommen werden,
dieser sozial diferenzierten Schicht rumnischer Feudalherrn aus vorstaatlicher
Zeit12. Dieselben Merkmale territorialer Gliederung der Besiedlung trefen wir auch
am Oberlauf des Strell an, wo Drfer, die mit Densu oder Ru de Mori und mit
11 .
12 .
Die Belege sind in der erwhnten Monographie, Anm. 6, angegeben.

In dem Sinne, da einige Knesenfamilien eine Gruppe benachbarter Drfer besaen, insgesamt oder nur
Anteile von Drfern, wobei im letztgenannten Fall diese im Gegensatz zu den Dorfteilen standen, die
jeder einzelnen Familie untertan waren. Eine eingehendere Analyse dieser Erscheinung siehe im Kapitel
VII der erwhnten Monographie, unter Anm. 6.
ihrer Stellung im Gesamtgefge des Hatzeger Landes verglichen werden knnen

wir verweisen auf Ru Alb und Ru Brbat nicht am Ufer des Strell selbst, wie zu
erwarten wre, sondern nher an den Bergen, an je einem der Nebenlsse, liegen.
Eigentlich wiederholt die Aufteilung der Hatzeger Drfer vom Standpunkt
der mittelalterlichen rumnischen Besiedlung im kleinen den Sachverhalt des
gesamten Siebenbrgen, wo die Gebiete mit alten und wichtigen Vereinigungen
von Dorfgemeinschaften, wie schon bekannt, den Lndern entsprachen, die am
Rande des Karpatenbeckens liegen, von Almj und Haeg bis in die Maramuresch
und Oa.
Die Gre der Drfer und der Bevlkerung im Hatzeger Land im 13. und 14.
sowie in den vorangehenden Jahrhunderten ist eine Grundfrage fr das Verstndnis
der inneren Mechanismen der Hatzeger Gesellschaft, so auch fr die Rekonstruktion
der Art und Weise, wie ihre Beziehungen sich zu den ueren Faktoren gestalteten.
Zu dieser Frage sind die vorhandenen Quellen jedoch von sehr begrenzter
Aussagekraft. Um die Bevlkerungszahl des Hatzeger Landes zu bestimmen,
knnen wir genaue Zahlen erst beginnend mit dem 18. Jahrhundert einsetzen,
weil die Angaben der lteren Quellen unsicher sind: Mit Fragezeichen versehen ist
das Verhltnis zwischen Hufe oder Wirtschaft und Familie, der Charakter dieser
Familien, die Beziehungen zwischen den Familien mit Besitzerrecht und den
untertnigen Familien, die erklrterweise kleiner angegebenen Daten, um niedrige
Steuern zu erwirken u. a13.
So wissen wir, da im Jahre 1406 die Drfer Almaul de Jos und Cherge
zusammen 25 Hufen (vigintaquinqua sessiones)14 hatten, woraus man aber nicht den
Schlu ziehen kann, da in jedem dieser Drfer 12-13 Familien wohnten, weil eine
Hufe von mehreren Brdern, jeder mit seiner Familie, benutzt werden konnte, so
wie es zu jener Zeit mglicherweise auch ungenutzte Hufen geben konnte, whrend
die fnf Familien, zu deren Gunsten das Diplom betrefend diese beiden Drfer
ausgefolgt wurde, vielleicht zu der gesamten Anzahl hinzugezhlt werden mten.
ber Clanu Mic wird 1387 ausgesagt, da es acht bewohnte Wirtschaften hatte
(octo mansionem populorum in se continentem)15, aber auch diese Zahl ist nicht
aussagekrftig, weil das Dorf erst vor kurzem an die Adligen von Pichini und
Binini als Untertanen-Dorf verschenkt worden war und als solches entvlkert
wurde; einige Jahrzehnte spter erscheint der Ort als Praedium16.
In Pestiu Mare wird im Jahr 1302 eine Zahl von 20 Personen,
Familienoberhupter, Nachkommen von 15 namentlich genannten Vorfahren,
erwhnt, die eine Gemeinschaft von Kleinadligen bildeten17. Weil die Urkunde
Besitzangelegenheiten geregelt hat, drfen wir annehmen, da keine Familien mit
Besitzrecht im Dorf unbeachtet blieben, selbst wenn diese durch Heirat oder andere
Grnde schon in Nachbardrfern siedelten. Zu diesen 20 Familien knnte noch
eine gewisse Zahl von Untertanen-Familien hinzugezhlt werden; dies ist jedoch
ungewi, denn wir wissen sehr wenig ber das Stadium der feudalen Unterjochung
13 .
14 .
15 .
16 .
17 .
t. tefnescu, a.a.O., S. 22 und passim.

E. Mlyusz, Zsigmondkori oklevltr, Bd. 2, Budapest 1956, Nr. 4412.
Ebenda, Bd. 1, Nr. 214.
D. Csnki, Magyarorszg trtnelmi fldrajza a Hunyadiak korban, Bd. 5, Budapest 1913, S. 99.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, veac XIV, Bd. II 1, S. 13-15.
201
202
um 1300 in diesem Raum. Auch in Hdat sind fr das Jahr 1333 14 Adlige
belegt, die damals wahrscheinlich die ganze Kleinadligengemeinschaft darstellten,
Nachfolger einer Burgdiener-Gemeinschaft. Es wird angegeben, sie seien Shne
von nur sechs Personen und da die Dorfgemarkung seit altersher in fnf gleiche
Teile aufgeteilt wurde18. Daraus knnte man schlieen, da ursprnglich fnf
Familien in Hdat lebten, aber welche Art von Familien diese waren, gewhnliche
Familien oder Grofamilien, bleibt ungewi. Die Gemeinschaft der Kleinadligen
aus Cristur setzte sich im Jahre 1302 aus nur drei Familien zusammen19, whrend
die Gemarkung von Rctia um die Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts in vier Viertel
aufgeteilt wurde; eines dieser Viertel wurde von zwei Vettern beansprucht, d. h. von
Nachfahren desselben Grovaters20, woraus wir schlieen knnen, da um 1300 im
Dorf vier Familien mit Besitzrecht siedelten.
Diese Familien knnten Grofamilien gewesen sein, die sich im
Aulsungsproze in mehrere unabhngige Wirtschaften befanden, whrend in
Rctia im 14. Jahrhundert hchstwahrscheinlich auch Untertanen-Familien lebten.
Zwei Jahrhunderte frher war hier der Gemeinschaftsbesitz einheitlich, und wir
bedauern, da von dem dortigen Grberfeld, von dem 54 Grber erforscht wurden21,
weder die Ausmae noch eine sichere chronologische Abgrenzung bekannt sind.
Bezglich des Beitrags, welchen die Friedhfe zur demographischen Rekonstruktion
bringen knnen, drfen wir nicht vergessen, da in einem Jahrhundert, also im Laufe
von vier Generationen unter Beachtung der erheblichen Kindersterblichkeit in
jener Epoche eine Einzelfamilie im Durchschnitt 25 Grber hinterlie22.
Nach der berlieferung stammten auch in Ableu, vor dem Wstungsproze
dieses Ortes, die Siedler von vier Familien ab, wobei auch die Namen in
Erinnerung blieben. Es scheint sich hier um Grofamilien zu handeln23. Im
allgemeinen glauben wir, da im 13. und 14 Jahrhundert nur ausnahmsweise
kleine Drfer mit weniger als 10 Familien bestanden, obwohl in einem Teil
der Fachliteratur huig ber die geringfgige Gre der frhmittelalterlichen
Drfer gesprochen wird; gerade die Drfer in den Gebieten Siebenbrgens
mit einheitlicher rumnischer Bevlkerung wurden24 nicht ohne
unwissenschaftliche Absichten mit Vorliebe als besonders klein bezeichnet.
Die produktive Arbeit und die Beziehungen der Dorfgemeinschaften zu der
gegebenen Umwelt, aus welcher die lebensnotwendigen Vorrte bezogen wurden,
weiterhin die Funktion der wirtschaftlichen, gemeinschaftlichen Mechanismen
innerhalb der Gemarkungsgrenzen erforderten eine gewisse Anzahl von
Menschen. Die Umwandlung von Weilern in selbstndige Siedlungen oder die
dauerhafte, deinitive Ansiedlung von Familiengruppen in stabile Siedlungen an
einer Stelle, die sie frher, die Lebenszeit einiger Generationen hindurch, nur einen
18 .
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
24 .
Ebenda, Bd. 3, S. 304-305.

Ebenda, Bd. 1, S. 13-15.
Documenta Romaniae Historica, C. Transilvania. XI, S. 227-228 und 241-243.
G. Bko, "Despre structura social a populaiei din epoca feudal timpurie de la Moldoveneti", in Studii
i cercetri de istorie veche, 1969, Bd. 20, H. 2, S. 338 f.
Noch nicht verfentlichte, von siebenbrgischen Friedhfen des 15.-17. Jahrhunderts besttigte Werte.
I. Radu, Istoria vicariatului greco-catolic al Haegului, Lugoj 1913, S. 247.
Vgl. z. B. E. Lukinich L. Gldi, Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria illustrantia usque ad annum
1400 p. Christ., Budapest 1941. S. XXXVIII oder I. Szab, A falurendszer kialakulsa Magyarorszgon,
Budapest 1966, S. 47.
Teil des Jahres besiedelt hatten. Bedingungen, die eine urkundliche Erwhnung als
possessio oder villa rechtfertigen, waren nur im Falle einer greren Anzahl von
Familien plausibel.
Selbst Kanzleiausdrcke wie de und fast unbewohnte Gter25 oder Orte ohne
Siedler26, die man im 14. Jahrhundert antrift, drfen nicht ad litteram gedeutet
werden. ber einen Teil einer Domne, welche 1324 ohne jeglichen Einwohner
gekennzeichnet wird, erfahren wir zur selben Zeit aus einer anderen Urkunde, da
jener Boden blo fast ohne Einwohner war, und andernorts, da er doch 30
Wirtschaften aufwies27.
Unser Standpunkt wird gelegentlich durch detaillierte Angaben besttigt. In
einem Dorf an der Quelle des Strell, hchstwahrscheinlich in Barul Mare, trefen
wir 1418 einen Gemeinschaftsbesitz des Knesates an, der Eigentum von 16
Personen mit 11 Vorfahren war28. Im Nachbardorf Ru Brbat werden sieben Jahre
frher, 1411, sogar 37 Personen mit Besitzerrecht erwhnt, was einer ebensolchen
Zahl von Knesen-Familien gleichkommt, selbst wenn hier erwhnt wird, da diese
Shne von 11 Personen sind29. Hinzu kommt die Mglichkeit, da das medius
Kenesiatus von Ru Brbat, das 1411 zur Diskussion steht, nur die Hlfte des Dorfes
ausmacht30 und da auf alle Flle zu den Knesen-Familien von Barul Mare und Ru
Brbat noch eine gewisse Familienzahl ohne Besitzrecht hinzuzurechnen ist. Die
Quellen melden schon 1360, da die Hatzeger Gesellschaft sich aus Knesen und
Alten sowie gemeinen Rumnen (kenezii, seniores et homines olachales populani)
zusammensetzt, whrend an dem Gerichtsstuhl jenes Jahres auch die Untertanen
(iobagiones) der Knesen teilgenommen haben31. Die Meldungen aus dem Jahr
1411, da in Ru Brbat frher sieben Brder Gemeinbesitz hatten und da die
Gemarkung dementsprechend auf sieben geteilt wurde, kann nicht anders aufgefat
werden, als da im 14. Jahrhundert in Ru Brbat sieben Familiengeschlechter
waren, von denen eine 1360-1370 erloschen war. Angenommen, da die sieben
Brder mit Gemeinbesitz nur sieben einfachen Familien entsprchen, so knnte
die Aufzeichnung der 37 Personen, Nachfahren von 11, aus dem Jahre 1411 nicht
erklrt werden32.
Anhaltspunkte liefert auch die Gre der Kultbauten. Hier stehen die, wenigstens
zu Beginn, als Hofkapellen genutzten Denkmler nicht zur Diskussion, da ihre
uerst geringen Ausmae den Familiencharakter ausweise33. Es interessieren uns
vielmehr die Kirchen, die von Anfang an den Dorfgemeinschaften dienten, weil
diese den Raumbedrfnissen entsprechend aufgefhrt wurden und auch von den
25 .
26 .
27 .
28 .
29 .
30 .
31 .
32 .
33 .
Documenta Valachorum, S. 285.

Die Erwhnung ist einer unverfentlichten Urkunde ber das Dorf Boia entnommen, die sich im Archiv
des Instituts fr Geschichte und Archologie in Cluj-Napoca beindet.
Vgl. Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, veac XIV, Bd. 2, S. 104-105 und 108; es handelt sich um das
Gut Valea Seac (Zarazpotok) aus dem Kreis Covasna.
R. Popa, "Cnezatul Ru Brbat", in Stat, societate, naiune. Interpretri istorice, Cluj-Napoca, 1982, S.
61-62.
Ebenda, S. 50 u.f.
Der Urkundentext in A Hunyadmegyei trtnelmi s rgszeti trsulat vknyve, Bd. 2, 188-1883, S. 24 u.f.
Documenta Romaniae Historica, C, Transilvania, Bd. XI, S. 506-507.
Die eingehende Untersuchung der Urkunde siehe in der erwhnten Studie, Anm. 28.
Die ursprnglichen Ausmae der Schife solcher Kirchen (Ostrov, Streisngeorgiu, Peteana u.a.)
betrugen 15-16 m2.
203
204
materiellen Mglichkeiten der Gemeinschaft Zeugnis ablegen. Die Gemeinschaft

von Sntmria-Orlea errichtete sich um 1280 eine Pfarrkirche34, deren Schif
120 m2 betrgt. Wenn wir annehmen, da Pfarrkirchen von Gemeinschaften der
rmischen Kirche so projektiert wurden, da fr jedes Mitglied der Gemeinschaft
0,5-1 m2 berechnet wurden35, so kommen fr Sntmria-Orlea um 1270-1280,
also in der Anfangszeit der Siedlung, etwa 25-30 Familien in Frage.
Wir wissen nicht, ob derselbe Koeizient auch fr die orthodoxen
Dorfgemeinschaften des 14. Jahrhunderts angewendet werden kann. Das
Kirchenschif von ber 40 m2 in Nucoara wie auch jenes von 50 m2 in Snpetru,
Denkmler aus dem 14. Jahrhundert, die ofensichtlich das Aussehen von Kirchen
haben, die von der ganzen Dorfgemeinschaft benutzt wurden36, deuten darauf hin,
da dort in jener Zeit bevlkerungsreiche Gemeinschaften lebten.
Die analysierten Informationen und die in der Fachliteratur angegebenen Zahlen37
ermglichen uns, einen Durchschnittswert von 20 Familien fr die Dorfsiedlungen
unseres Raumes im Laufe des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts anzunehmen. Es gab gewi auch
Drfer mit nur 10-15 Familien, whrend mehrere Siedlungen von ber 30 Familien
bewohnt waren. Angenommen, da der Familiendurchschnitt 4,5 oder etwas mehr
Personen ausmachte, erhalten wir als Gesamtbevlkerung fr das Hatzeger Land,
zusammen mit seinen Pertinentien und mit den benachbarten Gebieten, bis an den
Mieresch, eine Zahl zwischen 15.000-20.000 Personen, whrend das eigentliche
Hatzeger Land der Distrikt der Hatzeger Burg im 14. Jahrhundert lediglich etwa
10.000 Bewohner hatte; die Hatzeger Senke, einschlielieh des Oberlaufs des Strell,
wies um das Jahr 1300 eine Bevlkerungszahl von nur 6-7.000 Einwohnern auf.
Aus den angefhrten Grnden hat diese Berechnung nicht die von Zahlen
geforderte Genauigkeit, sie entspricht aber, mehr oder weniger, den Gegebenheiten der
Epoche. Die Berechnung legt auf alle Flle den Modus nahe, nach dem die historischen
Rekonstruktionen vorgenommen werden mssen, in denen der menschliche Faktor
im allgemeinen und die Siedlungsdichte im besonderen wesentlich sind.
Gleichzeitig beweisen die angefhrten Analysen und Zahlen, da in den
Gegenden mit ungarischem Kleinadel am Unterlauf des Strell und der Cerna sowie
in den anderen Gebieten, die wir errtern, keine nennenswerten Unterschiede in der
Gre der Siedlungen zu verzeichnen sind. In bezug zur Bevlkerungsdichte, die wir
in dem gesamten Raum auf etwa drei Bewohner pro km2 schtzen, mu die Dichte
in der Nhe des Mieresch grer gewesen sein, weil dort der bessere Ackerboden die
Entwicklung eines dichteren Siedlungsnetzes gefrdert hat. Aus demselben Grund
aber konnten diese Siedlungen nicht allzu gro sein.
Eine Prfung unserer Schlufolgerungen anhand von spteren, genaueren Quellen
zeigt, da die sterreichischen Angaben des 18. Jahrhunderts nicht viel grere
Zahlen mitteilen, als die von uns genannten. In der ersten Hlfte des 18. Jahrhunderts
34 .
35 .
36 .
37 .
Die von V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, Bd. 1, Bucureti, 1959, S. 77, angenommene
Datierung wird von den schriftlichen Unterlagen vollkommen besttigt.
P. Niedermaier, Siebenbrgische Stdte, Bukarest, 1979, S. 165.
In den beiden Drfern sind keine bedeutenden Knesenfamilien urkundlich belegt, es ist jedoch bekannt,
da diese Drfer oder Teile von ihnen im Besitz der Knesenfamilie Cndea aus Ru de Mori waren.
t. Pascu, Voievodatul Transilvaniei, Bd. 1, Cluj 1971, S. 227-229; K. Horedt, Siebenbrgen in sptrmischer
Zeit, Bukarest 1982, S. 22; Gy. Gyrfy, Einwohnerzahl und Bevlkerungsdichte in Ungarn bis zum Anfang
des XIV. Jahrhunderts, Sonderdruck aus Studia Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 42, 1960, S. 29.
gab es in dem betrefenden Raum noch gengend Siedlungen mit 20-30 Familien,
whrend die Drfer mit mehr als 50 Familien nicht sehr zahlreich waren38. Eine so
bescheidene demographische Zunahme von nur 50-100 Prozent im Verlauf von vier
Jahrhunderten mssen wir dahingehend korrigieren, da die Anzahl der Siedlungen
sich verdoppelte; im Vergleich zu denen, die bis gegen Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts
schriftlich belegt sind und von uns behandelt wurden, war das Siedlungsnetz des
16.-18. Jahrhunderts viel dichter. Infolgedessen widerspiegelt sich ein Anwachsen
der Bevlkerung von drei bis viermal mehr Einwohnern in dem behandelten Gebiet,
vom 13.-14. Jahrhundert bis in die sterreichische Zeit39, in berzeugender Weise
auch in dem lteslen detaillierten Kartenwerk, das uns bekannt ist, in der sogenannten
Josephinischen Landesaufnahme, welche alle Hfe und Wirtschaften aus jedem
einzelnen Dorf angibt40. Es handelt sich um ein wahrheitsgetreues Bild der Hatzeger
Siedlungen mit 30-50 Wirtschaften sowie jener Drfer, die keine topographischen,
von den Behrden diktierten nderungen erfahren haben; wir knnen sogar die alten
Dorfanlagen erkennen, die im Laufe des Mittelalters ihre wesentlichen Zge behalten
haben.
Andererseits kann der begrenzte Bevlkerungszuwachs im Laufe von vier
Jahrhunderten, ohne demographische Sprnge oder Explosionen, fr Vergleiche
fr die Zeit vor dem 13.-14. Jahrhundert herangezogen werden, in erster Linie
fr das 12. Jahrhundert. Die schriftlichen Nachrichten und ihr Vergleich mit den
archologischen oder anderen Unterlagen beweisen berzeugend, da im 13. und 14.
Jahrhundert keine demographische Explosion, sondern hchstens eine ebenfalls
begrenzte Explosion der Informationen aus den Kanzleien stattgefunden hat. Das
Ma, in welchem unser Gebiet frher, im 11.-12. Jahrhundert, eine Vermehrung
der Bevlkerung erfahren hat, die in umfangreichen Gebieten Europas festgestellt
wurde41, kann mit Hilfe der archologischen Forschungsmethoden festgestellt
werden. Wie schon oben hervorgehoben wurde, kann jedoch die Archologie nur
unter der Bedingung grndlicher Ausgrabung der Siedlungsanlagen demographische
Rekonstruktionen vornehmen.
Es wurde behauptet und dieses Beispiel ist aussagekrftig fr unseren
Gedankengang , da sich im Hatzeger Land archologisch schon fr das 8.-10.
Jahrhundert eine solche Siedlungskonzentration feststellen lasse und da aufgrund
dieser die staatlichen Anfnge des Landes mit Sicherheit in diese Zeit zurckdatiert
werden knnen42. Von den drei gesicherten und zwei anderen Funden, die fr die
Argumentation herangezogen wurden, besteht der eine sichere (Deva) aus
keramischen Bruchstcken des 11.-12. Jahrhunderts, er wurde also falsch datiert; ein
38 .
39 .
40 .
41 .
42 .
Siehe z.B. I. Radu, a.a.O., passim.

Ein Zuwachs, der gewi nicht kontinuierlich war. Nach der Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts belegen die
urkundlichen Quellen sogar eine Verringerung der Bevlkerungszahl, die bis zur Mitte des 16.
Jahrhunderts 39% ausmacht (P. Niedermaier, Zur Bevlkerungsdichte, S. 25-26); diese Angaben, die fr das
Gebiet der schsischen Sthle festgelegt wurden, knnen jedoch nicht vorbehaltlos in ganz Siebenbrgen
gltig gewesen sein.
sterreichisches Kriegsarchiv Wien, Josephinische Landesaufnahme, B IX 715; wir verdanken Dr. Paul
Niedermaier die Mglichkeit, die Fotokopien dieser Karte eingesehen zu haben.
J. C. Russell, "Die Bevlkerung Europas 500-1500", in: C. M. Cipolla K. Borchardt,
Bevlkerungsgeschichte Europas, Mnchen, 1971, S. 9 u.f.
t. Olteanu, "Baza demograic strveche a organismelor statale din secolul al XIII-lea din sudul
Transilvaniei", in Sub semnul lui Clio. Omagiu Acad. Prof. tefan Pascu, Cluj, 1974, S. 66.
205
206
anderer Ort (Peineag) fehlt in dem betrefenden Raum; die anderen drei (Ghelar,
Sla, Federi) kennzeichnet ein undatierter Schmelzofen fr Metalle sowie einige
lngere Zeit verbreitete Keramiktypen in Form von Bruchstcken, welche zufllig
entdeckt wurden. Von diesen Funden ausgehend, kann man hchstens behaupten,
da vom 8. bis 12. Jahrhundert in diesem Raum Menschen gesiedelt haben woran
niemand zweifelt, da man aber keine Schlsse ber die alte demographische
Grundlage der rumnischen vorstaatlichen Organismen43 ziehen kann, auch wenn
eine solche demographische Grundlage selbstverstndlich vorauszusetzen ist. Es
handelt sich demnach um eine berforderung der archologischen Funde.
Auf festerem Boden beinden wir uns hinsichtlich der ethnisch-territorialen
Beziehungen im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert, denn fr diesen Zeitraum knnen wir
sogar die frher erfolgten Ereignisse aus den ltesten schriftlichen Quellen ableiten.
In dieser frhen Etappe drangen fremde Gemeinschaften, aus dem MiereschTal kommend, an den Unterlauf der Cerna und des Strell bis zur Linie Hunyad
ein. Dieser Proze erfolgte schon im 11. Jahrhundert, wie uns die Anfnge des
Grberfeldes auf dem Dealul comorilor (Schatzberg) zwischen Hunyad und
Rctia nahelegen44. Die Lage im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert in den Drfern mit
ungarischen Kleinadligen im nrdlichen Teil des untersuchten Raumes beweist, da
es sich anfangs um Dorfgemeinschaften mit militrischen Plichten handelte, die
in erster Linie die metallurgischen Produktionsprozesse zugunsten der ungarischen
Krone zu berwachen hatten45.
Das Vordringen der ungarischen Krieger im 10. Jahrhundert durch das
Mieresch-Tal zu den Salzvorkommen am Mittellauf des Flusses sowie die genannte
Ansiedlung sehaften Charakters im 11. bis 12. Jahrhundert hatten eine lokale
Umstrukturierung der lteren Siedlungen in geschtztere Gegenden zur Folge:
verlegt wurden sie nach Norden ins Tal der Weien Kreisch, nach Westen ins Poiana
Rusca-Massiv und nach Sden in die Hatzeger Senke und ihre Pertinentien46.
Es gibt keinen Grund anzunehmen, da der groe Mongoleneinfall der Jahre
1241-1242 das beschriebene Siedlungsbild, das die Urkunden der Kanzleien
festhalten, verndert htte und da damals Orte mit nichtrumnischen Siedlern,
die im 12. Jahrhundert bestanden haben knnten (ihr Vorhandensein ist keineswegs
bewiesen!), zerstrt worden wren. Da im 13.-14. Jahrhundert die ungarischen
Drfer am Unterlauf der Cerna und des Strell, die gewi schon im 11.-12.
Jahrhundert vorhanden waren, belegt sind, glauben wir nicht, da andere Orte
mit katholischer Bevlkerung, angeblich im Gebirge oder in Seitentlern gelegen,
whrend den Ereignissen um die Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts verschwanden.
43 .
44 .
45 .
46 .
Ebenda, S. 68; spter (ders., "Realiti demograice pe teritoriul Transilvaniei n secolele VIII-X", in
Revista de Istorie, 1975, Bd. 28, H. 12, S. 1838 und Karte) wird die demographische Verdichtung auf 4
heruntergesetzt, wobei aus der Liste Peineag ausgeschieden wurde, zugleich mit der Zuordnung von
Deva einer anderen Verdichtung und mit dem Auftauchen von Hunyad auf der Liste, whrend acht
Jahre spter (ders., Societatea romneasc la cumpn de milenii. Secolele VIII-XI, Bucureti 1983, S. 36 und
die Karte auf S. 24-25) wiederum von 5 Siedlungen gesprochen wird, die jedoch einem Zeitraum von vier
Jahrhunderten eingefgt werden, bis um 1100, mit der Berichtigung, da Slauri-Veca I, auf der Karte
ins Hatzeger Land eingetragen, in der Tat am Oberlauf der Kokel liegt.
Vgl. Anm. 21 und K. Horedt, "inutul hunedorean n secolul IV-XII", in Sargetia, 1956. Bd. 3, S. 111-114.
Nhere Ausfhrung ber diese Frage siehe in der erwhnten Monographie, Anm. 6.
Ebenda. U. E. erklren diese Ereignisse selbst die Dichte der rumnischen Siedlungen im 13.-14.
Jahrhundert am stlichen Abhang des Poiana Rusca-Massivs, whrend diese darber hinaus auch durch
das System der Territorialbesitzungen der bedeutenderen Knesenfamilien besttigt wird.
Die demographische Bedeutung der fremden Siedlungen in der rumnischen

Hatzeger Umwelt kann festgelegt werden. Wenn wir die Nachrichten ber
die katholischen Pfarreien aus den Jahren 1332-133747 mit den Orten, wo
Gemeinschaftsbesitz von Kleinadligen bestand, mit Benennungen, die der
rumnischen Anthroponomastik fremd sind, ergnzen, so gab es im erforschten
Raum whrend des 14. Jahrhunderts 20 Siedlungen mit Gemeinschaften, die der
rmischen Kirche zugehrten. Abgesehen von den ethnischen Ursprngen dieser
fremden Gemeinschaften, abgesehen auch von etlichen deutschen Familien, die
sehr wahrscheinlich in jenen Siedlungen anzutrefen waren, die schon zu jener Zeit
eine Entwicklung zu Marktorten und Stdten kennzeichnet (Hunyad, Hatzeg,
Sntmria-Orlea), handelt es sich zweifellos um 20 ungarische Siedlungen48. Von
diesen liegen nur drei sdlich der Linie Hunyad-Clan: Bretea Ungureasc (heute
Bretea Streiului), Hatzeg und Sntmria-Orlea. Das Grndungsdatum dieser drei
Siedlungen kann ziemlich genau in das Jahrzehnt 1270-1280 angesetzt werden,
als das knigliche Komitat Hatzeg geschafen und die knigliche Burg Hatzeg
errichtet wurde, in einer Zeit der Auseinandersetzungen zwischen der Krone und
dem rumnischen Wojwoden der Kleinen Walachei, zu der in der ersten Hlfte des
13. Jahrhunderts auch das Hatzeger Land gehrte49.
Auer diesen 20 Orten erscheint noch eine Gruppe von 16 Drfern mit
ungesicherter ethnischer Zugehrigkeit. Es handelt sich um villae oder
possessiones, die im Besitz fremder Adliger waren, d. h. Kleinadliger aus den
erwhnten Ortschaften, im Besitz der Familien kos, Hermann und Bethlen oder
der Vertreter der katholischen Kirche50; die Volkszugehrigkeit dieser untertnigen
Gemeinschaften wird nicht angegeben51. Es ist wahrscheinlich, da einige dieser
16 Ortschaften an der unteren Cerna und am unteren Strell in jener Zeit nicht
von Rumnen besiedelt waren. Ihr ursprnglicher Charakter ist ungewi; im 14.
Jahrhundert gingen sie in der Umwelt der Nachbardrfer auf.
Von diesen Feststellungen ausgehend, knnen wir ber das behandelte Gebiet
im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert behaupten, da die fremden Drfer im rumnischen
Hatzeger Raum 12-15 Prozent der Gesamtzahl der Siedlungen ausmachten und da
nach den vorherigen Aussagen ber die Gre der Ortschaften dieser Prozentsatz
auch fr die gesamte Bevlkerungszahl gltig ist. Ziehen wir in Betracht, da die
beiden wichtigeren Orte dieses Gebietes Hatzeg und Hunyad als katholisch
aufgefhrt werden und da die Vernderungen der Volkszugehrigkeit in diesen
Ortschaften, spteren Stdten, erst am Anfang waren, so knnen wir noch 2-3
Prozent zu den fremden Siedlern hinzufgen. Diese 15 Prozent der Ortschaften
und Bevlkerung, welche der rumnischen Hatzeger Gemeinschaft fremd waren,
erhalten wir dank dem sehr umfangreichen Gebiet, das wir in unsere Untersuchung
einbezogen haben, also bis zum Mieresch; htten wir in nrdlicher Richtung nur
bis zur Linie Hunyad Clan unseren Blick gerichtet, so wrde das Geschichtsbild
anders beschafen sein, denn hier waren die Drfer und die Hatzeger Gesellschaft
47 .
48 .
49 .
50 .
51 .
Documente privind istoria romnilor, C. Transilvania, veac XIV, Bd. 3, S. 122 u. f.

Wir berufen uns auf Siedlungen wie Bcia, Brcea Mare, Buituri u. a.
Dieser Vorgang wird in der erwhnten Monographie, Anm 6, eingehend dargestellt.
Es handelt sich um zwei Ortschaften, von denen eine (Simeria) im Besitz des Weienburger Bischofs,
die andere (Rui im Cerna-Tal) im Besitz der Abtei Bulci waren.
Wir beziehen uns auf Drfer wie Batiz, Blar, Brcea Mic, Pestiu Micu. a.
207
208
Abb. 1. Die Siedlungen des 13.-14. Jahrhunderts im Hatzeger Lande und in dessen Pertinentien.
1, Vor dem 14. Jhr. bestehende rumnische Drfer mit angesehenen Knesenfamilien; 2, Im
14. Jhr. mit Knesenfamilien bestehende rumnische Drfer, von unbestimmtem Alter; 3,
Wahrscheinliche Neugrndungen (14.-15. Jhr.?) von rumnischen Drfern in den Gemarkungen
lterer rumnischer Drfer; 4, Von fremdem Adel unterjochte rumnische Drfer; 5, Drfer mit
ungarischem Kleinadel, im 11.-12. Jhr. von Burgdienern gegrndet; 6, Siedlungen, die 12701280 von hospites regis gegrndet wurden; 7, Mit katholischen Pfarreien versehene Drfer,
von unsicherem lter und nicht geklrter Abstammung; 8, Komitat und Distriktzentren mit
Militr-politischer und administrativer Rolle.
im 13.-14. Jahrhundert ethnisch-demographisch etwa zu 95 Prozent rumnisch.

Die angewandte Methode hat indessen den Vorteil, nicht nur den einheitlichen
rumnischen Charakter des Hatzeger Landes hervorzuheben, sondern auch die
ntigen Anhaltspunkte zu liefern, um zu erfahren, wo und wann die dauernden
Beziehungen zwischen der lokalen Umwelt und den fremden Gemeinschaften am
Rande des Landes ihren Ursprung haben.
Die vorliegende Untersuchung bietet sich auch fr allgemeinere
Schlufolgerungen an, denn zusammen mit einer Untersuchung mit hnlichem
Charakter und verwandten Methoden, die wir in der Maramuresch durchgefhrt
haben52, glauben wir einige Ergebnisse hier herausstellen zu knnen. Im 13. und
14. Jahrhundert sowie in der unmittelbar vorangegangenen Etappe waren die
mittelalterlichen rumnischen Lnder Gebiete mit einheitlicher und dichter
Besiedlung, mit einer ethno-demographischen Grundlage fr feudale politische
Strukturen. Diese Strukturen Tal-Knesate, die sich zu Wojwodaten vereinigten,
wurden in den schriftlichen Quellen schon vor der Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts
erwhnt53.
Wenn die Art, in welcher wir die Nachrichten gedeutet haben, entsprechend
ist, so erscheinen uns die demographischen Werte ziemlich bescheiden. Wie dem
auch sei, die auf beiden Seiten der Karpaten gelegenen Lnder waren nicht groe
Sammelbecken von Bevlkerung, woher Abwanderungen (desclecri) sdlich und
nrdlich der Karpaten mit einem bedeutenden demographischen Ergebnis erfolgen
konnten. Derartige Abwanderungen vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert trugen zwar
zur Grndung der unabhngigen Feudalstaaten der Walachei und Moldau bei, es
waren aber nicht demographische, sondern hauptschlich politisch-militrische
Vorgnge.
52 .
53 .
R. Popa, ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti 1970, S. 118-121 und passim.
Die erste unzweideutige Erwhnung der Knesate als politisch-territoriale Institutionen
befindet sich in dem berhmten Johanniterdiplom; vgl. oben Anm. 7.
209
MateRiale aRHeologice ii.
la cRaMiQue Maille
deS Xiiie et XiVe SicleS de
Pcuiul-lui-SoaRe *
CORINA NICOLESCU ET RADU POPA
a cit byzantine de Pcuiul-lui-Soare occupe une place part parmi les

tablissements byzantins fouills au cours de ces dernires annes en Roumanie1
en raison de son rection au Xe sicle2 et des nombreux vestiges dats des XIIIe et
XIVe sicles, quon y a relevs. Ils permettent en efet de complter et de prciser
limage et les divers stades dvolution de la population locale et ses relations avec le
monde byzantin et balkanique3.
Nous nous proposons de prsenter la cramique maille de Pcuiul-lui-Soare
date des XIIIe et XIVe sicles. Elle a t mise au jour la suite des fouilles
systmatiques efectues en 1956-1962 et elle simpose par la richesse remarquable
et la varit des espces. Sa datation a t rendue possible par les monnaies trouves
sur place qui, datant elles-mmes de la seconde moiti du XIIIe sicle jusquau
dbut du XVe sicle, ont permis de distinguer dans ce contexte archologique, trois
niveaux, se rapportant chacun une priode denviron 50 ans. Cest grce ces
circonstances quon a pu tablir, pour la premire fois en Roumanie, les liens entre
la cramique maille du XIIIe sicle et celle du XIVe sicle, son volution au long
de cette dernire priode permettant de percevoir les difrences qui sparent la
premire moiti du XIVe sicle de la seconde.
La cramique maille de Pcuiul-lui-Soare tmoigne dune manire suggestive
du niveau lev de civilisation de la socit locale. Les formes, la technique et le
dcor clairent une priode mal connue, celle de la pntration de la cramique
byzantine dans la rgion du Bas-Danube. Ils aident en outre comprendre le procs
de formation de lart autochtone et aussi laspect de la culture matrielle et de lart
valaque aux XIIIe et XIVe sicles par rapport lpoque antrieure.
Lanalyse des objets compris dans les trois niveaux de la couche des XIIIe-XIVe
sicles de Pcuiul-lui-Soare met en lumire une volution continue de deux groupes
chronologiques. Le premier remonte la seconde moiti du XIIIe sicle, et ses
1.
2.
3.
Comptes rendus des fouilles entreprises de 1956 1959; voir Materiale, V-VIII. Expos densemble
sur les fouilles chez P. Diaconu, Kpeoc X-XV . c
, dans Dacia, N. S., V, 1961, p. 485-501.
Voir pour plus de dtails, D. Vlceanu, "Cu privire la data de nceput a cetii de la Pcuiul lui Soare", dans
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, XIV, 1963, 1, p. 207-212.
Des renseignements dtaills sur ltablissement chez Radu Popa, "Pcuiul lui Soare. O aezare dunrean
cu trsturi urbane n veacurile XII-XIV", dans Studii, 1964, 1, p. 107-115.
Dacia N.S. 9, 1965, p. 337-350
9.
214
LA CRAMIQUE MAILLE DEs XIIIe ET XIVe sICLEs DE PCUIUL-LUI-soARE
particularits subsistent en partie aussi au dbut du XIVe sicle. Le second date du

XIVe sicle et dure jusquau dbut du XVe sicle.
La cramique date de la premire moiti du XIVe sicle se caractrise par
linterfrence de ces deux groupes chronologiques quant aux formes, aux procds
techniques et lornementation. La cramique maille de la seconde moiti du
XIIIe sicle compte un nombre restreint dexemplaires et prsente des formes peu
varies. On distingue deux catgories dobjets, si lon en considre la pte, lmail et
les procds employs. La premire, la plus riche, comprend des cruches, des cuelles
et des plats4, confectionns dans une pte poreuse, peu malaxe et contenant un
dgraissant de sable et de coquilles rduites en poudre. Les parois ont une paisseur
de 6-12 mm, et une couleur rougetre (grise sur les clats lorsque la cuisson a t
imparfaite). Lemail poreux et granuleux a t souvent coul directement. Les tons
dominants sont brun-vert et jaune gristre, ni translucides, ni brillants. Ce sont
des produits dateliers provinciaux, simples imitations imparfaites de la cramique
byzantine. Lidentit des procdes et le choix des motifs les apparentent aux pices
dcouvertes Giurgiu et Turnu Severin5, en suggrant mme lide dune origine
commune malgr lexistence de plusieurs centres danubiens.
La seconde catgorie, de beaucoup plus pauvre quant au nombre, comprend
des cuelles, de petites coupes et des plats confectionns dans une pte de qualit
suprieure, lgre, dense et rouge par suite de la cuisson pousse. Les parois minces
des vases sont richement mailles, lisses, vitreuses et dun travail soign. Les
objets nous renvoient des ateliers de Dobroudja, balkaniques ou byzantins. Les
formes nous reportent des exemplaires byzantins antrieurs au XIIIe sicle sinon
contemporains. Elles voquent en mme temps la poterie de Turnu Severin, qui
prsente, ds le Xe ou XIe sicle et jusquau dbut du XVe sicle les mmes phases
dvolution6.
En raison de lintrt considrable de la poterie du XIIIe sicle pour ltude de
la cramique maille de la zone danubienne, nous nous arrterons dabord aux
produits des ateliers indignes. On doit ceux de Pcuiul-lui-Soare et Turnu Severin
les exemplaires les plus anciens et les plus varis7. Les formes et les procds de cette
poterie locale nous renvoient au sgraite byzantin. Des rapprochements simposent.
Les exemples de Vodia, Curtea de Arge, Cmpulung, Trgovite, Bucarest, Giurgiu,
Zimnicea, Coconi, dats de la seconde moiti du XIVe sicle et du dbut du XVe sicle
nous amnent constater un certain nombre de traits communs. Ils impriment une
4.
5.
6.
7.
Les plats ont des formes plates, lpaule droite et les bords rabattus; on peut les rapprocher des plats de nos
jours, plus ou moins profonds. Les cuelles ont, par contre, des formes tronconiques, des parois hautes et
de hauts bords. Ces derniers ont un proil vertical et un angle aigu par rapport lpaule. Nous dsignons
sous le terme dpaule, en vertu dune certaine analogie avec les vases, en gnral la zone de jonction
situe entre le bord et le creux du plat.
La ressemblance est frappante en ce qui concerne le proil et le dcor, particulirement pour les
matriaux du XIVe sicle. Les fragments dcouverts Giurgiu (Materiale, IV, 1957, p. 233-234, ig. 12/2;
12/3; 13/2, etc.) aussi bien que ceux de Turnu Severin (Al. Brccil, "Monede, podoabe de metal i
fragmente ceramice de la termele Drubetei", dans Materiale, V, 1959, ig. 7/1-7; ig. 8/1,2), se retrouvent
Pcuiul-lui-Soare, o lon voit des rpliques identiques.
Corina Nicolescu, "Ceramica smluit din sec. X-XV n lumina ultimelor cercetri arheologice", dans
Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei, VI, 1959, 2, p. 75-102; Al. Brccil, op. cit., p. 786-788, ig. 7-9.
On a dcouvert aux environs de la cit grco-romaine de Histria des fragments de cramique maille,
dates du XIIIe sicle, laide des monnaies; voir C. Preda, "Urme de via la Histria din secolele
XII-XIII", dans Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, V, 1954, 3-4, p. 531-538.
certaine originalit, et caractrisent la

cramique maille de Valachie par
rapport celle de Moldavie. Ils nous
reportent galement la cramique
byzantine du monde balkanique, ainsi
qu celle du bassin mditerranen et
du Pont.
Les cruches avec les cuelles et
les plats apparaissent frquemment
Pcuiul-lui-Soare dans les couches
qui remontent la seconde moiti
du XIIIe sicle et au dbut du XIVe
sicle. Ces cruches, dune capacit de
0,5-1 l ont le col haut et mince, avec
le goulot parfois ix lpaule. Leurs
formes les rapprochent des cruches
contemporaines de Turnu Severin8; le
dcor en est trac "la corne"9 et forme
de grands cercles qui sentrecoupent ou
des spirales en barbotine. Lmail vert
qui les recouvre souligne le champ
brun-verdtre ou vert-gris et relve les motifs peints en vert fonc, jaune ou vert
clair. Dans un seul cas, lmail est translucide, avec des motifs blanc jauntre (ig.
1 a). La poterie byzantine de Pergamon10 ofre des exemplaires pareillement orns
et coloris. Ce type de cruche na pas dur longtemps; il a disparu ds la premire
moiti du XIVe sicle, tant remplac par un type bien diferent.
Cest ce mme niveau quappartiennent les plats et les cuelles pied annulaire
haut de 2-2,5 cm. Les coupes ou bols, autre forme caractristique de la poterie maille,
ont la mme profondeur que les cuelles avec les parois lgrement recourbes. Les
plats du premier niveau fodal de Pcuiul-lui-Soare sont vass, lpaule arque
et aux rebords rabattus (ig. 2). Horizontaux et plus bas, ces derniers prolongent la
ligne de lpaule. Ils ont parfois un proil troit et accentu; le seuil profondment
creus du ct suprieur en est rattach lpaule. Les plats appartenant au premier
modle rappellent un type ancien quon ne retrouve plus Pcuiul-lui-Soare ds
le dbut du XIVe sicle. Le second modle volue par contre jusqu la in du XIVe
sicle, tant caractristique pour cette priode. Les cuelles ont gnralement une
capacit rduite et un diamtre de 12-15 cm. On distingue plusieurs types. Les
plus frquents ont des rebords droits, hauts de 2-3 cm, qui prolongent dlicatement
lpaule du vase (ig. 2). Dans quelques cas lpaule en est proile et runie aux lvres
8.
9.
10 .
Des cruches identiques celles de Pcuiul-lui-Soare se voient dans les collections du muse de Turnu
Severin (voir C. Nicolescu, op. cit., p. 82, ig. 3/1, j; p. 86, ig. 8/b, c); C. Nicolescu, "La cramique roumaine
maille du Moyen ge, la lumire des dernires recherches", dans Byzantinoslavica, XXI, 1960, 2, pl.
I/2, 3. La forme et le dcor sont les mmes.
Instrument form dune corne de boeuf vide quon remplissait de couleurs. Perce la pointe, o lon
adaptait un embout en tige de plume doie, la couleur schappait au gr de lartisan, pour tre applique
sur le vase dargile.
W. F. Volbach, Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Italien und Byzanz. Bildwerke des Kaiser Friedrich Museums,
ed. II, Berlin-Leipzig, 1930, pl. 31.
Fig. 1.
a) cruches,
seconde moiti
du XIIIe sicle
- dbut du
XIVe sicle; b)
plats, seconde
moiti du
XIIIe sicle;
c) cuelles,
seconde
moiti du XIIIe
sicle (photos
I. Ghidali)
215
216
Fig. 2.
Plats, cuelles
et coupes,
seconde moiti
du XIIIe sicle dbut du XIVe
sicle (proils)
rabattues lextrieur. Seul un exemplaire

en difre; ses rebords sont maills, rabattus lintrieur et sillonns de trois
lignes en creux lextrieur. Lcuelle
hauts rebords droits formant un angle
marqu par rapport lpaule, semble
avoir t dun usage frquent ds le dbut
du XIVe sicle; elle caractrise surtout les
espces de la premire moiti du XIVe
sicle, poque laquelle les deux autres
types ont disparu.
Les formes dcrites nous ramnent
la cramique byzantine. Les mmes
plats se revoient Constantinople11 aux
XIe-XIIe sicles, et Corinthe12 aux
XIIe-XIIIe sicles. Les cuelles aux lvres
droites se retrouvent, leur tour, dans
les Balkans et Byzance. Des produits
byzantins dimportation dcors au
sgraite font une premire apparition
e
13
Garvn-Dinogetia au cours du XII sicle , et Turnu Severin au XIIIe sicle. Les
cuelles se rattachent par la technique et lornementation au groupe dnomm par
Charles Morgan "le style spirale", dont on a dcouvert des exemplaires dats du
milieu du XIIe sicle Corinthe14. Les motifs sont gravs laide dune pointe ine
enfonce dans la pte frache ou aprs la premire cuisson. Minutieusement traits,
rappelant une dentelle, ils rvlent des matres byzantins.
Les produits dimitation de Pcuiul-lui-Soare et de Turnu Severin sont dcors
de motifs profondment inciss laide dune pointe aplatie qui, enlevant lengobe,
gratigne parfois la pte. La poterie roumaine est orne de motifs inciss; le vritable
sgraite na pas t pratiqu. Les motifs sont plus simples par rapport au modle
byzantin, mme quand ils reproduisent des modles plus anciens de style "spirale"15.
On a utilis rarement lexcision (ig. 4 c), procd commun la poterie byzantine de
caractre oriental, date du XIVe sicle, qui caractrise surtout la cramique produite
en Moldavie au XVe sicle.
La poterie incise est dusage courant Pcuiul-lui-Soare et dans plusieurs
autres tablissements carpato-danubiens. Lusage de la "corne" et du pinceau ne sest
rencontr que rarement. De lensemble de la poterie, date de la seconde moiti du
XIIIe sicle et du dbut du XIVe sicle, en fait on ne peut citer de pices ornes
la "corne" que les cruches mentionnes plus haut. Au XIVe sicle, cest encore la
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
15 .
Robert B. K. Stevenson, he great palace of tbe Byzantine Emperors. he Pottery, pl. 17/28; pl. 18/4, 6;
pl. 18/7.
Ch. Morgan, Corinth. he Byzantine pottery, Harvard University Press, 1948, p. 137, ig. 111/1305-1302;
p. 99, ig. 75/C-754, A-508.
I. Barnea, "Relaiile dintre aezarea de la Bisericua-Garvn i Bizan n sec. X-XIII", dans Studii i
Cercetri de Istorie Veche, IV, 1953, 3-4, p. 654-661, ig. 4/2,4,5
Ch. Morgan, op. cit., p. 115 et suiv., ig. 22.
Ibidem, p. 146-147. La cramique incise de Corinthe apparat vers la in du XIe sicle; elle est dusage
courant au XIIe sicle.
"corne" quon dcore lpaule des cruches et

des tasses. Les motifs linaires en barbotine
en sont parcimonieusement vernisss en
brun verdtre. De petites coupes ou des bols
recouverts dun vernis incolore, vert ou brun
clair et remontant la mme poque ont
t orns galement la "corne". Souvent,
au XIVe sicle surtout, les motifs inciss
alternent avec des motifs colors tracs la
"corne" sur les rebords des plats. En dehors
de ces procds, propres la cramique
byzantine et orientale, la poterie de Pcuiullui-Soare date de la seconde moiti du
XIIIe sicle et de la priode suivante, rvle
lemploi de lincision pratique au "peigne"
ou la "chvre", outil dent propre entailler
la pte frache ou couverte de lengobe, en
obtenant des stries parallles et ondules.
Au point de vue dcoratif, la cramique de
Pcuiul-lui-Soare se difrencie nettement
ds le XIIIe sicle et se rpartit en deux
groupements distincts. Le premier, riche et vari, est dordre linaire; caractristique
de la poterie maille roumaine, il se place part par rapport la cramique byzantine.
Le sillon profondment creus nest presque jamais absent du rebord des cuelles et
des plats. On le voit dans certains cas du ct extrieur. Sur les plats, des tracs
concentriques alternent avec les sillons. Lpaule des cuelles et des plats est orne
son tour de frises comprenant des faisceaux linaires et des traits onduls, disposs
verticalement et des intervalles gaux (ig. 3). Le col ou lpaule des cruches et
des tasses de la premire moiti du XIVe sicle sont dcors dincisions ondules
"au peigne" (ig. 4 a). La technique dmaillerie continue celle des cruches du XIe
sicle. Une onde unique mandres serrs savre, par contre, commune la poterie
danubienne non maille des XIIe et XIIIe sicles. Le trait ondul du rebord des
cuelles et les faisceaux en frise des paules sont tracs "au peigne", et rappellent la
transposition dans la poterie de luxe dune conception dcorative locale, encore plus
ancienne (ig. 4 b). Londe avec toutes ses variations et les faisceaux de traits droits
parallles tracs "au peigne" caractrisent en efet la cramique ancienne locale des
XIe-XIIe sicles. On les rencontre rarement dans la poterie byzantine. Les produits
en pte blanche dimportation byzantine et un certain nombre de produits maills
de qualit suprieure et de tonalit vert olive sont orns de cannelures, pastilles et
cordons. Ajoutons les grandes cruches mailles, agrmentes de motifs animaliers
models et appliqus sur les anses avant la cuisson. Les pots, les cruches et les amphores
dcouverts Constantinople et Corinthe16 ont les surfaces unies ou dcores de
16 .
Ibidem, p. 50, ig. 35. Lexemple typique de pot anse, maill ou non maill, ne montre que quelques
cannelures sur lpaule. Il en est de mme des pots et des potiches, unis ou dcors simplement de
cannelures. On a retrouv Constantinople des exemplaires similaires dats dune poque antrieure ou
contemporaine aux exemplaires de Dobroudja. Quelques-uns sont orns de stries. Voir le compte rendu
des fouilles du palais imprial chez R. Stevenson, op. cit., pl. 15/43, 42; pl. 18/11. Les pots sphrodaux
utiliss pour la cuisson et pourvus de deux petites anses ont le mme dcor; voir H. S. Robinson Saul
Weinberg, "Excavations of Corinth, 1959", dans Hesperia, 1960, 3, pl. 59.
Fig. 3.
Motifs
inciss sur la
cramique
maille,
seconde
moiti du XIIIe
sicle - dbut
du XIVe sicle
217
218
Fig. 4.
a) cruches
mailles
ornes de
lignes ondules,
premire moiti
du XIVe sicle;
b) plats et
cuelles ornes
au peigne,
seconde moiti
du XIIIe - dbut
du XIVe sicle;
c) cuelle
au dcor en
glyphe excis,
seconde moiti
du XIIIe sicle;
d) cuelles
au dcor
rayons,
seconde moiti
du XIIIe sicle dbut du XIVe
sicle
cannelures ou de spirales blanches et

brunes en barbotine. Londe excute
"au peigne" napparat que sur le col
dune cruche, sur les rebords dune
cuelle trouve Corinthe17 et sur
des exemples de Pergamon18. En
Bulgarie, le mme motif est assez
frquent.
Remarquons, dans la poterie
maille de Pcuiul-lui-Soare, la
persistance dun motif trs ancien,
adapt aux conditions techniques
volues de lmail polychrome.
On le rencontre trs rarement dans
la poterie byzantine de la mme
priode. Pcuiul-lui-Soare et
Turnu Severin, dans la premire
moiti du XIVe sicle, on est arriv
raliser, sur la base du mme principe
dcoratif et laide uniquement du
"peigne", de vritables compositions:
des catgories de motifs que nous
avons appels " rayons" (ig. 4 d).
Ces motifs comportent en efet trois ou quatre rayons dirigs vers le fond des cuelles
ou des plats. Tracs parfois laide dun peigne plus in, ils sont forms de deux ou
trois traits onduls et ourls de traits droits. Ils alternent, dans certains cas, avec des
rayons ou des triangles surmonts de rhombes renfermant des cercles ou des points.
Souvent aussi, les traits sont traverss de spirales ou de rinceaux caractristiques
pour la seconde conception dcorative de la cramique de Pcuiul-lui-Soare. Le
systme dcoratif dordre linaire se rattache troitement celui de Turnu Severin,
et dure tout le long du XIVe sicle. Driv de londe, il rapparat dans la cramique
roumaine de Zimnicea, Vodia, Arge19, dans quelques exemplaires de Bulgarie20 et
sur un certain nombre dcuelles du Chersonse21. Hrit du Moyen ge, il marque
la poterie populaire maille ou non maille de nos jours en Oltnie et Valachie.
Londe incise a t remplace au cours des ges par le mme motif en barbotine
blanche ou colore, trace au moyen dune petite brosse en poils de moustache de
livre, appele en roumain "gaia".
Une seconde conception dcorative, troitement rattache la cramique
byzantine, se manifeste Pcuiul-lui-Soare avec le rinceau et la spirale. Cest une
17 .
18 .
19 .
20 .
21 .
Ch. Morgan, op. cit., p. 187, ig. 166.

W. F. Volbach, op. cit., pl. 28, cat. 9579, 6575.
Corina Nicolescu, op. cit., ig. 24, p. 100 et pl. hors texte, ig. 6.
I. angova, "K poaeo co ea o XI-XIV .", dans Arheologhia, IV,
1962, no 2, p. 25-33, ig. 1-5 et pl. I; D. Concev St. Stoilov, "La forteresse dAssen", dans Byzantinoslavica,
XXII, 1961, no 1, p. 50-52, ig. 34-36.
A. L. Jacobson, "Cpee XII-XIV .", dans
, XVII, 1950, pl. II/6-7; pl. III/12, 14, dats du XIIe sicle.
transposition simpliie et tardive

du "style spirale" de la poterie
sgraite byzantine. Des rinceaux
isols ou des vrilles accroches
des mandres alternent avec des
faisceaux de traits obliques ou avec
des triangles disposs en bandeaux,
sur lpaule ou sur le rebord des
vases (ig. 1 b). On revoit, dans un
petit nombre de cas, sur le fond des
cuelles les mmes motifs dans des
mdaillons. Le rinceau y est souvent
form de triangles associs des
feuilles lancoles qui ornent la
surface des cuelles ou des plats. Les
motifs caractristiques du premier
groupement rapparaissent sur les
cuelles rcemment dcouvertes en
Bulgarie Trnovo, Cerven, Nesebre
(Messembrie) et Soia22, avec des
tendances de gometriser. La demipalmette et dautres motifs vgtaux plus compliqus, propres la poterie byzantine,
se rencontrent rarement Pcuiul-lui-Soare dans la premire priode (ig. 5 b) et
assez exceptionnellement au XIVe sicle. Le gomtrisme, accentu par rapport la
cramique byzantine et moldave, distingue dailleurs la grammaire dcorative de la
poterie carpato-danubienne au Moyen ge.
Les motifs zoomorphes rarement rencontrs dans la cramique maille de ce
niveau Pcuiul-lui-Soare, restent des exceptions lgard du rpertoire linaire.
Une aigle bicphale stylise rappelant de prs laigle hraldique de Byzance et de
lOrient, qui a pass dans les armes des tsars bulgares, des despotes serbes et de
certains princes roumains, apparat incise au fond dun plat maill en jaune-vert
du dbut du XIVe sicle (ig. 5 c).
Quelques tessons de petites cuelles se rattachent galement aux matriaux de
cette premire priode. Les rebords droits et peu hauts sont recouverts dun mail
vitreux de la couleur du sucre brul, aux relets parfois rougetres et orangs. Ils
sont dcors simplement avec des traits concentriques peu profonds. Le brillant,
la tonalit et la matire difrencient ces produits fortement et leur assignent une
place part dans la catgorie des cuelles mailles. Ils nous reportent des centres
byzantins, et ils datent Pcuiul-lui-Soare, de la seconde moiti du XIIIe sicle.
Cest la mme catgorie que nous renvoie un petit bol hautes parois, aux lvres
lgrement incurves lextrieur, maill en jaune fonc avec des nuances verdtres
et dpourvu dengobe. Le dcor des parois extrieures est form dune tresse la
partie suprieure. Le champ est partag en trois zones verticales ornes de rsilles,
de rhombes en pointill, de mailles incises ou dcailles (ig. 5 a). Le procd
22 .
I. angova, op. cit., ig. 2/1; 2/5; 3/1; 5/a; M. Stanceva, Cpea c o , Soia, 1964 (spar), p. 169-193, ig. IV; 6, 8.
Fig. 5.
a) coupe
incise,
seconde
moiti du XIIIe
sicle; b) plat
orn de motifs
vgtaux,
dbut du XIVe
sicle; c) fond
de plat orn
de l'aigle
bicphale
- dbut du
XIVe sicle;
d) plat orn
d'entrelacs,
premire
moiti du XIVe
sicle; e) fond
de bol orn
d'entrelacs
excis, XIVe
sicle; f)
plat orn
d'entrelacs,
seconde
moiti du XIVe
sicle.
219
220
Fig. 6.
Ecuelles, plats
et coupes du
XIVe sicle
(profils)
dornementation rappelle le travail des mtaux. On revoit ces derniers motifs au

XIVe sicle la surface dun certain nombre dexemplaires.
La cramique de Pcuiul-lui-Soare, date du XIVe sicle, compare celle de
la seconde moiti du XIIIe sicle et du dbut du sicle suivant, se caractrise par
la continuit des formes, de la conception dcorative et du coloris. Une analyse
pousse met en lumire des variations propres aux volutions de longue dure. On
remarque, en premier lieu, un progrs dans les procds de la pte et de lmail.
Les parois des vases samincissent, consquemment au choix de terres pures et
homognes, soumises des cuissons soignes. Lmail blanc, ivoire ou jaune clair
recouvre des engobes blancs ou rougetres. On distingue deux qualits dmail. Le
ton blanc jauntre est rsrv aux champs recouverts de coules dmail vert fonc et
brun. Les motifs inement dessins sont dhabitude profondment inciss en pte.
Mais on a recours souvent lexcision (ig. 5 e), procd dcoratif oriental rencontr
sporadiquement en Valachie vers la in du XIVe sicle et commun la cramique
moldave du sicle suivant. Dans certains cas, le motif incis est doubl de contours
irrguliers, tracs la "corne" sur lmail vert ou brun. Un second procd, moins
frquent mais caractristique pour les fragments du milieu de cette priode, utilise des
estampes en bois quon enfonce dans la pte. Le motif prfr est la leur cruciforme
inscrite dans des carrs barrs de deux
diagonales. Nous le retrouvons sur les plats
dont il orne lpaule, et sur les cuelles o il
est dispos sur le rebord extrieur.
Lvolution des formes (ig. 6) est marque
par la disparition des plus anciennes, telle
lcuelle aux rebords arrondis vers lintrieur,
lpaule proile ou encore la cruche
orne de cercles. Le plat lpaule droite
et aux rebords larges fortement recourbs,
caractristique pour le XIIIe sicle, ne dure
que quelques dizaines dannes au XIVe
sicle. Dautre part, les formes frustes du
XIIIe sicle se perfectionnent. Le plat aux
rebords proils devient aussi plus lgant.
Lcuelle lpaule arque est rare; lcuelle
aux rebords verticaux, en angle marqu par
rapport lpaule et pourvue dun lger creux
lintrieur, est dun usage courant. Les bols
sphrodes de petite capacit, imports au
XIIIe sicle, se rencontrent frquemment
comme produits locaux. Ils gardent leur
vieille forme et leur capacit rduite, mais
on les recouvre dun engobe tachet dmail vert et brun. Un certain nombre de
ces derniers sont inement orns de tresses. Ces fragments brillamment maills et
colors sont loeuvre peut-tre dun centre oriental loign. La petite tasse large
ouverture et anse apparat au XIVe sicle, mais reste dun usage restreint. Les petits
pots au rebord maill sont par contre dusage commun. Quant aux cruches mailles,
dailleurs rarement rencontres, on na

pas pu dterminer leur forme cause
de leur tat fragmentaire. Leur dcor est
vari et dhabitude dordre gomtrique.
La richesse des produits du XIVe
sicle permet lenregistrement de
nombreux motifs de dcor (ig. 7). Ils
remontent au XIIIe sicle ou au dbut
du XIVe sicle, et sont ordonns en
compositions dveloppes. On rencontre
frquemment, dans la premire moiti
du XIVe sicle, les motifs du type rayons
(ig. 10 a) qui marquent un progrs par
rapport au sillon du XIIIe sicle. La
conception linaire, dune importance
considrable pour le dveloppement du
rpertoire ornemental local, demeure
prpondrante et volue vers le dcoratif,
devenu caractristique pour les rgions danubiennes. On doit y rattacher une riche
srie dcuelles au fond orn de traits se coupant en angle droit et rappelant les checs
par leurs petits carrs barrs "au peigne" (ig. 8 c). Nous sommes ainsi renvoys
en Orient et au "champlev" de la cramique byzantine; lemploi du "peigne" est
particulier pourtant aux matres indignes. Le mme dcor en rsille remonte les
parois des cuelles jusquaux rebords, et prte aux vases une physionomie sobre et
unitaire. Rappelons aussi le dcor en feuille de sapin form de faisceaux parallles
et divergents dont on a relev un exemple sur lpaule dune cuelle du XIIIe sicle
(ig. 4 d).
Vers le milieu du XIVe sicle et dans sa seconde moiti, le dcor "spirale" et "en
mdaillon" de la cramique byzantine est plus frquent quau sicle prcdent. Les
dcors rayons combins des leurs stylises le sont encore plus. Des vrilles, des
feuilles, des cosses et des rosettes dentes revtent laspect des rayons triples quon
voit sur lpaule des cuelles et des plats (ig. 8 b). Le dcor de nombreux bols et
petites coupes se rduit souvent un mdaillon central (ig. 10 b), dont lintrieur est
divis en quarts de cercle orn chacun de volutes et de palmettes23. Les mdaillons
dun certain nombre dcuelles et de plats dats du milieu et de la seconde moiti du
XIVe sicle fournissent deux types dcoratifs. ct des mdaillons orns de traits
linaires, dautres mdaillons montrent des rosettes ou des feuilles encercles aux
contours enfoncs dans la pte et aux intervalles exciss (ig. 9 b). Lentrelacs avec
ses variantes (ig. 5 d, e, f ) son tour se gnralise. Dispos en bandeau sur lpaule
des plats il a pour source un cercle nu ou orn dun rseau linaire trac au "peigne"
bi- ou trident. Lentrelacs enrichi de vrilles se voit aussi sur les bols et sur les coupes
dont il accapare lintrieur lexception dun petit cercle central. Lentrelacs sous
la forme dune double bandelette excise et colore en deux tons apparat parfois
23 .
Des exemples similaires chez W. F. Volbach, op. cit., pl. 26.
Fig. 7.
Motifs inciss
en style
spirale du XIVe
sicle
221
222
Fig. 8.
a) bol orn
de cercles et
de rubans,
XIVe sicle;
b) cuelles et
plats au dcor
rayons
et motifs
vgtaux, XIVe
sicle; c) fond
d'cuelle orne
en checs,
XIVe sicle;
d) cuelles
ornes en style
spirale, XIVe
sicle
sur les bols24. Des motifs zoomorphes, principalement des oiseaux, dont surtout la
colombe, apparaissent vers le milieu du XIVe sicle et dans sa seconde moiti. Les
fragments conservs nous rapportent la poterie de Zimnicea et de Turnu Severin.
Un colimaon orne le fond dun plat, une tortue celui dun autre.
Les cruches de ce dernier niveau ofrent une grande diversit de formes. Des
dbris de cruches ont la surface extrieure orne de traits irrguliers et de vrilles en
spirale. Le ct suprieur dune anse de cruche, date du milieu du XIVe sicle, est
dcor dun bandeau profondment incis dans la pte et form de vrilles lexemple
des paules de certaines cuelles de la mme poque.
Mentionnons, avant de conclure cette prsentation sommaire, quelques pices
dont la forme et le dcor leur assignent une place part. Elles se rattachent aux
relations commerciales avec les centres orientaux. On peut aussi les attribuer des
inluences dorigine rcente et non gnralise.
24 .
Une coupe identique pour lornement, chez N. Constantinescu, "Contribuii la cunoaterea ceramicii
bizantine de la Cetatea Alb", dans Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, X, 1959, 2, pl. 1/3.
Cest la premire catgorie quappartient un beau fond dcuelle en pte ine,

cuite dune faon homogne, rouge et recouverte dune mince couche dengobe
blanc-rose. La base annulaire est plus haute et dun proil plus compliqu que celui
des pices indignes. Lintrieur a t maill en vert fonc par-dessus un engobe
pais. Le dcor, incis et excis, form de tresses, de secteurs circulaires et de
croissants, a t execut avant lmaillage. La technique et la conception dcorative
nous renvoient aux ateliers orientaux de lAsie Mineure.
Des bols de petites dimensions aux rebords amincis et crte aigu ont les parois
intrieures dcores de cercles enfermant des pointes traces au moyen dun outil
in avant lapplication dun mail pais de couleur jaune. Les secteurs dcoratifs
sont limits par un trait double laspect dun ruban boucles rgulires; un cyprs
stylis se place aux croisements (ig. 8 a). Lextrieur est orn, son tour, dun large
bandeau sem de pointes mailles en vert, et recouvert dun mail translucide
travers lequel perce le blanc de lengobe.
Fig. 9.
a) bol au
dcor vgtal,
seconde
moiti du XIVe
sicle; b) bols
et cuelles
au dcor en
mdaillon
central,
XIVe sicle;
c) cuelle
dcor en style
spirale, XIVe
sicle
223
224
*
*
Fig. 10.
a) cuelle
au dcor
rayons,
seconde moiti
du XIVe sicle;
b) bol dcor
en mdaillon
central,
seconde moiti
du XIVe sicle
Quelques conclusions simposent. Elles concernent les relations de la poterie

commune non maille et de la poterie maille de luxe, aussi bien que leur volution
partir du Xe sicle jusquau dbut du XVe sicle, dans la rgion du Bas-Danube.
Les procds techniques, la pte, le systme de cuisson, les formes et les motifs
dornementation de la poterie de Pcuiul-lui-Soare, tmoignent des liens troits
qui rattachent les exemplaires communs la cramique maille des XIIIe-XVe
sicles. La seconde volue en liaison avec la premire dont on ne peut pas la sparer.
La poterie maille ne igure en efet quune tape de la poterie commune, plus
avance au point de vue de la technique et de lutilisation de lmail color. Les
matres indignes de la premire se sont servis, pour la seconde, des formes, de la
conception dcorative et du coloris des Byzantins. Lunit de pense et de mtier
est vidente. On la constate ds le Xe sicle et
du moment quon a eu recours lmail. Par
voie de consquence, les motifs traditionnels,
propres la poterie commune, se retrouvent
galement dans la cramique maille et
les caractres de la cramique commune
marquent leur tour les cuelles, les plats et
les bols maills et de luxe.
Une seconde constatation relve lvolution
continue de la cramique carpato-danubienne
aux XIe-XIIe sicles, ainsi quaux XIIIeXIVe sicles. Des difrences qualitatives
distinguent la poterie de ces deux poques.
Nous les avons releves dans les produits
de Pcuiul-lui-Soare. Ltude de lvolution
conirme son tour le perfectionnement
dune tradition. Aussi doit-on rappeler que
la cramique maille indigne du XIIIe
sicle se rattache surtout la poterie de la
periode antrieure. La poterie indigne est
caractrise par le sgraite des produits de
Dinogetia et de Turnu Severin. Le motif
usuel de la cramique maille locale des
e
e
XIII -XIV sicles, prolonge, par ailleurs, la tradition du trait linaire et du sillon
trac au "peigne", tel quon le voit sur la poterie commune des XIe-XIIe sicles.
Les sources crites et les fonds numismatiques restaient jusqu ces dernires
annes les uniques sources dinformation pour la vie des cits danubiennes au
XIIIe sicle. Les produits de la cramique maille enrichissent nos connaissances
et conirment la thse des relations directes et ininterrompues entre la culture
matrielle des centres danubiens aux Xe-XIIe sicles et la culture dordre suprieur
de la zone carpato-danubienne du XIVe sicle.
o SoB cu caHle-oal din

Secolul XiV la
cuHea-MaRaMuRe *
ncheind cu civa ani n urm spturile arheologice din reedina bogdnetilor de

la Cuhea (azi Bogdan Vod, jud. Maramure) i publicnd rezultatele cercetrilor1,
nu am putut preciza modul de nclzire al locuinei alate n mijlocul incintei
fortiicate din punctul Grdina lui Crlig de pe terasa nalt a Izei. Pornind de la
lipsa, pe podeaua dezvelit, a oricror urme de vatr sau sob, ca i de la descoperirea
urmelor unui sistem de armturi din lemn, cu tlpi i stlpi ngropai n pmnt, am
airmat c aceast podea a aparinut unei pivnie-depozit i c ncperile de locuit
se alau la nivelul superior2.
ntre timp, cercetrile asupra unor reedine feudale din secolele XIII-XIV i,
mai ales, luarea n discuie a turnurilor locuin, ne-au dus la concluzia c cea mai
plauzibil reconstituire a locuinei din reedina ntrit a bogdnetilor este aceea
a unui turn-locuin cu utilizare permanent. El cuprindea unul sau dou nivele,
construite din lemn cu lipitur groas de pmnt, deasupra pivniei-depozit alate
la nivelul solului i delimitate printr-o temelie de piatr legat cu pmnt3. O asemenea interpretare este sprijinit, printre altele, de dimensiunile locuinei, laturile de
9 i 12 m corespunznd perfect celor ale cunoscutului turn-locuin ridicat la Clnic
pe la 1260-1270 de o familie de greavi sai4. De asemenea, grosimea mare, de circa
1 m, a temeliilor locuinelor bogdnetilor, ca i existena acelui sistem de sprijinire
interioar din turn, justiic reconstituirea unei nlimi apreciabile a construciei.
innd seama de caracterul locuinei, de clima Maramureului i de natura
inlamabil a pereilor construciei, trebuia dat totui un rspuns la problema
nclzirii ncperilor, printr-un spaiu de foc bine izolat. Reexaminarea materialelor
recoltate n sptur ne ajut s dm acest rspuns.
Printre bucile mari, incendiate, de lipitur de pmnt, purtnd n unele cazuri
amprentele brnelor pe care a fost aplicat, prbuite ntr-un strat gros pe podeaua
pivniei-depozit cu prilejul distrugerii reedinei bogdnetilor, se gsesc cteva
fragmente cu aspect particular. Spre deosebire de marea majoritate a fragmentelor
care poart urmele amestecului cu paie, cele la care ne referim provin de la o lipitur
1.
2.
3.
4.
Radu Popa Mircea Zdroba, antierul arheologic Cuhea. Un centru voevodal din veacul al XIV-lea, Baia
Mare, 1966, p. 8-32. Am revenit cu precizri asupra datrii: R. Popa, Revue Roumaine d'Histoire, 5, 1966,
5, p. 770-772 i 774, precum i monograia ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970, p.
236.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit, p. 13.
R. Popa, Dacia, N.S., 16, 1972, p. 260 cu nota 62 i passim.
Radu Heitel, Cetatea din Clnic, Bucureti, 1968.
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 24, 1973, 4, p. 671-679
10.
226
o soB CU CAHLE-oAL DIN sECoLUL XIV LA CUHEA-MARAMURE
groas fcut din lut curat. Dar, ceea ce este mai important, amprentele circulare
de pe aceste fragmente sunt marcate prin nuiri transversale regulate, amprentele
rezultnd deci din imprimarea n lut a unor corpuri cilindrice cu pereii ondulai sau
canelai. Nu poate i vorba, aadar, de amprentele unor brne de lemn. Dealtfel, pe
unul din aceste fragmente de lut ars, s-au pstrat trei asemenea amprente, dispuse
ntr-un plan triunghiular, cu distanele dintre goluri de 0,02-0,025 m (ig. 1 a).
Concluzia, mai greu de formulat la data spturii, datorit poate unor prejudeci
asupra nivelului de dezvoltare i de civilizaie a societii romneti din prima
jumtate a secolului al XIV-lea dar datorit i lipsei din ar a unor analogii pentru
o epoc att de timpurie, a ajuns acum s se impun de la sine. Aceast concluzie
a fost uurat i prin descoperirea recent, la Rmnicu Vlcea, a unor fragmente
asemntoare de lipitur de lut, avnd nc prinse pe ele cahle n form de oal,
provenind de la soba unei case de trgove din prima jumtate a secolului al XVlea5. n locuina din reedina ntrit a bogdnetilor exista, la mijlocul secolului al
XIV-lea, atunci cnd s-a produs distrugerea ei prin incendiu6, o sob construit din
cahle-oal.
Identiicarea cahlelor propriu-zise, n materialul ceramic recoltat dintre resturile
locuinei, ntmpin anumite diiculti. Ceramica iind foarte fragmentar iar
formele cahlelor-oal, din aceast faz de nceput a evoluiei sobei medievale de
cahle, iind destul de apropiate de acelea ale oalelor obinuite, deosebirile funcionale
nu sunt totdeauna certe. Se adaug i mprejurarea c incendiul, care a pus capt
locuinei amintite, a produs puternica ardere secundar a materialului ceramic,
uneori pn la deformare, mpiedicnd deci identiicarea fragmentelor cu urme de
folosire n pereii sobei.
innd seama totui de analogiile din literatura de specialitate i de amprentele
de pe bucile de lut provenite din pereii sobei, credem c acesteia din urm i-au
aparinut urmtoarele piese sau tipuri ceramice :
a. Fragmente de la oale mici, tronconice, cu gura mai larg dect fundul, modelate
la roata rapid i arse la rou. Pereii i fundul au grosimea de 0,5 cm. Una dintre
aceste oale se ntregete parial, avnd diametrul fundului de 9,5 cm, cel al gurii de
circa 12 cm, iar nlimea de 8 cm. Pereii au n interior ,,coaste supericiale iar n
exterior, cam de la jumtatea nlimii n sus, caneluri foarte largi. Buza este uor
ngroat i teit oblic spre exterior (ig. 1 b-d). Interpretate la data descoperirii
ca iind ,,castronae folosite poate ca pahare7, aceste piese trebuie acum incluse,
5.
6.
7.
Descoperirea aparine colegei Elena Busuioc, iind comunicat la sesiunea anual de rapoarte a Institutului
de arheologie din februarie 1971 i apoi la sesiunea D.M.I. din ianuarie 1973 (O cas de orean din
prima jumtate a secolului al XV-lea la Rmnicu Vlcea). Mulumim autoarei pentru discuiile asupra
materialelor, pe care ni le-a artat.
Pentru data distrugerii reedinei bogdnetilor, n afar de argumentele expuse n locurile citate la
nota 1, putem folosi i catarama hexagonal din aram cu vrfurile n form de loare de crin, gsit
printre resturile incendiului (R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., p. 25, ig. 16 c) care i gsete analogii printre
piesele de acest gen descoperite n morminte din Ungaria, datnd din secolul XIV; cf. Szab Klmn,
Kulturgeschichtliche Denkmler der ungarischen Tiefebene, Budapesta, 1938, p. 49, cu ig. 204, 207 i 208.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., p. 31 i ig. 21/44.
fr nici o rezerv, n categoria cahleloroale. Exist n acest sens analogii n

materialele descoperite n Ungaria, unde
piese identice au fost datate n secolul al
XIV-lea8.
b. Fragmente de la trei sau patru oale
de dimensiuni mai mari, lucrate la roata cu
nvrtire rapid, dintr-o past omogen,
nisipoas, i arse la rou sau la cenuiuglbui. Judecnd dup fragmentele gsite,
diametrul maxim al acestor oale depea
12 cm, nlimea lor era de 20 -25 cm
iar forma tronconic, cu gura mai lat i
fundul drept (ig. 2 a-e). Relativ subiri, de
numai 0,3-0,5 cm, pereii sunt prevzui
cu coaste regulate att n interior ct i
n exterior pe aproape ntreaga nlime,
pn sub buz. Aceasta din urm este
puin ngroat i teit spre interior9. Pe
dou fragmente de buze i pe interiorul
pereilor altor cteva fragmente din acest
tip de cahl-oal, se pstreaz un strat
de smal verzui. Interpretarea lor drept
cahle-oal ar i foarte grea dac nu ar exista analogii n literatura de specialitate10
i, mai ales, dac ondulaiile (,,coastele) lor exterioare nu s-ar potrivi perfect n
amprentele din nuiri transversale de pe bucile de lut ars despre care a fost deja
vorba.
c. Fragment din fundul, lrgit la baz, al unei oale (?) lucrate la roat, din past
omogen, ars la rou. Diametrul fundului este de 9 cm iar grosimea pereilor de
1 cm. La nlimea de 3,2 cm, acolo unde s-a i spart oala, pereii ei aveau dou
sau mai multe deschideri laterale n forma unor fante (ig. 1 e). Evident c oala nu
putea folosi drept recipient, utilizarea ei n alt scop, eventual ca sfenic, neiind totui
exclus11.
d. Fragment dintr-o pies ceramic masiv, realizat iniial la roat i apoi
ngroat prin aplicarea unei cmi exterioare de lut. Pasta ars la rou. Pereii sunt
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
I. Holl, Kzpkori klyhacsempk Magyarorszgon, I, Budapest Rgisgei, 18, 1958, p. 213, ig. 3/1;
Idem, Mittelalterliche Funde aus einem Brunnen von Buda, Budapesta, p. 26, ig. 28, ultimele arse reductor.
Suntem datori s renunm, cu acest prilej, la rezervele pe care le-am formulat asupra interpretrii acestor
piese drept oale-cahl; cf. recenzia noastr n Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei, 15, 1968, 2, p. 258.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., ig. 21/45-47.
K. Szab, op. cit., p. 92, ig. 423-432 a; I. Mri, Figurenverzierte Ofenkachlen Volkstmlichen Charakters
aus dem mittelalterlichen Ungarns, Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 12, 1960, p.
360, pl. 109/7, cu fundul mult ngustat, n form de potir. Buza este identic cu aceea a cahlei-oal
publicat de I. Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde, ig. 28.
Nu cunoatem deocamdat analogii pentru un eventual tip de cahl-oal din secolul XIV cu deschiderifante n partea inferioar. Asemenea piese apar n secolul XV i le-am ntlnit la Suceava (spturile
autorului) dup cum sunt cunoscute i n Transilvania (I. Mri, op.cit., p. 358 i pl. 111/2), deschiderile
avnd ns un caracter decorativ iar nu unul funcional pentru o ixare mai bun, cum pare a i cazul la
piesa noastr.
Fig. 1.
Cuhea. a)
fragment de
lipitur cu
amprente de
cahle; b) d)
cahle scunde
tronconice;
e) fund de
cahl (?) cu
deschideri
laterale; f)
h) fragmente
de cahle (?)
scunde cu
gura lobat
227
228
Fig. 2.
Cuhea. a) f)
fragment de
cahle nalte
tronconice;
g) fragment
de cahl (?)
cu oriicii
circulare
groi de 2 cm, iind strbtui de mai multe oriicii circulare cu diametrul de 1,7 cm.
Pe fragment s-au pstrat trei asemenea oriicii, orientate diferit, ceea ce pledeaz
pentru reconstituirea piesei, din care acesta a fcut parte, n forma unei semisfere
sau a unei calote (ig. 2g). Pe faa exterioar piesa a fost, cel puin parial, acoperit
cu smal verde. n lipsa analogiilor i datorit dimensiunilor reduse ale fragmentului,
apartenena piesei la o sob de cahle-oal rmne ipotetic12.
e. Trei margini de la vase scunde,
lucrate la roat, cu pereii groi de
0,8 cm i cu gura lobat. La dou
dintre fragmente proilul s-a pstrat
pn la fund, astfel nct tim c au
avut nlimea de 4,5 cm. Datorit
dimensiunilor mici ale fragmentelor,
pe care nu se pstreaz dect pornirea
cte unui lob (ig. 1 f-h), am socotit
c este vorba de opaie13 i c lobarea
gurii s-ar datora ciocului de opai, cu
att mai mult cu ct asemenea tipuri
de opaie sunt cunoscute n secolul
al XIV-lea14. innd seama, totui,
c am gsit fragmente de la trei vase
asemntoare, nu putem exclude
posibilitatea ca ele s reprezinte un
tip de cahle-oal, cu gura cvadrilobat
sau rectangular, care s-i i gsit
locul undeva n corpul sobei.
Reconstituirea sobei sau a sobelor15
din care au fcut parte materialele
prezentate nu poate depi stadiul
ipotezelor. Dup cum se tie, soba
de cahle a evoluat de la soba simpl
rneasc, construit din piatr sau din lut deasupra unui soclu, nclzit din
exteriorul casei, aa cum se mai pot vedea i astzi exemplare n zonele muntoase din
centrul Europei i chiar n Maramure16. Prima modiicare, n direcia care va duce
spre ceea ce nelegem n mod obinuit sub termenul de sob din cahle, a constat din
12 .
13 .
14 .
15 .
16 .
Dac fragmentul provine de la o cahl, atunci aceasta a fost de o form mai complicat, derivat din tipul
convex (nchis spre exterior) atestat n Ungaria n secolul al XIV-lea; I. Holl, Kzpkori klyhacsempk...,
p. 213-214. n mediul oraelor din Ungaria, smalul verde, aternut direct pe pasta ars, apare nc de la
sfritul secolului XIII, pe ceramic importat din Austria; I. Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde, p. 17.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., p. 25 i ig. 19/34.
I. Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde, p. 20-21, ig. 24/2. Asemenea opaie circulare scunde, prevzute cu un cioc,
ne sunt cunoscute i la Dunrea de Jos n secolele XIII-XIV.
Vorbim despre sobe, la plural, deoarece prezena mai multor tipuri de cahle-oal, ca i probabilitatea
existenei mai multor ncperi (o sal mare de 10/7 m la primul nivel i dou camere la al doilea nivel?)
ne ndeamn s postulm prezena, n momentul incendiului, a cel puin dou sobe.
Resturile pe care le-am gsit n spturile din Maramure, pe podeaua unor case din secolele XIII-XIV,
sunt deocamdat prea puin concludente, pentru a airma c de la soba (sau vatra nchis, nconjurat
printr-o construcie din pietre i lut) casei rneti maramureene, contemporane reedinei bogdnetilor,
a putut porni, prin adugarea cahlelor-oal, evoluia nspre soba de cahle.
introducerea, n grosimea peretelui de lut, a unor oale menite s radieze i s dirijeze

cldura. Desigur c foarte de timpuriu, poate chiar de la nceput, aceste oale folosite
drept cahle primitive au avut i un rol decorativ17. Caracterul decorativ al sobelor,
datorat iniial modului de dispunere al oalelor-cahle, s-a accentuat prin realizarea
unor cahle tot mai complicate i mai ornamentate.
Cele mai vechi exemple cunoscute de asemenea sobe din cahle-oal dateaz de
la nceputul secolului al XIV-lea i au ajuns
pn la noi n special datorit unor izvoare
iconograice. Este de presupus c nc de la
sfritul secolului XIII, asemenea sobe existau
n Elveia sau n Austria. Reconstituirile
propuse pentru primele sobe cu cahle-oal
sunt foarte diverse, ntemeindu-se n special
pe material etnograic relativ recent i, doar
n parte, pe reprezentrile schematice din
izvoarele iconograice (ig. 3). Pe parcursul
secolului al XIV-lea, forma cahlelor i a
sobelor s-a diversiicat n mod apreciabil, n a
doua jumtate a veacului folosindu-se deja, n
palatele regale i n marile centre eclesiastice
din Ungaria, cahle cu decor igurativ18.
n ara noastr nu au fost semnalate nc,
dup cte tim, cahle sau cahle-oal din
secolul al XIV-lea i cu att mai puin din
prima jumtate a acestuia19. Faptul ar putea
s se datoreze stadiului mai puin avansat al cercetrilor de arheologie medieval
din Transilvania sau, poate, diicultii de a
distinge, la investigarea unor straturi bine
datate, fragmentele de cahle-oal de cele
provenind de la oale comune, atunci cnd
descoperirea lor nu este nsoit de alte indicii.
Este mai mult dect probabil c cercetrile
viitoare, n special cele din mediul orenesc i
al curilor feudale din Transilvania, s dea la iveal multe asemenea materiale.
Ct privete data i iliera pe care au ajuns la Cuhea, n mediul romnesc
maramurean, cahlele-oal i soba sau sobele n care au fost ele folosite, putem
aduce unele precizri, folosindu-ne de ntreg ansamblul descoperit i cercetat acolo.
Biserica de piatr din Cuhea, construit n stil gotic timpuriu, dateaz aproximativ
17 .
18 .
19 .
Pentru nceputurile sobei de cahle, vezi Rosemarie Franz, Der Kachelofen, Graz, 1969, p. 14-23.
I. Holl, Kzpkori klyhacsempk..., p. 215 i urm.
Soba de la Rmnicu Vlcea mai sus amintit a putut s ie construit cel mai devreme la nceputul
secolului al XV-lea, deoarece nu credem c perioada de folosire a unei asemenea sobe s i depit doutrei decenii. Recent au fost semnalate i publicate cahle-oal ntr-o reedin feudal de la Suslneti
(Dinu V. Rosetti, Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 41, 1972, 2, p. 29 i 36, ig. 8-10) care ar putea data de la
cumpna veacurilor XIV i XV. Este totui de remarcat folosirea ciudat i nefuncional a cahlelor-oal
de la Suslneti, cu golul umplut de pmnt i cu gura ndreptat n jos, sugernd refolosirea unor cahle
provenite de la alt sob sau utilizarea, n soclul unei sobe de cahle-oal, a pieselor deteriorate.
Fig. 3.
Reconstituiri
de sobe din
cahle-oal
(dup I. Holl
i R. Franz)
229
230
din anii 1330-1340, din perioada n care Bogdan era voievod al Maramureului20.
Caracterul apusean al planului monumentului ca i prezena pietrei cioplite, cel puin
la portal i la soclu, pledeaz pentru construirea monumentului de ctre o echip de
meteri strini, adui de ctre voievod. Cu acest prilej i-a putut face apariia i soba
din cahle-oal n interiorul turnului-locuin al voievodului.
Adoptarea de ctre mediul romnesc i ne referim, desigur, numai la vrfurile
acestui mediu social a unei inovaii att de proaspete n chiar locurile ei de origine,
i are i o alt explicaie. n timp ce n turnurile-locuin construite din piatr sau
crmid, cum ar i cele de la Cheresig, Suseni-Ru de Mori sau Clnic, problema
nclzirii ncperilor se poate rezolva prin cmine deschise, adosate zidurilor sau
amenajate n grosimea zidului, n turnul-locuin al bogdnetilor, construit din
lemn, se cerea gsirea unei soluii diferite. Soba din oale-cahl satisfcea att nevoia
nclzirii interioarelor ct i aceea a caracterului deosebit circumstaniat de epoc
i de loc al reedinei voievodului maramurean.
20 .
R. Popa, Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 17, 1966, 3, p. 515-520; Idem, ara Maramureului, p. 225.
a FouRteentH centuRY
Pot-tile StoVe FRoM
cuHea-MaRaMuRe *
everal years ago I concluded the archaeological excavations at the Bogdan family
residence in Cuhea (today Bogdan Vod, Maramure County) and published the
results of the investigation1, but I couldnt specify how was heated the house placed
in the middle of the fortiied enclosure uncovered in the point Grdina lui Crlig,
on the high terrace of the Iza River. Considering that the loor did not present any
kind of traces of a hearth or stove, as well as the uncovering of the traces of a system
of wooden reinforcement, with the bases and pillars buried in the ground, I have
stated that the loor belonged to a cellar-storehouse and that the living rooms were
at the upper level2.
In the meantime, the investigation of some thirteenth to fourteenth century
noble residences and especially the attention given to the dwelling-towers, have
led me to conclude that the most plausible reconstruction for the Bogdan familys
fortiied residence is a permanently inhabited dwelling-tower. It consisted of one
or two levels built of wood and clay above a cellar located on the ground level;
the cellar was delimited by a foundation made of stone bound with clay3. Such an
interpretation is supported, among other factors, by its dimensions, with sides of 9
and 12 m long that correspond to the ones of the well-known dwelling-tower built in
Clnic around 1260-1270 by a family of Saxon greaves4. Likewise, the considerable
thickness of the foundation about 1 m and a reinforcing system inside the tower
justify the reconstruction of a building with a considerable height.
Taking into account the type of building, the climate in Maramure and the
lammable nature of the walls of this construction, I still had to answer how the
rooms were heated by a well isolated ire place. By re-examining the materials found
in excavation I now have that answer.
Among the large burnt pieces of earthen casting some imprinted with the
shape of the logs onto which they were applied that have collapsed in a thick
layer over the cellar loor when the Bogdan residence was destroyed, we found
some peculiar fragments. Unlike most of the other fragments which had straws
in the composition these ones were part of a thick casting made of unadulterated
1.
2.
3.
4.
Radu Popa Mircea Zdroba, antierul arheologic Cuhea. Un centru voievodal din veacul al XIV-lea, Baia
Mare, 1966, p. 8-32. With a new dating in: R. Popa, Revue Roumaine d'Histoire, 5, 1966, 5, p. 770-772 and
774, as well as in the monograph ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970, p. 236.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit, p. 13.
R. Popa, Dacia, N.S., 16, 1972, p. 260 with note 62 and passim.
Radu Heitel, Cetatea din Clnic, Bucureti, 1968.
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 24, 1973, 4, p. 671-679
10.
232
A FoURTEENTH CENTURY PoT-TILE sToVE FRoM CUHEA-MARAMURE
clay. Most importantly, the circular prints kept on these fragments are marked by
regular transversal grooves; hence the prints belong to some cylindrical bodies with
corrugated or grooved walls, which were partially buried in clay. herefore they
cannot be tracks of wooden beams. As a matter of fact, one of these fragments of
burnt clay still preserves three such prints, placed in a triangular pattern, with the
distances between them of 0.02-0.025 m (ig. 1 a).
he conclusion is now obvious but at the time of the excavation it was harder
to reach, maybe because of prejudices concerning the level of development and
civilization of the Romanian society during the irst half of the fourteenth century
and also because in the country we did not had analogies dated in such an early age.
In the meantime, in Rmnicu Vlcea archaeologists discovered similar clay casting
fragments, still encasing fragments of pot-tiles. hese were used for the stove of a
townsmans house, dated during the irst half of the ifteenth century5. he fortiied
residence of the Bogdan family also had a stove made of pot-tiles, at the middle of
the fourteenth century, when it was destroyed by ire6.
We have some diiculties in properly identifying the stove tiles among the other
discoveries. he ceramic inds are very fragmented and since the shapes of the pot-tiles
from this early stage in the evolution of the medieval tile stoves are very close to those
of the regular pots the functional distinctions are not always certain. Furthermore,
the ire that brought an end to the house produced a strong secondary burning of
the ceramic, sometimes even to deformation, preventing a clear identiication of the
fragments bearing traces of having been used in the stoves walls.
Still, taking into account the analogies provided by the bibliography and the
imprints from the clay castings fallen from the stoves walls, weve deduced that the
following pieces or ceramic types belong to the stove:
a) Fragments of small pots, in the shape of a truncated cone, with the top opening
larger than the base, thrown on a fast wheel and ired to a red colour. he walls
and the bottom are 0.5 cm thick. One of them is partially reconstructed, with the
following sizes: base diameter 9.5 cm, rim diameter about 12 cm, height 8 cm.
he walls are decorated on the inside with supericial ribs and on the outside, on
the upper half, with very large cannelures. he lip is slightly thickened and obliquely
blunted toward the exterior (ig. 1b-d). When we discovered them I interpreted these
fragments as small bowls, maybe used as cups7. Now I have no reserve in including
them in the category of stove pot-tiles. here are some analogies for these pieces in
Hungary, where identical materials were dated during the fourteenth century8.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Discovered by my colleague Elena Busuioc, presented at the Annual Session Reports of the Institute of
Archaeology in February 1971 and then at the session of the Commission for National Monuments in
January 1973 (O cas de orean din prima jumtate a secolului al XV-lea la Rmnicu Vlcea). I would
like to thank the author for allowing me to see the materials and discussing them with me.
An argument for the date of the destruction of the dwelling-tower (beside the ones referred to in note
1) is the brass hexagonal belt buckle, with ends shaped like a lily lower discovered among the debris (R.
Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., p. 25, ig. 16 c). he piece has analogies discovered in tombs in Hungary, dating
from the fourteenth century, according to Szab Klmn, Kulturgeschichtliche Denkmler der ungarischen
Tiefebene, Budapest, 1938, p. 49, ig. 204, 207 and 208.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., p. 31, ig. 21/44.
I. Holl, Kzpkori klyhacsempk Magyarorszgon, I, Budapest Rgisgei, 18, 1958, p. 213, ig. 3/1;
Idem, Mittelalterliche Funde aus einem Brunnen von Buda, Budapesta, p. 26, ig. 28, the last ones ired in
a reduction atmosphere. I abandon my reserve in interpreting these pieces as pot-tiles; see my review in
Studii i Cercetri de Istoria Artei, 15, 1968, 2, p. 258.
b) Fragments from three or four larger pots, thrown on a fast wheel, from a
homogenous paste, tempered with sand, ired to a red or yellowish-gray colour.
Considering all the discovered fragments, these pots had a maximum diameter of
more than 12 cm, with a height of 20-25 cm, and were shaped like a truncated cone,
with a large top opening and a straight bottom (ig. 2 a-e). he walls are relatively
thin, 0.3-0.5 cm and are decorated with regular ribs on the interior as well as the
exterior, on almost their entire height, right up to the underside of the lip. he lip is
slightly thickened and blunted toward the interior9. Two of the rim fragments and
the interior of several other fragments still preserve a layer of green enamel. heir
interpretation as pot-tiles would be very diicult without the analogies provided
by the bibliography 10, especially if their exterior ribs wouldnt it perfectly into the
transversal grooves on the clay casting fragments.
c) Wheel thrown fragment of a base, larger on the underside, of a pot (?) made
of a homogenous paste, ired to a red colour. he base has a 9 cm diameter and
the walls are 1 cm thick. At a height of 3.2 cm where the pot broke its walls
presented two or more lateral openings, shaped like slits (ig. 1e). It is obvious that
the pot couldnt have been used as a container but we cannot exclude its possible use
for other purposes, such as a candlestick11.
d) Fragment of a massive ceramic artefact. It was initially wheel-thrown and then
thickened by applying an exterior clay sheet. he paste was ired to a red colour. he
walls are 2 cm thick and are pierced by several circular oriices, 1.7 cm in diameter.
he fragment preserved three such oriices, diferently oriented, which suggest that
the piece should be reconstructed as a hemisphere or a calotte (ig. 2g). he exterior
was, at least partially, covered with a layer of green enamel. here are no analogies
for this piece and the fragment is very small, therefore its ascription to the stove is
for now hypothetical12.
e) hree upper parts of short pots, wheel-thrown, with 0.8 cm thick walls and
lobed rims. Two of the fragments preserved a complete proile so we know their
height was of 4.5 cm. Because of the small size of the fragments, which at best
preserve the beginning of one lobe (ig. 1f-h), I thought at irst that they are rush
lights13 and that the lobe on the rim is actually the beak of the rush light, encouraged
in this attribution by the existence of such types of lamps during the fourteenth
century14. Still, considering that we have uncovered fragments belonging to three
9.
10 .
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., ig. 21/45 - 47.

K. Szab, op. cit., p. 92, ig. 423-432 a; I. Mri, Figurenverzierte Ofenkachlen Volkstmlichen Charakters
aus dem mittelalterlichen Ungarns, Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 12, 1960,
p. 360, pl. 109/7, with narrowed foot, shaped like a chalice. he rim is identical with the pot-tile published
by I. Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde, ig. 28.
At the time I do not know of any analogies with an eventual fourteenth century pot-tile type with slits on
the lower part. Such materials do appear in the ifteenth century (I have seen them during my excavations
in Suceava) and are also known in Transylvania (I. Mri, op.cit., p. 358, pl. 111/2) but their slits have a
decorative purpose while the one in Cuhea seems to have functional slits, for better aixing.
If the fragment belongs in a stove tile then it had a more complicated shape, derived from the convex
type (closed toward the exterior). his type is attested in fourteenth century Hungary; I. Holl, Kzpkori
klyhacsempek..., p. 213-214. In towns in Hungary the green enamel placed directly on the ired paste
appears since the end of the thirteenth century, on Austrian imported pottery; I. Holl, Mittelalterliche
Funde, p. 17.
R. Popa M. Zdroba, op. cit., p. 25 and ig. 19/34.
I. Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde, p. 20-21, ig. 24/2. Such short, circular, beaked rush-lights also appear in
the Lower Danube region during the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries.
233
234
similar pieces, I will not exclude the possibility that they represent a type of pot-tiles
with four lobes or rectangular openings that belonged somewhere in the stove.
he reconstruction of the stove or stoves15 that contained the materials presented
above cannot be for now more than hypothetic. As we know, the tile stove evolved
from the simple peasant stove, built of stone or clay above a sole, fuelled from outside
the house as we can still ind today in the mountainous areas in Central Europe and
even in Maramure16. he irst alteration toward what we now think of as a tile stove
was introducing into the thickness of the clay wall some pots that could radiate and
direct the heat. Of course, very early on, maybe even from the beginning, these pots
used as primitive stove tiles also gained a decorative purpose17. he decorative nature
of the stoves, due at irst to the way the pots were distributed, was emphasized by
the achievement of more complicated and ornamented tiles.
he oldest known examples of such pot-tile stoves date at the beginning of the
fourteenth century and we know of them especially from iconographic sources. We
may assume that such stoves existed since the end of the thirteenth century in
Switzerland and Austria. he reconstitutions of the irst pot-tile stoves are very
diverse, based especially on relatively recent ethnographic materials and only
partially on the schematic iconographic representations (ig. 3). Over the course
of the fourteenth century, the shape of both tile and stove diversiied considerably,
in the second half of this century in the royal palaces and in the great ecclesiastic
centres from Hungary being already in use tiles with igurative decorations18.
As far as I know, nowhere in Romania there were discovered tiles or pot-tiles
from the fourteenth century, the less from its irst half19. his could be due to the
less advanced stage of Transylvanias medieval archaeology studies, or maybe it was
diicult to distinguish, in well-dated layers, between the fragments of pot-tiles and
the fragments of common pots, especially if there were no other hints to point out
their existence. Future excavations in Transylvania, especially in towns and noble
residences, should be able to uncover more materials of this kind
As for the when and where originated the pot-tiles used in the stove or stoves
in Cuhea, in the Romanian society of Maramure, we could make some statements
by taking into account the whole compound discovered and explored there. he
stone church in Cuhea was built in Early Gothic style, sometime around 133015 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
I am talking about more than one stove since the presence of more types of pot-tiles and the probability
that there were several rooms inside the dwelling-tower (a large one, 10 by 7 m long on the irst storey and
two rooms on the second storey?) make me consider that at the moment of the ire the dwelling-tower
had at least two tile stoves.
he materials uncovered in Maramure on the loors of thirteenth and fourteenth century houses are
inconclusive for now. herefore I cannot state if the stove (or closed hearth surrounded by a construction
of stone and clay) of the Maramure peasant houses contemporary to the Bogdan residence could be a
starting point for the evolution of the tile stove.
For the beginnings of the tile stove, see Rosemarie Franz, Der Kachelofen, Graz, 1969, p. 14-23.
I. Holl, Kzpkori klyhacsempk..., p. 215f.
he stove from Rmnicu Vlcea has been built, at the earliest, at the beginning of the ifteenth century,
because I do not think that such a stove could have been used for more than two or three decades.
Archaeologists have recently discovered and published some pot-tiles from a noble residence in Suslneti
(Dinu V. Rosetti, Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, 41, 1972, 2, p. 29, 36, ig. 8-10) which may date from
the end of the fourteenth century or the beginning of the ifteenth century. he use of the pot-tiles
in Suslneti is strange and un-functional, with the openings illed with earth and the rims pointing
downward. his suggests that the tiles were reused from a previous stove or that the deteriorated pot-tiles
were used in the base of a new stove.
1340, when Bogdan was the Voivode of Maramure20. he Catholic plan of the
monument and the presence of carved stone, used at least for the portal and the
footing, suggest that the voivode brought a team of foreign masons to build the
monument. Maybe in these circumstances a stove made of pot-tiles was also made
inside the voivodes dwelling-tower.
here is another explanation for the implementation of something so fresh even
in its place of origin by the Romanian society and of course, Im referring here
only to its elite. While other dwelling-towers made of stone or brick, such as the
ones in Cheresig, Suseni-Ru de Mori or Clnic, could have been very easily heated
by open ireplaces built next to the walls, or into the thickness of the walls, the
dwelling-tower of the Bogdan family, made of wood, requested a diferent heating
system. he pot-tile stove would satisfy the need to safely heat the interior and
given the era and the location would also emphasise the special character of
residence used by the Voivode of Maramure.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 Cuhea. a) fragment of clay casting with stove-tile imprints; b) d) short, tronconic
stove-tiles; e) base of a pot-tile (?) with lateral openings; f ) h) fragments of short
pot-tiles (?) with lobed rims.
Fig. 2 Cuhea. a) f ) fragments of tall, tronconic pot-tiles; g) fragment of a pot-tile (?) with
circular oriices.
Fig. 3 Reconstructions of pot-tile stoves (according to I. Holl and R. Franz).
20 .
R. Popa, Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 17, 1966, 3, p. 515-520; Idem, ara Maramureului, p. 225.
235
PluMBuRi
de PoStaV MedieVale *
e propunem s atragem atenia asupra unei anumite categorii de materiale

care apar n complexele medievale, aa numitele plumburi de postav. Ele nu
s-au bucurat nc, dup cte tim, de atenia cuvenit n literatura romneasc de
specialitate, sau au fost greit interpretate. Exist suiciente motive pentru a se crede
c descoperirile de asemenea materiale n spturi arheologice sunt n realitate mult
mai numeroase dect cele pe care le-am ntlnit n publicaii. Pe msura identiicrii
n colecii a unor asemenea piese i a publicrii lor, precum i pe msura realizrii
unor cataloage n care piesele s ie corect datate i precizate ca loc de provenien1
vom avea la dispoziie o nou categorie de informaii de deosebit valoare pentru
reconstituirea circulaiei de mrfuri i a relaiilor economice din evul mediu romnesc.
Plumburile de postav se aseamn foarte mult cu sigiliile de pe corespondena
medieval i din aceast cauz ele au putut i cu uurin interpretate ca reprezentnd
asemenea sigilii. n realitate, aceste plumburi se prindeau prin presare, cu ajutorul
unui clete sau prin batere, la colul bucilor de postav cu anumite dimensiuni,
adeverind proveniena i calitatea acestora din urm. Dup cum se tie, postavul i
alte esturi produse n atelierele medievale sau n manufacturi nu erau confecionate
i transportate n valuri mari din care s se taie cantitatea necesar n momentul
vnzrii, ca n timpurile moderne, ci erau pregtite i vndute n buci care
corespundeau ca mrime necesarului pentru un anumit tip de vestmnt2.
n complexul medieval de la Voivozi (com. Popeti, jud. Bihor), complex care
i are nceputurile cel mai trziu n secolul al XII-lea i care a dinuit, dup cte
tim, pn ctre mijlocul secolului al XV-lea3, a aprut n campania de cercetri din
anul 1976 un asemenea plumb pentru postav. Condiiile de descoperire pledeaz
1.
2.
3.
Cataloagele de plumburi comerciale medievale, printre care plumburile de postav, au ocupat locul
principal, citate de Niels-Knud Liebgott, Da klaede var en maerkevare, n Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark,
Copenhaga, 1975, p. 35 i urm., nu ne-au fost accesibile. Nu avem cunotin de existena unor cataloage
privind asemenea piese din rile nvecinate teritoriilor romneti, utile pentru identiicarea descoperirilor
de plumburi n aezrile medievale din Romnia.
Pentru comerul medieval cu postavuri i esturi, vezi Radu Manolescu, Comerul rii Romneti i
Moldovei cu Braovul (secolele XIV-XVI), Bucureti, 1965, p. 147 i urm., cu bibliograia.
Pentru complexul medieval de la Voivozi, vezi Radu Popa, Valea Bistrei n secolele XIII-XIV, n
Centenar muzeal ordean, Oradea, 1972, p. 215-219 i Idem, Zur kirchlichen Organisation der Rumnen
in Nordsiebenbrgen im Lichte des patriarchalischen Privilegiums von 1391, n Ostkirchliche Studien,
tom 24, 1975, 4, p. 309-317. Cercetri mai noi efectuate la Voivozi conirm abandonarea complexului
ctre mijlocul secolului al XV-lea, probabil n timpul evenimentelor legate de rscoala de la Boblna.
Sargetia, XIV, 1979, p. 275-279
11.
238
PLUMBURI DE PosTAV MEDIEVALE
Fig. 1.
Plumburi de
postav:
1) Voivozi;
2) Hlmagiu
(aversul
i reversul
aceleiai
plcue);
3) Suceava
pentru datarea lui n secolul al XIV-lea4. Piesa se prezint sub forma a dou plcue
circulare din plumb, cu diametrul de 18-19 mm,
unite printr-o tij lung de 20 mm; n momentul
aplicrii plumbului pe bucata de postav, tija a fost
ndoit la mijlocul ei iar cele dou plcue s-au
suprapus, pe feele lor superioare imprimndu-se
sigiliul. Acesta din urm cuprinde pe una dintre
plcue o cruce latin cu braele uor lite, nscris
ntr-un scut simplu de tip antic (triunghiular). Pe a
doua plcu apare litera W nscris ntr-un sector
oval reliefat. Imprimarea sigiliului s-a fcut fr
considerarea poziiei plcuelor pe bucata de postav.
Al doilea plumb de postav a fost descoperit la
Hlmagiu (com. Hlmagiu, jud. Arad), n preajma
bisericii vechi din localitate, cu prilejul decaprilor
de teren care au urmat spturilor arheologice
din anii 1974-19755. Este vorba de aceast dat
doar de o singur plcu circular de plumb, cu
diametrele de 22 i 26 mm; a doua plcu s-a
rupt din vechime i s-a pierdut mpreun cu tija
care unea cele dou pri ale plumbului. Pe plcua
descoperit, n centrul ei, apare stema oraului i
a districtului Braov, constnd dintr-o coroan cu
leuroni care ncununeaz trunchiul de stejar cu
rdcini puternice6. Stema este imprimat pe un
sector oval reliefat i dateaz piesa n a doua jumtate a secolului al XVI-lea sau la
nceputul secolului urmtor7.
Pe platoul din faa cetii de scaun a Sucevei s-a descoperit n anul 1952, n
condiii stratigraice nesigure, un plumb de postav format din dou plcue circulare
cu diametrul de 22-23 mm8. Tija care le unete a avut lungimea de 15 mm i se
mai pstreaz pe pies, dei prezint o ruptur pe una dintre pri. Pe o plcu a
fost imprimat un text dispus pe 4 rnduri, care se citete cu destul claritate: TS/
CHIRE/NAV/1635. ase ornamente compuse din linii arcuite ncadreaz simetric
textul. Se pare c i pe a doua plcu a existat o reprezentare, poate cu caracter
heraldic, deoarece pe suprafaa ei se reliefeaz un cmp ce pare a i al unui scut,
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
n stratul aparinnd nceputului ultimei faze de locuire, din secolele XIV-XV. Piesa a fost descoperit de
ctre Victor Eskenasy, n partea de nord a complexului.
Un raport asupra cercetrilor de la Hlmagiu la Dan Cpn, Cercetri arheologice la Hlmagiu i
Vrfurile (jud. Arad), n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, an XLV, 2, 1976,
p. 76 i urm.
Fr. Zimmermann, Die mittelalterlichen Siegel der Stadt Kronstadt und des Burzenlnder Distriktes, n
Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins fr siebenbargische Landeskunde, I, 1878, p. 107-110 i 116-121.
A. Arz v. Straussenberg, Die historischen Wappen der ehemaligen siebenbrgisch-schsischen
Gebietskrperschaften, n Archiv des Vereins fr siebenbrgische Landeskunde, 49, 2, 1938, p. 27-30.
Piesa a aprut n umplutura unei gropi trzii. n raportul de spturi (Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche,
1-2, an IV, 1953, p. 335 i urm.) ea nu a fost menionat.
PLUMBURI DE PosTAV MEDIEVALE
dar starea de conservare a piesei ca i modul neglijent n care a fost aplicat sigiliul
mpiedic precizri suplimentare.
De la Suceava cunoatem dealtfel un ntreg grup de plumburi de postav, sensibil
mai timpurii dect piesa la care ne-am referit mai sus, deoarece a fost descoperit
ntr-un complex de la nceputul secolului al XVI-lea, situat n vechiul trg. Autorii
cercetrii au sesizat caracterul sigilar al pieselor descoperite, dar au optat pentru
interpretarea lor ca sigilii de coresponden9. Datorit faptului c n cldirea lng
ale crei resturi au aprut plumburile, s-au gsit resturile evidente ale unui atelier
de confecionat nasturi de metal (cunoscuii bumbi sau nsturei globulari din aram
argintat sau din argint), s-a tras concluzia, prezenei aici a unui meteugar cu
o specializare foarte ngust, meteugar care ntreinea legturi diverse pe calea
corespondenei10. Caracterul de plumburi de postav al celor mai multe dintre piesele
publicate din acest complex11 pledeaz, dimpotriv, pentru specializarea mai larg
a respectivului meteugar, care pare a i fost i croitor folosind buci de postav
plumbuite pentru confecionarea vemintelor comandate de clienii si. Desigur
c nu este cu totul exclus posibilitatea ca n respectiva cldire s i locuit pe rnd, ca
urmare a unei vnzri, un croitor i un meter nsturar, dar aceast eventualitate este
totui mai puin probabil datorit faptului c cldirile de lemn din trgul Sucevei,
dintre care fcea parte i cldirea la care ne referim, nu au avut n a doua jumtate
a secolului al XV-lea i n prima jumtate a secolului al XVI-lea o existen prea
ndelungat12.
Relectnd, alturi de izvoarele scrise, relaiile comerciale i direciile de circulaie
a mrfurilor pe durata Evului Mediu, plumbuirile de postav ofer n acelai timp
posibilitatea unei priviri asupra condiiilor de via din anumite medii sociale ale
Evului Mediu romnesc, asupra costumului i a posibilitilor materiale ale celor
care i procurau i foloseau bucile de postav plumbuite. Identiicarea, adunarea
din colecii i din spturi a acestor piese, precum i publicarea lor corespunztoare,
reprezint desigur o aciune de la care sunt de ateptat rezultate importante.
9.
10 .
11 .
12 .
M. Matei t. Olteanu, Noi date cu privire la dezvoltarea meteugurilor n Suceava feudal, n Studii
i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, an XII, 1961, 1, p. 121 i urm.
Ibidem, p. 127.
Ibidem, p. 123, ig. 1/6, 7; s-au descoperit 8 sigilii de plumb i bronz; sigiliile de bronz nu le-am putut
vedea i veriica n ce msur reprezint o alt categorie de piese.
Vezi n acest sens, Gh. Diaconu, Observaii cu privire la urmele vechiului trg al Sucevei n vremea
marilor asedii otomane i polone din veacul al XV-lea, n Studii i Materiale de Istorie Medie, I, 1956, p.
267 i urm.
239
MedieVal
lead clotH SealS *
n this paper I wish to draw attention on a certain category of materials that are
discovered in medieval layers, the so-called lead cloth seals. As far as I know,
the Romanian bibliography paid them little attention, sometimes even wrongfully
interpreting them. here are reliable reasons to believe that such artefacts, discovered
during the archaeological excavations, are actually a lot more numerous than we
could ind in the published works. As we identify such materials in collections,
publish them properly and create catalogues where these artefacts would be correctly
dated and their place of discovery properly established1 we will have access to a new
category of extremely valuable data for the reconstruction of the Romanian Middle
Ages movement of goods and economic relations.
he lead cloth seals are very similar to the medieval correspondence seals and
because of this they were easily confused with them. In reality, these leads were
attached by pressing them with pliers or by hammering them in the corner of
sized-cut pieces of cloth in order to certify the fabrics provenience and quality.
As we know, unlike in modern times, cloth and other fabrics produced in medieval
workshops were not produced and transported in big bulks from where sellers would
cut the required size. hey were prepared and sold in pieces that would correspond
in size to the requirements of a certain type of garment2.
Such a lead cloth seal was discovered in 1976 in the medieval site in Voivozi
(Popeti commune, Bihor County), used from the twelfth century (or even earlier)
until the middle of the ifteenth century3. he context of the discovery placed the
piece during the fourteenth century4. It consists of two circular lead plates, 18-19
mm in diameter, joined by a 20 mm long rod. When the lead was placed on the
cloth, the rod was bent at the middle and the two little plates were superposed, the
1.
2.
3.
4.
I was not able to study the catalogues of medieval commercial leads, including cloth leads, cited by
Niels-Knud Liebgott, Da klaede var en maerkevare, in Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark, Copenhagen,
1975, p. 35f. I do not know of the existence of such catalogues in the neighbouring countries, useful in
properly identifying the lead cloth seals discovered in Romania.
For the medieval commerce of cloth and other fabrics, see Radu Manolescu, Comerul rii Romneti i
Moldovei cu Braovul (secolele XIV-XVI), Bucureti, 1965, p. 147f, with the bibliography.
For the medieval features in Voivozi, see Radu Popa, Valea Bistrei n secolele XIII-XIV, in Centenar
muzeal ordean, Oradea, 1972, p. 215-219 and Idem, Zur kirchlichen Organisation der Rumnen in
Nordsiebenbrgen im Lichte des patriarchalischen Privilegiums von 1391, in Ostkirchliche Studien, tom
24, 1975, 4, p. 309-317. New excavations here conirm that the site was abandoned toward the middle of
the ifteenth century, probably during the Boblna rebellion.
In the layer corresponding to the last stage of habitation, from the fourteenth-ifteenth centuries. he
artefact was discovered by Victor Eskenasy in the northern side of the church.
Sargetia, XIV, 1979, p. 275-279
11.
242
MEDIEVAL LEAD CLoTH sEALs
seal being imprinted on their upper faces. On one plate the seal had a Latin cross
with slightly widened arms, inscribed in an antique type shield (triangular); on the
second plate appears the letter W inscribed in an emphasized oval sector. he seal
was imprinted without taking into account the plates position on the cloth.
he second lead cloth seal was discovered in Hlmagiu (Hlmagiu commune,
Arad County), near the old church, during the extensive stripping of the soil that
followed to the 1974-1975 archaeological excavations5. he piece preserves only
one circular lead plate, with diameters of 22 and 26 mm; the second plate and the
rod were broken of old and lost. he centre of the discovered plate exhibits the coat
of arms of the Braov city and district, a leuron crown over a strong rooted oak
tree6. he coat of arms is imprinted on an emphasized oval sector and dates the
artefact during the second half of the sixteenth century, or at the beginning of the
seventeenth century7.
Another lead cloth seal was discovered in 1952 on the plateau facing Suceava
fortress. he conditions and stratigraphy of the discovery are unsure. he artefact
consists of two circular plates, 22-23 mm in diameter8. he rod that binds the plates
is 15 mm long and is still preserved, although it is broken in one part. One plate is
inscribed with four rows of text that clearly read TS/CHIRE/NAV/1635. he text
is symmetrically framed by six ornaments made of arched lines. he second plate
seem to have been also ornamented, maybe with a heraldic motif, since the shape of
a shield can still be guessed, but the state of conservation and the careless manner in
which the seal was placed prevents us from further studying it.
We also know of an entire group of lead cloth seals from Suceava, considerably
older than the one discussed above, as the group was discovered in a context from the
beginning of the sixteenth century, in the old borough. he authors of the discovery
noticed that the pieces were seals but interpreted them as correspondence seals9.
Since in the nearby building the archaeologists discovered the obvious remains of a
button workshop (the well-known globular buttons made of silver-plated brass or
silver) it was concluded that the workshop belonged to a highly specialized button
craftsman whose connections were established and maintained via correspondence10.
But since most of the seals published from this complex11 are actually lead cloth
seals, things are exactly opposite, namely the craftsman must have been broadly
specialized, probably also acting as a tailor and using for his clients garments cloth
pieces certiied with seals. here is, of course, the possibility that the building was
used in turns, maybe after a sale, by a tailor and a button maker. his is however a
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
A reference on the research from Hlmagiu at Dan Cpn, Cercetri arheologice la Hlmagiu i
Vrfurile (jud. Arad), in Revista muzeelor i monumentelor. Monumente istorice i de art, XLV, 2, 1976, p.
76f.
Fr. Zimmermann, Die mittelalterlichen Siegel der Stadt Kronstadt und des Burzenlnder Distriktes, in
Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins fr siebenbrgische Landeskunde, I, 1878, p. 107-110 and 116-121.
A. Arz v. Straussenberg, Die historischen Wappen der ehemaligen siebenbrgisch-schsischen
Gebietskrperschaften, in Archiv des Vereins fr siebenbrgische Landeskunde, 49, 2, 1938, p. 27-30.
he artefact was discovered in the backill of a late pit. It was not mentioned in the excavations report
(Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, IV, 1953, 1-2, p. 335f.).
M. Matei t. Olteanu, Noi date cu privire la dezvoltarea meteugurilor n Suceava feudal in Studii i
Cercetri de Istorie Veche, XII, 1961, 1, p. 121f.
Ibid., p. 127.
Ibid., p. 123, ig. 1/6, 7; eight seals made of lead and bronze were uncovered; I could not study the
bronze seals in order to ascertain if they represent a diferent category of artefacts.
MEDIEVAL LEAD CLoTH sEALs
very remote possibility since the wooden buildings, including the one in question,
rarely survived for long in the borough of Suceava during the second half of the
ifteenth century and the irst half of the sixteenth century12.
Interpreted alongside the written sources, the commercial relations and the trade
routes during the Middle Ages, the lead cloth seals shed some light on the living
conditions of certain social layers of the Romanian Middle Ages, on the costume and
the inancial means of those who bought and used the certiied cloth. Accurately
identifying these artefacts, extracting them from storage, gathering them during the
archaeological excavations and, obviously, properly publishing them represents an
endeavour from which are expected highly important results.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig.1
12 .
Lead cloth seals: 1) Voivozi; 2) Hlmagiu (the front and the back sides of the same
plate); 3) Suceava.
About this subject see Gh. Diaconu, Observaii cu privire la urmele vechiului trg al Sucevei n vremea
marilor asedii otomane i polone din veacul al XV-lea, in Studii i Materiale de Istorie Medie, I, 1956,
p. 267f.
243
docuMente de cultuR
MateRial oReneaSc n
tRanSilVania
din a doua juMtate a
Secolului al Xiii-lea *
12.
RADU POPA, GHEORGHE BALTAG
nceputurile modeste ale oraelor medievale transilvnene reprezint, sub aspectul

informaiilor scrise i al documentelor materiale, un subiect dintre cele mai puin
cunoscute. Fiecare dintre descoperirile care completeaz documentaia n aceast
direcie capt astfel o valoare deosebit. Aceast airmaie se veriic mai ales atunci
cnd este vorba de aspectele concrete ale civilizaiei oreneti din prima etap a
airmrii, n teritoriile romneti intracarpatice, a aezrilor medievale de caracter
urban care purtau n ele germenii disoluiei ornduirii feudale.
Descoperiri recente privind acest subiect au fost fcute n cetatea Sighioarei, cu

prilejul unor lucrri edilitare. Dei lucrrile s-au desfurat n timpul iernii i deci
n condiii nefavorabile, apariia complexelor medievale a putut i parial urmrit i
nregistrat din punctul de vedere al rigorilor cercetrii arheologice, iar materialele
aprute au fost salvate aproape integral1. Ne propunem n acest loc valoriicarea
1.
nregistrarea observaiilor, ntocmirea documentaiei i recoltarea materialelor se datoreaz lui Gheorghe

Baltag care a urmrit lucrrile n iarna 1975-1976 din nsrcinarea Muzeului m u n i c i p i u l u i Sighioara.
Proilul i o parte a vestigiilor au putut i studiate i de Radu Popa n mai 1975.
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 31, 1980, p. 33-52
Fig. 1.
Cetatea
Sighioara
cu locul
descoperirii:
1) casa Vlad
Dracul;
2) casa de pe
str. Cositorilor
nr. 2
246
DoCUMENTE DE CULTUR MATERIAL oRENEAsC N TRANsILVANIA
Fig. 2.
Proilul sudic
al gropii
spate n
curtea casei
Vlad Dracul i
planul pivniei
aparinnd
cldirii din a
doua jumtate
a secolului al
XIII-lea
obser vaiilor culese pe teren i a materialelor care au ajuns n coleciile Muzeului de

Istorie al municipiului Sighioara, precum i formularea unor ncheieri de ordin mai
general ntemeiate pe ele.
n toamna anului 1975 au nceput n cetatea Sighioarei lucrrile de consolidare
i de amenajare a cldirii cunoscute drept casa Vlad Dracul. Cldirea are valoare
istoric, artistic i arhitectonic i este situat n str. Muzeului nr. 5. Frontul ei
principal este orientat spre aceast strad care unete, pe axa est-vest, Turnul cu ceas
cu poarta principal a cetii Sighioarei, iar frontul secundar spre str. Cositorarilor,
iind astfel o ,,cldire de col (ig. 1). n cercetrile sale de urbanistic medieval
transilvnean, ntemeiate pe analiza topograic a loturilor, Paul Niedermaier
consider partea rsritean a cetii Sighioarei, din care face parte i strada
Cositorarilor, drept zon mprit n loturi i locuit nc dinainte de instalarea
colonitilor sai n a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea2. Aceast concluzie pare a
i valabil mai degrab pentru partea de nord-est a cetii, n care se al i biserica
fostei mnstiri dominicane atestate documentar la 12983, deoarece n zona cercetat
de pe str. Cositorarilor nu au aprut materiale sau depuneri care s poat i datate
nainte de mijlocul secolului al XIII-lea.
Nici casa Vlad Dracul, ca zidire de piatr, nu dateaz din prima faz a locuirii
urbane de la Sighioara. Partea mai veche a cldirii, compus din pivniele uor
2.
3.
Paul Niedermaier, Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, 48, 1979, 2. Vezi acolo
i ntreaga bibliograie referitoare la nceputurile oraului medieval Sighioara.
F. Zimmermann C. Werner, Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbrgen, I, Sibiu, 1892, p.
210-211.
adncite n sol i dintr-un parter nalt,

dateaz cel mai devreme din a doua
jumtate a secolului al XIV-lea, mai
probabil de la nceputul secolului al
XV-lea. Credem c pe locul ei a existat
anterior o cas de lemn. Aceasta din urm
trebuie s i fost contemporan cu casa de
lemn prevzut cu pivni pe care lucrrile
edilitare pomenite au pus-o n eviden n
curtea casei Vlad Dracul.
Lucrrile au constat din decapri
masive de teren n curtea casei Vlad
Dracul i din sparea acolo a unei gropi de dimensiuni foarte mari, pn la adncimea
de 4 m, pentru instalarea unei centrale termice subterane. Groapa a ajuns spre sud
pn aproape de zidul casei nvecinate de pe str. Cositorarilor, aceea cu nr. 2. Spre
strada aici numit, deci spre est, groapa s-a oprit la zidul de incint al curii, zid care
este trziu, probabil din secolele XVII-XVIII.
n groapa din curtea casei Vlad Dracul a aprut cea mai mare parte a pivniei
unei case de lemn, iar pe peretele sudic al gropii s-a putut nregistra o situaie
stratigraic (ig. 2-3) care necesit o scurt descriere. Adugm la descriere i
observaiile stratigraice realizate pe poriuni ale celorlali perei ai gropii centralei
termice.
Stratigrafia
Solul viu se al n aceast zon la adncimea de cca 2,00 m i const din argil
cenuie compact, cu lentile de argil galben. Deasupra lui se al un strat de sol
negru-cenuiu gros de 0,30-0,35 m, reprezentnd humusul antic. n cuprinsul
acestuia au aprut rare fragmente ceramice din epoca dacic, pigmeni de crbune i
granule de pmnt ars. Humusul antic este suprapus de un strat steril gros de 0,100,15 m, n care se gsesc doar resturi vegetale carbonizate. Ultimele dou straturi
descrise au fost distruse pe mari suprafee de activitatea constructorilor medievali.
Cel mai vechi strat al locuirii medievale, gros de circa 0,30 m, se caracterizeaz
prin cantitatea mare de crbune provenind de la construcii din lemn pe care o
conine. n cuprinsul lui a aprut ceramic datnd din a doua jumtate a secolului al
XIII-lea, probabil i de la nceputul secolului al XIV-lea, precum i oase de animale.
Deasupra lui se al un al doilea strat de locuire medieval, ceva mai gros (0,35-0,40
m) i mai bogat n inventar i n fragmente ceramice care pot i atribuite secolului
al XIV-lea. n sfrit, al treilea strat al locuirii medievale, gros tot de 0,35-0,40 m,
se caracterizeaz prin prezena granulelor de mortar i a fragmentelor de crmid,
coninnd un amestec de materiale din secolele XV-XIX. El s-a creat prin nivelarea
unor depuneri mai vechi, nivelare produs n secolul trecut. Deasupra lui se al, pe
o grosime de 1-1,50 m, un strat de umplutur recent care a ridicat mult nivelul de
clcare din curte n raport cu acela al strzii Cositorarilor.
n raport cu aceast situaie stratigraic, groapa pivniei cldirii de lemn apare ca
iind spat de la nivelul superior al humusului antic, stratul de steril de deasupra lui
Fig. 3.
Poriune din
proilul sudic
al gropii
spate n
curtea casei
Vlad Dracul
(desen dup
fotograie)
247
248
provenind foarte probabil de la ntinderea n curte a lutului scos cu prilejul spturii

efectuate de constructorii din secolul al XIII-lea. Adugm observaia, care decurge
tot din analiza peretelui sudic al gropii centralei termice, c dup distrugerea cldirii
de lemn din secolul al XIII-lea i dup umplerea gropii pivniei sale, pe acelai loc a
fost nlat o alt construcie de lemn din materiale refolosite, construcie din care
pe proil apare o talp i care corespunde stratului cu materiale din secolul al XIV-lea.
Casa de lemn
din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea
Din pivnia acestei construcii au fost descoperite i cercetate latura de nord,
prevzut cu grliciul intrrii, i parial laturile de est i de vest. Partea de sud a
pivniei, reprezentnd foarte probabil jumtate din suprafaa ei, a rmas n poriunea
de cca 3 m dintre marginea spturii i imobilul din str. Cositorarilor nr. 2.
Groapa pivniei ajunge pn la adncimea de 1,50 m n raport cu nivelul de
clcare al constructorilor ei, adncindu-se deci n solul viu cu 1,10-1,20 m. n proil,
groapa apare ca iind mai larg la partea superioar, fapt explicabil att prin ruperea
i scurgerea pe pant a marginilor n momentul distrugerii construciei ct i foarte
probabil prin grija constructorilor de a lsa un spaiu gol n spatele cptuelii de
lemn a pivniei, spaiu umplut cu pmnt dup montarea acestei cptueli.
Incendiul care a pus capt cldirii creia i-a aparinut pivnia a mistuit ntreg
parterul locuibil precum i partea superioar a pereilor pivniei, pn la nivelul de
clcare din jurul cldirii. S-au pstrat tlpile de lemn de pe fundul pivniei i o
parte a pereilor de lemn care o cptueau, mpreun cu o poriune a grliciului.
Lemnul folosit de constructorii cldirii a fost n exclusivitate stejarul, iar solul umed
a conservat brnele i scndurile att de bine nct ele ar mai putea i utilizate i
astzi.
Groapa pivniei are lungimea pe axul est-vest de 8,40 m. Din limea ei, pe axul
nord-sud, a fost dezvelit o poriune lat de 3 m. Se poate aprecia c limea pivniei
i implicit a casei a fost de circa 6 m. Pe fundul gropii pivniei a fost montat,
pe podeaua ei4, un cadru din tlpi de stejar de seciune ptrat, cu latura de 0,40
m. Tlpile au fost cioplite, cu mult grij pentru inisaj, din trunchiuri mari, iar la
colurile pivniei ele se mbin dup procedeul jumtii de lemn. Pe acest cadru
de lemn au fost montate elementele verticale ale cptuelii pivniei, constnd din
stlpi i din scnduri groase de aproape 0,10 m. Pentru montarea acestora din urm,
pe marginea superioar a tlpilor a fost cioplit un an cu limea i adncimea de
cte 0,10 m.
Stlpii verticali ai scheletului de lemn al pivniei, cioplii tot din lemn de stejar,
au seciunea ptrat cu latura de 0,40 m, iind deci la fel de masivi ca i tlpile. Au
fost gsii 6 asemenea stlpi, dispui cu toii pe talpa de pe latura lung a pivniei,
n mod asimetric: doi la coluri, doi la marginile grliciului, unul n axul grliciului
i un stlp ntre grliciu i colul de nord-vest. Absena unor stlpi pe tlpile de pe
laturile scurte ale pivniei ca i dispunerea asimetric a celor gsii pe latura lung,
4.
Precizarea se justiic n scopul deosebirii acestei soluii tehnice de aceea a pivnielor cptuite cu lemn la
care tlpile scheletului sunt ngropate n podeaua pivniei; vezi i nota urmtoare.
ngreuneaz reconstituirea acestui schelet de lemn, a planului i a dimensiunilor

parterului nalt al casei.
Fixarea stlpilor pe talp s-a fcut cu ajutorul unor pedunculi cu seciunea ptrat
de 0,15 m i lungimea de 0,40 m, care strbteau deci ntreaga grosime a tlpilor.
Stlpii montai la colurile pivniei, deasupra mbinrii a cte dou tlpi, consolidau
n mod implicit i aceast mbinare.
Scndurile de stejar care cptueau groapa pivniei au avut limea de 0,45-0,50
m. mbinarea dintre scnduri s-a realizat dup procedeul cozii de rndunic, soluie
de natur s sublinieze i ea nivelul tehnic cu totul remarcabil al constructorilor.
Scndurile s-au pstrat doar pe nlimea de 0,80-1 m, att ct au fost protejate de
groapa pivniei. Probabil c ele au avut, la fel ca i stlpii, o nlime de circa 1,80
m deasupra tlpilor de pe podeaua pivniei, pentru a permite folosirea n condiii
normale a acesteia din urm. Este de asemenea probabil ca la limita lor superioar,
scndurile s i fost ixate ntr-un lca cioplit n grinzile sprijinite pe stlpii descrii
i c de la aceste grinzi n sus s se i ridicat pereii de lemn ai parterului nalt al casei.
Grliciul pivniei nu este perfect axat
pe planul cldirii, ci puin deplasat spre
marginea ei de vest. Lat de 2 m, grliciul
trebuie s i avut lungimea de circa 3 m,
pentru a asigura o pant convenabil
la o diferen de nivel de circa 1,50 m.
Podeaua grliciului a fost mrginit
de dou tlpi aezate longitudinal, cu
capetele inferioare ixate n stlpii care
ncadreaz intrarea n pivni, tlpi
sprijinite pe o grind ngropat transversal n podeaua grliciului. Suprafaa
acestuia din urm a fost podit cu loazbe
obinute prin despicarea unor trunchiuri, aezate cu partea rotund n sus i innd
n acest fel locul treptelor. Tlpile de lemn din grlici sunt ceva mai puin masive,
seciunea lor ptrat iind doar de 0,25 m. Nu au aprut indicii ale unei eventuale
cptueli de lemn a pereilor grliciului. Intrarea din grlici n pivni, lat de 2 m,
era mprit n dou jumti egale de ctre stlpul montat n axul ei, soluie din care
rezultau dou ui cu deschiderea de numai 0,80 m. n stlpul care mrginea spre est
intrarea n pivni, a fost de altfel gsit o n de ier, pe care se rotea balamaua uii.
Interiorul pivniei a fost mprit n dou compartimente inegale, prin intermediul
unui perete din scnduri ngropate pe vertical n sol (ig. 4). Aceste scnduri sunt
identice, ca dimensiuni i mod de mbinare, cu acelea care formau cptueala
pereilor, avnd deci iecare o margine subiat i cealalt margine despicat n
form de coad de rndunic. Pe faa sa estic, acest perete din scnduri groase a
fost ntrit cu dou stinghii de lemn, una la nivelul podelei, iar a doua la nlimea de
0,50 m. Probabil c alte dou sau trei asemenea stinghii ntreau partea superioar
a peretelui descris.
Judecnd dup resturile pstrate, ncperea din partea de vest a pivniei a fost
pardosit cu lespezi i bolovani de ru. ncperea din partea de est a pivniei,
dinspre faada la str. Cositorarilor a casei, de dimensiuni mai mari, pare a nu i fost
Fig. 4.
Intrarea n
pivnia cldirii
din a doua
jumtate a
secolului al
XIII-lea i
peretele
median de
lemn
249
250
podit sau pardosit. Podeaua ei este ceva mai adncit, mai ales la limita ei estic.
Constructorii au dat aici peste un mic izvor pe care l-au amenajat, asigurndu-i
scurgerea spre o fntn spat n curtea casei, aproape de colul de nord-est al
cldirii. n acest scop, sub talpa de la marginea scheletului de lemn al pivniei au fost
ngropate dou conducte improvizate. Prima const dintr-un butuc de roat de car,
cu spiele retezate, plasat la 1 m distan de intrarea n pivni. A doua, constnd
dintr-o bucat de grind de seciune ptrat (0,30-0,35 m) nuit i acoperit cu
o scndur, a fost dispus oblic n apropierea colului de nord-est al pivniei. Cele
dou conducte, improvizate n acest fel, conduceau apa la fntn. Canalele din
curte, amenajate probabil din lemn, nu au putut i surprinse n sptur.
Ct privete fntna descoperit n vecintatea colului de nord-est al casei, s-a
putut stabili c nivelul de la care a fost spat corespunde celui mai vechi strat al
locuirii medievale din aceast zon. Groapa fntnii coboar pn la adncimea de
4,50 m n raport cu actualul nivel al solului, iind de form circular cu diametrul
de 1,50 m la gur i ngustndu-se treptat spre fund. n groap a fost montat o
cptueal de lemn constnd dintr-o succesiune de cadre ptrate din scndur,
ntrite cu cte o stinghie de lemn pe iecare dintre laturi. Potrivit tradiiei orale
pstrate n cartier, fntna a fost folosit pn n secolul trecut. Faptul este cu totul
explicabil i subliniaz valoarea excepional pe care o avea o surs permanent de
ap ntr-un ora fortiicat situat pe o nlime, cum este cazul cetii Sighioarei.
n afara fntnii, alturi de resturile cldirii au mai fost descoperite dou obiective
ce se cer semnalate. Primul este un butoi de dimensiuni mijlocii, nalt de 1,20 m i
cu diametrul de 0,70 m, ngropat n solul viu lng intrarea n grliciu. Butoiul avea
doagele de stejar drepte, legate cu cercuri de lemn i a folosit foarte probabil pentru
colectarea apei de ploaie sau pentru scopuri legate de creterea unor animale. Un
fragment din capacul de lemn a fost gsit n interiorul su.
La circa 3,50 m nord-est de fntn, deci ntr-un loc situat la o cot mai
joas n cadrul nivelului din secolul al XIII-lea, a fost parial surprins o groap
dreptunghiular cu dou dintre laturi msurnd 2,60 respectiv 2 m, adnc de 1,30
m, plin cu resturi de buctrie i de grajd. Asocierea ei cu prima faz a locuirii
medievale din acest loc a fost posibil datorit unor observaii stratigraice, iar
prezena gropii ne ndreptete s postulm existena, pe latura de nord a curii, a
unor construcii destinate adpostirii animalelor. Urmele acestor construcii nu au
putut i ns surprinse.
Succesiunea fazelor locuirii medievale
Observaiile stratigraice realizate n umplutura gropii pivniei permit cteva
precizri privind modul n care a fost distrus prima cldire medieval din acest loc
i lucrrile care au urmat acestui eveniment. Pe fundul gropii, un strat de cenu i
de crbune gros de 0,10-0,20 m, provine de la incendierea locuinei. El cuprindea n
grosimea lui cteva scnduri i o grind carbonizat (ig. 2-3), care au fcut parte din
podeaua de lemn a parterului nalt sau din partea superioar a scheletului de lemn al
pivniei. Deasupra lui se al un al doilea strat, gros de 0,30-0,35 m, format din argil
cenuie i care cuprinde buci mari de lemn carbonizat, cteva grinzi i scnduri
parial arse, pietre, buci de piele argsit, oase arse, buci de corn de cerb i de
cprior cu urme de prelucrare sau deeuri provenind de la prelucrarea unor asemenea
materiale, fragmente ceramice, cteva fragmente de la lipitura de lut a unei sobe i

cteva obiecte din ier. Acest strat s-a format prin aruncarea intenionat sau prin
alunecarea n groapa pivniei a resturilor rmase n curte dup incendierea cldirii.
Prin urmare, materialele gsite n stratul pomenit dateaz din timpul funcionrii
cldirii creia i-a aparinut pivnia, termenul ante quem al datrii lor iind momentul
distrugerii construciei. Lipsa total din umplutur a fragmentelor de pmnt ars sau
de lipitur de lut incendiat, cu excepia celor care au putut i precizate ca provenind
de la sob, dovedete c pereii parterului nalt al cldirii au fost din lemn aparent
att la exterior, ct i la interior. Cldiri de lemn cu pereii lipii cu lut, distruse prin
incendiu i cercetate n ultimul timp5, se caracterizeaz, sub aspectul resturilor lsate
pe teren, prin marea cantitate a fragmentelor de pmnt i de lipitur ars, purtnd
pe ele amprentele lemnului ce forma miezul pereilor.
Al treilea strat din umplutura gropii pivniei, gros de 0,40-0,70 m, este compus
din argil cenuie ce reprezint sol viu purtat i conine foarte puine materiale
arheologice. El relect o nivelare temeinic i organizat a gropii rmase de pe
urma incendiului i este foarte probabil ca argila s provin de la o alt groap, tot
de pivni, spat n acest loc cu prilejul construirii unei noi cldiri.
Aceast ipotetic pivni aparinnd cldirii ce a reprezentat al doilea nivel al
locuirii medievale, nu a fost surprins n sptur. A fost surprins n schimb, n
proil, o grind-talp aezat deasupra umpluturii menionate, grind ce a fcut
desigur parte din aceast cldire. Grinda menionat are, pe faa ei inferioar, lcauri
cioplite pentru mbinri, fapt ce trdeaz apartenena ei iniial la o alt cldire,
poate chiar la cldirea din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea, iind recuperat
dup incendiu i reutilizat. Observaia dovedete oricum refacerea pe acelai loc
i tot din lemn a cldirii, foarte probabil de ctre aceeai familie, evideniind deci
faptul c incendiul a fost doar un accident fr efecte asupra continuitii de locuire
din aceast parte a Sighioarei medievale.
Dac grinda-talp cu lcauri cioplite, surprins n proil, precum i consistena
stratului ce acoper umplutura pivniei, ne ncredineaz c locuirea din a doua faz de
pe acest loc, din secolul al XIV-lea, s-a caracterizat tot printr-o construcie de lemn,
n schimb stratul urmtor oglindete apariia arhitecturii de zid n aceast parte a
cetii. nlocuirea caselor de lemn prin case de zid pare a se i produs organizat, nu ca
urmare a unei distrugeri. Pivniele mai mari i mai adnci ale cldirilor din secolul al
XV-lea au provocat dispariia n multe locuri a pivnielor i resturilor construciilor
de lemn din secolele XIII-XIV. Faptul c n curtea casei Vlad Dracul s-au
conservat totui i au putut i cercetate asemenea urme, se datoreaz unei comasri
de loturi, de pe urma creia lotul de teren al casei din a doua jumtate a secolului al
XIII-lea, pe care am descoperit-o, a fost alipit lotului casei Vlad Dracul. Aceasta
a fcut posibil alungirea spre sud a casei Vlad Dracul n secolele XVII-XVIII,
asigurnd totodat pstrarea, n fundul curii sale, a resturilor cldirii de care ne-am
ocupat. Constatarea veriic ipoteza conservrii, n linii mari, sub aspect topograic,
a loturilor intravilane din secolul al XIII-lea pn n secolul al XVIII-lea6.
5.
6.
Radu Popa Monica Mrgineanu-Crstoiu, Mrturii de civilizaie medieval romneasc. O cas a domniei
i o sob monumental de la Suceava din timpul lui tefan cel Mare, Bucureti, 1979, p. 31 i urm.
Paul Niedermaier, n Studii de istorie a naionalitilor conlocuitoare din Romnia i a nfririi lor cu naiunea
romn. Naionalitatea german, I, Bucureti, 1976, p. 115 i urm.
251
252
Inventarul arheologic
Fig. 5.
Materiale
aparinnd
primului nivel
de locuire
medieval
Materialele descoperite n umplutura gropii pivniei, n grosimea straturilor

menionate ca alndu-se pe fundul ei, precum i cele gsite n vecintate n
grosimea nivelului aparinnd primei locuiri medievale din acest loc, au permis
datarea acestei locuiri. Pe temeiul lor se pot face i unele aprecieri mai generale
asupra civilizaiei urbane transilvnene din prima etap de dezvoltare a oraelor n
teritoriile intracarpatice.
Materialele descoperite nu sunt prea numeroase i acest fapt se poate datora
ie recuperrii imediat dup incendiu a unei pri a inventarului cldirii, ie
modestiei, n general, a condiiilor de via din acea epoc. Probabil c amndou
explicaiile sunt n egal msur valabile.
Printre piesele de ier, descoperite ntr-o stare de conservare foarte precar ce
mpiedic reconstituirea funciei lor, se al i o lam de cuit cu peduncul de ixare
n mner, de tip obinuit unei perioade mai ndelungate i unor zone foarte ntinse
(ig. 5 a). na de ier (ig. 5 b) recuperat
din stlpul care mrginea intrarea n pivni
nu prezint, nici ea, caractere tipologice
deosebite.
Dintre piesele de lemn descoperite n
sptur, o atenie special se cuvine fr
ndoial butucului de roat de car, refolosit
drept conduct, pe care l-am menionat.
ngroparea lui sub talpa de pe podeaua
pivniei i asigur datarea la nceputurile
locuirii medievale din acest loc. Cu alte
cuvinte, piesa ofer o imagine, ie i
parial, asupra carelor cu care au venit n
Transilvania colonitii sai din valul urmtor
invaziei ttarilor din anii 1241-12427. Cu
un diametru de 0,20 m i cu lungimea de
0,50 m, butucul de roat are lcauri pentru
opt spie masive, cu seciunea captului
dinspre butuc de 0,06/0,02 m, confecionate
din lemn de stejar. Spiele erau consolidate
suplimentar cu ajutorul unei vergele lexibile
de lemn care se ixa cu ambele capete n
dou guri fcute n butuc, trecnd apoi
prin perforaii practicate n partea dinspre butuc a spielor (ig. 5 f ). Osia carului
pare a i fost din ier.
Numeroase piese din os sau din corn de cerb i cprior, n majoritate mpungtoare
lustruite, precum i descoperirea unor deeuri de la prelucrarea acestor piese, permit
ipoteza c lucrul cu aceste materii prime a fost una dintre preocuprile permanente
ale proprietarilor cldirii. Acetia par a i fost meteri specializai n prelucrarea
7.
homas Ngler, n Studii de istorie a naionalitilor ..., I, p. 68; cf. i Kurt Horedt, Contribuii la istoria
Transilvaniei n secolele IV-XIII, Bucureti, 1958, p. 121.
oaselor i coarnelor, dar avem totui convingerea c ntr-o colectivitate ca aceea a

sighiorenilor din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea, confecionarea de obiecte
i unelte din corn i os nu putea i singura preocupare productiv a unei familii.
Dintre piesele din corn gsite n sptur i aparinnd primei faze a locuirii
medievale, atrage atenia un pieptene ngust i foarte alungit, care pare a i avut o
utilizare mai deosebit, probabil la baterea manual a irelor pe un rzboi vertical de
dimensiuni mici. Mnerul trapezoidal al piesei are o perforaie care a servit pentru
atrnarea ei. Pieptenul a avut iniial nou dini, din care s-au pstrat doar ase (ig. 5
c). Lung de 0,155 m i lat de 0,025-0,036 m, pieptenul a fost confecionat cu mult
pricepere dintr-o plac groas de 0,6 cm obinut dintr-un corn de cerb.
n ceea ce privete ceramica deoscoperit, se impune de la bun nceput precizarea
c marea majoritate a fragmentelor ca i piesele ntregi atest lucrul la o roat de
bun calitate, cu nvrtirea rapid. Foarte puine fragmente ceramice provin de la
vase modelate pe o roat cu nvrtirea mai nceat, probabil tot de picior, n condiii
tehnice de nivel mai sczut. Un singur fragment de oal, cu buza rsfrnt n
exterior i proilat ascuit, decorat cu caneluri distanate trasate neregulat pe umr
(ig. 5 d, 7 a), amintete ceramica feudal timpurie modelat la roata de mn i
ars neuniform. Rmne sub semnul ntrebrii dac acest fragment se dateaz n
prima jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea i a ajuns accidental n complexul descris, sau
dac asemenea ceramic mai continua s ie folosit sporadic n a doua jumtate a
secolului numit.
Fr a ne propune publicarea aici a ntregului material ceramic descoperit n
sptur, lum n discuie piesele i fragmentele caracteristice pentru complex, utile
datrii lui i ilustrrii relaiilor central-europene ale ceramicii produse i folosite
n a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea i la nceputul secolului al XIV-lea la
Sighioara.
Un vas aproape ntreg, n form de oal fr tori, precum i mai multe fragmente
provenind de la vase asemntoare, au fcut parte dintr-o sob cu cahle-oal,
caracteristic nceputurilor evoluiei sobelor de cahle8. Funinginea de pe corpul
piesei mai bine pstrate dovedete c oala a fost pe jumtate ngropat n lipitura de
lut a peretelui sobei. Modelat din pasta caracteristic ceramicii de uz comun si ars
oxidant, oala folosit la sob (ig. 5 g-i) are diametrul fundului de 0,06 m, diametrul
maxim de 0,095 m i nlimea de 0,145 m.
Prezena unor sobe din cahle-oal n mediul orenesc transilvnean nc de la
sfritul secolului al XIII-lea, datare ce corespunde situaiilor relevate de cercetrile
din cetatea Budei9, se datoreaz necesitii de a adopta corpuri nchise de nclzire
n cldirile cu podea i perei de lemn. Soluia sobelor cu cahle-oal a fost dealtfel
preluat foarte de timpuriu i n mediul romnesc, pentru nclzirea unor construcii
reprezentative din lemn10.
Ceramica de uz comun, aparinnd primului nivel al locuirii medievale din zona
cercetat, se caracterizeaz prin past omogen i compact, avnd ca degresant nisip
cu granulaie mic i mijlocie, uneori granule de calcar sau de mic. Arderea vaselor
8.
9.
10 .
R. Popa, Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 21, 1973, I, p. 676.

Imre Holl, Budapest Rgisgei, 18, 1958, p. 211; vezi i Elena Busuioc Monica Mrgineanu-Crstoiu,
Dacia, N.S., 23, 1979, p. 275 i urm.
R. Popa M. Mrgineanu-Crstoiu, op. cit., p. 130.
253
254
Fig. 6.
Oale i cni
aparinnd
primului nivel
de locuire
medieval
Fig. 7.
Ceramic din
primul nivel
de locuine
medievale
s-a fcut oxidant dar uneori incomplet, astfel

nct pereii mai groi au rmas cu miezul
cenuiu. Suprafaa oalelor este regulat dar
aspr, cu o culoare uniform ce variaz de la
glbui-cenuiu la brun-rocat.
Forma cea mai frecvent a acestei categorii
ceramice este oala cu toart plasat pe umrul
vasului, prins n exterior sub buz sau trecut
peste buz i prins n interior, aceast din urm
soluie nlesnind transportul recipientului
pe distane mai lungi. Torile aplatizate sunt
decorate ntr-un mod speciic cu incizii scurte
i paralele, dispuse drept sau oblic n iruri
regulate, adncite n pasta crud nainte de
arderea vasului (ig. 5 e).
Aceeai categorie ceramic cuprinde i oale fr toart, decorate n exterior cu
caneluri supericiale sau cu coaste uor reliefate. Dou piese descoperite ntregi
(ig. 6 a-c; 7 b, d) au buza ,,gulerat bine proilat, prevzut la limita ei inferioar
cu o nervur reliefat cu precizie. Vasele sunt de dimensiuni mici i au diametrul
pntecelui mai mare sau egal cu nalimea, ceea ce le d un aspect scund. Fragmente
de la oale mai mari, aparinnd aceluiai tip,
atest folosirea semnelor de olar n relief pe
fundul unora dintre vase, n form de cruce.
Utilizarea unor roi de olar cu semne care s
se imprime pe fundul vaselor reprezint o
motenire preluat din ceramica anterioar
mijlocului secolului al XIII-lea. Pentru
datarea n a doua jumtate a secolului al XIIIlea a ceramicii de care a fost vorba, pledeaz
analogiile cunoscute n mediul orenesc din
Regatul arpadian11.
Un opai asemntor cu o ceac, cu
pereii scunzi i toart orizontal, precum
i cteva fragmente de la capace de oal, se
cuprind n aceeai categorie ceramic. Printre
capace se disting dou tipuri. Primul este
caracterizat de asemnarea cu o farfurie plat
cu margini aproape verticale ncheiate cu o
muchie ascuit, avnd n centru un buton
scund pentru mnuire (ig. 7 e). Al doilea tip
de capac are o form aproximativ tronconic,
cu pereii arcuii, iind prevzut i el, la limita
superioar, cu un mner n form de buton masiv cu faa orizontal (ig. 7 c).
O categorie aparte n cadrul ceramicii descoperite n primul nivel de locuire
medieval din curtea casei Vlad Dracul o reprezint vasele cu pereii lustruii.
11 .
Imre Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde aus einem Brunnen von Buda, Budapesta, 1966, p. 12 i urm.
Din punctul de vedere al pastei i al modelrii, acestea din urm nu se deosebesc

de ceramica descris mai sus ca iind de uz comun. Prezena liniilor lustruite pe
ntreaga nlime a pereilor vaselor, realizate de olar nainte de arderea lor, ca i
culoarea brun-rocat obinut n urma arderii, deinesc aceast ceramic drept o
categorie superioar, pentru care s-ar putea folosi n aceast vreme chiar i termenul
de ceramic de lux. n acest sens, observm c liniile lustruite n benzi paralele
dese ndeplinesc parial funciile smalului policrom, mrind impermeabilitatea
recipientelor i asigurnd totodat un efect decorativ.
Urme de decor lustruit sunt prezente i pe o cahl-oal, fapt ce pledeaz pentru
realizarea n acelai centru de olrie a celor dou categorii ceramice. Dar tipul de
vas cel mai reprezentativ al ceramicii brun-rocate lustruite este cana de dimensiuni
mici i mijlocii. Au fost gsite dou asemenea cni ntregi, ilustrnd variante ale
aceluiai tip. Prima can nalt de 0,20 m, cu diametrul fundului de 0,09 m i cu
cel al gurii de 0,14 m, doar cu ceva mai mic dect diametrul maxim al pntecelui
(0,16 m), apare drept zvelt i bine echilibrat proporional (ig. 6 e, f; 7 f ). G t ul
n form de plnie se ncheie cu o buz gulerat bine proilat, care urmeaz un
traseu lobat. Toarta scurt i puternic are seciunea aproape circular. A doua can,
ceva mai scund (0,165 m), se remarc prin aceleai proporii echilibrate i proil
gulerat al buzei lobale (ig. 6 d, 7 g). Amndou piesele au pe exterior cteva
caneluri regulate care le marcheaz diametrul maxim i articularea dintre pntece
i gt, pereii iind n ntregime acoperii cu linii lustruite paralele, dispuse vertical.
Aceleiai categorii ceramice brun-rocate lustruite i aparin i fragmente
provenind de la oale de dimensiuni mai mari, din care ns nu au putut i reconstituite
forme ntregi. Se remarc trasarea circular, orizontal, a liniilor lustruite paralele pe
pntecele i umrul acestor oale, prezena unor perei de oal relativ groi (0,5-0,9
cm) ca i a unor funduri de oal masive cu proilul lit, n form de postament.
Ceramica brun-rocat cu decor lustruit a mai fost semnalat n descoperiri
transilvnene din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea i s-a propus o apropiere
ntre aceste materiale i ceramica roie cu decor lustruit cunoscut n aezrile
dunrene din secolele XIII-XIV12. n urma descoperirii materialelor de la Sighioara,
asemenea apropieri nu mai pot i fcute, cel puin pentru ceramica cu decor lustruit
descoperit n sudul Transilvaniei. Rmne sub semnul ntrebrii dac ceramica
roie cu decor lustruit descoperit n complexele din secolele XIII-XIV din nordul
Munteniei i are originea n materialele asemntoare prezente n Transilvania n
secolul al XIII-lea sau dac ea se leag realmente de cultura material a aezrilor
de la Dunre13.
Pe temeiul materialelor ceramice descoperite n cetatea Sighioarei n complexul
care face obiectul acestor pagini sau n mod ntmpltor14, se poate airma c
ceramica brun-rocat cu decor lustruit se limiteaz n timp la a doua jumtate
a secolului al XIII-lea i la nceputul secolului al XIV-lea. Aceast observaie
12 .
13 .
14 .
homas Ngler, Studii i Comunicri, Muzeul Brukenthal, Sibiu, 14, 1969, p. 111-114 i pl. IV.
Lucian Chiescu, Revista de Istorie, 28, 1975, 7, folosete ceramica de la Breaza, din ara Fgraului, ca
analogie pentru ceramica cu decor lustruit de la Ceteni-Arge, acceptnd legturile dunrene ale acestei
categorii ceramice. Avnd acum sigurana c ceramica cu decor lustruit de la Breaza nu se leag cu aceea
asemntoare din aezrile de la Dunre, rmne sub semnul ntrebrii dac descoperirile de la Ceteni
au legturi n sudul Transilvaniei, sau n mediul balcano-dunrean.
Ceramic din secolele XIII-XIV a intrat n ultimul timp n coleciile Muzeului de istorie al municipiului
Sighioara. Ea va i valoriicat de Gh. Baltag ntr-un studiu alat n pregtire.
255
256
este foarte probabil valabil pentru ntreg sudul Transilvaniei. Pe de alt parte, pe
temeiul acelorai descoperiri, putem urmri n continuare pe durata secolelor XVXVI producerea i folosirea ceramicii din prima categorie, pe care am deinit-o ca
iind de uz comun, ntr-o evoluie treptat a formelor i o perfecionare continu a
procedeelor tehnice.
Cteva ncheieri istorice prilejuite de descoperirea i
cercetarea complexului
Datele de care dispunem azi asupra nceputurilor Sighioarei medievale permit
acceptarea ipotezei c pe dealul cetii a existat un habitat organizat dintr-o perioad
anterioar invaziei ttarilor din anii 1241-1242. Chiar i n lipsa unor informaii
documentare referitoare la vechimea i la caracterul acestui habitat, este foarte
probabil ca nc de la mijlocul sau din a doua jumtate a secolului al XII-lea s i
existat o aezare mcar pe o parte a platoului pe care se al astzi oraul medieval.
Este posibil ca pe nlimea care domin acest platou, pe locul actualei Biserici din
Deal (Bergkirche), s i existat pe la 1200 sau puin vreme dup aceea, o fortiicaie
care s justiice numele de Castrum Sex cu care este atestat documentar pentru
prima oar Sighioara, la 128015. Aceast ipotez, aproape unanim acceptat de
cei care s-au ocupat cu trecutul Sighioarei16, a fost recent supus unei veriicri
arheologice17.
Observaiile de mai sus privesc doar habitatul de pe cuprinsul cetii. n ceea ce
privete microzona al crei centru este cetatea Sighioarei, descoperiri mai vechi i
cercetri alate n curs au evideniat existena unor aezri din secolul al XII-lea i
din secolele anterioare18. Faptul este cu totul iresc datorit resurselor naturale i
importanei strategice a acestei microzone, care marcheaz hotarul dintre cursul
superior i cel mijlociu al Trnavei Mari.
Instalarea la Sighioara a unei colectiviti sseti, n cadrul aciunilor de
colonizare promovate dup 1242 de coroana ungar, trebuie s se i produs cu
cteva decenii nainte de atestarea la 1298 a numelui german al localitii, cel
de ,,Schespurch19. Dar dac plasarea acestui eveniment n deceniile apte-opt ale
secolului ntrunete asentimentul majoritii celor care s-au ocupat de problem,
n schimb originea teritorial a acestei colectiviti a dat natere la opinii diferite.
S-a vorbit de o colonizare primar, cu o colectivitate venit din teritorii germane,
de o colonizare secundar cu una sau mai multe etape intermediare i chiar de
15 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
F. Zimmermann C. Werner, Urkundenbuch, I, p. 141.

Vasile Drgu, Cetatea Sighioara, Bucureti, 1968, p. 9 i bibliograia; cf. i Paul Niedermaier, Revista
Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, 48, 1979, 2.
O seciune practicat n 1975 de Gh. Baltag, pe panta situat la nord de ,,Biserica din Deal, a precizat
existena unui zid de incint anterior zidului care sprijin azi terasa pe care se al biserica, zid ce a avut i
el caracter de fortiicaie. Datarea primului zid de incint de pe culmea dealului a rmas totui sub semnul
ntrebrii, iind nc necesare spturi n vecintatea imediat a Bisericii din Deal i n special a turnului ei,
considerat ndeobte ca reprezentnd la origine un ,,donjon romanic.
O aezare din secolul al XII-lea este n curs de a i cercetat de ctre Gh. Baltag n cartierul Ctunul
Viilor, situat la cca 2,5 km est de dealul cetii Sighioara.
o colonizare intern, printr-un grup de familii venit la Sighioara din zona

Saschizului, alat la numai 20 km spre sud-est20.
Aceast din urm problem are o importan deosebit pentru aprecierea corect
a descoperirilor de la Sighioara, dnd rspuns ntrebrilor privind originea i
antecedentele pe teritoriul Transilvaniei, sau n afara acestui teritoriu, a documentelor
de cultur material i de civilizaie medieval urban depre care a fost vorba.
La stadiul actual al cercetrilor, un rspuns sigur nu poate i nc dat din cel puin
dou motive. Pe de o parte, puina ceramic oreneasc din secolul al XIII-lea pe
care o cunoatem n Transilvania nu beneiciaz de ncadrri cronologice mai strnse
dect jumtatea de secol i nici de stabilirea unor particulariti care s relecte variante
regionale sau produciile diferitelor centre. Pe de alt parte, descoperirea unei case de
lemn cu pivni cptuit cu lemn, datnd din secolul al XIII-lea, este deocamdat un
unicat nu numai pentru nceputurile cunoscute ale civilizaiei urbane transilvnene,
dar pare a nu gsi analogii nici n literatura de specialitate din Europa central care
ne-a fost accesibil21.
ntr-adevr, referindu-se la nceputurile n lemn ale oraelor medievale din
centrul i rsritul Europei, la cldirile din materiale perisabile care au existat n
paralel cu arhitectura romanic oreneasc i care au precedat arhitectura gotic
oreneasc din zid, cercettorii problemei fac mereu apel la casa rneasc, locuin
de suprafa lipsit la aceast vreme de pivni sau semibordei, folosind n acest
sens studiile etnograice22. Or, descoperirea de la Sighioara dovedete c arhitectura
medieval oreneasc de lemn din secolele XIII-XIV nu a fost nici modest i nici
asemntoare locuirii contemporane din mediul stesc.
Evident c formularea unor concluzii mai cuprinztoare depinde de nmulirea
descoperirilor, n situaii privilegiate n care construciile din zid i pivniele zidite
ale acestora din urm nu au distrus total urmele mai vechi. Veriicarea la Sighioara a
faptului c loturile intravilane din secolele XVIII-XIX respect lotizarea originar23,
deschide perspective promitoare pentru amplasarea pe teren a spturilor viitoare
i pentru interpretarea descoperirilor. Ni se pare foarte puin probabil ca, printre
cele cteva zeci de case care se alau la Sighioara n a doua jumtate a secolului
al XIII-lea, aceea pe care am descoperit-o s i reprezentat un caz de excepie prin
tehnica sa de construcie i prin dimensiuni. Cu alte cuvinte, o imagine simplist a
oraului transilvnean din a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea, cu case simple de
suprafa cu cte o singur ncpere, cu pereii din mpletitur de nuiele lutuit sau cu
semibordeie, n felul n care se vor i prezentat n aceeai vreme casele satelor transil20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
homas Ngler, n Studii de istorie a naionalitilor ..., I, p. 68-69; Paul Niedermaier, Revista Muzeelor i
Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, 48, 1979, 2. Data colonizrii sseti la Sighioara ar i dup
anul 1264 iar caracterul de colonizare intern ar decurge din faptul c la nceputurile sale, parohia de la
Sighioara depindea de capitlul de la Saschiz.
Vezi, printre altele, Stredovek archeologie a studium pocatku mest, Praga, 1977; Monumentorum tutela,
Ochrana pamiatok, 7, Bratislava, 1971 (volum dedicat arhitecturii medievale oreneti); August v.
Essenwein, Die romanische und die gotische Baukunst. Der Wohnbau, ed. a II-a, Leipzig, 1908; Paul
Niedermaier, Siebenbrgische Stdte. Forschungen zur stdtebaulichen und architektonischen Entwicklung
von Handwerksorten zwischen dem 12. und 16. Jh., Bucureti, 1979. Dr. Imre Holl, de la I n s t i t u t u l de
Arheologie din Budapesta, cruia i mulumim i aici, ne-a conirmat lipsa unor descoperiri similare pe
teritoriul R. P. Ungare.
W. Radig, Frhformen der Hausentwicklung in Deutschland, Berlin, 1958, capitolul Vom Bauernhaus
zum Stadthaus; vezi i Hans Planitz, Die deutsche Stadt im Mittelalter, Graz-Kln, 1965.
Paul Niedermaier, n Studii de Istorie a Naionalitilor, I, p. 115 i urm.
257
258
vnene, nu poate i veridic. Msura n care acest punct de vedere este valabil pentru
toate aezrile urbane transilvnene sau privete numai pe acelea cu colectiviti
sseti, depinde n ultim instan de precizarea originii teritoriale a colectivitii
care s-a instalat la Sighioara dup mijlocul secolului al XIII-lea.
Nivelul de civilizaie urban atestat de descoperirea de la Sighioara pentru a
doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea, i gsete analogii n teritoriile romneti
extracarpatice n secolele al XIV-lea i al XV-lea, la Rmnicu Vlcea24, Trgovite25,
Baia26 sau Suceava27. Fr a i vorba de o identitate perfect sub raportul tehnicii
de construcie28, descoperirea de case mari de lemn cu pivnie cptuite cu lemn n
aceste din urm aezri oreneti deschide perspective interesante asupra relaiilor
rii Romneti i Moldovei cu Transilvania n epoca de cristalizare a vieii urbane
n zonele care mrginesc spre sud i spre rsrit Carpaii.
Observaiile pe care le prilejuiete descoperirea de la Sighioara dovedesc c
cercetarea i mai buna cunoatere a arhitecturii medievale de lemn i a nceputurilor
civilizaiei medievale oreneti de pe teritoriul rii reprezint un domeniu n care
investigaiile viitoare vor aduce progrese importante ale reconstituirilor istorice.
24 .
25 .
26 .
27 .
28 .
Elena Busuioc, Buridava, III, Rmnicu Vlcea, 1979.

Nicolae Constantinescu Corneliu Ionescu, Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 31, 1980, 1, p.
53 i urm.
Eugenia Neamu Vasile Neamu Stela Cheptea, Analele tiiniice ale Universitii Al. I. Cuza Iai,
21, 1975, p. 16.
Radu Popa Monica Mrgineanu-Crstoiu, op. cit., p. 129 i urm., cu bibliograia.
Cptueala de lemn a pivniei casei de la Sighioara este executat ntr-o tehnic de construcie mai
complicat i mai elaborat dect cea cunoscut la analogiile citate. La Suceava cunoatem cptueli
de lemn ale pivnielor cu tlpile ngropate n podea, pe cnd tlpile pivniei sighiorene sunt aezate pe
podea. Principala deosebire privete faptul c la Sighioara, cptueala de lemn nu este format din loazbe
aezate pe orizontal, n spatele unor stlpi care le sprijin, ci din dulapi montai pe vertical, mbucai
n lcauri spate n tlpi. Stlpii verticali din pivnia sighiorean nu sprijineau cptueala de lemn, ci
susineau grinzile de la nivelul podelei parterului nalt.
data on
tRanSYlVaniaS uRBan liFe
duRing tHe Second HalF
oF tHe tHiRteentH centuRY *
RADU POPA AND GHEORGHE BALTAG
he modest beginnings of Transylvanian medieval cities represent, in terms of

written documents and material culture, a subject of the least known. Each
of the discoveries that complete the documentation/data is therefore extremely
valuable. his is especially important when we are referring to concrete aspects of the
urban civilization from the irst stages of towns existence in the intra-Carpathian
territories, of medieval urban settlements that wore the germs of the feudal order
dissolution.
Recent discoveries concerning this subject have been made in Sighioara during
some urbanization works. Although the works were done during winter, thus in
unfavourable meteorological conditions, almost all artefacts were salvaged and the
medieval archaeological features could be to some extent identiied and registered
according to the rules and speciications of a proper archaeological investigation1.
In this paper we intend to publish the observations weve made on the site as well
as the material inds now housed at the Sighioara City Museum and advance
some general conclusions on this basis.
he house known as Vlad Draculs house in Sighioara underwent consolidation
and rehabilitation works in the fall of 1975. he building, recognized to hold
historical, artistic and architectural value, is at No. 5, Muzeului Street a street
which connects, on the east-western axis, the Clock Tower with the main gate of
the city. he houses main faade is on Muzeului Street while its secondary faade
is on Cositorarilor Street, this fact making the building a corner house (ig. 1).
Paul Niedermaier, in his medieval Transylvanian urban studies (focused on the
topographical analysis of land parcels), considers that the eastern side of the city
of Sighioara, including Cositorarilor Street, was divided into lots and inhabited
even before the Saxon colonists settled into the area during the second half of the
thirteenth century2. his conclusion seems valid especially in the north-eastern side
of the city, where the church of the former Dominican monastery was attested
1.
2.
he recording of the observation, the development of the documentation and the compilation of
the materials are due to Gheorghe Baltag who oversaw the works in the winter of 1975-1976 as a
representative of the Sighioara History Museum. he proile and a part of the remains could also be
studied by Radu Popa in May 1975.
Paul Niedermaier, Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, 48, 1979, 2. See also
there the entire bibliography concerning the beginings of the medieval city of Sighioara.
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 31, 1980, p. 33-52
12.
260
DATA oN TRANsYLVANIAs URBAN LIFE
in 12983, since in the area investigated on Cositorarilor Street, we couldnt ind

materials or layers datable before the middle of the thirteenth century.
Vlad Draculs house, as a stone building, does not date from the irst stage
of urban habitation in Sighioara. he oldest part of this building (cellars slightly
deepened in the ground and a high ground loor) dates at the earliest from the
second half of the fourteenth century, but most likely from the beginning of the
ifteenth century. We presume that at this location there was an older house, made of
wood, contemporary with the wooden house with a cellar that the abovementioned
excavations uncovered in the courtyard of the current Vlad Draculs house.
he works consisted of massive soil removal in the courtyard of the house and
excavating a very large, 4 m deep area for a subterranean heating system. he opened
area reached southward almost to the wall of the nearby house, No. 2, Cositorarilor
Street. In the direction of this street eastward the areas margins almost reached
the courtyards enclosure, a late wall, probably from the seventeenth or eighteenth
centuries.
Most of the cellar of a wooden house was uncovered in the excavated area of Vlad
Draculs house courtyard. he southern proile of the area exhibited a stratigraphic
sequence (ig. 2-3) that needs to be briely described. We add to this description
observations based on the stratigraphy of the other walls of the opened area.
Stratigraphy
he subsoil of the area is located about 2 m beneath the current ground level and
consists of compact, gray clay, with lenses of yellow clay. Above it, a 0.3-0.35 m thick
layer of greyish-black soil can be identiied as the antique topsoil. It contained scarce
Dacian pottery shards, charcoal pigment and grains of burnt earth. he ancient
topsoil is overlapped by a 0.1-0.15 m thick sterile layer in which the only indings
consisted of carbonized vegetation. hese two last layers were destroyed on large
surfaces by the works of the medieval builders.
he oldest medieval layer is about 0.3 m thick and it contains a large quantity of
charcoal attributable to the wooden constructions. It contained pottery dating from
the second half of the thirteenth century, also probably from the beginning of the
fourteenth century, and animal bones. It is overlapped by another medieval layer,
thicker (0.35-0.4 m) and with more abundant indings, including pottery that can
be dated during the fourteenth century. Lastly, the third medieval layer, also 0.350.4 m thick, with grains of mortar and brick fragments in its composition, contains
a mixture of materials dated from the ifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. his
layer appeared by levelling the older layers during the nineteenth century. Above it a
1-1.5 m thick layer of recent ilings made the modern ground level of the courtyard
higher than the one on Cositorarilor Street.
Considering this stratigraphic sequence, the wooden houses cellar appears to
have been dug from the upper level of the historical topsoil. he sterile layer above
this topsoil is most likely the earth dug up by the builders of the thirteenth century
and spread over the courtyard. When we analyzed the western wall of the area
3.
F. Zimmermann C. Werner, Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbrgen, I, Sibiu, 1892,
p. 210-211.
excavated for the heating system we also noted that after the thirteenth century
wooden building was destroyed and the cavity of the former cellar was backilled,
that same place was used to built another wooden building, from reused materials.
he stratigraphy still preserves the basis of this second building that corresponds
with the layer containing fourteenth century indings.
The wooden house from the second half of the
thirteenth century
We could uncover and study the northern side of this house cellar (including the
sides of the entryway) and partially the eastern and western sides. he southern side
of the cellar, probably half of its surface, remained in the 3 m portion between the
side of the excavation and the house on No. 2 on Cositorarilor Street.
he pit of the cellar is 1.5 m deep, calculating from the historical ground level,
thus dug out 1.1-1.2 m deep into the natural subsoil. he proile shows the pit
as being larger in its upper side, a fact explainable by the sides breaking up and
collapsing when the building was destroyed. Another possible interpretation is that
the builders were careful to leave an empty space behind the wooden walls of the
cellar, a space backilled with earth after the walls were in place.
he ire that brought an end to this house destroyed the entire ground loor as
well as the upper parts of the cellar walls, down to the ground level extant at the
time around the building. he wooden basis of the cellar and parts of the wooden
walls, including segments of the entryways sides, were preserved. he builders used
exclusively oak and the moist soil preserved the beams and the planks so well that
they could actually still be used today.
he length of the cellar, on its eastern-western axis, is 8.4 m. On its northsouthern axis, we could unveil a 3 m long portion. We suppose that the cellar, and
implicitly the house, was initially about 6 m wide. A frame of oak footing plates,
with a square section, was set up on the bottom of the cellar pit, arrayed on top of
the loor4; the side of the frame was 0.4 m long. he footing plates were carefully
chiselled from large trunks and at the corners of the cellar they joined through half
lap joints. On these footing plates were placed the vertical elements of the walls,
speciically timber posts and 0.1 m thick planks. In order to aix these planks, a
dado was cut on the superior side of the footing plates, 0.1 m deep and just as wide.
he vertical posts, also carved of oak, were square in section and 0.4 m wide, this
making them as massive as the footing plates. Six such pillars were uncovered, all of
them asymmetrically placed on the footing plates of the longer side of the cellar:
two of them in corners, two on the sides of the entryway, one in the entryways axis,
one between the entryway and the north-western corner. he absence of such posts
on the shorter side of the cellar and the fact that the ones on the longer side were
placed asymmetrically makes it diicult to reconstruct not only the wooden frame,
but also the plan and size of the high ground level of the house.
he posts were aixed on the footing plates with square sectioned stems, 0.15
m wide and 0.4 m long, that penetrated the entire length of the footing plates. he
4.
he speciication is justiied in order to diferentiate this situation from the technical solution of the wood
wall cellars with the base of the structure burried in the loor; see also the next note.
261
262
posts set in place at the corners of the cellar also strengthened the joining of the
footing plates.
he oak planks that made the cellar walls were 0.45-0.5 m wide. hey were joined
using the dovetail technique, a fact that stands testimony to the workers remarkable
craftsmanship. he planks were preserved on 0.8-1 m, the height protected by the
cellar pit. Initially they probably had, just as the posts, a height of 1.8 m above the
footing plates, as to allow an unimpeded usage of the cellar. It is also probable that
the upper part of the planks was aixed in a dado cut in the beams supported by the
aforementioned posts and that from those beams upward would the wooden walls
of the high ground loor rise.
he cellar entrance is not placed perfectly on the cellar axis, but slightly toward
its western side. he entryway was 2 m wide and must have been about 3 m long,
in order to assure a convenient slope for a ground diference of about 1.5 m. he
loor of the entryway was sided by two longitudinally placed footing plates with
inferior heads aixed into the posts that frame the entrance. he footing plates
were placed over a beam transversally buried underneath the opening. he surface
of the entryway was loored with D-shaped logs, set with the rounded side up, also
functioning as steps. he wooden footing plates of the entryway are somewhat less
massive than in the rest of the cellar, with a square section of 0.25 m. We have no
clues if the sides of the entryway also had walls of wooden planks. Its opening into
the cellar was 2 m wide, split into two equal halves by the post mounted on its axis;
this resulted in two doors, only 0.8 m wide. his reconstruction is backed by the
presence of an iron hinge in the post, on which the door used to spin.
he inside of the cellar was divided into two uneven compartments by a wooden
wall made of planks vertically embedded into the ground (ig. 4). hese planks are
identical in size and joints with the ones used for the walls, with an edge thinned
and another cleaved for the dovetail joint. he plank wall was strengthened on its
eastern side with two wooden boards, one placed immediately above the loor and
the other one at a height of 0.5 m. Two or three more boards probably strengthened
the upper side of the wall.
Judging by the preserved traces, the cellars western room was paved with stone
slabs and river stones. he cellars eastern room, the one toward Cositorarilor Street,
larger in size, doesnt seem to have been paved. his sides loor was slightly more
deepened, especially on its eastern margin. Actually, the constructors found here a
small fountainhead, which they directed toward a well dug in the courtyard, close
to the north-eastern corner of the house. For this purpose the builders set two
improvised pipes under the footing plates of the wooden cellar frame. he irst pipe
was made from a cart wheel hub, with cut of spokes, placed 1 m away from the
entrance into the cellar. he second pipe was made from a piece of square beam
(0.3-0.35 m) into which was carved a ditch and which was afterward covered with a
plank. his pipe was placed obliquely next to the north-eastern corner of the cellar.
hese two improvised pipes led the water towards the well. he courtyard canals,
probably made of wood, could not be identiied during the excavation.
he well was discovered nearby the north-eastern corner of the house. he level
from where it was dug corresponds to the oldest layer of medieval habitation in the
area. he bottom of the well is 4.5 m below the current ground level. Its shape is
circular, 1.5 m in diameter at the mouth and narrowing toward the bottom. It was
padded with a succession of wooden square frames, strengthened with a wooden
board on each side. According to the oral tradition of the neighbourhood the well
was used until the nineteenth century. his doesnt come as a surprise and only
points out its exceptional value as a permanent source of water in a high altitude,
fortiied town such as Sighioara.
Beside the well, near the ruins of the house, we also discovered two objects that
need to be referred to. he irst is a mid-sized barrel, 1.2 m tall and 0.7 m in diameter,
embedded in the natural subsoil next to the opening of the cellar entryway. he
barrel was made of straight oak staves, tied with wooden circles and was most likely
used for collecting rain water, or maybe for animal husbandry purposes. A fragment
of the wooden lid was found inside the barrel.
About 3.5 m north-east from the well, in a lower place, was investigated part of
a rectangular pit, 1.3 m deep, with the two measureable sides of 2.6 m, respectively
2 m, illed with kitchen and stable scraps. Its association with the irst stage of
medieval habitation in this place was possible due to stratigraphic observations.
he presence of this pit here entitles us to think that on the northern side of the
courtyard there were some buildings for sheltering animals. However, we werent
able to identify any trace of these constructions.
Succession of medieval habitation
he stratigraphic observations we were able to make in the cellar pit allow us to
specify how the irst medieval building here was destroyed and identify the actions
that followed this event. A 0.1-0.2 m thick layer of ash and charcoal was found on
the bottom of the pit, a result of a ire that destroyed the building. It also contained
several carbonized planks and a beam (ig. 2-3) that used to be part of the wooden
loor of the high ground loor or maybe of the upper part of the wooden frame of
the cellar. Above this layer there is another one, 0.3-0.35 m thick, with grey clay,
big chunks of carbonized wood, several partially burned beams and planks, stones,
pieces of tanned skin, burned bones, partially processed deer or roe antler shards
(alongside the appropriate waste), pottery, several fragments of the clay casting of
a stove and several iron objects. his layer appeared when debris (left behind in the
courtyard after the ire destroyed the building) was intentionally hurled into the
former cellar or when it slid in due to the natural course of things.
Such being the case, the materials in this aforementioned layer date from a time
when the building with the cellar was functioning, their terminus ante quem being
the moment of the destruction of the building. he fact there are no pieces of burnt
clay or clay casting (other than the ones from the stove) tells us that the walls of this
building were of bare wood, both inside and outside. Recently5 investigated wooden
buildings with clay cast walls that were destroyed by ire are characterised by a great
quantity of burnt earthen and clay castings, imprinted with the shapes of the wood
forming the wall core.
5.
Radu Popa Monica Mrgineanu-Crstoiu, Mrturii de civilizaie medieval romneasc. O cas a domniei
i o sob monumental de la Suceava din timpul lui tefan cel Mare, Bucureti, 1979, p. 31f.
263
264
he third layer inside the cellar pit is 0.4-0.7 m thick, made of gray clay moved
sterile subsoil with few archaeological materials. It relects a thorough levelling
of the former cellar at some point after the ire. It is highly probable that the clay
comes from another cellar pit, excavated when a new building was constructed
somewhere nearby.
We couldnt ind in our excavations this hypothetical cellar of the building from
the second stage of medieval habitation. But we could notice in the proile a beam
shaped footing plate set over the aforementioned backill, a beam that most surely
belonged to this building. he beam presents on its inferior side some slots carved
for ixtures, this meaning that it was initially used for another building, maybe the
one dating from the second half of the thirteenth century, then recovered from the
ire and re-used. his proves that the building was re-built on the same spot, still
in wood, very likely by the same family, evidence that the ire was an accident that
didnt afect the habitation continuity in this area of medieval Sighioara.
If the re-used footing beam with ixture slots found in the proile and the
consistency of the layer that covers the backill of the cellar proves that the second
stage of habitation, from the fourteenth century, on this site is another wooden
construction, the next layer mirrors the stone architectures emergence in this
area of the city. It seems that the wooden houses were replaced with stone ones
in an organized manner, and not as the after-efect of a destruction. he larger
and deeper cellars of the ifteenth century houses have lead in many places to the
disappearance of the cellars and other remains left behind by the wooden houses of
the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries. he fact that in the courtyard of Vlad
Draculs house were preserved the remains that we were able to study is due to a
lot fusion, when the ground parcel belonging to the house from the second half
of the thirteenth century was merged with the lot of Vlad Draculs house. his
allowed to enlarge Vlad Draculs house southward during the seventeenth and the
eighteenth centuries, simultaneously assuring the preservation in its back-courtyard
of the older buildings remains. his also veriies the hypotheses that, generally, the
borderlines of the urban lots were preserved from the thirteenth century until the
eighteenth century6.
The archaeological material
he chronology of the irst medieval habitation we talked of before is also
corroborated by the uncovered materials from the backill of the cellar, the layers on
its bottom and the ones found nearby. Based on those materials we can make some
general remarks on Transylvanias urban civilization during the irst stage of the
cities development in the intra-Carpathian territories.
he uncovered materials are rather scarce, maybe because some of them were
salvaged, immediately after the ire, or maybe because of the relatively modest living
conditions of the time. Probably both explanations are equally valid.
Among the iron inding discovered in a precarious state of preservation which
generally prevents us from identifying their function is a knife blade, with a ixing
6.
Paul Niedermaier, in Studii de istorie a naionalitilor conlocuitoare din Romnia i a nfririi lor cu naiunea
romn. Naionalitatea german, I, Bucureti, 1976, p. 115f.
stem in the handle, a blade which is common for an extended period of time and
over a large area (ig. 5 a). he iron hinge (ig. 5 b) that was recovered from the side
post of the cellar entrance does not present special typological characteristics.
Among the wooden materials discovered in the excavation, the abovementioned
cart wheel hub that was re-used as a water pipe deserves special attention. hat fact
that it was buried under the loor of the cellar assures us it dates from the beginning
of the medieval settlement. Hence this object ofers an image, even a partial one,
of the carts used by the Saxon colonists on their way into Transylvania during the
colonization wave that followed the Tartar invasion of 1241-12427. he hub, 0.2 m
in diameter and 0.5 m long, preserves slots for eight massive oaken spokes, with a
section of 0.06/0.02 m at their hub end. he spokes were further strengthened with
a lexible wooden rod, ixed with both ends into two oriices in the hub and twined
through perforations made in the hub ends of the spokes (ig. 5 f ). he carts axle
seems to have been made of iron.
he numerous objects of bone or of deer or roe antler, most of them polished
pokers, and the debris resulted from their manufacturing lead us to believe that the
owners of the house occupied themselves with crafts involving these raw materials.
hey seem to be craftsmen specialized in bone and antler, but we also believe that
in a society like that of Sighioara at the second half of the thirteenth century
manufacturing objects of bone and antler couldnt have been the only trade practiced
by the family that owned the house.
Among the antler materials from the irst phase of the medieval settlement
stands out a narrow and extremely elongated comb. his seems to have served for a
special purpose, perhaps the manual ixation of threads on a small vertical loom. he
trapezoid handle of the object has a perforation used for hanging. he comb initially
had nine teeth but preserved only six of them (ig. 5 c). he comb, 0.155 m long and
0.025-0.036 m wide, was skilfully made of a 0.6 cm thick deer antler plate.
Regarding the pottery, most of the sherds, as well as the unbroken pottery inds,
are thrown on a fast wheel of good quality. Only a few fragments were thrown on
a slower wheel (probably also foot operated) and are of an overall lesser quality. A
single pot fragment from a model that had an outwardly blunted, sharp cut lip
and irregular cannelures on the shoulder (ig. 5 d, 7 a) has some characteristics of
the early medieval pottery, thrown on a hand-wheel and imperfectly ired. Whether
this fragment dates from the irst half of the thirteenth century and was carried
accidentally into the feature or if such pottery was still sporadically used during the
second half of the thirteenth century still remains to be answered.
We do not intend to publish here the entirety of the pottery uncovered during the
excavations, but we will analyze the fragments characteristic for this archaeological
feature, that are useful in dating it and in showing what kind of pottery was used
in Sighioara in the second half of the thirteenth century and the beginning of the
fourteenth century.
From a stove of pot-tiles, characteristic for the beginnings of the tile stoves,
we have an almost complete pot-tile, shaped like a pot without handles, as well as
7.
homas Ngler, in Studii de istorie a naionalitilor..., I, p. 68; also see Kurt Horedt, Contribuii la istoria
Transilvaniei n secolele IV-XIII, Bucureti, 1958, p. 121.
265
266
fragments from several other similar ones8. he soot preserved on the body of the
better conserved pot-tile is proof that this pot was partially embedded into the clay
cladding of the stove wall. he pot-tile (ig. 5 g-i), made from the same paste as the
common ware and ired in an oxidizing atmosphere, has a 0.06 m foot diameter,
0.095 m maximum diameter and a height of 0.145 m.
he existence of such pot-tile stoves in Transylvanian towns ever since the end
of the thirteenth century a date which corresponds with the situations discovered
while investigating the fortress of Buda9 is due to the need of adapting closed
heating systems for buildings with wooden walls and loors. Actually the Romanian
society too adopted quite early the pot-tile stove solution in order to heat outstanding
wooden buildings10.
he common ware found in the irst layer of medieval habitation in the
investigated area is characterized by a homogenous, compact paste, tempered with
small and mid-sized grained sand, or sometimes with grains of limestone or mica.
he pottery was ired in an oxidizing atmosphere, but the burning was sometimes
incomplete, therefore the pots with the thicker walls had a greyish core. he surface
of the vessels is regular but coarse, with a uniform colour that varies from yellowishgray to reddish-brown tones.
he most frequent shape is the pot with one handle on the shoulder, ixed on the
outer surface under the rim or passed over the rim and ixed on the inside, this inal
solution facilitating carrying the vessel over long distances. he lattened handles
are peculiarly decorated with short and parallel incisions, placed straight or oblique
into regular rows, made into the soft paste before iring (ig. 5 e).
his ceramic category also includes pots without handles, decorated on the outer
surface with supericial cannelures or slightly protuberant ribs. Two pots were
discovered whole (ig. 6 a-c; 7 b, d) and have a well proiled lip with a protuberant
precise collar on its inferior margin. hese pots are small and the diameter of the
belly is larger or the same as their height, trait that makes them look even smaller.
On the bottom fragments of some larger vessels one can notice the use of potters
marks, shaped like a cross. he use of potter wheels that would imprint the base
of the vessels with marks is a legacy from the pottery used before the middle of the
thirteenth century. For dating the aforementioned pottery in the second half of the
thirteenth century, we mention the analogies known from urban sites throughout
the Arpadian Kingdom11.
Still in the same ceramic category we may place a lamp similar to a cup, with
short walls and a horizontal handle, as well as some fragments from pot lids. he
lids may be categorized into two types. he irst one is similar to a lat plate, with
almost vertical rims ended in a sharpened edge and a short handling button in the
centre (ig. 7 e). he second lid type is approximately shaped as a truncated cone,
with arched walls and a massive button for handling on the upper side (ig. 7 c).
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
R. Popa, Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 21, 1973, I, p. 676.

Imre Holl, Budapest Rgisgei, 18, 1958, p. 211; see also Elena Busuioc Monica Mrgineanu-Crstoiu,
Dacia, N.S., 23, 1979, p. 275f.
R. Popa M. Mrgineanu-Crstoiu, op. cit., p. 130.
Imre Holl, Mittelalterliche Funde aus einem Brunnen von Buda, Budapesta, 1966, p. 12f.
A special category of pottery discovered in the irst layer of medieval habitation

in the courtyard of Vlad Draculs house consists of vessels with polished walls.
he paste and the modelling are similar to the other vessels described above as
common ware. But these pots are decorated with polished lines over their entire
height incised by the potter before the iring and the iring gave them a reddishbrown colour. hese traits place this pottery in a superior quality category, one that
may be even deined considering the age as a luxury pottery. In this regard,
we mention that the polished lines placed in thick parallel strips partially fulil the
functions of enamel, making the vessels more waterproof and simultaneously giving
them a decorative aspect.
We also found some traces of polished decoration on a pot-tile, which makes us
think that the pottery and the tiles were made in the same workshop. But the most
representative type of the polished, reddish-brown ware is the small and mid-sized
beaker. We found two complete examples of such beakers, variants of the same type.
he irst beaker, lithe and well proportioned, is 0.2 m tall, with a foot diameter of
0.09 m and the top opening diameter of 0.14 m, only slightly smaller than the belly
diameter of 0.16 m (ig. 6 e, f; 7 f ). he funnel-shaped neck ends in a collar-shaped,
proiled rim with lobes. he short, robust handle is almost circular in section. he
second beaker is slightly shorter (0.165 m), with the same well proportioned body
and lobed, collar-shaped rim (ig. 6 d, 7 g). Both objects present several regular
cannelures on the outer surface that mark the area of their maximum diameter and
the connexion between belly and neck. he walls are completely covered in polished,
vertically placed, parallel lines.
In the same category of polished reddish-brown ware belong several fragments
of larger sized pots, but they could not be reconstructed to full shapes. he polished
parallel lines are traced circularly and horizontally on the pots middle sides and
shoulders. We take notice of relatively thick (0.5-0.9 cm) wall fragments and of
some massive pot bottoms, with widened proile, shaped like a pedestal.
he reddish-brown ware with polished decor had already been mentioned in
relation with Transylvanian inds from the second half of the thirteenth century.
It has been proposed a relationship between these materials and the red pottery
with polished decor found in the Danube settlements from the thirteenth to the
fourteenth centuries12. he discovery of such materials in Sighioara has invalidated
such claims, at least for the pottery with polished decorations from southern
Transylvania. It remains to be seen if the red pottery with polished decoration
discovered in thirteenth or fourteenth century contexts in northern Wallachia
originated in similar materials present in thirteenth century Transylvania or if it
really is connected to the material culture of the Danube settlements13.
12 .
13 .
homas Ngler, Studii i Comunicri, Muzeul Brukenthal, 14, 1969, p. 111-114 i pl. IV.
Lucian Chiescu, Revista de istorie, 28, 1975, 7, uses the Breaza ceramic, from the Land of Fgra, as
an analogy for the Ceteni-Arge polished decor ceramic, accepting the Danubian links of this ceramic
cathegory. As we now have the certitude that the Breaza polished decor ceramic is not connected with
the similar one from the Danube settlements, it is uncertain if the discoveries from Ceteni have links in
the southern Transylvania or in the Balcano-Danubian millieu.
267
268
Based on these materials discovered in Sighioara in the context we are dealing

with in these pages or elsewhere14, we can state that the reddish-brown ware with
polished decorations is conined to the second half of the thirteenth century and
the beginning of the fourteenth century. his could very well be the case for the
whole South of Transylvania. On the other hand, based on the same discoveries, we
could follow over the ifteenth and sixteenth centuries the production and use of
the pottery from the irst category, which we deined as common ware, in a gradual
evolution of shapes and continuous improvement of technical procedures.
Several historical conclusions provided by the
discovery and investigation of the site
he information we have today for the beginning of medieval Sighioara allow
us to accept the hypotheses that on the citadel hill there was an organized habitat
even before the 1241-1242 Tartar invasion. Although we lack documents referring to
the age and character of this habitat, it is highly likely that ever since the middle or
the second half of the twelfth century a settlement was occupying at least part of the
plateau on which stands today the medieval city. It is possible that around 1200 or
soon after a fortiication rose on the height that dominates this plateau, on the place of
the current Biserica din Deal (Bergkirche) i.e. the Hill Church. Its presence would
explain the Castrum Sex name by which, in 128015, Sighioara is mentioned for the
very irst time. his hypothesis, almost unanimously accepted by historians dealing
with Sighioaras past16, was recently the subject of an archaeological control17.
he observations above concern only the habitat inside the fortress. As for the
micro-region whose centre is the city of Sighioara, older discoveries and current
investigations evidenced the existence of twelfth century and older settlements18.
his is only to be expected, because of the natural resources and the strategic
importance of this micro-region which marks the boundary between the upper and
middle course of Trnava Mare.
he settlement in Sighioara of a Saxon community, as part of the colonization
program promoted by the Hungarian Crown after 1242, must have taken place several
decades before the 1298 mention of the German name of the place, Schespurch19.
Even though this event was placed during the seventh and eight decades of the
thirteenth century by most of the specialists who approached the subject, there
are many diferent opinions regarding the territorial origins of this community.
here was discussion of a primary colonization, with a community from German
14 .
15 .
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
he ceramic from the thirteenth-fourteenth century recently entered in the collection of the Sighioara
History Museum. It will be used by Gh. Baltag in a further study.
Vasile Drgu, Cetatea Sighioara, Bucureti, 1968, p. 9 and the bibliography; also see Paul Niedermaier,
Revista muzeelor i monumentelor. Monumente istorice i de art, 48, 1979, 2.
A trench excavated in 1975 by Gh. Baltag on the slope north to the Hill Church, has proven the existence
of an enclosure wall older than the wall supporting nowadays the terrace on which the church lays, wall
that also had a fortiication character. Anyhow, the dating of the irst enclosure wall from the hill top
remains questionable, as further excavations are still required in the immediate vicinity of the Hill Church
and especially near its tower, commonly regarded as originally being a Romanesque donjon.
A settlement from the twelfth century is currently being investigated by Gh. Baltag in the Ctunul Viilor
neighborhood, located about 2.5 km east of Sighioaras citadel hill.
territories, a secondary colonization, with one or several intermediary stages and

even of an internal colonization by a group of families moving to Sighioara from
Saschiz, only 20 km away toward south-east20.
his last subject is crucially important in order to correctly approach the
discoveries from Sighioara, by answering questions about the origin and past
history in Transylvania or outside this area of the abovementioned proofs of
material culture and of medieval urban civilization.
In this current stage of research we cannot give a sure answer for at least two
reasons. On one hand, the sparse thirteenth century urban pottery we know of in
Transylvania is dated by half-century intervals and no particularities that would
relect regional variations or diferent production centres were identiied. On the
other hand, the discovery of a thirteenth century wooden house with a wooden wall
cellar is for now singular, not just for the known beginnings of Transylvanias urban
civilization, but without analogies in Central Europe either, at least from what we
could ind in the bibliography21.
When referring to the wooden beginnings of Central and Eastern Europes
medieval cities and to the buildings made of perishable materials that coexisted
with the urban Romanesque architecture and preceded the civic stone Gothic
architecture, the specialists always make use of ethnographic studies and allude to
the peasants houses of the time, built above ground or half-in anyway, lacking
cellars22. he discovery in Sighioara proves that the city wooden architecture
from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was neither modest nor similar to
contemporary village houses.
Obviously, formulating more elaborate conclusions is dependent on new
discoveries of privileged situations where the newer houses and their cellars, all
made in stone, did not completely destroy the older traces. he conirmation that
in Sighioara the eighteenth and the nineteenth century lots respect the original
divisions23 opens new opportunities for the future placement of excavations and
interpreting the discoveries. It seems highly unlikely that among the several dozens
houses that existed in Sighioara during the second half of the thirteenth century
we have discovered an exceptional one by its building technique and proportions.
In other words, the one-dimensional image of the Transylvanian town from the
second half of the thirteenth century, with basic houses that had a single room
and walls made of clay covered wood, build above the ground or partially dug in,
as the Transylvanian villages of the time should have looked like, cannot be true.
20 .
21 .
22 .
23 .
homas Ngler, in Studii de istorie a naionalitilor ..., I, p. 68-69; Paul Niedermaier, Revista Muzeelor i
Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, 48, 1979, 2. he date of the Saxon colonisation in Sighioara
would be after 1264 and the character of internal colonization results from the fact that, at its beginings,
the Sighioara parish depended on the chapter of Saschiz.
See among others, Stredovek archeologie a studium pocatku mest, Prague, 1977; Monumentorum tutela,
Ochrana pamiatok, 7, Bratislava, 1971 (volume dedicate to the medieval urban architecture); August v.
Essenwein, Die romanische und die gotische Baukunst. Der Wohnbau, second edition, Leipzig, 1908; Paul
Niedermaier, Siebenbrgische Stdte. Forschungen zur stdtebaulichen und architektonischen Entwicklung
von Handwerksorten zwischen dem 12. und 16. Jh., Bucharest, 1979. Dr. Imre Holl, from the Institute
of Archaelogy in Budapest, to whom we thank also here, has conirmed the lack of positive similar
discoveries on the teritory of Hungary.
W. Radig, Frhformen der Hausentwicklung in Deutschland, Berlin, 1958, the chapter Vom Bauernhaus
zum Stadthaus; see also Hans Planitz, Die deutsche Stadt im Mittelalter, Graz-Kln, 1965.
Paul Niedermaier, in Studii de istorie a naionalitilor, I, p. 115f.
269
270
To what extent this point of view applies to all Transylvanian urban settlements or
is restricted to the Saxon cities, ultimately depends on establishing the territorial
origin of the community that settled in Sighioara after the middle of the thirteenth
century.
he level of urban civilization attested by the discovery in Sighioara has analogies
over the Carpathians, in the Romanian lands, during the fourteenth and the
ifteenth centuries in Rmnicu Vlcea24, Trgovite25, Baia26 or Suceava27. Although
we cannot talk about a perfect similitude between the building techniques28, the
appearance of large wooden houses with wood-coated cellars in these cities would
open some interesting possibilities about the relations of Wallachia and Moldavia
with Transylvania during the formatting years of urban civilization.
he observations we were able to make on this discovery in Sighioara prove that
future investigations will bring important advances in the historical reconstruction of
the beginnings of Romanias urban medieval civilization and a better understanding
of the wooden medieval architecture.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 Sighioara fortress, including the place of the site; 1 Vlad Draculs house. 2. he
house at No. 2, Cositorarilor Street.
Fig. 2 he stratigraphic sequence of the southern side of the area opened in the courtyard
of Vlad Draculs house and the ground plan of the cellar belonging to the building
dated in the second half of the 13th century.
a) Subsoil. b) Slabs and stones. c) Ashes and charcoal. d) Charcoal, burned remains, clay. e)
Backill with earth taken from other places. f ) Partially charred wood. g) Historical topsoil.
h) 14th century layer. i) 15th-18th centuries layer. j) Late backill. k) Modern pits. l) he
courtyards pavement.
Zidul curii he courtyards wall. Fntn Well. Butoi Barrell.
Fig. 3 Part of the southern side of the area opened in the courtyard of Vlad Draculs house.
Fig. 4 he entrance in the cellar of the building dating from the second half of the 13th
century and the middle wooden wall.
Fig. 5 Artifacts from the irst layer of medieval habitation.
Fig. 6 Pots and beakers from the irst layer of medieval habitation.
Fig. 7 Pottery from the irst layer of medieval habitation.
24 .
25 .
26 .
27 .
28 .
Elena Busuioc, Buridava, III, Rmnicu Vlcea, 1979.

Nicolae Constantinescu Corneliu Ionescu, Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 31, 1980, 1,
p. 53 f.
Eugenia Neamu Vasile Neamu Stela Cheptea, Analele tiiniice ale Universitii Al.I.Cuza Iai, 21,
1975, p. 16.
Radu Popa Monica Mrgineanu-Crstoiu, op. cit., p. 129f. with the bibliography.
he cellar planking of the house in Sighioara is executed in a more complicated and elaborated
construction technique than the one referred to in the mentioned analogies. In Suceava we know of
wooden cellar walls with the footing plates encased into the loor, while the footing plates of the cellar in
Sighioara are placed on the loor. he main diference concerns the fact that in Sighioara, the walls are
not made of planks horizontally arranged behind some posts that provide support, but by vertically placed
thick planks, interlocked in special places carved in the footing plates. he vertical posts in the basement
from Sighioara supported not the planks, but the looring beams of the high ground loor.
knauFkRone eineS
WikingeRZeitlicHen
PRacHtScHWeRteS Von
Pcuiul lui SoaRe *
13.
ie byzantinische Festung von Pcuiul lui Soare (Gemeinde Ostrov, Kreis

Constana) beindet sich auf einer Donauinsel, 18 km stromabwrts von
Silistra, dem antiken Durostorum
(Abb. 1). Es handelt sich um eine
Befestigung von betrchtlichen
Ausmaen (ca. 5 ha), die 971976 vom Byzantinischen Reich
als Militrvorposten Silistras
(Dorostolon) und zugleich als
Sttzpunkt der byzantinischen
Donaulotte errichtet wurde. Im
Juli 971 wurde das von Swjatoslaw
von Kiew und seinen Truppen
besetzte Silistra nach langer
Belagerung durch Kaiser Johannes
Tzimiskes erobert, woran auch
die kaiserliche Flotte beteiligt
war. Die Errichtung der Festung
weist folglich auf die Rckkehr
des Reiches an die Donau hin und
spiegelt so auch die in jenen Jahren
getrofenen Manahmen fr eine Konsolidierung des byzantinischen Limes wider1.
ber drei Viertel der Festung wurden vom Hauptarm der Donau zerstrt, der
noch heute eine allmhliche Erosion des von den Mauern umfaten Gelndes von
Westen nach Osten verursacht, whrend die stliche Seite der Festung, die einst
von einem Nebenarm begrenzt war, und auf der sich Hafenanlagen beinden, von
alluvialem Sand bedeckt wurde. Die hier seit 1956 unternommenen Ausgrabungen2
1.
2.
Die wichtigste Quelle zu den Ereignissen ist Skylitzes-Cedrenus, Historiarum Compendium, 2, Bonn,
1839, 372f.; die ltere Literatur der Feldzge von 968-971 bei G. Ostrogorsky, Histoire de ltat byzantin,
1956, 317-320 (dt. Ausg.: Geschichte des Byzantinischen Staates. Byzantinisches Handb. 1, 2. Handb.
Altertumswiss. 12, 1, 23, 1963, 244f.), wozu auch N. A. Oikonomides, Recherches sur lhistoire du BasDanube aux Xe-XIe sicles: La Msopotamie de lOccident, Revue des tudes sud-est europennes, 3, 1965,
57-79, hinzugefgt werden kann.
P. Diaconu D. Vlceanu, Pcuiul lui Soare. Cetatea bizantin, 1, 18, 1972; vgl. auch R. Popa, La porte nord
de la forteresse byzantine de Pcuiul lui Soare, Dacia N. S. 11, 1967, 271 f.
Germania, 62, 1984, 2, p. 425-431
Abb. 1.
Ostteil der
Unteren Donau
mit den im
Text erwhnten
Orten
272
kNAUFkRoNE EINEs WIkINGERZEITLICHEN PRACHTsCHWERTEs VoN PCUIUL LUI soARE
inden gleichlaufend mit den vom Wasser verursachten Zerstrungen statt, so da

die in der Festung von Pcuiul lui Soare entdeckten archologischen Gegenstnde
grtenteils vom Strand an der westlichen Seite der Festung stammen, wo sie beim
Rckgang der Donau nach den Frhlingsberschwemmungen aufgefunden werden
knnen.
An diesem Strand ist auch die hier zu behandelnde Knaufkrone im Frhjahr
1982 aufgefunden worden. Die Fundumstnde verbieten folglich die Einreihung
des Gegenstandes in eine der durch Forschungen auf dem Gebiet der Festung
festgestellten Schichte3. Die Mglichkeit, das Stck auf Grund stilistischer
Kriterien zu datieren, wie auch die bekannten Analogien4, erlauben jedoch eine
historische Interpretation und Bewertung des Gegenstandes unabhngig von den
Fundumstnden vorzunehmen.
Die dreiteilige, im Inneren hohle Knaufkrone ist in Bronze gegossen und hat
eine Maximalhhe von 36 mm, eine Lnge von 73 mm und eine Breite an der Basis
von 20 mm (Abb. 2-3). Die mit einer sehr przis angefertigten, 1-2 mm hohen,
zur Einpassung des Stckes in die Knaufstange bestimmten Schwelle versehene
Basis ist bogenfrmig nach auen gewlbt. Die Knaufkrone wiegt heute 148 g.
Da ein Teil der Silberplattierung infolge der langen Benutzungsdauer abgerieben
ist (besonders auf den erhabenen Teilen), kann man das ursprngliche Gewicht
auf ca. 150 g schtzen. Eine zentrale fnung mit abgeschrgtem Rand auf der
Oberseite diente der Fixierung des Stckes durch Vernietung am Grifende und
der Festigung aller Grifteile. Durch Abri des Nietkopfes infolge langwhrender
Benutzung iel die Knaufkrone wahrscheinlich vom Schwert ab und gelangte als
isolierter Gegenstand in die Erde. Es hat sich auch ein zylindrischer, asymmetrisch
liegender, waagerecht orientierter Stift fr die Fixierung der Knaufkrone erhalten.
Er deutet nicht auf eine Reparatur hin, sondern wurde von Anfang an montiert,
denn sein auch von auen sichtbarer Kopf ist, gleich der Senke des Stckes, in der
er sich beindet, vergoldet.
Die hohe glockenfrmige Mittelpartie der Knaufkrone wird von zwei in der
Dekoration gnzlich abweichenden Endteilen begrenzt, eine Besonderheit, die
unser Stck typologisch zwischen die dreiteiligen und die fnfteiligen Knaufkronen
einreiht. Die beiden Endpartien sind zoomorph ausgestaltet und mit der Mittelpartie
durch je ein stark eingetieftes Gelenk verbunden. Die Verzierung durch Rillenlinien
auf der Silberplattierung ist nur noch teilweise zu erkennen. Der zentrale Teil der
Mittelpartie besteht aus einem querliegenden Feld, das sich in seiner Breite zu den
Rndern hin verjngt. Dieses durch eine einfache Einfassung begrenzte Feld ist
mit einem Flechtbandmuster ausgefllt. Die Linien der Flechtbnder sind noch
an den beiden Enden der Flche zu erkennen. Wahrscheinlich war auch der oben
erwhnte zentrale Niet in das Verzierungsmuster einbezogen. An beide Seiten
der Mittelpartie schlieen bandfrmige, mit einem geometrischen Gelecht (aus
zwei plattgedrckten Silberdrhten?) verzierte Felder an. Die beiden tierfrmigen
Endpartien der Knaufkrone sind vollstndig symmetrisch, in der Form mit einer
dreieckigen Pyramide mit abgerundeten Kanten und Ecken vergleichbar; ihre
hinteren Ecken haben die Form von kleinen Flgeln. Auch sie sind mit Silber
3.
4.
Fr die gesamte Stratigraphie des Komplexes siehe Diaconu Vlceanu a.a.O., Anm.2, 47-58.
Fr Ausknfte und Hilfe bin ich Herrn Prof. Dr. Michael Mller-Wille zu Dank verplichtet.
plattiert, und in den durch das

Verzierungsmuster
bedingten
Vertiefungen haben sich noch
manche Spuren von Teilvergoldung
der Silberplattierung erhalten. Auf
den in Form und Breite variierenden
Bndern der Endpartien zeigt
die Silberplattierung ein durch
Rillenlinien gebildetes Muster, das
aber nur teilweise wiederhergestellt
werden kann.
Die beiden Eintiefungen, welche die Mittelpartie von den Endpartien trennen,
sind vergoldet; das gelbe Metall beindet sich in einer sehr dnnen Schicht direkt
auf dem Bronzekern. Auf jeder Seite besteht je ein symmetrisches nach den
Endstcken der Knaufkrone hin orientiertes Paar von lnglichen Vorsprngen
mit spitzen Enden. Diese Vorwlbungen sind mit Silber belegt und haben im
Zentrum je ein zu ihrem Umri parallel laufendes Muster, das die Darstellung von
Augen suggeriert, was die zoomorphe Ausprgung der Endpartien der Knaufkrone
unterstreicht.
In jenem Bereich der Festung Pcuiul lui Soare, vor der die Knaufkrone
entdeckt wurde, und wo sie folglich durch das Hochwasser im Frhjahr 1982 dem
Ufer entrissen wurde, ist die Aufeinanderfolge der archologischen Schichten
durch mehrere Schnitte untersucht worden und daher sehr gut bekannt5. Diese
Aufeinanderfolge hat eine massive, aus mit Mrtel alternierendem Sand bestehende
Nivellierungsschicht an der Basis, welche von den Erbauern der Festung angelegt
wurde, um mit 2-2,5 m das Gehniveau innerhalb der Ringmauern zu erhhen;
diese Schicht ist sehr arm an Fundmaterial. Auf dem Mrtelstrich, der ihr auliegt
und das Gehniveau der Besatzung darstellt, beinden sich drei Siedlungsschichten
aus dem 10.-11. Jahrhundert, darber drei andere aus dem 13.-14. Jahrhundert.
Tatschlich sind fr die stratigraphische Einordnung unseres Stckes nur die
Nivellierungsschicht und die ersten beiden Schichten aus dem 10.-11. Jahrhundert
in Betracht zu ziehen, denn die letzte Schicht aus dem 11. Jahrhundert, mit 1092 als
Enddatum (dem groen Kumaneneinfall sdlich der Donau), zeigt einen starken
Brandhorizont, unser Fundstck weist jedoch keine Brandspuren auf.
Obgleich wir lediglich ber eine isolierte Knaufkrone verfgen, erlauben die
Besonderheiten der Form und der Verzierung, sie ohne groe Schwierigkeiten in
die Gattung der wikingerzeitlichen Prachtschwerter, und zwar unter die Stcke
vom Typ S nach der weiterhin gltigen Klassiizierung J. Petersens6, einzureihen.
Durch die vor kurzer Zeit publizierte, methodische und grndliche Ausarbeitung
aller Schwerter vom Typ S durch M. Mller-Wille erbrigt es sich, allgemeine
5.
6.
Der Fundplatz beindet sich etwa 45 m SW vom Nordtor der Festung; wegen des Gewichtes des Stckes
ist anzunehmen, da es nicht allzu weit von der Flustrmung geschoben wurde.
J. Petersen, De norske vikingesverd. Vidensskapsselskapets skr. 2, Kl. 1919, No. I, 1919; vgl. auch M. MllerWille, Zwei wikingerzeitliche Prachtschwerter aus der Umgebung von Haithabu, Ofa. Berichte und
Mitteilungen zur Urgeschichte, Frhgeschichte und Mittelalterarchologie, 29, 1972, 72 f. Vgl. jngst auch
Z. Vinski, Zu karolingischen Schwertfunden aus Jugoslawien, Jahrbuch des Rmisch-Germanischen
Zentralmuseums Mainz, 30, 1983, 465-501.
Abb. 2.
Pcuiul
lui Soare.
Knaufkrone
273
274
Abb. 3.
Pcuiul
Iui Soare.
Knaufkrone
Erwgungen vorauszuschicken. Im Vergleich zu den 79 Schwertern vom Typ S, die

der Verfasser als bis 1972 bekannt verzeichnet7, erscheint das Stck von Pcuiul lui
Soare als das am weitesten sdlich entdeckte Exemplar. Wenn wir aus auf der Hand
liegenden Grnden die Suche nach Analogien nur auf die Form und die Verzierung
der Knaufkrone einschrnken, scheinen uns die nchsten Parallelen das in Grsand
(Dnemark) entdeckte Stck8 und das vom Dobre-Museum in Nantes9 zu sein. Die
Form der Knaufkrone und ihre tierfrmigen Endpartien inden brigens zahlreiche
Analogien unter den von M. Mller-Wille behandelten Stcken; deswegen halten
wir es nur fr notwendig, auf die Bnder in Form eines geometrischen Gelechtes
von der Knaufkrone von Norrby (Schweden)10 aufmerksam zu machen, welche sich
auf den Endteilen der Mittelpartie unserer Knaufkrone wiederinden. Unter den auf
dem Gebiet der Sowjetunion entdeckten Stcken, die deswegen wichtig sind, weil
sie den Weg, auf dem unser Stck an die Untere Donau gelangte, abstecken, scheint
uns die beste Analogie ein als Flufund von den Dnjeprfllen stammendes Schwert
mit ULFBERTH-Inschrift auf der Klinge zu sein11.
Die Anfertigung der Prachtschwerter vom Typ S wird in das 10. und in die
7.
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
Mller-Wille a.a.O., Anm.6, Fundliste, S. 102-107; 101; Anm.86 u. Abb.20.

Ebd. Nr.30 u. Abb.27,8; der Vergleich bezieht sich auch auf die Tendenz der Knaufkrone, aus fnf
Teilen zu bestehen, wie auch anscheinend auf die Protuberanzen in den Vertiefungen, welche die
Mittelpartie begrenzen.
Ebd. Nr. I u. Abb.27,6.
Ebd. Nr. 39 u. Abb.28,2.
A. N. Kirpinikov, Drevnerusskoe oruie, 1. Arkheologiia SSSR, :
, E I-36, 1966, Nr. 30 in der Fundliste u. Taf. 5,5.
ersten Jahre des 11. Jahrhunderts datiert12. In Anbetracht dieser Datierung, doch
auch mit Rcksicht auf die Mglichkeit, da zwischen dem Datum der Herstellung
und dem Moment, in dem die Knaufkrone in Pcuiul lui Soare verloren wurde, eine
lngere Zeit vergehen konnte wir haben ja bereits die Aufmerksamkeit darauf
gelenkt, da unser Stck Spuren eines langwhrenden Gebrauchs aufweist , wollen
wir einige Aspekte zu Zeitpunkt und Umstnden, unter denen das Schwert an die
Untere Donau gelangen konnte, beitragen.
Die einfachste und verlockendste Vermutung ist, da das Schwert, zu dem die
Knaufkrone gehrte, der Bewafnung der 968-971 den Kiewer Frsten Swjatoslaw
in seinen Feldzgen an der Donau und im Nordosten Bulgariens begleitenden
Kriegerscharen angehrt hat13. Damit und im Hinblick darauf, da die Festung
von Pcuiul lui Soare gerade am Ende dieser Feldzge errichtet wurde, muten
wir akzeptieren, da das Schwert als Kriegsbeute in byzantinische Hand geriet,
und da seine Knaufkrone von einem der Erbauer whrend der Errichtung der
Mauern oder von einem Mitglied der Besatzungstruppe in den Jahren, in denen die
Festung militrischer Vorposten Silistras und Sttzpunkt der byzantischen Flotte
war14, verlorenging. Es ist freilich auch nicht ausgeschlossen, da das Schwert
nicht mehr in byzantinische Hnde geriet, und da es noch vor der Errichtung der
Festung in den Sand der Insel Pcuiul lui Soare gelangte, da Swjatoslaws Krieger
die Kontrolle ber die Donau ausbten und Versorgungsfeldzge in die Umgebung
von Silistra unternommen hatten, bevor sie von der kaiserlichen Flotte innerhalb
der Stadtmauern auch vom Wasser her eingeschlossen wurden15.
Eine zweite Vermutung, die uns annehmbar scheint, wre, da die Wafe einem
Sldner nordischer Abstammung am Ende des 10. und im 11. Jahrhundert in Byzanz,
eventuell aus der Elite-Truppe der kaiserlichen Wache, gehrt hat16. In diesem Falle
knnte die Knaufkrone in Pcuiul lui Soare im Laufe der ersten Hlfte des 11.
Jahrhunderts verlorengegangen sein17. Sie konnte entweder vom ursprnglichen
Besitzer des Schwertes hierher gebracht worden sein oder eher als Kriegsbeute
von einem Teilnehmer an den zahlreichen Feldzgen, welche die Petschenegen im
Balkanraum unternommen haben. Die nach 1027 wiederholten Zusammenste
des byzantinischen Heeres mit den Petschenegen sind wohlbekannt und in Pcuiul
12 .
13 .
14 .
15 .
16 .
17 .
Mller-Wille a.a.O., Anm. 6, 94f.; Kirpinikov a.a.O., Anm. 11, 28; K. Bakay, Archologische Studien
zur Frage der ungarischen Staatsgrndung, Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 19,
1967, 165.
Siehe oben Anm. 1.
In diesem Falle htte die Knaufkrone stratigraphisch der massiven Nivellierung des Festungsinnern oder
der berhaupt rmlichen, direkt auf dem Estrich des Innenraumes entstandenen archologischen Schicht
angehrt. Die Forschungen haben festgestellt, da die Festung Pcuiul lui Soare sehr kurze Zeit als
eigentlicher Militrpunkt wirkte; sie wurde vielleicht 976 von der Besatzungstruppe gerumt, als Byzanz,
infolge des bulgarischen Aufstandes beim Tode des Kaisers Johannes Tzimiskes, zeitweilig die Kontrolle
ber die Gegend aufgab (Diaconu Vlceanu a.a.O., Anm. 2, 51-53). Die Neubesiedlung stimmt mit der
Rckeroberung NO-Bulgariens im Jahre 1001 infolge der byzantinischen Feldzge berein, aber diese
Besiedlung hatte im 11. Jahrhundert einen vielfltigen, zugleich militrischen und zivilen Charakter,
wobei es sich um eine die Grenzen zu verteidigende beauftragte Gemeinschaft handelte.
Skylitzes-Cedrenus a.a.O., Anm. 1, 400f.
V. G. Vasilevskij, Varjago-russkaja i varjago-anglijskaja druina v Konstantinopole XI i XII vekov,
Trudi, 1, 1908, 176-377.
Ich habe oben gezeigt, da sich das letzte etwa 1060-1092 datierbare Besiedlungsniveau des
11. Jahrhunderts von Pcuiul lui Soare durch die einem starken Brand ausgesetzten Gegenstnde
kennzeichnet.
275
276
lui Soare gibt es Zeugnisse, welche auf eine Anwesenheit der Petschenegen gegen
Mitte des 11. Jahrhunderts hinweisen18.
Diese zwei Hypothesen zur historischen Interpretation des Befundes umfassen
natrlich nicht alle Mglichkeiten, die uns die zeitliche und rumliche Bestimmung
bieten. Sehr wichtig sind in dieser Hinsicht die in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten
im Sdosten Rumniens, d.h. in der Dobrudscha, bekannt gewordenen Funde
nordischen Charakters. Einige davon wurden mit dem dortigen Bestehen mancher
Normannengruppen gegen Ende des 10. und im 11. Jahrhundert in Zusammenhang
gebracht; die anderen wurden nur als Ausdruck der Handels- und Kulturbeziehungen
durch Kiewer Vermittlung mit der nordischen Welt interpretiert. Die bedeutendsten
Entdeckungen sind diejenigen aus dem Grottenkomplex von Murfatlar (frher
Basarabi), wo ber 60 noch nicht entziferte runenartige Inschriften aufgenommen
wurden, welche neben nordischen zoomorphen Mustern, dem Labyrinthmuster
und der Darstellung eines Schifes in die Wnde eingeritzt sind19. Den Normannen
zugeschriebene Gegenstnde tauchten auch in den Schichten des 11. Jahrhunderts
in der Siedlung von Dinogetia am Donauknie auf20. Es ist mglich, da eine von
der Entdeckung der Knaufkrone von Pcuiul lui Soare angeregte Neuuntersuchung
des Materials manche Aspekte, die vorluig nur hypothetischen Charakter haben,
besttigen wird.
18 .
19 .
20 .
P. Diaconu, Les Petchngues au Bas Danube, 27, 1970, 40f.; Diaconu Vlceanu a.a.O., Anm. 2, 139.
Fr den monastischen Grottenkomplex von Murfatlar, dessen Monographie sich in Vorbereitung beindet,
vgl. I. Barnea t. tefnescu, Din istoria Dobrogei, III, 1971, 180-233 (ber normannische Anwesenheit:
S. 229-230); R. heodorescu, Bizan, Balcani, Occident la nceputurile culturii medievale romneti (secolele
X-XIV), 1974, 87-97. Eine abweichende Meinung bei P. Diaconu N. Petre (P. . Nsturel), Quelques
observations sur le complexe archologique de Murfatlar (Basarabi), Dacia N. S. 13, 1969, 443-456,
welche glauben, da es sich um eine sptgotische Gemeinschaft handelt.
G. tefan u.a., Dinogetia. 1. Bibl. Arh. 13, 1967, 299-300.
Studii geneRale iii.
touRS dHaBitation au
coMMenceMent du MoYen
ge RouMain *
armi les aspects les plus sduisants des recherches concernant les dbuts du Moyen
ge dans lEurope de lest, on peut citer le passage qui sest fait des fortiications
collectives, construites et utiliss par les communauts villageoises, aux fortiications
individuelles, familiales, bties par les seigneurs fodaux en tant quexpression de leur
volont de simposer sur la scne sociopolitique. Le sujet comporte des implications
dans les domaines les plus divers du dveloppement historique et il est insparable
du problme du passage de larchitecture caractre militaire en bois et en terre
celle des constructions en maonnerie. Il est, en mme temps, en rapport troit avec
lapparition, dans ces rgions, des fortiications appartenant aux autorits dtat
lpoque de leur constitution, soit que celles-ci aient pris leur compte danciennes
forteresses collectives, soit quelles aient conquis ou conisqu des fortiications
familiales dans le cadre du processus de consolidation des structures dtat, soit
enin que ces autorits aient lev des constructions nouvelles.
Pour la socit roumaine qui, hritire de la romanit orientale, a suivi une voie
propre dans la constitution de ses premires formations politiques, ces problmes
se posent autrement que pour les populations migratrices qui se sont tablies dans
lest de lEurope et y ont cr des tats ou ont disparu, par la suite, de la scne de
lhistoire. Les difrences portent non seulement sur le mode de constitution des
structures politico- territoriales dessence fodale chez les Roumains, mais aussi sur
le stade actuel des recherches dans ce domaine. Larchologie mdivale roumaine
est, en efet, une discipline de date encore relativement rcente, les recherches dans
le domaine qui vient dtre esquisse ne comptant quune vingtaine ou une trentaine
annes dge. Cest pourquoi les prcisions que lon est aujourdhui en mesure de
fournir au sujet des fortiications du haut Moyen ge roumain et de lpoque de
cristallisation de la vie dtat roumaine sont encore loin de jeter une pleine lumire
sur toutes ces questions. Certains rsultats de ces derniers temps sont nanmoins
assez substantiels pour donner lieu des conclusions dordre gnral.
*
*
Depuis la in de lAntiquit jusquau dbut de lactuel millnaire, on na plus

construit sur le territoire de la Roumanie de fortiications en maonnerie, cest-dire en pierres ou en briques lies avec du mortier. Avec cette exception que dans
la zone sud-est du pays et sur la rive septentrionale du Bas Danube lactivit de
*
Bulletin IBI, 34, 1978, p.115-126
14.
280
ToURs DHABITATIoN AU CoMMENCEMENT DU MoYEN GE RoUMAIN
construction de lEmpire romano byzantin sest poursuivie jusquau tournant du

VIe au VIIe sicle. Dans cette mme zone sud est et sud, on constate ds le Xe
sicle la reprise des traditions anciennes de larchitecture de la pierre et de la brique,
grce surtout la roccupation de la ligne du Danube par lEmpire byzantin. Des
recherches actuellement en cours tentent de faire remonter ce phnomne jusquau
IXe sicle et de mettre ventuellement en liaison avec le premier Empire bulgare,
considr comme un chanon intermdiaire entre larchitecture byzantine tardive et
les territoires nord danubiens.
De toute faon, moins que les recherches venir ninirment lopinion selon
laquelle le VIIe et le VIIIe sicles ont signii une interruption totale de larchitecture
de la pierre sur le territoire de la Roumanie, les documents matriaux dont nous
disposons montrent que la premire voie par laquelle les constructions militaires en
maonnerie sy sont propages, au dbut du Moyen ge, a son point de dpart au
sud-est, dans lEmpire byzantin.
Une seconde ilire est celle qui vient de lOccident, de lEurope centrale et
peut-tre aussi de la Dalmatie, en premier lieu par lintermdiaire du Royaume de
Hongrie, fonde la limite entre le Xe et le XIe sicle. Ni pour les zones occidentales
et inter carpatiques de la Roumanie on ne saurait repousser absolument lhypothse
de lexistence de constructions militaires en maonnerie ds le IXe sicle, mais des
rsultats des recherches nautorisent lheure actuelle aucune conclusion certaine
cet gard.
Telles sont les limites chronologiques et les conditionnements des premires
manifestations dune architecture mdivale militaire en maonnerie sur le territoire
de la Roumanie, manifestations qui de toute faon ont prsent cette poque un
caractre exceptionnel. Cette architecture ne se gnralise, en efet, dans toutes
les rgions du pays, quau XIIIe et au XIVe sicles. Jusqualors, plus prcisment
jusqu la grande invasion mongole de 1241-1242, les constructions dfensives en
bois et terre ont continu reprsenter la forme la plus usuelle de manifestation de
larchitecture militaire.
*
*
Cest dans le cadre chronologique et territorial esquiss ci-dessus que se situent,

entre autres, les fortiications qui font lobjet du prsent expos. Il sagit des tours
dhabitation, cest--dire de constructions dfensives caractre individuel et
familial. Construites tantt la priphrie des localits (beaucoup plus rarement en
plein village) dans le but dune habitation permanente, tantt dans des lieux retirs,
diicilement accessibles, et utilises dans ce cas occasionnellement, des moments
de danger, elles ont eu pour auteurs les chefs politiques et militaires de la socit
roumaine du haut Moyen ge. Elles reltent autant le passage de larchitecture en
terre et en bois celle en maonnerie que les progrs de la socit roumaine dans
la double voie de ltablissement des relations fodales et de la cristallisation de
structures politiques de plus en plus complexes et stables.
Des monuments du mme genre et accomplissant des fonctions identiques
taient extrmement rpandus dans le centre et louest de lEurope, et cela une
poque nettement antrieure celle de nos exemplaires. Il est diicile toutefois
dvaluer lampleur des dcalages chronologiques, tant donn que les premires
tours dhabitation roumaine ont t en bois et quelles nont laiss que fort peu de
traces. Ajoutons que, dans la mesure o elles existent, ces traces sont le plus souvent
trs diicilement datables, et seulement au prix de recherches archologiques
mthodiques et minutieuses.
Cependant, la plus ancienne tour dhabitation connue jusqu ce jour sur le
territoire de la Roumanie semble avoir t en maonnerie. Elle a fait partie dun
ensemble de fortiications rcemment fouill Slon (dp. de Prahova), dans lun
des cols des Carpates mridionales. Les fortiications de Slon (nom qui signiie sel,
eau sale, peut-tre en liaison avec une route du sel), y compris une petite forteresse
comportant deux phases de construction, ont t dates entre le IXe et le XIIe
sicles, sur la base des matriaux mis au jour et des particularits de la technique
de construction. En labsence de toute source crite, il est impossible de prciser si
lon est en prsence de la rsidence fortiie dun chef local, ou dune fortiication
due linitiative dune autorit dtat en vue dassurer le contrle de la voie reliant
la Transylvanie au Danube. Il est permis de croire que les fortiications de Slon ont
rempli successivement ces deux fonctions. La continuation des recherches pourra
fournir des claircissements supplmentaires.
En dehors de lapparition isole pour linstant au point de vue chronologique et
fonction incertaine des fortiications de Slon, les plus anciennes tours dhabitation
mdivales roumaines connues lheure actuelle sont celles en bois. Construites par
les familles de knzes pour leur propre usage, elles reltent le stade dorganisation
de la socit roumaine la veille de la formation des tats mdivaux indpendants.
En ce qui concerne la catgorie sociale des knzes, il existe toute une littrature dont
il ressort quils taient les reprsentants
dune fodalit typique pour la priode
qui a prcd la formation des premiers
tats, matres des communauts
villageoises sur lesquelles ils exeraient
des attributions militaires, judiciaires,
administratives et dautre nature.
Les tours dhabitation en bois nont
laiss que tout fait exceptionnellement
des vestiges qui puissent faire lobjet de
recherches archologiques. En change,
il en reste de nombreuses enceintes de
petites dimensions, de forme ovale ou
ronde, au diamtre variant entre 20-25
m et 40-50 m, entoures dune leve de
terre, de palissades et parfois de fosses
de dfense, qui nont pu avoir pour
rle que dabriter une telle construction en bois. Dans un certain nombre de cas,
au centre de ces enceintes on a construit ultrieurement une tour dhabitation en
maonnerie, qui est venue remplacer celle antrieure en bois. Un exemple en est
la petite forteresse dOnceti (dp. de Maramure, dans la partie nord du pays), qui
consiste en une enceinte dfendue par une leve de terre et occupe au centre par
Fig. 1.
Tour
dhabitation
de Rchitova,
dp. de
Hunedoara
281
282
une tour dhabitation en maonnerie; cette tour est antrieure lanne 1360, quand
le village est attest sous le nom de Sub cetate (= Sous la forteresse).
Il existe galement des cas o une tour dhabitation en pierre a bnici de
travaux ultrieurs de fortiication, par ladjonction dune leve de terre renforce par
une palissade. Un exemple concluant cet gard nous a t fourni par les recherches
faites Rchitova (dp. de Hunedoara, dans la partie sud de la Transylvanie), o une
tour dhabitation en maonnerie a t btie la in du XIIIe sicle ou au dbut du
sicle suivant sur le bord dun peron rocheux, dfendu par une crevasse naturelle
qui a jou le rle dune fosse de dfense (ig. 1). Au cours du XIVe sicle, une enceinte
circulaire entoure dune leve de terre a t amnage autour de ldiice et cette
occasion la crevasse a t comble et nivele. Autant la fortiication dOnceti que
celle de Rchitova ont appartenu
des familles roumaines de knzes,
attestes par les documents du
temps. Lglise bien connue de
Densu, village voisin de Rchitova,
reprsente la chapelle de cette
dernire famille.
Les tours dhabitation sont
habituellement de plan carr, aux
cts de 7,60 10 m; leurs murs, de
1,80 2 m dpaisseur, abritaient, sur
trois ou quatre niveaux, des pices de
14 20 m2, une par niveau. Laccs
se faisait directement du lextrieur
au premier ou mme au deuxime
tage, par 1intermdiaire dune
chelle mobile pose contre le mur.
Fondations en pierre lie avec de largile de la tour dhabitation en bois
de Cuhea (dp. de Maramure). lintrieur, les traces des soles et des
Des escaliers intrieurs donnaient
piliers qui soutenaient les niveaux suprieurs, appartenant deux phases
accs au rez-de-chausse et la
chronologiquement successives.
cave. Ces chemines amnages
dans lpaisseur du mur, au-dessous
de niches, indiquent quel tait le systme de chaufage et, ct des minuscules
fentres et de lexigut des espaces antrieurs, tmoignent de la vie austre que lon
menait dans ces tours dhabitation.
Les deux monuments susmentionns appartiennent la catgorie des tours
dhabitation usage occasionnel. Une tour dhabitation en bois usage permanent,
cest--dire une rsidence fortiie, a t identiie il y a une vingtaine dannes
Cuhea (actuellement Bogdan Vod), dans le Maramure. Elle a appartenu une
famille de knzes puissants qui, dans la premire moitie du XIVe sicle, a donn
plusieurs vovodes au Pays du Maramure. Prcisons cette occasion que, dans
lvolution de la socit roumaine, la dignit de vovode, aux attributions surtout
politiques et militaires, se situait au-dessus de celle de knze et immdiatement
au-dessous de celle de grand vovode ou seigneur (du lat. dominus), quivalente
celle du prince rgnant de la socit fodale occidentale. Ainsi, lun des vovodes
issus de la famille des knzes de Cuhea est devenu en 1359, sous le nom Bogdan
1er, prince de Moldavie. Du reste, la date de 1359 concide avec la destruction par
le feu de la rsidence fortiie de Cuhea. Par le fait que cette rsidence, bien que
de bois, comprenait une tour dhabitation construite au-dessus de fondations de
grands blocs de pierre lis avec de largile, les vestiges en taient plus consistants que
dans dautres cas et ont pu tre tudis en dtail (ig. 2). La tour dhabitation tait
de dimensions relativement importantes, 9x12 m, et lpaisseur des murs atteignait
1m au niveau du rez-de-chausse. Pour arriver ce rsultat, les parois en poutres
assembles aux angles de ldiice dans la technique du Blockbau taient recouvertes
intrieurement et extrieurement dune couche consistante de terre glaise, procd
propre sauvegarder ldiice contre lincendie, accidentel ou provoqu.
Un systme de soles comprises dans le plancher du rez-de-chausse et de piliers
soutenait les planchers des niveaux suprieurs, o se trouvaient les chambres
coucher et de sjour. Le nombre des pices et la hauteur de la construction nont
pas pu tre dtermins. En tout cas, cest de ces pices que proviennent les carreaux
de pole de type archaque mis au jour
par la fouille, qui montrent que ds la
premire moiti du XIVe sicle il existait
des poles en cramique, procd de
chaufage comportant bien moins
de risques dincendie que celui des
chemines ouvertes.
La tour dhabitation de la rsidence
de Cuhea a connu une phase de
construction initiale qui peut tre date,
daprs les matriaux rcolts, au XIIIe
sicle. Ce premier btiment a t refait
suivant le mme plan et les mmes
procds de construction: constatation
qui souligne une fois de plus le caractre conservateur de larchitecture du bois.
Dautre part, sachant que les plus grandes des tours dhabitation en maonnerie
des XIIIe-XIVe sicles connues ont les mmes dimensions de 9x12 m, on peut
considrer quen architecture militaire aussi, malgr le caractre novateur de celleci, les constructions en maonnerie ont copi, dans certains cas du moins, celles
antrieures en bois et terre.
Une pareille tour dhabitation en pierre, dont les dimensions sont justement de
9x12 m, sest conserve Clnic (dp. dAlba, dans le sud de la Transylvanie), o une
massive colonisation saxonne sest produite aux XIIe et XIIIe sicles. Le monument
qui a dailleurs appartenu une famille de la petite noblesse saxonne peut tre
dat autour de 1260-1270 sur la base dune fentre bipartite de basse poque romane
et de lattestation documentaire de la famille en 1269. Situe lorigine dans une
enceinte circonscrite par une fortiication lgre en bois et terre, la tour dhabitation
de Clnic est arrive, au sicle suivant, entre les mains de la communaut locale
privilgie, qui en a fait le donjon, surlev cette occasion dun quatrime tage,
dune forteresse paysanne (ig. 3).
Fig. 2.
Fondation
de la tour
dhabitation
en bois de
Cuhea, dp.
de Maramure
283
284
( droite)Tour dhabitation de Clnic (dp. dAlba). Faade ouest et plan du premier niveau. Maonnerie en pierre lie chaux.
( gauche) Tour dhabitation de Clnic (dp. dAlba). Section dans laxe nord-sud.
Des tours dhabitation en maonnerie, qui ont pu servir de modles pour des
monuments du mme type btis par la petite noblesse roumaine avant la formation
des premiers tats, peuvent tre vues dans les zones occidentales de la Roumanie, o
la fodalit magyare a bnici durant tout le XIIIe sicle de nombreux privilges
accords par les derniers rois arpadiens. Lexemplaire la fois le plus imposant et
le mieux conserv se trouve Cheresig (dp. de Bihor), sur le Criul Repede,
la frontire ouest du pays. Les documents montrent quil a appartenu la famille
Bora et il est attest pour la premire fois en 1289, date laquelle le roi Ladislas IV
assigea la forteresse. On ignore si cette date la tour dhabitation tait dj munie
dune enceinte fortiie de pierre ou simplement dune douve, peut-tre double
dune palissade. De toute faon, la tour devait tre antrieure la date du document,
construite donc probablement autour des annes 1250-1260.
La tour dhabitation de Cheresig (ig. 4), btie entirement en brique, de mme
que presque tous les monuments darchitecture romane de la zone de plaine, o la
pierre faisait dfaut, a un plan inaccoutum celui dun hexagone irrgulier dont
les chercheurs nont pu expliquer de faon satisfaisante la raison jusqu ce jour. La
longueur des cts varie entre 4,20 m et 11,80 m. Lpaisseur des murs est de 3 m au
niveau du rez-de-chausse vot, mais dcrot aux niveaux suivants. Les deux derniers
niveaux semblent avoir t ajouts, ici aussi, au XIVe ou au XVe sicles, quand la tour
dhabitation devint le donjon dune forteresse munie dau moins deux enceintes et de
nombreuses constructions dfensives ou conomiques, adosses au mur denceinte.
La tour dhabitation de Ru de Mori (dp. de Hunedoara), dont les dimensions sont
plus modestes (plan carr de 7,50 m de ct), mrite pourtant dtre cite ct de
celle de Cheresig en raison de lvolution identique de la fortiication, qui devint
au XVe sicle la forteresse dite de Col (peron), avec la mme transformation
de lancienne tour dhabitation en donjon central (ig. 5). Mais en ce qui concerne
son implantation dans le site et ses fonctions, il y a une difrence notable, car le
monument de Ru de Mori tait une fortiication de montagne, construite en pierre
sur un peron rocheux de prs de 200 m de hauteur, et servait de lieu de refuge pour
les knzes roumains de la famille Cndea (intgre par la suite la noblesse magyare
sous le nom de Kendefy), dont le manoir ltat de ruine et la chapelle de cour se
sont conservs au pied de la montagne, sous la forteresse.
La chapelle de la famille Cndea illustre un type part des tours dhabitation,
celui des fortiications amnages au-dessus des glises. Ce type a connu une vaste
difusion en Europe centrale, do il semble avoir t introduit dans les zones
occidentales de la Roumanie. Dans la seconde moiti du XIIIe sicle, il y tait assez
Fig. 3. Tour
dhabitation
de Clnic,
dp. dAlba
285
286
Fig. 4. Tour dhabitation de Cheresig,

dp. de Bihor
Tour dhabitation trois niveaux surmontant

le sanctuaire de la chapelle de Ru de MoriCol (dp. dHunedoara). Maonnerie en
pierre lie chaux. Le toit de la tour en
maonnerie. Laccs au premier niveau, sur
la faade sud
Fig. 5. Tour dhabitation dans

la forteresse Col
Ru de Mori, dp. de
Hunedoara
rpandu pour faire lobjet dune mention

spciale dans un dcret royal. Dans
sa tentative de vaincre les tendances
autonomistes de la noblesse et de mettre
in lanarchie, Andr III, le dernier roi
de la dynastie arpadienne, dcrtait en
1291 que lon dmolisse entirement
turres sive castra super ecclesiis ediicata ou
construits en dautres lieux dans le but
de nuire.
Ladoption de ce type-l aussi de tour
dhabitation par la fodalit roumaine
une poque si recule, atteste le degr de
maturit atteint par les relations fodales
au sein de la socit roumaine. Quant
aux dimensions de la tour dhabitation
amnage au-dessus du sanctuaire (de
plan carr) de la chapelle situe sous la
forteresse de Col, il faut reconnatre
quelles sont modestes, comme le sont
dailleurs en gnral celles des constructions de ce genre, qui ntaient utilises que
dans des cas exceptionnels. En efet, les trois niveaux de cette petite tour dhabitation
de la famille Cndea construite au-dessus des votes du sanctuaire de la chapelle ne
mesurent extrieurement que 6,80 x 7,00 m. Lon y accdait directement au niveau
du premier tage par une chelle en bois et par une porte qui sest conserve (ig. 6).
Une autre particularit de la forteresse est son toit pyramidal en pierre, procd de
construction qui a d tre utilis aussi pour dautres diices de ce genre moins bien
conservs.
Sous le rapport de leur difusion
territoriale, les tours dhabitation en
maonnerie des XIIIe et XIVe sicles
ne se rencontrent pas seulement dans
les rgions intra carpatiques de la
Roumanie. Dans la forteresse de Poenari
(dp. dArge, dans la partie nord de
la Valachie), juche sur un sommet de
montagne prs de 200 m de hauteur
et qui date du XVe sicle, les rcentes
fouilles archologiques ont identii
une tour dhabitation sensiblement
plus ancienne, qui par la suite, aprs la
mainmise du pouvoir princier sur cette fortiication nobiliaire a t incorpore
dans la nouvelle forteresse comme donjon (ig. 7).
Les monuments qui ont fait lobjet de ce bref expos ne reprsentent quun groupe
chronologiquement dlimit et dini avec prcision du point de son volution
historique parmi les tours dhabitation du moyen ge roumain. Des constructions
Fig. 6. Tour
dhabitation
surmontant
le sanctuaire
de la chapelle
de Ru de
Mori, dp. de
Hunedoara
Fig. 7. Tour
dhabitation
dans la
forteresse de
Poenari, dp.
dArge
287
288
similaires en forme de tour, servant la fois dhabitation et de moyen de dfense, ont

t construites aussi plus tard et ont mme connu, dans certaines zones, des moments
dample difusion. Il en a t ainsi, par exemple, pour les koul (du trc koula = tour)
des petits boyards et mme pour certaines maisons de paysans aises en forme plus
ou moins caractrise de tour un ou deux tages, qui sont apparues en grand
nombre au dbut du XIXe sicle dans la zone sud-ouest de la Roumanie (Oltenie et
dpartement dArge), justiies par la prsence sur le Danube des troupes turques,
rguliers ou irrgulires, qui entreprenaient dincessantes razzias sur le territoire de
la Valachie cette poque danarchie de lEmpire ottoman.
Mais si, depuis le dbut du Moyen ge roumain jusqu laube de lhistoire
moderne de la Roumanie, lvolution des tours dhabitation, avec tous ses
conditionnements internes et extrieurs, peut tre suivie sans trop de diicult, en
change le problme des origines lointaines de ces constructions dfensives demeure
un sujet de recherches passionnant aussi bien pour les archologues que pour les
historiens de larchitecture.
BIBLIOGRAPHIE SELECTIVE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Virgil Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne (Histoire de lart fodal dans les pays
roumains), vol. I, Bucureti, 1959.
Radu Creeanu Sarmiza Creeanu, Culele din Romnia (Les koul de Roumanie),
Bucureti, 1969.
Grigore Ionesco, Histoire de larchitecture en Roumanie, Bucarest, 1972.
Radu Popa, ber die Burgen der Terra Hatzeg, dans Dacia, N. S., XVI, 1972, p. 243
sqq.
Gheorghe Anghel, Ceti medievale din Transilvania (Forteresses mdivales de
Transylvanie), Bucureti, 1972.
Radu Popa, Structures socio-politiques roumaines au sud de la Transylvanie aux
commencements du Moyen ge, dans Revue Roumaine dHistoire, XIV, 1975, no 2, p.
291 sqq.
Maria Coma, Un knzat roumain des Xe-XIIe sicle Slon-Prahova, dans Dacia, N.
S., XXII, 1978, p. 303 sqq.
Gheorghe Cantacuzino, Cetile medievale din ara Romneasc. Secolele XIII-XVI (Les
forteresses mdivales de Valachie. XIIIe-XVIe sicles), Bucureti, 1979.
integRaRea n PatRiMoniul
cultuRal-iStoRic
a unoR noi Zone ale
aRHitectuRii MedieVale de
Zid din RoMnia, ca uRMaRe a
ceRcetRiloR aRHeologice *
ea mai mare parte a teritoriului Romniei face parte din acea zon european
n care, de la sfritul Antichitii clasice i pn n Evul Mediu, manifestrile
din domeniul arhitecturii au constat din construcii de lemn i pmnt, n cazuri
de excepie din piatr legat cu pmnt. Prile nordice ale rii nu au cunoscut
nici n antichitate arhitectura de zidrie propriu-zis, din piatr sau crmid
legat cu mortar, ele fcnd parte sub acest aspect dintr-o vast zon european a
arhitecturii de lemn, care se ntinde de la Rin pn n stepele rsritene. Arhitectura
din zid a reaprut pe teritoriul Romniei n secolele X-XI, ca urmare n primul
rnd a progreselor societii i maturizrii noilor relaii feudale. Datri mai timpurii
propuse pentru unele monumente medievale, ca iind nc din secolul al IX-lea, nu
au primit conirmrile necesare. Evident, n aceast sumar schi am fcut abstracie de monumentele antice trzii, romano-bizantine, care dateaz din secolul al VIlea i ale cror ruine se pstreaz n sudul i sud-estul Romniei.
Pe de alt parte, mprejurri istorice potrivnice au dus la dispariia unui mare
numr de monumente, n diferite regiuni ale rii i datnd din etapele timpurii
ale evoluiei arhitecturii medievale, pn acolo nct multe zone ne pot apare
ca pete albe pe o hart a monumentelor medievale din Romnia. Dintre aceste
mprejurri fac parte devastrile ultimelor valuri ale popoarelor migratoare, n
special ale maghiarilor, pecenegilor, cumanilor i ttarilor, apoi distrugerile cauzate
de invaziile otomane i de instaurarea n unele perioade a dominaiei turceti n
prile vestice i sudice ale rii, ca i anumite fenomene de involuie cunoscute
de feudalitatea romneasc dup secolul al XIV-lea n regiuni intrate sub stpniri
strine, unde vrfurile societii romneti care au ridicat monumente din zid pentru
nevoile lor militare i spirituale au deczut ulterior n categoria rnimii libere sau
aservite. Se pot aduga la aceste mprejurri i transformrile repetate suferite de
unele monumente vechi, care au fcut s dispar trsturile lor originale sub haina
neltoare a epocilor trzii.
Din toate aceste motive, investigaia arheologic a monumentelor medievale din
Romnia are o greutate aparte, mai ales pentru etapa nceputurilor. Mai mult dect
n alte zone ale continentului, dat iind numrul foarte redus al informaiilor scrise
referitoare la nceputurile istoriei medievale romneti, monumentele recuperate pe
cale arheologic aduc informaii extrem de preioase privind caracterul i etapele de
maturizare a relaiilor feudale, aspectele civilizaiei vechi i mprejurrile concrete
ale apariiei statelor medievale romneti pe scena politic a rsritului european.
Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor, 8, 1980, p. 45-52
15.
290
INTEGRAREA N PATRIMoNIUL CULTURAL-IsToRIC
n strns legtur cu interesele cercetrii tiiniice, recuperarea pentru patrimoniul cultural i istoric a unor monumente i msurile de conservare sau chiar
restaurare care s asigure prezena acestora, de aici nainte, n peisajul regiunilor
din trecutul crora au fcut parte, reprezint un act de cultur pe care nu l putem
ndeajuns sublinia.
*
*
Fig. 1.
Temeliile
bisericii din
Giuleti jud.
Maramure
n timpul
cercetrilor
arheologice
n ordinea de preocupri mai sus schiat, se cuvine s zbovim aici asupra unor
provincii istorice romneti din nordul rii, n care pn n urm cu dou decenii
ntreaga motenire de arhitectur medieval prea a se rezuma la monumente de
lemn i pentru care cercetarea de istoria artei i de istoria arhitecturii ajunsese
la concluzia c, pe durata Evului Mediu, singura form de exprimare a societii
romneti, sub raportul monumentelor, au fost construciile din lemn. Este vorba de
rile (terrae) istorice romneti de la izvoarele Tisei sau de pe cursul superior al
Someului Mare, n nord-vestul Transilvaniei, cunoscute sub numele de Maramure,
Oa, Lpu sau Nsud.
n realitate, dup spturile iniiate n anii 1964-1965 i care mai continu i azi,
s-a dovedit c la nivelul cronologic al secolului al XIII-lea, n respectivele regiuni a
existat o arhitectur romneasc de zid1.
Aceasta nu a fost o creaie independent,
fr legtur cu curentul general al
epocii, de nlocuire a monumentelor
de lemn i pmnt prin monumente
de zid, iar realizrile n domeniul formelor i limbajului plastic au fost determinate de curentele artistice vehiculate
din Europa central spre rsrit; monumentele descoperite nu sunt prin aceasta
mai puin semniicative pentru aprecierea necesitilor social-politice i spirituale ale societii care le-a construit,
adoptnd aceste forme de exprimare.
Este vorba de cetui de refugiu, de
reedine feudale i de capele de curte.
Astfel, la Giuleti n judeul Maramure, au fost scoase la lumin temeliile unei mici
biserici aparinnd romanicului trziu i datnd, dup toate probabilitile, de la
sfritul secolului al XIII-lea sau nceputul secolului al XIV-lea. Din aceast vreme
sunt cele mai vechi elemente de datare descoperite n sptur. A fost iniial capela
de curte a familiei de mici feudali (cnezi) atestai de ctre documentele de cancelarie
ncepnd cu anul 1317 i creia i-a fost recunoscut, de ctre regalitatea maghiar,
la mijlocul secolului al XIV-lea, stpnirea asupra tuturor satelor de pe valea Marei,
cu centrul la Giuleti2. Decderea ulterioar a familiei n rndurile rnimii libere a
determinat transformarea capelei n biseric parohial, mrit treptat prin adugiri
1.
2.
Radu Popa, ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970, p. 221 i urm.
Idem, Cnezatul Marei, Baia Mare, 1969, p. 28-34; cf. i R. Popa M. Zdroba, Ctitoria cnezilor giuleteni.
Un nou monument romnesc de piatr din Maramure, n Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 20, 1960, 2,
p. 267-285.
succesive din secolele XV-XVIII, pentru ca n secolul al XIX-lea monumentul s

dispar literalmente, pn i din amintirea satului, dup construirea unei noi biserici
parohiale.
Pe valea altui ru din acelai Maramure istoric, la Cuhea (azi Bogdan Vod),
spturile arheologice au scos la lumin ruinele, pstrate pe alocuri pn la nlimea
de 1 m, ale unei capele de curte de dimensiuni mai mari datnd din prima jumtate a
secolului al XIV-lea. Prevzut cu turn-clopotni, pe latura de vest, biserica-sal de
la Cuhea avea altarul ncheiat cu absid poligonal i a aparinut goticului timpuriu.
i pentru acest monument ne este cunoscut familia de ctitori din documente de
cancelarie, iind vorba de Bogdnetii care au deinut n deceniile 4-6 ale secolului
al XIV-lea demnitatea de voievod al Maramureului. Unul din membrii familiei, n
conlict cu autoritile regale maghiare, a trecut de altfel n 1359 la rsrit de Carpai
devenind acolo primul domn independent al Moldovei3.
Alte monumente similare ca semniicaie din aceeai regiune au fost cercetate la
Onceti, unde se al ruinele unui turn-locuin din zidrie de piatr4, sau ateapt s
ie investigate la Peri (Hruevo) unde se pstreaz ruinele unei mnstiri de familie5.
Problema conservrii i valoriicrii din punctul de vedere al patrimoniului
a monumentelor pomenite se pune n mod diferit. n cazul monumentului de la
Giuleti, deoarece nu s-au pstrat dect temelii iniial invizibile pe teren, s-a recurs
3.
4.
5.
Pentru cercetrile de la Cuhea, vezi R. Popa M. Zdroba, antierul arheologic Cuhea. Un centru voievodal
din secolul al XIV-lea, Baia Mare, 1966.
H. Daicoviciu O. Bandula I. Glodariu, Cercetrile de la Onceti, din Maramure, n Studii i Cercetri
Maramureene, I, Baia Mare, 1965.
R. Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 228.
Fig. 2.
Biserica
din Cuhea
(Bogdan
Vod) jud.
Maramure
(nlocuiete
o fotograie
neclar)
291
292
Fig. 3.
Biserica din
Giuleti jud.
Maramure;
marcajul
temeliilor
Fig. 4.
Turnul
romanic de la
Snnicolau de
Beiu jud.
Bihor
la soluia nlrii cu zidrie nou a acestor temelii pn

deasupra actualului nivel al solului. Pe teren a rmas, dup
ncheierea spturilor, un marcaj al traseului zidurilor
monumentului disprut, iar pietrele funerare descoperite
au fost adpostite n biserica parohial nou, alat n
imediata vecintate.
La Cuhea, unde zidurile s-au pstrat parial coninnd
pietre cioplite de la soclu i de la baza portalului, s-a adoptat
soluia consolidrii ruinei i a acoperirii ei cu o construcie
de protecie din material lemnos procurat la faa locului.
n amndou cazurile, lucrrile au fost executate n cadrul
antierului arheologic i este iresc ca asemenea operaii,
care nu solicit competena restauratorului i studii
speciale, s ie fcute chiar de ctre arheolog nainte ca
ruinele cercetate i dezvelite s sufere degradri ireparabile, n amndou cazurile citate, rezultatul a constat
din apariia mrturiilor materiale de zidrie n contextul
arhitecturii tradiionale din lemn.
Regiunea Bihorului din vestul Romniei, regiune cunoscut i sub numele de
Criana sau ara Criurilor, face parte dintre cele mai afectate zone sub aspectul
conservrii monumentelor anterioare secolului al XVI-lea. Reforma i campaniile turceti, iar apoi n secolele XVIII-XIX transformarea ruinelor n cariere
pentru obinerea materialelor de construcie, au dus aici la
dispariia a 90% din monumentele aparinnd romanicului, goticului i Renaterii. i n aceast zon, cercetarea
arheologic are menirea ca, paralel cu recuperarea tiiniic
a unor documente materiale de istorie i de civilizaie,
s redea respectivele documente peisajului cruia i-au
aparinut. Aceasta cu att mai mult cu ct dezvoltarea
impetuoas i transformrile spectaculoase pe care le
cunosc n ultimele decenii toate aceste zone prin apariia a
numeroase obiective i construcii cu caracter industrial i
social, accentueaz nevoia conservrii i valoriicrii pentru
prezent i pentru viitor a rdcinilor istorice.
La Snnicolau de Beiu, pe malul Criului Negru, spturi
arheologice iniiate n anul 1971 n preajma unui turn din
zid de crmid aparinnd romanicului trziu, datat, pe
criterii stilistice n a doua jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea,
au dat la iveal temeliile unui complex de monumente din
secolele XI-XIV, cu numeroase refaceri i transformri
succesive. Dup cum las s se neleag cteva documente
trzii, la Snnicolau de Beiu i n satele nvecinate a existat o reedin a familiei
nobiliare Bora, familie care a jucat un rol de prim mrime n Bihor i chiar n afara
granielor acestuia, nainte de a dispare de pe scen n prima jumtate a secolului al
XIV-lea6. Faptul c zidurile din crmid ale monumentelor identiicate aici pn n

prezent capel de curte, dou sau chiar trei mnstiri familiare succesive, biseric
parohial, cetuie de refugiu, probabil i o cas nobiliar, au fost construite deasupra
unor temelii amenajate din bolovani de ru cu legtur de lut compactat n anurile
de fundaie, a salvat aceste temelii de la activitatea distrugtoare a cuttorilor de
crmid din secolele XVIII-XIX. A putut i astfel reconstituit planimetria monumentelor i, n intenia amenajrii unei rezervaii arheologice la ncheierea spturilor,
planurile au fost marcate pe teren prin construirea deasupra temeliilor a unor ziduri
nalte de 0,50-0,60 m, ale cror creste s rmn deasupra solului dup astuparea
seciunilor i a suprafeelor arheologice. Fragmentele de sculptur monumental
descoperite n sptur i provenind de la decorul paramentelor de crmid au fost
depozitate pentru a se amenaja cu ele un mic lapidarium n interiorul turnului, dup
consolidarea i restaurarea acestuia.
La Snnicolau de Beiu a aprut necesitatea marcrii difereniate a etapelor
succesive de existen a unui monument. Este vorba de o capel de curte de la sfritul
secolului al XI-lea care a fost transformat n secolul al XII-lea, cu refolosirea unei
pri a zidurilor, ntr-o mult mai mare biseric de mnstire a aceleiai familii pentru
ca ulterior, dup distrugerea acesteia din urm, n timpul invaziei mongole din anii
1241-1242, monumentul s ie din nou micorat redevenind capel de curte. Soluia
adoptat a fost aceea a marcajului cu materiale de construcie diferite, bolovani de
6.
Vincze Bunyitay, A vradi pspksg trtnete, III, Oradea, 1884, p. 389; ; Grgy Gyrfy, Az rpd-kori
Magyarorszg trtneti fldrajza, I, ed. II, Budapesta, 1966, p. 67l, sub Suplac. Cercetrile de la Snnicolau
de Beiu la care n afara autorului au mai participat i N. Chidioan, A. Avram, V. Rdulescu i I. Popovici
sunt nc inedite. (N.ed. Au fost publicate ulterior n Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente
Istorice i de Art, 15, 1984, 2, p. 21-34.)
Fig. 5.
Temeliile
monumentelor
din secolele
XI-XIII de la
Snnicolau
de Beiu
(nlocuiete
o fotograie
neclar)
Fig. 6.
Temelii
aparinnd
unei succesiuni
de trei
monumente
din secolele
XI, XII i XIII,
cercetate la
Snnicolau de
Beiu
293
294
Fig. 7.
Temelie
din piatr
legat cu lut
aparinnd
unor
construcii din
complexul de
la Voivozi
jud. Bihor
Fig. 8.
Ruinele
bisericii de
la Voivozi
(nlocuiete
o fotograie
neclar)
ru pentru monumentul din secolul al

XI-lea cu cele dou faze de existen ale
sale, crmid recuperat din sptur
i aezat pe lat pentru aezmntul
monastic din secolul al XII-lea care
a avut i el dou faze de construcie,
crmid aezat pe dung pentru
monumentul din secolul al XIII-lea i,
n sfrit, amestec de piatr i crmid
pentru marcarea poriunilor care au fost
folosite n toate etapele de existen a
monumentului.
n prile nordice ale Bihorului, n
apropiere de satul Voivozi care se al ctre izvoarele rului Bistra, n plin zon de
munte, pentru care s-a ncercat cndva acreditarea ideii c a fost caracterizat printrun habitat medieval romnesc instabil, dispersat i mai nou dect secolul al XIII-lea,
spturile arheologice au identiicat i dezvelit un complex de monumente din lemn
i zidrie cu etape evolutive din secolul al XII-lea i pn la nceputul secolului al
XV-lea. i n acest caz, documentele din secolul al XIV-lea ne ncredineaz c, cel
puin n faza lui inal, complexul a avut caracter monastic i a jucat rolul de centru
spiritual cu rang de protopopiat (arhidiaconat) de rit rsritean al satelor romneti
din nordul Bihorului7.
Datorit faptului c vestigiile rmase
pe teren au fost invadate de pdure,
cercetarea a trebuit s nceap cu defriri. Dintre monumentele cercetate,
cele care au fost construite din lemn pe
lcauri spate n stnc sau pe temelii
de piatr legat cu lut au trebuit s ie
reacoperite dup ncheierea spturii,
pentru a se evita degradarea i pierderea
deinitiv a vestigiilor. Consolidarea cu
ajutorul unui miez de beton a temeliilor
ridicate din bolovani legai cu lut,
prin scoaterea treptat a pietrelor i
apoi repunerea acestora la locul lor,
reprezint o operaie delicat care,
cel puin la stadiul actual, depete
posibilitile unui antier arheologic n
sensul strict al cuvntului. n schimb ruinele pstrate pe nlimea de aproape 1
m ale unei mici biserici de zidrie cu nav ptrat i altarul n form de potcoav,
aparinnd romanicului i alat n centrul complexului, au putut i consolidate i
conser vate sub cerul liber. Cercetarea a stabilit existena unei faze mai vechi a necropolei din acel loc, probabil cu o biseric de lemn, astfel nct pentru monumentul
7.
R. Popa, Zur kirchlichen Organisation der Rumnen in Nordsiebenbrgen im Lichte des patriarchalischen
Privilegiums von 1391, n Ostkirchliche Studien, 24, 1975, 4, p. 309-317.
de zidrie recuperat i azi vizibil lng Voivozi, la

marginea unei osele montane, o datare n prima
jumtate a secolului al XIII-lea pare a i cea mai
plauzibil la stadiul actual al cercetrilor.
n cadrul aceleiai activiti de acoperire a
petelor albe cronologice i teritoriale de pe
harta monumentelor de arhitectur medieval
din Romnia, cercetrile arheologice din sudul
Transilvaniei au dus la revizuirea unor datri
adoptate anterior pe criterii stilistice n literatura
de specialitate. Cel mai spectaculos dintre
rezultate a fost obinut recent la Streisngeorgiu
n judeul Hunedoara, unde biserica parohial cu
hramul Sfntul Gheorghe, nlat n anii 14081409, conform unei inscripii i datat ceva mai
timpuriu de ctre istoricii de art i de arhitectur
ca iind de la sfritul secolului al XIII-lea, s-a
dovedit a i din prima jumtate a secolului al XIIlea8. Acest monument reprezint n momentul
de fa cea mai veche construcie medieval din ar pstrat n picioare i n stare de
utilizare.
Mai mult, cercetarea arheologic a stabilit c monumentul de zid de la
Streisngeorgiu a fost construit din blocuri de piatr i din crmid pe locul unui
monument de lemn din secolul al XI-lea, respectnd riguros planul acestuia, cu o
nav mic apropiat de forma unui ptrat i cu un altar dreptunghiular. Biserica a
servit drept capel de curte unei familii de mici feudali (cnezi) romni, familie care
apare n documentele de cancelarie abia la sfritul secolului al XIV-lea; din aceast
familie a fcut parte si un cneaz cu numele de Balea, atestat de o inscripie, din anii
1313-1314, descoperit n altar cu prilejul cercetrilor din anii 1975-1976, pe stratul
de tencuial pe care se al i un splendid ansamblu de picturi murale scoase la iveal
tot cu acest prilej.
n cazul monumentului cercetat la Streisngeorgiu, situaia consolidrilor i
a restaurrilor se complic extrem de mult datorit faptului c aici constructorii
medievali au folosit multe spolii romane. De altfel, n sudul Transilvaniei unde pn
n plin Ev Mediu au stat n picioare numeroase ruine romane relativ bine conservate,
multe monumente medievale au fost nlate din spolii romane sau au fost amenajate
prin refolosirea unor materiale din construcii romane9. Din aceasta rezult i
posibilitile excepionale de valoriicare n ansambluri unitare a vestigiilor istorice
datnd din epoci diferite i de integrare a monumentelor n circuite complexe, care
s evidenieze rdcinile antice ale civilizaiei medievale i continuitatea de vieuire
pe aceste locuri.
8.
9.
Idem, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugniss rumnischer Geschichte des 11.-14. Jahrhunderts im sden
Transsilvaniens, n Dacia, N.S. XX, 1976, p. 37 i urm.
Vasile Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucureti, 1969; cf. i Virgil Vtianu, Vechile biserici
romneti de piatr din judeul Hunedoara, n Anuarul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice. Seciunea pentru
Transilvania, Cluj, 1929.
Fig. 9.
Capela de
curte de la
Streisngeorgiu
jud.
Hunedoara,
dup
demolarea
poriunilor
adugate n
secolul al
XIX-lea
295
296
Un rezultat nc mai important este de ateptat, n acest sens, de la cercetrile

arheologice alate n curs n cuprinsul fostei capitale a provinciei romane Dacia, de la
Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa (azi Sarmizegetusa judeul Hunedoara). i aici, actuala
biseric parohial romneasc este construit abia n secolul al XIX-lea, iar tradiiile
satului nu conserv tiri despre existena unui monument de zid mai vechi. Dar
documente din secolul al XIV-lea ne ncredineaz c actualul sat exista n cuprinsul
oraului roman, ntre zidurile acestuia, cel trziu n secolele XII-XIII, purtnd atunci
numele de Britonia i c tot acolo i avea reedina o familie nobiliar romneasc10.
Documentele ne ofer informaii topograice destul de precise asupra locului n care
se ala curtea acestei familii de cnezi, n vecintatea creia trebuie s se i alat i
capela de curte, ce mai exista nc n secolul al XVI-lea cnd din interiorul ei au fost
publicate inscripii romane de ctre nvai umaniti.
Acestea sunt cteva dintre realizrile i preocuprile cercetrilor de arheologie
medieval din Romnia, cercetri ale cror nceputuri metodice nu sunt mai vechi de
cteva decenii. Ele pledeaz pentru strnsa legtur dintre investigaia arheologic
i activitatea de conser vare i valoriicare a patrimoniului cultural i istoric, oferind
garanii pentru rezultatele viitoare.
10 .
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, veacul XIV, vol. I, p. 239.
integRating WitHin tHe

cultuRal and HiStoRical
HeRitage neW aReaS oF RoManiaS
Stone MedieVal aRcHitectuRe
aS a ReSult oF aRcHaeological
inVeStigationS *
he largest part of Romania falls within a European area where, from the end of
the Classical Antiquity until the Middle Ages, the architectural manifestations
were wooden and earthen constructions and, only in exceptional circumstances,
clay-bound stone constructions. he northern areas of the country did not make use
of proper masonry architecture, of mortar-bound stone or brick, not even during
the Antiquity. hey were part of a vast European area with wooden architecture,
spreading from the Rhine to the eastern steppes. he masonry architecture reappeared in Romania during the tenth and eleventh centuries especially because
of the social progress and ripe development of the new feudal relations. here were
attempts for an earlier dating of some medieval monuments, during the ninth
century, but this is yet to be conirmed. Obviously, in this short paper I intentionally
ignored the monuments of the Roman-Byzantine Late Antiquity dating from the
sixth century, whose ruins are still preserved in south and south-eastern Romania.
However, adverse historical circumstances have caused the disappearance of a
large number of monuments from diferent regions of our country, monuments
that dated from the early evolution stages of the medieval architecture, thus many
areas may appear as blank spots on a map showing Romanias medieval monuments.
Some of these circumstances are due to the late migratory waves, especially the
Hungarians, Pechenegs, Cumans and Tartars, followed by the destructions caused
by Ottoman invasions and, for a time, the actual inclusion into their empire of
some areas of western and southern Romania; they are also due to some involution
phenomena that afected the Romanian nobility after the fourteenth century in
regions under a foreign regime where the masonry buildings previously constructed
by the Romanian elite for their own military and spiritual needs devolved into the
hands of the free or bound peasantry. We may add to this the repeated alterations
sufered by some of the old monuments, that led to the disappearance of their
original features under the cloak of later ages.
Due to all these reasons the archaeological investigation of Romanias medieval
monuments is particularly important, especially for the early period. Even more so
than in other European areas considering the lack of written documents concerning
the early Romanian medieval history the archaeologically recovered monuments
bring especially valuable insights concerning the character and evolution stages of
the feudal relations, the aspects of the old civilization and the concrete circumstances
of the emergence of the Romanian medieval countries on the political stage of
Eastern Europe.
*
Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor, 8, 1980, p. 45-52
15.
298
INTEGRATING WITHIN THE CULTURAL AND HIsToRICAL
In close connection with the concerns of scientiic study, the monuments

inclusion into the cultural and historic heritage and their conservation and even
a restoration that would assure their future existence in their traditional historical
landscape is an act of culture whose importance I can never stress enough.
*
*
Following the above mentioned order of ideas, it is only proper to talk here about
some of the northern historical provinces of Romania where, up until two decades
ago, the whole medieval architectural heritage seemed to consist of only wooden
monuments and for whom the art and architecture historians had concluded that
over the entire Middle Ages all forms of expression of the Romanian society
regarding monumental constructions consisted of wooden buildings. I am talking
about the historical Romanian ri (terrae) i.e. lands around Tisas headwaters
and on the upper course of Someul Mare, in north-western Transylvania, known as
Maramure, Oa, Lpu and Nsud.
In reality, after the 1964-1965 and 1984 excavations it was proven that during
the thirteenth century there was a masonry Romanian architecture in these regions1.
his was not an independent creation, unconnected with the general trend of the
age of replacing the wooden and earthen monuments with masonry ones. he forms
and artistic expressions were determined by the artistic currents spreading eastward
from Central Europe. Even taking this into account, the discovered monuments are
not less signiicant for understanding the socio-political mentalities and the spiritual
needs of the society which built them, thus embracing such forms of expression.
I am talking here about refuge fortresses, noble residences and court chapels. In
Giuleti (Maramure County) were discovered the foundations of a small church
with Late Romanesque architecture, dating most likely from the end of the
thirteenth century or at the beginning of the fourteenth century. To this time-frame
belong the oldest dating elements found during the excavation. It was initially the
court chapel of a lesser noble (kneaz) family attested by chancellery documents
starting with the year 1317, a kin whose ownership of all the villages on the Mara
Valley, centred round Giuleti, was recognized by the Hungarian Crown during
the mid-fourteenth century2. When, later on, the family devolved into the ranks of
the free peasantry the chapel was transformed into a parish church and enlarged in
the ifteenth-eighteenth centuries by successive additions until in the nineteenth
century the monument disappeared (even from the villagers memory) after a new
parish church was built.
In the valley of another river, in the historical Maramure, the excavations at
Cuhea (today Bogdan Vod) revealed the ruins preserved in some places 1 m high
of a larger court chapel, dated during the irst half of the fourteenth century. It was
an Early Gothic single nave church, with a bell tower on the western side, and its
sanctuary ended with a polygonal apse. Chancellery documents inform us about this
1.
2.
R. Popa, ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucharest, 1970, p. 223f.

Idem, Cnezatul Marei, Baia Mare, 1969, p. 28-34; also see R. Popa M. Zdroba, Ctitoria cnezilor
giuleteni. Un nou monument romnesc de piatr din Maramure, in Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche,
20, 1969, p. 267-285.
monuments founders the Bogdan family who, from the fourth to the sixth decade
of the fourteenth century, held the rank of voivode of Maramure. Furthermore,
in 1359, a member of this family, at odds with the Hungarian Crowns authorities,
made of east of the Carpathians and became there the irst independent ruler of
Moldavia3.
Other similar monuments can be found in this region, as in Onceti, where
archaeologists discovered the ruins of a stone dwelling-tower4 or at Peri (Hruevo)
where the ruins of a familial monastery are still preserved5 and wait just for somebody
to study them.
When preserving and harnessing the potential of these monuments the diiculties
difer from case to case. At the monument in Giuleti, since only some foundations
survived (and even those only below ground level) new walls were erected, up to a
height that would allow them to be seen. When the excavations were completed,
the trail of the walls remained marked on the ground and the uncovered tombstones
were placed in storage nearby, in the new parish church.
In Cuhea, where the walls were partially preserved (carved stones and the base
of the portal), the ruin was consolidated and covered with a wooden protective
construction made from local materials. In both cases the works were done as part
of the archaeological project and it is natural that the archaeologist should execute
such tasks since they do not require the presence and expertise of a restorer
before the unveiled and studied ruins are degraded irreparably. In both above
mentioned cases some masonry works were discovered in a context of traditional
wooden architecture.
Bihor, in western Romania, a region also known as Criana or ara Criurilor
(the Land on the Cri Rivers), is one of areas most afected by the disappearance
of fourteenth century or older monuments. he Reformation and the Turkish
campaigns, then the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries period when the
monuments were turned into quarries of construction material, have lead here to
the disappearance of 90% of the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance monuments.
In this area as well the archaeological investigation must not only recover for science
historical and civilization evidences, but also assure the survival of these evidences
in their landscape. Even more so since the impetuous development and spectacular
transformations this area underwent lately, characterized by the numerous industrial
and social constructions, emphasises the need of preserving them and harnessing
their potential, both for the present and for the future.
At Snnicolau de Beiu, on the bank of the Criul Negru River, the 1971
archaeological excavations performed near a Romanesque brick tower (dated on
stylistic criteria during the second half of the thirteenth century) have identiied
the foundations of an array of monuments dating from the eleventh to the fourteenth
centuries, altered and redone numerous times during this timeframe. Several late
documents suggest that in Snnicolau de Beiu (and the neighbouring villages) there
was a residence of the noble Bora family, who played a major role in Bihor and even
3.
4.
5.
For the excavations in Cuhea, see R. Popa M. Zdroba, antierul arheologic Cuhea. Un centru voievodal
din secolul al XIV-lea, Baia Mare, 1966.
H. Daicoviciu O. Bandula I. Glodariu, Cercetrile de la Onceti, din Maramure, in Studii i Cercetri
Maramureene, I, Baia Mare, 1965.
Radu Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 228.
299
300
outside the area before disappearing from the political stage during the irst half
of the fourteenth century6. he fact that the brick walls of the currently identiied
monuments court chapel, two or even three successive familial monasteries, parish
church, refuge fortress and probably a noble residence were built over foundations
made of river stones bound with clay packed into the foundation ditches has saved
these foundations from the brick poachers of the eighteenth and the nineteenth
centuries. We could therefore restore the ground plan of the monuments and, with
the intention of setting up an archaeological preserve after the excavation, their
trail was marked by building above the foundation 0.5-0.6 m tall walls that would
remain above ground after the archaeological trenches will be illed. he fragments
of the monumental sculptures that initially decorated the brick walls were placed
in storage, in order to establish a small lapidary exhibit in the tower after the its
consolidation and restoration.
In Snnicolau de Beiu rose the necessity of marking diferently the successive
stages of the monuments existence. We are talking of a court chapel from the end
of the eleventh century, which was transformed during the twelfth century, reusing some of the walls, into a much larger church (for the monastery built by
the same family) and, later on, after the destruction of the monastery during the
Tartar invasion of 1241-1242, it was reduced in size, to once again serve the role
of a court chapel. In order to diferentiate these phases we decided to use diferent
building materials: river stones for the eleventh century monument with its two
stages, horizontally placed bricks (recovered from the excavation) for the twelfth
century monastery with its own two stages, vertically placed bricks for the thirteenth
century monument and, inally, a mixture of stone and brick for the portions used
through all the phases of the monuments existence.
In northern Bihor, close to the village of Voivozi, nigh the old Bistra River
headwaters, a mountainous area which historians once supposed that it was
characterized only by an unstable Romanian medieval habitation, spread thin and
not older than the thirteenth century, the excavations have identiied an array of
wooden and masonry monuments, that evolved through diferent phases from the
twelfth century up until the beginning of the ifteenth century. In this case as well
the fourteenth century documents tell us that, at least in its inal state, the monument
had monastic purposes and acted as the spiritual centre for the Romanian villages
in northern Bihor, as an eastern Christian rite archpriest (protopope) parish seat7.
Since the surviving ruins were overtaken by the forest, the investigation had to
start with deforestations. he uncovered wooden monuments built on gaps carved
in the native rock or on foundations of clay-bound stones had to be covered
again at the end of the investigation in order to keep them from being irreversibly
6.
7.
Vincze Bunyitay, A vradi pspksg trtnete, III, Oradea, 1884, p. 389; Grgy Gyrfy, Az rpd-kori
Magyarorszg trtneti fldrajza, ed. II, Budapest, 1966, p. 671, under Suplac. he excavations (performed
under the supervision of R. Popa, N. Chidioan, A. Avram, V. Rdulescu and I. Popovici) in Snnicolau
de Beiu are still unpublished. Editors note: Meanwhile studies on the subject have been published,
such as O reedin feudal din secolele XI-XII la Snnicolaul de Beiu. Contribuii la istoria Bihorului
medieval, Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor Monumente Istorice i de Art, 15, 1984, 2, p. 21-34 (with
N. Chidioan and A. Lukcs) and O reedin feudal din secolele XI-XII la Snnicolaul de Beiu pe
Criul Negru (jud. Bihor), Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice, 16, 1986, p. 225-234 (with N. Chidioan)
R. Popa,Zur kirchlichen Organisation des Rumnen in Nordsiebenbrgen im Lichte des patriarchalischen
Privilegiums von 1391, in Ostkirchliche Studien, 24, 1975, 4, p. 369-317.
lost. Consolidating with concrete the foundations built of clay-bound stones, by

progressively removing the stones, placing the concrete and then replacing the
stones is a delicate procedure that at least for the time being surpasses the
possibilities of an actual archaeological worksite. However, the ruins located in the
middle of a compound, belonging to a small Romanesque church with a square
nave and horse shoe-shaped sanctuary, preserved on a height of almost 1 m, could
be consolidated and conserved in full sight. We also identiied an older stage of the
cemetery, probably surrounding a wooden church, so (until further study) the irst
half of the thirteenth century seems to be the most likely dating of the masonry
monument recovered and still visible today near Voivozi, at the side of the main
mountain road.
During the same activities (purposed to ill-in the blanks both chronological and
territorial of Romanias medieval monument map) the archaeological excavations
carried in southern Transylvania have led to the revision of some previously accepted
dates that had been set based on stylistic criteria. he most spectacular result was
recently obtained in Streisngeorgiu (Hunedoara County), where the Saint George
parish church, presumably erected, according to an inscription, in 1408-1409 and
dated the by art and architecture historians at the end of the thirteenth century,
proved to have been actually built during the irst half of the twelfth century8.
his monument is for the time being the oldest medieval construction in our country,
preserved standing and still in use.
Furthermore, the excavation established that the masonry church in
Streisngeorgiu was built with blocks of stone and bricks over another, wooden
one, dating back to the eleventh century, rigorously respecting its plan, with a small,
almost square nave and a rectangular sanctuary. he church served as a court chapel
for a Romanian lesser noble (kneaz) family which starts to appear in chancellery
documents only at the end of the fourteenth century. A member of the family was
Kneaz Balea, mentioned in a inscription from 1313-1314 which was discovered
in the sanctuary during the 1975-1976 investigations, together with a splendid
ensemble of mural paintings made on the same layer of plastering.
In the case of the monument investigated at Streisngeorgiu the consolidation
and restoration works are very much complicated by the fact that the medieval
constructors have used many Roman spolia. As a matter of fact in southern
Transylvania, where even during the Middle Ages numerous Roman ruins were
relatively well preserved aboveground, a lot of the medieval monuments were built
or personalized by re-using Roman construction materials9. We have therefore
the possibility of harnessing the potential of unitary ensembles made of historical
vestiges dating from diferent eras and integrating those monuments in complex
circuits that would evidence the ancient roots of the medieval civilization and the
habitation continuity of these areas.
In this regard, even more important results are expected from the excavations in
the former capital of the Roman province of Dacia, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa
8.
9.
Idem, Streisngiorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des 11.-14. Jahrhunderts im Sden
Transsilvaniens, in Dacia, N. S., XX, 1976, p. 37f.
V. Drgu, Vechi monumente hunedorene, Bucharest, 1969. Also according to V. Vtianu, Vechile biserici
romneti de piatr din judeul Hunedoara, in Anuarul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice seciunea pentru
Transilvania, Cluj-Napoca, 1929.
301
302
(today Sarmizegetusa, Hunedoara County). Here as well the current Romanian

parish church was built only during the nineteenth century and the village tradition
doesnt remember the existence of an older masonry church. However, according to
fourteenth century documents, the current village already existed inside the Roman
city, at latest during the twelfth or the thirteenth century, bearing at the time the
name Britonia; they also inform us that a noble Romanian family had its residence
seat there10. he documents ofer rather precise topographical insights of the place
where the residence of this kneaz family was, next to which must have been the
court chapel that still existed during the sixteenth century, when humanist scholars
published the Roman inscription found inside it.
hese are a few of the accomplishments and concerns of Romanias studies of
medieval archaeology, studies began only several decades ago. hey make a case for
a tight association between the archaeological investigation and the actions made
for preserving and harnessing the potential of the cultural and historical heritage,
association guaranteed to ofer further future results.
TABLE OF FIGURES:
Fig. 1 he foundations of the church in Giuleti Maramure County, during the
archeological investigation.
Fig. 2 he church in Cuhea (Bogdan Vod) Maramure County (replaces a blurred
photograph).
Fig. 3 he church in Giuleti Maramure County; the foundation markings.
Fig. 4 he Romanesque tower in Snnicolau de Beiu Bihor County.
Fig. 5 he foundation plan of the 11th-13th centuries monuments at Snnicolau de Beiu
(replaces a blurred photograph).
Fig. 6 Foundations belonging to three consecutive monuments, dating from the 11th, 12th
and 13th centuries, investigated at Snnicolau de Beiu.
Fig. 7 Foundations of clay-bound stones, belonging to certain buildings of the compound in
Voivozi Bihor County.
Fig. 8 he ruins of the church in Voivozi (replaces a blurred photograph).
Fig. 9 he court chapel in Streisngeorgiu Hunedoara County, after the portions added in
the 19th century were torn down.
10 .
Documente privind istoria romnilor, C, Transilvania, veacul XIV, vol. I, p. 239.
HocHMittelalteRlicHe
WaSSeRBuRgen an deR
unteRen donau *
16.
as Ende der Antike, das an der Unteren Donau zu Beginn des 7. Jahrhunderts
durch den Zerfall des rmisch-byzantinischen Limes gekennzeichnet ist,
hatte in der nachfolgenden Zeitspanne schwerwiegende Folgen auch auf die
Entwicklung der Burgen und Festungen an den Ufern dieses Stromes. Obwohl
das Kaiserreich whrend des rmischen und rmischbyzantinischen Zeitalters,
also vom 1. bis zum 6. Jahrhundert, ber eine mchtige Seemacht zur Verteidigung
seiner Donaugrenze verfgte, waren die Festungen entlang seines nrdlichen
Limes fast ausnahmelos Landbefestigungen, die auf dem festen Boden des hheren
sdlichen Ufers oder auf dem niedrigeren nrdlichen Ufer lagen. Sie waren in
das ausgezeichnete rmische Heeresstraennetz einbezogen und ihre Erbauer
haben die angrenzenden Gewsser bei der Planung oder Vervollstndigung der
Verteidigungsanlagen fast vllig auer acht gelassen.
Im Gegensatz dazu hat an der Unteren Donau die gegen Ende des 1.
Jahrtausends u. Z. angewandte Befestigungskunst den groen Verteidigungswert der
Donaugewsser erkannt und ausgenutzt. Die Entwicklung dieser Befestigungskunst
folgte einer Epoche, in welcher man in dieser Gegend, whrend des 7.-9. Jahrhunderts,
nur einige noch nicht untersuchte Burgen aus Holz und aus Erdwllen kannte, und
*
Bulletin IBI, 42, 1984, p. 122-129
Add. 1.
Die untere
Donau
mit den
genannten
Festungen und
Burgen
304
HoCHMITTELALTERLICHE WAssERBURGEN AN DER UNTEREN DoNAU
Add. 2.
Haupttor
der Festung
Dinogetia
(4.-6.
Jahrhundert),
Umbauten
vom Ende
des 10.
Jahrhunderts
zwar nachdem die Grenzen des byzantinischen Kaiserreichs von neuem entlang der
Donau gezogen wurden. Daher haben vom 10. bis zum 12. Jahrhundert sowohl die
byzantinische Flotte als auch die tiefgreifenden Umgestaltungen der Landstreitkrfte
zum Zwecke der Grenzverteidigung eine auerordentliche Rolle gespielt. berdies
muten sich diese nderungen den Kampfgewohnheiten der neuen Gegner anpassen,
die an der Unteren Donau aufgetaucht waren, den Normanno-Kiwianern wie auch
den nomadisierenden Reitern.
Bemerkenswert ist die Tatsache, da sich unter den rmisch-byzantinischen
Festungen, die im Hochmittelalter neuaufgebaut und an die neue militrische
Technik und Taktik angepat wurden, insbesondere jene befanden, die vormals
auf den von den Donauarmen umschlossenen Inseln standen oder in solchen
Landschaften angelegt waren, in denen es natrliche Wasserbarrieren gab. Eine
derartige Landschaft beindet sich z. B. im Nordwesten der Dobrudscha, wo das
Donauknie ein Gebiet mit kleineren Donauarmen und Smpfen umfat, das einen
groen strategischen Wert hat, da es sich vor der Mndung des Sirets und des Pruts
in die Donau beindet. Dort bestanden noch auf einer kleinen Felsinsel die Ruinen
einer Festung aus dem 4.-6. Jahrhundert (Festung Dinogetia). Diese Reste wurden
erneut benutzt und den neuen Bedingungen des ausgehenden 10. Jahrhunderts
angepat. Auer der Instandsetzung der Festungsmauern und dem Neuaufbau
der Oberteile wurde auch das Haupttor verndert. An Stelle der fr die vom 4.6. Jahrhundert typischen Bauelemente, mit einem Durchgang, der sich zwischen
zwei halbkreisfrmigen Auentrmen
befand, wurde ein rechteckiger Torturm
erbaut. Dieser befand sich ebenfalls auf der
Auenseite der Festungsmauer, enthielt
aber in seinem Erdgescho den Zugang zur
Festung.
Andere im 4.-6. Jahrhundert auf
verschiedenen Donauinseln wie auch am
Donauufer erbaute Festungen wurden
gewhnlich im 10. Jahrhundert oder
kurz danach durch Verkrzung der
Festungsmauern wiederhergestellt, so z. B.
die auf der Insel Banului, in unmittelbarer
Nachbarschaft des Eisernen Tores. Zur
gleichen Zeit ist am Nordarm des Donaudeltas die Festung Chilia Veche erbaut
worden. Etwas spter erfolgte die Grndung der Festung auf der der Stadt Giurgiu
vorgelagerten Donauinsel. Ebenfalls zu jener Zeit wurden bei Nufrul im Norden
der Dobrudscha oder bei Turnu Mgurele im Sden der Walacheiebene, dort wo
die Alt in die Donau mndet, ltere rmisch-byzantinische Festungen, die sich der
Wassersperren und Sumpfgebiete bedienten, zu Abwehrzwecken wiederhergestellt.
Diese letzten zwei Befestigungen wurden zwar mehrmals wiederaufgebaut und neu
benutzt. Leider sind diese Wehrbauten fast alle noch nicht grndlich untersucht,
oder die Ergebnisse der archologischen Forschungen sind noch nicht verfentlicht
worden, so da wir uns hier weder mit ihrer Gestalt noch mit ihrer Funktion
gegen Ende des ersten Jahrtausends oder whrend der ersten Jahrhunderte unseres
Jahrtausends befassen knnen.
Die wichtigste aber unter allen bekannten hochmittelalterlichen Wasserburgen
an der Unteren Donau ist jene, die vom byzantinischen Kaiserreich gegen Ende
des 10. Jahrhunderts auf der groen Insel Pcuiul lui Soare erbaut wurde. Es lohnt
sich, da wir uns aus wenigstens folgenden drei Grnden ausfhrlich mit ihr im
Rahmen unseres hemas befassen. Sie wurde auf einem freien unbebauten Platz
errichtet, so da sie folglich genau die byzantinische militrische Baukunst jener
Zeit widerspiegelt. Die Festung wurde grndlich in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten
durch archologische Grabungen groen Ausmaes untersucht. Schlielich stellt
sie bis auf weiteres ein Unikat fr die europische Wehrbaukunst im 10. Jahrhundert
dar und um so mehr fr die Wasserburgen zu Anfang des Mittelalters.
Die geschichtlichen, politischen und militrischen Umstnde, unter denen die
Wasserburg von Pcuiul lui Soare entstand, die sowohl ihre Funktion als auch ihre
Gestalt erklren, mssen hier wenigstens kurz erwhnt werden. Im Jahre 971 hat bei
Silistra das altertmliche Durostorum die letzte Phase des Krieges, in dem sich
Byzantiner, Bulgaren und Normanno-Kiwianer bekmpft haben, stattgefunden.
Diese letzteren, die vom Kaiserreich gegen die Bulgaren aufgeboten worden waren
und mit ihrer zahlreichen Flotte unter der Fhrung Sviatoslavs, des Frsten von
Kiew, an die Untere Donau gekommen waren, haben sich spter geweigert, die
eroberte Gegend zu verlassen. Gegen sie brach der Kaiser Johannes Tzimiskes
auf, dem es gelang, sie nach einer Reihe aufeinanderfolgender Siege in Silistra,
am Sdufer der Donau, einzukreisen. Die Belagerung war schwer und von langer
Dauer. Der Ausgang der Kampfhandlungen verlief zu Gunsten der Byzantiner erst,
nachdem auf der Donau die kaiserliche Flotte auftauchte. Sie war den normannokiewianischen Booten stark berlegen. Nachdem die Belagerung der Byzantiner
vom Lande her durch den Abschlu vom Wasser vervollstndigt wurde, so da
die Versorgung der Belagerten auf der Donau unterbrochen war, konnten die
Add. 3.
Festung
Pcuiul
lui Soare,
Lageplan
305
306
normanno-kiwianischen Scharen gezwungen werden, die von Johannes Tzimiskes

auferlegten Bedingungen anzunehmen.
Die vielen Hunderte kleiner und schneller Boote, die mit Kriegern berfllt
waren und damals Silistra verlassen muten, fuhren die Donau hinunter. Sie
verlieen so eine reiche Gegend, die sie jahrelang beherrscht hatten. Dieses
beeindruckende Schauspiel hat den Kaiser veranlat, geeignete Manahmen zu
trefen, um in Zukunft die Herrschaft des Kaiserreichs ber die Untere Donau zu
verbrgen. In einer Entfernung von nur 18 km luabwrts von Silistra, die unter
dem Namen Dorostolon zur Hauptstadt eines byzantinischen hemas erhoben
wurde, haben die byzantinischen Architekten auf der Spitze einer von zwei Donauarmen eingeschlossenen Insel, eine Festung erbaut. Diese beiden Donauarme
zweigen gerade auf der Hhe Silistras auseinander, um sich bei der neuerbauten
Festung wieder zu vereinigen.
Add. 4.
Festung
Pcuiul
lui Soare,
Grundri der
erhaltenen
Mauern
Die Festung sollte einerseits die Donaustrae sperren und andererseits als
militrischer Sttzpunkt die Beherrschung des Stromes durch die kaiserliche
Flotte gewhrleisten. 1956, als die Ausgrabungen begannen, bestand von der
byzantinischen Festung von Pcuiul lui Soare nur noch ein kleiner Teil, der
ungefhr 1/4-1/5 von ihrer anfnglichen Ausdehnung darstellte. Der Hauptarm
der Donau hat nach und nach, vom Westen nach Osten, die Mauern untergraben
und ins Wasser gestrzt, whrend auf der Ostseite der Festung, die anfangs vom
Nebenarm des Stroms begrenzt war, die Auenmauer langsam von einer dicken
Sandschicht begraben wurde. Die Zerstrung wurde seit 1956 weiter nach einem
von den Launen des Stroms bedingten Rhythmus fortgesetzt, so da jetzt trotz
aller unternommenen Schutzmanahmen die Gefahr besteht, da die riesige Kraft
des Wassers whrend der berschwemmungen wie auch die gewaltigen Eismassen
im Winter den ganzen Baukomplex in einen formlosen Haufen von Steinblcken
verwandeln werden. Die wissenschaftliche Untersuchung der Bautechnik als auch
die Feststellung der plammetrischen Eigenheiten des Baudenkmals sind aber
grtenteils zu Ende gefhrt worden.
Die byzantinische Wasserburg von Pcuiul lui Soare wurde nach einem fast
rechteckigen Plan erbaut, mit Seitenlngen von 220 bzw. ungefhr 250 m, so da sie
in ihren Mauern eine Flche von mehr als 5 Hektar umfate. Die beeindruckenden
Ausmae der Festung sowie ihr regelmiger Plan erinnern uns an den rmischen
Wehrbau. Dadurch stellt unser Baudenkmal eine Verbindung zwischen der
Militrarchitektur der Sptantike und der des Mittelalters dar und unterstreicht,
darber hinaus, die Wiederbelebung der Macht des byzantinischen Kaiserreiches
whrend des 10. Jahrhunderts.
Andere technische Eigenheiten, wie z. B. die Benutzung des mit Ziegelstaub
gemischten wasserdichten Mrtels auf den Auenseiten der Mauern oder die
Errichtung dieser letzteren aus sehr groen Quadersteinen, mit Ausmaen bis
zu 1,60 m, sowie die planimetrischen Eigenheiten, z. B. die groe Frequenz der
Auentrme auf den gefhrdeten Seiten der Festung, erinnern ebenfalls an derartige
Vorbilder aus der Sptantike.
Eine der charakteristischen Einzelheiten,
nmlich die auerordentliche Breite der
Mauern, soll hier unterstrichen werden.
Diese kann sowohl als ein Erbe der Antike als
auch als eine durch die Bodenbeschafenheit
auferlegte Manahme der Erbauer erklrt
werden: eine Insel aus Sand, die aus den
Gewssern des Stroms kaum hervorragte.
So haben die Mauern an der Sohle eine
Breite von 5,90 m und in der Hhe, nach
manchen aufeinanderfolgenden crepida,
eine konstante Breite von 4,20 m. Die
Mauern bestehen alle ausschlielich, sowohl auf den Auenseiten als auch im
Emplekton, aus groen Quadersteinen. Mit Grundmauern von 2,50 m und mit
ihrer Hhe von mindestens 7-8 m ber dem von der Besatzung betretenen Niveau
von dieser sind noch an gewissen Stellen Mauerhhen von 3,50 m erhalten
haben die Festungsmauern wenigstens 70-80.000 m3 behauene Steine beansprucht.
Gegen Ende des 10. Jahrhunderts besa nur das byzantinische Kaiserreich derartige
Baumglichkeiten, die eine groe Konzentration von Arbeitskrften und Fachleuten
Add. 5.
Festung Pcuiul
lui Soare,
Rekonstruktion
der stlichen
Mauer
(Arch. D.
Theodorescu)
Add. 6.
Festung
Pcuiul
lui Soare,
Detail der
Mauertechnik
307
308
erforderten, um ein derartiges politisches und militrisches Vorhaben in kurzer Zeit

zu verwirklichen.
Die Erbauer gehrten hauptschlich zum Heer, so wie es im rmischen Zeitalter
der Fall war. berdies erleichterte die Anwesenheit der byzantinischen Flotte an der
Donau und in Silistra im Jahre 971 auf Gehei des Kaisers die rasche Ausfhrung
der Wasserburg von Pcuiul lui Soare. Sie war schon im Jahre 976, als beim Tode
Johannes Tzimiskes neue Unruhen an der Unteren Donau ausbrachen, fertiggestellt.
Der Aufbau derartiger Mauern auf einem Sandboden, der nur wenig ber dem
Wasserspiegel lag und der immer wieder von den berschwemmungen bedroht
war (obwohl diese damals viel niedriger waren und der mittlere Wasserspiegel um
ungefhr 1,5 m tiefer als heutzutage war), hat den Baumeistern der Festung sehr
schwierig zu lsende Probleme auferlegt. Sie haben sie aber meisterhaft durch die
Konsolidierung des Bodens mit Hilfe eines dichten Netzes von Eichenpfhlen
gelst, die entlang der ganzen Lnge der knftigen Mauern eingesetzt wurden.
Sie waren noch durch Querbalken verstrkt, die sich auf Fubodenhhe zur
Zeit der Erbauung befanden. Nachdem diese Querbalken in eine Mrtelschicht
eingebettet wurden, begann darauf der Bau der 5,90 m breiten Grundmauern.
Diese Grundmauern wurden erst spter durch Anschttung um 2,50 m des Bodens
im Inneren der Festung, aus mehreren aufeinanderfolgenden Schichten von Mrtel
und Sand, umschlossen und gefestigt. Anders ausgedrckt, stand die byzantinische
Besatzung in der Festung auf einem um 2,50 m hher liegenden Plaster als das
gewachsene Niveau war, auf dem die Baumeister ihre Arbeit begannen.
An den Stellen, an denen die Trme, die Tore und die anderen Einrichtungen
der Ringmauer errichtet werden sollten, haben die Erbauer die Grundmauern in der
Form von sehr ausgedehnten Plattformen aus gleichen Quadersteinen unterlegt.
Eine derartige Plattform, die in der Mitte der stlichen Auenmauer angelegt
wurde und die mit einer Lnge von 44 m und einer Breite von ungefhr 18 m
mehr als 800 m2 umfate, hat zur Errichtung eines der Landungspltze der Festung
gedient. Dieser Landungsplatz oder Festungshafen bestand aus zwei rechteckigen
Auentrmen mit Seitenlngen von 10/9 m, die durch einen Abstand von 23,40
m voneinander getrennt waren. Zwischen diesen zwei Trmen lag der eigentliche
Landungsplatz, der aus sieben Stufen bestand, die zum Wasserspiegel fhrten und
auf diese Weise den Segelschifen erlaubten, nher oder weiter von der Ringmauer,
je nach dem Wasserstand des Stromes, anzulegen. Selbstverstndlich waren diese
Stufen mit Holz verkleidet. Die Segelschife wurden mit Hilfe von Seilen, aus
sechs luabwrts liegenden fnungen der Ringmauer, an den Kai gezogen.
Je drei fnungen saen links und rechts des Tores, durch welches man aus der
Festung zum Landeplatz ging. Der fast 24 m lange Kai gestattete die Landung der
byzantinischen Kriegsschife, deren Lnge, nach den uns zur Verfgung stehenden
Nachrichten, ungefhr 22 m betrug. Hchstwahrscheinlich besa auch die entgegengesetzte Seite der Festung, die am westlichen Arm der Donau lag, eine hnliche
Hafenanlage.
Der an der nordstlichen Ecke der Festung gelegene Turm zeigt einen
berraschenden, aber hchst sinnreichen Lsungsplan. Er ist halbkreisfrmig und
steht an der stlichen Seite, die damals vom Wasser besplt wurde, in der Form
eines stumpfen Winkels zur Ringmauer, whrend seine nrdliche Seite einen
rechten Winkel mit der Ringmauer

bildet. Auf diese Weise wurde der
Ablu des Wassers in der Nhe der
Ringmauer betrchtlich erleichtert
und der Anprall der Eismassen, die
im Winter stromabwrts getragen
wurden, abgeschwcht oder sogar
vermieden.
Endlich ist noch zu sagen, da
der auf der nrdlichen Seite gelegene
Torturm, der in einer Entfernung
von 25 km vom Eckturm stand,
einen Durchgang in der Achse des
Erdgeschosses hatte. Ihm folgt, 12
m weiter, ein anderer Auenturm.
Der Durchgang wurde an seiner
Auenseite durch ein Fallgatter
gesperrt. Auf der Innenseite hatte
der Durchgang eine Sperre mit
Torlgeln, die durch einen Balken
verriegelt wurden. Die ungefhr
500 m3 betragende Masse des Mauerwerks, die nur das Fundament dieses
Eingangsturmes bildet, verdeutlicht eindrucksvoll die Gre unserer Festung. Der
obere Stock des Turms, von wo aus das Fallgatter bedient wurde, konnte auf der
Innenseite der Ringmauer durch angebaute Treppen erreicht werden. Ebenso wie
im Falle der zuvor beschriebenen Anlegestelle hat es hchstwahrscheinlich aus
Symmetriegrnden ein zweites Tor desselben Typus auf der entgegengesetzten, also
sdlichen Seite der Festung gegeben.
Die kurze verfgbare Zeit gestattet uns nur ein einziges charakteristisches
Merkmal dieses Baues zu beschreiben. Es handelt sich um zahlreiche behauene
Steinblcke mit sehr komplizierten Seitenformen, die an den Verbindungsstellen
der Mauern, am Beginn der Bgen, in den Ecken der Rume oder bei verschiedenen
fnungen verwendet wurden. Sie heben die Bemhung der Erbauer hervor, aus
dem gesamten Mauerwerk ein einziges Ganzes zu bilden und alle Einzelteile eng
zu verbinden, so da diese Bauweise an die schon im hellenistischen Zeitalter
verbreitete und danach auch von den Rmern bei ihren Monumentalbauten aus
Quadersteinen angewandte Technik erinnert.
Einige Wesenszge der bei der Festung von Pcuiul lui Soare verwendeten
Bautechnik trefen wir auch bei anderen byzantinischen Baudenkmlern aus dem
9.-10. Jahrhundert. Wir inden sie auch bei den Ringmauern der Hauptstdte Pliska
und Preslav des ersten bulgarischen Zarentums, die ebenfalls ins 9.-10. Jahrhundert
datiert worden sind. Auch dort sind diese Eigentmlichkeiten der Ttigkeit der
byzantinischen Architekten zuzuschreiben. Vorluig kennen wir an den Ufern
der Unteren Donau keine anderen Denkmler von solchem Ausma, bei denen
die gleiche Bautechnik angewandt wurde. Hchstwahrscheinlich hat die Zeit der
Krise, in die das Kaiserreich nach der Mitte des 11. Jahrhunderts eingetreten ist, die
Add. 7.
Festung
Pcuiul
lui Soare,
Grundri des
Nordtores
309
310
unter anderem die Dezentralisation der Verteidigung seiner Grenzen erforderte, die
Weiterfhrung einer solchen grandiosen militrischen Bauttigkeit unterbunden.
Folglich bleibt bis zur Entdeckung und Untersuchung hnlicher Denkmler aus dem
10. Jahrhundert und aus der ersten Hlfte des folgenden Jahrhunderts, an anderen
See- und Flugrenzen des Kaiserreichs, die Wasserburg von Pcuiul lui Soare ein
interessantes Beispiel fr das berleben einer grozgigen kaiserlichen Bauweise
bis ins Hochmittelalter, sowie fr die Vererbung altertmlicher Bautechniken.
LITERATUR:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Ahrweiler, Hlne - Byzance et la mer, Paris, 1966.

Cantacuzino, Gheorghe - Ceti medievale din ara Romneasc (sec. XIII-XVI),
Bucureti, 1981.
Diaconu, P. Vlceanu, D. - Pcuiul lui Soare. I. Cetatea bizantin, Bucureti, 1972.
Ionescu, Grigore - Istoria arhitecturii n Romnia, III, Bucureti, 1963 - 1965.
Popa, Radu - La porte nord de la forteresse byzantine de Pcuiul lui Soare, in Dacia,
N.S., XI, Bucuresti, 1967, S. 271-292.
tefan, Gheorghe (u. a.) - Dinogetia, I, Bucureti, 1967.
aPPoRt de la tRanSYlVanie *
es monuments, ensembles et sites historiques de Roumanie, prsentent des

caractres rgionaux spciiques qui contribuent la richesse du patrimoine
national et, de manire implicite, par son originalit, celui de lEurope. La Transylvanie
comprend, dans un sens restrictif, la seule partie orientale du bassin des Carpathes et,
dans une acception plus large, lensemble des territoires roumains intercarpathiques,
jusqu la plaine de Tise. Dans cette province, seule, se trouvent des vestiges du royaume
*
Monuments Historiques, 169, 1990, Paris, pag. 43-46
17.
Fig. 1.
glise en bois
de Lazuri de
Beiu dans
la rgion de
Bihor (Anca
Bratu)
312
APPoRT DE LA TRANsYLVANIE
barbare cr par les Daces la charnire des res paenne et chrtienne. Les cits daces
du sud de la Transylvanie, concentres sur un territoire denviron 150 km de longueur dlimit lintrieur de larc carpathique, subirent linluence de la civilisation
hellnistique, mais dvelopprent une spiritualit originale.
Les ensembles darchitecture dace les plus importants datent du Ier sicle avant JsusChristIer sicle aprs Jsus-Christ et se trouvent dans les montagnes Ortiei, rpartis
autour du centre politique et religieux dace de Grditea Muncelului.
ct des territoires roumains du Danube infrieur et plus particulirement ceux
de la Dobrogea, la Transylvanie a servi de foyer au dveloppement de la romanisation.
Ce processus sest poursuivi pendant les IIe et IIIe sicles de notre re. La province
romaine de Dacia a laiss derrire elle une densit remarquable de sites historiques et
de vestiges monumentaux, ruines des forteresses des colonies cres par lEmpire, ainsi
quun vaste rseau de villae rusticae et autres constructions.
Fig. 2.
Village typique
de la rgion
de Maramure
au Muse
du Village
de Sighetul
Marmaiei
(Anca Bratu)
Jusqu il y a deux ou trois sicles, partie intgrante du paysage transylvanien

consigne par les rcits de voyageurs, les plus belles ruines se trouvaient surtout sur le
territoire des grandes agglomrations de Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetusa (aujourdhui
Sarmiszegetusa), Apulum (Alba Iulia), Potaissa (Turda) ou Porolissum (Moigrad).
Lurbanisation rcente a provoqu la quasi-disparition des monuments antiques.
Les recherches en cours contribuent toutefois enrichir continuellement ce type de
patrimoine, ainsi de la mise jour du complexe de thermes romaines de Germisara
(Geoagiul de Jos) o lon a dcouvert dans le bassin central de ce complexe de nom-
breux ex-voto en or dont les inscriptions prsentent

le plus grand intrt.
Larchitecture mdivale de Transylvanie porte
lempreinte de lAntiquit romaine: il subsiste
jusqu nos jours un important groupe dglises des
XIe-XIVe sicles partiellement ou intgralement
construites en blocs de pierre sculpte, provenant
densembles romains, tout comme leurs reliefs et
inscriptions.
Except les grands ensembles fortiis en terre et
en bois qui datent principalement du VIIIe au Xe
sicles et dont la valeur est surtout archologique
tmoins de la phase inale de la symbiose
slavo-romaine la suite de laquelle lethno-gense
du peuple roumain a pris in les plus anciens
monuments mdivaux en pierre remontent de
faon plus ou moins certaine au IXe sicle, tels les
dbris dune rotonde conservs lintrieur de la
cathdrale catholique dAlba Iulia, ou bien laile,
dispose suivant un plan quadrilob, de lglise de
Gurasada. Leur prsence est toutefois atteste dans
les crits partir du Xe-XIe sicle, comme lieux de culte ou comme fortiications.
La rencontre et linterpntration de deux grandes aires de civilisation mdivale
europenne sur le territoire de Transylvanie (la civilisation byzantino-balkanique et
celle occidentale) ont donn cette province un accent particulier durant toute lpoque
mdivale. On ne doit pas ngliger non plus lapport de la ilire balkano-dalmatique,
constitu par des lments engendrs lors dune synthse plus ancienne des deux mmes
civilisations europennes sus-nommes, qui ressort dune manire plus vidente dans
le domaine de la peinture murale que dans larchitecture mdivale de Transylvanie.
La recherche et la mise en valeur dune srie de monuments les chapelles de
cour des XIe-XIIe sicles moins connues auparavant et de dimensions plus modestes,
a augment de manire apprciable la connaissance de cette priode. Conservs ou
en ruines, les monuments de Snnicolau de Beiu (rgion de Bihor), de Streisngeorgiu
(rgion de Hunedoara), de Ilidia (Banat) etc., reltent implicitement le progrs du
processus dinfodation dans une des zones de Transylvanie.
ceux-l sajoutent aussi les monuments des XIIe et XIIIe sicles, centres de diocses
fortiis qui ont ultrieurement subi des extensions et des ajouts, et noyaux initiaux de
quelques cits importantes. Dans ce tableau du patrimoine monumental, dominent
les grandes constructions monacales ou piscopales, parmi lesquelles la plus connue est
laile datant du XIIIe sicle de la cathdrale piscopale dAlba Iulia.
Les colonisations qui interviennent partir de la deuxime moiti du XIIe sicle
en Transylvanie et qui ont provoqu un fort dveloppement des centres urbains au
cours des XIIIe et XIVe sicles dans un rayon se prolongeant jusquau sud et lest des
Carpathes, ont modii sensiblement lvolution ultrieure de larchitecture.
Des communauts dorigine germanique, provenant des rgions rhnanes, ou
des provinces dEurope centrale, ont construit des ensembles urbains comme ceux
Fig. 3.
La tour
romane de
Snnicolau
Mare (photo
de l'auteur)
313
314
de Sibiu, Braov, Sighioara et Sebe qui pourraient, daprs leur apparence, tre
considrs, tort, comme des rpliques priphriques de la civilisation mdivale
urbaine du centre et de louest de lEurope. En ralit, les caractristiques locales
spciiques ont laiss leur empreinte sur toute lvolution ultrieure de ces ensembles,
jusqu lpoque de lEmpire dAutriche-Hongrie. Pour un vritable observateur,
ces ensembles darchitecture mdivale possdent un caractre unique, notamment
les glises fortiies ralises par les communauts germaniques de paysans libres,
construites en embellies tout au long du XIIIe et jusquau XVIIe sicles. Il subsiste une
centaine dglises fortiies qui couvre, avec une densit variable, de vastes zones de
Transylvanie, du sud-est jusquau nord de la rivire Bistria.
Fig. 4.
L'glise
en bois de
Brdet dans
le Maramure
(Anca Bratu)
Paralllement lvolution continue de larchitecture mdivale en pierre qui trouve

son apoge la in du gothique, des rgions entires de Roumanie ont continu
utiliser le langage traditionnel de larchitecture en bois dont on connat peu des aspects
concrets avant les XVIIe-XVIIIe sicles.
Les fameuses glises en bois du nord de la Transylvanie et surtout de Maramure sont dignes de igurer dans lhritage de la civilisation europenne. lheure
actuelle o de profondes et rapides transformations touchent les villages roumains, les
problmes lis leur conservation ainsi qu ceux de maisons paysannes traditionnelles
en bois, sont particulirement aigus.
Simultanment avec lexpansion en Moldavie et en Valachie, par la ilire

transylvanienne, du gothique et par la suite de la Renaissance, les monuments de
facture balkano-byzantine ont continu se rpandre, du XIVe au XVIe sicles, dans
les centres de culture roumaine situs dans les territoires intra-carpathiques. Ceux-ci se
trouvent surtout dans le sud de la Transylvanie, dans un primtre qui part de Braov,
traverse le pays de Fgra et arrive jusqu Prislop dans la rgion de Hunedoara, ainsi
quau Banat. Ces monuments contribuent de faon consquente renforcer ce caractre de zone de synthse et de confrontation, propre la Transylvanie mdivale.
De beaux monuments de la Renaissance en Transylvanie ont t sauvegards et
conservs Alba Iulia, Cri, sur le plateau de Trnave. Lapport transylvanien a t
essentiel la cration du patrimoine monumental mdival roumain, il reste dcisif
dans le caractre original et individuel de ce patrimoine. La Transylvanie a constitu
un rel pont de liaison entre le sud-ouest et lest de lEurope, ralit pleinement
relte par ses monuments.
315
FoRMationS
Social-teRRitoRialeS auX
dButS deS tatS RouMainS *
es vnements qui ont marqu lhistoire de lEurope orientale la in du premier

millnaire et au dbut du deuxime, ont eu une inluence profonde sur le destin
de la romanit orientale, surtout celui des Roumains qui se trouvaient dans la phase
inale de leur ethnogense, contemporaine avec les dbuts dorganisation dune
vie tatique. Pour ces rgions, le IXe sicle apparat comme une poque dquilibre
relatif et de lents progrs. Les sphres dinluence et dautorit du premier tsarat
bulgare et celles de lEmpire carolingien et de la Grande Moravie se rencontrent et
se superposent partiellement sur le territoire de la Roumanie.
Dans ces circonstances les sources crites tmoignent de lapparition de quelques
formations socio-politiques lintrieur de larc carpathique, les vovoidats",
installs galement sur le territoire situ entre la Tisa et les Carpathes Orientaux.
Lquilibre est rompu pendant les dernires annes du sicle, par larrive dans la
plaine pannonique des tribus magyares; elles allaient crer un royaume dont la
consolidation et lextension progressives devaient peser sur le sort des territoires
roumains intracarpathiques durant tout le Moyen ge. Les Magyars ont t suivis
par les Ptchngues et les Coumanes, et plus tard, au milieu du XIIIe sicle, par
la grande invasion des Tatares, tous ensemble ayant repouss au del de 1241 la
constitution des formes mres de vie tatique roumaine. La prsence de lEmpire
byzantin dans la rgion du Bas-Danube partir de la in du Xe sicle, et mme au
nord du leuve, remplace la in du XIIe sicle par celle du second tsarat bulgare,
nont pas modii essentiellement ces conditions, bien que les inluences exerces
sur le territoire carpato - danubien aient eu par la suite des consquences durables1.
Ainsi, le haut Moyen ge, en tant que priode de cristallisation progressive des
relations sociales et politiques fodales, sest prolong dans lhistoire roumaine bien
au-del de lpoque o il sinstallait dans les zones privilgies du continent. Ce
nest que vers 1300 ou vers la moiti du XIVe sicle, au sud et lest des montagnes,
que les tats mdivaux roumains acquirent un contour net. Cest pour ces mmes
raisons que les informations crites concernant lhistoire des Roumains avant le
XIVe sicle, peu nombreuses, ayant un caractre accidentel et parfois contradictoire
proviennent sans exception de sources extrieures au milieu roumain.
Par consquent, larchologie mdivale a dans la recherche historique
roumaine un rle dexception, la reconstitution de lpoque antrieure au XIVe
1.
Un volume collectif concernant les recherches rcentes sur le sujet, a t publi sous la rdaction de N.
Stoicescu, Constituirea statelor feudale romneti, Bucarest, 1980.
tudes roumaines et aroumaines, Socites europennes, Paris Bucarest, 1990, pag. 170-221
18.
318
FoRMATIoNs soCIAL-TERRIToRIALEs AUX DBUTs DEs TATs RoUMAINs
sicle devant sappuyer sur ses progrs. Il ne sagit pas uniquement de connatre
laide de documents matriaux les aspects caractristiques du haut Moyen ge, de
complter les informations crites disponibles ou de vriier dautres sources, mais
de produire par la voie de larchologie mme, une documentation fondamentale.
Ainsi, larchologie mdivale roumaine se distingue essentiellement par rapport
aux recherches similaires des autres pays, particulirement vis--vis de la recherche
archologique du haut Moyen ge du centre et de loccident du continent europen.
Les progrs de lcole roumaine darchologie durant les quatre dernires
dcennies ont t assez lents, malgr une accumulation importante de nouvelles
donnes. Linterprtation dun nombre croissant de tmoignages archologiques
sest heurte aux ingrences des autorits politiques et idologiques et aux pressions
extrascientiiques exerces sur la recherche. Lapplication de mthodes de recherche
adquates a t freine dernirement aussi par la constante dtrioration du cadre
organisationnel. Cependant, des rsultats importants ont t obtenus surtout
concernant la reconstitution de la priode comprise entre le XIe et le XIIIe sicle de
lhistoire roumaine. Lapproche interdisciplinaire a eu une contribution importante
ce propos par la corroboration du peu dinformations crites avec les tmoignages
archologiques, les sources toponymiques, ethno-sociologiques ou autres, au sein
des sous-divisions territoriales gographiques qui constituent le relief si vari de la
Roumanie.
*
*
Les perspectives ouvertes pour la connaissance du haut Moyen ge roumain par

cette approche, ont t vriies particulirement dans ltude des pays" (ri"
terrae) mdivaux roumains. Situs surtout sur les deux versants de larc carpathique,
mais non seulement, ils couvrent plus de la moiti du territoire de la Roumanie.
Plus de 25 pays", units de vie sociale, politique, conomique et de civilisation
mdivale, conservent jusqu nos jours certaines particularits: elles se suivent le
long des montagnes et dans les dpressions intracarpathiques (ig. 1). Il sagit de
contres que les plus anciens documents de chancellerie, dats des XIIIe-XIVe
sicles (provenant surtout des chancelleries du royaume magyar) prsentent comme
des habitats roumains denses et homognes. Le nombre des agglomrations et leur
poids dmographique ont t dtermins par ltendue de ces pays, tout comme par
les conditions de leur relief, par laltitude ou par les ressources locales.
Le Pays de Maramure, situ dans les Carpathes du nord, recouvre le bassin des
sources de Tisa et comprend approximativement 10.000 km2, dont 65% sont situs
une altitude de plus de 600 m; massif montagneux abritant de nombreux alpages, il
tait peupl au XIVe sicle par 80 100 villages dont peu prs 90% tait roumains.
Entre dix douze villages taient peupls de colons (hospites regis") hongrois, saxons
ou ruthnes (dorigine ukrainienne); les documents permettent de reconstituer les
conditions o ces derniers ont t installs dans la rgion, vers la in du XIIIe au
XIVe sicles2.
lintrieur des Carpathes Mridionaux, le territoire du Pays de Haeg se confond
avec le bassin de la rivire de Strei et des deux rivires voisines et reprsente environ
2.
Radu Popa, ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucarest, 1970, p. 118-121.
3500 km2; il abrite presque 200 agglomrations villageoises qui, dans cette rgion,
montent jusqu laltitude de 1000 m. cause du voisinage avec la large valle du
Mure o se jette la rivire de Strei, le caractre homogne roumain de lhabitat du
Pays du Haeg est moins marqu, et reprsente aux XIIIe- XIVe sicles seulement
80-85% de lensemble des agglomrations et de la population. Les circonstances
de linstallation de collectivits trangres, depuis le XIe sicle et jusque vers la in
du XIIIe, peuvent tre reconstitues avec une prcision satisfaisante. Presque tous
ces habitats appartiennent lglise occidentale et sont situs lextrmit nord de
la zone, tout prs de la rivire de Mure, voie de pntration du royaume mdival
magyar vers le centre de la Transylvanie3.
On peut citer aussi lexemple du pays roumain mdival moins tendu, le Pays
de Lovitea, entour de montagnes et comprenant quelques centaines de km2 avec
20 22 villages roumains; les documents de la chancellerie sy rapportant, dats des
XVe-XVIIe sicles sont donc un peu plus tardifs4.
La reconstitution de la gographie historique dans chacun de ces pays, du temps
des plus anciens documents crits, permet didentiier et de situer les localits entre
le XIIIe et le XVe sicles; il peut constituer le point de dpart de nos recherches.
3.
4.
Radu Popa, La nceputurile Evului Mediu romnesc. ara Hategului, Bucarest, 1988, p. 131 sq. Le mme,
Siedlungsverhltnisse und Ethnodemographie des Hatzeger Landes im 13.-14. Jahrhundert, dans
Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde, 31, nr. 2, 1988, pp. 19-33.
Ion Conea, ara Lovitei. Geograie istoric, Bucarest, 1935.
Fig. 1.
Pays
(terrae,
ri)
mdivaux
roumains le
long de la
chaine des
Carpathes
319
320
Fig. 2.
Cnzats de
valle (I - IX)
au Pays de
Haeg
Lhistoire antrieure lpoque connue

par des documents de chancellerie,
peut tre connue travers la recherche
archologique. Une telle approche du
sujet a dores et dj mis en vidence des
rsultats diiants et a permis de dresser
une image suisamment ample des
annes dhistoire roumaine ayant prcd
la structuration dinitive des tats
mdivaux5.
Les
reconstitutions
sappuient
entrautres sur les informations concernant
la couche sociale suprieure, typique de
lpoque pr-tatique de ces pays, les ainsi
nomms cnzes", institution roumaine
gnralise6. Elle sappuie aussi sur la
reconstitution du systme patrimonial
de possession des villages selon lancien
droit coutumier roumain (jus valachicum).
Les recherches ont mis en vidence deux
catgories de cnzes se trouvant en rapports de subordination; les cnzes de village",
matres dun ou de deux villages et faisant partie dune ligne cnziale assez large; les
cnzes de valle" ou joupans", matres dun groupe de villages situs lintrieur
dune sousdivision gographique du pays respectif. Forms dun nombre variable
de villages (5 6 pour les plus petits, 20 25 pour les plus grands) les cnzats
de valle comptent plusieurs lignes de cnzes de village et une ligne de joupans
situe au sommet de la hirarchie interne; ils savrent tre le rsultat de lapparition
et de lvolution des relations fodales embryonnaires dveloppes au sein dune
trs ancienne association de communauts villageoises. Le cnze de village doit
sa position conomique et sociale au processus de difrenciation survenu au sein
de la communaut villageoise durant plusieurs gnrations successives, au bout de
laquelle sa communaut lui est subordonne; le cnze de valle ou le joupan, son
tour, apparat comme le rsultat de la transformation en hrditaire dune institution
lective au dbut.
La reconstitution des rapports sociaux et patrimoniaux la veille de la fondation
des tats roumains mdivaux est bien possible la suite du fait que les princes
rgnants de la Valachie (ara Romneasc) et de la Moldavie, tout comme la
couronne magyare (pour le cas des territoires roumains intracarpathiques tombs
sous lautorit de cette dernire), ont procd, en rgle gnrale, consacrer par des
diplmes crits les tats de fait antrieurs. Lanalyse de la toponymie villageoise et
5.
6.
Les principaux rsultats sont prsents dans le IIe volume de louvrage, Tratatul de istoria Romniei; ils
concernent les sicles VIIIe-XIVe. Arriv au stade dpreuves en 1980, Ier volume na pas t publi car il
ne correspondait pas aux points de vue de la section de propagande de lancien comit central du Parti
Communiste Roumain.
Henri H. Stahl, Controverse de istorie social romneasc, Bucarest, 1969, p. 188 sq. Maria Holban,
Variations historiques sur le problme des cnzes de Transylvanie", dans Revue roumaine dhistoire, IV/5,
1965, p. 901-923.
surtout celle de son volution, dans le sens

du changement des noms des villages au
fur et mesure de leur asservissement et de
la conscration des nouveaux rapports par
des documents crits7 se sont avre sest
particulirement utiles.
travers la reconstitution du systme
de possession exerce sur certains groupes
de villages (occupant une sous-division
gographique dun pays mdival roumain)
le nombre et les limites des difrents
cnzats de valle ont pu tre tablis de
manire suisamment prcise. Ces structures
correspondent dans la plupart des cas avec la
valle dune rivire dimportance moyenne,
comprenant des zones riches en forts et en
pturages alpins. Cette constatation claire
leur origine quon peut trouver dans les
anciennes unions de communauts villageoises. Sur le territoire du Pays de Haeg
par exemple, il y avait avant le XIVe sicle de neuf dix cnzats de valle, auxquels
on pourrait attribuer conventionnellement le nom de la rivire sur laquelle ils se
trouvaient, ou le nom de leur agglomration principale, chef-lieu et rsidence de
la famille de joupans: le cnzat de Rul Mare, celui de Densu, de Ru Brbat, de
Ru Alb, de Slauri, de Streisngeorgiu, de Britonia, des Silvauri, de Cerna et trs
probablement celui de Vad (ig. 2). Correspondant ce nombre de 9 ou 10 cnzats
de valle, le pays tout entier devait avoir un nombre gal de lignes importantes de
cnzes, parmi les membres desquelles on choisissait un voevode, autorit militaire
et politique suprme de chaque pays mdival roumain.
*
*
Le moment o cette couche sociale suprieure prend naissance au sein des villages
roumains ne peut pas tre ix avec une prcision satisfaisante. Les tmoignages
archologiques de sa prsence sont surtout les rsidences fodales installes dans des
positions dominantes en bordure des villages, les chapelles de cour (de dimensions
rduites) ou les refuges fortiis, dhabitude des tours-maison situes un peu lcart
des villages appartenant la famille dominante. Ces constructions-tmoins se sont
maintenues rarement en tant que monuments fonctionnant encore (modiies par
des reconstructions ultrieures), mais surtout en tant que ruines ou fondations
caches sous terre et qui attendent les fouilles archologiques.
Parmi les monuments du Pays de Haeg ayant vu le jour la suite de fouilles,
ou mis en valeur par une datation exacte et une interprtation soigne, il y a la
chapelle de cour de Streisngeorgiu (ig. 3), consacre dans la premire moiti
7.
Radu Popa, Consideraii istorice pe marginea toponimiei vechi maramureene", dans Revista de Istorie,
vol. 30, nr. 8, pp. 147-164, 1977.
Fig. 3.
Chapelle
de cour,
Streisngeorgiu.
Le pronaos
est ajout
ultrieurement
321
322
Fig. 4.
Chapelle
de cour de
Densu. La
tour centrale
Fig. 5.
Tour-rsidence
de Rchitova
du XIIe sicle et appartenant une famille de

cnzes de valle8. Le mur est bti avec des spolia"
romaines grands blocs de pierre quarrie et
avec des briques, et remplace une construction
en bois aux dimensions et dune utilisation
semblables, qui descend du point de la date de
construction au moins jusquau XI e sicle. La
famille des fondateurs peut tre identiie dans
les documents partir des dcennies 6-8 du XIVe
sicle, lorsque les diplmes royaux lui conirment
la possession de ses villages. Dans labside est
de lglise (qui abrite la table de lautel) il y a
une inscription des annes 1313-1314 ajoute
loccasion de la restauration du monument et du
renouvellement de sa peinture; il y est question
dun cnze Balea, lun des aeux9. proximit de
cette glise on a dcouvert les donations dune
rsidence fodale en bois10.
Dans la mme catgorie de chapelles de cour
de dimensions modestes, on peut classer lglise
de Peteana, rcemment tudie, qui comprend une nef de 12-15 m2 et une abside
qui renferme lautel. Le monument le plus connu est lglise de Densu (ig. 4),
entirement btie avec des spolia romaines et dont la datation au XIIe sicle (peuttre mme auparavant) nest pas sre. Ce dernier monument a t rig par une
importante famille de cnzes de valle, dont les
villages peuplaient la partie nord-ouest du Pays
de Haeg, le cours suprieur de la valle voisine de
Cerna et une partie du massif des montagnes de
Poiana Rusci (ig. 2).
part les chapelles de cour,les petites forteresses
familiales attestent elles aussi la position sociale et
lanciennet de la couche suprieure composant
la fodalit pr-tatique roumaine. La mme
famille de cnzes de Densu btit vers 1300 une
tour-maison loigne de quelques kilomtres,
lcart, cache par une colline, prs du village
de Rchitova (ig. 5); le monument est prserv
en partie jusqu nos jours. Sa simplicit et son
austrit constructives sont loquentes tant pour
la fonction que pour lge de la construction.
une poque ultrieure, probablement vers la in
du XIVe sicle, la tour-maison en muraille a t
8.
9.
10 .
Ibidem, p. 165 sq.

Radu Popa, Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des 11.-14. Jahrhunderts im Sden
Transilvaniens", dans Dacia, nouvelle srie, vol. XX, 1976, p. 37-61.
Victor Eskenasy, Cercetri i sondaje arheologice pe teritoriul aezrii medievale de la Streisngeorgiu",
dans Revista Muzeelor i Monumentelor. Monumente Istorice i de Art, XLVII, nr. 1, 1978, pp. 57-62.
entoure dune cour clture par un vallum et une palissade en bois11. Il est dailleurs
fort probable que ces tours-maisons en pierre et en brique ont t prcdes par des
diices en bois ayant la mme fonction mais qui nont pas laiss des traces, ou nont
pas encore t identiies.
Dans un autre pays mdival roumain tudi de manire plus insistante ces
dernires dcennies, les ruines incendies dune tour-maison, rige vers la in du
XIIIe sicle, ont t trouves au village de Cuhea (actuellement Bogdan Vod), au
Maramure12.
Au Pays de Haeg, une tour-maison semblable celle de Rchitova a t le

noyau originaire de la forteresse de Col, probablement vers 1300 (ig. 6). Elle
appartenait la famille cnziale de Cndea, installe Ru de Mori, famille qui
possdait intgralement ou partiellement les 14 villages de la valle de Rul Mare
et de son bassin13. Dailleurs on trouve des situations semblables sur le territoire
des autres sous-divisions du Pays de Haeg. Aux types de monuments dj dcrits
on doit ajouter les modestes couvents familiaux dont certains, bniciant de vraies
murailles, sont parvenus jusqu nos jours.
Lintgration dans le circuit juridique fodal de ces anciennes unions de
communauts villageoises, devenues un certain moment des cnzats de valle,
11 .
12 .
13 .
Radu Popa, La nceputurile ..., p. 217-219.

Idem, ara Maramureului . . . , p. 235-237.
Idem, La nceputurile ..., p. 166-168 et 221-222.
Fig. 6.
La forteresse
de Col.
L'enclos
entoure la
tour habite
initiale
323
324
Fig. 7.
Le cnzat de
valle des
Bogdanides
au Sud-Est
du pays de
Maramure,
et sa division
(selon des
informations
datant du XIVe
sicle)
dtermine des divisions de territoires, dont lutilit est grande si on veut reconstituer
les limites ou connatre les structures territoriales. Au Maramure par exemple, le
cnzat de valle du lignage des Bogdan, situ sur les cours suprieurs des rivires
voisines dIza et de Vieu, est lobjet de plusieurs partages successifs (1353, 1365,
1373 et 1411); on ixe alors les limites des possessions et les droits de deux branches
du lignage, les descendants de deux frres, Iuga et Bogdan. Dailleurs, ce dernier
quitte le Maramure en 1359 et, traversant les montagnes, arrive en Moldavie o
il devient le premier prince indpendant de ltat roumain moldave, situ lest
des Carpathes. Les villages ayant appartenu Bogdan ont t conisqus par la
couronne magyare pour les ofrir des adversaires locaux du lignage de Bogdan, le
lignage des Drago. La citation dans le diplme royal des noms de ses villages permet
la reconstitution des limites initiales du cnzat de valle (ig. 7). Il sagissait (vers
lanne 1300) de 17 18 villages qui, avec les montagnes avoisinantes, pturages
alpins y compris, couvraient un territoire de presque 3000 km2. Six autres structures
territoriales et sociales semblables se partageaient le reste du Pays du Maramure14.
14 .
Idem, ara Maramureului ..., pp. 152-154, passim.
Grce une pntration relativement tardive (les dernires annes du XIIIe

sicle) de lautorit royale magyare au Maramure, on a pu conserver et trouver
dans les documents crits le relet dtaill de linstitution voevodale, institution
militaire et politique, prsente dans chaque pays roumain dans ltape qui prcde la
cristallisation des tats mdivaux. Dailleurs, ces derniers sont le rsultat de lunion
de plusieurs voevodats. Tout au long du XIVe sicle on peut suivre au Maramure
le caractre contradictoire de cette institution, lective ses origines, mais avec
tendance devenir hrditaire dans le cadre du cercle limit dun lignage voevodal.
Lalternance du principe lectif et de celui hrditaire lintrieur dun lignage
devait caractriser par la suite la fonction de prince dans les principauts roumaines
tout au long du Moyen ge15.
*
*
Si certaines des airmations qui prcdent sont des apports certains lhistoire
roumaine, de nombreux points dinterrogation persistent; ils concernent des
dtails du tableau historique ainsi reconstitu, comme aussi la dinition des tapes
historiques et leur chronologie. Concernant les relations sociales dans la phase
pr-tatique du cnzat, nous sommes loin dairmer lexistence dans la socit
roumaine dun fodalisme semblable celui classique, caractrisant lOccident. La
mise en lumire des rapports entre les cnzes et les communauts villageoises en
plein processus dasservissement est entrave par le fait que la quasi-totalit des
informations crites est due aux chancelleries mdivales du royaume magyar et des
principauts roumaines. Elles sont donc soit le relet de la phase de dissolution du
cnzat en tant quinstitution pr-tatique, soit de la tentative de son adaptation au
cadre juridique de ltat fodal.
Il est fort probable que la possession des cnzes sur les anciennes communauts
villageoises nait pas dpass le niveau dune autorit paternaliste, impliquant
obdience, soumission au jugement, contribution au travail et en produits lors des
ftes marquantes pour les divers cycles de vie conomique. Les formes prises par
ces relations sont dtermines soit par les besoins inhrents aux structures socialterritoriales dont il est question, soit par les besoins du fonctionnement concret
des autorits ecclsiastiques. Lorganisation du cadre juridique de ltat mdival
consacre ce systme de relations et lui fournit la consistance ncessaire, assurant le
fonctionnement dinstitutions adquates au nouveau cadre. L o staient formes
les deux principauts mdivales roumaines, le processus a eu pour consquence
llimination dune partie de cette fodalit pr-tatique roumaine, qui dchoit jusqu
la condition dune paysannerie libre16. Dans les territoires entrs sous lautorit du
royaume mdival magyar, la solution adopte le long des XIIIe -XVe sicles a t
celle des autonomies" roumaines, acceptes de manire tacite ou transformes en
districts roumains privilgis.
Une seconde question particulirement importante, concerne la mesure dans
laquelle ces structures sociales territoriales du type des pays", qui sont lorigine
des tats mdivaux, continuent directement les dbuts dune fodalisation qui
15 .
16 .
P. P. Panaitescu, Introducere la istoria culturii romneti, Bucarest, 1969, pp. 292 sq.
Ibidem, pp. 179-181.
325
326
remonterait aux IXe-Xe sicles, ou mme au VIIIe17. Ou encore, reprsentent-elles

le rsultat dun processus qui ne descend pas au-del des XI e -XIIe sicles? Les
recherches archologiques nont pas encore produit cet gard des tmoignages
dignes dtre pris en considration, ne serait-ce qu la suite du fait que les forteresses
entoures de remparts en bois et en terre (cites plus haut comme preuves dune
structure politique fodale roumaine et qui remontent au IXe sicle) ne sont pas
rparties sur lensemble du territoire de la Roumanie et manquent exactement l o
elles auraient d constituer une ralit vidente. Nous pensons cet gard aux zones
qui limitent vers lextrieur tout larc des Carpathes, depuis le Danube et jusquau
nord de la Moldavie.
Lhypothse la plus plausible, au stade actuel des recherches, tient compte de la
possibilit quaux Xe-XIe sicles lon ait eu consquence des dernires vagues des
migrateurs une restructuration ethnique et dmographique de lhabitat roumain.
Elle peut avoir engendr le refuge dune grande partie des collectivits villageoises
vers les montagnes et vers les dpressions, plus labri et plus loignes des trajets
parcourus par les migrateurs. Ceci pourrait expliquer la situation dcrite dans les plus
anciens documents crits des chancelleries; ceci pourrait expliquer aussi pourquoi
les deux tats mdivaux roumains indpendants la Valachie et la Moldavie sont
apparus sur des terres situes lextrieur et dans limmdiate proximit de la chane
des Carpathes.
17 .
tefan Olteanu, Societatea romneasc la cumpn de milenii. Secolele VIII-XI, Bucarest, 1983, pp. 39 sq.;
utilisation discutable des informations archologiques.
MonuMentS
HiStoRiQueS de RouManie.
HRitage MalHeuReuX et
PeRSPectiVeS PouR le MoMent
inceRtaineS *
19.
e patrimoine roumain de monuments, densembles et de sites historiques est

un des domaines les plus afects par le rgime communiste totalitaire pendant
plus de 4 dcennies. Les dgts ont commenc dj depuis les annes de la seconde
guerre mondiale et, sans avoir eu le temps de laisser gurir les blessures, la Roumanie
est entre, en 1948, dans la longue nuit impose de lextrieur. Les pertes et les dgts
se sont accentus, tout particulirement pendant les vingt dernires annes. Mais
on peut remarquer que, mme auparavant, dans les annes 50 et 60, une double
discrimination, ethnique et sociale, tait applique aux monuments, ain de remodeler
et fausser le pass.
Au del des rsistances qui staient manifestes de lintrieur contre cette
politique, surtout par lattitude des spcialistes qui avaient abouti nanmoins des
rsultats positifs aux cours des annes 1964-1972, lopinion publique et les forums
internationaux avaient, leur tour, le souci de ce patrimoine. Loin dtre un simple
problme intrieur, les monuments historiques de Roumanie reprsentent une partie
du patrimoine culturel et historique de lhritage Europen et mondial.
Par consquent, il est bien naturel dattacher une telle importance aux problmes
des monuments historiques, car les autorits installes suite aux vnements du
Fig. 1.
Clnic, dp.
de Sibiu. Tour
dhabitation
(XIIIe s.)
transforme
en forteresse
paysanne
(XVe s.)
Bulletin IBI, 47,1990-1991, p. 27-30
328
MoNUMENTs HIsToRIQUEs DE RoUMANIE.
Fig. 2.
Sucevia, dp.
de Suceava.
Le monastre
fortifi (dbut
du XVIIIe s.)
Fig. 3.
Snnicolau
de Beiu, dp.
Bihor. La tour
ouest de lglise
romanique
ruine (XIIIe s.)
Fig. 4.
Bran, dp.
de Braov. Le
chteau (XIVXVIIe s., restaur
au dbut du
XXe s.)
dcembre 1989 ont assum leur

responsabilit pour lavenir du pays
et pour la rcupration des dgts
produits dans tous les domaines. La
conservation des caractristiques
dun pays et dun peuple, de la qualit
de la vie ncessaire aux gnrations
actuelles, mais surtout celles venir,
aussi bien que la participation au
trsor culturel et historique mondial
la hauteur de la place mrite pour
la cration originelle roumaine, tout
cela serait inconcevable sans une
conservation, protection, restauration et mise en valeur adquates de lhritage de
monuments historiques.
Le cadre institutionnel et juridique du domaine des monuments historiques
connut vers la moiti des annes 70 une modiication importante par rapport
ltape antrieure. Ce fut la loi du patrimoine culturel national et la cration dune
Commission Nationale du Patrimoine, mais surtout lorganisation dune direction
concernant une vaste sphre de
proccupations et de comptences,
lensemble du patrimoine immobilier
et meuble tant trait comme un tout
indivisible. Cette approche it que les
monuments historiques, les rservations historiques darchologie et
darchitecture ou les ensembles
constitus selon le critre historique,
soient placs ct des livres anciens
ou des monuments naturels. Les
prvisions taient donc difrentes
de la plupart des solutions adoptes
au niveau europen et mondial et aux
fondements jets par lexprience des
deux sicles derniers. En Roumanie,
le cadre cr en 1974 avait facilit labandon et la destruction des monuments
historiques. Aprs llimination, en 1977, de la Direction du Patrimoine Culturel
National, les oices dpartementaux du patrimoine, organiss auprs des muses
des chefs-lieux de dpartement et la direction gnrale du Ministre de la Culture
(alors le Conseil dtat pour la Culture et lducation Socialiste) en tant quinstance
centrale de ces oices, staient concentrs presque exclusivement sur le patrimoine
mobilier et sur la proprit prive de ce patrimoine, les monuments historiques
tant soumis aux alas politiques. Compte tenu de ces prmices et expriences, le
comit dinitiative constitu le 26 dcembre 1989 stait propos de reconstituer la
Commission Nationale des Monuments, des Ensembles et des Sites Historiques,
forme par les spcialistes (architectes, historiens de lart, archologues, historiens,
ethnographes, spcialistes du btiment, restaurateurs etc.). Cette Commission

avait le droit de dcider dans son domaine dactivit et pouvait disposer, en tant
quinstitution autonome, dune direction oprative adquate. Cette option a t
accepte par les nouvelles autorits qui, par le dcret 91 du 5 fvrier 1990, avaient
dcid de fonder la Commission susmentionne (CNMASI) auprs du Ministre
de la Culture, ayant un statut dautonomie et le droit de dcider dans son domaine
dactivit et, en tant quorganisme excutif, la Direction des Monuments, des
Ensembles et des Sites Historiques.
La lutte, pourrait-on dire, na t gagne qu moiti. Par rapport lancienne
commission qui tait consultative, la nouvelle tait dcisionnelle. Mais laspiration
vers lautonomie totale na pas t ralise. Par contre, on avait nomm la tte de la
CNMASI le prof. Grigore Ionescu et, si lon y ajoute la prsence, en tant que viceprsident, du signataire de ces lignes, il en ressort que lIBI est largement reprsent au
sein du nouveau forum roumain, car les deux sont membres du Conseil Scientiique
de lIBI. Cest une bonne perspective pour les villes fortiies, les chteaux et les
fortiications de la Roumanie! Les 36 membres de la CNMASI ont t nomms par
le Ministre de la Culture, la suite des propositions du prsident de la commission.
Aprs lorganisation, en avril 1990, de la Direction des Monuments, des
Ensembles et des Sites Historiques, lactivit dans ce domaine spciique connut
un vritable lan. Ds le dbut, lon a dclench une vaste opration de prparation
des projets, de reprise et rfection des archives, dintensiication de la prsence sur le
terrain, suite lafectation des dpartements des spcialistes, et enin de reprise des
contacts internationaux. Parmi les acquis, il convient de mentionner la constitution
dun collectif de rdaction qui publie trois priodiques: La Revue des Monuments
Historiques deux publications par an, suite de la publication (ayant dbut en 1908);
Le Bulletin de la Commission des Monuments, des Ensembles et des Sites Historiques,
quatre publications par an; Renovatio. Informations, commentaires, opinions, brochure
mensuelle dintrt intrieur. Malheureusement, limpression de ces publications est
en grande mesure retarde et trs diicile faire dans les circonstances actuelles de
notre pays.
La cadre lgislatif forme, lui aussi, un objectif de premier choix pour les nouveaux
forums. Un Rglement de fonctionnement de la CNMASI, approuv par le Ministre
Fig. 5.
Bucarest, le
monastre
de Vcreti
(dbut du
XVIIIe s.)
pendant sa
dmolition en
1987
Fig. 6.
Hurezi, dep.
de Vlcea. La
grande glise
du monastre
(fin du XVIIe s.)
329
330
de la Culture, est actuellement sous presse. Un efort beaucoup plus grand fut celui
demand par la rdaction dun projet de la Loi des Monuments, des Ensembles et
des Sites Historiques, dpos depuis le mois de septembre 1990 pour tre adopt
par le Parlement de la Roumanie. Hlas, cette loi na pas encore t adopte, les
problmes gnraux du pays aussi bien que la rticence vis--vis du renouveau, tant
en gale mesure, les responsables de ce retard.
De toute faon, lactivit la plus diicile fut celle des listes dinventaire et
de monuments, des ensembles, des sites et des rserves, qui puissent jouir de la
protection de la loi. La lgislation roumaine dispose dune telle liste, rdige en 1956
qui comprend 4000 objets environ. Une nouvelle liste, prpare pour tre investie
de lautorit lgale, rdige en 1976, comptait encore plus dobjets. Cette liste ne
parvint jamais au stade de document oiciel. Les changements survenus entre
temps dans lapproche au domaine ont fait que la liste prpare prsent comprend
plus de 25.000 objets. La difrence est due, dune part, aux nouvelles considrations
des sites et des rservations archologiques, et, dautre part, la croissance dans le
temps, des limites chronologiques. Les spcialistes roumains ont dcid dornavant
de protger les monuments de la seconde moiti du sicle dernier et mme de la
premire moiti de notre sicle, se chargeant, par consquent, des problmes qui
taient auparavant ceux de lurbanisme. Il y a eu aussi une augmentation du nombre
des monuments darchitecture populaire du milieu rural.
Un des domaines trs dlicats sest avr tre celui de la dcentralisation de cette
activit, par la cration, selon les anciennes provinces historiques, des commissions
zonales auxquelles tranfrer une partie des comptences de la commission centrale.
La solution sest avre ncessaire suite au manque de spcialistes, car leur formation
a t pratiquement bloque pendant les dernires dcennies et une bonne partie
des anciens cadres avait quitt le pays. Il sagissait donc dentraner dans lactivit
ainsi organise toutes les forces du territoire. Cet espoir est en quelque sorte
ralis par la cration de huit commissions zonales sigeant Timioara, Cluj,
Sibiu, Craiova, Jassy, Ploieti et Bucarest, auprs desquelles des collectifs salaris,
fonctionnant comme sous-direction de la Direction des Monuments Historiques,
sont en train dtre organiss. Ltape suivante serait lorganisation des inspectorats
dpartementaux pour les monuments historiques, une volution freine prsent
par le manque de spcialistes et par des diicults inancires. Avec un retard de
18 ans, tout aussi regrettable que nuisible pour le prestige du pays et pour le sort
de ces monuments, la Roumanie a sign lacte dadhsion la Convention de 1972
concernant le patrimoine mondial.
Les dossiers de trois complexes darchitecture du Moyen ge ont t dj remis
(le groupe dglises peintes fresque extrieur du Nord de la Moldavie, dats des
sicles XVe-XVIe, lglise fortiie de Biertan avec son ensemble de la bourgade
mdivale et le complexe de monuments du monastre de Hurez, en Oltnie, dat
de la in du XVIIe sicle et du dbut du XVIIIe), les documents dautres 10 12
objets en phase de prparation. Une autre proccupation concerne la remise en
activit du Comit National Roumain de lICOMOS, qui avait cess son activit
en 1977 et avait t radi des documents de cette organisation depuis 1982. ct
de certains membres de lancien Comit, ses rangs se sont largis suite la prsence
de nouveaux adhrents, la prsidence tant conie, au dbut, au signataire de ces
pages. On peut bien le constater, le cumul de responsabilits demeure comme une

pratique courante en Roumanie, mme ltape suivante aux changements de la in
de lanne 1989, ce qui prouve que les changements ntaient pas aussi profonds que
lon sy attendait, ou que lon voulait. En efet, les causes rsident dans le nombre
assez limit des spcialistes des monuments historiques, dans leur dpendance
encore assez marque des autorits de lEtat, ainsi que dans les aspects inanciers
concernant la majorit des activits en la matire. Une socit civile roumaine qui
prenne des initiatives propres et assume des responsabilits est seulement en train
de natre et les volutions des 15 derniers mois semblent montrer que le processus
sera long. Cest dailleurs la principale source des diicults auxquelles se confronte
toute activit lie la protection, la conservation et la restauration, la mise en
valeur du patrimoine de monuments et de sites historiques de Roumanie. Sans un
cadre lgislatif articul dans tous ses secteurs, qui prvoit le rgime de la proprit,
des impts et du soutien accord par ltat, qui puisse favoriser les initiatives de la
socit civile et garantir lavenir des eforts et des investissements, le commencement
des travaux dampleur serait trs diicile. Depuis plus de quatre dcennies de routine
o tout le monde sest habitu au principe selon lequel tout doit tre fait par ltat
et que rien nest permis en dehors du cadre ix par lAutorit, le dmarrage des
initiatives se fait attendre. Il est bien probable que lexprience des transformations
actuelles de Roumanie, avec leurs hauts et leurs bas, ait un caractre unique et quelle
mrite dtre prsente en quelques pages, car lattentat moral et culturel de la
dictature communiste sur le degr de civilisation de tout un peuple a laiss des plaies
profondes. Elles ne pourraient gurir rapidement et, peut-tre, une seule gnration
ne serait pas suisante. Une inluence profonde sur lopinion publique est ncessaire
pour rhabiliter la notion de monument historique, et le levier principal de cette
inluence est lcole. La structure de lenseignement roumain, dforme et dtruite
systmatiquement le long de plusieurs dcennies, va tre remise en place au fur et
mesure, selon les possibilits.
Par consquent, nous nous trouvons devant une longue activit de propagande et
dinluence de lopinion publique roumaine. Le renouvellement du cadre conomique
par lessor de la proprit prive et par le dclenchement des activits pouvant
favoriser les monuments historiques contribueront coup sr un horizon dj
prvisible, la ralisation de ces objectifs. Nous sommes conscients du fait que les
transformations de lconomie et ses progrs vers le libre march reprsentent une
lame double tranchant, qui peut encore mettre en danger le sort des monuments
historiques actuellement existants. Le pragmatisme de la gnration actuelle tend
souvent sacriier les intrts des gnrations futures et, on le sait bien, il y a sur
le continent des zones o lessor de laprs-guerre avait beaucoup nuit lhritage
culturel et historique, plus que les dgts de la guerre mme. Jespre avoir exprim
dune manire assez cohrente et explicite ce qui sest pass en Roumanie pendant
les derniers mois aussi bien que les penses qui animent les spcialistes impliqus
dans le domaine prsent. Une partie importante de ce domaine est reprsent par
les cits et les chteaux qui, plus que les autres catgories, avaient soufert pendant
les dcennies de dictature communiste. Cest la raison pour laquelle je pense que ces
pages peuvent tre utiles pour notre bulletin.
331
kReuZRitteRBuRgen iM
SdoSten tRanSSilVanienS *
CUM MULTO LABORE qUINqUE CASTRA FORTIA CONSTRUENDO...
u dem hema, welches ich gewhlt habe, um es hier vorzustellen, existiert

eine reiche Bibliographie1, und obwohl es genau in den Rahmen unseres
Kolloquiums passt, htte ich es nicht ausgesucht, wenn ich nicht auf Grund eigener
Forschungen Neues dazu beitragen konnte. Vor einigen Tagen habe ich die zweite
Kampagne archologischer Grabungen, dieses hema betrefend, beendet. Wegen
des Interesses und des breiten Fragenkreises zu dieser Problematik, beabsichtige ich
diese Forschung in den nchsten Jahren weiter zu fhren.
Wovon ist die Rede?
Im Sommer des Jahres 1211 machte der ungarische Knig Andreas II. dem
Deutschen Ritterorden eine groe Schenkung, przisiert als das Land mit dem
Namen Burzen, in Transsilvanien in Richtung der Kumanen (quandam terram Borza
nomine, ultra silvas versus Cumanos)2. Die damalige Beschreibung der Grenzen dieser
terra sagt aus, dass sich dieses ca. 3000 km2 groe Gebiet am Rand des ungarischen
Knigreiches befand, begrenzt durch den Fluss Alt/Olt, die Karpaten und die beiden
kleineren Flsse ercaia und Trlung, welche aus den Karpaten zum Alt lieen.
Innerhalb dieses Gebietes beinden sich die 450-500 m ber dem Meeresspiegel
liegende Burzenlnder Ebene sowie mehrere Hhenzge, darunter ein mittleres
Gebirgsmassiv, das Perani-Gebirge mit Erhebungen von 800-1100 m.
Wir knnen jetzt nicht auf Details der Schenkungsurkunde und die damit
zusammenhngenden komplizierten politischen Gegebenheiten nher eingehen.
Hier nur einige Informationen zum besseren Verstndnis. Im Jahr 1211 beinden
wir uns im siebenten Jahr nach der Grndung des Lateinischen Kaiserreiches,
als Folge des 4. Kreuzzuges. Diese neue politische Struktur, die die Hofnungen
des Abendlandes und besonders die des ppstlichen Stuhles weckte, stand unter
massivem militrischem Druck seitens des 1186/1187 gegrndeten Zweiten
Bulgarischen Reiches, welches sich wichtiger militrischer Hilfe durch die nrdlich
der unteren Donau lebenden Kumanen erfreute. Einer der Zwecke der Niederlassung
der Kreuzritter im Sdosten Transsilvaniens war die Unterwerfung der Kumanen
im Interesse des Lateinischen Kaiserreiches, wie es auch in der Schenkungsurkunde
1.
2.
Eine sehr reiche, wenn auch nicht vollstndige Bibliographie, im monographischen Band G. Ianesch
Troll u.a., Marienburg im Burzenland. Zur Geschichte der einstigen Ritterorden-Gemeinde in Siebenbrgen,
Aul. Bielefeld, 1989.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, veac. XI-XIII, Bd. I, Bukarest, 1951, S. 369-370.
Bulletin IBI, 47,1990-1991, p. 107-112
20.
334
kREUZRITTERBURGEN IM sDosTEN TRANssILVANIENs
geschrieben steht3.
Zweitens ist nicht auer acht zu lassen, dass der Deutsche Orden erst zwei
Jahrzehnte frher bei der Belagerung Akkons gegrndet wurde und um 1200
nur ungefhr 2000 Mitglieder hatte, welche auf einem sehr groen Areal im
Mittelmeerraum sowie auch nrdlich der Alpen berall wo der Orden Besitzungen
hatte verstreut waren. Es ist also anzunehmen, dass nicht mehr als einige Dutzend
Ordensritter ins Burzenland kamen. Selbstverstndlich hatte jeder Ritter eine
bestimmte Mannschaft unter sich.
Drittens ist zu erwhnen, dass die Schenkungsurkunde von 1211 dem Ritterorden
die Errichtung von Holzburgen erlaubte (ad muni men regni contra Cumanos castra
lignea et urbes ligneas eos permisimus).
Elf Jahre spter (1222), nach einem ersten Konlikt mit der ungarischen Krone,
bekamen die Kreuzritter eine neue Schenkungsurkunde4. Damit wurde dem Orden
das Recht verliehen, steinerne Burgen und Stdte zu errichten (ad munimen regni
contra Cumanos castra et urbes lapideas construere eos permisimus). In derselben
Urkunde wird die Schenkung territorial erweitert, zur terra Burza von 1211 kommt
eine benachbarte terra Cruceburg mit einer Festung gleichen Namens hinzu. Von
der Festung wird gesagt. dass die Ritter sie von neuem erbaut haben (castrum quod
Cruceburg nominatur, quod fratres predicti de novo construxerant). In Verbindung
mit dieser Cruceburg/Kreuzburg wird auch ein Territorium sdlich und stlich der
Karpaten als neuer, vom Knig akzeptierter Besitz der Ritter erwhnt, das sich bis
in die Sdmoldau und bis an die Donau erstreckte. Daraus wird ersichtlich, dass die
Ritter die Zeit in den vergangenen 10 Jahren genutzt hatten.
Im Jahr 1225 kam es zu einem neuen Konlikt zwischen den Kreuzrittern und
Knig Andreas II. Letzterer erkannte die groe Gefahr eines Kreuzritterstaates
unter der Oberhoheit des ppstlichen Stuhles und beschloss, die Ordensritter mit
Gewalt zu vertreiben. Jahrelang danach versuchte der Papst, jedoch ohne Erfolg
wie ppstliche Briefe bezeugen das Burzenland fr den Deutschen Orden
zurckzugewinnen. In diesen Briefen werden Details der Ereignisse von 1211-1225
erwhnt, unter anderem, dass die Kreuzritter whrend ihres 14jhrigen Aufenthaltes
im Burzenland eine starke Burg jenseits der Gebirge errichtet haben (quoddam
quoque castrum quod ultra montes nivium multis construxerant laboribus et expensis)5,
die aber 1225 durch das knigliche Heer belagert und eingenommen wurde. Obwohl
es sehr viele Hypothesen zur Identiizierung dieser Burg (castrum munitissimum in
anderen Urkunden genannt)6 gibt, konnte sie noch nicht lokalisiert werden. Es ist
nicht auszuschliessen, dass es sich um die 1222 erwhnte Kreuzburg handelt.
Was die im Burzenland von den Kreuzrittern errichteten Burgen betrift,
erfahren wir 1231 von fnf castra fortia7. Soviel zu den schriftlichen Urkunden, die
wir nicht weiter befragen werden, zumal sich der Deutsche Ritterorden seit 1234
mit Erfolg im baltischen Raum niedergelassen hatte.
Zur Identiizierung der fnf Ritterburgen im Burzenland ist viel geschrieben
worden, dies auch, weil nach einigen lteren Meinungen diese die ersten
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
. Papacostea, nfruntri politice i spirituale n sud-estul Europei: 1204-1241, (I), in: Anuarul
Institutului de Istorie i Arheologie A. D. Xenopol, XXVI/1, Iai, 1989, S. 217 u. folg.
Documenta Romaniae Historica, D, Bd. I, Bukarest, 1977, S. 1-2.
Ibidem, S. 11.
Ibidem, S. 16.
Ibidem, S. 16-18.
Steinburgen in Transsilvanien gewesen sein sollen die Ablsung der Holz- und
Erdverteidigungsarchitektur durch gemauerte Festungen8. In der letzten Zeit
wurde jedoch darauf hingewiesen, dass die steinerne Militrarchitektur bereits seit
dem 12. Jahrhundert in Transsilvanien existierte. Ausserdem wurden schon im 9.-10.
Jahrhundert Ruinen rmischer gemauerter Steinbefestigungen wiederbenutzt9.
Andere Forscher haben die Existenz dieser fnf Burgen angezweifelt, da die
Zeitspanne fr deren Errichtung zu kurz gewesen wre, oder sie sprechen lediglich
von einem Baubeginn dieser Festungen10. In jedem Fall ist die Beantwortung der
Fragen rund um diese Burgen eine sehr komplizierte Aufgabe.
Im Burzenland kann man heute mehr als 20 mittelalterliche Festungen
registrieren. Ein Teil dieser Denkmler ist leider verschwunden, ohne Spuren auf
dem Terrain zu hinterlassen, so die Festung auf dem Gesprengberg am oberen
8.
9.
10 .
Gh. Anghel, Ceti medievale din Transilvania, Bukarest, 1972, S. 24-25.

M. Rusu, Les formations politiques roumaines et leur lutte pour lautonomie, in Revue Roumaine
dHistoire, XXI, Heft 3-4, Bukarest, 1982, S. 380-381.
G. Ianesch Troll u.a., op. cit., S. 59.
Fig. 1.
Die Ausdehnung des
Burzenlandes
in der kniglichen Urkunde aus dem
Jahre 1211. 1)
Wehranlagen
aus Stein; 2)
Verschwundene Wehranlagen; 3)
Erdbefestigungen
335
336
Rand von Kronstadt/Braov11 oder eine in Teliu beschriebene steinerne Festung12.

Bei anderen konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass es sich eigentlich um Erd- und
Holzbefestigungen handelte13. Was aber allen besser oder schlechter erhaltenen
Burzenlnder Steinfestungen gemein ist, ist ihre sptere radikale bauliche
Vernderung durch zahlreiche Umbauten und Vergrerungen.
Wenn wir also eine Kreuzritterburg in der terra Borza typologisch identiizieren
wollen da ja behauptet wird, dass die Kreuzritter die Plne und Besonderheiten
ihrer Festungen aus dem Heiligen Land mitgebracht htten wren spezielle
methodische archologische Forschungen erforderlich, um die jeweilige
Originalform festzustellen. Leider wurden solche bis jetzt nicht durchgefhrt.
Frhere Forschungen im Bereich der Denkmler waren mehr dilettantisch, voll
guten Willens, aber ohne den ntigen Professionalismus.
Eine zweite Mglichkeit, die Kreuzritterburgen zu identiizieren, geht von
ihrer Lage in der Landschaft des Burzenlandes aus, also von der Einschtzung
ihrer strategischen Rolle und Bedeutung. Damit kommen wir zurck zu den
oben erwhnten Aufgaben, welche die Kreuzritter bei ihrer Niederlassung 1211
in der terra Borza bernommen haben. Die Hauptaufmerksamkeit gilt also den
Festungen, die mit den Wegen ber die Karpaten in Verbindung stehen. Anfang
des 13. Jahrhunderts konnte von einer defensiven Strategie nicht die Rede sein, also
von einer Sicherung des neu erworbenen Besitzes gegen Feinde von auen, sondern
vielmehr von einer Strategie der zuknftigen Verbreitung des Machtbereiches mit
der Sicherung der dafr ntigen Ausgangsbasen.
Die einzige Festung, die alle Forscher einstimmig den Kreuzrittern zuschreiben, soll
bei Marienburg/Feldioara zu suchen sein und dies wegen des Namens der Ortschaft
(villa Sanctae Mariae bei der ersten schrilichen Erwhnung 1240)14, der die Patronin
des Deutschen Ordens nennt. Jedoch gibt es verschiedene Meinungen hinsichtlich
der Identiizierung der Bauten, die die Kreuzritter 1211-1225 in Marienburg errichtet
haben. Marienburg beindet sich auf einem Terrassensporn in ca. 30 m Hhe ber dem
Zuluss des Schnellbaches in den Alt. Das Ende dieser Terrasse von ungefhr 3 ha
ist durch einen riesigen knstlichen Graben abgesondert. Dieser Verteidigungsgraben
von 40-45 m Breite und 20-25 m Tiefe stammt aus vorgeschichtlicher Zeit (Bronzeoder Hallstattzeit) und erklrt den ungarischen und nach diesem auch den rumnischen
Namen der Ortschaft: Fldvar-Feldioara = Erdburg.
Ein Teil der Forscher meint, die Kreuzritter htten diese vorgeschichtliche
Erdburg mit Palisaden und Erdwall befestigt und gleichzeitig in der Mitte dieses
Areals ein Ordenshaus und stlich davon eine Kapelle errichtet. Spter, in der 2.
Hlfte des 13. Jahrhunderts, sei durch Umbauung und Vereinigung dieser beiden
Gebude die heutige romanische dreischiige Basilika entstanden, deren Chor
im 15. Jahrhundert noch eine gotische Umbauung erhalten hat. Nach diesen
Meinungen wre in Marienburg keine eigentliche Steinburg aus der Ritterzeit
erhalten geblieben.
Andere Forscher nehmen an, dass die Anfnge der Bauernburg, die auf dem
stlichen Auslufer des Terrassensporns erhalten ist und die alle Merkmale
11 .
12 .
13 .
14 .
A. Prox, Ein zentralasiatischer Sattelbeschlag vom Gesprengberg bei Braov (Kronstadt), in Cumidava,
V, Braov, 1971, S. 743 u. folg.
A. Alexandrescu, Contribuii la cunoaterea populaiei autohtone din ara Brsei n feudalismul
timpuriu, in Cumidava, VII, Braov, 1975, S. 50-51.
Ibidem, S. 49-50.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C. Transilvania, veac XI-XIII, Bd. I, Bukarest, 1951, S. 416.
einer spteren mittelalterlichen Festung hat errichtet im 14. Jahrhundert und

stark umgebaut im 16.-17. Jahrhundert nach Art der befestigten schsischen
Kirchenburgen eigentlich aus der Zeit der Ritter stammen wrde. Damit
wird der Grundriss, welchen diese Festung anscheinend am Anfang hatte ein
unregelmssiges Oval mit zwei Trmen an den Enden der Lngsachse und mit
einem Torturm in der Mitte der Kurtine als typischer Plan der Ritterburgen am
Beginn des 13. Jahrhunderts angesehen.
Um bei dieser Gelegenheit die ersten Ergebnisse der in Marienburg/Feldioara
durchgefhrten archologischen Grabungen bekannt zu machen, hier folgende
Przisierungen:
Das durch den prhistorischen Schutzgraben abgesonderte Terrain, das
heisst die vorgeschichtliche Erdburg, in deren Mitte die heutige romanische
Basilika steht, bekam tatschlich in nachrmischer Zeit eine Verstrkung
durch einen Erdwall, welcher sehr wahrscheinlich auch eine Holzpalisade
hatte. Eine genauere Datierung dieses Erdwalles war vorluig nicht
mglich, er knnte schon am Anfang des 13. Jahrhunderts aber auch etwas
spter angelegt worden sein. Im 14. oder am Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts,
wurde der Erdwall durch eine sehr starke, fast 2 m breite Ringmauer ersetzt.
In der eigentlichen mittelalterlichen Burg von Marienburg/Feldioara, konnte
festgestellt werden, dass die zwei erhaltenen Trme wegen ihrer romanischen
Zge die ltesten Teile der Anlage sind und das zumindest der Westturm
jnger als die Ringmauer ist. Die Fundamente dieses Turmes stoen an die
Fundamente der Ringmauer. Das bedeutet, dass der unregelmssige ovale
Grundriss ohne Trme oder mit anderen Trmen, als denjenigen welche
heute stehen, am Anfang der steinernen Anlage angenommen werden kann.
Zu dieser Beobachtung muss noch die teilweise Aufdeckung einer Kapelle
hinzugefgt werden, deren Ruinen im vorigen Jahrhundert noch sichtbar
waren. Diese wurde als ein kleiner Bau mit rechteckigem Chor beschrieben.
Durch die Grabung wurde festgestellt, dass diese Kapelle eigentlich sehr
gro war und ursprnglich einen romanischen Grundriss hatte, der spter
gotisch umgebaut wurde. Die Kapelle nahm fast ein Drittel der Burglche
ein. Das Verhltnis zwischen Sakralbau und Gre der Befestigungsanlage
erinnert an den Sachverhalt von Michelsberg/Cisndioara15.
Vorluig soviel ber Marienburg/Feldioara. Eine zweite von den Kreuzrittern
errichtete Festung muss in der sdwestlichen Ecke des Burzenlandes gesucht werden.
Hier beindet sich die Zufahrt zu einem der wichtigsten Karpatenpsse, der in die
walachische Ebene und in Richtung der Donaumndung fhrt, der Trzburger
Pass/Pasul Bran. Niemand zweifelt daran, dass hier eine Kreuzritterburg errichtet
wurde. Es stellt sich nur die Frage, ob sich diese auf dem Felsen ber Rosenau/
Rnov befand, den oberen Kernteil der heute dort beindlichen Bauernburg
darstellend, oder ob die Festung vom Anfang des 13. Jahrhunderts an dem Ort, wo
1377 die Kronstdter Brger die Trzburg/Cetatea Bran errichtet haben, 12 km
sdlich im Inneren des Passes stand. Beide Anlagen sind sehr geeignet fr diesen
Zweck. Systematische Grabungen wurden leider noch nicht durchgefhrt.
Ebenso muss eine Kreuzritterburg auch am anderen Rand, in der sdstlichen Ecke des Burzenlandes, gesucht werden. Hier beindet sich das Ende
15 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, Bd. I, Bukarest, 1959, S. 25 u. folg.
337
338
bzw. der Anfang eines anderen, sehr wichtigen Karpatenpasses, unter den Namen
Tatarenpass/Pasul Ttarilor bekannt. Heute wird dieser fast nicht mehr benutzt, weil
inzwischen bessere Mglichkeiten zur Durchquerung des Gebirges bestehen. Aber
ebenso wie der Trzburger Pass am Anfang des 2. Jahrhunderts von den Rmern
befestigt und genutzt wurde, beindet sich auch am Ende dieses letztgenannten
Passes eine aus der gleichen Zeit stammende rmische Wehranlage16. Aufallend
ist, wie sich die Lagen ber mehr als ein Jahrtausend wiederholen. Leider knnte
die Kreuzritterburg aus dieser Ecke des Burzenlandes, wenn sie tatschlich in Teliu
stand, vllig verschwunden sein. Darber entscheiden zu knnen, msste man auch
die Burgruine, die sich im Inneren des Passes unter dem Namen Tabla Buii in einer
Hhe von fasst 1400 m erhalten hat, archologisch berprfen17.
Unter den mglichen Kreuzritterburgen wurde immer wieder die sogenannte
Schwarzburg/Cetatea Neagr bei Zeiden/Codlea genannt. Die Anlage ist ziemlich
unbekannt, weil sie sich sehr schlecht erhalten hat. Es ist keine berraschung, dass
diese Burgruine auf den Karten gewhnlich 4-5 km weiter von dem Platz, an dem sie
steht, markiert wird. Denn sie beindet sich nicht auf dem 1292 m hohen Berg ber
Zeiden/Codlea, sondern in einer Hhe von ca. 900 m auf einem sdlichen Auslufer
des Berges. Es gibt noch keinen zuverlssigen Grundriss dieser Festung; eigentlich
wurde dort ein felsiger Gebirgskamm auf einer Lnge von 150-200 mit Mauern
befestigt. An den Kurtinen knnen noch zwei Auentrme bemerkt werden, sowie
eine zylindrische, in den Felsen gehauene Zisterne. Diese hat ungewhnlich groe
Ausmae, fr welche wir in den siebenbrgischen Wehranlagen keine Analogie
kennen. Fr die Zuordnung dieser Burg zum Schafen der Kreuzritter spricht auch
ihre sehr frhe schriftliche Erwhnung, als sie 1262 als Fluchtort des ungarischen
Kronprinzen Stephan diente18. Zwischen 1225 und 1262 fehlen uns Nachrichten
ber die Anwesenheit einer Autoritt in dieser Gegend, welcher wir die Errichtung
dieser Burg zuschreiben knnten.
Fr eine fnfte Kreuzritterburg im Burzenland wurden viele Vorschlge gemacht.
Uns scheint als vernnftig, diese bei Kronstadt/Braov zu lokalisieren wegen der
zentralen Lage, die diese Ortschaft am Fusse des Gebirges am sdlichen Rand des
Burzenlandes einnimmt. Aber ob diese Kreuzritterburg von Kronstadt/Braov auf der
Zinne/Tmpa, wo spter eine grosse Befestigung ber der heutigen Stadt gebaut wurde,
oder an einem anderen Ort stand, ist schwer zu entscheiden. In jedem Fall, spricht
die wichtige Rolle, die Kronstadt/Braov schon Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts einnahm,
um sehr schnell der Hauptort des ganzen Distriktes zu werden, fr eine bestimmte
Bedeutung der Ortschaft whrend der Anwesenheit der Kreuzritter im Burzenland.
Das hema ist noch weit entfernt von einer endgltigen Lsung, und der
Verfasser dieser Seiten kann noch nicht die erwarteten Lsungen anbieten. Er
wollte nur auf die Bedeutung des hemas hinweisen. Sicher lohnt es sich, durch
Grabungen die historische Entwicklung dieses Teils Rumniens am Anfang des 13.
Jahrhunderts zu verfolgen. Diese ist nicht nur Teil der lokalen Geschichte, sondern
whrend der Prsenz der Kreuzritter im Burzenland auch ein wichtiger Abschnitt
der europischen Geschichte.
16 .
17 .
18 .
Am Trzburgerpass beindet sich die rmische Befestigungsanlage von Rucr und an der sdlichen Seite
des Tatarenpasses das rmische Castrum von Drajna de Sus: Gh. tefan, Le camp romain de Drajna de
Sus, in Dacia, XI-XII, Bukarest, 1945-1947, S. 115 u. folg.
Diese Festung wurde gewhnlich mit der Cruceburg (Kreuzburg) identiiziert; P. Binder, Contribuii
la localizarea Cruceburgului i unele probleme legate de ea, in Cumidava, I, Braov, 1967, S. 121 u. folg.
Documente privind istoria Romniei, C. Transilvania, veac XIII, Bd. II, Bukarest, 1952, S. 135, 148-149 etc.
autouR deS SouRceS de

laRcHitectuRe ecclSiaStiQue
RouMaine *
la suite de labandon par ladministration et les troupes romaines dans

les annes 271-275 de la province de Dacie, cre au dbut du IIe sicle, les
territoires romaniss au nord du Bas-Danube sortirent des frontires de lEmpire.
Seules les rgions sud de la Roumanie daujourdhui, situes tout au long de la rive
gauche du leuve, ont subi, par intermittence, la domination romaine et romaine
tardive, jusqu lefondrement du limes au dbut du VIIe sicle. Le mme sort lont
eu aussi les territoires situs entre le Danube et la Mer Noire, organiss du IVe au VIe
sicles dans la province Scythia Minor. Sur ces territoires et dans cet intervalle, une
architecture ecclsiastique chrtienne sest dveloppe, dont le nombre des vestiges
a considrablement augment, ces derniers temps, par suite de lintensiication des
fouilles archologiques1. Au-del des frontires de ces rgions, dans les milieux dun
habitat rural daco-romain, o le christianisme stait rpandu peu peu sous des
formes populaires et folkloriques tout en reltant le sentiment conservateur de
lappartenance lEmpire, mais o les dominations des migrateurs se sont succd
durant plusieurs sicles, les vestiges palo-chrtiens se rsument, pour le moment,
aux inscriptions et aux objets de culte2.
Sans quon puisse aujourdhui les faire remonter larchitecture dveloppe au
sud et sud-est de la Roumanie jusquau dbut du VIIe sicle, les constructions en
maonnerie ont t reprises au IXe sicle et ne connatront dsormais plus dinterruption. En fait, les monuments du IXe sicle sur le territoire de la Roumanie ont
t plutt conjecturs et infrs partir des sources crites concernant lorganisation
territoriale et politique de la socit roumaine cette poque, quattests par des
dcouvertes sures.
Dans la seconde moiti du IXe sicle, aprs la conversion au christianisme des
Bulgares et des Moraves, une architecture ecclsiastique en pierre a pu pntrer
sur le territoire de la Roumanie, venant du sud ou du nord-ouest et secondant sur
le plan de la civilisation mdivale les tendances dexpansion politique du premier
tsarat bulgare ou de la Grande Moravie. De pareils monuments ne sont cependant
que des hypothses de travail, car la seule dcouverte qui mrite pour le moment
dtre enregistre, ce sont les fondements dune rotonde qui a prcd la premire
cathdrale piscopale dAlba Iulia, cette dernire datant de la seconde moiti du
1.
2.
I. Barnea, Les monuments palochrtiens de Roumanie, Citta del Vaticano, 1977, p. 121 et suiv.
Idem, Arta cretin n Romnia, I, Bucarest, 1979; Em. Popescu, Inscripiile greceti i latine din secolele
IV-XIII descoperite n Romnia, Bucarest, 1976.
, . , , 1991, p. 1527-1535
21.
340
AUToUR DEs soURCEs DE LARCHITECTURE ECCLsIAsTIQUE RoUMAINE
Fig. 1.
glise rupestre
Murfatlar
(aprs I. Barnea)
Fig. 2.
La rotonde
d'Alba Iulia
(aprs R.
Heitel)
Fig. 3.
glise de
Dinogetia
(aprs Gh.
Stefan et
colab.)
XIe sicle. Quant la rotonde, lon y a

propos non sans rserves, une datation
qui pourrait remonter jusquau IXe sicle3,
tout en prcisant quelle aurait t le
rsultat de la jonction dune abside une
ancienne tour romaine construite sur un
plan circulaire. La premire source de
larchitecture mdivale ecclsiastique sur
le territoire de la Roumanie serait donc la
rutilisation et la rcupration pour le culte chrtien des monuments romains ou
romains tardifs abandonns, datant du IIe au VIe sicles.
Pour ce qui est du Xe sicle, les informations dont nous disposons sont plus
nombreuses, en ce qui concerne tant les monuments connus que les documents crits.
Aprs linstallation en 896 des Magyars au Danube Moyen,
les contacts des territoires roumains avec lOccident se
sont trouvs pratiquement annuls, pour tout un sicle. En
revanche, le retour de Byzance au Danube, vers la in de ce
sicle, a eu des consquences profondes pour les territoires
habits par les Roumains, par le fait davoir entran la
reprise des relations directes avec lEmpire. Sans tre pour
autant un monument darchitecture proprement parler,
la preuve matrielle la plus importante et la plus connue de
ce moment en est lensemble rupestre de Murfatlar (dp.
de Constana), o se sont conserves six glises creuses dans le rocher4. Des simples
chapelles ou bien des espaces plus amplement organiss, trois pices distinctes,
les glises rupestres et les galeries ou les autres pices de lensemble abritent de
nombreuses inscriptions slavonnes, grecques, ainsi que quelques-unes encore non
identiies, aux caractres glagolitiques ou runiques, de
mme quun rpertoire vaste de symboles chrtiens et de
reprsentations laques loin encore dtre intgralement
analyses et interprtes5.
Lensemble monastique de Murfatlar na certainement
pas t le plus ancien lieu de culte chrtien rupestre du
territoire de la Roumanie et lon a dailleurs propos des
datations plus anciennes pour des monuments similaires,
conservs dans la zone carpathique, au nord-ouest du
dpartement de Buzu ou au nord de la Transylvanie,
dans le dpartement de Slaj6, mais ceux-ci, beaucoup
plus pauvres et plus modestes pour ce qui est des lments
susceptibles de datation, ne sauraient constituer pour le
3.
4.
5.
6.
R. Heitel, "Archologische Beitrge zur Geschichte der romanischen Baudenkmler in Siebenbrgen",

dans Revue roumaine dhistoire de lart, XII, 1975, p. 5-7.
I. Barnea, Arta cretin, II, Bucuresti, 1981, p. 46 et suiv.
R. heodorescu, Bizan, Balcani, Occident la nceputurile culturii medievale romneti (secolele X-XIV),
Bucarest, 1974, p. 87-97.
P. Chihaia, De la Negru Vod la Neagoe Basarab, Bucureti, 1976, p. 240-251; M. Rusu, "Cetatea Moigrad
i Porile Meseului", dans Sub semnul lui Clio. Omagiu acad. prof. tefan Pascu, Cluj, 1974, p. 265 et suiv.
moment des arguments dcisifs. Nanmoins, il est

certain que de tels monuments, par le fait dattester,
pour ce qui est de la planimtrie, de la ralisation des
volumes intrieurs et de la dcoration, des rapports
indubitables avec larchitecture en maonnerie,
doivent galement tre considrs comme avoir jou
un rle dans la difusion de larchitecture mdivale
ecclsiastique sur le territoire de la Roumanie, bien
que les opinions soient partages quant limitation des lments de larchitecture
en pierre par les monuments rupestres ou, au contraire, quant au phnomne inverse.
Autour de lan mille, les sources crites mentionnent lrection dans louest de la
Roumanie, Cenad (dp. de Timi), dun monastre
important dont le patron tait Saint Jean et o se
sont installs des moines grecs7. On na pas encore
identii les vestiges de cette construction, mais il
est fort probable que des monuments pareils, qui
reltaient aussi lorientation oscillante de Magyars
vers le Byzance lpoque de leur conversion au
christianisme8, devaient tre largement rpandus
du ct ouest des territoires de la rive gauche du
Bas-Danube. Dautre part, en mme temps que
lorganisation du limes byzantin et que la rfection,
cette in, des cits romaines tardives de la rive droite du Danube, dans des
tablissements qui, au dbut du XIe sicle avaient acquis un caractre urbain, attest
par les fouilles archologiques9, de nombreux monuments de culte sont apparus
pour tmoigner des nouvelles conditions historiques.
De ces monuments, bien que peut-tre un peu plus
tardive que le moment voqu, fait partie une petite
glise plan central, conserve sur quelques ranges
de pierres et de briques, dcouverte GarvnDinogetia, au nord de la Dobroudja (dp. de Tulcea)
et date des XIe-XIIe sicles10.
De tels modles, apports directement des
milieux byzantins ou transmis par le truchement des
ilires balkaniques11, reprsentent la troisime source de larchitecture ecclsiastique
roumaine. Les inluences se sont ixes par ladoption de plusieurs types de
monuments des plans centraux simples, de plans en croix grecque inscrite ou de
7.
8.
9.
10 .
11 .
Legenda Sancti Gerhardi Episcopi, dans Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum (d. E. Szentptery), II, Budapest,
1938, p. 489-490.
M. Gyni, Lglise orientale dans la Hongrie du XIe sicle", dans Revue dhistoire compare, XXV, 1947, p.
44 et suiv.; Gy. Moravcsik, he Role of Byzantine Church in Medieval Hungary" dans American Slavic and
East European History, VI, 1947, p. 134 et suiv.
Fouilles importantes Dinogetia, Capidava, Pcuiul-lui-Soare, Isaccea (Noviodunum), Nufru-Ilgani etc.;
voir I. Barnea t. tefnescu, Din istoria Dobrogei, III, Bucarest, 1971, p. 76 et suiv.
Gh. tefan et colab., Dinogetia, I, Bucarest, 1967, p. 350-356.
R. heodorescu, op. cit., p. 98 et suiv.
Fig. 4.
Chapelle
de cour
Snnicolau de
Beiu
Fig. 5.
glise de
Voivozi
Fig. 6.
Chapelle de
cour Giuleti
341
342
Fig. 7.
La rotonde de
Geoagiu de
Jos (aprs Gh.
Anghel)
Fig. 8.
La rotonde de
Cluj-Mntur
(aprs P.
Iambor et St.
Matei)
plans en trle , le dernier attest ds le XIIe sicle par la

dcouverte de fondements Niculiel (dp. de Tulcea)12.
Tout au long du XIe sicle ont fait leur apparition sur
le territoire de la Roumanie les modles de larchitecture
romane, introduits par les ordres des moines et par
lactivit des centres piscopaux obissant Rome et
fonds Cenad, Oradea et Alba Iulia. Ces monuments,
recouvrant selon le but auquel ils taient destins
toute la gamme depuis les simples glises-salles de
dimensions rduites, autel demi-circulaire lextrieur
et lintrieur, construites pour servir dglises paroissiales ou de chapelles de cour et
jusquaux basiliques trois nefs des grands monastres ou des siges piscopaux, ont
trouv des chos dans lespace roumain surtout sur les territoires intra-carpathiques.
On en a rcemment dcouvert des exemples concluants surtout dans les rgions
ouest du pays. Snnicolau de Beiu (dp. de Bihor), on a fouill les restes de la
chapelle de cour dans la rsidence nobiliaire des Bora,
datant du milieu du XIe sicle et consistant en une nef
simple et un autel demi-circulaire. Vers la in de ce sicle,
la nef en a t lgrement prolonge louest, ain dy
installer une tribune, ce qui met davantage en vidence
son caractre dglise de cour, soulign galement par
la prsence, quelques dizaines de mtres de l, des
ruines de la rsidence nobiliaire datant toujours du XIe
sicle13. Un monument aux particularits stylistiques
similaires, construit dans le milieu monacal roumain,
a t rcemment mis au jour Voivozi, au nord du
mme dpartement de Bihor. Au centre de lensemble
monastique btiments en bois fond au XIIe sicle,
lon rigea dans la premire moiti du sicle suivant
une petite glise en pierre nef rigoureusement carre
(dimensions linfrieur: 5,20/5,20m), autel demicirculaire en forme de fer cheval14. Plus loin vers le
nord, dans le dpartement de Maramure, la chapelle de cour dune famille cnziale
roumaine, dcouverte Giuleti et date au XIIIe sicle, reprsente une rplique
idle des petites glises-salles romanes autel demi-circulaire15.
Plus diicilement identiiable est lorigine de plus anciennes rotondes connues
pour le moment sur le territoire de la Roumanie. Except la rotonde dAlba Iulia qui,
ainsi quon la dj airm, pourrait tre trs ancienne et provenir dune tour romaine
adapte, les monuments de ce type commencent faire leur apparition au XIIe sicle.
12 .
13 .
14 .
15 .
V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale n rile romne, I, Bucarest, 1956, p. 129-130.

R. Popa et colab., "O reedin feudal din secolele XI-XII la Snnicolau de Beiu", dans Revista muzeelor
i monumentelor. Monumente istorice i de art, XV, 1984, 2, p. 21 et suiv.; la chapelle du XIe sicle est encore
indite.
Idem, "Zur kirchlichen Organisation der Rumnen in Nordsiebenbrgen im Lichte des patriarchalischen
Privilegiums von 1391", dans Ostkirchliche Studien, 24, 1975, 4, p. 309-317.
Idem, Cnezatul Marei, Baia Mare, 1969, p. 28-34.
ceux qui se conservent encore debout16 sajoutent,

ces derniers temps, un nombre toujours plus grand
de monuments dcouverts loccasion des fouilles.
En dehors des exemplaires classiques", prsents
aussi dans larchitecture romane central-europenne
et qui ont leurs relais sur le territoire de la Hongrie
au XIIe sicle, savoir celui de Geoagiu de Jos (dp.
de Hunedoara)17, ancienne chapelle de cour, ou bien
celui intrieur hexalob dont les fondements ont
t dcouverts dans lensemble bndictin de ClujMntur et dats au XIIIe sicle18, on a trouv des
monuments de ce type qui pourraient avoir leurs sources dans lespace byzantin ou
balkanique. Nous pensons surtout la rotonde lintrieur quadrilob, datant semble-t-il - du dbut du XIIIe sicle et dcouverte Ilidia (dp. de Cara-Severin),
dans le cadre dune importante rsidence19, dont les
rapports avec Byzance sont attests par les sources
crites20.
Le monument le plus intressant relevant
toujours du mme type architectonique reste
cependant lglise roumaine de Gurasada (dp.
de Hunedoara), dont le noyau initial consiste en
un quadrilobe laxe ouest-est allong, couvert de
votes demi-cylindriques intersectes en un carr
central. En raison de lattestation du village roumain
de Gurasada en 1292, le monument a gnralement
t dat la in du XIIIe sicle et considr comme glise paroissiale, ce qui, compte
tenu des particularits du monument, nous semble diicilement acceptable21. Il y
aurait de fortes chances quil soit sensiblement plus
ancien et quil ait t utilis comme baptistre ou
comme chapelle de cour; sur lorigine du plan dans
lespace byzantin, sans analogies sur le territoire de la
Roumanie, on a dailleurs insist22.
Les petites chapelles de cour fodales, ayant
appartenu, surtout aux XIIe-XIIIe sicles dans les
zones contiges larc carpathique, aux cnzes
roumains, propritaires de villages ou des groupes
de villages, savrent tre un terrain fertile en
16 .
17 .
18 .
19 .
20 .
21 .
22 .
V. Vtianu, op. cit., p. 88-89.

Gh. Anghel, "Biserica romanic de la Geoagiul de Jos", dans Apulum, V, 1965, p. 615-624.
P. Iambor t. Matei, "Incinta fortiicat de la Cluj-Mntur (sec. IX-XIV)", dans Acta Musei Napocensis,
XVI, 1979, p. 606-608.
I. Uzum, "Spturile arheologice de la Ilidia", dans Materiale i Cercetri Arheologice, XIII, 1979, p. 387388.
En 1223 Ilidia tait le centre dun domaine de Marguerite, ancienne impratrice byzantine (Documente
privind istoria Romniei, C. Transilvania, veacul XI, XII, XIII, vol. I, Bucureti, 1951, p. 197).
R. Pop I. Chicideanu, "Informaii noi i cteva consideraii istorice privind biserica romneasc din
Gurasada, jud. Hunedoara", dans Studii i cercetri de istorie veche i arheologie, 35, 1984, I, p. 54-67.
V. Vtianu, op.cit., p. 95; Vera Gerves-Molnr, A Kzpkori Magyarorszg rotundi, Budapest, 1972, p. 59.
Fig. 9.
La rotonde
d'Ilidia (aprs
I. Uzum)
Fig. 10.
glise de
Gurasada
Fig. 11.
Chapelle de
cour
Streisngeorgiu
343
344
Fig. 12.
Fondements
de la chapelle
de cour de
Giuleti
Fig. 13.
Fondements
de la chapelle
de cour de
Snnicolau de
Beiu
solutions constructives et en imitations tout aussi varies quinattendues. Surtout

au sud de la Transylvanie, ces monuments sont reprsents par des glises-salles
autel rectangulaire, que lon a considres en principe comme des transpositions en
pierre de monuments plus anciens en bois, plus forte raison que les documents
de chancellerie voquent parfois des glises construites en bois et en pierre23. Plus
rcemment, en raison de la prsence dans ces autels rectangulaires des votes
reposant sur des ogives disposes en croix, on a pench pour la datation plus tardive,
aprs le milieu du XIIIe sicle et pour lexplication du type de plan par des inluences
cisterciennes24. Quoi quil en soit, les fouilles de Streisngeorgiu (dp. de Hunedoara),
consacres un monument pareil25, ont fourni des preuves convaincantes en faveur
de son rection dans la premire moiti du XIIe sicle, au moyen de matriaux de
construction rcuprs des ruines romaines et la place dun monument antrieur
en bois. Le monument en pierre a copi, en dimensions de mme quen planimtrie,
lautel rectangulaire y compris, lglise en bois. Larchitecture en terre et en bois qui
avait t, durant quelques sicles, lunique ou la principale modalit dexpression de
la civilisation mdivale ancienne sur les territoires au nord du Bas-Danube savre
donc, elle aussi, avoir reprsent une source de larchitecture mdivale en pierre.
Ce rapport semble encore plus vident dans le domaine de larchitecture militaire
et laque.
Ce bref coup dil sur les sources qui se trouvent lorigine de larchitecture
mdivale ecclsiastique roumaine en fait ressortir une varit apprciable. Cette
varit est dailleurs caractristique de la civilisation mdivale roumaine en son
entier, dveloppe sur le terrain des traditions locales et nourries des modles venus
23 .
24 .
25 .
V. Vtianu, op.cit., p. 72 et suiv.

V. Drgu, "Contribuii privind arhitectura goticului timpuriu n Transilvania", dans Studii i cercetri de
istoria artei. Seria arta plastic, 15, 1968, p. 45 et suiv.
R. Popa, "Streisngeorgiu. Ein Zeugnis rumnischer Geschichte des 11-14. Jahrhunderts im Sden
Transsilvaniens", dans Dacia, N.S., XX, 1976, p. 37 et suiv.
Fig. 14.
La rotonde de
Geoagiu de
Jos
Fig. 15.
La chapelle de
cour de
Streisngeorgiu
345
346
du sud du Danube, directement de lespace byzantin ou par le truchement des centres

balkaniques, auxquels se sont ajoutes dans une mesure variable dune poque et
dune zone lautre les inluences de la civilisation central et ouest europenne26.
26 .
Pour les dbuts, ces inluences occidentales se limitent aux territoires roumaines intracarpatiques; voir
aussi R. heodorescu, op.cit., p. 76-80 et passim.
FoRScHungen ZuM
landeSauSBau iM StlicHen
kaRPatenBecken
Zu Beginn deS MittelalteRS *
ie Ansicht, wonach es fast whrend des ganzen ersten Jahrtausends u. Z.,

bei allgemein niedrigen Bevlkerungszahlen, ausgedehnte bewaldete oder
bergige Gebiete unseres Erdteils ohne feste Besiedlung gab, ist in der Fachliteratur
verbreitet1. Diese Aufassung gilt natrlich fr die einzelnen Gegenden und fr
die verschiedenen chronologischen Zeitabschnitte vom Ende der Antike bis
1.
Dazu allgemein J. C. Russel, (1971, 9, 22-27 f.); fr unser Arbeitsgebiet Gy. Gyrfy, 1960,6 f., K.
Horedt, (1982, 9 f.) und P. Niedermaier, (1988, 132 f.)
Mensch und Umwelt. Studien zu Siedlungsausgrif und Landesausbau in Ur- und Frhgeschichte, Berlin, 1992,
p. 185-194
22.
Abb.1
Rumnische
Lnder
(terrae, ri)
am Rande der
Bergmassive
im stlichen
Karpatenbecken.
348
FoRsCHUNGEN ZUM LANDEsAUsBAU IM sTLICHEN kARPATENBECkEN
zum Beginn unseres Jahrtausends nicht pauschal. Fr einige Forscher ist der
entscheidende Faktor zur Abgrenzung des frhmittelalterlichen Siedlungsareals
durch die Hhenlage gegeben, fr andere durch das Klima, die Bodenbeschafenheit
oder allgemein die geographischen Voraussetzungen im Verhltnis zur Produktion
des jeweiligen Zeitabschnittes. Aber all diesen Meinungen liegt die gemeinsame
Annahme zugrunde, da die Aufsiedlung von frher unbewohnten oder nur
von urgesellschaftlichen Gemeinschaften genutzten Territorien erst gegen Ende
des frhen oder zu Beginn des entwickelten Mittelalters durch das Entstehen
stabiler drlicher Siedlungen stattgefunden hat. Dieser Proze wird als Folge
demographischer Explosionen und der Vervollkommnung bestimmter
Agrartechniken gedeutet, die nun imstande waren, Wirtschaftsressourcen in Zonen
zu erschlieen, die frher hierfr nicht zugnglich waren.
Abb. 2. Dorfbesitzungen Knesenfamilie Cndea von Ru de Mori im Kontext des Siedlungsnetzes des 13.-15. Jh. in ara
Haegului: 1 rumnische Drfer; 2 Drfer mit katholischen Gemeinschaften; 3 Drfer mit unsicheren oder
gemischten unterjochten Gemeinschaften; 4 Marktlecken und Stdte; 5 die drei Domnen der Familie Cndea
Fr diejenigen, die mit den Gegebenheiten des hier interessierenden Gebietes

weniger gut vertraut sind, sei einleitend hervorgehoben, da angesichts der
geschichtlichen Voraussetzungen in Osteuropa und vor allem in dem als
Transsilvanien bekannten2 stlichen Karpatenbecken die fr Mittel- und
Westeuropa blichen Periodisierungen, mit ziemlich genauen chronologischen
Abgrenzungen zwischen Frh-, Hoch- und Sptmittelalter, nicht anwendbar sind.
Hier war die Grenze zwischen Frh- und Hochmittelalter sowohl chronologisch
als auch territorial sehr elastisch und das Hochmittelalter reichte bis in das 14. Jh.
hinein.
Andererseits glaube ich den Folgerungen, zu denen ich gelangt bin, in gewissem
Sinne vorausgreifend , da es ntzlich wre zu fragen, ob die als Ansturm der
mittelalterlichen Dorfgemeinschaften auf die bis dahin unbewohnten Gebiete
verstandene Erscheinung in Wirklichkeit nicht etwa eher ein Ansturm der
Kanzleiurkunden auf jene Bereiche gewesen ist, die vorher auerhalb der
Beachtung, des Interesses und der administrativen Mglichkeiten der Behrden
der damals entstandenen Feudalstaaten gelegen hatten. Ich frage mich also mit
anderen Worten, ob die bedeutende territoriale Ausweitung der Besiedlung in
den ersten Jahrhunderten unseres Milleniums, die im stlichen Karpatenraum
festgestellt wurde3, nicht in Wirklichkeit in erster Linie und hauptschlich die
Einbeziehung ausgedehnter Randgebiete in das Netz schriftlicher berlieferung
bedeutet hat? In diesem Zusammenhang sei daran erinnert, da die fr eine
eingehende Rekonstruktion und vor allem die Kenntnis des Netzes drlicher
Siedlungen erforderlichen Beurkundungen im stlichen Karpatenbecken erst
im 13. Jh. einsetzten, whrend sie in den rumnischen Territorien auerhalb des
Karpatenbogens in der spteren Moldau und Walachei erst Ende des 14.
und Anfang des daraufolgenden Jahrhunderts begannen. Eine Errterung der
historischen, den spten Wellen der Vlkerwanderung im 9.-13. Jh., zugrunde
liegenden Umstnde wrde jedoch von unserer Zielstellung zu sehr abweichen4.
Diese Situation hebt die ausnehmend wichtige Rolle der Archologie fr den
Versuch der Rekonstruktion der Besiedlungsverhltnisse zu Beginn des Mittelalters
in diesen Gegenden und deren Wandlungen in den ersten Jahrhunderten unseres
Jahrtausends hervor. Gewi ist die Archologie nicht der einzige Weg der
Forschung, und ich glaube ebenso wie viele andere Fachleute an die groen Vorteile
interdisziplinrer Unternehmungen, in denen Toponymie, Ethnosoziologie,
Linguistik und Naturwissenschaften ein wichtiger Stellenwert zukommt ( Jankuhn
1976, 23 f.).
Der heutige Stand der Forschung und ihre Resultate sind durch das bisher
doch ziemlich beschrnkte Niveau der archologischen Dokumentation sowie die
mehr oder weniger bedeutenden Ergebnisse der Wissenschaften gekennzeichnet,
2.
3.
4.
Im engeren Sinne versteht man unter Transsilvanien das Gebiet bis zu den Kmmen des ApuseniGebirges (Siebenbrgen), im weiteren werden auch die westlichen und nordwestlichen Gegenden bis in
die heiebene, also die Maramuresch, Bihor und das Banat, dazugerechnet.
Eine Karte mit den von 1075 bis 1400 urkundlich erwhnten Siedlungen, chronologisch unterschieden,
bei t. Pascu (1971, 248).
Ich beziehe mich hierbei auf die ungarische Landnahme (896), das Auftauchen der Petschenegen (Ende
des 10. Jh.) und der Kumanen (Ende des 11. Jh.) sowie auf den groen Mongoleneinfall 1241-42.
ber ihre Wirkung auf die lokale Entwicklung s. Relations ..., (1975, 201 f.), und fr die Etappen der
Herausbildung des rumnischen Staatslebens s. Constituirea ..., (1980).
349
350
die der Geschichte und Archologie in diesem Zusammenhang zu Hilfe kommen

( Jankuhn 1977, 30 f.). Dabei darf man nicht bersehen, da diese Forschung
infolge auerwissenschaftlicher Implikationen viel zu leiden hatte und auch
heute noch darunter leidet. Letztere sind unlslich mit der Frage verknpft, ob
nrdlich der unteren Donau und im stlichen Karpatenbecken nach der Aulassung
der Provinz Dakien durch das Kaiserreich Ende des 3. Jh. romanisches Leben
weiterbestanden hat, in dem die Ethnogenese des rumnischen Volkes wurzelt,
oder ob die mittelalterliche rumnische Besiedlung auf frhere (im 9.-10. Jh.)5 oder
spter (erst im 13.-14. Jh.) erfolgende Einwanderungen aus den Gebieten sdlich
der Donau zurckzufhren sei6.
Abgesehen von der reichen Fachliteratur der letzten 3 bis 4 Jahrzehnte, die
zahlreiche, vor allem archologische Argumente zugunsten einer romanischen
Kontinuitt auf dem heutigen rumnischen Territorium erbracht hat7, und abgesehen
auch von den dagegen erhobenen Einwnden8, mchte ich hier die Ergebnisse
eines Forschungsweges vorstellen, der in methodologischer Hinsicht nicht von
mir gebahnt wurde, den ich aber seit ber 35 Jahren im stlichen Karpatenbecken
erfolgreich anwenden konnte. Es handelt sich um die Rekonstruktion der historischgeographischen Verhltnisse in naturbedingten Arealen, die sich hauptschlich auf
Kanzleiurkunden aus der Zeit der ltesten ausfhrlichen berlieferung des 13.14. Jh. sttzt und der archologische Untersuchungen zur schrittweisen Erhellung
der vorangehenden historischen Stufen folgten (Popa 1970,13 f.; 1988, 6). Die
Methode wird auch regressive Forschung genannt.
In geographischer Hinsicht ist das stliche Karpatenbecken uerst vielseitig
aufgegliedert: es besteht aus Hochebenen (300-400 m . M.) und den breiten Tlern
der bedeutendsten Flsse (200-300 m . M.), die in groen Zgen die mittlere
Zone einnehmen, sowie aus zahlreichen Niederungen oder Becken zweitrangiger
Flsse (250-600 m . M.) am Rande der Karpatenkette oder sogar im Innern des
Gebirgsmassivs. Fast alle diese Randzonen, wobei der Ausdruck in einem weiteren
als dem rein topographischen Sinne gilt, da die Hnge des Apuseni-Gebirges
(Westkarpaten) inmitten des stlichen Karpatenbeckens selbst liegen, waren zu
der Zeit, als die Schriftquellen die Gegebenheiten dieser Zonen zu verzeichnen
begannen, durch eine dichte, einheitlich rumnische Besiedlung gekennzeichnet.
Mehr als 25 solcher geographisch abgegrenzter Gebiete, als ri (terrae = Lnder)
oder auch unter anderen Bezeichnungen etwa cmpuri = Langfelder oder
codrii (silvae) bekannt, die zusammen mit den ihnen zugehrigen Gebirgszonen
mehr als die Hlfte des stlichen Karpatenbeckens einnehmen (Abb. 1), bewahren
noch heute eine gewisse, vor allem ethnosoziologische Individualitt, wie das auch
in der Folklore oder in der Volkskunst zum Ausdruck kommt. Die Flchen dieser
Lnder schwanken zwischen 10000 km2 bei den grten Territorien, wie der ara
Maramureului mit seinen fast 100 rumnischen Drfern im 14. Jh. (Popa 1970,
5.
6.
7.
8.
Bei K. Horedt (1986, 174-177).

Eine Ansicht, die etwa Gy. Gyrfy (1966-1987) fr alle im intrakarpatischen rumnischen Territorium
gelegenen mittelalterlichen Komitate hartnckig vertritt.
Neuere zusammenfassende Ausfhrungen bei L. Brzu (1980), N. Stoicescu (1983), t. Brezeanu (Hrsg.),
G. I. Brtianu (1988, Anm. des Hrsg. S. 189-211).
Eine neuere Stellungnahme bei G. Barta u. a. (1986), jedoch mit Unterschieden bei der Beurteilung der
archologischen Informationen (I. Bona) und der historischen Auslegung (L. Makkai).
118 f.), bis zu einigen Hundert km2 im Fall der kleinsten Einheiten, etwa der ara
Lovitei oder der ara Almjului, mit in dieser Zeit je 15-20 rumnischen Drfern.
Diese Lnder wurden vom 12. bis zum 14. Jh. allmhlich als Komitate
oder Distrikte in die Sphre politischer und verwaltungsmiger Herrschaft
des mittelalterlichen ungarischen Knigreiches einbezogen. Es verblieb ihnen
eine gewisse Autonomie, die sich bis in das 15. Jh. zum Status einer Mehrzahl
privilegierter rumnischer Distrikte entwickelte, ebenso wie sich auch das
gesamte stliche Karpatenbecken als Woiwodschaft Transsilvanien eine gewisse
Selbstndigkeit bewahren konnte, deren Grad sich im Laufe der Jahre freilich
nderte (Pascu 1971-1988).
Das Hauptproblem, das diese Lnder aufwerfen, ist das der Frage nach den
Anfngen ihrer mittelalterlichen Geschichte. Erfolgte ihre spte Aufsiedlung durch
die Schafung eines Netzes drlicher Siedlungen aus Familiengruppen, die von
anderswo hierher gekommen sind oder gebracht wurden9, oder aber hat whrend des
ersten Jahrtausends u. Z. und bis zur ersten schriftlichen Erwhnung ihrer Drfer
hier eine andauernde Besiedlung bestanden, deren Kennzeichen durch zuknftige,
immer eingehendere Untersuchungen noch genauer zu klren wren?
Die Antwort auf diese Frage bereitet keine Schwierigkeiten, wenn man sich
der Annahme anschliet, die eine vllige Entvlkerung weiter Gebiete immer
entschiedener ablehnt. Schwieriger dagegen ist beim heutigen Stand der Forschung
die Argumentation mittels archologischer oder anderer Quellen. Man wei nur zu
gut, wie schwer es ist, eine Grenze zwischen dnnbesiedelten und unbesiedelten
Gebieten zu ziehen, und da die Fundleere eines Raumes nicht unbedingt auch
dessen Siedlungsleere bedeuten mu ( Jankuhn 1977, 90).
Entsprechend der bereits angedeuteten Methode sttzt sich die Lsung dieser
Frage auf die Ergebnisse einer genauen Analyse der in den betrefenden Lndern
verfgbaren und auf sie bezogenen ltesten Informationen, die durch archologische
oder andersartige verfgbare Quellen erhrtet werden. In allen Fllen lie sich eine
beeindruckende Anpassung der Dorfgemeinden an das geographische Milieu und
die natrlichen Ressourcen der betrefenden Zonen feststellen. Das gilt in erster
Linie fr die Produktionsprozesse, aber fllt auch in bezug auf die von diesen
Gemeinschaften geschafenen sozialpolitischen Gebilde wie unter zahlreichen
anderen Aspekten auf. berall und jedesmal stt man auf Zustnde, die uns
weit in die Vergangenheit zurckversetzen, da die Schriftquellen eine ber viele
Generationen hinweg tradierte Erfahrung veranschaulichen. Ich denke dabei an
die Art der Nutzung und Beherrschung der Wlder, Gewsser und Bergweiden
oder an den Zusammenschlu der Siedlungen in Dorfverbnden, bestehend aus
einer vernderlichen Zahl von Einheiten 5-6 bei den kleinsten und bis zu 20-25
Siedlungen im Fall der grten Verbnde , von denen jeder einem der Mikrogebilde
eines solchen Landes angehrte. Die Gesamtheit der inneren Angelegenheiten
und der zwischen den einzelnen Verbnden bestehenden Beziehungen war
durch die Landessitte, d. h. das in den Urkunden jus valachorum genannte
Gewohnheitsrecht geregelt. Ferner hatte jedes Land seine eigene Kirchenstruktur
vom Typ der Protopopiate (Archidiakonate) oder sogar der Bistmer. Schlielich
widerspiegeln die Dorfknesen, die einem oder hchstens zwei Drfern vorstanden,
9.
S. Anm. 5 u. 6; ferner E. Lukinich L. Gldi (1941).
351
352
Abb.
die sog. Talknesen oder Jupane, die

eine Gruppe von Drfern unter sich
hatten, und, als militrischpolitische
Institution der Kategorie der Jupane, die
Woiwoden, je einer in jedem Land,
jene sozialen Diferenzierungen, die man
innerhalb der vorstaatlichen rumnischen
Feudalgesellschaft feststellen kann10.
Die
Rekonstruktion
der
Besiedlungsverhltnisse im stlichen
Karpatenbecken
zu
Beginn
des
Mittelalters sowie die ihrer Dynamik in
den Jahrhunderten vor dem Bestehen
schriftlicher Aufzeichnungen erfordert die
Bercksichtigung des Speziikums einer
Mischwirtschaft, in der sich Ackerbau
3. Gemarkung von 1390 der possessio Brsana mit
dem zu ihr gehrenden Dorf Vleni in der ara
und Viehzucht in unterschiedlicher
Maramureului (X identiizierbare Punkte der
Proportion von einem Mikroareal zum
Germarkungsbeschreibung)
andern und von einem Zeitraum zum
andern vereinten, sich gegenseitig
11
ergnzten oder sogar bedingten . Hhenlage und Bodenbeschafenheit spielten
dabei eine viel kleinere Rolle, als ihnen gewhnlich beigemessen wird. In den
Sdkarpaten und besonders in den die Hauptkette begleitenden niedrigeren
Gebirgszgen, die in Hhen von 800-1300 m unbewaldete Rcken haben, indet
man, manchmal oberhalb der Drfer liegend und durch sie geschafen und genutzt,
bis in 1000 m Hhe bebaute Terrassen (Vuia 1980, 444-446; 131 f.). Bisher
wurde nicht versucht, diese zu datieren, aber von Wichtigkeit ist wohl vor allem ihr
Bestehen als solches, das die Mglichkeit eines Ackerbaus sogar in dieser Hhe und
auf Feldern, die mit Hilfe von Viehherden gedngt wurden, sowie das sehr hohe
Alter einer stndigen Besiedlung auf dazu angelegten Terrassen im Gebirgsmassiv
bezeugt12.
In den Nordkarpaten gibt es alte Drfer, die mit Gewiheit schon vor dem 14.
Jh. in Hhen bis zu 500-600 m angelegt worden sind (Popa 1970, 119). Eine neue
Untersuchung ber das mittelalterliche Dorf konnte auch fr die slowakischen
Nordkarpaten fr das 9.-14. Jh. eine zwar dnnbesiedelte, aber doch durch drliche
Niederlassungen gekennzeichnete Zone in Hhen von 800-1000 m ermitteln.
Diese ist umso signiikanter, als sie von der Zone der Drfer in geringeren
Hhenlagen (250-600 m) durch einen Grtel ohne stndige Besiedlung getrennt
war (Habovtiak 1985, 57 f.).
Andererseits veranschaulicht das Herrschaftssystem ber die Drfer durch
die Spitzen der vorstaatlichen rumnischen Feudalherren, wie es aus den ltesten
Kanzleipapieren hervorgeht, Situationen, die eine Erklrung erfordern. Bedeutende
10 .
11 .
12 .
Einzelheiten und Rechtfertigungen fr all diese Aspekte R. Popa (1970; 1988).

Eine allgemeine Betrachtung dieses Gegenstandes, die auch noch 50 Jahre nach ihrer Verfentlichung
Interessantes bietet, bei L. Somean (1941).
ber die dakische Besiedlung knstlich angelegter Terrassen im Gebirgsmassiv s. H. Daicoviciu (1972,
218 f ).
Knesenfamilien der Jupanenkategorie hatten manchmal Drfer unter sich, die

mehrere, ziemlich weit voneinander entfernte Gter bildeten.
Diese Besitzverhltnisse beruhten auf der ausdrcklichen kniglichen Besttigung
lterer Zustnde, die sich ihrerseits wiederum durch Entwicklungen im Innern der
Dorfverbnde und ihnen zugrundeliegende sozial-patrimoniale Diferenzierungen
ergeben hatten (Popa 1970,166 f.; 1988, 188 f.). Ein aufschlureiches Beispiel
hierfr bildet die Knesenfamilie Cndea in Ru de Mori (ara Haegului). Whrend
ihre Residenz im 13.-14. Jh. am Fue des Retezat-Gebirges lag, beherrschte sie
neben Drfern am Unterlauf des Flusses Strei auch ausgedehntes Wiesen- und
Weideland in der Niederung der Jiu-Quellen, am entgegengesetzten Hang des
Berges (Popa 1970, 77; 166 f.) (Abb. 2). Auch hier konnte spter eine Gruppe von
Drfern nachgewiesen werden.
Die historischen Schlufolgerungen, zu denen all diese Feststellungen fhren,
haben nicht die Bedeutung von endgltigen Beweisen, sie bleiben gewissermaen
hypothetisch und bedrfen weiterer Belege und Untersuchungen. Daher ist es
wohl notwendig, sie zur Diskussion zu stellen, selbst wenn sie vorluig in den fr
andere Teile des Kontinents allgemein akzeptierten berlegungen kaum Platz
inden. Die Unterschiedlichkeit der parallel laufenden historischen Vorgnge ist als
natrlich anzusehen, und weder die geographischen und anderen naturgegebenen
Voraussetzungen noch die vorangegangenen antiken Verhltnisse inden in anderen
Teilen Europas eine genaue Entsprechung13.
Im stlichen Karpatenbecken gibt es keine bis heute erhaltenen Siedlungen,
fr die eine ununterbrochene Anwesenheit ein- und derselben Gemeinschaft seit
einem Zeitpunkt vor dem 11.-12. Jh. nachzuweisen wre. Das ist auch durch den
vlligen Verlust der antiken Siedlungstoponymie erwiesen. Die Zahl der schriftlich
bezeugten Siedlungen des 11.-12. Jh. und solcher, die das Mittelalter bis in die
heutige Zeit berdauerten, ist im brigen durch die Zerstrungen anllich des
groen Mongoleneinfalls Mitte des 13. Jh. oder der spteren trkischen Feldzge
stark vermindert. Hinzu kommt auch noch das Wstwerden von Drfern durch
Epidemien oder andere Katastrophen (Suciu 1967/68; Pascu 1971, 222 f.). Dabei
ist aber zu bemerken, da das Wstwerden von Drfern mit groer Vorsicht und
nur unter Beachtung der folgenden Erwgungen untersucht werden darf. Die lang
andauernde relative Instabilitt der Besiedlung, die periodische Verlegung der
Dorfkerne innerhalb eines bestimmten Umkreises bis in jene Zeit, als kollektive
Arbeitsanstrengungen, das Erscheinen gemauerter Bauwerke oder das Eingreifen
der Staatsobrigkeit eine deinitive Stetigkeit der mittelalterlichen Besiedlung
bewirkten, haben zur Annahme zahlreicher nur vermeintlicher Dorfverdungen
gefhrt. Manche sind durch die huigen nderungen der Dorfnamen zu erklren14.
Fr die zweite Hlfte des vorigen Jahrtausends lt sich die durch niedrige
Bevlkerungszahlen gekennzeichnete Besiedlung des stlichen Karpatenbeckens,
13 .
14 .
Suggestiv sind jedoch die zahlreichen Analogien zwischen der vorstaatlichen Entwicklung im stlichen
Karpatenbecken und der Etappe in der Geschichte Sardiniens, die der Entstehung der vier sardischen
guidicati als Feudalstaaten vorausgingen (F. C. Casula 1985).
ber die Dynamik der rumnischen Besiedlung vor der Entstehung des mittelalterlichen Siedlungsnetzes
s. R. Popa (1984, 20-25). Fr ein Gebiet mit etwa 200 Siedlungen konnte ich feststellen, da mehr als 30
Prozent davon im 14.-15. Jh. ihren Namen wenigstens einmal gewechselt haben oder unter zwei bis drei
verschiedenen Bezeichnungen beurkundet waren (Popa 1988, 137 f ). Huige Namensnderungen sind
auf die feudale Patrimonialisierung der Drfer zurckzufhren.
353
354
die brigens der damaligen Besiedlung weiter Gebiete des Kontinents entsprach
(Niedermaier 1988, 129 f.), nur insofern rekonstruieren, wenn man ihre
sukzessiven Schwankungen in Rechnung stellt, denen der huige Wechsel der von
den Wandervlkern ausgebten militrisch-politischen Macht zugrunde lag. Im
Rahmen der frhstaatlichen Gebilde, die Gepiden, Awaren u. a. hier schufen oder bis
in diese Gegenden ausweiteten, waren die kleinen einheimischen Gemeinschaften
zu huigen Verlegungen ihrer Heimsttten gezwungen.
Die Lebensdauer der bisher freigelegten und untersuchten Siedlungen ist schwer
zu bestimmen, da sich die Forschungen, die erst in der Nachkriegszeit begonnen
haben, vorluig nur auf Probegrabungen und Teiluntersuchungen beschrnken,
und mit wenigen Ausnahmen ist auch diesen bisher nicht die ihnen gebhrende
Auswertung in Verfentlichungen zuteil geworden. Nur Grabungen, die die
Siedlungen umfassend freilegen wrden, die aber infolge der groen Flchen uerst
schwierig durchzufhren sind, sowie die Kenntnis der dazugehrigen Nekropolen15
und Ergebnisse naturwissenschaftlicher Disziplinen, die in diesem Falle zu einem
Hilfsmittel der Archologie werden wrden, knnten einen namhaften Fortschritt
bei einer solchen Rekonstruktion bewirken.
Nach Ablauf des relativ ausgeglichenen und ruhigen 9. Jh., fr das eine
Vermehrung der Funde und eine grere Stetigkeit der Besiedlung zu konstatieren
sind, die heute eher aufgrund der Verdichtung schriftlicher Quellen als aufgrund
archologischer Beobachtungen16 als rumnischslawisch angesehen werden, kam
es im stlichen Karpatenbecken zu einer bedeutenden territorialen Neugestaltung
der Siedlungsverhltnisse. Sie ist auf die Niederlassung der ungarischen
Volksstmme an der mittleren Donau und auf deren Streifzge zurckzufhren.
Dieses Ereignis hatte langanhaltende Folgen. Um die Jahrtausendwende entstand
das mittelalterliche ungarische Knigreich, das seine Herrschaft allmhlich auch
nach Osten, in Richtung der Karpaten, ausweitete.
Wie sich diese von neuem gestrten Siedlungsverhltnisse im Laufe des 10.-11.
Jh. stabilisiert und in die Koordinaten der mittelalterlichen Geschichtsgeographie
eingereiht haben, wie es aus den Kanzleiurkunden und anderen Informationen
des 13./14. Jh. hervorgeht, lt sich berzeugend mittels der bereits erwhnten
regressiven Forschungsmethode rekonstruieren.
Die politische Geschichte der zweiten Hlfte des vorigen und des Anfangs
unseres Jahrtausends begnstigte in den Dorfgemeinden die Vervollkommnung
einer gemischten Landwirtschaft, die sowohl den ueren Verhltnissen als auch
den verfgbaren Naturressourcen angepat war. Trotz der damaligen Ausbreitung
der Waldungen, die aber m. E., insbesondere angesichts des Fehlens geeigneter
naturwissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen, nicht bertrieben dargestellt werden
sollte17, standen den Dorfgemeinden ausgedehnte Bodenlchen sowohl fr den
Ackerbau als auch fr die Viehzucht und vor allem fr eine kombinierte Ausbung
beider Wirtschaftsformen zur Verfgung. Das gilt nicht nur fr die Rumnen im
15 .
16 .
17 .
In den meisten Fllen sind Reste entweder von Siedlungen oder von Nekropolen vorhanden. Stehen
Spuren von beiden zur Verfgung, so bleibt der Prozentsatz, in welchem diese freigelegt wurden, fast
immer fraglich. Fr eine Siedlung in der Maramure, die mehrere Jahrhunderte bestand, bis ihr Kern um
das Jahr 1300 auf den heutigen Platz verlegt wurde; s. R. Popa (1971, 601-626) und R. Popa R. Harhoiu
(1989, 249 f., 265-270).
ber den Herzog der Rumnen und Slawen in Transsilvanien um das Jahr 900 spricht die lteste
ungarische Chronik: Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum, Verl. E. Szentptery, I, Budapest, 1937, 65-69.
Auf ber 70 Prozent des Gebietes Transsilvaniens schtzt K. Horedt (1982, 14) die Bewaldung im
vorigen Jahrtausend, whrend P. Niedermaier (1988, 137-140) sogar 80 Prozent Wald und Umland fr
die Jahrtausendwende annimmt. Beide Schtzungen halte ich fr bertrieben pessimistisch.
stlichen Karpatenbecken, sondern auch fr die extrakarpatischen rumnischen

Gebiete, wo dieselben Voraussetzungen bestanden.
Die Zyklen der Wirtschaftsprozesse wickelten sich ber weite Flchen ab,
einschlielich der Sommerweiden fr Rinder- und Schafherden auf den Bergalmen
und -wiesen, ein bis zwei Tagesreisen vom Kern der drlichen Siedlungen entfernt.
Die Vermarkung zweier rumnischer Drfer der Maramure, ein altes und ein
neueres, gegen Ende des 14. Jh. veranschaulicht diese Situation sehr deutlich. Es
ist von einer 40 km langen Gemarkung die Rede, zu der auch Weideland gehrte
(Popa 1970, 68 f.) (Abb. 3). Das bedeutete aber kein Nomadenleben, nicht einmal
Halbnomadentum, da nur ein Teil der mnnlichen Mitglieder der Dorfgemeinschaft
diese Entfernungen zurcklegte18. Der Bau von anfnglich nur provisorischen
Unterknften auf den Sommerweiden bildete den Ursprung des spteren
Dorfschwrmens, knnte aber auch den Umzug der ganzen Gemeinschaft lngs
der Tler in Richtung des Gebirges begnstigt haben. Dabei mute die Verlegung
des Dorfes an eine andere Stelle, die der Dorfgemeinschaft gehrte und die sie
bereits in bestimmtem Mae humanisiert hatte, fr die Gemeinschaft keineswegs
eine Flucht oder ein anderes dramatisches Ereignis in ihrer Entwicklung bedeuten.
Hinzu kommt, da sich dieser Proze auch ber einen lngeren Zeitabschnitt
abspielen konnte.
Beurteilt man den Verlauf der Geschichte in seiner Gesamtheit, so ist es
wohl zulssig, fr die Zeit nach dem 9. Jh. von einem Auseinanderstreben der
rumnischen Dorfgemeinschaften im stlichen Karpatenbecken zu sprechen. Es
hatte ein betrchtliches Anwachsen der Bevlkerung und der Siedlungsdichte
in den zahlreichen Lndern am Rande des Karpatenbogens oder des ApuseniGebirges zur Folge. Gewi handelte es sich dabei nicht um eine systematische
Rumung des ofenen Gelndes in der Ebene und in den Hauptlutlern nach
ethnischen Gesichtspunkten, aber die aus irgendwelchen Grnden an ihrem alten
Standort verbliebenen Familien oder Gemeinschaften wurden von den im 11.13. Jh. entstehenden weltlichen oder kirchlichen Feudaldomnen aufgesogen und
verschwanden in der sozial und ethnisch immer homogener werdenden Masse der
leibeigenen Bauern des 14. Jh.
Andererseits frderte diese Erscheinung in den rumnischen Lndern das
Reifen territorialpolitischer Gebilde feudaler Natur vom Typ der Woiwodschaften,
da eine dichte sehafte Bevlkerung eine Vorbedingung fr die Entstehung
mittelalterlicher Staaten war. Im Entstehungsproze des rumnischen Staatslebens
bildeten diese Woiwodschaften die den unabhngigen Frstentmern direkt
vorangehende Stufe19.
Auf das hema des vorliegenden Beitrags zurckkommend, sei abschlieend
betont, da die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen den Landesausbau im stlichen
Karpatenbecken zu Beginn des Mittelalters nicht eigentlich als eine schrittweise
Ausweitung der Besiedlung in vorher siedlungsleere Gegenden oder als Integration
immer wieder neuer Gebiete in die mittelalterliche Lebens- und Wirtschaftssphre
betrachten, sondern als territoriale Neugestaltung eines aus verschiedenartigen
18 .
19 .
ber das Hirtenwesen bei den Rumnen, ohne Parallelen sdlich der Donau, A. Beuermann (1967), s.
auch R. Vuia (1980, 205 f ).
R. Popa (1970, 192 f ). Inwieweit die vorstaatlichen Gebilde des 12.-13. Jh., die in den rumnischen
Lndern an den Rndern und in den geschtzten Zonen des stlichen Karpatenbeckens festgestellt
werden konnten, direkte Nachfolger der um die Wende des 9.-10. Jh. bezeugten frhen rumnischen
Staatsgebilde waren oder aber erst das Ergebnis einer unabhngigen lokalen Entwicklung bildeten, bleibt
dahingestellt.
355
356
Elementen bestehenden Siedlungsbestandes. In dessen Rahmen hat, wie die fr

die Gesamtheit des hier interessierenden Gebietes verfgbaren Daten zeigen, das
bodenstndige Element demographisch stndig seine Vorherrschaft gewahrt.
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territoire de lancienne Dacie, Bucarest, 1980.
Brezeanu, S. (Hrsg.) Brtianu, G. I.: O enigm i un miracol istoric: poporul romn,
Bucureti, 1988.
Casula, F. C.: La storia della Sardegna da Mieszko I di Poionia a Ferdinando II dAragona,
Sassari, 1985.
... Constituirea statelor feudale romneti, Bucureti, 1980.
Daicoviciu, H.: Dacii, Bucureti, 1972.
Gyrfy, G: Einwohnerzahl und Bevlkerungsdichte in Ungarn bis zum Anfang
des XIV. Jahrhunderts. In: Studia Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 42,
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Gyrfy, G: Az rpd-kori Magyarorszg trtneti fldrajza, I-III, Budapest, 19661987.
Habovtiak, A.: Stredovek dedina na Slovensku, Bratislava, 1985.
Horedt, K.: Siebenbrgen in sptrmischer Zeit, Bukarest, 1982.
Horedt, K.: Siebenbrgen im Frhmittelalter, Bonn, 1986.
Jankuhn, H.: Archologie und Geschichte, I, Berlin-New York, 1976.
Jankuhn, H.: Einfhrung in die Siedlungsarchologie, Berlin-New York, 1977.
Lukinich, E. Gldi, L.: Documenta historiam Valachorum in Hungaria illustrantia
usque ad annum 1400 p. Christum, Budapest, 1941.
Niedermaier, P.: Zur Siedlungsgeographie und Siedlungsgeschichte Siebenbrgens.
In: Zeitschrift fr Siebenbrgische Landeskunde, Jg. 11 (82), Heft 2, 129-149, 1988.
Pascu, .: Voievodatul Transilvaniei, I-IV, Cluj-Napoca, 1971-1988.
Popa, R.: ara Maramureului n veacul al XIV-lea, Bucureti, 1970.
Popa, R.: Noi cercetri de arheologie medieval n Maramure. antierul Sarasu. In:
Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche, 22, 601-626, 1971.
Popa, R.: Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa Britonia. In: Zeitschrift fr Archologie des
Mittelalters, 12, 1984, 7-25.
Popa, R.: La nceputurile Evului Mediu romnesc. ara Haegului, Bucureti, 1988.
Popa, R. Harhoiu, R.: Mrturii arheologice din Maramure aparinnd mileniului I
e. n. In: Studii i Cercetri de Istorie Veche i Arheologie, 40, 1989, 249-272.
... Relations between the autochthonous population and the migratory populations on the
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K. (Hrsg.): Bevlkerungsgeschichte Europas, Mnchen, 1971, 9-57.
Somean, L.: Alter und Entwicklung der rumnischen Landwirtschaft in Siebenbrgen,
Bukarest, 1941.
Stoicescu, N.: he continuity of the Romanian People, Bucharest, 1983.
Suciu, C.: Dicionar istoric al localitilor din Transilvania, I-II, Bucureti, 1967-1968.
Vuia, R.: Studii de etnograie i folclor, II, Bucureti, 1980.
MonuMente, anSaMBluRi i
SituRi iStoRice din RoMnia
ntRe centRul i Sud-eStul
euRoPei *
lturi de conceptele tradiionale de Europa Central i Europa de sud-est, de

mai mult vreme a intrat n uz i noiunea de Europa central-estic. Nevoia
de a nuana subdiviziunile continentului nu este speciic doar acestei zone, ea este
prezent i n deinirea de limite n direcia nord-estic, precum i n alte pri ale
Europei.
Deinirea unor subdiviziuni continentale se poate ntemeia pe realiti naturalgeograice i n acest sens poate i evocat frecvena cu care ntlnim n literatur
termenul de Bazin Carpatic (Karpatenbecken), considerat de la Bratislava pn la
Braov, dei este evident c exist condiii de clim i relief foarte variate n teritoriul
astfel numit, care de altfel nu poate i considerat ca echivalent cu Europa Central.
Cred c nu greesc adugnd c precizarea unor mari subdiviziuni ale Europei
pornete uneori, mai mult sau mai puin mrturisit, de la hotarele politice mai vechi
sau mai noi i c n acest sens Europa Central este echivalat cu fostul imperiu care
i-a avut centrele la Viena i Praga, eventual i cu unele zone care-l mrgineau la
vest i care au depins mai mult sau mai puin de aceste centre.
Cnd deinim sfere teritoriale de cultur i civilizaie, fr a neglija factorul
natural-geograic, cel de istorie politic sau ali factori, trebuie desigur s lum n
considerare n primul rnd trsturile de nrudire decurgnd dintr-o motenire
comun. O astfel de abordare n deinirea Europei Centrale a fost mult ngreunat de
reconstituirile istorice ntreprinse n ultima jumtate de secol, sub inluena celui deal doilea rzboi mondial. Este vorba mai ales de viziunea istoric i de interpretrile
de care a avut parte colonizarea german n rsritul continentului, sub diferitele
forme n care aceasta s-a produs ncepnd nc de la inele mileniului precedent,
cunoscnd o epoc de maxim intensitate n secolele XII-XIV, dar continund chiar
i pn n secolul al XVIII-lea.
Nu ne propunem s detaliem aceste aprecieri cu caracter de maxim generalizare,
cu att mai puin s abordm cazurile particulare care, iecare n parte i cu speciic
propriu, au contribuit la crearea unei civilizaii istorice comune Europei Centrale.
M voi limita la cteva consideraii asupra speciicului patrimoniului cultural-istoric
din ara noastr.
n ncercarea absurd de a remodela trecutul conform obiectivelor politicoideologice ale totalitarismului comunist, realiti istorice foarte importante pentru
deinirea identitii patrimoniului cultural-istoric din Romnia au fost estompate sau
chiar contestate. S-a ncercat omogenizarea trecutului n spiritul unui naionalism
*
Buletinul Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice, 1993, 1-2, p. 5-8
23.
358
MoNUMENTE, ANsAMBLURI I sITURI IsToRICE DIN RoMNIA
exclusivist care a diminuat sistematic sau a eliminat contribuiile alogene. Pentru

a nu mai vorbi de exagerarea n anii 1948-1962 a unor inluene i legturi viznd
plasarea trecutului Romniei ntr-un context nord-est european.
Identitatea medieval distinct a iecreia dintre cele trei mari provincii istorice
romneti Valahia, Transilvania i Moldova a fost un fapt real, continuat n epoca
modern i avnd consecine pn n zilele noastre, dup cum sunt de necontestat
deosebirile dintre inuturile intracarpatice i cele extracarpatice ale Romniei sub
aspectul motenirii patrimoniale. Aceasta n ciuda faptului c regiuni situate la sud
sau la est de Carpai - am n vedere Valahia Mic (Oltenia) i Bucovina au fcut
parte pentru perioade mai scurte sau mai ndelungate din Imperiul Hasburgic,
ntr-o vreme n care acesta se identiica cu Europa Central.
Dar dac provinciile istorice ntre care s-a mprit n trecut teritoriul Romniei au
avut iecare propria sa identitate medieval ce s-a rsfrnt n domeniul patrimoniului
cultural istoric pe care l-am motenit, situaie deloc excepional deoarece
particulariti regionale exist n oricare dintre actualele state ale continentului,
considerarea Carpailor ca reprezentnd o delimitare istoric sau cultural, ca iind
hotarul dintre dou arii de civilizaie medieval, este departe de a se justiica. S-au
accentuat pn la supradimensionare, din motivele evocate, trsturile comune, de
o parte i de alta a munilor, ale civilizaiei proprii societii romneti. Dar s-a
minimalizat faptul c alctuirile urbane de pe laturile de sud i de est ale Carpailor
s-au datorat n mare msur extensiei teritoriale a unui proces istoric care i are
originea i temeiurile n centrul sau chiar n vestul european.
Avem n vedere orae medievale precum Rmnicu-Vlcea i Cmpulung-Muscel,
unde la 1300 se punea lespedea pe mormntul lui comes Laurenciuns de Longo Campo
i unde tot atunci exista o mnstire nchinat Sf. Elisabeta, Baia, care a fost printre
primele reedine politice ale Moldovei, i avea n secolul al XlV-lea magistrat cu
sigiliu n latin, iar la Suceava, capitala din secolele XV-XVI a principatului de la
est de Carpai, au fost descoperite n centrul oraului medieval ruinele bisericii
parohiale a unei colectiviti de oreni originari ei sau predecesorii lor din
Europa Central sau sudul Poloniei. n spiritul directivelor impuse n urm cu dou
decenii, semniicaia descoperirii a fost minimalizat. Undeva n sudul Moldovei,
nc nelocalizat, a existat n secolele XIII-XIV un centru episcopal al bisericii
romane, iar la iret este atestat n secolul al XlV-lea o mnstire franciscan. i la
Curtea de Arge a iinat n secolul al XlV-lea o episcopie catolic, iar lista ar putea
i lungit, mai ales dac am lua n discuie date din secolele XVI-XVII.
Exist o ntreag literatur de specialitate privind implantrile de colectiviti
central-europene n principatele romneti extra-carpatice, ntemeiat n principal
pe izvoarele narative i de cancelarie din secolele XIV-XVII, dar ilustrarea acestora
prin patrimoniul de monumente, de ansambluri i de moteniri ale unei civilizaii
urbane speciice, nu s-a bucurat de interesul meritat. Identiicarea mrturiilor
materiale ale acestui capitol de istorie rmne de fcut de acum nainte, n msura
n care opiunile pentru reconstituiri istorice veridice i corecte vor prevala asupra
interpretrilor inluenate de falsul patriotism istoric.
Dar elementele speciice civilizaiei medievale central-europene, introduse
i asimilate la sud i est de Carpai, nu au constat doar din tipuri de aezri, din
monumente disparate, din importuri de produse sau din mprumuturi artistice,
ci i din adoptarea unui mod de via pe care-l relect descoperirile arheologice.

Un capitol oarecum specializat al istoriei de art, semniicativ pentru coordonatele
traiului zilnic dar i pentru gusturi sau mentaliti, l reprezint cahlele ce compuneau
sobele medievale, piese eseniale ale interioarelor reedinelor nobiliare dar i ale
locuinelor mai modeste de oreni i trgovei.
Cu decalaje cronologice neglijabile pentru judecarea situaiei de ansamblu, sobele
de cahle att de caracteristice pentru civilizaia medieval central-european
sunt prezente pe teritoriul Valahiei i al Moldovei nc din secolul al XlV-lea. Ele
au evoluat, n pas cu progresele nregistrate pe un spaiu mult mai vast, de la sobele
simple alctuite din cahle-oal pn la cele foarte elaborate, compuse din piese de
factur gotic sau renascentist cu inscripii latine sau slavone i cu decor igurativ
zoomorf sau antropomorf. O ntreag lume de simboluri i mentaliti proprii
Europei Centrale rzbate din volumetria i din subiectele care decoreaz cahlele
descoperite pretutindeni de arheologi. Situaia poate i desigur extins i asupra
inventarelor perisabile care nu ni s-au pstrat: mobile, piese de interior, costume etc.
Un exemplar reprezentativ realizat la un nivel cu totul remarcabil, datnd din
jurul anului 1480, a fost descoperit i reconstituit de noi din cvasitotalitatea celor
cca. 700 de piese care-l compuneau. Cercetrile care au dus la descoperirea lui
s-au desfurat ntre 1956 i 1965, n vecintatea cetii princiare de la Suceava i
avem toate motivele s airmm c piesa a reprezentat doar o replic mai modest
a sobelor de cahle gotice care mpodobeau i nclzeau interioarele cetii sau ale
curii domneti din oraul ce era pe atunci capital a principatului Moldova.
Iar dac n legtur cu aceast descoperire s-ar putea crede c este vorba de o
excepie datorat mediului princiar din care provine, atunci cele peste 200 de locuri
n care s-au descoperit pn acum cahle din secolele XIV-XVII, sau reconstituirea
unei sobe de cahle de la nceputul secolului al XV-lea provenind dintr-o cas de
orean de la Rmnicu-Vlcea, n nordul Valahiei, ne ncredineaz c fenomenul a
fost larg rspndit.
i pentru cetile medievale din Moldova i Valahia s-a insistat n deceniile din
urm asupra unor trsturi i particulariti considerate a relecta sinteza dintre
Occident i sud-estul european, subliniindu-se ndeosebi aporturile balcanobizantine. n realitate, argumentele aduse n acest sens sunt departe de a i
convingtoare, iar motenirea unei arhitecturi militare din secolele XIII-XIV de la
Dunrea de Jos ne duce n ultim instan tot spre apusul Europei, cunoscut iind
activitatea din aceast regiune a republicilor italiene i n special a Genovei, nainte
ca Marea Neagr s devin otoman.
n realitate, turnurile-locuin identiicate n ultima vreme ca stnd la nceputurile
unor ceti din teritoriile romneti extracarpatice, ale cror donjoane au devenit n
etape mai trzii, sunt un tip de monument caracteristic pentru Europa Central
a secolelor XII-XIII i totodat o mrturie a unui anumit mod de structurare a
societii. Iar cele mai reprezentative ceti moldovene de la sfritul secolului al
XlV-lea am n vedere pe cele de la Neam i Suceava nu sunt dect replici ale
cetii de la Disgyr, ridicate n vremea regelui angevin Ludovic I al Ungariei.
Este vorba de incinte patrulatere adaptate unei nlimi, cu turnuri rectangulare
interioare dispuse la iecare dintre colurile patrulaterului. Ipoteza originii acestor
planuri n fortiicaiile rectangulare din spaiul polono-baltic este mult mai greu
359
360
de acceptat i oricum deocamdat lipsit de argumentaia necesar. i cetatea de

la Giurgiu de pe o insul a Dunrii, una dintre cele mai importante fortree ale
Valahiei, ridicat la sfritul secolului al XlV-lea sau nceputul celui urmtor prin
refolosirea unei construcii militare mai vechi, este descris la mijlocul secolului al
XV-lea ca iind rectangular i cu patru turnuri la coluri.
Foarte probabil c cea mai consistent relaie cu Europa Central a arhitecturii
din principatele romneti extra-carpatice s-a manifestat n sfera construciilor civile
i ndeosebi n domeniul caselor din aezrile urbane ale Moldovei i Valahiei. Din
pcate, n aceast direcie strile sunt mai greu de reconstituit i analogiile mai greu
de stabilit deoarece, cu puine excepii, construciile au fost din lemn i alte materiale
perisabile, pn trziu n secolele XVII-XVIII, mprejurrile istorice vitrege i
n special desele campanii otomane au provocat n repetate rnduri distrugeri de
amploare i au descurajat tendina nlocuirii cu piatr i crmid a arhitecturii de
paiant, ca i fortiicarea aezrilor.
Nu dispunem prin urmare n oraele medievale ale Valahiei i Moldovei de
monumente civile care s permit comparaii cu arhitectura urban contemporan
central-european, dar cercetrile arheologice care au descoperit vestigiile unor
construcii de acest gen prilejuiesc totui stabilirea unor evoluii paralele. Este vorba de
pivniele unor case oreneti cu schelete i cptueal de lemn care sunt asemntoare
sau chiar identice cu vestigiile unor construcii cu aceeai destinaie descoperite n
oraele transilvnene sau central-europene datate din secolele XIII-XIV.
Putem desigur aduce n discuie i aportul gotic la cristalizarea stilurilor artistice
din Valahia i mai ales din Moldova n secolele XIV-XV, ndeosebi n domeniul
sculpturii monumentale. Dar nc mai convingtoare n acest sens sunt cele cteva
construcii reprezentative aparinnd vrfurilor societii romneti ce ni s-au pstrat
ncepnd cu secolul al XVII-lea. Din prima jumtate a acestui secol dateaz de
pild palatul din Hereti (jud. Giurgiu) al familiei nobiliare Nsturel, nrudit prin
cstorie cu principele Valahiei, Matei Basarab (1632-1654), ediiciu ce-i gsete
locul iresc printre monumentele Renaterii trzii central-europene.
La sfritul acestor consideraii care, n privina documentaiei aduse n discuie,
sunt departe de a i complete sau exhaustive, credem a putea sublinia o ncheiere
cu caracter mai general. Evident c aprecierea patrimoniului cultural-istoric i n
special a monumentelor de arhitectur din Valahia i Moldova ca fcnd nemijlocit
parte din motenirea civilizaiei medievale i moderne central-europene oblig la
circumstanieri i nuanri.
Dar la fel de adevrat este faptul c a limita la arcul carpatic noiunea de Europa
Central sub aspectul motenirii cultural-artistice sau ntr-un sens mai cuprinztor
sub cel al civilizaiei medievale, are drept consecin tirbirea unei relaii istorice
i n orice caz lipsirea patrimoniului central-european de unul dintre aspectele sale
regionale interesante i valoroase. O asemenea abordare are totodat ca urmare
frnarea sau orientarea ntr-o direcie greit a cercetrilor viitoare.
MonuMentS, enSeMBleS and

HiStoRical SiteS in RoMania
BetWeen centRal and
SoutH-eaSteRn euRoPe *
long the traditional concepts of Central Europe and South-Eastern Europe,

the notion of Central-Eastern Europe has been considered for some time. he
need to reine the continental subdivisions is not restricted to this area; it is also
required when deining limits in the North-East as well as in other European parts.
Some continental subdivisions may be based on natural-geographical realities,
especially if we remember how often does occur in the dedicated literature the
term Carpathian Basin (Karpatenbeken), deined as such from Bratislava to Brasov,
although there are evident climatic and relief variations within this area, an area that
cannot be considered to coincide with Central Europe. It is not a mistake, in my
opinion, to state that some wide European subdivisions were deined, intentionally
or not, according to old or new political delimitations and in this light the Central
Europe can be identiied with the old empire centered on Wien and Prague, and
perhaps, with some regions which were located beyond its western border but were
more or less dependent to these centers.
In deining culture and civilization regions, although we shouldnt neglect the
natural-geographic conditions, the political history and other factors, we should
irst take into account those joint traits that can be traced to a common heritage.
his particular approach in deining the Central Europe was seriously hindered
by the historical reconstructions made during the past half century under the
inluence of the Second World War. Especially afected was the historical vision and
interpretation of the German colonization in the eastern part of the continent, in
its diferent shapes and forms, beginning with the last part of the irst millennium,
peaking in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, yet continuing even in the
eighteenth century.
We do not intend to detail these extremely general assessments within the present
paper, neither will we analyze the particular conditions that each in its own fashion
have contributed to creating a common historical civilization throughout Central
Europe. Well make only some considerations on the speciics of the historical and
cultural heritage of our country.
Historical realities of paramount importance in deining the cultural and
historical identity of the Romanian heritage were pushed in the background or even
denied in the absurd attempt to remodel the past as to correspond to the political
and ideological standards of the communist totalitarian regime. It has been tried to
regulate the past in the spirit of an exclusivist nationalism, that has systematically
*
Buletinul Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice, 1993, 1-2, p. 5-8
23.
362
MoNUMENTs, ENsEMBLEs AND HIsToRICAL sITEs IN RoMANIA
diminished or eliminated any foreign contribution. Not to mention the exacerbation,

in 1948-1962, of some relations and inluences placing the Romanian past within a
North-Eastern European context.
he distinct medieval identity of each of the three main Romanian historical
lands Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia was a reality and it continued
into the modern era, with notable inluences even today. Similarly, the diferences
between the cultural heritages of the inter- and extra-Carpathian areas cannot be
contested. And this even thou some regions located south or east of the Carpathians
and Im thinking here about Little Wallachia (Oltenia) and Bucovina were
included in the Habsburg Empire for shorter or longer periods of time during an
age when the empire actually meant Central Empire
However, if the historical lands covering in the past the territory of present-day
Romania had their own medieval identities that were embedded in their historical
and cultural heritage hardly an exceptional occurrence, as regional particularities
exist across the continent in all modern states considering the Carpathians a
historical and cultural border, the boundary line between two distinct medieval
civilization areas, is far from being justiied. For the mentioned reasons, on both
sides of the mountains, the common inherent civilization features of Romanian
society have been exacerbated to a hyperbolized extent. But at the same time was
belittled the fact that the urban settlements from the southern and eastern sides of
the Carpathians took life mainly because of the territorial expansion of a historical
process that originated in the Central or even Western Europe.
Im thinking of medieval towns such as Rmnicu-Vlcea and Cmpulung
Muscel where in 1300 the gravestone of comes Laurenciuns de Longo Campo was
being carved and where, at the same time, there was a monastery dedicated to St.
Elisabeth; such as Baia, one of the irst political residences of Moldavia, whose
magistrate was using a seal with Latin writing on it during the fourteenth century,
or such as Suceava, the ifteenth and sixteenth century capital of the principality
situated east of the Carpathians, where in middle of the medieval city were
uncovered the ruins of a parochial church belonging to a community that came at
this time or during the time of their forerunners from Central Europe or from the
south of Poland. In accordance to the implementing directives imposed two decades
ago, the signiicance of this discovery was diminished. Somewhere in the south of
Moldavia the exact place is not yet located an Episcopal center of the Roman
Catholic Church functioned during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, while a
Franciscan Monastery is mentioned in Siret during the fourteenth century. Another
catholic bishopric functioned in Curtea de Arge during the fourteenth century
and the list may be enlarged, especially if we were to consider data referring to the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
here is an extended bibliography concerning the colonization of the Romanian
extra-Carpathian principalities with Central-European populations, mainly based
on narrative and chancellery sources from the fourteenth to the seventeenth
centuries, but little importance has been given to the monuments and architectural
ensembles inherited from their speciic urban civilization. he material proofs of
this historical chapter remain to be identiied from this time onward, of course,
assuming that the possibility to follow a true-to-life historical reconstruction will

prevail over the renditions made under the inluence of a false national history.
But the features speciic to the Central-European medieval civilization, introduced
and assimilated to the south and to the east of the Carpathian Mountains, consisted
of more than various settlement types, disparate monuments, imported goods and
artistic inluences; they also included embracing a certain way of life, revealed
by archeological discoveries. A sort of specialized ield within the art history
signiicant for establishing the habits of the daily life as well as the trends and
mentalities studies the tiles that composed the medieval stoves, essential pieces
within the noble residences but also within the more modest buildings inhabited by
townsmen and tradesmen.
Even if there are chronological gaps, negligible in judging the wider picture,
the stove-tiles so characteristic to the Central-European medieval society were
present on the territory of Wallachia and Moldavia beginning with the fourteenth
century. hey have evolved, abreast with the changes occurred in a much larger area,
from simple stoves made of pot-tiles to extremely elaborate ones, made of pieces
decorated in a gothic and renaissance fashion, with Latin or Slavic inscriptions, and
zoomorphic or anthropomorphic igures. A whole world of symbols and mentalities
speciic to Central Europe can be noticed in their evolving shapes and in the topics
decorating the stove-tiles discovered everywhere by archeologists. he discussion
may be extended, of course, to include perishable objects that did not survived to
this day: furniture, interior pieces, costumes etc.
A representative piece, of a remarkable craftsmanship, made around 1480, was
discovered and almost wholly rebuilt out of approximately 700 preserved fragments.
he research that led to its discovery took place between 1956 and 1965, in the
vicinity of the Suceava fortress, and there are reasons to claim that the piece was
just a modest replica of the stoves made of gothic tiles that decorated and heated
the interior of the fortress or the sovereigns court in the city that, at the time, was
Moldavias seat of power.
Even if we are to consider this discovery as an exception from the rule, since it
originates in an extremely elevated social environment, there are still over 200 other
places where stove-tiles dated in the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries were
discovered. And if these are not proof enough that this phenomenon was widely
spread we also mention the tile stove from the beginning of the fourteenth century,
found within an urban house in Rmnicu-Vlcea in the north of Wallachia.
During the last decades some features and particularities found in the Moldavian
and Wallachian medieval fortresses were analyzed, as they were considered to relect
a synthesis between the Occident and the South-Eastern Europe, with a prevalence
of the Balkan and Byzantine contributions. In fact, the arguments supporting
this idea are far from conclusive, and the origins of the Lower Danube military
architecture from the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries eventually lead us to Western
Europe as well, especially since we are well informed about the activity of the Italian
Republics in the area, especially that of Genoa, before the Black Sea fell under the
Ottoman inluence.
In fact, the dwelling-towers recently identiied as the initial core of some
fortresses within the extra-Carpathian Romanian territories, and which later turned
363
364
into donjons, are a type of monument speciic to Central-Europe during the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries, as well as proofs for a characteristic society structure. And
the most representative Moldavian fortresses at the end of the fourteenth century
Im thinking about Neam and Suceava are mere replicas of the fortress in
Disgyr, raised during the reign of the Angevin King Louis I of Hungary. hey
are quadrilateral precincts adapted to a certain high relief, with rectangular interior
towers disposed on each of the corners of the quadrilateral. he hypothesis that
they were planned after the rectangular fortiications from the Polish-Baltic
sphere is more diicult to accept and, in any case, for now it lacks the necessary
argumentation. he fortress in Giurgiu, located on a Danube island, one of the most
important fortiications of Wallachia, built at the end of the fourteenth century
or the beginning of the following century by reusing an old military building, is
also described at the middle of the ifteenth century as being rectangular and
presenting four towers at the corners.
It is highly possible that the most substantial relationship of the Romanian extraCarpathian principalities with the Central-European architecture has involved
the civilian buildings, especially the houses in the urban settlements of Moldavia
and Wallachia. Unfortunately, in this respect, the situation is more diicult to
reconstitute and the analogies are harder to establish as, with very few exceptions, the
buildings were made of wood and other perishable materials until late seventeenth
to eighteenth centuries. he diicult historical circumstances, and especially the
frequent Ottoman campaigns, have often caused signiicant devastation and
generally discouraged both any attempt of replacing the adobe architecture with a
stone and brick one and the fortiication of the settlements.
herefore,there are no still-standing civic monuments in Moldavias and Wallachias
medieval towns that would allow a comparison with the contemporaneous urban
architecture in Central Europe, but their remains, discovered through archeological
research, still point out to a parallel development. Im speaking about the cellars of
some older urban houses with wooden framework that are similar or even identical
to the remains of some similarly purposed buildings discovered in Transylvanian or
Central-European towns, dated during the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries.
We can also discuss the Gothic inluences in the crystallization of Wallachias and
especially Moldavias artistic styles during the fourteenth and the ifteenth centuries,
mainly regarding the monumental sculpture. But even more conclusive are a few
representative buildings erected for the Romanian higher class preserved since
the seventeenth century. From the irst part of this century is dated, for example,
the palace in Hereti (Giurgiu County), belonging to the noble family Nsturel,
related by marriage to the Wallachian prince Matei Basarab (1632-1654), a building
that its perfectly among the Central-European monuments speciic to the Late
Renaissance.
In the end of these considerations which, considering the documentation, are
far from being complete or exhaustive, we believe we can highlight a more general
conclusion. It is obvious that when analyzing the cultural and historical heritage,
especially the architectural monuments in Moldavia and Wallachia, as part of the
medieval and modern Central-European civilization requires circumstantiations
and nuances.
It is also true that to limit the notion of Central Europe to the Carpathian Arch,
from the point of view of a cultural-artistic inheritance or in a wider sense
under the perspective of the medieval civilization, has as a direct consequence the
minimizing of a historical relationship and, in any case, it deprives the CentralEuropean heritage of one of its interesting and valuable regional aspects. Such an
approach may also stop or lead further research in the wrong direction.
365
CUPRINS
nota editoRiloR.............................................................................................. 5
editoRS note ..............................................................................................6
I. CERCETRI N ARA HAEGULUI
01. cetILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI 9
THE FORTRESSES OF THE LAND OF HAEG 31
02 SPTURI NTR-O VILLA RUSTICA DE LNG HAEG 49
EXCAVATIONS IN A VILLA RUSTICA NEAR HAEG 63
03 OBSERVAII PRIVIND ZIDURILE CU MORTAR DIN
CETILE DACICE HUNEDORENE 73
COMMENTS ON THE MORTAR WALLS OF HUNEDOARAS
DACIAN FORTRESSES 79
04 STREISNGEORGIU MRTURII DE ISTORIE ROMNEASC
DIN SECOLELE XI-XIV N SUDUL TRANSILVANIEI 85
STREISNGEORGIU INFORMATIONS ABOUT
THE ROMANIAN HISTORY OF SOUTHERN
TRANSYLVANIA THE ELEVENTH TO
THE FOURTEENTH CENTURIES 125
05 ANTIERUL ARHEOLOGIC SARMIZEGETUSA, JUDEUL
HUNEDOARA (EPOCA POSTROMAN) RAPORT PRIVIND
REZULTATELE CERCETRILOR CAMPANIEI 1978 159
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE SARMIZEGETUSA,
HUNEDOARA COUNTY (THE POST-ROMAN AGE)
REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE 1978 CAMPAIGN 163
06 INFORMAII NOI I CTEVA CONSIDERAII
ISTORICE PRIVIND BISERICA ROMNEASC
DIN GURASADA JUD HUNEDOARA 167
neW data and SeVeRal HiStoRical ReMaRkS

on tHe RoManian cHuRcH in guRaSada,
HunedoaRa countY .......................................................................... 179
07. ViaA BISERICEASC A ROMNILOR DIN SPAIUL
INTRACARPATIC N SECOLELE XII-XIII BISERICA
DE LA DENSU 189
THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF ROMANIANS INSIDE
THE CARPATHIAN ARCH DURING THE TWELFTH
AND THE THIRTEENTH CENTURIES
THE CHURCH IN DENSU 193
08 SIEDLUNGSVERHLTNISSE UND ETHNODEMOGRAPHIE
DES HATZEGER LANDES IM 13-14 JAHRHUNDERT 197
II. MATERIALE ARHEOLOGICE
09 LA CRAMIQUE MAILLE DES XIIIE ET XIVE SICLES
DE PCUIUL-LUI-SOARE 213
10 O SOB CU CAHLE-OAL DIN SECOLUL XIV
LA CUHEA-MARAMURE 225
A FOURTEENTH CENTURY POT-TILE STOVE
FROM CUHEA-MARAMURE 231
11 PLUMBURI DE POSTAV MEDIEVALE 237
MEDIEVAL LEAD CLOTH SEALS 241
12 DOCUMENTE DE CULTUR MATERIAL ORENEASC
N TRANSILVANIA DIN A DOUA JUMTATE A
SECOLULUI AL XIII-LEA 245
DATA ON TRANSYLVANIAS URBAN LIFE
DURING THE SECOND HALF OF
THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY 259
13 kNAUFkRONE EINES WIkINGERZEITLICHEN
PRACHTSCHWERTES VON PCUIUL LUI SOARE 271
III. STUDII GENERALE
14 TOURS DHABITATION AU COMMENCEMENT
DU MOYEN GE ROUMAIN 279
15 INTEGRAREA N PATRIMONIUL CULTURAL-ISTORIC
A UNOR NOI ZONE ALE ARHITECTURII MEDIEVALE
DE ZID DIN ROMNIA, CA URMARE A
CERCETRILOR ARHEOLOGICE 289
integRating WitHin tHe cultuRal and HiStoRical

HeRitage neW aReaS oF RoManiaS Stone MedieVal
aRcHitectuRe aS a ReSult oF aRcHaeological
inVeStigationS ....................................................................................... 297
16. HocHMittelalteRlicHe WaSSeRBuRgen
an deR unteRen donau .................................................................. 303
17. aPPoRt de la tRanSYlVanie ........................................................... 311
18. FoRMatioNS SOCIAL-TERRITORIALES AUX DBUTS
DES TATS ROUMAINS 317
19 MONUMENTS HISTORIQUES DE ROUMANIE
HRITAGE MALHEUREUX ET PERSPECTIVES
POUR LE MOMENT INCERTAINES 327
20 kREUZRITTERBURGEN IM SDOSTEN
TRANSSILVANIENS 333
21 AUTOUR DES SOURCES DE LARCHITECTURE
ECCLSIASTIQUE ROUMAINE 339
22 FORSCHUNGEN ZUM LANDESAUSBAU IM STLICHEN
kARPATENBECkEN ZU BEGINN DES MITTELALTERS 347
23 MONUMENTE, ANSAMBLURI I SITURI ISTORICE DIN
ROMNIA NTRE CENTRUL I SUD-ESTUL EUROPEI 357
MONUMENTS, ENSEMBLES AND HISTORICAL SITES IN
ROMANIA BETWEEN CENTRAL AND
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE 361
9 786066 340809
ISBN> 000000000000

Radu Popa. Studii Și Articole I.

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Radu PoPa

Studii i aRticole (i)

Volum aprut cu sprijinul

Consultani: dr. Daniela Tnase, dr. Dana Jenei

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a Romniei

daniela MaRcu iStRate i adRian ioni

olumul de fa continu reeditarea operei tiiniice a istoricului i arheologului

eche i nsemnat ar romneasc din sudul Transilvaniei, ntinzndu-se de-a

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

fratelui su Brbat9. Pe temeiul relatrilor diplomei acordate n 1285 conductorului

Dincolo de detaliile discuiei, aciunea n Haeg a comitelui Petru, conlictul

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Hunyadmegyei ... vknyve, I, p. 60-62.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Pe criterii stilistice, monumentul a fost datat la nceputul veacului al XIV-lea,

V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, loc. cit.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Documenta Valachorum, p. 143.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Notm de asemenea un document sugestiv din 1511 n care este vorba de un

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Csnki, Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 109.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

XV n stpnirea familiilor cneziale precum i analogiile

Documente privind istoria Romniei, C, Transilvania, sec. X I I I , vol. II, p. 498.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

veacului al XlV-lea n stpnirea familiei Chaak

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

n literatura de specialitate62 i s-a demonstrat prin spturile recente prilejuite de

V. Vtianu, Istoria artei feudale, p. 131-132, cu bibliograia mai veche.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

politico-administrativ angevin, unele familii cneziale romneti s-au refugiat la sud

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Ct privete elementele pe care ni le ofer

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Oricum, indiferent de perspectivele cercetrii

R. Popa, ara Maramureului..., p. 150 i urm.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

a Cndetilor din acest loc nu poate i

O prezentare succint a complexului la V. Drgu, op. cit., p. 34.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

Ne-am ocupat mai sus de

Cf. mai sus notele 33-41.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

fcea desigur printr-un numr mult mai mic

Prezentarea tuturor cetilor medievale

Cs nk i , Magyarorszg ... fldrajza, V, p. 109-110; V. Motogna, op. cit., p. 76-77.

CETILE DIN ARA HAEGULUI

generale i totodat particularitile

n old and important Romanian land in southern Transylvania, laying on

THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG

We know that the Land of Haegs oldest mention in medieval documents is

THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG

THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG

THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG

Octavian Floca, Hunedoara. Ghid al judeului, Deva, 1969, p. 224.

THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG

THE FoRTREssEs oF THE LAND oF HAEG

Documenta Valachorum, p. 143.