Cuptorul de olar din secolul al VIII lea p.Chr. de la Sighişoara – Dealul Viilor
Journal Title: MATERIALE SI CERCETARI ARHEOLOGICE - Year 2016, Vol 0, Issue 0
Abstract
During the campaigns of 2012 and 2013 from Sighișoara – Dealul Viilor site, in the area ‘Necropolis’, a potter’s kiln of the late Avar age (8th century) was identified and investigated. The discovery was made at the foot of a steep hill called Dealul Viilor (Fig. 1), and consisted of an oven pit and the kiln itself (Figs. 2–4). The large oven pit (over 3 m on its E‐W axis and about 5 m long on the NS axis) could not be entirely uncovered, continuing in areas still unexcavated. On the floor of the oven pit (‐1.20/‐1.35 m depth) which consists of organic material (wood ash), a relatively rectangular shaped furnace was set up with rounded corners. The kiln consists of four components: ware chamber (Fig. 5/a), combustion chamber (Fig. 5/c), firetunnel or praefurnium (Fig. 5/d) and stokers pit (Fig. 5/e). The upper and lower chambers are separated by a firing chamber’s grid floor or sola with several vent holes (fig. 5/b). Thus, the potter’s kiln from Dealul Viilor can be defined as a bicameral one, with vertical ventilation and lateral alimentation. From within the kiln, 235 sherds were collected, documented and statistically evaluated. Most of them (227 of 235) come from pots dated to the 8th century AD (Figs. 6–7 and Pls. 1–7), but several prehistoric pottery fragments belonging to the Wietenberg culture were identified as well (Pl. 8/nos. 63, 64, 71), in addition to material dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD (Pl. 8/nos. 37, 38, 55, 62). Most fragments from the 8th century AD material originate from vessels produced on the slow wheel, some decorated with incised horizontal lines made with comb or broom. In the current stage of research, the kiln from Sighișoara – Dealul Viilor is the only such discovery known in Transylvania, and one of the very few in the CarpathianBasin dated to time of the Avar Khaganate (Fig. 8, Appendix 2). Cercetările de teren desfăşurate în punctul „Necropolă” al sitului „Dealul Viilor” de la Sighişoara au prilejuit identificarea şi cercetarea unui cuptor de olar din perioada avară târzie (secolul al VIII‐lea). Descoperirea de la poalele Dealului Viilor (Fig. 1) se compune dintr‐o groapă‐atelier şi cuptorul propriu‐zis (Fig. 2–4). Groapa‐atelier (peste 3 m lăţime pe axa est‐vest şi cca 5 m lungime pe axa nord‐sud) nu a putut fi cercetată în întregime, continuându‐se în suprafeţele încă necercetate. Pe podeaua gropii‐atelier (identificată la ‐1,20/‐1,35 m adâncime) care constă dintr‐un strat format din material organic (lemn, cenuşă), a fost amenajată o vatră rectangulară cu colţuri rotunjite. Cuptorul constă din patru compartimente: camera de ardere a ceramicii (Fig. 5/a), camera de combustie (Fig. 5/c), praefurnium (Fig. 5/d) şi groapa fochistului (Fig. 5/e). Camerele inferioară şi superioarăale cuptorului sunt separate de un grătar (sola) prevăzut cu mai multe orificii şi susţinut de o consolă săpată în peretele cuptorului. Astfel, cuptorul de olar din Dealul Viilor poate fi definit ca unul bicameral, cu ventilaţie verticală şi alimentare laterală. Din interiorul compartimentelor cuptorului au fost recoltate, documentate şi prelucrate statistic 235 de fragmente ceramice, provenind în cea mai mare parte de la oale specifice secolului al VIII‐lea (Fig. 6–7 şi Pl. 1–7). În interiorul cuptorului au mai fost antrenate câteva fragmente de vase preistorice aparţinând culturii Wietenberg (Pl. 8/nr. 63, 64, 71), sau datate în secolele III‐IV p.Chr. (Pl. 8/ nr. 37, 38, 55, 62). Majoritatea fragmentelor din secolul al VIII‐lea provin de la oale lucrate cu roata înceată, unele decorate cu incizii orizontale realizate cu pieptenul sau cu măturica. În stadiul actual al cercetării, cuptorul de olar de la Sighişoara – Dealul Viilor este singurul din vremea Chaganatului Avar cunoscut în Transilvania şi unul dintre puţinele cercetate în Bazinul Carpatic (Fig. 8, Anexa 2).
Authors and Affiliations
Daniel Spânu, Erwin Gáll
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