International Symposium 

The Carpathian Basin and Its Role in the Neolithisation of the Balkan Peninsula 

Sibiu, 18-20 mai 2007 

Teleorman Valley. The beginning of Neolithic in Southern Romania

dr. Radian-Romus Andreescu, drd. Pavel Mirea

This paper proposes an analysis of data about the beginning of Neolithic in Southern Romania, considering the recent archaeological researches from Teleorman Valley.

J. Lubbock used the “Neolithic” term in 1865 in a technical meaning in order to distinguish Paleolithic (the chopped Stone Age) from Neolithic (the polished Stone Age).

The Neolithic became in the meanwhile an age of deep changes for the human society. A new way of life appears, which’s main characteristics are the basis for all further societies: agriculture, crafts, permanent settlements, architecture, and spiritual life.

From the archaeological point of view, the cultural horizon in discussion, placed at the beginning of Neolithic, has been named: Proto-Sesklo, Protostarčevo, Precriş, Starčevo-Criş I or more specific the cultural group Gura-Baciului-Cârcea, Cârcea-Grădinile. Every culture, cultural group or phase is divided in phases, sub-phases, and periods in a complicated network of chronological synchronisms.

The new way of life is first attested in Southern Romania in Oltenia. The researches undertaken by M. Nica in the 70’s -80’s revealed an area intensely inhabited at the beginning of Neolithic. The discoveries from Cârcea and Grădinile attest the first Early Neolithic settlements on the Western side of Olt River. Later, their list will be completed by the discoveries from: Verbiţa, Vlădila , Şimnic, Studina, Banu Maracine. The author named these discoveries the Cârcea cultural group, with two variants, Cârcea in the lower basin of Jiu River and Grădinile in the Basin of Olt River.

For a long time, Muntenia (Vallachia) has been considered away from the initial neolitization process having as reasons the paleomedium configuration or the Black Sea Neolithic transgression for Dobrogea and South-Western Muntenia. The settlements belonging to Starcevo-Criş culture appear later in the area between Olt and Vedea Rivers, as well as in the area of Subcarpatice Hills. The 30 settlements belong to Early Neolithic, but not to the earliest (Cârcea), this one being absent so far from the territories West to Olt River . The discoveries reevaluation together with the new discoveries drew a new image of the Early Neolithic in Muntenia.

The recent researches from Teleorman Valley brought precious information about the beginnings of Neolithic in Southern Romania. These researches were undertaken within Southern Romania Archaeological Project. One of the most important researched sites from this project is Măgura-Buduiasca. It is placed about 7 km North-East from Alexandria, on the lower terrace of Teleorman River. Recent researches revealed for the first time in Muntenia traces of a habitation belonging to Early Neolithic, synchronous with Gura-Baciului – Cârcea (Cârcea – Grădinile) cultural group.

Three Early Neolithic complexes have been identified, two pits and a dwelling. In the two pits, used for depositing the garbage, the archaeological materials were composed of ceramics, animal bones, shells, bone and flint fragmentary tools, concentrated in the lower part of the pits.

The dwelling was a shallow with the maximum depth of 0,60 m, oriented North-West South-East. On the South-East side there has been identified a kiln, destroyed by a modern pit. The archaeological materials, ceramic fragments, animal bones and stones, were concentrated especially in the North side of the dwelling, at 0.20-0.30 cm above the floor. This fact suggests that the dwelling has been abandoned and then reused as refuse pit.

The lithic assemblage is represented especially by flint stones, like blades, blade fragments, some having lustrum traces (sickle blades), scarpers, as well as debris. Obsidian was also found at the site, represented by 3 pieces of black opaque obsidian.

Bone tools are represented by diggers and spatulas. The special finds there are a needle with a disc shape head and a perforated herbivore incisive, used as a pendant.

The ceramics: the closed shapes are represented by spherical pots, very pronounced in the lower part, with rectangular or round bottom and of small or medium sizes. Store pots are also present, of large dimensions. The ceramics is of good quality, polished, generally monochrome, with different red, orange and brown nuances. The opened shapes are represented by bowls with straight alveolar lip. The ceramics has rough exterior surface but well polished interior. The decoration is realized by plastic applications, vertically perforated buttons, alveolar girdles and prominences. Sometimes appears the incised decoration (wide deep incisions, laterally disposed) as well as the „pinched” decoration. The white painting is presented at a very small amount (about 1%) and it is realized on a red background. As decorative motives there are parallel lines, lines disposed in networks or zigzag, semicircles and points.

Several fragments of little tables (altars) were also discovered, decorated by excision and incrusted with white paste.

An interesting discovery is represented by a wood bowl fragment, considering the material that it is made of.

Similar discoveries are known in the settlements from Oltenia, like Cârcea „Hanuri”, Gradinile, Şimnic, Studina, Verbiţa, Vlădila. The materials from Măgura „Buduiasca” have strong analogies South to Danube, especially in the basins of rivers Iantra and Rusesnski Lom ( Belyakovetz, Dzhuljunitsa, Emen, Hotnitsa, Koprivetz, Orlovets, Somovodene, Strelets).

Considering the routes on which the Neolithic came in North to Danube the migration phenomenon occurred from the Southern area of Anatolia and Mediterranean Sea. The route would be Struma, Mariţa and Vardar Rivers Valleys and North to Danube Olt River Valley. Another route would be straight from Anatolia in the Eastern area of the Balkans, through a rapid diffusion which used the hydrographical network.

The discoveries from Măgura belonging to both Early and Late Neolithic define an extremely dynamic area which is composed of the regions West and East from Olt Valley, strongly related with the territories South to Danube and through this with the Anatolia and Aegean Sea regions.

Bibliography:

R. Andreescu,D.W. Bailey, Măgura. Raport preliminar, în CCA, Campania 2004 , CIMEC, Bucureşti, 2005, p. 225-234.

Douglass Bailey, Radian Andreescu, Steve Mills, Steve Trick, (ed) Southern RomaniaArchaeological Project. Second Preliminary Report, 1999-2000, Cardiff Studies in Archaeology, Cardiff, 2001

N. Elenski, Cultural Contacts of North-Central Bulgaria with Thrace and the Marmara Area in the Early Neolithic, în V. Nikolov, K. Băčvarov şi P. Kalcev (ed.), Prehistoric Thrace, Sofia-Stara Zagora, 2004, p. 71-79.

Gh. Lazarovici, Neoliticul timpuriu în România, în AMP, VIII, 1984, p. 49-104.

M. Nica, Le groupe culturel Cârcea-Grădinile dans le contexte du Néolitique balkanique, în Zbornik Narodnog Muzeja, Beograd, 14, 1, 1991, pag. 103-112.

I. Paul, Unele probleme ale neoliticului timpuriu din zona carpato-dunăreană, în SCIVA, 40, 1989, p. 4-27.