The geographical area includes the Iron Gates region, Oltenia, western Wallachia and southeastern Transylvania.
The period under analyses is about three centuries (200 BC – 106 AD), when deep changes took place in the beliefs and the funerary practices of the Geto-Dacians.
A). Funerary discoveries.
Flat tombs. We are speaking about 40 discoveries with more than 70 certain tombs, most of them fortuitous, including a necropolis – Spahii, small groups of graves, isolated tombs or only isolated objects, mainly weapons.
Exterior shape – only flat graves.
Funerary rite – cremation exclusively. 80% of the discoveries revealed the cremation in pit, while in a small number of cases they used urns; usually, a few cremated bones were deposited. The recuperated funerary inventory consists mainly of weaponry, harness gear, then clothing accessories and jewelry, very seldom, pottery vessels.
Chronology. The analysis of the funerary inventory of all these discoveries shows their dating in the Lt. C2-D1, so between 170/160 – 50 BC.
Tumular tombs. In the same region of the flat tombs, tumular graves have been unveiled, of cremation all of them and belonging to adult males, in Oltenia, western Wallachia, Moldova and southwestern Transylvania as well. The objects found inside the tumular tombs, similar to those of the flat ones, plus, sometimes, helmets and mail shirts, allow us to assume they belonged to aristocrats-horsemen.
B). The settlements and the fortresses. The inventory of these settlements is almost entirely Dacian, and the Celtic objects represent less than 0,5% (certain graphite vessels, jewelry, clothing accessories, especially fibulae). Certainly, Hellenistic and Roman imports have also been found in the sites, but they are not representative for our analysis, their importance is only chronological.
Another interesting thing is the presence of the “non cremated human bones in non funerary contexts” all over the excavated area. We are talking here about entire skeletons, parts of skeletons and isolated bones (of the skull or any other part of the body). Similar findings are known all over the Geto-Dacians’ inhabitation area, being a characteristic of the “graveless period”, situation that can be met in other cultural regions too.
They don’t belong to the category of common graves, as long as their features are obviously different: they are not found in necropolises, but inside the settlements, in isolated pits or cult places, there are no rules in the deposing and orientation, a high percentage of skeleton parts or isolated bones, certain entire skeletons are in abnormal positions or bearing traces of violence, a lot of children and no traditional inventories.
C). Final considerations. The researches made so far call for a vestiges analysis in two distinct parts: a) 170/160 – 50 BC, a time with many fortresses and settlements, and necropolises as well; b) 50 BC – 106 AD, with numberless fortresses and necropolises, but none of the common funerary vestiges.
a) For the first period, the archaeological excavations attest one remarkable reality: in the graves of a large area, from the northwestern Bulgaria, northeastern Serbia and southeastern Romania, the funerary inventory is pretty alike: long swords, battle knives, Celtic type belt chains, Dacian type daggers and bridles, plus spearheads and shields, in the so-called Padea – Panaghiurski Kolonii group.
Nevertheless, there are certain differences of zone, but the rites and the rituals are different. While in the South of Danube there are altogether tumular and flat inhumation graves, not too many, in the North of the river, there are only cremation flat graves associated with inventories of this type.
In these findings one could remark a standardization of weapons (spear-sword-shield, and pretty often, knives, then bridles), in particular for the cavalry, which might indicate a collaboration between the Dacian, Scordiscian and Illyrian aristocracy of the region during their plundering expeditions to the South or fight against the Roman offensive to the northern Balkans.
In order to establish the ethnical and cultural origins of the funerary vestiges, we have to take into consideration the settlements, fortresses and cult places of the region. On the northern bank of the Danube, mainly near the Iron Gates, a series of cities and fortified settlements have been discovered, which “fortified” the big river, and this means the masters of the place lived here.
In the Iron Gates zone, both banks of the Danube are similar as far as the archaeological remains are concerned, which might suggest the Danube was neither ethnically, nor politically, a frontier.
It is obvious that the fortified settlements of the northwestern Bulgaria or southern Romania are not linked to the Scordiscian population.
The presence of some tumular tombs, with a similar inventory as in the whole northern-Danube area, near the Dacian residential centers, demonstrates the existence of a local military aristocracy.
If we take into consideration the archaeological realities of the northern Danube, we could conclude that the remains should be attributed to the Dacians. There is no archaeological evidence to attest the existence of Scordiscian settlements and necropolises at the northern Danube but, certainly, it might exist some isolated Scordiscian tombs.
Thus, it is difficult to accept the Scordiscian domination at the North of Danube, which is proved neither by the written sources, nor by the archaeological vestiges. For example, at Bagačina, an important cult place was revealed, consisting of several pits (the so-called “field of pits”), with abundant and varied votive deposits. The numberless vases (jars, jugs, cups, kantharoi, in relief decorated bowls) are typical to the Dacian pottery of the 2nd – 1st century BC.
The findings of the Iron Gates region stand for the existence, by 200 BC, of a warrior aristocracy, cavalry in particular, with standardized weaponry and equipment. By the middle of the 2nd century BC, such findings appear in Oltenia and western Wallachia, and by the end of the same century, in the southwestern Transylvania.
The vestiges found in the settlements and the necropolises of this place and period are not relevant when we have to assess the relations between the “world of the living” and the “afterworld” or the “world of the dead”.
b) The situation becomes more serious in the last century and a half previous to the Roman conquest, a period with lots of fortresses and settlements, but no funerary vestiges. The lack of tombs is a common phenomenon all over the Geto-Dacian inhabitation area (as in certain zones of the Celts).
The geographical area includes the Iron Gates region, Oltenia, western Wallachia and southeastern Transylvania.
The period under analyses is about three centuries (200 BC – 106 AD), when deep changes took place in the beliefs and the funerary practices of the Geto-Dacians.
A). Funerary discoveries.
Flat tombs. We are speaking about 40 discoveries with more than 70 certain tombs, most of them fortuitous, including a necropolis – Spahii, small groups of graves, isolated tombs or only isolated objects, mainly weapons.
Exterior shape – only flat graves.
Funerary rite – cremation exclusively. 80% of the discoveries revealed the cremation in pit, while in a small number of cases they used urns; usually, a few cremated bones were deposited. The recuperated funerary inventory consists mainly of weaponry, harness gear, then clothing accessories and jewelry, very seldom, pottery vessels.
Chronology. The analysis of the funerary inventory of all these discoveries shows their dating in the Lt. C2-D1, so between 170/160 – 50 BC.
Tumular tombs. In the same region of the flat tombs, tumular graves have been unveiled, of cremation all of them and belonging to adult males, in Oltenia, western Wallachia, Moldova and southwestern Transylvania as well. The objects found inside the tumular tombs, similar to those of the flat ones, plus, sometimes, helmets and mail shirts, allow us to assume they belonged to aristocrats-horsemen.
B). The settlements and the fortresses. The inventory of these settlements is almost entirely Dacian, and the Celtic objects represent less than 0,5% (certain graphite vessels, jewelry, clothing accessories, especially fibulae). Certainly, Hellenistic and Roman imports have also been found in the sites, but they are not representative for our analysis, their importance is only chronological.
Another interesting thing is the presence of the “non cremated human bones in non funerary contexts” all over the excavated area. We are talking here about entire skeletons, parts of skeletons and isolated bones (of the skull or any other part of the body). Similar findings are known all over the Geto-Dacians’ inhabitation area, being a characteristic of the “graveless period”, situation that can be met in other cultural regions too.
They don’t belong to the category of common graves, as long as their features are obviously different: they are not found in necropolises, but inside the settlements, in isolated pits or cult places, there are no rules in the deposing and orientation, a high percentage of skeleton parts or isolated bones, certain entire skeletons are in abnormal positions or bearing traces of violence, a lot of children and no traditional inventories.
C). Final considerations. The researches made so far call for a vestiges analysis in two distinct parts: a) 170/160 – 50 BC, a time with many fortresses and settlements, and necropolises as well; b) 50 BC – 106 AD, with numberless fortresses and necropolises, but none of the common funerary vestiges.
a) For the first period, the archaeological excavations attest one remarkable reality: in the graves of a large area, from the northwestern Bulgaria, northeastern Serbia and southeastern Romania, the funerary inventory is pretty alike: long swords, battle knives, Celtic type belt chains, Dacian type daggers and bridles, plus spearheads and shields, in the so-called Padea – Panaghiurski Kolonii group.
Nevertheless, there are certain differences of zone, but the rites and the rituals are different. While in the South of Danube there are altogether tumular and flat inhumation graves, not too many, in the North of the river, there are only cremation flat graves associated with inventories of this type.
In these findings one could remark a standardization of weapons (spear-sword-shield, and pretty often, knives, then bridles), in particular for the cavalry, which might indicate a collaboration between the Dacian, Scordiscian and Illyrian aristocracy of the region during their plundering expeditions to the South or fight against the Roman offensive to the northern Balkans.
In order to establish the ethnical and cultural origins of the funerary vestiges, we have to take into consideration the settlements, fortresses and cult places of the region. On the northern bank of the Danube, mainly near the Iron Gates, a series of cities and fortified settlements have been discovered, which “fortified” the big river, and this means the masters of the place lived here.
In the Iron Gates zone, both banks of the Danube are similar as far as the archaeological remains are concerned, which might suggest the Danube was neither ethnically, nor politically, a frontier.
It is obvious that the fortified settlements of the northwestern Bulgaria or southern Romania are not linked to the Scordiscian population.
The presence of some tumular tombs, with a similar inventory as in the whole northern-Danube area, near the Dacian residential centers, demonstrates the existence of a local military aristocracy.
If we take into consideration the archaeological realities of the northern Danube, we could conclude that the remains should be attributed to the Dacians. There is no archaeological evidence to attest the existence of Scordiscian settlements and necropolises at the northern Danube but, certainly, it might exist some isolated Scordiscian tombs.
Thus, it is difficult to accept the Scordiscian domination at the North of Danube, which is proved neither by the written sources, nor by the archaeological vestiges. For example, at Bagačina, an important cult place was revealed, consisting of several pits (the so-called “field of pits”), with abundant and varied votive deposits. The numberless vases (jars, jugs, cups, kantharoi, in relief decorated bowls) are typical to the Dacian pottery of the 2nd – 1st century BC.
The findings of the Iron Gates region stand for the existence, by 200 BC, of a warrior aristocracy, cavalry in particular, with standardized weaponry and equipment. By the middle of the 2nd century BC, such findings appear in Oltenia and western Wallachia, and by the end of the same century, in the southwestern Transylvania.
The vestiges found in the settlements and the necropolises of this place and period are not relevant when we have to assess the relations between the “world of the living” and the “afterworld” or the “world of the dead”.
b) The situation becomes more serious in the last century and a half previous to the Roman conquest, a period with lots of fortresses and settlements, but no funerary vestiges. The lack of tombs is a common phenomenon all over the Geto-Dacian inhabitation area (as in certain zones of the Celts).