Archaeological Techniques and Research Center

          The Olt River valley in South-East Transylvania (Romania) has always been the gateway between the Transylvanian Plateau (hence the Pannonian Plains and therefore Europe) and the Danube Basin (and through the Balkans, Asia Minor and the Mediterranean Sea). Its importance is such that it has been continuously inhabited since early prehistoric times.

 "Dacian" Landscapes: Racos and Surroundings

          Half way between the medieval city of Sighisoara (the real Dracula’s birth place and an UNESCO Heritage Site) and Brasov (and the nearby Bram Stocker’s Bran Castle), a very elaborate system of Dacian strongholds, civilian settlements and religious centers has been located in the Racos de Jos area. Every hill top and most of the Olt River Basin is occupied by the remains of various Dacian Iron Age settlements. The complexity of the region has only been understood in the last few years when the excavations at Augustin, a great temple complex, have been finalized. The extent of the site, its relationships to other Dacian sites, quality and quantity of the material finds indicated that the Racos complex is one of the greatest La Tene (Late Iron Age) Dacian settlements in South-East Europe.

           The site we are currently excavating, the Piatra Detunata site), is on a hill facing the Augustin Temple Complex and is most likely associated with it. The test trenches excavated over the past three years have exposed a rich and complex fortified urban center, destroyed by Emperor Trajan’s legions during the Daco-Roman wars (102-106AD). The magnitude of the destruction level testifies to the importance of the site both to the Dacians and the Romans.

          Most of the fortified Dacian settlements in Transylvania have been emptied of their civilian element and only military presence was left to face the Romans. It is not the case for this region. A great number of civilian objects (complete ceramic vessels, jewelry, weaving implements, etc) has been found, proving that the region has not been evacuated as the Roman legions were advancing. Fighting was fierce for control of the region: human skeletons and weapons, both Dacian and Roman (some quite rare) have been found even inside the burned houses on the acropolis.

          To our suprise, while searching for the extension of civilian within the fortified acropolis, we uncovered several Wietenberg (Middle Bronze Age) Culture houses, dating from ca. 1600BC. To our surprise, the interior of the rather poorly constructed buildings yielded extraordinary material: high end, very decorated ceramics, complete vessels, votive figurines and various replica of decorated chariots. The presence of these "votive shacks", very rich in exceptional artifacts  point to the presence of a temple complex in the acropolis. 

          During the 2010 season, we will continue the excavation of the fortified acropolis of the Piatra Detunata site. We will continue to expose parts of the fortification system in order to see how it relates to the civilian buildings of the acropolis. At the same time, we are going to continue the excavation of the acropolis itself for the purpose of identifying the role that various constructions played in the urban Dacian fabric. Considering the surprising Bronze Age finds from 2009, we will run several test trenches in order to locate the temple complex. Considering the extraordinarily rich and varied archaeological material recovered during 2007-2009 excavation seasons, 2010 offers remarkable promise.

Fortification Tower - Costesti, Hunedoara County

Dacian Ceramics - Racos, Brasov County

Dacian Sacrificial Child Grave - Hunedoara