EVOLUTION OF THE HABITAT IN THE SAHARNA MICRO-ZONE IN THE IRON AGE

Abstract

 Archaeological sites of the Early Iron Age in the Southern part of the Middle Dniester region were discovered and partially explored in the middle of the 20th century. Although the excavations were not large-scale, the results turned out to be very successful. The revealed materials, and in particular the ceramic products, were rather peculiar in form and especially expressive thanks to the carved and stamped ornaments on them. It was the feature that served as the main reason for the allocation of monuments with such ware to a special archaeological culture, originally named Saharna-Solonceni, and subsequently Cozia-Saharna. However, contrary to the importance of the material found, investigations on these sites, for various reasons, were no longer carried out.

Planned annual archaeological research on the sites of the so-called Saharna zone, where a significant number of them are concentrated, was renewed in 2001 by the Moldavian State University and continues to the present. The results of the iniţial surveys were reflected in a number of publications and in two monographs published in 2008 and 2014.

In this paper, there are collected and analyzed all the materials found during archaeological excavations conducted in 2008-2016 at the sites of Saharna Mare / „Dealul Mănăstirii”, Saharna Mică, Saharna „La Şanţ” and the archaeological surveys carried out at the sites of Saharna „La Şanţ” I, Saharna „La Şanţ” II, Saharna „Dealul Grimidon”, Saharna „La Vile”, Saharna-Ţiglău „Cetate”, Stohnaia III, and Buciuşca.

Open settlements and fortified sites on the Saharna Mare promontory

Studies conducted on the hill formed by the sides of the two ravines Saharna and Valea Crac show that it was inhabited for almost a millennium: from the 12th to 3rd centuries BC. Based on the analysis of the archaeological material revealed in various complexes, including closed ones, containing chrono-determining artifacts, it is possible to designate, with a certain degree of probability, the alternation of several cultural-chronological horizons.

Early settlement of the 12^th-11^th centuries BC, according to the data available at this stage, occupied a relatively small area in the south-western part of the promontory, where the concentration of a small number of pottery fragments with cut ornamentation and two closed complexes in the form of pits was found in the cultural layer.

One of these complexes (pit no. 119), found at a depth of 1.20 m from the level of the modern surface, represented a bell-shaped pit with the diameter of 1.0 m at the opening, a bottom of 1.6 m, and a depth of 1.24 m. Decorated pottery from the filling of the pit is covered with carved ornaments. The importance of this complex lies in the fact that above it there was a layer of untouched earth with a thickness of 0.55-0.50 m, in which an inhumation burial was found, accompanied by grave goods consisting of fragments of ceramics covered with carved and stamped ornamentation characteristic of the Cozia-Saharna culture of the ioth-9th centuries BC. Therefore, the absence in pit no. 119 of ware with a stamped decor clearly indicates that it was dug and completed its functionality well before the above mentioned period. The complex belongs to the I2th-llth centuries BC.

The second closed complex (pit no. 177) was a cylindrical pit with a diameter of 1.9 m and a depth of 1.1 m. In the filling fragments from vessels with a rounded body and barely-designed short neck with a carved outward rim or with a high cylindrical neck were found, similar to those found in the structure no. 1 of the 12^th -11^th centuries BC in the Saharna Mică settlement. Along with ceramics, a bronz piercer with an eye and a mushroom-shaped top (Osennadel) was found in the pit no. 177. The geographically closest similar piercers are known from the findings at the settlement of the Noua culture at the village of Petruşeni (Rîşcani District. Republic of Moldova) and Rotbav near Braşov (Romania). Similar decorations are well known from findings on sites of the early Lusatian culture in Poland (Gedl 1983, 85-86, Taf. 26/386, 394), dating from the 13^th – 12^th centuries BC. E. The presence of a piercer in the complex no. 177, together with the pottery decorated with carved ornaments, seems to be a weighty proof, allowing it to be attributed to the time not earlier than the i2th - the beginning of the nth centuries BC.

The settlement developed quite successfully, as evidenced by its expansion. By the end of the 11^th – 10^th  centuries BC it occupies the south-western and central parts of the promontory. In the 10^th century BC a „citadel” is constructed, the material culture is being transformed: the dwellings and household structures of surface and underground type and structures of a religious purpose appear, the assortment of ceramic products are enriched with new forms, most of which are ornamented with carved and stamped decor typical of the Cozia-Saharna culture. The significance of the settlement of the ioth-9th centuries BC is evidenced by its area size and the presence of a „citadel”, indicating the existence of a large human and economic potential, allowing to control the main waterways and land trade routes of the region.

The settlement, which belongs to the Basarabi-Şoldăneşti culture, of the 8^th – 7 th centuries BC on the Saharna Mare promontory occupied somewhat smaller area in comparison with the previous one. The main material, allowing to determine the presence of a cultural horizon dating back to the 8lh-7th centuries BC on the Saharna Mare / Dealul Mănăstirii settlement, are ceramic forms, for which decorative motifs in the form of friezes are characteristic, composed of patterns from various geometric figures: inscribed and shaded triangles, rhombuses, quadrangles, inscribed and shaded with carved ornaments ribbons in the form of zigzags, etc. As a rule, friezes adorn the upper part of the vessel’s body from the shoulder and approximately to its middle. Similar or somewhat altered motifs were also used in the ornamentation of the upper part of the bowls. The so-called „patterned ceramics” is well known for the finds from the settlements of Saharna-Ţiglău, Glinjeni and other sites of the Middle Dniester region, as well as other regions.

The 6^th-5^th centuries BC is the time when there have been significant changes in the material culture of the entire Balkan-Carpathian-Pontic region. Certain regularities are established in the topography of fortified and unfortified settlements, in the architecture of residential, household and cultural structures, in funeral rites and in the manufacture of ceramic products. The forms of the vessels become more prolate, striving to become as optimal and practical in application as possible. Intricate patterns in the decor disappear, ornamentation, mostly relief, simplified to schematism. Rough pottery dominates. The tendency toward the unification of the basic forms of material culture led to its relative uniformization, characteristic of the Getcic culture of the 4lh-3rtl centuries BC.

In this and in the subsequent time, significant changes occur both in the planning of the promontory settling and in the construction of the defensive system for the settlement. On the place of the palisade, a solid line of defense was built, representing a wall consisting of a wooden frame filled with layers of clay, sand, stone and earth. From the outside, the “wall” was surrounded by a ditch, the base of which was dug into a stone rock. This line of defense was strengthened by 11 bastions: the three most powerful defended the western part of the site, and four, somewhat smaller in power and magnitude, strengthened the north-eastern and eastern sides of the fortress wall. If the bastions of the western part were separate fortified structures with their ditches, the bastions of the north-eastern and eastern sides were part of the fortress wall, thus forming a single line of defense. In total, the area of the fortified, so powerful defensive system was 6 hectares. This fortified settlement is the largest and the most powerful in the Saharna region, where 8 hill-forts of the 4^th-3^rd centuries BC are archaeologically explored.

Open settlements and fortified sites on the Saharna Mică promontory

Excavations on the Saharna Mică settlement, located on the promontory formed by the steep left side of the „Saharna” canyon, established that during the Iron Age two cultural horizons alternated on it: the early - of the I2lh-nth centuries BC, which is characterized by pottery, decorated with carved ornaments, and the late, dating back to the 7^th /6^th – 3^rd centuries BC (Niculiţă, Zanoci, Arnăut 2008,13-56).

In 2008-2013, research on this site was continued through three excavations located in various parts of the promontory. As a result, the remains of a number The northwestern part of the “wall” together with the bastions constituted a rather serious defense system for the settlement and the region as a whole. The Saharna Mică hillfort played an important role in the system of defensive structures in the Southern part of the Middle Dniester region. Finally, it was abandoned by the end of the 3rd century BC (Niculiță, Zanoci, Arnăuy 2008, 13-56).

In 2008-2013, research on this site was continued through three excavations located in various parts of the promontory. As a result, the remains of a number of surface structures and several closed complexes in the form of household pits were revealed. Analysis of the material found in the complexes makes it possible to determine the alternation of two unconnected cultural horizons, as well as the time and nature of the identified remains of both settlements.

A detailed study of the collected material, mainly ceramic products, shows that both in shape and ornament they belong to the assortment of ceramic ware or the Holercani-Hansca group of sites, dating back to the 12^th-11^th centuries BC. The fact that no fragment of ceramics with stamped ornaments has been found on the promontory up to the present time indicates that by the time of appearance of this ware in the 10^th-9^th centuries BC the cape was already abandoned by its inhabitants.

It is extremely difficult to determine the area occupied by the settlement of the I2th-llth centuries BC with confidence, because it was on this section of the cape that a new village subsequently appeared, thus destroying the old buildings. And yet, excavations of recent years have revealed a closed complex (pit no. 10/2013) and the presence of a cultural layer of a „horizon with carved/drawn pottery in site located north-west of the fortified system of the hillfort of the 7^th / 6^th -3^rd centuries BC.

The reasons that caused the population to leave the early settlement are hardly possible to establish on the basis of information available at this stage. Any assumptions due to the lack of concrete evidence will not come out of the field of conjecture.

For the second time the promontory was inhabited not earlier than the middle or the end of the 7^th century BC. The new settlement was placed approximately or. the same section of the promontory as the previous one. It was fortified by a palisade, whose traces, in the form of a ditch, trapezoid in the section, were revealed 20 meters to the north-west of the central bastion. The ditch with a depth of 60-70 cm from the modern ground surface had an opening width of 150 cm and a bottom width of 50 cm. When digging up the filling of the ditch, attention was drawn to the fact that materials relating to the 7^th – 6^th centuries BC were in its bottom part. whereas in the upper part the pottery characteristic for 5^th / 4^th -3^rd centuries BC dominate. These data suggest that the ditch, into which the base of the palisade deepened, functioned in the 7^th – 6^th centuries BC. Over time, the settlement was fortified by a more complex defense system, namely, a „wall” erected from a wooden frame filled with sand, clay, pieces of stone and earth. This line of defense defended the Southern part of the promontory in a semicircle. It was reinforced from the north by the central and north-eastern bastions. However, with the increase in the number of residents, there was a shortage of free space for the construction of new dwellings. To solve this problem, the central section of the defense line was dis-mantled and dropped into the ditch. Excavations in this part revealed the remains of surface dwellings in place of the “wall” and on the surface of the former ditch.

The northwestern part of the „wall” together with the bastions constituted a rather serious defense system for the settlement and the region as a whole. The Saharna Mică hillfort played an important role in the system of defensive structures in the southern part of the Middle Dniester region. Finally, it was abandoned by the end of the 3^rd century BC.

The Saharna „La Şanţ” site

The Saharna „La Şanţ” site is located on the south side of the Valea Crac ravine, about 1 km northeast of the Saharna Nouă village. Archaeological researches were carried out by the team of archaeologists from the State University of Moldova in 2003, 2006-2008 on an area of 288 m2. The results of these researches have been published in several articles and a monograph (Niculiţă, Zanoci, Arnăut 2008,151-162). In 2015 investigations were resumed, with an area of 80 m2 being excavated.

As a result of the investigations in 2015, as well as those of the previous years, it was established that in the place called „La Şanţ” there were two levels of habitation: an early Hallstattian, represented by an open settlement, and a Thraco-Getic one represented by a fortification.

The early Hallstattian settlement occupied the northwestern part of the plateau and spread over an area of approximately 250x100 m (2.5 ha). The existence of the early Hallstattian settlement is evidenced by ceramic fragments of hand-shaped vessels with incompletely and unevenly burned chamotte impurities. They had the polished surface, and the color varied from brick to black. The found fragments were parts of vessels with embossed incised and stamped decor characteristic of the Cozia-Saharna culture.

The Thraco-Getic fortification occupies the central and north-western part of the plateau and has a quasi-oval shape with the dimensions of approximately 330x280 m, being defended around with an artificial defensive system. On the east, south and west, it consisted of a ditch and a wooden wall filled with earth. On the nort-hern side, which coincides with the steep side of the Valea Crac ravine, only the „wall” has been identified.

In the northeast extremity of the fortification a semi-oval „citadel” was discovered, with the dimensions of about 110x60 m. On the west, south and east sides it was defended by a semicircular defensive line, which remains presently are presented in the form of a „rampart” with a width of about 12-15 m at the base and a height of 1.0-1.6 m. The northern side of the „citadel” constituted a whole with the defensive system of the large fortification.

The archaeological investigations carried out in 2015 revealed three household pits and many archaeological findings: utensils and working tools, harness pieces, adornments, and pottery, which allow to date the fortress the 4^th-3^rd centuries BC.

The Iron Age sites in the Saharna micro-zone

Along with the Saharna Mare / „Dealul Mănăstirii”, Saharna Mică and Saharna „La Şanţ” sites investigated in recent years through systematic researches, 13 fortifications, 15 open settlements and two necropolises dating to the Iron Age were found in the Saharna micro-zone. At some sites, such as the Saharna „Ţiglău” settlement and necropolis, the Saharna „Gura Hulboacei” necropolis, the Saharna „Revechin” fortress, and others, archaeological researches have been previously undertaken, the results of which have already been published in articles or even monographs (Niculiţă, Nicic 2014). At others, especially at the recently discovered fortifications (2013-2016), a series of archaeological surveys were carried out. aimed at defining the way of building the defensive system and the period when they functioned. However, most of the open settlements in the Saharna micro-zone remain known only as a result of surface research.

Diachronic evolution and significance of sites of the Saharna micro-zone

 Due to the favorable physical-geographic conditions and the strategic position of the Saharna micro-zone, it has, since ancient times, presented a convenient and attractive space for communities of farmers and cattle-breeders, the fact evidenced by numerous archaeological sites of different historical periods, among which the sites of the Iron Age numerically predominate. Following the study of orthophotomaps, surveys, and archaeological investigations, about 33 sites of this period have been attested here (Table 4), most of which have a single habitation level (Diagram 1). However, at those sites where large scale archaeological investigations have been carried out, two and more cultural-chronological horizons have been identified, among them being the Saharna Mare / „Dealul Mănăstirii” site that was inhabited from the i2th to the 3rd centuries BC. On the basis of the analysis of the discovered materials and, in particular, of the chronoindicators from closed complexes, the sites of the Saharna micro-zone are scattered over time and space.

Sites of the 12^th-11^th centuries BC are the settlements of Saharna Mare / “Dealul Mănăstirii”, Saharna Mică, and Saharna „Ţiglău”, to which are added some burials from the Ţiglău barrow necropolis. They are compactly concentrated in the central part of the Saharna micro-zone and are located at a distance of 0.8-1.1 km from each other (fig. 269).

Sites of the 10^th-9^th centuries BC of the Saharna micro-zone attributed to the Cozia-Saharna culture are represented by two fortresses, 10 open settlements and tw necropolises (fig. 270). As a result of the mapping of these sites it was observed that they are concentrated in two distinct spaces. Most sites – a fortress (Saharna Mare / „Dealul Mănăstirii”), nine open settlements (Saharna Mare / “Dealul Mănăstirii". Saharna „Ţiglău”, Saharna „La Şanţ”, Saharna “Rude”, Saharna “Budei”, etc.), and a necropolis (Saharna „Ţiglău”) – are located near the Valea Crac ravine, both on the north and the south sides, occupying a surface of about 2.0x 1.3 km (fig. 270). The second agglomeration of sites, consisting of a fortification – Saharna „Hulboaca”, an open settlement – Saharna „Gura Hulboacei”, and a necropolis (Saharna „Gura Hulboacei”), is located about 3.5 km south of the first (fig. 270). And occupies an area of approximately 1.1x0.3 km.

The settlements of the 8^th-7^th centuries BC attributed to the Basarabi-Şoldăneşti culture are known in the Saharna micro-zone (fig. 271) by the sites of Saharna I, Saharna Mare / „Dealul Mănăstirii”, and Saharna „Ţiglău” located at a distance of 0.7-1.1 km from each other.

The horizon of the end of the 7^th century – 6^th-5^th centuries BC was found only at the Saharna Mică and Saharna Mare fortresses and at the open settlement of Saharna „La Şanţ”, where systematic and extensive archaeological researches were undertaken. They are located compactly (fig. 272) in the central part of the Saharna micro-zone, at a distance of about 200 m from each other, being separated only by the Valea Crac ravine.

Sites of the 4^th-3^rd centuries BC. The mapping of the sites (fig. 273) of this period of time in the Saharna micro-zone reveals that in terms of topography most of the fortified sites are grouped on the sides of three ravines/canyons joining the Dniester riverbed with the inside territory, maintaining in this way the link between the river and its adjacent territories.

In the central part of the Saharna micro-zone there is a deep ravine (Valea Crac), which splits in its western side, forming a promontory in which the fortification of Saharna Mare was located. On the south side of the ravine the fortified sites of Saharna „La Şanţ”, Saharrta „ La Şanţ” I, and Saharna „La Şanţ” II were built, and on the north side – Saharna Mică, Saharna „Dealul Grimidon”, and Saharna „La Vile”.

At a distance of about 3.5 km north of the Valea Crac, on the Southern outskirts of the Stohnaia village there is another ravine, on whose sides the fortifications of Stohnaia III (in the south side) and Stohnaia IV (in the north side) were located. In the intermediate space between these two ravines the fortresses of Saharna „La Revechin” and Saharna-Ţiglău „Cetate” were built.

At about 4.5 km south of the Valea Crac, north of the Buciuşca village there is the third ravine. On its sides the fortresses of Saharna “Hulboaca” (in the north side) and Buciuşca (in the south side) were located. In the area between these two ravines, at relatively equal distances, the fortresses of Saharna Nouă III and Saharna Nouă V are situated.

Thus, the right bank of the Dniester in the area between the villages of Stohnaia and Buciuşca, at a distance of about 8.5 km, was defended by means of 15 fortresses located at a distance of o.2-1.8 km from each other (fig. 273), to which the Ofatinţi fortress located opposite on the left bank of the river is added.

The open settlements in the Saharna micro-zone (fig. 273) are usually located in the immediate vicinity of the fortresses, forming the so-called „extramural” area, or at a relatively small distance (o.2-0.8 km) from the fortified sites.

Based on the results of geospatial and field investigations, it appears that most sites, both fortified and unfortified, are concentrated in the central part of the Saharna micro-zone, on the sides of the Valea Crac ravine. The fortress of Saharna Mare occupies a special position here, being located on the most secluded place (about 1 km west of the Dniester) and less exposed to direct attacks from the east. Access to the site from the river was possible only through the ravine. In order to control this corridor, on its northern side there were built the fortifications of Saharna „La Vile”, Saharna „Dealul Grimidon”, and Saharna Mică, and on the Southern side -the fortresses of Saharna „La Şanţ” II, Saharna „La Şanţ” I, and Saharna „La Şanţ”.

After studying the topography of sites in the Saharna micro-zone, we can assume that in terms of strategy the fortress of Saharna Mare occupies a key position in this space. The important role of the fortress is demonstrated by the large surface (6 ha) and the complexity of the defensive system - the „wall” surrounding the interior, bastions erected on the flanks, etc. The “privileged” status of the Saharna Mare site is confirmed by the discoveries in the fortress - surface dwellings, pits for storing supplies, places of worship, as well as rich findings. Among “prestigious" materials from this site there is a fragment of quartzite scepter, adornments made of silver and amber, and imported pottery.

Based on the above, at the current state of research we can assume a certain hierarchy of sites in the Saharna micro-zone. Thus, the fortress of Saharna Mare can be seen as a central location, which possibly had some economic, administrative, social, political, and religious functions.

Smaller fortifications (0.4-0.9 ha), with an insignificant cultural layer, but placed on the dominant places, with wide possibilities of surveillance of space around. from our point of view, acted as outposts – Saharna „La Şanţ” (small inside), Saharna „La Şanţ” I, Saharna Mică, Saharna „Dealul Grimidon”, etc. and large fortresses - Stohnaia III (3,5 ha), Saharna „La Şanţ” (large inside, 7 ha), Buciuşca (10 ha), where the cultural layer is absent or insignificant, can be considered as a refuge for communities from the open settlements.

It follows from the above that the relatively large number of entities in the Saharna micro-zone undoubtedly speaks of a significant population density. Therefore, this space had a human, economic, military, and administrative potential to regulate social, cultural, economic, and commercial relations with both the surrounding communities and the Greek poleis in the northwest of the Pontus Euxinus or the metropole. These commercial relations are materialized in the import goods present in most archaeological sites studied. Based on these considerations, it can be said that the fortress on the Saharna Mare promontory was a residential center that coordinated the activities of the communities in the fortified and open settlements in the Saharna micro-zone, and perhaps even in the entire Middle Dniester region.

The source of the information – the book Evoluția habitatului din microzona Saharna în epoca fierului de Ion Niculiță, Aurel Zanoci, Mihail Băț. Pp. 445-452.