The periegetic investigations undertaken in the years 1946-1947 in the lower course of the Răut river revealed a series of sites from the Iron Age from Butuceni, Furceni, Cot, Potârca, Scoc and the medieval cities Shehr al Cedid and Orheiul Vechi. The extensive investigations undertaken between 1946-1953 at the fortified settlement Butuceni and the medieval cities previously mentioned by Gh. Smirnov, as well as by P. Bârnea, Gh. Postică, etc. have proved a remarkable success of a primordial significance for the history of this area. The fascinating results obtained, as well as the unrepeatable natural landscape, have essentially contributed to conferring, by the Moldovan RSS officials, the respective area on 15.03.1968, the status of "Historical-archaeological reservation". 40 years later, the "Orheiul Vechi Cultural-Natural Reservation" is con- stituted according to the law approved by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova no. 251 - XVI of 04.12.2008 and the Government Decision no. 228 of 23.03.2009.
The researches at the
Potârca resort started in 1996, although the investigations at the
archaeological objectives of the Iron Age, in the area of the current
cultural-natural reserve "Orheiul Vechi" had been resumed 13 years
earlier. The explanation for such a delay is simple - the normal
inaccessibility to the site location. The Furceni promontory on which the
Potârca settlement was built is situated at considerable dis- tances from the
current surrounding communities: Butuceni, Trebujeni and Furceni. Not only the
lack of access routes, but also the most ele- mentary possibilities of entering
the area, do make almost impossible for a normal research of this
archaeological objective.
The Potârca
settlement is located on the spur of the stone terrace of Furceni promontory,
which is situated between the stream of the same name and Trebujeni commune in
Codrii of Moldova. Surrounded on three parts by steep slopes, the altitude of
which varies between 120 and 150 m, it dominates the entire area of Răut
River's lower course. The Potârca site, which, like the terrace, had a
triangular shape with inac- cessible beds/sides, was almost invulnerable. From
the defense system were preserved only the "wall" tracks currently
visible in the form of ground waves, which in the form of a semicircle were
barring the triangular terraces. The fortresses with one or two naturally
protected sides, reinforced only in the vulnerable sector, fit perfectly into
the category of "barred spur" sites. In the historiography of the
second half of the last century, the settlements with a triangular or an almost
triangular enclosure with a defensive barred base lines were considered the
most widespread type of fortified sites during the 6th-3rd centuries BC. This
assumption, over time, has proved to be groundless.
The true
archeological situation on the Furceni headland is quite complicated. The
detailed analysis of the acquired artifacts substantial- ly contributes to the
establishment, although in major lines, of the time when the promontory was for
the first time populated and approximate- ly when it was definitively
abandoned. At what stages did the activity of the sedentary communities evolve,
when and in what succession were the defensive systems built, which were the
occupations of the inhabi- tants of the site in its full ascension, which was
the role of the fortified Potârca settlement within the demographic system of
Răut River lower course region?
Both in the region of
the defensive systems, as well as within the site, within the cultural layer a
representative batch of fragments from various types of molded vessels was
noticed, made of well-ground clay paste with ingredients of minced chamotte and
sand. The burning of this category of ceramics is always incomplete and uneven.
Light gray color with dark spots. The pots are usually covered with ornament
consisting of incised lines. The incised decoration is still widely used in the
first half of the Ist millennium BC in the Balkan-Carpathian-Pontic space. This
decoration, considered the most expressive in the ornamental system within the
horizon "with incised ceramics" of the Tămăoani-Hol- ercani-Hansca
type, is frequently encountered in the 12th-llth centuries BC not only in the
middle Dniester region, but also within much vaster areas. Flowever, based on concrete
researches, it has been found
out that in the
studied closed complexes, but also in the cultural lay- er, the containers with
an incised decoration constituted 23-28% while those with an embossed ornament
- 94%. The study of the decorative representations rendered by means of the
incised lines imposes a typo- logical classification of the decorative reasons,
which from an aesthetic point of view presents an obvious succession from simple
representations to records with a complex structure, also recounting, at the
same time, a chronological evolution. The incised lines between the 9th and the
8th centuries BC present complicated records, forming in certain cases a system
of a geometric decoration in the shape of angles, strips, carved and inscribed
rhombuses, which are quite familiar in the imme- diate period of the 8th -7th
centuries BC, becoming characteristic to the Basarabi-Soldanesti facies.
The presence of the
early ceramic material confirms the idea that already during the 8th century BC
there was a settlement operating on Potârca headland, which was evolving in
ascension during the 7th - 6th/5th centuries BC. During the next period a
strong defensive complex was built, thus granting them a significant strategic
status within the system of fortified sites from the basin of Răut River lower
course. The settlements of the prehistoric or ancient period were most common-
ly built on certain factors, either economical - where they were taking
advantage of a fertile arable land, rich pastures and water resources, or
strategic - in naturally protected places that were facilitating the con-
struction of complex defense systems, thus not only ensuring their own
invulnerability, but also the ability to dominate, in certain cases, on un-
fortified or endowed with a modest defense system sites. Regarding Potârca
fortress, the situation seems to be more complicated. Its build- ing could have
been caused by several circumstances. Being built on the highest
peak/promontory in the area, reinforced with a complex fortifi- cation system,
the site was occupying a modest surface, and the pastures and the arable land
around it were limited, unable to maintain suffi- cient food products for a
large community. The presence of imported materials cannot serve as an
indisputable argument supporting the idea that these goods had been used only
by the communities living within the fortress. Rather, they report that the
Potârca site, like many oth- ers, would have been a commercial transit point
for Greek traders used during the process of exchange with local communities.
The detailed analysis
of the archaeological artifacts concerned al- lows us, to some extent, to track
their evolution in time and in the space incorporated within the defensive
system. The correlation of the no.l Complex content (pit no.l) dug into the
ridge of the internai defense "wave" line and highlighted by Section
no. 13, with the wooden filling of the case and the soil of the cultural layer,
relates quite a significant picture: the soil from the Complex/Pit no.l is
identical to the soil of the ground layer that covers the defensive
construction ruin, thus, differing completely from the "wave"
structure which it had been dug into.
The ceramic material
collected from the emplecton "wall" and Complex no. 1 may be
remarkably included into the ceramic assortment typical to the 4th - 3rd/2nd
centuries BC. However, the types of vessels similar to those discovered in the
later cultural horizons specific to the 3rd century BC prevail among the
ceramic fragments from the Complex no.l. It should be noted that the
Complex/Pit no. 1 was outlined at a 40-50 cm depth from the current floor
surface, the soil from it being the same as the layer that was covering both
objectives, radically differing from the "wave" soil it had been dug.
This, unambiguously, indicates that a very long period of time elapsed between
their edification. It is dif- ficult to identify this chronological gap based
on the currently available material. A fact is clear, that when the no.l
Complex/Pit no.l had been dug, the internai defense line presented only a
wave-shaped field. An ef- fective backup for supporting this assumption can
also be the fragment of Chios amphora from the second half of the 3rd century
BC discovered at a 30cm depth above the "wave", within the layer that
was covering the entire settlement, which means, that during the period when
the liquid goods were being transported in packs made in the second half of the
2nd century BC the internai defense line had already been abandoned. If the
period of the inner defense line annihilation could be considered the middle or
the second half of the 3rd century BC, the problem remains to establish the
period of building the entire fortification system. Were both defense lines on
the south side of the site built at the same time with the lateral ones or
consecutively? When was the stronghold raised, at the same time or later?
These, as well as other aspects related to the Potâr- ca fortified site, due to
lack of concrete chronological data, are still not elucidated. Despite such
realities, certain attempts can be undertaken in order to clarify the
correlation between the period of the settlement
set-up within the
second Iron Age and the appearance of the defensive system. The discovery
within the outer defense emplecton "wave" line, of the four basically
reconstructible vessels and 183 fragments from dif- ferent ceramic vessels
through Section no.5 and about 500 ceramic fragments, out of which 130 with
traces of secondary combustion detected in the Southern region of the same
"wave", through Section no. 6, seems to contribute to the
reconstruction stages of building the archaeological objects on the Furceni
rocky promontory.
The vessels, probably
already damaged and the multitude of ceramic fragments from different types of
containers, together with the rubble, pebble, pieces of limestone have been
used as material for reinforcing the wooden casing emplecton - the
"defense" wall "skeleton". The assumption according to
which the ceramic material could have appeared on the top of the remains of the
defensive edifice, as a result of different agricultural works after its ruin, is
not excluded. However, the presence of 130 ceramic fragments, similar to those
from the cultural layer with traces of secondary combustion within the clay,
rubble and other limestone materials stretch, effectively pressed, making it of
an excepţional hardness, at a depth of more than 1 m from the "wave"
ridge, undoubtedly proves the ceramic material's authenticity within the
"wall" and the one within the premises. This shows that at the time
of building the line, in this case, of the externai defense, a settlement was
already operating within this space. The time lag between the period of
establishment of the settlement and the time of building the defensive system,
due to the lack of concrete data, cannot be determined with certainty. There is
also the question of the chronological correlation of defensive lines, and
especially of the two ones from the south. They were built at the same time, in
order to ensure a more effective defense in the most vulnerable part of the
site, or consecutively, so that later, due to the increase of population that
caused the need for new living spaces, the inner defense line had been
abandoned and demolished. It is also not excluded the assumption that the
fortified site Potârca, thanks to its location on the highest segment of the
area - the peak of the rocky promontory, protected by high and steep banks, has
been built for strategic purposes of surveillance and communication with
Butuceni for- tress, which being surrounded by the fortified settlements from
the both banks of Răut River lower course: Scoc, Cot, Selistra, Măşcăuţi-Pomnfl
Ciucului, had been a strong military, religious, and
commercial residen- tial center. Therefore, its construction could have taken
place not earlier than the end of the 5th - 4th centuries BC, the time when
this residential center was constituted.
The study of the
artifacts highlighted as a result of the archaeological investigations in the
fortified Potârca site from the Iron Age, in all their complexity, allows some
preventive findings.
The surface of the
promontory seems to have been populated, at the earliest, by the 9th- 8th
centuries BC. But the contouring, even ap- proximate, of the space occupied by
the settlement cannot be determined.
During the
7th-6th/5th centuries BC, based on the available mate- rials, it can be stated
the fact that the settlement undergoes a significant evolution, although due to
limited field research, its territorial highlight- ing is not possible.
During the immediate
stage of the 5th/4th-3rd centuries BC the site has been fortified and
incorporated into the defensive system consisting of a fortress network located
on both banks of the Răut River basin.
Towards the end of
the 3rd -2nd centuries BC, stagnation in the evolution of the site is noticed,
that leads to the fortification system de- cay and with time to the entire
settlement.
It is not excluded
that this situation was caused by the ineursions of foreign communities, the
Pomeranians among others, the traces of which although sporadic, are present
through the minimum of archae- ologically documented data. It is, however,
early, at the current level of research, to state the massive presence of these
communities.
The evolution of
Potârcă settlement and of the sites from the Lower Răut River area
The Lower Răut region
represents a landscape consisting of Coastal plains, plateaus, hills and rocky
headlands meandering by narrow pas- sages, drawn in different directions.
Thanks to the strategic position of the whole microzone that presents a
favorable space for the sedentary way of life with arable, fertile and grassy
lands, which created favorable conditions for living, it had been populated, as
it resulted from the analy- sis of the archaeological data available, even in
the early Iron Age period.
Ceramic materials
from the early Iron Age were also highlighted in the high areas of the
microzone known more through periegetic research. Materials from the 8th-7th
centuries BC have been spotted in both Butu-
ceni and Potârca, and
Măşcăuţi that confess a permanent residence with- in these settlements. In the
6th-3rd centuries BC most of the investigated archaeologically fortified sites
flourish: Butuceni, Cot, Furceni-Ivancea, Măşcăuţi, Potârca, Scoc,
Selitra, as well as a series of open settlements. The visibility analysis
performed on the Digital Model of the Elevations shows us that the Răut valley
was a region well controlled by the Getian communities. As it results from the
space investigations analysis, the fortified Butuceni site was settling
connections, in most cases, with all the establishments from the Lower Răut
microzone only with the help of Potârca settlement. Butuceni fortress itself,
occupying a special po- sition and being protected naturally by the meanders of
the high and steep banks of the Răut, as well as by an invulnerable complex
defensive system, presents the residential center of the formation from the
Lower Răut basin. Similar centers, thanks to the last years research, have been
noticed as well as in other regions of the Budo-Carpathian-Danubian area, from
which the one from Saharna area from the Middle Dniester region is standing
out. Another residential center, as it results from the recent Stolniceni
large-scale research and the periegetic ones from the surroundings, could be in
the present region of the Hinceşti Codrii, as well as in areas of the space
concerned.
Studying the
fortified and open sites from the archeological Iron Age, known in the Lower
Răut microzone through extensive archaeo- logical investigations, undertaken in
late 20th century- early 21st century, has offered to specialists a rich and a
varied informative material. Based on the detailed analysis of the
archaeological data, it has been established that the evolution apex of these
establishments was reached towards 4th- 3rd centuries BC. Taking into account
the fact that not all archaeologically determined sites appeared concomitantly
and were at the same time abandoned, the area occupied by the seven fortified
sites and five open settlements is not relatively large, being 7.5 km long and
3 km wide, indicates a substanţial demographic evolution in comparison with the
previous periods. The surprising demographic evolution has considerably
accelerated the building process on an essential scale of the sites defended by
long-term complex defensive Systems, which, in their turn are modified
according to the dictated economic and demographic development needs of the
population of these establishments. The map- ping and the study of the
topography of sites in the Lower Răut mi-
crozone, the analysis
of the available archaeological remnants and their correlation with the
information resulting from the geospatial research, indicates the use and
strict adherence to certain rules and strategies in the location of fortified
sites.
The analysis of data
obtained through investigations: exhaustive at Butuceni fortress; parţial at
the Potârca and Măşcăuţi-Poiana Ciucului fortified sites; periegetic at
Cot, Scoc, Selitra, Măşcăuţi-Poiana Ciucului, allow highlighting, by the
surface of the enclosure, the placement, the complexity of the defensive
system, the hierarchy in the principie of edification, each fortified
settlement having a special role in the defensive complex of the whole
microzone. The varied topography of the sites seems to have been conditioned by
several circumstances such as:
-
Microzone landscape;
-
Availability of favorable conditions for agriculture
and livestock breeding for a successful subsistence;
-
High level of visibility for communication with each
other or through neighboring sites with higher topographic positions.
The diachronic evolution of the fortified sites in the Lower Răut microzone: Cot, Butuceni, Măşcăuţi-Poiana Ciucului, Potârca, Scoc, Selitra as well as of the open ones was different. AII these establishments, during the period of maximum development, functioned synchronously, their edification and abandonment, as it results from the available mate- rials, occurred in different circumstances and at different chronological stages. Nowadays, with a higher probability ratio, it can be stated that two of them, Butuceni and Potârca, had their beginning: the first in the lOth century BC, the second closer to the 9th -7th century BC. The fortress from Măşcăuţi-Po/anfl Ciucului is considered as an unfortified settlement in the 7th- 5th century BC. It is likely that the other fortified and non-reinforced sites are formed at the same time or at a later stage. Their decline dates back to the crossroads of the two centuries: the Ist century BC - Ist century AD while the height of development completely falls on the 4th-3rd century BC. If the time of the appearance of these establishments can be attested to the demographic evolution of the communities in this region during the first half of the Ist millennium BC, the second Iron Age period - the flourishing time of these civilizations in all areas remains an enigma/problem, although it has been frequently discussed in specialized literature. Only the second stage of the Ist millennium BC.
The source of information: Cercetările sitului arheologic Potârca din Rezervația Cultural-Naturală Orheiul Vechi, written by Ion Niculiță, Sergiu Matveev and Andrei Nicic
