Histria – Acropolă Centru‐Sud. Date asupra artefactelor din materii dure animale (I) / Histria – Acropolis Centre‐South. Data on bone and antler artefacts (I)
Journal Title: MATERIALE SI CERCETARI ARHEOLOGICE - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue 0
Abstract
The analysis of the artefacts from osseous raw materials discoveret in Histria – Acropolis Centre‐South Sector is integrated in the series of extensive scientific valorisation of the artefacts from osseous raw materials recovered from archaeological sites located in Dobrudja – see the bibliography. Consequently, the common and significant presence of this kind of artefacts is documented in terms of quantities, types and data obtained from the inventory of the archaeological structures dated to the Roman and Roman‐Byzantine periods in Histria – Acropolis Centre‐South Sector. Their systematic recovery and study will continue to be a goal for the research team of this sector as part of the broader scientific objectives of the on‐going project. The article offers the extensive primary research data of the assemblage obtained following the 2013–2016 archaeological campaigns, comprising 31 pieces. The typological categories are quite various: tools, adornments, accessories, hafts, raw materials and debris. The local procurement of osseous raw materials (bone, deer antler, wild boar tusks) is taken into account. The artefacts have been made probably within mixt workshops (metal, wood, bone etc.), where various tools, accessories from different raw materials etc. have been produced. The technical solutions of manufacture have been defined using microscopic analysis. Artefacts are dated in the Roman and Roman‐Byzantine periods (2nd–6th century AD). Further chronological data cannot be formulated due to the disturbed context of last dwelling levels and standardised parameters of the artefacts. The piece HIS‐ACS_15 (dated to the 6th century AD, Fig. 16) is a remarkable exception due to its ornamentation, which attests the use of dye that was exceptionally well preserved. Given the fact that the decoration of the bone item still preserves traces of black pigment, the team decided to conduct a compositional non‐destructive analysis using a portable X‐Ray Fluorescence spectrometer Innov‐X Systems Alpha Series, with W anticathode tube, SiPIN diode, Peltier cooling effect. The analysis on Analytical mode was conducted on both the interior side (less finished, undecorated) and the exterior side (finely worked, decorated) in order to determine possible differences in the composition (Tables 6–7, Graph 5). The analysis conducted on the upper (decorated) side indicates again the presence of iron and lead, but this time the latter in a very high amount (70.51% Pb). The presence of both lead and iron on the surface of the decorated object could be possibly explained in terms of the original use of two pigments of different origin, one based on iron (an iron oxide – ochre?) and another on lead. These would have been either mixed to obtain a final desired colour or combined to obtain two different hues or nuances on the surface (for example, ground in one hue of red and the concentric circles in another). Another possible explanation is that the surface of the object was coloured in black using only a lead oxide, while the presence of iron indicates the prolonged contact of the bone object with an iron object. The fact that the amount of iron is much higher on the interior of the object, in combination with the presence of zinc and a small amount of lead, could serve as an argument in favour of the original use of the red deer item as a convex plaque for an iron object. Artefacts made of osseous raw materials which were studied on this occasion offer important typological and technological benchmarks for complex and extensive approach of civilisation and culture of the Histrian communities during Roman and Roman‐Byzantine epoch. Analiza lotului de artefacte din materii dure animale provenind din Sectorul Acropolă Centru‐Sud se înscrie pe linia eforturilor derulate pe durata a circa un deceniu în direcţia valorificării extensive a acestui gen de materiale provenind din situri antice dobrogene şi extradobrogene de la Dunărea de Jos. El ilustrează rezultatul aplicării unei metodologii de săpătură care permite recuperarea integrală a materialului de mici dimensiuni. Se documentează, astfel, prezenţa comună şi semnificativă – ca efective, tipuri, date furnizate etc. – a pieselor de acest gen în inventarul structurilor de epocă romană şi romano‐bizantină de la Histria. Recuperarea şi studiul lor sistematic vor constitui, în continuare, preocupări constante în cadrul colectivului de cercetare al acestui sector, ca parte a obiectivelor proiectului ştiinţific aflat în derulare. Articolul de faţă materializează intenţia de a introduce rapid în circuitul ştiinţific datele primare, în formă extensivă, relative la lotul aferent campaniilor 2013–2016, cuprinzând 31 de piese. Categoriile tipologice sunt relativ variate: unelte, podoabe, accesorii, elemente receptoare, materii prime şi deşeuri. Se iau în considerare indiciile legate de procesarea locală probabilă a materiilor dure animale (os, corn de cerb, defense de mistreţ) în ateliere mixte, în care se produceau (şi) artefacte de acest gen, în general accesorii diverse. Au fost definite modalităţile de prelucrare a materiilor prime pe baza analizei microscopice a urmelor specifice. Încadrarea cronologică provizorie se referă la epoca romană şi romano‐bizantină (sec. II–VI p.Chr.), contextul descoperirii şi parametrii standardizaţi ai pieselor nepermiţând, în general, formularea altor precizări. Ca excepţie notorie se menţionează piesa HIS‐ACS_15, databilă în a doua jumătate a sec. al VI‐lea p.Chr., preţioasă prin decor şi prin atestarea utilizării colorantului, conservat în mod excepţional, a cărui reţetă se bazează pe utilizarea oxidului de plumb (diagnoză spectrometrică). Analiza compoziţională non‐distructivă a feţelor artefactului His‐ACS_15 a fost efectuată cu ajutorul unui spectrometru portabil XRF tip Innov‐X Systems Alpha Series, cu tub anticatodic W, diodă SiPIN şi efect de răcire Peltier. Analiza realizată în modul Analytical, pe ambele feţe ale artefactului, a urmărit determinarea diferenţelor compoziţionale cu semnificaţie legată de eventuala reţetă a materiei colorante negre (Tabele 6–7, Grafic 5). Procentul foarte mare detectat pentru plumb (70,51% Pb) sugerează utilizarea colorantului pe bază de miniu. Prezenţa fierului, mai ales pe faţa inferioară, se poate datora contactului artefactului cu un obiect de fier, poate suportul pe care a fost montată aplica de corn de cerb respectivă. Piesele din materii dure animale studiate furnizează necesare repere tipologice şi tehnologice pentru abordarea complexă şi extensivă a manifestărilor civilizaţiei şi culturii comunităţilor de la Histria în epoca romană şi romano‐bizantină.
Authors and Affiliations
Corneliu Beldiman, Valentin Bottez, Alexandra Țârlea, Diana-Maria Beldiman
Keywords
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