The Danube evolution within the Romanian sector Cotul Pisicii - Ceatal Izmail based on the archaeological discoveries and remote sensing

The purpose of this study was to develop a working method for analysing the natural environment according to archaeological data. In order to achieve these results, the data obtained from classical archaeological and historical studies were correlated with those obtained by field studies and remote sensing techniques. In this paper, the studies focused on the evolution of the Lower Danube, in the sector Cotul Pisicii - Ceatalul Izmail. Data processing was based on free and open source applications. Through this, data from archaeological studies and satellite imagery was processed, thus obtaining a trace of the form and distribution of archaeological sites on vector strata. These were used to determine the current shape of the Danube fairway. Preliminary data available at the moment revealed an intensive alluvial process of the Danube bank in the Cotul Pisicii - Crapina Lake area, upstream of the Noviodunum fortress (Isaccea) area, and in the sector Revărsarea - Ceatalul Izmail. The intense erosion process was found in the Noviodunum fortress (Isaccea) area. The correlation of these processes with data on the spatial distribution of the archaeological sites as well as on the historical periods that belong to them can provide a valuable indicator of the evolution of the lower sector of the Danube

Cercetări arheologice preventive la Nufăru, jud. Tulcea (II) / Recherches archéologiques préventives à Nufăru, dép. de Tulcea (II)

Les auteurs présentent les résultats des fouilles pratiquées pendant les années 2008– 2011 dans un site archéologique situé dans le Nord de la Dobroudja, entièrement recouvert par un village contemporain. La recherche est le résultat d’un projet d’aménagement du système de l’évacuation des eaux ménagères. Après un aperçu sur les données archéologiques enregistrées (une forteresse bâtie dans le dernier quart du Xe siècle, après la reconquête de la région du Bas Danube par l’Empire Byzantin, des structures d’habitat, des nécropoles, des matériaux archéologiques essentiellement de la période comprise entre le Xe siècle et le milieu du XIIIe siècle), l’article présente les éléments découverts dans les rues du village. Ceux ci concernent : l’âge du fer (un niveau d’habitations, des tessons céramiques), l’époque romano byzantine (des tombes d’inhumation), l’époque byzantine (des tronçons de la courtine sur les côtés nord et sud, des habitations, des fosses ménagères, des tombes), l’époque moderne (des complexes funéraires). La recherche des années 2008– 2011 a confirmé et a enrichi les données déjà acquises en ce qui concerne le trajet des remparts d’époque byzantine, la stratigraphie, la topographie et la chronologie du site. L’image plus précise obtenue par les archéologues sur le potentiel du site a offert aussi une base meilleure pour l’adaptation du projet constructif en vue de la protection des vestiges.Autorii prezintă rezultatele cercetărilor desfăşurate în campaniile 2008– 2011 într-un sit arheologic din nordul Dobrogei, integral suprapus de o localitate contemporană. Cercetarea este rezultatul desfăşurării unui proiect de amenajare a sistemului de canalizare a localităţii. După o trecere în revistă a datelor arheologice cunoscute (o cetate, construită în ultimul sfert al secolului al X-lea, după recucerirea regiunii Dunării de Jos de către Imperiul Bizantin, adăpostind niveluri de locuire, necropole, materiale arheologice databile în perioada cuprinsă între secolul al X-lea şi mijlocul secolului al XIII-lea), articolul prezintă noile descoperiri făcute pe reţeaua stradală a localităţii. Au fost cercetate structuri arheologice aparţinând epocilor fierului (elemente de locuire), romano-bizantină (morminte de inhumaţie), medio-bizantină (tronsoane din curtina de nord şi de sud a zidulului de incintă bizantin, elemente de vieţuire şi funerare) şi modernă (două zone cimiteriale). Cercetările arheologice preventive desfăşurate în perioada 2008– 2011 au confirmat şi completat achiziţiile ştiinţifice anterioare, referitor la traseul zidului de incintă bizantin, stratigrafia, topografia şi cronologia aşezărilor şi necropolelor. Imaginea mai completă şi mai nuanţată obţinută asupra potenţialului arheologic al sitului a oferit şi posibilitatea adaptării proiectelor constructive în vederea protejării vestigiilor.Damian Oana, Vasile Mihai, Samson Andra, Ene Daniel, Stănică Aurel. Cercetări arheologice preventive la Nufăru, jud. Tulcea (II) / Recherches archéologiques préventives à Nufăru, dép. de Tulcea (II). In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°8 2012. pp. 177-209

Late-Holocene landscape evolution and human presence in the northern Danube delta (Chilia distributary lobes)

International audienceThis paper documents the Late-Holocene environmental changes and human presence in the northern Danube delta using a multidisciplinary approach that combines geoscientific data with archaeological findings, historical texts, and maps. It follows the formation and progression of the Chilia distributary and the reconfiguration of socioeconomic activities. Sedimentary facies identified on five new cores by changes in texture properties, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry, and macro- and microfauna composition together with the newly obtained chronology constrain the complex evolution of the Chilia branch as filling in a long-lasting bay and then of a giant lagoon (Thiagola) which covered most of the northern delta since the Old Danube lobe inception (ca. 7500 yrs BP) till modern Chilia development. It initiated during the Greek Antiquity (ca. 2500 yrs ar BP) at the delta apex, while in Roman times (ca. 1800 yrs BP) it pursued its slow flowing into the vast Thiagola Lagoon. The most dramatic transformations occurred in the last 800 years when the river passed east of the Chilia promontory, rapidly went through the present-day Matița-Merhei basin (several decades), and created its first open-sea outlet. Solid discharge increased in two distinct periods, once in the Middle Ages (ca. 750 yrs BP) and then in the Modern Period (ca. 150 yrs BP) due to human-induced land-use changes in the Danube watershed. The chronology of the cultural remains on the pre-deltaic Chilia promontory and the multiproxy analysis of a sediment core retrieved nearby downstream suggest the terrestrial connection of the island with the mainland in ancient times. The hitherto contended issue of the old Thiagola Lagoon and its location are redefined here, as are the original identifications of ancient and medieval toponyms and hydronyms, especially for Chilia-Licostomo, Byzantine, Genoese, Moldavian, Ottoman, and Russian trading point of great importance in the political and economic history of the Black Sea and neighboring regions