Papers by Marta Petruneac
Science Advances
The origins of horseback riding remain elusive. Scientific studies show that horses were kept for... more The origins of horseback riding remain elusive. Scientific studies show that horses were kept for their milk ~3500 to 3000 BCE, widely accepted as indicating domestication. However, this does not confirm them to be ridden. Equipment used by early riders is rarely preserved, and the reliability of equine dental and mandibular pathologies remains contested. However, horsemanship has two interacting components: the horse as mount and the human as rider. Alterations associated with riding in human skeletons therefore possibly provide the best source of information. Here, we report five Yamnaya individuals well-dated to 3021 to 2501 calibrated BCE from kurgans in Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, displaying changes in bone morphology and distinct pathologies associated with horseback riding. These are the oldest humans identified as riders so far.
The aim of this paper is to present a series of discoveries attributed to the Turkic nomadic popu... more The aim of this paper is to present a series of discoveries attributed to the Turkic nomadic populations (11th– 12th centuries), resulting from archaeological research conducted in 2018 and 2019 in several burial mounds placed in the localities of Târgșoru Nou and Inotești from Prahova County, as well as Lunca from Buzău county. It includes descriptions of the investigated archaeological features, the results of the anthropological and archaeozoological determinations as well as those of the physico-chemical investigations of some metal artefacts, and absolute chronology dates. Given that artefacts were part of the archaeological features investigated, we briefly present information regarding their analogies and occurrence. These discoveries highlight a time period which is otherwise scarcely known in this region and at the same time add weight to other materials already published during past years.
The aim of this paper is to present a series of discoveries attributed to the Turkic nomadic popu... more The aim of this paper is to present a series of discoveries attributed to the Turkic nomadic populations (11th– 12th centuries), resulting from archaeological research conducted in 2018 and 2019 in several burial mounds placed in the localities of Târgșoru Nou and Inotești from Prahova County, as well as Lunca from Buzău county. It includes descriptions of the investigated archaeological features, the results of the anthropological and archaeozoological determinations as well as those of the physico-chemical investigations of some metal artefacts, and absolute chronology dates. Given that artefacts were part of the archaeological features investigated, we briefly present information regarding their analogies and occurrence. These discoveries highlight a time period which is otherwise scarcely known in this region and at the same time add weight to other materials already published during past years.
Studii şi Cercetări de Istorie Veche şi Arheologie (SCIVA), 2020
In the collections of the “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Arheology there are two fragmentary double... more In the collections of the “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Arheology there are two fragmentary double-looped bow fibulae discovered in the 19th century in Oltenia. Only the bows of the fibulae were preserved, composed of a bronze shell over an iron core. The first belongs to the type with knobbed bow and the other to the type with ribbed bow. Both fibulae were published by Tiberiu Bader in the volume concerning the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age fibulae in Romania, and can be dated in the 8th-7th centuries BC.
In this article, the two fibulae were examined through non-invasive methods: X-ray fluorescence and X-ray Computed Tomography. The elemental composition of the two fibulae examined through XRF showed that the iron rod was covered with a shell made of copper-tin alloy also containing a higher level of lead. The images provided by X-ray Computed Tomography yielded information on the structure of the fibulae, the dimensions, aspect and state of preservation of the components and the way in which they were manufactured. Both fibulae were most likely manufactured through lost-wax casting. Another important observation was made regarding the repair of one of the fibulae. For this, bronze with a low content of tin and also a low level of lead was used.
Dacia N.S., 2020
The debate focuses on two complete socketed axes recovered by metal detecting from a forest nearb... more The debate focuses on two complete socketed axes recovered by metal detecting from a forest nearby Preajba Mare, Gorj County. The artefacts are typologically different, but they both date from the Late Bronze Age or the beginning of the Iron Age (Bz D–Ha A1). One of the socketed axes has a bronze rod twisted around it and the interior of the socket is stuffed with bronze items. X-ray computed tomography provided diverse information of technological nature and allowed visualizing inside the socket of the respective axe. Wedging metal fragments or even complete items made of other raw materials inside socketed axes were highlighted by Svend Hansen over 20 years ago. There are few finds of blocked socketed axes compared to the total number of such artefacts. In south‑-east Europe such artefacts occur in hoards consisting usually of both complete and fragmented items and dated mainly to the Bz D–Ha A1 period. The paper reviews the main opinions regarding the motivations that might have triggered such a practice – stuffing the area where the handle was inserted when the piece was functional. The final part of the paper discusses the particular case of Preajba Mare where within the same area with the socketed axes were also found fragmented bronze implements, deposited most likely during the Ha A1 period. Whether the complete artefacts represent a hoard on itself, separate from that of the fragmented implements or the two categories of artefacts – complete and fragmented – represent a single hoard are two different hypotheses, in their own right.
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Papers by Marta Petruneac
In this article, the two fibulae were examined through non-invasive methods: X-ray fluorescence and X-ray Computed Tomography. The elemental composition of the two fibulae examined through XRF showed that the iron rod was covered with a shell made of copper-tin alloy also containing a higher level of lead. The images provided by X-ray Computed Tomography yielded information on the structure of the fibulae, the dimensions, aspect and state of preservation of the components and the way in which they were manufactured. Both fibulae were most likely manufactured through lost-wax casting. Another important observation was made regarding the repair of one of the fibulae. For this, bronze with a low content of tin and also a low level of lead was used.
In this article, the two fibulae were examined through non-invasive methods: X-ray fluorescence and X-ray Computed Tomography. The elemental composition of the two fibulae examined through XRF showed that the iron rod was covered with a shell made of copper-tin alloy also containing a higher level of lead. The images provided by X-ray Computed Tomography yielded information on the structure of the fibulae, the dimensions, aspect and state of preservation of the components and the way in which they were manufactured. Both fibulae were most likely manufactured through lost-wax casting. Another important observation was made regarding the repair of one of the fibulae. For this, bronze with a low content of tin and also a low level of lead was used.