AUTHORS: Valerii Kavruk, Dan Lucian Buzea, Joseph Puskas, Maria-Magdalena Ștefan, Radu Zăgreanu, Ionel Popa, Anca Ionela Semeniuc
PAGES: 55-112
LANGUAGE: Romanian with English abstract and figures captions.
ABSTRACT: The Băile Figa site is situated in northeast Transylvania in the Someşul Mare Basin (Pl.1). It covers the valley of a salty brook (Pârâul Sărat) which flows into the Sărata stream which, in turn, flows into the Meleş River – a major tributary of the Someşul Mare River. The site overlaps a rock salt deposit that is found at a depth of 1.5 to 10 m from the present-day terrain surface. A consistent layer of salty mud rich in Bronze Age, Iron Age, medieval and pre-modern timbers overlaps this deposit.
Most of the findings uncovered within the site – wooden structures, installations, implements and utensils, as well as stone mining tools and pottery – date from ca. 1600 – 800 and ca. 400 – 200 BC. Trench S.XV. In 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015 the excavation was carried out in the central-southern part of the site (Pl.6; 7) in the area where the banks of the salty brook are much higher as compared to the rest of the valley (ca. 4 m). Many timbers and two troughs were visible in the stream and its sides. A small check trench (S.XV) was opened in the riverbed of the stream in 2008. In 2013 the trench was widened up to 8 x 8 m. Thus it covered the stream and its both sides. The excavation performed in 2013 and 2014 reached the rock salt in the western part of the trench (Pl.10; 11; 12/1) and the layer of salty mud in its eastern half. Two timber structures were partially uncovered in the eastern half of the trench in 2013: 1-XV-2013 and 2-XV-2013. Structure 1-XV-2013 included a roundish pit dug in the mud, with wattle-lined walls, surrounded by a wattle fence (Pl.11; 15). Structure 2-XV-2013 is a straight fence made of oak planks stuck in soil up to the rock salt (Pl.21/1; 23/1). Three of its planks were dated by using the dendrochronological method and were found to belong to the years 995, 996 and 980 BC (Heuβner 2014). Four wooden troughs were uncovered in the trench: no. 1, no. 4 (Pl.12), no. 5 (Pl.13) and no. 6 (Pl.14). They lied in the salty mud and were aligned in a straight line between south-western and north-western corners of the trench. Two of them were dated using the 14C method: trough no. 1 – around 1000 cal BC (2870 ± 20 BP and 2840 ± 20 BP), and trough no. 4 – around 850-800 cal BC (2699 ± 29 BP). Trough no.7 (Pl.16/1) was partially uncovered in 2014 in the southeast corner of S.XV, close to Structure 1-XV-2013. Several artefacts were uncovered in the trench in 2008, 2013-2014: wooden ladder, gutters, hammers and shovels, stone mining tools, and several ceramic sherds. Most of the ceramic sherds found in the trench do not show culturally diagnostic features, and only one of them is specific to the Gáva culture (Pl.38).
The excavation in S.XV in 2015
The excavation in 2015 was carried out in the south-eastern part of the trench, where three wooden structures (1-XV-13, 2-XV-13, 1-XV-15), apparently interconnected, were more or less fully uncovered. - Structure 1-XV-13 (Pl.15-20) includes a pit with wattle-lined walls, surrounded by a roundish fence made of wattle and supporting stakes stuck in the mud. The pit was dug in salty mud up to the rock salt. It is frustconical in shape and narrows downwards. The bottom of the pit (rock salt) is sectioned by a ca 0.2 m wide ditch which extends beyond the pit. - Structure 1-XV-2015 (Pl.9, 16, 17) consists of six stakes stuck in the ground. They are arranged in two parallel lines which delimit a 1.2 m wide and 1.8 m long corridor. One of the stakes is at the same time a part of the 1-XV-13 structure’s fence. Structure 2-XV-13 (Pl.9, 21-23) is a straight fence made of vertical oak planks, stakes and hollowed trunks, stuck into ground and linked by a horizontal 3.4 m long bar, that extends from the stream up to the fence of the Structure 1-XV-13. Apparently, Structure 2-XV-13 is linked with Structure 1-XV-13.
Artefacts
Some wooden artefacts were completely uncovered close to Structure 1-XV-2013: a trough (no.7), two T-shaped sledge-hammers, and two wedges. Trough no. 7 (Pl.16, 17/2, 24-31) was made out of a hollowed trunk with one end closed and other open. The tubular orifice of the open end was plugged by seven pieces of timber. 16 square holes were made in the bottom part of the trough, and axially perforated pegs were inserted in each of them. Sharp peaks of wooden needles wrapped with bast fibre were found in the
orifices of some of the pegs. Seven wooden needles, more or less intact, were found at the bottom of the trough. One of them had its sharp peak inserted into the peg hole. Some of the needles have their sharp peaks wrapped with bast fibre strips. In some cases, these strips are twisted and show rather long cords under the sharp peaks of the needles (Pl.33, 34).
Conclusions
The archaeological contexts revealed within S.XV are highly suggestive in what concerns the Late Bronze Age technology of salt production using trough technique (according to A. Harding 2013). First of all, S.XV has revealed the specific package of what is called trough technique of salt production. This package includes as follows:
• Closeness to shallow rock salt deposit;
• Specific wooden structures: straight plank wall along the brook, wattle roundish structures, and sticks
stuck in the ground aligned in straight lines;
• Specific implements: troughs, gutters and stairs;
• Constant association of troughs and gutters;
• Mining tools: stone mining hammers, wooden sledge hummers, wedges and shovels;
Cercetări arheologice efectuate la Băile Figa în anul 2015. Secţiunea XV. Raport preliminar/Archaeological field research in Băile Figa in 2015. Trench S.XV. Preliminary Report