Blog created and administrated by: Dr. Vasilica Lungu (excavation director of Orgame necropolis), Dr. Alexandra Dolea, Dr. Alina Mușat-Streinu and Dr. Marius Streinu.
Orgame/Argamum is one of the most important archaeological sites along the Black Sea coast. The pattern of habitation for the area lasts, with small periods of interruption, almost two millennia. The archaeological discoveries fully illustrate this interval, starting about the 13th century and divided into the following periods: Bronze Age (13th century B.C); Early Iron Age (10th – 8th centuries B.C.); Archaic and Classical (7th – 4th centuries B.C.); Hellenistic (3rd – 2nd centuries B.C.); Early Roman (2nd – 4th centuries A.D.) and Late Roman (4th – 7th centuries A.D.).
Les précipitions
exceptionnelles qu’a connues le nord de la France ces dernières semaines ont
entrainé de nombreuses inondations et provoqué une crue de la Seine. Le musée
du Louvre a été placé depuis jeudi dernier en situation d’urgence, les réserves
en zone inondable ont été évacuées et les nombreuses collections qu’elles
renferment d’ordinaire mises à l’abri dans les salles du musée. Le Louvre
demeure fermé au public, tandis que l’ensemble du personnel est mobilisé sur
cette opération. Cette situation exceptionnelle nous oblige malheureusement à
devoir reporter, vraisemblablement au mercredi 23 novembre à 9h30, la
rencontre autour du programme de recherche scientifique franco-roumain,
initialement programmée le 8 juin à 10h30 à la Casa Oamenilor de Știință.
Le Musée du Louvre (Département des Antiquités Grecques, Etrusques et Romaines),l’Académie Roumaine (Institut d’Etudes Sud-Est Européennes) et l’Institut de Recherches Eco-Muséales „Gavrilă Simion” de Tulcea sont engagés depuis 2015 dans un programme de recherche international en archéologie classique sur la colonisation grecque en Dobroudja. Prenant comme pivot la cité grecque d’Orgamè -à ce jour le plus ancien établissement grec de Mer Noire-, les trois institutions dirigent un programme pluridisciplinaire associant 20 universités et centre de recherche disposés dans 8 pays. Cette étude, qui met en œuvre sur le terrain des moyens techniques novateurs, a permis de cerner les contours de la présence grecque autour des lacs Razelm et Goloviţa. Il éclaire ainsi les facteurs qui entourent l’arrivée des Grecs en mer Noire, tout comme l’impact fort complexe de leur installation sur les populations gètes locales. Ces résultats seront présentés le mercredi 8 juin 2016 à 10h30 à la Casa Oamenilor de Știință, par Alexandre Baralis, Vasilica Lungu et Sorin Ailincai, en présence de M. François Saint-Paul, ambassadeur de France en Roumanie, de Mme Françoise Gaultier, directrice du Département des antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines du Muséedu Louvre, de M. Christophe Gigaudaut, directeur de l’Institut français, de M. Christophe Pomez, attaché culturel, de Mme Adriana Record, directrice exécutive de la Chambre de commerce française en Roumanie, de M. Acad. Victor Voicu, Secrétaire général de l’Académie Roumaine, de M. Acad. Dan Berindei, président de la Section - Sciences Historiques et Archéologie, de M. Acad. Răzvan Theodorescu, président de la Section - Arts,Architecture et Audio-Visuel, de M. Şerban Tanaşoca, directeur de l’Institut d’Etudes Sud-Est-Européennes, et d’autres personnalités manquantes de l’Académie Roumaine.
Date: 22-27 September 2014 Venue: Argamum (necropolis area), Jurilovca, Tulcea county, Romania Photogrammetry for Cultural Heritage is the first summer school organized by Romanian National History Museum, within 3D Icons Project (http://3dicons-project.eu/) which aims at providing basic knowledge of 3D modeling to cultural heritage specialists. The theoretic lessons will provide the basic photogrammetry information for generating 3D models of small objects and architectural structures, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of this method for metric documentation, conservation , restoration and dissemination of CH objects. Data acquisition place will be Orgame/ Argamum archaeological site, where the participants will be divided in work groups of 2-3 persons, under the coordination of a team of specialists from Romania and Italy. A project will be assigned to each group, which will include data acquisition and processing, and final presentation. Each of the participants is required to come with their on laptops (medium-high performance, running on Windows) and photo-cameras, which will be used for data acquisition and processing. Number of participants: 10 Participation fee: 250 EUR
Organization Comitee MNIR: Marius Amarie, Mihai Bozgan, dr. Corina Nicolae Institute of South-East European Studies: dr. Vasilica Lungu Collaborators: Alexandra Dolea, Alina Musat, Marius Streinu Lecturers: 3DDOM FBK team, Trento Italy
Contact Corina Nicolae +040727371293 mariacorinanicolae@gmail.com
Les ateliers franco-roumains d’archéologie se sont tenus pour la première fois en 2008 au Musée d’Histoire Nationale et d’Archéologie de Constanţa sur le thème des échanges dans l’espace istro-pontique. Leur objectif, depuis, est de présenter l’actualité de la recherche conduite sur cette région par les chercheurs des deux pays au sein des coopérations bilatérales actives.
Cette seconde session, organisée avec le concours de l’Ambassade de France à Bucarest et du Service de coopération culturelle et scientifique, prend place dans le cadre des travaux du programme « Pont-Euxin » de l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche. Basé au Centre Camille Jullian (UMR 6573, Aix-en-Provence, resp : A. BARALIS), ce dernier s’articule autour de deux volets de recherche : en Roumanie, sur le site d’Orgamè (V. LUNGU, M. MANUCU-ADAMEŞTEANU), et en Bulgarie, à Apollonia du Pont (K.PANAYOTOVA) où il développe à partir de ces deux ancrages une étude pluridisciplinaire sur l’organisation du territoire des colonies grecques du littoral ouest et sud de la Mer Noire.
Casa Oamenilor de Stiinta, Bucarest
25 novembre 2011
Programme
8h30 - 9h00
Accueil des participants Casa Oamenilor de Stiinta
9h00 - 9h30
Séance inaugurale
Allocutions d’ouverture de N. ŞERBAN-TANAŞOCA, directeur de l’Institut d’Études Sud-Est Européennes, de A. VULPE, directeur de l’Institut d’archéologie « Vasile Pârvan » et de S. PIERRET, directeur du Service de coopération et d'action culturelle
9h30
Le monde gète V. LUNGU (Président de séance)
9h30 - 9h50
Pratiques funéraires birituelles prolongées chez les Gètes et leurs voisins
(M. BABEŞ)
9h50 - 10h20
Rites et rituels funéraires dans le monde gète. Le cas de Stelnica (A. GANCIU)
10h20 Pause café
10h40
Les colonies grecques du littoral gète A. BARALIS (Président de séance)
10h40 - 11h00
Nouvelles découvertes archéologiques dans la « chôra » de Tomis (C. NICOLAE,
V. BODOLICA)
11h00 - 11h20
Grecs et Gètes aux temps de la colonisation grecque en mer Noire. Regard croisé sur les pratiques funéraires (V. LUNGU)
11h20 - 11h40
Contribution des études anthropologiques à la reconstitution des rituels funéraires: application aux cas d’Orgamè et Celic Dere (P. CHARLIER, L. LAQUAY,
V. LUNGU)
11h40 - 12h00
Discussion
12h00 - 13h00
Déjeuner à Casa Oamenilor de Stiinta
13h00
Les cités grecques de Thrace et de Propontide P. DUPONT (Président de séance)
13h00 - 13h30
The Archaic Cemetery of the Clazomenian colony of Abdera (E. SKARLATIDOU)
14h00 - 14h30
The necropolis of Apollonia Pontica (K. PANAYOTOVA)
14h30 - 15h00
Identité poliade et mémoire familiale: les transformations de l’espace funéraire au IVe s. av. J.-C. dans les colonies ioniennes de l’ouest de la mer Noire -
(A. BARALIS)
15h00 Pause café
15h20 - 15h40
La nécropole grecque de Mesambria Pontica. Recherches actuelles (A. BOZHKOVA)
15h40 - 16h10
Funeral Rites from Archaic Period to Roman Period in Parion (C. KOZANLI)
16h10 - 16h40
Ateliers bithyniens en Mésie Inférieure (M. ALEXANDRESCU)
During the period 29 July – 7 August 2011, Bucharest Student Chapter (BSC) (a student association affiliated with the University of Bucharest’s Faculty of Geology and Geophysics) organized a project entitled “Geophysical Field Camp in Jurilovca”. As a student chapter of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), BSC is able to apply to participate in different programs that the SEG is implementing. In the spring of 2011, BSC was awarded an SEG Foundation Field Camp grant to organize a field application in Romania where students at the University of Bucharest could learn how to set up a field camp, get practical experience in using geophysical equipment and understand the basic principles of the near-surface geophysical methods. The field location chosen was the Argamum/Orgame archaeological site, near the town of Jurilovca, Romania. The European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers and ‘Prospectiuni SA Company’ chose to co-finance the project, offering crucial contributions for the success of the field camp.
The project was managed by PhD and Master students and also benefited from the involvement of two assistant professors at the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics. Eventually, the group was formed of 18 undergraduate students belonging to the University of Bucharest, Romania and to Belgrade University, Serbia. The scientific purpose of the project was to apply non-invasive methods to investigate and identify the buried structures at the archaeological site of the ancient city of Orgame, which is more than 2700 years old. The efficiency of the investigation methods suitable for this purpose has been improved over time and has developed into the so-called ‘geo-archaeology domain’. The methods used were: active seismics, resistivity surveys, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry.
The area was split into three different perimeters and the students were split into teams so that each team would conduct a different kind of survey in the same time. The students were rotated throughout the duration of the project, so that each one of them would get the chance to apply every method of investigation.
In the first and the second days of the field camp, all the students worked on seismic acquisition, on two out of the three perimeters. The geophysical equipment was offered by the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics. The seismic surveys were performed using 3 Geometrics Geode units, totalizing 72 geophones, the source being a 10 kg hammer. Two profiles were investigated:one of 100 meters and the second one of 72 meters. Technical issues were encountered during the survey, but the supervisor was able to fix them in time and the experience was useful for the students, who learned to manage problems that might occur during a field investigation like this. The GPR investigation was carried out using a GSSI device, with multiple surveys being implemented over the same grids with antennas of 100, 200 and 400 MHz. The magnetic surveys were performed using a Geometrics G-856 device. Total field and gradient data were acquired over the same grids investigated with GPR. The resistivity surveys were realized using an ABEM SAS1000 Terrameter, and the investigation method was the Wenner profiling. The data acquisition on the two areas was done during the course of three days where the students were rotated in the teams with different people and different methods. The data-processing took place every evening, after the completion of the data acquisition and for the quality check we have discussed different processing methods.
The project was a collaboration between geoscientists and archaeologists, who are students at universities in Romania and Canada. Cezar Iacob held a presentation especially for them in which he explained the applicability of a few geophysical methods in the investigation of archaeological sites. The following day, the archaeology students met with the geoscientists in the field and experienced a little the geophysical investigation methodology.
The primary results were quickly interpreted and discussed with Ms. Vasilica Lungu (the person responsible for the archaeological site). More data processing is still to be done by the scientific advisors of the project, a detailed interpretation being planned to be discussed with the archaeology partners during a workshop scheduled for November 2011.
The project was a complete success for the undergraduate geosciences students and an interesting experience for the archaeology students.
“On the first day of excavations I found a really nice curved piece of pottery and when I washed it that weekend, there was a nice red leaf decoration on it. Then just last Friday I dug up those bones which were pretty exciting. But the best part of the trip was meeting everyone here and becoming friends with them and experiencing the culture (and the food). I will definitely miss here when it’s over.”
Carolyn Clarke:
“On August 25, 2011 in the morning I found a small shard of an Archaic piece of pottery. The piece came from the bottom of the pit dug in the center of Tomb 3. It is easily identifiable because of the black lines on it that would have spiraled around the neck of the piece, the rest is painted red which is rather rare according to Dr. Schaus. He also says that it is easily the oldest fragment found in the Necropolis thus far.”
Shelby Haggerty:
“My name is Shelby Haggerty and I'm an undergraduate at WilfridLaurierUniversity in Canada, I worked at Orgame this summer with a fantastic group of Romanian and Canadian sudents! My best find was located outside the cenotaph tomb, where I found the beginning of what turned into a cluster of 7 amphorae, as well as pieces of a painted fish plate, that were likely involved in a ritual connected with the cenotaph.”
Frances Jardine:
“My name is Frances Jardine, currently I am going into my 4th year at WilfridLaurierUniversity in Waterloo, Canada. Even so I am enrolled in the Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Program, I tend to favour Classical Archaeology. Therefore I attended the field school at Orgame, Romania in which I found a bronze coin from Histria; my best find yet! Surprisingly I found it on the day of my Professor's, Gerald Schaus, birthday.”
Thomas Krol:
“Working in Orgame this summer - my first excavation - was an unforgettable experience. I enjoyed all of it, however slow it could get at times. It was always exciting to find something new, or to clean a sherd and realize there's paint underneath all the dirt! I definitely do not regret choosing to go into Archaeology, and I'm so glad I got this opportunity to do such great work with great people!”
Anna Laytner:
“This season of excavation at Orgame was my first field experience and it exposed me to a variety of excavation methods and techniques; from remaining topsoil to delicately excavating sherds of pottery and learning the technical details of drawing. I discovered that I really enjoy drawing detailed plans of features on the site! My most thrilling find was uncovering the lower half of a terracotta figurine of a boy, possibly Eros. Not only have I improved my knowledge of archaeology while at Orgame, but I have also met amazing people and had such a great time in Romania!”
Mandy Mackinnon:
“August 22, 2011 (16th day working at Orgame) Our excavating manner has improved noticeably since the first day we started excavating at the site. We use to focus on removing the dirt and material quickly to reveal the features and tombs. Now that all the tombs we are going to work on this season are revealed, we are focusing more on the smaller material finds that we previously left in situ. The students are more experienced now and are using the skills they've acquired over the past few weeks to carefully reveal and remove burial goods. I have been excavated in Tomb 7 and working on revealing a large broken amphora. The vessel is located right over the pyre and we are finding a lot of burned areas. In this day alone I found more material than in any of the other days working at Orgame. It has been a very exciting and productive day!”
Sarah Timmins:
“My name is Sarah Timmins and I am going into my third year of undergraduate studies at WilfridLaurierUniversity in Canada. I have enjoyed the past six weeks digging in different sectors of the excavation area including inside tomb one and finding two clusters of ceramics near the pyre. These clusters included pieces of an un-burnt amphora, jug, a burnt kantharos and a drinking cup.”
Katherine Tyka:
“This dig at Orgame/Argamum was my first practical experience on an archaeological site and I couldn’t have been happier. The most exciting day for me was digging in tomb 7 and excavating the funeral pyre. The numerous artifacts uncovered made for a thrilling and informative day. Apart from the archaeology, the experience wouldn’t be the same without the people I’ve met along the way. Special thanks to Dr. Lungu and Dr. Schaus as well the whole Argamum team. Cheers to the family (you know who you are) who have made the experience unforgettable.”
Archaeological excavations in the necropolis of ancient Orgame /Argamum started in 1988 and since then have been carried out annually with systematic research programmes headed from 1990 onwards by Dr. Vasilica Lungu (Institute of South East European Studies, RomanianAcademy, Bucharest).
The archaeological evidence has revealed the presence of distinctive cremation graves with certain unusual features within the Greek necropolis. The cremations and cremation pits are usually marked by stone circles and covered over by tumuli which cluster within family plots. These are systematically distributed along ancient roads leading out of the city. They are accompanied by rich votive gifts, identified mainly by ceramic vessels as part of funerary deposits which offer a fairly complete notion of the structure of ancient society.
Such funerary practices continued over a long interval of time, from the second half of the 7th to the middle of the 3rd century BC.
The 2011 season in the Orgame necropolis has been devoted to the excavation of a new family plot of several tombs identified at the western edge of the necropolis.
The archaeological team for the Orgame research programme is directed by Dr. Vasilica Lungu (representing both the Institute of South-East European Studies and the “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Bucarest), and Dr. Alexandre Baralis (Centre Camille Jullian, Aix-en-Provence), head of the ANR programme “Pont-Euxin”, and is joined by graduate students Alexandra Dolea and Alina Musat (Faculty of History, University of Bucharest,).
A group of Canadian students participated in the 2011 field season, including Nicole Aszalos, Carolyn Clarke, Shelby Haggerty, Frances Jardine, Thomas Krol, Anna Laytner, Amanda MacKinnon, Sarah Timmins, and Katherine Tyka under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Gerald Schaus from WilfridLaurierUniversity (Waterloo, Ontario).
Also participating for shorter periods of time were, from “Babeș Bolyai” University (Cluj-Napoca) Dr. Carmen Rogobete with students Claudia Radu and Claudiu Barb and from Dunărea de Jos University (Galați), students Adina Gutu, Micu Simona and from the University of Bucharest, graduate students Marius Streinu and Theodor Zavalaş.
Note: The 2011 excavation season has received generous financial support from the French-Romanian project ANR –“Pont Euxin” 2010-2012; and from the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, WilfridLaurierUniversity.
