Depozitul de bronzuri de la Gherla, județul Cluj / The Bronze Hoard from Gherla, Cluj County

Abstract

A bronze deposit preserved in the collections of the Gherla History Museum was discovered a few years ago in a wooded area situated in the southwestern parts of the Municipality of Gherla. !e entire deposit consists of 17 bronze objects: a winged axe, a bronze celt, bronze sickles, two bracelets, a funnel-shaped bronze pendant with oval base, two fragments of bronze swords, a spearhead, a fragment of a bronze bar (or ingot) and two plano-convex ingots (bronze/copper). !e discovery is one of medium size, weighing 2, 222 kg and consists of an association of the type weapons – tools – ornaments – raw material. !e bronze deposit discovered at Gherla can be attributed to the Suseni-type deposits, relatively well represented by findings on the territory of Transylvania, characterized by the association of a small number of manufactured objects with a few pieces of raw material. From a chronological point of view this discovery can be placed in the Ha A1 period. Undoubtedly the most interesting piece in the bronze deposit from Gherla is the Dražice-type funnel-shaped pendant. To the best of our knowledge this artefact is the only object of this type found on the territory of Transylvania. Moreover, it is probably the easternmost discovery of a pendant of this type in comparison to its production centres located in the area of the Piliny culture. !e presence of this object among our discoveries can give us important clues regarding the relations and mobility that existed between the Transylvanian space and the northern parts of Hungary, respectively the southern area of Slovakia where the discoveries of the Piliny culture are documented during the Late Bronze Age period. Most probably these connections can be related to the exploitation and distribution of salt from Transylvanian sources to the western plain areas, densely populated, but lacking this vital resource. !e deposition of bronze objects in the vicinity of salt sources is rather indicative in this regard.