Beyond cemeteries – excavation of a settlement of Poieneşti-Lucaşeuca Culture in Ivancea, Republic of Moldova

Abstract

The Poieneşti-Lucaşeuca-culture (late 3rd to second half of the 1st century BC), which is distributed in the forest steppe between the east Carpathian Mountains and the river Dniestr, is seen as the result of an immigration of groups from the Jastorf area in North-East Germany. This concept is based on cemeteries: both the form of the grave4s and their material culture (ceramics, jewellery, costume) are foreign in the area, but show clear connections to the North and the North-West. Up to now large settlement excavations are missing that would allow for an evaluation of that concept based on settlement and economic structures as well as on the material culture of everyday life. The project that is presented here with first results, aims to that desideratum. With surveys and test excavations as a starting point on different sites in Central part of Republic of Moldova, the authors are excavating the Poieneşti-Lucaşeuca settlement of Ivancea-Sub Pădure on a large scale. The project is funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The paper presents first results like different post buildings and pit dwellings, the spectrum of small finds and a selection of the numerous ceramics including greek imports, and discusses the connectivity that becomes visible. The post buildings have no regional parallels and seem to have the best parallels in the Northwest. In opposite to that the small finds show a broad entanglement especially to the south and West and thus contradict the evidence from the grave. Also, in opposite to the graves the settlement ceramics show clear regional traditions, bus also relations to the North and the Northeast.