Living Posters: An Unusual Advertising Attempt from a Women’s Organisation in 1903 Târgu Mureș, Marisia. Archaeologia-Historia-Patrimonium 7, 2025, p. 191–200.
In this study, I analyse three photographs from the Mureș County Museum’s collection, the origins and dates of which were previously unknown. By a stroke of luck, I discovered a fourth image in a local early 20th-century periodical, which facilitated their identification: the photographs in the museum’s collection capture three scenes from a performance titled ‘Living Advertisements’, staged at a 1903 soirée hosted by the Israelite Women’s Benevolent Society. By uncovering this context, I aim to demonstrate the diverse research avenues that photographs can initiate. In this instance, their creation was tied to a community event that offers valuable insight into the public roles and opportunities for urban women at the turn of the century.
During the renovation of the Ugron Castle building in Filiaș (Fiatfalva, Harghita County, RO), between 2020 and 2023, we had the opportunity to carry out archaeological excavations at several points. As a result, the remains of a 15th-century manor house surrounded by defensive trench were uncovered. After it was destroyed by fire, the Geréb family commissioned the construction of a Renaissance castle, which was also equipped with defensive walls, corner towers, and a moat. With the help of written sources and rich artifacts, it was possible to clarify the ownership relations and the building history.
The article presents the results of the geophysical survey undertaken at the Bethlen castle in Criș (Keresd, de. Kreisch, Mureș County, RO), in 2022. The measurements concentrated on two areas located outside of today’s fortification walls, on the western and southern side, since these were relatively open spaces. The survey revealed a number of unexpected features located all underground, such as several walls, possible buildings and at least one corner tower, all parts of an earlier fortification system that had existed before the one visible today. Most probably this earlier fortification functioned in the 15th or 16th centuries. Hopefully we will have a more exact dating, when the analysis of the finds is over. Furthermore, we discuss the possible interpretations and the older and newer archaeological results with the incorporation of the written sources. The excavations from the 1970s and the 1990s already revealed several segments of this earlier fortification, especially smaller fragments of walls or wall negatives. Also, an important chronological framework for the various construction phases of the castle ensemble was elaborated by M. Dumitrache, which is presented here in detail as well. During the excavations undertaken by the Mureș County Museum, between 2020–2022 we have also identified part of this ensemble, namely a southeastern corner tower with its adjoining eastern and southern walls. Above this fortification corner several other later establishments and archaeological features were revealed especially from the 18th and 19th centuries. This fortification does not appear mentioned in any of the known written sources so for now it cannot be clearly linked to any of the family members. What we know is that this fortification was dismantled latest by the seventeenth century, when the construction of the new fortification system began. on meat, milk, and secondary products. Evidence of hunting, carcass processing, and bone tool manufacture reveals efficient resource use and adaptability of the post-Roman community to its environment.
Archaeozoological Insights Into Animal Exploitation During the Late Roman Period at Sângeorgiu de Mureș–Site No. 4 (Mureș County), Marisia. Archaeologia-Historia-Patrimonium 7, 2025, p. 131–146.
This study presents the archaeozoological analysis of faunal remains from the Late Roman settlement at Sângeorgiu de Mureș (Marosszentgyörgy, Mureș County, RO)–Site No. 4. The assemblage, dominated by domestic cattle, ovicaprines, and pigs, reflects a balanced mixed economy based on meat, milk, and secondary products. Evidence of hunting, carcass processing, and bone tool manufacture reveals efficient resource use and adaptability of the post-Roman community to its environment.
This study aims to present the settlement from Sângeorgiu de Mureș – Site 4 (Marosszentgyörgy, Mureș County, RO), identified on the route of the Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely, Mureș County, RO) Bypass in 2015. Located on the terrace of the Terebici (Terebics) stream, east of Sângeorgiu de Mureș, the site comprises 69 features. The ceramic inventory includes Roman provincial pottery, La Tène and Sântana de Mureș – Chernyakhov type pottery, dating the settlement to the second half of the 3rd century – the first half of the 4th century.
Before the inauguration of today’s museums, the archaeological finds discovered during ploughing and other works usually ended up in the property of noble families and antiquarians. The majority of these collections consisted of inscriptions and the fragments of funerary monuments, which later on would decorate the courtyards of their mansions and castles. The most prominent private collections in the 19th century of Hunedoara County all belonged to noble families. Many of these have been lost to the turmoil of history, some items never resurfacing. However, thanks to the published and archival material of contemporary travellers and antiquarians, one can try to reconstruct them and even put them into context. This paper would like to reconstruct and present the antiquities collection in the possession of the Gyulay and Kuun families, housed at their castle in Mintia (Marosnémeti, Hunedoara County, RO).
This study examines the interval towers of Roman auxiliary forts in the province of Dacia Porolissensis, focusing on their typology, distribution, and role within fortification systems. The analysis is based on archaeological data, published excavation reports, and standardized digital plans that enable comparative assessment across multiple sites. The results indicate that, although interval towers are a common feature of stone-built forts, their presence and design are not fully standardized. Three main types can be istinguished: rectangular towers without projection, which are predominant, rectangular towers with projection, attested in limited cases, and horseshoe-shaped towers, which are rare. Variations in form and construction suggest adaptation to local conditions and defensive needs, while the uneven state of research highlights the need for further investigation.
The Mithraic relief from Ozd (Magyarózd, Mureș County, RO) was first published in the 1960s by A. Zrínyi, almost a decade after the publication of Vermaseren’s paradigmatic Mithraic catalogue. Moving beyond the previously brief, catalogue-style summaries, the present study offers a detailed analysis of the iconographic features of the fragmentary relief, explores the diversity of Mithraic iconography and local expressions of religious glocalisation, and provides an in-depth examination of the topographical and social significance of the findspot, with particular attention to the characteristics of Mithras’ rural cult in nearby military settlements.
Research into iron ballista bolt heads has revealed that this category of artefacts has in several cases been misinterpreted in the scholarly literature. The re-evaluation of these finds significantly alters the picture of the distribution of iron ballista bolt heads in Dacia, into which the specimens recovered from the site of Călugăreni (Mikháza, Mureș County, RO) can now also be incorporated.
Ceramic Footwear Items in the Collection of the Mureș County Museum Florești–Polus Center (Cluj County), Marisia. Archaeologia-Historia-Patrimonium 7, 2025, p. 27–38.
During the inventory process of the Mureș County Museum collection, five unpublished Early Iron Age ceramic footwear pieces were identified. In Transylvania, analogous objects have been found in HaB–HaC settlements. Although in the wider region ceramic footwear items and boot-shaped vessels are known from Bronze Age settlements and burials, the Iron Age pieces form a unique group due to certain characteristics like their solid body or the breakage at the shin. Besides providing an insight into the footwear worn at the time, these objects are important artefacts for understanding the customs, beliefs and worldview of the period.
