Between 1985 and 1988, 14 Sarmatian graves were excavated at Prăjeni (Botoșani County), in the locations known as Alimândra, Nelipești, Țarnă and Lutărie 2. These graves have not been systematically published but information about them may be found in the literature published so far. The authors intend, by this contribution, to publish the data concerning the Sarmatian finds of Prăjeni. Out of the 14 graves uncovered there, which could be considered as belonging to the Sarmatians, 13 are secondary burials in tumuli – five in Tumulus III from Prăjeni – Alimândra, two in Tumulus IV of the same location, one in the mound of Nelipești and five in the tumulus from Prăjeni – Țarnă. Considering the five Sarmatian graves from Prăjeni – Țarnă as secondary burials in older tumuli might, at first sight, arise some doubts. The authors consider that the main criterium was the intention of those who buried the dead to choose a higher ground, as they were not aware that, during the late first century AD, what it looked like a higher ground, was, in fact, soil that had slid from the southern slope of a Bronze Age tumulus. Most of the 13 graves in discussion are oriented along the N– S axis, with variations, with only two exceptions (WSW– ENE and S– N). Dorsal decubitus, with arms and legs stretched was recorded for six deceased. Reinhumation seems to be attested in Grave 4 of Tumulus III from Alimândra, where the long bones and the ribs have been arranged somehow radially around the skull and the pelvis. Grave goods were deposited in all the 13 Sarmatian secondary graves in older tumuli from Prăjeni. Except for Grave 3 in Tumulus IV from Alimândra, and possibly Grave 4 in Tumulus III of the same location (where only a pottery fragment was found), all the other 11 graves contained pottery vessels, either one (nine cases), or two (two cases). These vessels are, mainly, hand-made. The wheel-made pottery is less frequently found (five cases). Besides pottery, other categories of grave goods, such as adornments (beads, earrings, pendants, bracelet, and bells), dress items (brooches), toilet implements (mirrors), household tools (spindle whorls), and weapons were deposited in the Sarmatian graves of Prăjeni, too. The great number of items that the Sarmatians living in the area took over from the Dacians (the hand-made mug from Prăjeni – Țarnă Grave 2, the small mug from Grave 7 at the same location, the profiled brooches from Prăjeni – Alimândra Tumulus IV Grave 3 and Țarnă Grave 2, the pendants made of profiled bars from Alimândra Tumulus III Grave 3 and Țarnă Grave 9, maybe also the bucket-shaped pendants found in this last grave) should also be mentioned. The items of Dacian origin found in the graves of Prăjeni indicate the fact that some of the burials took place after the Sarmatians established relationships with the Dacians in the area, indicating a certain time span, difficult to estimate, elapsed between the precise moment of their arrival in this territory and the burials. Generally speaking, the secondary graves of the tumuli from Prăjeni can be dated between the second half of the first century AD and the first half of the next century. The five graves in the tumuli from Prăjeni – Țarnă may be of a later date than the graves in the tumuli from Alimândra and Nelipești, if we take into account the presence in three burials of the grave goods of Dacian origin. The grave from Prăjeni – Lutărie 2 differs from the previously analysed graves, as concerns the layout (flat grave), the location (grave in a settlement) as well as the grave goods. The little girl, less than seven years old was buried only with adornments : a necklace of beads and pendants, earrings and a bracelet whose analogies suggest a chronological framing in the third century AD.

Cercetările arheologice întreprinse în cetatea de la Caraşova-Grad (com. Caraşova, jud. Caraş-Severin), în anii 1998, 2000 şi 2001, au dus la descoperirea unui număr relativ important de piese de metal, sticlă, os şi piatră. Dat fiind caracterul cercetărilor (fortificaţia este în stare avansată de degradare din cauza intervenţiilor căutătorilor de comori), dar şi faptului că încetarea funcţionării ei a survenit ca urmare a unor distrugeri violente în cursul secolului al XVI-lea, cea mai mare parte a pieselor de metal, os, piatră şi sticlă nu provine din contexte stratigrafice clare. Cele mai multe obiecte mărunte aparţin secolelor XV– XVI, fiind datate în ultimele faze de funcţionare a cetăţii. Locurile în care au fost descoperite, precum şi poziţia stratigrafică a pieselor aflate in situ confirmă că cetatea a fost supusă unor atacuri şi a suferit distrugeri masive în special în secolul al XVI-lea.

În anul 1958, în tell-ul situat la nord de aşezarea medievală de la Dridu au fost descoperite două morminte de inhumaţie (M. 1 şi M. 2). Cele două complexe funerare nu au fost descrise detaliat şi au fost publicate fără ilustraţie. Studiul reia discuţia despre cele două morminte şi o completează cu precizări din carnetul de săpătură al Eugeniei Zaharia, o descriere amănunţită, însoţită de desene şi fotografii, a pieselor de inventar, determinarea compoziţiei mărgelelor din sticlă şi a obiectelor de metal (cu excepţia fierului). Examenul microscopic a permis observaţii amănunţite referitoare la caracteristicile morfologice ale mărgelelor din sticlă din M. 2. Trăsăturile caracteristice de ritual şi inventar ale M. 2, încadrat cronologic în a doua etapă de pătrundere a sarmaţilor în Muntenia, au fost analizate într-o lucrare recentă, iar studiul acesta îşi propune doar să completeze câteva aspecte. Corelarea M. 1 cu prezenţa sarmatică în Muntenia nu poate fi exclusă în totalitate. Totuşi, prea multele incertitudini legate de ritualul funerar (petele de arsură de pe unele oase, faptul că oasele nu au fost găsite în conexiune anatomică, ci deranjate) şi inventarul mormântului (din care au mai fost recuperate doar fragmente de piese din bronz, fier sau lemn) sunt cele care au impus opţiunea de a încadra complexul funerar amintit în rândul mormintelor incerte cronologic şi nu în cel al complexelor funerare sarmatice sigure.

Publicat în 1952 ca analogie pentru un mormânt din Moldova, complexul funerar de la Călăraşi nu a beneficiat de o discuţie sau de o prezentare detaliată a inventarului şi nici de ilustraţie. Conform datelor publicate iniţial, este vorba de un mormânt de inhumaţie, al unei persoane de sex feminin, descoperit întâmplător în 1948 (în punctul Aeroport). Pe lângă craniul deformat, s-au recuperat „ două căni, câteva perle octogonate şi o oglindă”. Din păcate, nu am putut regăsi decât craniul, conservat parţial, şi cele două vase (cană şi urcior, ambele din pastă cenuşie, cu decor lustruit). Analogiile pentru cele două recipiente ceramice şi prezenţa în inventarul mormântului a mărgelelor poliedrice sugerează o datare a complexului aflat în discuţie în cursul secolului al III-lea p. Chr., fără a putea, cel puţin în actualul stadiu al cercetării, restrânge această datare. Conform analizei antropologice, craniul aparţine unui individ de sex feminin, mai degrabă de vârstă matură.

l i a n a o ț a Starting with the end of the 1 st c. aD, the arrival of the Sarmatian communities in Wallachia (the area between the Danube river and the carpathian Mountains, bounded on the west by the olt river) and Moldavia (denomination that designates in this study the territory between the Prut river and the carpathian Mountains) is archaeologically attested. Sarmatian graves in Wallachia are dated to three stages, which represent as many moments of settlement of these communities in Wallachia: the late 1 st c. aD and the first half of the 2 nd c. aD; the late 2 nd c. and the first half of the 3 rd c. aD; the late 3 rd c. aD. From a total of around 270 Sarmatian graves in Wallachia, roman imports were discovered in 71 of them. The purpose of this discussion is not so much the typological analysis of the roman items, but rather the characteristics of the ritual and funerary inventory of the graves in which such items were deposited: territorial distribution, grave layout, corpse deposition, age and sex of the deceased, grave goods. Based on the typology of the roman objects, the hypothesis of trade is the most appropriate explanation for the way the roman products reached Sarmatian communities from Wallachia. The conclusion is that the Sarmatian burials with roman grave goods do not have particular features regarding the layout of the grave, the funerary ritual or the treatment of the inventory deposited compared to the rest of the graves in which no items produced on the roman territory were found. although, in some cases, the items from the roman empire can be counted among the status symbols used in the funerary ritual, it is nevertheless notable that they do not play this role in themselves, but in association with other features of the layout of the graves or the inventory. keywords: Sarmatians, roman empire, Wallachia, burials, grave goods, roman products, 1 st -3 rd c. aD.1 The study i have published several years ago (Oța 2015a, 25 -33) was a very general one, focusing only on some characteristics of the roman imports, mainly from north-eastern and southern Wallachia. The studies of A. Popa (2011;2013) on the roman imports in the area between the carpathians and the Dniester are also general, as geographical area and the issues discussed. in the synthesis written by the same author, the discussion about the Sarmatians is a general one, focusing especially on the relation between what was defined as 'Sarmatian' culture and the Sarmatians as historically attested people (Popa 2015, 43 -46). Some of the roman grave goods from Sarmatian burials in Wallachia are mentioned in the chapter dedicated to archaeological discoveries from the area between the eastern carpathians, Dniester and lower Danube, but the discussion focuses especially on the typology of the items, not on the role they played in the graves. 2 For a more detailed discussion, see Oța/Sîrbu 2019b, in press.