Peuce (Nov 2017)
Contribuţii la studiul pieselor de port şi podoabă din mediul cultural Ferigile. Mărgelele de caolin descoperite în necropola hallstattiană de la Valea Stânii (judeţul Argeş)
Abstract
Recent excavations in the necropolis at Valea Stânii led to the attestation of the kaolin little beads as grave goods (in the tumulus No. 1, 4 and 10), for the first time in the north-Thracian culture at the end of the Early Iron Age (Ferigile group). These adornments are widespread throughout the 7th-6th centuries BC within a large area, from the North of the Caucasus (in the tombs of the early Scythian culture) to the South-East of Poland (in a milieu corresponding to the Tarnobrzeg Lusatian culture), and from the Lower Danube to Northern Ukraine (in the Scythian tombs of the Aksiutincy area). A high density of such kind of adornments was documented in the tombs of the Ciumbrud group, in Transylvania. Their arrangement in the grave goods framework typical for the inhumation tombs and their relation to the preserved skeletons indicate that they were worn in necklaces, on the head or coiled around the neck. According to the characteristics of the grave goods with which these adornments were associated within sealed contexts, but also in agreement with some anthropological determinations, the necklaces of kaolin beads were the attribute of the female attire. The anthropological study of the burnt bones in the No. 4 tumulus tends to confirm this fact. Beyond the archaeological discussion, the paper displays the results of parallel investigations on some samples from the No. 1 grave at Valea Stânii, delivered by RATEN-ICN Pitești and „Horia Hulubei” IFIN Măgurele laboratories. A bead fragment was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersion X-Ray Spectrometry. The characterization of the fracture surface of the archaeological artefact showed the presence of small particles with different shapes and morphology. Some of them were crystallites with sharp edges that displayed a pattern with parallel lines, representing the crystalline plans of particle, others were areas containing either small or bigger particles rounded by cracks. The EDS analysis of a large field indicated the presence of Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminium as main chemical elements and also the presence of Iron, Potassium, Titanium, Magnesium and Calcium. EDS mapping of these elements demonstrated the presence of Oxygen and Silicon in isolated areas whereas other elements were absent, while the rest of the surface is composed of all these elements. The EDS multi-point analysis determined the chemical composition that indicated the presence of complex silicates formed with Aluminium, Iron, Potassium, Titanium and Calcium. Vibrational spectroscopy methods give information on the samples’ functional groups/chemical bonds and allow the identification of compounds by comparing them with reference spectra. The following Fourier Transform (FT) techniques were used for investigations: micro DRIFT (Diffuse Reflectance Infrared), KBr pellet transmission FTIR and FT-Raman. The DRIFT spectra showed the very specific OH kaolin strong bands of 3695 and 3620 cm-1. In the FTIR spectra, silicate SiO2 bands of 1088, 796, 779, 694 and 465 cm-1 helped us to conclude that the material used for beads was kaolin paste. In the FT-Raman spectra the SiO2 bands of 466 and 129 cm-1 were identified. The results of the laboratory investigations provide a reference database for future investigations on this specific type of adornment.
