Browsing by Autor "Radu Petcu"

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A bronze statuette of the Héros Horseman (Thracian Rider) discovered near Tomis (Palazu Mare), Moesia Inferior
(Eötvös Loránd University, 2026) Radu Petcu; Ingrid Petcu-Levei
This paper presents and analyses a bronze statuette of the Thracian Rider (‘Ήρως) discovered in 2019 at Palazu Mare, near ancient Tomis (Moesia Inferior). The artifact, dated to the 3rd century AD, was found in a Roman vicus and provides valuable insights into the persistence of Thracian religious traditions within the Roman provincial environment. Compositional XRF analysis identified its material as tin bronze, an alloy typical of small ritual objects. Stylistically, the statuette exemplifies the syncretic fusion between local Thracian beliefs and Greco–Roman artistic conventions. Comparative evidence from the Balkans situates the find within a broader iconographic corpus associated with the cult of the Thracian Horseman—a chthonic, protective, and mediatory deity symbolizing fertility, renewal, and the afterlife. The study underscores the statuette’s significance as both a votive artifact and a marker of cultural continuity, illustrating the adaptation of indigenous hero worship within the Roman Empire’s socio-religious framework.
An ivory statuette depicting the god Thanatos discovered near Tomis (Moesia Inferior)
(Eötvös Loránd University, 2025) Ingrid Petcu-Levei; Radu Petcu
In recent years, real estate developments in Constanța prompted a series of preventive archaeological investigations, leading to the discovery of rich archaeological material. These finds include a bone statuette found in the Palazu Mare district of Constanța. In this context, the nucleus of habitation, previously inferred from various archaeological finds from the Roman period, has been identified. Numerous surveys and preventive archaeological investigations have allowed for a clearer delimitation of the archaeological site of Palazu Mare. Regarding chronology, the settlement (possibly a vicus) can be dated from the 2nd–3rd centuries to the early decades of the 4th century AD. The statuette in question was carved out of ivory, measuring 6 cm in height and 1.7 cm in width. It was made as a representation of the god Thanatos, the personification of the Angel of Death in Greek and Roman mythology. Unfortunately, the statuette is incomplete; the left hand and parts of the legs are missing, along with the wings originally located on its back. The closest analogy for our representation comes from Northern France, where a small bronze statue was discovered in a villa rustica in Salouël, a commune located on the outskirts of Amiens. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the function of the object to which the statue pertains, we classify it as instrumentum domesticum, a category that includes a variety of objects that were part of everyday Roman life. The discoveries made here are considered quite rare due to the material of the statuette, and the context in which it was found. Based on previous observations, it can be said that Thanatos is typically a characteristic of funerary art and is therefore rarely found in domestic contexts. Ivory statues are particularly uncommon in the Dobrudja region of Moesia Inferior.
Suspending Light Devices from Scythia Minor
(Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 2014) Radu Petcu; George Nuţu; Irina Nastasi
The authors present a series of suspended light devices discovered in Early Byzantine settlements from the province of Scythia. The finds were discovered in Halmyris/Murighiol, Beroe/Piatra Frecaței, (L)Ibida/Slava Rusa, Tomis/Constanța, Capidava, Ulmetum/Pantelimonul de Sus, and Tropaeum Traiani/Adamclisi. The archaeological contexts of these finds are mostly unclear, but we believe that were used for illuminating civilian houses, military barracks, warehouses and religious places.
Swastika-shaped fibulae with horse-head decorations (Almgren 232) from the Roman period in Dobrudja (Moesia Inferior)
(Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 2019) Radu Petcu
Discovered in a large number in the Balkan-Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, the swastika-shaped fibulae with horse-head decorations are in most cases attributed to the military. The iconographic motive and form are the artistic expression of Thracian traditions specific in the Lower Danube regions. The precursors of this type of brooches are the silver brackets found in Thracians princely graves discovered in Romania and Bulgaria dated in the 4th century BC. Chronologically framed in the 2nd–4th centuries AD, the roman fibulae are discovered mainly in military environments. On the territory of Dobroudja (Moesia Inferior), four brooches of this type are known, one at Ulmetum and three in the civil settlement near the camp of Durostum, at Ostrov-Ferma 4.