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Starting from the premise of its highly strategic position as a major intersection of several natural communication routes linking large geographic units (Transylvania, Banat, Oltenia, Muntenia), the present study addresses issues arising from the re-evaluation of older painted materials discovered within the early Neolithic deposits at the Limba-Oarda de Jos site, alongside the analysis of other materials uncovered during recent excavations carried out in the course of constructing the A10 Sebeș-Turda Highway (2016–2017). What in 2002, at the time of publishing the initial early Neolithic surface dwelling (Starčevo-Criș IIIB), appeared to be merely a working hypothesis regarding the Limba site’s location and significance within the development of Neolithic cultures in the Mureș Valley, has since become much more evident. This has occurred through the scientific analysis of other contemporary habitation complexes. Thus, a series of materials presented now, belonging to the so called polychrome painted pottery cultural horizon, revealed through the thorough analysis of complexes in the Bordane sector during the 2016 excavation campaign, support a possible historical reality: that within this area, we might document evidence of cohabitation between Starčevo-Criș communities - which had strong connections with regions south of the Carpathians - and the Vinča communities, newly arrived from the west along the Mureș Valley.

This study addresses the issue raised by a funerary monument accidentally discovered in the area defined by archaeologists as the "eastern necropolis" of Colonia Aurelia Apulensis, component of the Apulum conurbation, the most significant city in the imperial province of Dacia. The monument was excavated under unfortunate conditions, somewhere in the years 2002-2003, during the connection of a private household to the city's water network. Due to the lack of specialized supervision by archaeologists, the monument was brutally removed from its original context (in situ) by an excavator, which struck and partially damaged a portion of the figurative scene depicted on the funerary monument. The current holder of the cultural property, a collector from Alba Iulia, was informed about this situation. He is the one who recovered the monument, restored it, and exhibited it within his collection at his residence. To conclude, the study also addresses the legal aspects regarding the ownership regime of such cultural goods, namely the legality of private collections of antiquities in cities that are overlapping archaeological sites, emphasizing the lack of involvement of public institutions in managing the evolution of these phenomena.

This study deals with an unusual case of a coin hoard discovered by a metal detectorist in Jidvei, Alba County, recovered with judicial implications. The discoverer (a metal detector owner) approached the findthoughtfully, sparing it and proceeding with all the necessary legal and ethical steps, thus ensuring a scientific documentation and complete recovery of the hoard and the context details. This story had a happy ending, although initial circumstances did not suggest such an outcome, especially since the responsible public institution for taking initial protective measures for the context, perimeter, and contents of the find completely ignored its legal obligations. This case highlights the potential for responsible metal detecting to contribute positively to archaeological discovery and heritage preservationwhen conducted in accordance with legal and ethical guidelines. Thus, 115 silver coins: 57 tetradrachms dating from the 3rd to 1st centuries BC (Macedonia Prima type - 2nd century BC); 51 Dacian drachms of the Rădulești-Hunedoara type (3rd-2nd century BC) and 7 roman denarii (Antoninianus type, 3rd century AD), were recovered and eventually became part of the collection of the Museum in Alba Iulia. The context of their origin was documented as efficiently as possible within a legal framework. This case highlights the risks to cultural heritage when the responsibilities stipulated by normative acts (such as OG 43/2000) are knowingly ignored by state institutions. It underscores the importance of adhering to legal and ethical standards in the handling of archaeological finds to protect and preserve cultural heritage. This situation emphasizes the need for updated legislation and strategies to effectively manage and regulate metal detecting activities in line with contemporary realities and technological advancements.

IN MEMORIAM : BARBARA DEPPERT-LIPPITZ. A DESTINY UNDER THE SIGN OF TREASURES

The knowledge of the earliest Neolithic cultural horizon in Transylvania (Starčevo-Criș I-II phases or Precriș culture) took shape in the last 50 years, gradually, with the discovery of traces of habitation in various researched sites. Thus, to the already classical sites from Baciu-Gura Baciului and Ocna Sibiului –Triguri, researched in the 70-80s, are added those from Șeușa-La Cărarea Morii, Miercurea Sibiului-Petriș and Limba -Bordane, researched at the end of the 90s, and more recently, those from Cristian I, Miercurea Sibiului II-Valea Gârbovei. A common element of these first settlements is represented by the so called ”white-painted pottery”, present in a reduced proportions in the large mass of "red-ware" ceramics. The present study brings to the attention of specialists new materials - discovered in the recent rescue researches (2016-2017) - carried out within the archaeological site of Limba-Oarda de Jos (Site no. 6), which led to the identification of several inhabited complexes belonging to this cultural horizon. The typological analysis of the motifs painted in white, but also in black (!), come to outline more clearly the particularities of the community that lived on the banks of the Mureș, approx. 7500 years ago.

The archaeological rescue excavations occasioned by the construction of the Lot no. 1 of the Highway no. 10, Sebeș-Turda, highlighted an unexpected Bronze Age necropolis belonging to Wietenberg Culture. The Bronze Age necropolis was delimited between 6+600 and 6+650 kilometers, and located on the southwestern part of the Site no. 6, right above the early Vinča settlement defensive trenches (Fig. 1-2). With 74 excavated funerary complexes, the partially excavated Wietenberg cemetery is one of the largest in Transylvania. According the radiocarbon data presented in this study, the necropolis was used in the Middle Bronze Age (1780-1690 cal. BC), associated with the Wietenberg culture (phase II), and is contemporary with the end of the cemetery from Sebeș-Între Răstoace located approximately 7.5 km South - South-West, on the Sebeș River terraces.

The present paper deals with a recovered hoard of gold Hellenistic style jewellery, stolen in 2001 from the Dacian fortress of Căpâlna, archaeological site and UNESCO monument from Romania. After 7 years of illegal trafficking of the artefacts on the black market of antiquities, the Romanian law enforcements recovered the hoard from Germany, with the generous support of an expert from Frankfurt am Main. The items come from a Western Balkan workshop around the inhabited by the Danubian Celts, located on the northern territory of Serbia and the western part of nowadays region of Banat (Romania). Nevertheless, one should not completely exclude the possibility that the items were made in a roving workshop on the territory of South-western Dacia. The technique used and the style of decoration prove the assimilation of late Hellenistic and Italic influences. The composition of the gold alloy is similar to the one used by jewellers in the late Hellenistic and Roman imperial periods. An important detail is the reconstruction of the ”discovery circumstances” inside of the protected area of Căpâlna fortress, by the archaeological poachers from Deva (Hunedoara County). During the judicial and forensic investigations, from 2006 to 2018, the members of the law enforcement observed the ”evolution” of the actual state of the monument. The conclusion is that during the twelve years since the fortress was a UNESCO monument, its protection and scientific promotion was minimal.