george muratoreanu

Since its inception, the Romanian archaeological
school of the Palaeolithic maintained the interpretation of
archaeological layers through the lenses of the geomorphological
data as an objective. Our study presents one of
the situations in which archaeological researches did not
benefit from a direct collaboration between the two fields of
inquiry, which led to an erroneous understanding of the
sedimentary genesis in the Palaeolithic settlement of Malu
Dinu Buzea (Covasna Department). Recent observations
offered a glimpse of both vertical and horizontal movement of
the archaeological material, due to the periodical reactivation
of a dejection cone, and to sedimentary peculiarities.
The technological analysis of the recently excavated lithic
assemblage revealed the existence of a single, heavily
disturbed cultural unit, found in secondary position, along with
numerous naturally fragmented flint, sandstone, quartzite, and
limestone blocks. The largest part of the technological and
typological features of the mostly local flint assemblage
indicates a possible final Upper Palaeolithic timing for its
origin, with no arguments in favour of a putative Aurignacian
designation, and only several hints at a Tardenoisian one, both
previously stated for what used to be recognized as a twofolded
cultural sequence.

Vârghișului Gorges represent the main karst area of Perșani mountains, situated in their north extremity, at the boundary of Harghita Mountains. In the karst surface have been indentified over 130 caves encased on 4 levels of karstification. The archaeological researches, which started in 1911, and have been going on in certain stages up to the present moment, have resulted in the discovery of several occupational stages from the Paleolithic up to the modern period. In this material, starting from the studies published up until the present and from the research campaigns realized between 2014 and 2015, we present the main stages that we have achieved and that we take into consideration in the creation of a geographical informational system in which to integrate the geographic and archaeological data which refer to the caves from Vârghișului Gorges. The main intent of this step is the attainment of a detailed data base which would contain characteristics of the caves, from the geographical point of view (location, height, state of preservation, the orientation of the cave entrance, the thickness and characteristics of the deposit from the cave, morphometry of the cave and so on) and from the archaeological point of view (the existence or the non-existence of traces of  habitation, the periods of habitation, the continuity of  the habitation and so on). For the completion and the validation of the entered data there will be done a series of analyses (studies) by using the technology Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) which allows the identifycation and analyses of the objects from the surface of earth and a new algorithm of calculation: Iterative Closest Point (ICP) which offers the possibility of reconstruction of certain terrestrial surfaces resulting in the attainment of geodesic data. All these will allow us in the future to identify a general model of selection of the caves from this area by the Paleolithic communities and eventually its extension to the Carpathian caves.

The authors of this scientific papers have pursued a double goal: a scientific one, namely to identify, classify, characterize and map the geomorphosites in the Subcarpathians of Ialomiţa; and a practical one, specifically to evaluate the tourist potential of each geomorphosite in turn, in order to integrate them into the tourist circuit. In order to select, characterize and evaluate the geomorphosites in the above-mentioned Subcarpathian area, we have used the methodology that has been recently agreed upon concerning the study of this category of applied geomorphology themes. So, in the Subcarpathians of Ialomiţa, we have identified and assessed a number of eight geomorphosites. Two of them (Cheile Dâmboviţei and Malu de Răsună) could become part of a tourist circuit during a proximal stage, while the sandstones from the area of Bela – Miculeşti (north of Pucioasa) and the cuestes from the zone in which Cricovul Dulce springs (Râpa Şoimilor) meet the conditions required to be decla...

The special geographic position of Coacăzei Cave, the multiple fauna studies, on the one hand, and the often controversial stratigraphic data and cultural succession, on the other hand, determined us to resume in 2008 the research concerning this cave. By means of the two sections opened there we endeavored to partially solve these aspects. The study begins with a review of the former research and, in the second part, we have endeavored to reevaluate all the research carried out so far in this cave. The conclusion of all these reevaluations would be that Coacăzei Cave does not represent one of the crucial sites for the Paleolithic in Romania.