Consideraţii privind locuirea în Banat şi Transilvania în secolele VII-VIII d. Hr. (II. Necropole şi morminte izolate)

Consideration on the habitation from Banat and Transylvania County in the VII^th – VIII^th centuries A. D. (II. Necropolises and isolated tombs)

Autor: Olivian Dulea

The author presents in this article some of the principal aspects of the funeral problem in that period: the typology of the necropolises, the burial ritual and the archaeological material from the tombs. We have in the Banat county only small (between 2-10 tombs), and middle necropolises (between 11-50 graves). Big necropolises we meet only in Transylvania County. There are the both burial rite: the inhumation and the incineration, but in the period between the end of the VI^th – the beginning of the VIII^th centuries, the inhumation rite is predominant, and in the period between the beginning of the VIII^th – the beginning of the IX^th centuries, the incineration rite become prevalent. This situation appears because of the Slavic penetration in Transylvania and Banat County at the end of the VII^th century. At the same time the Avars will break into Transylvania from Pannonia. These penetrations will have as effect the disappearance of the Gepides from Transylvania.

The only Christian population was the Gepides, and the Chrisitian objects from the graves disappear at the same time with the disappearance of them. The Avars, Slaves and local population were buried with weapons, tools, jewelries, harness objects, clothing pieces and earthenware. The Avars, Gepides and Kuturgurs (allied with the Avars until 630) were buried with their horses or fragments of the horses (this is the situation of the last two populations). The local population will take over the Slavic culture and from the beginning of the VIII^th century it is harder to differentiates the local element and the Slavic element from the necropolises. At the same time the biritual necropolises will grow up as ampleness. This type of necropolises reflects two kind of religious believes. In the VIII^th century the incineration rite from these necropolises is prevalent, but from the IX^th century the interment rite will become predominant, as well as the Christianity.